Riley the black cat stands indoors holding a mug, wide-eyed, as a smoky scent trail drifts toward his face. A narration box above reads, “Riley picks up the scent of the catnip dolls…”

Riley follows with wide eyes as the drifting scent passes him. His mug lies on the floor, spilled.

Donna Lake sits at her desk and says “Riley…” while Riley leaps through the air toward her, following the scent trail.

Donna says, “We’ve been expecting you,” while Riley leaps through the air, baring his teeth in shock as he tries to avoid a pin held out like a sword by the tiny Donna doll on the desk.

Transcript

Panel 1

Narration:
“RILEY PICKS UP THE SCENT OF THE CATNIP DOLLS…”

Actions & Visual Cues:

Riley stands indoors holding a mug.

A drifting scent trail wafts past him.

His eyes widen as he locks onto the smell.

Panel 2 (Corrected)

Dialogue:
(None)

Actions & Visual Cues:

The mug lies spilled on the floor, coffee pooling out.

Riley is moving forward, drawn toward the floating scent trail.

His posture leans toward the direction of the smell, eyes wide and fixed ahead.

The scent visibly leads off-panel, and Riley is following it with focused intensity.

Panel 3

Dialogue:
Donna Lake: “Riley…”

Actions & Visual Cues:

Donna sits at her desk, wearing purple glasses.

Figurines of Dash, Finley, Milo, Drew, and a tiny Donna are arranged in front of her.

Riley leaps through the air toward Donna’s desk, pulled by the scent trail.

His eyes glance toward her mid-jump.

Panel 4 (Updated)

Dialogue:
Donna Lake: “WE’VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU.”

Actions & Visual Cues:

Donna looks calmly at Riley as she speaks.

Riley, still leaping, reacts with a sharp-toothed, shocked expression.

The tiny Donna doll on the desk holds a pin like a miniature sword, pointed toward Riley.

Riley twists in midair to avoid colliding with the pin.

The other figurines remain lined up.

Waft

Posted on January 14, 2026 by donnalake

From Donna's Desk:

I heard him before I saw him: a whoosh in the hallway, that accelerating rhythm that means “we’ve passed curiosity and are approaching event horizon.”

Then he launched through my doorway.

Full-speed, eyes wild, tail streaming behind him: pure, unfiltered pursuit. Every leadership book I’ve ever read talks about “navigating change,” but none of them provide a chapter on “what to do when the change is airborne and has claws.”

“Riley…” I said.

Not a yell. Just his name. The way you say “budget” in a meeting when you need everyone to remember reality exists.

Mid-leap, he clocked the situation: the row of catnip-scented dolls, the tiny Donna with her pin held out like a sword, me sitting calmly at my desk as if we scheduled this.

“We’ve been expecting you,” I told him.

There he was, suspended in midair, teeth bared in shock, twisting just enough to avoid the tiny point of stainless steel authority on my desktop.

And that’s the job, really. Half strategy, half improv, all done while something fast and unpredictable is sailing straight toward your carefully arranged plans.

Transcript

CHOOSE YOUR STARTING POINT

Waft

From Donna's Desk:

I heard him before I saw him: a whoosh in the hallway, that accelerating rhythm that means “we’ve passed curiosity and are approaching event horizon.”

Then he launched through my doorway.

Full-speed, eyes wild, tail streaming behind him: pure, unfiltered pursuit. Every leadership book I’ve ever read talks about “navigating change,” but none of them provide a chapter on “what to do when the change is airborne and has claws.”

“Riley…” I said.

Not a yell. Just his name. The way you say “budget” in a meeting when you need everyone to remember reality exists.

Mid-leap, he clocked the situation: the row of catnip-scented dolls, the tiny Donna with her pin held out like a sword, me sitting calmly at my desk as if we scheduled this.

“We’ve been expecting you,” I told him.

There he was, suspended in midair, teeth bared in shock, twisting just enough to avoid the tiny point of stainless steel authority on my desktop.

And that’s the job, really. Half strategy, half improv, all done while something fast and unpredictable is sailing straight toward your carefully arranged plans.

Leadership manuals call it “being prepared for volatility.”
Around here, we call it Wednesday.

Donna

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Transcript

CHOOSE YOUR STARTING POINT

From Donna's Desk:

I heard him before I saw him: a whoosh in the hallway, that accelerating rhythm that means “we’ve passed curiosity and are approaching event horizon.”

Then he launched through my doorway.

Full-speed, eyes wild, tail streaming behind him: pure, unfiltered pursuit. Every leadership book I’ve ever read talks about “navigating change,” but none of them provide a chapter on “what to do when the change is airborne and has claws.”

“Riley…” I said.

Not a yell. Just his name. The way you say “budget” in a meeting when you need everyone to remember reality exists.

Mid-leap, he clocked the situation: the row of catnip-scented dolls, the tiny Donna with her pin held out like a sword, me sitting calmly at my desk as if we scheduled this.

“We’ve been expecting you,” I told him.

There he was, suspended in midair, teeth bared in shock, twisting just enough to avoid the tiny point of stainless steel authority on my desktop.

And that’s the job, really. Half strategy, half improv, all done while something fast and unpredictable is sailing straight toward your carefully arranged plans.

Leadership manuals call it “being prepared for volatility.”Around here, we call it Wednesday.

Donna

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Leadership manuals call it “being prepared for volatility.”
Around here, we call it Wednesday.