BXBX NOVEL Chapter 378: The Other 2 Floors.
Chapter 378: The Other 2 Floors.
Kamiko got up and lead Kat to what she had thought was a cupboard. It was on the opposite end of the house to the kitchen and stuck out of the wall slightly. It was a bit large for a normal cupboard, with the double doors being about the width of Kat's outstretched wings. The answer to this mystery was revealed when Kamiko pulled open the doors for Kat to see a fireman's pole running down.
"Now, I'm guessing because of the fact you can fly you aren't afraid of height right? I mean… maybe I shouldn't be asking but I swear I have a good reason, um, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to just… it IS important." said Kamiko
Kat shrugged and said, "No that's fine, I'm not afraid of them at all"
Kamiko nodded rapidly like a bobble head while speaking the words, "That's great. Yup, perfect. Um… so this is how we get to the second floor… it's actually a bit of a way down. Mum designed it that way so that the plants all have enough room to reach out with their roots. That means there is a bit of a drop. The pole isn't necessary actually, and the floor is special…
"Um, I'll talk about that when we get down there? Maybe? Yes I'll talk about it when we are down there, but just know the pole is more to make sure you don't hit any of the walls then to slow you down. Some of the triplets' friends have made that mistake and I'd hate for you to burn your hand on the metal… though of course with your regeneration I'm sure you'd be fine.
"I'll just go first? If that's ok? Um see this?" Kamiko stopped to point at the ceiling of the cupboard. Kat hadn't noticed it, but it was actually glowing a faint green. Kat nodded allowing Kamiko to continue "Right so this light tells you if somebody is using or standing in the drop zone. Just come down once it turns back ok? It'll be red if someone else is standing at the bottom and bright red if someone is sliding down"
Seeing Kat nod again, Kamiko strode confidently off the edge and dropped out of sight. Kat watched the light for a few moments until it changed back to green. *Guess it's my turn then.* Kat stepped forward, placing one hand lightly around the pole. Just before Kat stepped off she had a thought.
*Wait… my skin repels dirt and water right? It's also unnaturally smooth… will I still burn it if I hang onto it? I don't actually know if those types of things are proper burns either. If the heat from the friction is what causes it I'll certainly be fine…*
Kat decided to hold onto it just a bit harder than she thought would be comfortable. Neither of her predicted outcomes happened though, as it was clear she was more than strong enough to hold her body weight on her hand. She would either fall freely, or stop in place depending on the pressure, there was no in-between. Letting go, Kat fell the rest of the way to the first floor of the basement, or as Kamiko referred to it 'the second floor'.
When Kat landed, she felt the padding stretch underneath her, then, once all of her momentum had bled off, it slowly raised her back up to level with the rest of the floor that Kamiko was currently standing on. Kat looked at it oddly for a second before stepping off.
"I'm glad to see you made it out fine" said Kamiko "I've never had any problems with it, and other than the issues with grabbing the pole nobody has had any problems at all… still I always was suspicious about how safe it was. The triplets thought it was a good joke to throw me down it once when I was younger… and while I've mostly gotten over it… I can't help but feel it will fail one day and I'll break my legs…
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down." Kamiko turned around and gestured to the hallway which stretched quite far backwards. "This is the second floor. It has everyone's rooms on it except my parents, and adding one guest room. Apparently we didn't used to have the third floor and the guest room was my parents but… I was never alive to see that so…" Kamiko shrugged.
"Oh wait right, the flooring" Kamiko said as she pointed to the square Kat had been standing on. "So it's special material. I don't know what it's called but it absorbs impacts really well without hurting the floor or the person. It actually isn't very thick, only about deep enough to get to the third floor in fact, but it's more than enough for, allegedly any amount of weight.
"That makes it really handy for cushioning, though it's not really right for couches and stuff because once it bleeds of that extra energy it becomes rigid solid flooring once again. Even if you kicked at it, it would stay solid. I'm not sure how that part works honestly, or why it's always solid no matter who is standing on it…
"Anyway" said Kamiko leading Kat over to another 'cupboard' next to the first. "This one is a much shorter jump. No pole this time, though there is a hidden ladder in the back. I doubt you'll need it. I mean, I don't anymore and you're at least as strong as me… um… just follow along I guess?"
Kamiko opened the door awkward smile on her face as she revealed a roughly five metre drop, which she took without hesitation. Kat watched the light for the all-clear sign and jumped after her… to face a wall. Though turning around revealed the third floor in all its 'glory'.
It was a simple affair. The corridor was once again very plain, and an almost exact match for the previous floor. The only difference was that the doors were no longer evenly spaced. Whereas before they were almost exactly fifty metres apart, not that Kat knew the figure, now they were a seemingly random assortment of distances between each other, and they didn't necessarily line up on either side.
"So… this is more like the utility floor? Or… no maybe like the spare space? No that's still wrong. Um… so the ground floor that you saw is mostly just the kitchen and another little sitting area separate from that, we sometimes use it for get togethers if it's only part of the family involved…
"Like say, Mum was having some friends over. She'd take over that room to leave the rest of us in peace… oh and the attic, but we mostly just store things up there. It was actually the first bedroom for our parents, but I can't imagine it knowing what it looks like now.
"And I mean… I guess you didn't really see much of the second floor. I doubt my sisters would approve of me just showing you all their rooms even if I want to… um, but I can tell you a bit about this one ok?"
Kat nodded, and Kamiko practically sprinted off with glee, the tiredness from before washed away by the excitement. When Kamiko reached the first door, she didn't open it. "This is Merra's sport closet. She keeps spare sporting equipment or the old stuff she doesn't use anymore. I won't open it more because I can't be certain I'd be able to close it again with everything in it. She doesn't mind people using her old stuff at all… but you'd never find what you want.
"Um…" Kamiko pointed to a door on the other side, that actually did match this one's position and the only matching set on the floor. "That door is Erra's old book storage. She actually makes it really nice and tidy but it's all stacked closely together. She has a list somewhere that tells her where all the books are but that door is locked…
"Um this door" Kamiko walked over and patted the next door. "Is one of the largest rooms down here. It's Kerra's art storage. She does keep a lot of stuff in her room but it's not anywhere near enough space to fit. Unlike the other two where old and forgotten stuff ends up, Kerra puts things in here she doesn't want to sell on display.
"Huh… sorry Kat, I kinda realised I can't show you much. Kerra made me promise that any friends I have need to be shown this when she's around so that she can see their, or I guess your face when you see it… so I guess that's out to. Um… maybe I should just show you…"
Kamiko walked past another two doors before pushing the third open. "So this is the main bathroom. Mum and Dad have their own, but this one is like the family's. I'll show you why I guess…"