I take my moments to recuperate before standing once again, I shake myself to get as much water off my fur as possible. Now... let's see what kind of stuff is in this old place.. There is a set of stairs that leads to - surprise - a upstairs straight forward from the door, next to the staircase on the right there was a hallway, it appeared to lead into a living space, I could see a rug and couches, I make my way slowly over. A glint of something catches my eye, I turn, catching sight of some framed photos on the wall, it seemed like they had a glow to them, weird... I take a closer look at the photos, they all appear to show either a reddish brown cat or a gray striped cat, most of the time both. Whoever they are... or were, they seem happy to be together in these photos... I sigh, wishing at this moment that I was still safely at home with my parents... maybe I'll be lucky and this will turn out to be a dream? I mean it feels really realistic but... some dreams can be like that... I think?? The slight click of my claws against the wooden floorboards sounds as I make my way into the living area, it feels like it would've been the cozy type of area those two cats from the photos would hang out in a lot, talking about their days, sharing gossip, or even just enjoying each other's company... but it was empty now, slightly damp too, there were cracks running down the yellow-tinted windows, a few holes where the fractured glass fell away, drops of rain would fall in occasionally as the wind changed direction... it definitely wasn't what it used to be... I step over, running my paw over the soft green material of the couch, it was damp just like it looked.. I scooped up the dropped pillows off the floor and arrange them carefully on the edges of the couches again, trying to make it look somewhat like it should... not that I would know I guess, but having the tan pillows all rumpled on the floor seemed... incorrect. I give a slow shake of my head, wishing in that moment that whatever tragedy struck this home had never happened, that the pair could still enjoy their lives... I guess there is every possibility that they are still alive somewhere... but... this place isn't /that/ damaged... if they were alive... wouldn't they have just repaired it?? My gaze travels back over the photos as I cross back through the hall, turning to a space that seems to be a kitchen left of the front door. The first thing that catches my attention is the window above the sink, it had been left open for... who knows how long at this point, to the extent that the sink basin had filled up with water from the rains and was now dripping to the tiled floor, I edged around the puddle of standing water on the floor, I am already wet enough as is... My next thing to look at is the stove, the thing that surprises me the most is... there is absolutely no signs of fire there... I always hear that lots of house fires are caused from stoves left unattended while food is cooking, but besides the minor flooding issue- this place is still in decent condition. I suppose, another major cause of fires could be unattended candles... maybe the couple had a scented candle or two that they had lit upstairs while they were down here... its possible... Turning back around, I head straight out from the kitchen, into the room on the opposite side of the hall, where the other rooms seemed fine still... this one had part of the ceiling caved in, the dining room table that was in the center of the room was broken in half, the two sides pressed down into the floor, which was also severely damaged, many of the boards were splintering or cracked. I shake my head again and turn away, I can't imagine what it would've been like if the couple were in there when that happened... I place my paw tentatively on the first step of the stairs, glancing curiously up, I could feel some drops hit my face from the holes in the roofing, I take a deep breath and make my way up, mentally preparing myself to see what had happened. I freeze, the walls and roof in this area are so burned that I can't even tell what colors they might've been, the floor is plenty singed in its own right too, also I can mention the thick layer of this goopy stuff, my guess is ash from the fire... it's the right color.. and it would make sense for it to feel wet, I look back up, staring through the cracks and holes in the roof. The floorboards gave a creak, I scramble backwards, suddenly worried that the floor may not be as stable as I once thought, I look to see cracks had formed where I had just been standing. Wow... I could've died... or gotten really hurt... I blink, the wave of relief was short-lived as I notice what appears to be reddish brown paws floating just above the floor. "What do you think you are doing in my home?!"
Characters mentioned]]] Jello - The point of view (any pronouns) Ella - the reddish brown cat from the photos (She/her) Diana - the gray striped cat from the photos (She/her) (For more about the characters, visit their UV profiles :) *Diana doesn't have a profile yet-* https://unvale.io/InkdropNightcloud Art & music by Inky / Bean @Inkdrop-Nightcloud (They/any)
