"He's just making it too easy" misty thinks to herself mischievously while searching for a way into the abandoned mansion. If there's ever been one constant between them it's that ash is incredibly easier to poke fun at and his face when he realizes it is way to adorable, how could she not want to tease him so mercilessly?
The front doors locked and boarded and windows surrounding it barred, finding entry here was not looking promising. She sees ash poking around on the left side of the house so she heads to the opposite. A large wooden cellar door lays partially buried in weeds and overgrowth and when she pulls on the door it hesitantly gives but is too heavy for her to lift on her own.
"ash! I think I found something!" she yells hoping he heard her, the sound of ash fighting his way through the long grass let her know he was on his way.
"look, a cellar door, if we try to lift it together on one side we should be able to open it up yeah?"
"sure, let's try it."
Gripping the rusty handle of one side of the cellar entrance as best as they can they attempt to tug it open. Plants that have grown through cracks in the doors wood snap and become uprooted as the pair pry it open hinges arguing against the sudden action every inch of the way and finally with a loud thud the door falls open against the ground allowing them access to the dark dusty passage below.
Ash pulls a flashlight from is pack and shines it down the stairs to get a better look, doesn't see anything out of the ordinary and decides to head down first. Ancient wood creaks and groans under his weight, clouds of dust particles shine in the light from his torch, giving knowledge that no one has been here for a very long time.
As misty comes down behind him, adding her own beam of light to his as they explore the basement. She breathes in hesitantly smelling the thick stale air surrounding them trying to keep close to ash as he pokes about old shelves filled with crates of junk.
"I think this seemed a better idea when I was looking at it from the outside.." she says, her voice shaking slightly.
"not scared of a little dusty basement are we?" he asks with a tinge of sarcasm.
Doing her best to not let him get a rise out of her she tries looking for a way in to the main home replying "let's just find a way out of here, the rest of the house can't be this bad."
It's not that she was afraid of the dark or anything, it's just a bit unnerving to be in a place so clearly vacant for so long, no evidence of life visible, no security in the thought that every room and corridor in this place lacks the warmth of other people, It was a little sad to be sure. "would the house feel lonely, not having anyone within its walls for so long.."
Eventually misty's light crosses over another set of stairs leading upwards towards a rotten looking dorway.
"over here ash, I found some steps that lead towards the rest of the house."
She must have surprised him because no sooner had she called out to him did she hear a loud clatter of what sounded like cook ware hitting the ground combined with a loud, startled "uwaahhh!" coming from the other side of the basement.
"uh.. I'm ok.." ash utters meekly.
Misty hurries over to him using the circle of light shining n the ceiling as a way point, rounding the corner of a set of shelves she finds ash comically attempting to shed a layer of pots from his prone body and can't help finding a certain amount of comedy to his position unable to restrain a small laugh at his expense.
"how bout instead of laughing you help me up ok? This isn't exactly comfortable!"
She takes both of his hands in her and drags him out of the nest of pots and pans he'd made for himself till he's able to dust himself off and get back on his feet.
"thanks.. Glad there wasn't anything dangerous in those boxes" he says slightly embarrassed. "anyways, you said you found something?"
Leading him over to the steps, she takes the lead and cautiously climbs them to reach the waiting door above. Trying the handle it turns with a rough metal on metal rubbing sound but it does give way giving entry to a spacious cooking space.
"wow, take a look at this!" she says excitedly "it's a giant kitchen!"
Massive counter spaces run along the majority of the wall space topped with cabinet's that had most likely housed a vast array of fancy crockery, cups, bake wear, and other expensive items though now they were massively suffering from disrepair. Cupboard doors hung loose on hinges, glass panes missing from the majority of them, cobwebs draped over nearly every surface and dust lay thick on everything else.
As ash entered the room behind her she was running a fingertip across the top of dark marble slab that was the center island, unsurprisingly it came way leaving her finger caked in powder. Empty as it was, it was far less oppressive and spooky than the basement. Most likely helped by the fact that small slivers of light were able to enter the room through gaps in the ratty shades that adorned them.
"imagine all the food you could cook in a room like this!" exclaims ash as he investigates two massive ovens that take up the majority of one wall. Massive iron doors with ornate designs cover large brick cavities used for baking tasty dishes, below a fireplace resides under each of them serving as the heat sources for the ovens above. "it must have smelled amazing in here with these burning hot."
"always thinking with your stomach first hmm?" misty asks as she comes up behind him, wrapping her hands around his middle.
"you know me too well." he says with a chuckle. "though I am getting a little hungry.."
"let's explore some more! We still need to find a good place to sleep for the night." excitedly she gives ash a quick squeeze and then exits through one of the large double doors leading out of the kitchen. no longer really too nervous or intimidated by the house she's just having a lot of fun exploring, wondering what kinds of forgotten treasures this old house holds.