Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
“You sound awfully confident,” Terra grumbled.
“I have lived here for years,” he said patiently. “And I have never yet been stabbed by a branch when I sat on my couch.”
“Well, you also weigh about three times what I do, so maybe the furniture is afraid of you,” Terra pointed out.
Taurex rumbled laughter.
“Just sit and try it for yourself.”
Deciding to take a chance, Terra lowered herself gingerly onto the couch.
She expected resistance and sharp twigs poking her most sensitive areas. Instead, the vegetation beneath her shifted and there was a soft whisper of leaves as the living cushion sank beneath her weight, then curved upward around her hips and lower back, molding itself to her body. The effect was so smooth and gentle that Terra gasped.
“Oh!” she exclaimed. “It moved!”
Taurex looked concerned.
“The furniture is alive—it adjusts to your size and weight for maximum support. Is something wrong?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Terra shifted experimentally. The couch adjusted with her, the soft leaves and moss reshaping themselves until they supported her perfectly. “Oh my God—it’s so comfortable.”
He smiled.
“Of course it is. Didn’t I tell you?”
“No, I mean really comfortable.” She leaned back, laughing in amazement when the back of the couch rose slightly to support her shoulders. “It’s molding itself around me.”
The big Monstrum nodded.
“It senses pressure and adjusts accordingly.”
Terra pressed one hand into the cushion beside her and watched the vegetation rise around her fingers before returning to its original shape when she moved her hand.
“You know, this is better than memory foam,” she remarked.
Taurex shrugged.
“I do not know what memory foam is.”
“It’s something humans invented because apparently we couldn’t figure out how to teach our couches to grow and support us exactly how we wanted them to,” Terra said.
Taurex smiled.
“In that case, I think I prefer our living couches.”
“I don’t blame you.” Terra sank deeper into the living furniture with a contented sigh. “I may never get up.”
“You will when you smell dinner,” Taurex predicted.
She looked up at him with a grin.
“That remains to be seen.”
Taurex set down the baskets from the Market and held out one hand.
“Come. I will show you the rest of the domicile. You can return to the couch after our tour if you still want to.”
Terra groaned dramatically.
“You’re making me leave the magic couch already?”
“There is another in your sleeping chamber.”
That got her attention.
“My room has one too?”
“Yes.” He nodded.
“Well, why didn’t you say so? Let’s go!”
She took his hand and allowed him to pull her up. The living couch immediately reshaped itself behind her, smoothing until there was no sign anyone had been sitting there.
“That is so weird,” Terra murmured, watching it.
“It is efficient,” Taurex corrected her.
“You really love that word,” Terra remarked. It was one of the ways he praised her when they had an especially good day at work—he called her “efficient.”
“Because efficiency is admirable,” he said gravely.
“Spoken like a male whose Earth office looked like a recycling center exploded in it,” Terra said, laughing.
Taurex gave her a wounded look.
“That was before I hired you. It looks much better now.”
“Exactly. Because I’m efficient.”
“Yes, you are.” He gave her an admiring look. “Come—let me show you the food prep area of my domicile.”
Still holding hands, they moved into the next room, which turned out to be the kitchen or “food prep area” as he called it.
The kitchen fascinated Terra even more than the magically supportive living couch. There were no conventional appliances anywhere—no refrigerator, stove, microwave or dishwasher that she could see. Instead, the entire room seemed to consist of different living plants trained to perform specific functions.
A huge pale green pod grew from one wall, tall enough to reach Terra’s chest and wide enough that she could probably have climbed inside if she wanted to. Taurex touched the side of it and the pod unfolded into several overlapping sections, revealing a cool interior filled with food.
Terra stared with interest.
“Is that the Monstrum version of a refrigerator?”
He nodded.
“It serves the same purpose. To keep food cold so it doesn’t spoil.”
She held one hand near the opening and cold air drifted over her fingers.
“How does it work?” she asked, since she loved knowing the “how” of everything.
“The plant absorbs heat from the chamber and transfers it into its roots,” Taurex explained. “There it generates energy and puts out cold air as a byproduct of its growth cycle.
“So it’s a refrigerator bush!” Terra exclaimed, delighted.
Taurex smiled.
“It is a kelthra cooling pod.”
“Refrigerator bush,” she insisted, grinning impishly at him.
He gave her a look and Terra laughed. Yes, she loved teasing her big Monstrum boss. And it seemed that Taurex liked playing along.
Near the refrigerator bush was another plant shaped like a broad bowl supported on several thick roots. Its inside surface was smooth and dark, almost like black stone.
“And what does that one do?” she asked.
Taurex carried several of the vegetables over to it.