Kat couldn't be bothered asking for those answers right now though, so wrapped up in the scene that she continued to take in as much as she could. There were a few other people that weren't recognisable in the library, at least not to Kat.
*I wonder if Lily knows them as well, or if they are just to fill in the space. Normally I'd say they were just random people but honestly, Chekov has already gone so far above and beyond what I would have expected from this that I wouldn't be surprised at all if Lily knew each and every one of them.*
Kat, in her scanning of unfamiliar faces, almost overlooked one more familiar face. In the very back corner, to the furthest right was a man sitting in a pile of rugs. With a smile on his face and gleam in his eye. He looked younger than Kat knew him to be… but it was easily recognisable as the face of Gramps.
*Ok now I have even more questions. I can accept that maybe Chekov got some photos from Vivian but… that doesn't explain how Chekov knows about Gramps and his rugs and… hey wait.*
Kat looked at the pile of rugs closely and realised that she KNEW each and every one of those rugs. They were all ones that Gramps owned, and she could also just barely make out the patterning for the ugly fox rug she had been given by Enuko at the bottom of the pile. Her eyesight was good, but the picture was small, and the rug mostly covered by yet more rugs.
*Seriously how did he do this?*
Shaking her head Kat gave a quick look down at Sylvie in her hands to ensure that the girl wasn't uncomfortable. Kat found Sylvie staring happily down at the desk like she was. Though now that I think about it... *Sylvie probably can't see the details like I can… I wonder… well at the very least I'm sure she'll say something if she wants it. Or pout. Seeing as she is doing neither, I'll tentatively say that she isn't really having issues.*
Looking back to the mural, Kat followed the only thing that she hadn't really investigated, and that was the staircases at the back. It continued up and out of the mural, becoming a fully three-dimensional structure that split itself to act as the centre walls for the two bookcases. Each step had been rendered in perfect detail, even including the slightest hint of wear on the railings when they made a sharper turn.
The shelving had more fake book titles at the back of it, but Kat noticed they were the least interesting thing the whole desk had to offer. *I suppose it makes sense though. Once it's in use properly there would be no point in having elaborate carvings just for them to be covered up.*
"You good to go back down?" asked Kat
Sylvie nodded, and Kat lowered herself. As she did so she could hear a strange sniffling sound. Turning towards it, she found Lily with tears in her eyes, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong. Kat moved over to her, letting Sylvie out of her arms and for once the girl offered no pout in protest.
Kat wrapped her arms and tail around Lily and pulled her into a big hug. "Hey Lily what's wrong"
"This… this is more than I could have hoped for. This is the most beautiful thing… no second most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I… I don't know how I could afford even a fraction of what this is worth and... I have no idea how I'm going to get this into my room" said Lily through the tears. Kat noticed, that once she finished speaking, she had a massive grin on her face.
"You tink I am an amateur? Do not worry, you can separate the pieces so that they may be moved easily. They are not light but you should be able to fit them somehow da?" said Chekov
"Oh… thank you. Thank you again Chekov" said Lily
Chekov smirked and said "I haven't even shown you any of the secrets. Chin up glasses."
Lily jolted in Kat's arms, and Kat didn't blame her. It was obvious Lily had forgotten there was still more to the desk in question, and Kat was in the same boat. *Woah. I had completely forgotten about that myself.*
Chekov took a step forward. "The first, and simplest trick I have for you is that any book with these symbol" Chekov pointed to a series of symbols. In order, they resembled an, S, an M, a sideways V, an R, the same M as before and finally an arrow. Kat could tell it actually spelled out secret, and the book in question was 'Secret of the Lost Woods' "open up into a little compartment"
Chekov put his fingers on either side of the cover, and pulled back. The spine of the book was pulled out revealing a small draw, perhaps the size of Chekov's slightly larger than normal hand, that was currently empty. "There is a few of these around. I show you this one and you find the others da?"
Lily nodded. "Is that Berk?"
Chekov grinned "Ah, I make good choice da? You even recognise the language"
Lily nodded again. "Yeah vaguely. I mean… that's just the most common language for people to call 'runic' and it looks pretty fancy, especially when you put the letters close together. I don't know it all off the top of my head, but they seemed familiar and I just went with my best guess"
"Now, do not spill you secrets to me glasses. That's why I give you something to keep them hidden da? Need to keep yourself a bit of mystery da?" said Chekov
Lily nodded, and Chekov turned back to the construction. The next thing he did was go over to the right bookcase. He then proceeded to press on a few of the fake books in the background, each on eliciting a soft clicking sound.
After pressing six books, a pop sounded out, and the central staircase at the back centre of the desk split open into two halves, separating from the rest of the stairs. Pulling the halves apart revealed an alcove underneath the stairs that sunk into the desk slightly. The space was sizeable, perhaps thirty centimetres across and twenty centimetres wide. It was unclear, from this angle at least, how much additional space there was height wise with how the stairs sloped, but it had to be at least a few extra centimetres even at the lowest.
"This be the second secret, I call it the closet underneath the stairs. Plenty of space for something of a decent size, but not too large, for that you'll want the next one da?" said Chekov.
Lily tilted her head in confusion as Chekov took a step back and kneeled down, once again interacting with the fake books. This time though, he put his finger on the one book that looked to be kept slightly open due to something wedged within. Taking out a small screwdriver, Chekov poked it into the opening.
There was a loud click, and Chekov shuffled back slightly before gripping onto the sides of the support and pulling. A large part of the wood came away to reveal a large space. About enough size for Sylvie to sneak in and hide. "This be the largest little hideaway in the whole thing. It might not be too large, but for a hidden compartment it is massive" said Chekov with a grin.
Lily smiled back. "This is great. I'm sure I could hide some rare books in there once I get them or… maybe my computer? No, there's no point. My parents know I have one so there is no sense hiding it there… I don't exactly have a use for it right now but the ideas that it gives me a more than worth it already"
Chekov nodded and said "Da, it is good. I am glad you enjoy it glasses. Do you want me to show you how it all comes apart?"
"Um… yeah that would be really nice thanks" said Lily
Chekov nodded. "So, first thing you need to do is remove the staircase supports. You can see how they come apart when you lift them straight up like so" said Chekov following through with his motions. Once he had lifted the staircases away, he continued.
"Next, you need to pull the bookcases apart. They both split in the middle. This is as simple as turning them back just a little bit and then lifting up da? Following on from that you must turn the bottom half the other way which detaches it from the desk…"
Chekov continued his detailed instructions for the complete disassembly of the desk. Each step removing some part that had looked integral to the whole structure.. As he did so, he also spoke of proper cleaning techniques for the wood and varnish, while, Kat assumed at least, giving subtle hints as to where some of the other secrets were hidden.