Star-crossed (Scatterstar Dynasty: Book 1)

4. Upside-down

I shower and wash up quickly enough after my little impromptu makeover session using the shampoo, the packet of what seems to be liquid body wash. Rose was correct in assuming that I'd have to scrub the colour of the dye that's bled from my hair and has run down my neck with soap of some sort. It really does not come off without scrubbing a little.

After my shower, I quickly dry myself off with another dry towel then blow dry my hair again as I don't want water to drip from them afterwards. I'm used to blow drying my hair as the long length didn't help one bit in drying it quickly and even though my hair is much shorter now, I don't wanna take any chances.

The softness of my hair takes me a bit off-guard as I run the comb through it. That shampoo and conditioner combo really is of the best quality and no doubt very expensive if it can undo years of continuous hair damage so easily which is a bit unsettling as a person like Rose just handed me stuff this expensive without batting an eyelash like it's just a bag of chips. It's not how she or anyone would behave without agenda.

Putting that thought aside, I cautiously reach for the rest of the items of the bag and just like the shampoo, everything seems to be very expensive. There's a pair of black socks that are made of such fine material that the wool like fabric feels like water in my hands. I set them aside and pick up the boots to examine them. They are feather light and are also black with petal soft interior and hard as steel exterior. They sort of look like hybrid combat boots, a mix between army and biker boots-I think, I know a lot of things but learning about fashion has never been my strong suit-clearly made for running and climbing on any surface be it icy or rocky terrain—if their flexible yet hard and spiky soles are any indication. They lace up to a little over to the mid calves as the edges stop just a few inches under the knees and it's definitely made to conceal weapons.

As if to prove that, I immediately find two secret compartments for putting knives, right along the both sides of each calves in both boots. These are clearly either military issued or custom made for combat and very extravagant ones at that as they are designed for both comfort and protection and something tells me that the flexible yet hard outer layer is made to not let any projectile penetrate them easily. It sure does help not finding oneself in the Achilles' Heel situation as most don't really realise how freaking vulnerable spots the feet actually are, right along side the spots like the throat and the eyes.

I usually put strips of thin Kevlar around my neck and wrap some of them around my feet for a bit of extra caution as I personally aim for these places while in deadly duels so I expect others to do the same with me as well. The eyes, I can't do anything about them as I need to have my view mostly unobstructed and untill some sort protection is invented for them, I can't help it. I can fight blindfolded but having sight gives a great advantage that I'd rather not lose during such times, which is why I sometimes use those tactical masks with metal webbed glasses—honestly, I've never cared about learning the proper terms for them as they are a bit annoying but hey, they're better than total blindfolds.

I shake my head once to get away from the unruly thoughts and pick up the watch next to examine it. It looks to be a regular smart watch with the same runic glyphs on it. It's fucking frustrating not knowing how to read this shit. Honestly, if what Rose was saying—before I stopped her language history lecture—is true, all I have to do is look at these characters along side their English counterparts just once and I'll be able to read without any and all difficulty as I have perfect recall and it generally only takes me seconds to remember, understand, analyse or even solve any and all kinds of shit... and my anger against my mother returns again! She made sure that I learned nearly two dozen languages and didn't have time to simply show me a sheet of paper with the English letters with their Novalish counterparts? Really?!