No More Dreads

Kyra's first stop upon returning to the underground safe haven was Demitri's quarters, which is where she found him doing some one handed push-ups. “Are you sure that's safe?” She asked as she tapped on the door frame and gazed upon the handsome man. Everything inside her said that staring at him was rude, but she couldn't ignore the fine muscles and that flawless skin, despite all the scars riddled across it. They told stories she could only make imaginary plots of.

Stopping in his actions, the soldier settled on his feet, crouching there as he looked up toward the short woman. A thin layer of sweat coated his body, which was why he'd taken his shirt off. “Yes,” He answered calmly. “I'm not using my shoulder that is injured, but once it's healed enough, I will get back to working those muscles as well.”

This explanation was good enough for her and she gave him a quick nod.

“How did things go?” He inquired after a silent moment.

For a moment, Kyra contemplated telling him. With a shrug, she replied, “Mostly just Cynthia and Lydia arguing over how dangerous the next mission will be. I plan to go along, so I'm not too concerned. It's the shapeshifter that worries me...”

“Shapeshifter?” His brown eyes narrowed, fingers curling into fists at his sides.

“Yeah, I'm not a fan of them.” She grumbled and her crimson gaze flitted to his hands. “I take it you don't like them either?”

“I am not one to judge the Gifted, but I despite shapeshifters.” Demitri said and there was a hint of true malice in his voice. “They...the last one I met...” He shook his head, looking away from the woman in front of him. A small hint of pink was on his cheeks, telling the necromancer that he was embarrassed by his own shameful thoughts.

Plopping down on his bed, Kyra leaned back on her hands. “I wouldn't worry too much about this shapeshifter, Demitri. If he causes trouble, I'll make sure to deal with it.” She explained in a soothing tone and smiled up at him.

“I see,” He replied, tilting his head to the side. “My shoulder is fine, by the way. No infection.”

“That's good.”

An awkward silence fell over them, both aware that the soldier wasn't asking the questions he was dying to get answers to. They both knew from the silence that his daughter had not been at this place where they'd dealt with the governor. It had been a good experience and got the Haven a new ally, but it still felt like a waste to Kyra.

She hadn't saved Demitri's daughter yet.

Hopping off the bed, she made her way to the doorway. “I've got some cleaning up to do, so I'll visit when we're done with this new job.” She told him before leaving.

She didn't look back, didn't notice the way he gazed longingly at her...

*

Kyra's room within the Haven was small and had its own little shower, but she didn't mind the size at all. Since she rarely ever was here before she never minded this tiny space that was all hers. Thanks to El, Shimmer, and the other spiders of the place, it stayed clean and welcoming for her. There were even a few webs in the corners that caught bugs. The spiders there were always welcome to her, so she offered them all a little wave as she slipped out of her hoodie and dropped it into a basket by the door.

Stretching, she kicked off her boots and socks, tossing the socks in the basket with her jacket. The rest of her clothing soon followed and she made it to the small bathroom connected to her quarters. Inside, she took a look in the mirror.

The woman gazing back had a heart shaped face with pale skin and eyes as red as blood. Those crimson orbs had been a part of her life since she was born. Most just chalked it up to her mutation, but her father had these same eyes. It was due to a special gene in their DNA that her father once explained to her.

Sadly, it still made no sense to her.

“Time to deal with this...” She muttered and began to work her hair out of the long dreadlocks it was in. The job was fairly easy and took her only about half an hour before it was all free. A hot shower later where she scrubbed through the long curly locks of hair with shampoo and condition left it silky smooth by the time she was out. Feeling all clean, she dried off and glanced in the mirror again, eyes falling to her bosom where a black spot was forming towards the left where her heart was.

Letting out a sigh, she took note of the little black tendrils that spread outward from it, a constant reminder of what her power did to her blood. She'd never felt any negative effect, but it still concerned her. The last doctor she'd seen about it simply mentioned that it was how her blood was, but she was healthy.

She hope she was healthy. Hoped the doctor hadn't been lying.

With her hair free of its usual dreadlocks, the curly nature was coming back in full swing and she knew she'd never hear the end of it from Cynthia or Lydia. They both had always loved teasing her about how “cute” it was. She didn't like being called cute. She preferred beautiful or elegant, but cute? Ugh!

Shaking her head, she grabbed her hairbrush and got to work on making sure all tangles were out. Brushing her teeth and going through a small routine soon followed before she finally left the bathroom and pulled on some new clothes. Grabbing clean basic black panties, she pulled them on and found her bras, realizing all the sports ones were left at her apartment in town. “Joy...” She grunted and pulled on the stupid lace one that Cynthia had gifted her a few birthdays ago. It wasn't so bad, but the lace was a bit itchy.

Getting on a pair of jeans and a tank top, she found a clean hoodie and got into it before pulling her hair back into a high ponytail. The white locks that faded to crimson looked strangely elegant like this, strands hanging down to frame her face. It felt odd to look in the mirror and see herself like this. Without the dreadlocks it was as if she were a completely different person.

Another shake of the head, she turned and grabbed up a knife, a revolver she hid in the sock drawer, and the pager she always had on her. She stuffed her cellphone into a back pocket, grabbed a pair of socks and was soon in her boots again.

After double checking to make sure she had everything, she went to meet up with Lydia and, hopefully, Finlay. Not that she was looking forward to meeting this guy...