Tools (2)

She glanced at Dale, then back down. "What… are these?" she asked, not bothering to mask her confusion.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he shifted something in the case —-a roll of black fabric with pockets, unfastening it like a chef revealing a knife kit. More objects emerged: a lipstick tube that she instantly knew wasn't just that, a pair of innocuous hair sticks, a bracelet with embedded clasps that looked… suspiciously mechanical.

"They're tools," Dale said flatly, as if that explained anything.

"I figured that much," she muttered, folding her arms again. "But tools for what, exactly? What am I supposed to do with these?"

He straightened and looked at her. His expression didn't shift, "You're going undercover in a world that doesn't tolerate mistakes. That means you need to blend in without losing your advantage or giving someone the opportunity to harm you. These are how you do that."