Kire knew not to say anything that bluntly to a man like Zeke. A lot of men disliked that back home, too, injured or not. Maybe best to avoid him altogether and ask Ysaryn instead about any questions she had regarding the city and how she sources their supplies. The Shadow Elf may find it distasteful, but hopefully with Kire volunteering herself for it the woman would accommodate her inquiries.  [i]Besides, I seem to be the only one she doesn’t mutter or snap angrily at.[/i] “You’re welcome, Envy. I’ll be sure to talk to her first thing tomorrow. Rest well.”

She went back outside, left alone now, and wandered back into the kitchen to have a peaceful meal. Kire ate her dinner slowly, sunk in thought. She hadn’t anticipated that her hunt to find Ikegai would lead to a whole different mission, as if rehabilitating a destroyed community was now a permanent part of her life. [i]As if doing so for my own people had been so easy.[/i] “You can’t save everyone, Kire,” she murmured in between bites, both reminder and mantra to keep herself grounded. Because of [i]course[/i], she couldn’t help it. She would always try to, even if impossible. “Jan was right.” She shook her head, chuckling softly at her own foolishness. If she wasn’t going to die at the hands of Ikegai and Akuma, she might work herself to death shuttling between Amria and Little Ziad, trying to help build two cities from the ground up. 

Though tired, Kire’s mind was still restless. She wandered outside the cave, taking in the night air and savoring the stillness around her. Tomorrow would be filled with more hard work, and Kire wanted to snatch these few moments’ worth of peace before going to bed and waking up to the new day’s challenges. From what she could see of it on top of the hill, the desert could be quite beautiful at night. She stood there, admiring the view for a while longer before going back inside to rest. 

She wasn’t so lucky with her nightmares that night. Kire sat up with a grunt, her hand clamping over her scarred eye automatically, feeling the swipe of the blade that had almost cracked her skull open as if the wound was fresh. She breathed heavily, covering her face with her hands as she steadied her shaking body. [i]You’re here. You’re safe.[/i] It took several minutes for her to fully calm down, and by then she was too awake to try going back to sleep, reluctant to go through another round of it. She took her sword and went outside. As she had guessed, the sun hadn’t yet risen, so she worked on sword drills and exercises, petulantly entertaining the thought of torturing Ikegai with sleeplessness for eternity until dawn. Afterwards she bathed quickly, the cold water and the chilly early morning invigorating her, before going back inside to look for Ysaryn.