Kiara watched as Thomas did the very thing that she was afraid she would do, and she realized it was unfair for her to expect him to be perfectly strong all the time. She couldn't blame him for lashing out though. Had she still been living on the streets, she certainly would have, and she would have been ready to fight if needed. This time however, she didn’t want to fight. She was afraid she would get Thomas in trouble by acting out and somehow disqualify from the competition. And even if she didn’t get him into trouble, she knew her own behavior would seem to validate what they were saying. She knew she didn’t have Artemis’s solid steel stance nor Dendra’s quick wit. She was relieved when they cleared out and left her and Thomas alone, then he gave her some reassuring words and excused himself, leaving her alone with her thoughts.<br/><br/>She remained where she was, forcing herself to finish the plate in front of her. She no longer had much appetite, but she had learned to not let food go to waste. She wasn’t worried about what anybody thought about her. She was used to it. But just like Thomas, hearing hurtful words spoken about those she cared for made her blood boil. Even so, his kind words did make her feel better about herself.<br/><br/>What really haunted her was the hurt that she saw in his face and heard in his voice. She suddenly realized she had begun to see him as some kind of saint, but now she could see that really he was a person with needs and fears and insecurities just like herself, and if he needed support, she should give it, especially if he considered her to be one his guardians. She also started seeing insecurities in the other teams, especially when they fell silent after Thomas challenged them to win the competition, and she could almost laugh at how simple it seemed to her. They were afraid of a ‘commoner’ showing them up. She made a vow to herself to do her part to make sure that happened. She would give everything she had not just to protect him, but to win this competition for him.<br/><br/>After she finished eating, she found her way to their room and knocked before letting herself in and finding Thomas already asleep. It took her a few minutes to figure out how the shower worked, since she was usually lucky to get to bathe in the cold water of a creek. She did like the hot water from the tap and how she could stand under it and let the water run over her, taking all the dirt and grime with it. She didn’t have a brush or comb, but she did her best to work the tangles out of her hair with her fingers. She cleaned herself up as best she could, using the soap and shampoo that the inn provided. Just as Thomas had said, when the hot water washed the dirt and grime off of her body, it also washed away the negative thoughts clouding her mind.<br/><br/>After her shower, she put her dirty clothes back on since she had nothing else to wear and tried to go to bed. She assumed Artemis would want the one closest to Thomas, so she settled for the next one over. She laid down and pulled the covers up to her head, but she found the bed too soft, and while comfortable, she felt like she was sinking down into it. She just wasn’t used to sleeping on a bed and needed something firmer. She soon got up and laid down of the floor near the foot of Thomas’s bed, just wrapping herself in the blankets to stay warm. She would sleep there through the night.