<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/0/07/Zahara3.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Zahara (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=207204.msg10214425#msg10214425) (Zii)<br/><strong>Cabin:</strong>Ares<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Outside --> Ares Cabin<br/><strong>Date/Time:</strong>September 23rd, evening (a while after the fight).<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Ezra<br/><strong>Notes:</strong>Wearing<del>sleeveless camp t-shirt</del>black bra, black leather pants, flat heeled boots, Amazon armor (celestial bronze belt, circlet, and arm cuff),<del>gauntlet of small throwing knives, and plain old camp sword at her side</del><hr/>Zii tried not to take offense at the way Ajax grabbed her wrist, though instinct alone had her ready to break his grip and his face as well. Only the sheer absurdity of such a thing coming from her made her realize that she was being more strongly affected by the lingering emotions from the battle and the mood in the room than she'd first anticipated. She didn't know what had happened and she didn't know if Ezra was okay which was fucking with her. Still, that was no excuse to lose control of herself. Especially not when her brothers and sisters would need her strength.<br/><br/>Without any words, Zahara simply kept going, ignoring Ajax's warning and his hand on her as though he were nothing more than a shade sent to deter her. She reached out and touched the door, pushing it open with no trouble and disappeared inside without even a backward glance at the others. They would keep for now. Whisper into the night as they drew together and tomorrow they would emerge as strong as ever. She never doubted the resilience of the unit. It was why she worked so hard to keep them together, to make them a family rather than just competing fighters who happened to share a parent. For now, it was Ezra that needed her and she suspected that would take all of her energy.<br/><br/>It was dark. That was the first thing that registered as Zii stepped into his room, though swiftly on the heels of that she sensed Ezra's presence looming in the corner though it seemed... off somehow. By the faint light coming from the corner she could see where he'd shed his armor and simply let it fall without concern. She didn't know why but before she took even a single step further, Zii unstrapped the sword at her waist and let it drop to the floor. Her gauntlet was next and once the piece thudded to the ground she started for the small nook, her feet silent as she moved. Whatever had happened, Ezra was not alright. This had been more than just some fight. She had sensed that much outside.  It wasn't conscious thought that guided her but rather the feeling that a warrior in full armor was not what he needed to see right now. Which was why her fingers lifted to brush across her belt in a way that had her armor folding away until her belt was but a normal belt as she finally stepped close enough to really see him.<br/><br/>Her image would appear in the mirror, just over his shoulder as she looked on. She swallowed thickly as she took him in and the tendrils of defeat that practically curled off his form like wisps of smoke. She noted the wound and the hair and while outwardly she showed him only calm, even features, inside she mourned. She mourned the loss of his dreads and the significance they held. Her stomach twisted hard in her gut, wrenching for him not because she cared about how their cabin was perceived or because he was their leader and view as the strongest among them, but because she knew<em>him</em>. Zii knew how much weight Ezra placed on his own shoulders in order to shed the sins of his past and live up to the legacy of a god. Ares was not the easiest of the Olympians to please by any means and his favor was a hard won and highly coveted thing. However, Ezra's determination and the expectations he placed upon himself outweighed those of most demigods and a defeat when it really mattered...<br/><br/><em>"I failed him."</em><br/><br/>She said nothing at first but with deft movements pulled her shirt over her head and tore a strip from it. Shifting to the side of his larger frame, she turned on the faucet and wet the strip before bringing to his arm to begin to gently wipe away the blood and dirt from his wound. Had she been someone else, someone other than a child of Ares she might have refuted his statement right away. But she wasn't. She didn't agree with the statement at all but... well, it didn't matter as much if she believed that to be the truth or not. Ezra believed it and that was what would do the most damage.<br/><br/>Her touch was light as she began cleaning his arm but her gaze would lift to the mirror, finding his face and if she could, his own gaze. "Failure and Defeat are not synonyms. Nor are they absolutes. You can win and still fail. You can be defeated and still succeed. You know this." Her tone was soft but there was a core of steel woven into it though she suspected he wasn't really hearing her anyhow. If she'd thought simply slapping him on the shoulder and telling him to man up and walk it off would work, she'd have done it. Right then, because this.... this wounded look wasn't cutting it. This wasn't her Ezra and it made her angry to think there was someone out there that had left him like this. So instead of doing anything foolish or letting her mouth get the best of her, she kept her cool and focused on his cut, the only thing further to emerge from her lips a quiet request, "Tell me."