Wow. 4K reads?!?!

You guys are truly incredible. Thank you so much for sticking with me and Ezra! I'm so happy and flattered that you take the time to read what I've written.

I appreciate you all!

***

"Hand me his mask," Ezra said quietly, still holding Shinah to her chest.

Yona complied, walking over to find the mask lying in the dirt where the bandits had discarded it. She handed it to Ezra who quickly tied it behind Shinah's head, hiding his face once more.

"May your nightmare end when you wake," Ezra whispered in his ear. It was a phrase that held a lot of meaning to her; her mother used to say it to her whenever she awoke in the middle of the night screaming for her brother. As a child, Ezra had never understood the words; how could the nightmare her life had become end when she awoke from dreams that were so much better than her reality?

As she'd grown, she'd come to understand. Sometimes, a change of mindset was all it took to change your life. If she got a good night's sleep and woke up then next morning feeling refreshed, everything appeared different.

Of course, the problems never truly disappeared overnight, but changing how she chose to deal with her failures and emotions had given Ezra a new perspective on life. Sometimes, living nightmares truly did end with the start of a new morning.

"What the hell happened here?" Hak shouted, eyes wide as he took in the scene. Several bandits lay groaning or unconscious around Yona, Ezra, and Shinah, and Ezra was cradling a sleeping Shinah to her chest like she was hanging on to him for dear life.

Dizziness overcame Ezra, and her head spun. The loudness of Hak's voice pierced her skull like a knife. "Bandit attack," she said lazily, waving a hand. "Yona's safe, Hak."

Hak's eyes flicked to Yona. Tears tracked their way down the princess's cheeks and her clothes were torn and dirty, but otherwise she seemed unharmed. His gaze returned to Ezra and Shinah, and he noticed for the first time in surprise that blood soaked a portion of Ezra's dark hair and Shinah was bleeding from a wound on his side.

"Hey, Yun?" Ezra asked, her lavender eyes becoming clouded and unfocused. "Think I got a concussion." Her eyes began to drift closed, and Yun sprinted to her, snapping his fingers under her nose.

"Wake up!" he said, quietly though forcefully. Her eyelids fluttered open. "If you've got a concussion, the worst thing you could do right now is fall asleep. Stay awake."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm awake," she mumbled.

Yun frowned in concern. "What's your name?"

"Kushinada Ezra," she replied.

Yun's brows furrowed. "Kushinada is your family name?" That name sounded so familiar, though he couldn't place where he'd heard it before.

"Yes," Ezra replied.

"I've heard that name before," Yun muttered to himself. "Where have I heard that name before?"

"Beats me," Ezra shrugged, her eyelids drooping.

"Hey!" he snapped. "Stay with me. Where were you born?"

She frowned in thought. "Fire Tribe?" The pitch of her voice made the response sound like a question.

"Where in the Fire Tribe?"

A few seconds passed as she thought about her answer. "South."

Yun sighed. "She's a little disoriented, but she'll be fine."

"Yun, Shinah needs help," Ezra told him.

"Alright. I'll look at him after I fix you up."

She shook her head, then winced as the movement sent spikes of pain through her skull. "No, he's bleeding a lot, and it needs to be stopped."

"Fine. Lay him down."

Ezra reluctantly let go of Shinah to allow Yun the space to inspect him. She stood shakily to her feet and staggered, her legs nearly giving out beneath her. She would've fallen had Hak not wrapped a gentle, steadying hand around her arm.

"Are you alright?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Ezra sighed. "I'm bruised and concussed, but I'll be alright. It's Shinah I'm worried about."

Hak let out a breath through his nose. "This is the second time now you've protected Yona while I wasn't here to fulfill my duty. Thank you."

Ezra could hear the frustration and anger in his voice. He wasn't upset with her; he was angry at himself for not protecting his princess when she was in danger. "Don't mention it, Thunder Beast. She's my friend, too." Her eyes were drawn to Shinah's motionless form. "Besides, Shinah did all the work."

"He'll be fine," Hak reassured her. He could see the worry in the tight lines of her face.

Ezra closed her eyes and nodded, silently willing the words to be true.

Yun had his tent set up in no time, and Hak and Jaeha moved Shinah inside. Yun spent twenty minutes bandaging Shinah's stab wound and checking for any additional injuries. Once he was sure that the Seiryu was stable, he exited and glanced at Ezra.

"Your turn," he ordered.

Ezra walked to him with a sigh. "I'm fine, Yun."

Yun inspected the wound on her head, frowning with concern. "You must've hit your head really hard. What happened?"

"Got dragged off a roof. Think I hit my head on the edge of a crate or something on my way down," Ezra said with a shrug.

"How can you say that so calmly?!" Yun exploded. "That could be a serious injury!"

He dabbed a wet washcloth against her head, ignoring how she flinched away in pain. "Thanks for the concern, Mother. But could you scold me a bit quieter?"

"I'm not your mother!" Yun snapped, though with significantly less volume. He wrapped a bandage around her head, ignoring her protests about how she would look stupid. "Just keep it on until the bleeding stops, you idiot," he said sharply.

"The second the bleeding stops, this thing is coming off," Ezra grumbled.

"I can make you a tea that will help your brain start to heal itself. Concussions are nasty."

"Thanks, Yun."

"Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Ezra frowned in thought, taking stock of the injuries on her body. Her ribs ached, but she was sure nothing was broken. Bruises peppered her arms and legs from falling off of a roof, but Yun couldn't do anything for those. What hurt the most, besides her head, was... "My back," Ezra said quietly. "I was kicked in the back. It might've reopened the wound I got in Awa."

Yun sighed. "I'll get the senjuso. Come into the tent."

Ezra complied, following him into the tent.

"Show me your back," he ordered.

Ezra glanced nervously at the unconscious Shinah. "Uh, that requires taking off my shirt..."

"I know that, dummy! He's unconscious; he won't see anything," Yun snapped impatiently.

And so, with a blush burning in her cheeks, Ezra turned her back to the both of them and removed her shirt.

"Damn it! You were right; your wound has reopened. These bandages are soaked with blood," Yun growled. "And it had been healing so well, too. This will set it back a bit."

Ezra flinched as he unwound the bandages and began spreading the ointment he made with senjuso over her back. His fingers lingered for a moment over a spot between her shoulder blades. "Is this where you were kicked?" he asked. The bruise was already dark purple, despite the fact that the fight had happened less than an hour ago.

"Yes."

Yun sighed. "You and Shinah both took pretty bad beatings. We're lucky you aren't in worse shape." Once he was done, he replaced the blood-soaked bandages with fresh ones, allowing Ezra to put her shirt back on. "That's all I can do for your wounds right now. I'll make that tea. Come on."

With that, he exited the tent with Ezra on his heels. Hak started a fire, and Yun immediately set to work on the tea.

He presented Ezra with a steaming mug which she accepted with gratitude. The tea was floral and sweet, helping her relax her aching muscles. Yun ordered her to rest, but not to sleep, before he went back into the tent to tend to Shinah.

Ezra sighed. Resting had never been her favorite thing to do.