They'd taken her to him with snarls and jeers at her state of dress, as well as spat insults at 'how damned fat she must be, being so heavy.' Not all Ura were as kind as Zulf, and they certainly hated her. He looked upon her then, with slight sympathy but an overpowering sense of loathing at what he considered her betrayal.

"Go." He ordered his clan, and they swiftly departed with the upmost level of obedience. Zia let herself cast a glance down to her tattered skirts, revealing a badly cut portion of her mid-thigh. She almost felt a little bashful about it, but would not let herself be so childish before such a disgusting man.

She met his gaze with her own, levelled one; daring him to speak against her as she raised her soft voice.

"Pecker's gone." She spat, refusing to break the stare. "Squirt's gone." At this point she began to stride slowly towards him, feeling her resolve break with every step. "I saw Rucks get hit." He offered a spiteful snort at that, and she damn near killed him then and there. She'd never felt so much hate for one man. "I bet the Kid's gone by now, too." She broke off, her voice quivering. "And all because of you. All… because of…" She whimpered, choked up despite herself. He threw himself at her, then, sweeping her into an embrace that matched, if not beat the first they'd shared.

"Zia…" he whimpered back, letting the first tears fall into her neat chocolate locks. "You want to know what happened to your people, right? I have the truth. Please, just listen to it. You'll understand."

For a moment, she faltered. She was tempted to say 'no,' as no truth could make up for the losses she'd witnessed hours before. Fresh wounds bled an aching sorrow in her heart, and her thigh was still dripping crimson. If knowing the truth could make her do something that awful, she almost feared it.

"It was Caelondia." He murmured, continuing when she gave him no response. "I swear to you, it was. They were planning it for years against us; wanted to crash the Tazal Terminals and… and crush everyone inside. After we'd agreed to keep peace between our men, they were wanting us gone from the start. And look how it's backfired," he slowly spread his arms, gesturing to the shattered beauty of the Tazal Terminals.

Zia looked upon it in more wonder than she did sorrow. She was raised in Caelondia with her father, and had never even been before, so the sights fascinated her, yet she held no attachment to them. It was a towering, however fragmented structure of glacial beauty, that swirled high in shades of mellow lavender and the sweetest hue of icy blue. Kind of like someone had shined the colours beneath a block of ice, which she guessed they may well have done. But it wasn't quite cold.

"This was my home, Zia." Zulf continued upon realizing she wasn't listening anymore, turning to glance around at it as she had. All he felt was hatred, though; at Caelondia for doing this, for achieving their goal. Rucks was to blame, too. "Used to spend all my time trying to find peace. And all for naught…" He crumbled, then, putting his head in his hands and shaking it. He sounded so broken, so grievous as he echoed, "All for naught…"

Zia surveyed the shattered soul before her in deep thought, feeling her hatred lessen a little as she looked around it once more. It was a mess, that much was certain, and to see your home in such a state… to know who caused it… she felt herself finally understanding his anger, just a little.

"But, Zulf," She turned to him, her mellow voice gentle yet warning, "That's what the Bastion is for. That's Rucks' way of apologizing for what he's done; rebuilding a society that anyone can live on until we sort this hell out. Please," She shook her head, "Come back."

"I will crush the Bastion!" He snarled, his voice raised in fury. "That man is so desperate to be forgiven for what he's done. He doesn't care about us, Zia, please believe that. He's looking for some damned way to cure his guilty conscience. And using an unaware Kid…" He broke off, unable to continue as pure disgust silenced him. "Using you…"

Zia was silent, unsure of how to respond. This man was so angry, so malicious, so driven by revenge that any attempts for retribution were blinded by it. The little musician did what she used to do for her father, what she used to do for the boy, and just about anyone else when they weren't seeing sense. Once again, she stepped into his arms, pressing her cheek against his chest and linking her hands behind his back. She pressed him towards her, desperate for him to just… see something. Anything.

And yet, he writhed, then shoved her away again. She drew back with a hoarse whimper, hastily stumbling to back away in case he hurt her again. Guilt flashed across his features at her motions; truly, he never meant to hurt her…

But she would not listen to him. Yes, their friendship was gone, now.