In the weeks following the attacks, L.A. swung between self-aggrandizing bouts of breast-beating, slight disappointment that nobody had thought to target Los Angeles, and meek avowals toward the new public mood, complicated only by the fact that nobody knew what that mood was – Timorous? Defiant? Vengeful? Somber? Sanguine?

timorous (adj) : timid by nature or revealing timidity [syn: fearful, trepid] – source: Tom Shone: Blockbuster (2004)