closed starter for @tristanshawqz
despite her talk with elijah, she was still heavily involved with the qz, more specifically, her post. while she knew it was dangerous, but she couldnât just stand by and do nothing. she had friends and loved ones inside these wall, and she didnât want them to starve. sheâd been keeping a look out for as far as she could with the civilians who decided to go outside of the zone to search. however, when it was after curfew, it became a big deal. especially in these times.
tonight, there was quite the influx of people, most of them without weapons, and as far as nix was concerned, without a clue. âstop, listen, i know you guys are hungry, but going out there with no supervision especially at his hour is a death wish, just hold on.â she advised the group of people, frantically looking around for an officer to aide her. and thatâs exactly what she found.
âofficer shaw!â she shouted, waving him down as she moved to the side of the look out tower where she spotted him, in the midst of heading this direction already. thank god. âi could use your assistance!â she came down from her post to meet him with the other civilians. she pulled him out of earshot of the people, turning so they werenât directly facing them. âthis group? is trying to go and hunt. and i seeâŚwhat, two weapons between them? and itâs pitch black outside. i know people have got to find food, but this is ridiculous. theyâre gonna get themselves killed.â she spoke, in a low tone. âhow do you want to play this?â
upon exiting the bar full of anxious civilians, tristan couldnât help letting out an audible sigh now that he had some space for himself and had fresh air to clear his head. although he had seen his share of stressful situations, this period of time was truly exceptional. anyone whoâd be in a full room of people would know just how claustrophobic it could get, even for him.
just as he thought that heâll end his night with the bar, yet another group of people appeared in his sight. they were down the road, basically hugging the main wall. they reminded him of moths that were flying into their demise, having no self control over their actions. people were scared, he understood that. deep down he was, too. or, at very least, considerably worried. if he was to allow himself to show that, all hell would break lose. someone had to keep it together. someone had to represent hope along discipline.
realizing that there was no way he could possibly leave those civilians unattended, tristan started heading their way with a quicken step, until someoneâs clear but loud voice pierced through the cold air, immediately catching the officerâs attention. the look-out. nix. in that moment tristan was aware that they didnât get to interact much before, but fate has interesting ways of bringing all kinds of people together. guess this was their chance.
â miss carter. â tristan greeted nix as soon as they approached one another. it was clear that the people were not having it that particular night. it seemed as though they wanted to leave the qz, which in tristanâs mind was the most foolish act anyone could commit to. there was no need to ask for any details, as nix proceeded to fill him in right there and then.
âi see. â at this point, there was only one thing they could do. convince them. by any means necessary. as long as they stayed inside for the night, would be a win for tristan. â we give them what they want. hope.âhope was the most powerful tool these days that could keep people motivated to do almost anything. and it just happened that in that moment itâs what those people needed the most.
âokay, everyone, please calm down!âraising his tone, tristan proceeded to approach the group, keeping his hands up so they could see he meant no harm. it was just like trying to calm down a feral animal. they didnât think, only acted based on fear. their fight or flight responses were activated, but tristan couldnât blame them. they just didnât see a way out. âtomorrow we will send out our butchers along with bounty hunters to scavenge food supplies. some of the officers, including myself, will join them to supervise the process. â
he tried to speak with as much confidence and calmness as possible. one wrong word or a strange tone and people would stop listening to him. â please, return to your apartments. the situation will change in a couple of days. after all, we are all in this together, arenât we? â he wasnât going to give them a chance to think he was bluffing. the officers, including him, were also low on food. if the citizens were to starve, so were the higher-ups. no one was an exception to the rule, in the current state of world and they knew that.
