thinking out loud - nix

Subject: thinking out loud - nix Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:49 pm

Paris Erickson
| It had been a solid week since Paris had left her house. She went through phases like that, with or without human contact. Regular people just didn't understand. They called her cruel and vicious. The teenager didn't want to push Jesse off that building. She didn't want to kill Shaun. She had just wanted to survive, but no one understood. Her dog didn't seem to mind though. Mary Jane would hop around and try to cheer her up most days with playful licks and whines. Paris would break after about five minutes and they would walk. The air was fresh past the fences of the district, and she enjoyed it. Maybe, in the back of her mind, it reminded her of the arena, and somehow that was comforting with MJ.

Her hair was up and tied back with a bandana as she walked out of the upper district, the spring sun beating down on the dusty streets. It was supposed to just be that, a walk, but something caught her eye. Paris hadn't visited the Justice Building since she was reaped, and the place felt haunted. Something was going on though, and she was curious.

Pushing past crowds of people, she came closer to the center of the circle, where she saw a familiar sight. As her father was an executioner - he had no real reason to be now - the setup of an execution was second nature to her. It still made her stomach churn. Paris turned to leave, but the crowd was thick. She couldn't escape the mass even if she wanted to. So the victor inhaled and crossed her arms, looking at the peacekeeper expectantly. Hopefully it would be quick.
outfit

Subject: Re: thinking out loud - nix Sun Apr 12, 2015 12:42 am

thinking out loud - nix Tumblr_mazfmidjDC1qkdght

Carson stood, circling around the inside of the ground with a gun in hands, his peacekeeper uniform on, including his helmet. As he looked around through the crowds he saw some of his own former classmates. That was also a pretty good use of the helmet. He looked over at his fellow peacekeeper as he took out his gun, circling the man in the middle. Carson rolled his eyes under his helmet, continuing to move around, monitoring the crowd to make sure no one was trying anything. However, as he was doing so, he heard behind him that the peacekeeper performing the execution wasn't exactly doing his job quickly. Carson didn't have time for this and tapped the shoulder of another, telling him to take his place and he walked up to the man being executed. He walked behind the peacekeeper and raised his helmet slightly, whispering, "Get it over with...this isn't an interrogation." The man turned around, looking at Carson from behind his helmet. "Well if you're so impatient, why don't you do it? Or do you not have the stomach for it?" Carson looked at him, biting his lip from behind his helmet, nodding slowly. "Fine." He shoved the peacekeeper out of his way, pressing his gun into his stomach and pulled out his pistol. He pointed it at the man and asked, "Any last words?" The man looked up at Carson, somehow finding his eyes and nodded and answered in a raspy voice, "Look into my eyes when you do it...or you can show these people what a coward you peacekeepers really are." Carson's eyes widened from behind his helmet and he looked around and saw the expectant faces of those surrounding him. So, he nodded, motioning for someone else to take point and slowly took his helmet off, looking at the ground. He dropped it on the ground, not wanting to look at the crowd just yet. Most of the people already knew what he was. They would eventually figure out he did this type of thing. He looked up slowly, making eye contact with the man, his pistol being raised with it. He stared into his eyes for a few seconds and whispered something only the man could hear, and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through his skull and watched as he fell over. He looked around at the crowd, meeting everyone's eyes. "This is what awaits anyone foolish enough to stand up to the Capitol. Remember that the next time you're feeling heroic." And with that he bent down, scooping up his helmet, putting it under his arm as he scanned the crowd one last time...and made eye contact with a very familiar girl. He gulped and motioned to the crowd. "Now enough gawking, clear out, get back to your lives." He looked back to his fellow peacekeepers, pointing at two of them and then to the body and holstered his pistol taking his gun from the other peacekeeper. He didn't turn around to see if Paris had left with the crowd. Oh who was he kidding? Of course she did. He sighed, beginning to put his helmet on once more to go patrol the district.

Subject: Re: thinking out loud - nix Sun Apr 12, 2015 1:32 pm

Paris Erickson
| Mob mentality was a scary thing, and she could hear it. The sound wasn't loud or obvious, but it seeped into her ears after standing there for a few minutes. 'They think they control us?' Paris crossed her arms again. 'I heard they're doubling executions, to prove something.' She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Her skin prickled with anxiety as the whispers continued. 'He stole for his family, to feed his children.' She inhaled, exhaled. What was taking so long? 'This isn't right.'

There were several peacekeepers monitoring the group. At least three of them were on crowd control, which wasn't that difficult. These people weren't angry, they were disgusted. At least those around Paris were. She was too, but it was hard to say that as a victor. She was meant to be grateful for the Capitol's mercy and generosity, not angry. But she was; people were dying. One of the peacekeepers pulled out their pistol at last and soon the deed was done. Most closed their eyes as the sound echoed through the square, but Paris didn't. She watched the man's corpse fall, blood oozing onto the stone.

Paris had seen several executions before, but what the peacekeeper - Carson - said made her stomach tie itself in knots. Now she didn't need to ask what he had done. She knew. A part of the victor had known this all along, but seeing it firsthand was different than thinking about it. At least she had killed for a reason. She caught his gaze and held it, a mixture of indifference and confusion in her eyes. Once the crowd began to part the teenager followed after Carson, a dormant anger beginning to pool in her stomach. "Did that make you feel heroic?" she asked upon catching up to him.
outfit

Subject: Re: thinking out loud - nix Mon Apr 20, 2015 6:33 am

thinking out loud - nix Tumblr_mazfcheqKr1qkdght

Carson almost had the helmet fully on his head when he heard the words, "Did that make you feel heroic?" He easily recognized the voice and lifted his helmet back up slowly, looking back at the victor. He shook his head at the girl and replied, "I killed a man trying to feed his family. A man brave enough to stand up to the Capitol. But a man that couldn't fight back because he didn't have a weapon in his hands. I'm just another cowardly peacekeeper perfoming just another cowardly task." He had his helmet completely off and at his side and had turned to face Paris, making direct eye contact with her. "But at least I looked him in the eyes. Most people would say I have no soul for being able to do that, but that's what he wanted...and hell, if I'm gonna kill someone they deserve one final thing from me. I'm sure you know where I'm coming from here." He looked down, biting his lip. He didn't want to make eye contact with anyone now...because he knew exactly what they'd see.

Subject: Re: thinking out loud - nix Mon Apr 20, 2015 7:18 pm

Paris Erickson
| She knew Carson didn't deserve her rage. But she could feel it pulsing in the tips of her fingers, reminding her to clench her fists as the crowd parted. No one wanted to live in poverty, where the possibility of mistreatment was greater than that of their next meal. These people didn't deserve it. While Paris knew she was now one of the wealthiest teenagers in the district, she was still furious. She knew firsthand the feeling of hunger, the chill of wind going through her thin clothing. The victor wasn't forgetting the feeling anytime soon. How could she?

A pang of childish guilt surged through her as Carson lifted his helmet. She was being immature, maybe, but she didn't care (at least that's what she had to keep telling herself). This was a fight worth fighting. Paris chewed her lip as he spoke, avoiding eye contact. She clenched her fists tighter at his passiveness. He was just doing his job, but his job royally sucked. It wasn't right. Upon catching his gaze, she feigned indifference, but inside she was boiling. It wasn't right.

His words caught her off guard and she broke the eye contact. "I do," Paris muttered. "But I had to, Carson. I don't understand how this - it's not right!" She exhaled, running a hand through her curls. "People are angry; they're hungry. I don't... I don't think anyone should be getting killed over feeding their family," she continued, shaking her head. The teenager meant to say she didn't want anyone getting hurt, but that was a fool's dream in the districts. People tore apart families everywhere; it was bound to happen eventually. Paris felt like the change was coming sooner than most liked to admit; blood would be shed.
outfit

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