Hungry to do it all Again

every time i think i've finally made it, i learn i'm farther away than i have ever been before

They came after him, and Noah greeted them each with a nod. This was an odd amalgamation of people to create a cabinet with, but he was interested to see what Morgan would do with each of them. Introductions came and went, and Noah sat with his new title. He rolled it over and over on his tongue, the words feeling so misplaced in his mind. He had always been Noah Olson, the hunter and now he was Noah Olson, Chief of Public Affairs. To say he did not know what to do with that was an understatement, in his mind. The reality was, Noah was perfect for this position. Despite his introverted nature, he had spent years crafting relationships with the people of Halo and knew almost all of them--if not by name, then more intimately. It was his work and efforts that kept a great deal of them fed, his door they knocked on in the middle of the night, his name they spoke when someone needed help. Noah would serve the people to the best of his ability.

Chulane was ready to speak up when given the platform. Noah read over the text he had been given with a furrowed brow, jaw knit closely together. He listened to the outlander intently, running the possibility through his head. While the citizens of Halo had seen some luxere and other herd-animal shortages, they had never seen a ningo shortage. The birds seemed to populate by making eye contact with each other, which did make sense -- Chulane was no idiot, as confirmed by the level of work he had put into this presentation and project idea -- so he must have noticed how the birds lived and worked. Harnessing that populating power did not seem like such a bad thing. Even the hunter could get behind it -- while Noah felt such a thrill from his work on the tundra, keeping people alive and fed was always the bottom line. His face moved from curious to neutral, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Before Noah could interject, Elena spoke. He knew the woman mostly by reputation -- she was of the same generation as his parents. If he recalled, he was certain his mother and Elena had even had a friendship of sorts, but he couldn't be sure. His mother had been friendly with all she met, an anomaly in Halo. the ex-guard went on to question their priorities and motives, and Noah listened to her, too. So far everyone seemed to be quite outspoken. As the dark-haired woman questioned Loren, he looked to him. His face remained neutral as he looked at the fellow attuned, before looking back to Elena. He needed to let the conversation halt for the distant future, with his own thoughts. "We can make plans for Flowerbirth soon, but the highest priority is deciding how we are going to protect our people during Longnight." His eyes and body turned to look toward Morgan.

"Longnight always claims more lives than it needs to. As much as I, personally, don't want to, I think we should entertain the possibility of using the Academy as a shelter for our citizens." He leaned back in his chair, some, but his posture remained straight and solid, face glacial. "It was the only structure that was not susceptible to the Eirachi's rage, because of Zariah's actions."

NOAH