[center] [color=gold] [h1] Maria von Hohenzollern [img] https://i.imgur.com/h2XQ7uz.png [/img] [/h1] [/color] [/center] [center] [color=gold] [h2] Celestia Family Villa [/h2] [/color] [/center] [@Lunarlors34] [@FamishedPants] [@Spriggs27] [@Letter Bee] [@Rekaigan] Maria understood that on a conceptual level that Zin was right. Insubordination was something that Maria refused to tolerate. If things were not to go to her specifications, she tended to punish harshly. But, at least from Maria’s perspective, her orders were absolute. The chain of command was something that should be followed to a letter. As a noble, her actions rippled more than that of the rabble. And although Maria did not place too much stock in her inherited titles, she believed in using anything to her disposal in order to get oneself ahead, whether this be in position in life, or in a fight. [color=gold] “Call it cowardice or me a coward, but I’d call your proclamation foolish. Asking a Knight to throw away their weapon is like asking a fisherman to throw away his rod. And even then, the Fisherman shall not worry about his method, so long as he is able to take home his tithe. Those who pick up the blade understand they will meet their end by the blade.” [/color] Perhaps it was just a justification for her actions, but Maria did believe that within a fight, one should always use any tools at hand for their actions. Taking advantage of an opponent’s actions, or lack thereof, is something that should always be pressed within the confines of a fight. In a fight for life and death, the person with the sword in their gut tends to be the dead one, so in a fight one should always be on their toes to use the surroundings to the advantage of the fighter. Of course, that didn’t mean Maria was an individual without empathy for others. Killing those who had not warranted their death according to morality was a grave mistake. But underestimating an opponent is the same way. [color=gold]“Just as your claws are a part of yourself, the blade has become a part of myself. The blade has been my discipline since childhood. My father was a most excellent teacher. To throw down my weapon would be to say my years of training meant nothing.” [/color] Maria was not the worst fighter in unarmed combat, but it was not like she was an expert on it. Unfortunately, unarmed combat in close quarters tended to rely more upon the weight of a person rather than true strength, though it was a factor, in order to overpower an opponent. Momentum in a fight was worth more than a kingdom. On the battlefield, a kingdom could lose value to be equal in worth to a common horse. In it’s conception, the blade is a force multiplier. Sure, an individual could train their entire life in the martial arts of unarmed combat, however, it would be much more effective to give an individual a moderate understanding of a blade and their lethality would trump the man who had trained his entire life. Force multiplication was the name of the game. However, one could perhaps wonder the prowess of an individual who had trained their entire life in the sophisticated swordsmanship of their family … [quote] [color=a0410d]"Both of you. Shut. Up."[/color] [/quote] ...No. Vesta was right. There was no reason to fight here. Even if the overgrown lizard seemed to want to irritate Maria, through and through she was a knight. After all, ever since her fighting of the mabeast skulking the lands of the trade routes near the capital, Maria had felt that something was wrong with her. The way she thought seemed … muddied. She had visions of something she wished to forget. A pain that was scared into her being that was completely incomparable to anything she had faced in her life. But she was still here. She was still standing. The medicus called must've been skilled, considering she was not dead, right? She couldn’t have die, right? … Jumping down from her horse, Maria realised what had occurred. Her mistakes and her folly. Falling too quickly to anger was unbecoming of the image of Knight she wished to display to others. The Knight she had romanticized many times before in her novels would have never acted in such a manner. Regardless of her position, Maria was using her blade as if some sort of weapon. The sword is a weapon, but a weapon to defend rather than a weapon to harm. Maria’’s provocation, or perhaps to her own mind acting upon the provocation of Zin, was something unbecoming of a knight like herself. Though try as she might, she was still inexperienced. Trained by the best, but even the best lose themselves. [color=gold]“M-my apologies, Onee-san. I know not what came over me. Perhaps I was too easily swayed by words. No, perhaps I have always been too easily swayed by words.” “Y-you as well, Miss Zin Parallex. My actions were unbecoming of a knight. Unbecoming response to someone who was just asking a question. I-it might not mean much after the fact, and I won't ask you to stay if you do not want to, but I truly regret my actions and would like to make amends.[/color] Maria gave a light bow towards Zin as she said this. Though Maria still felt herself somewhat justified for disliking the direct methods of questioning that Zin accomplished towards insinuating relationships between herself and her friends, but perhaps that was not such an awful offense. Maria, at the time of her challenge, was simply flustered over the other’s actions; not that she would admit that. And for that, she felt somewhat bad about her action. But that was when another strange individual entered the scene, already crammed with rather strange people. A young girl, couldn’t have even been in her preteens. [color=gold]“A young girl? She doesn’t have shoes. And those horns on her head ... she isn't a human,” [/color] Maria said to herself, observing the whole situation as it unfolded. [color=gold] “Are you alright, young girl?” [/color] Maria asked the child who had landed upon herself, as Heinrich offered a hand to help the child back upon their feet. Maria tended to have a bit of a soft spot to children or other cute things in general. After all, she wished to be a mother, so it should be expected that she would not mind children. [color=gold] "My name is Maria ... what is yours?" [/color] At the very least, she could offer the girl a friendly, yet soft smile, as the little girl seemed almost in her own little world. [color=gold] “What are you doing in a place like this? Are you lost? Where are your parents?” [/color] Maria asked the girl a few more questions, getting on a knee to seem less large in front of the child, perhaps to see better eye to eye, despite the fact she was knocked to the ground by Vesta unintentionally. Though Maria seemed genuinely concerned over the well being of this child.