1 [Video] Return of the noblewoman

[grizzly_tea]

How long have I been gone?! I didn't expect to fall asleep one day and find myself back in a welcome box, but now I've discovered that my tea shop is closed?! What manner of-

[The woman with the blond hair, curls, and white ribbons takes a deep breath to steady her nerves. Turning on her device and just broadcasting her question was probably not the smartest way of getting the answers she sought. Clearly it had been some time, even Robin's book store was empty, but some of the businesses she as familiar with were still running.]

Miss... Amagi? I would ask once again if I might partake of your generous hospitality until I have sorted myself out. I assume you are still here, even if some of my other closest friends and confidants no longer are because your business is still open. Unless of course you had the foresight to write a will and someone else has inherited your business in your absence... which should I re-open my business I likely shall do.

[She heaved a sigh... it felt like the worst of times she'd had when she was a ship captain, or when she'd first started out here.]

Miss Schnee... it seems you were correct about me, I did not stay for as long as I thought I would. Nevertheless, I hope you are well and will continue to offer you an olive branch of peace should you choose to accept it.

[She wasn't sure if the woman had gotten over the whole incident with Battler, the memory of it still fresh in Maribelle's mind, as well as her choosing to not attend the grand opening of her cafe.]

Smoker... if you're still here I could use a friend like you now more than ever. Please contact me if you have any information regarding anyone from the kingdom of Ylisse, or if any of the marines from the grand line are still here. If you do know who I am, I would appreciate seeing a familiar face right now.

[Maribelle comes back on to make a quick addendum now that she's found Robin, and had some more time to think clearly.]

My apologies for my rather rude introduction. My name is Maribelle, lady Maribelle if you prefer a more formal title. I am the duchess of Themis and a court magistrate of Ylisse. If anyone would like to hire me for their law firm or for legal representation they can feel free to contact me here, or at the Amagi Inn where I hopefully shall be staying. That is all.

(ooc: She also has an appointments post here)

Comments

[Video]

[redcinemareel]

I see you're back.

[Grell remembers that voice, and seeing her face finally...isn't as helpful as she had thought.]

If you truly must find your friends, you can find a directory of who is here and deduce that anyone not on it isn't here.

[Video]

[grizzly_tea]

Oh dear sweet Naga it's you!

[Yeah... she'd managed to sort of avoid Grell and Marco the last time she was in Genessia. Being confronted by the Captain of the bloody roses... was rather unnerving.]

Err... yes... thank you for the assistance. I suppose I was simply in a panic when I first arrived here.

[A panic that is not being easily calmed by the first person to respond to her... when she said she'd appreciate seeing a familiar face...]

[Video]

[redcinemareel]

[Her grin widens at the recognition. Surely she'd be seen from the wanted posters from the previous world. But here? She'd be seen because she's a guardian of an entire city.

The world is weird.]

That happens to most of us. [But not her.] Although I thought this wasn't your first time here.

[Video]

[grizzly_tea]

Yes, yes, thank you for that pointed reminder Miss Sutcliff.

[Really? Why her?]

As you may be well aware, sorting through a flurry of information is not my forte, but besides that, I myself am a recent re-arrival, so perhaps the others might have returned, and thus not be on such a directory.

[Or at least she hoped. Because with enemies like Grell... she could REALLY use a friend... or twenty.]

[aurabble]

I don't think it's the olive branch you need to be offering.

[He's just saying. How she treated Weiss, and all of the others by association, wasn't the best.]

[grizzly_tea]

It's a metaphor, but I would be happy to know what you think I should offer.

[aurabble]

I know what a metaphor is and I know what you meant. Maybe an apology to everyone you insulted when you implied he could be innocent because you didn't want to be wrong. Because doesn't an olive branch generally imply you were both wrong?

[grizzly_tea]

Excuse me? Since when did I imply the possibility of innocence? I flat out stated it was a possibility, and I stand by that assessment. It's not a question of proving myself right or wrong, it's about finding the truth, and seeing that true justice is done.

If you do speak on Weiss Schnee's behalf, perhaps she's not mature enough to accept a peace offering after all. Battler is gone, whatever disagreement we might have could be put behind of us, if we simply agree that we have differing views on how the situation ought to be handled. I will not apologize for voicing the opinion that a man could be innocent. I will however apologize for the distress that my wording of it may have caused sensitive souls.

The peace and amends I refer to is putting aside our dispute for the sake of mutual peace and harmony, and if it does need to be discussed further at a later date, a neutral party should mediate the discussion.

voice;

[whiteas]

I'm sorry, I must have gotten a concussion at some point. I certainly have no recollection of any conversation with you beyond your wretched screaming at a torture and murder victim because I didn't consider the precious feelings of the sadistic murderer who committed the crimes. Yet somehow you think I'm going to accept an olive branch so I clearly must be missing some memories of an apology.

Allow me to make this very clear, Maribelle. Come near me and I will slap you with a restraining order in every single city here. Even a terrible lawyer who defends the wicked to their victims should understand that.

[ She's not switching to video. She hasn't talked about that case in so long, and people keep bringing it up and Maribelle is someone she just doesn't want in her life because of it. ]

voice;

[grizzly_tea]

I am trying to apologize, but perhaps I should have made that more clear. It is not an easy thing for me to do, but I do realize now that approaching you with the topic that I had was the worst form of tactlessness I'd performed in my stay here. I had not hoped to reopen old wounds, but I clearly have and for that I am also sorry.

[Maribelle is sighing because she had not wanted to be her enemy, but it seems Maribelle always has a habit of rubbing certain people the wrong way with her strong and opinionated views of Justice which she could get very passionate about. She'd hoped that someone with as much influence as Weiss had, who at least was a city guardian would share such views, but her words apparently had earned her naught hatred.]

... You have good friends Miss Shnee, and I suppose that you don't need someone like me meddling with you or your life. I will try not to seek you out again if that is what you wish, though if you do ever wish to speak to me for some reason you may. As I tried to say, I hoped there could be some sort of peace or understanding between the two of us, but if that is not to be, then I shall simply do my best not to get in your way.

voice;

[whiteas]

You have a funny way of doing so. You've proven what kind of person you are and while I'm more than happy to accept and work with people who are willing to change, judging from your argument with Jaune, you haven't learned anything. You still speak ignorantly about things you have zero information beyond your ethnocentric ideals. You still adamantly refuse to hear anyone's words different from your own and call anyone who disagrees with you a child. You hadn't even spoken to me and implied I was one because someone else had an opinion differing from your own and you refused to accept that.

[ It's not that she wants to see justice for Battler that's bothering her anymore, it's that she's basically calling anyone who disagrees with her a child. ]

I have no desire to associate with someone like that.

voice;

[grizzly_tea]

I will always try to listen to what anyone has to say on any matter. I may get very opinionated, and may call their ideas naive, childish, or daft if I fail to see the wisdom or truth behind their words, but that does not mean that their words mean nothing to me, or else I would not be speaking to you.

[Weiss had told her that people come and go from this place quite a bit, and that it was unlikely that the culprit would even serve the minimum time for their crime. She'd also told her to learn more about this place and its people before lecturing people on how to do their jobs, which were both hard pills for her to swallow, but words she was trying to learn from. Her own disappearance was proof made real of Weiss' words, so she had taken a harder look at herself and what she had said. She had studied this place and its people a lot more, and still held some of her core beliefs on the matter, but she knew convincing Weiss of such thing was unlikely to ever happen.]

I am... an arrogant woman at times Miss Schnee, and sometimes it takes a hard dose of reality to show that to me, and for me to learn from it. I've had years of experience with people telling me I couldn't do something when it comes to injustices, and when that sort of thing happens I lash out. I said you might have a lack of maturity when talking with Mister Arc because you had not spoken to me since that day, and thought you simply had decided to never speak with me again. Obviously, I proved that it is I who still has some maturing to do.

[Ugh... she hated humility... it was so humiliating. Still, she felt that it was the right course of action in this matter because she had blundered... yet again angered and lashing out with her all too sharp tongue when someone had disagreed with her.]

I simply hope, that perhaps someday I shall prove myself to be the kind of person worthy of your acceptance. I have a great deal of respect for you and everything you've done for the community, and while you may think I have no interest in changing my ways, I am trying to learn from my mistakes and make amends. So I simply ask that you continue to tell me your opinions on matters even if I do not like them, because otherwise I doubt I ever shall learn.

[ Video ]

[pianola]

[ She's quiet for a minute when the video starts, which might be a little unnerving. ]

You are a lawyer who runs a tea shop?

[ Video ]

[grizzly_tea]

[After her previous two conversations, it is rather unsettling. Still, Maribelle takes a deep breath to steady her nerves.]

Is that really so strange? Lawyers are often part of legal proceedings that usually involve the ruling class, and tea is one of the more refined things in life. Most noblewomen such as myself drink and enjoy tea, so why not let others enjoy it too if it's something you're passionate about?

[ Video ]

[pianola]

That makes sense.

[ She'd had no idea what a Duchess was, but now she could easily infer it from the given information. ]

If a wedding officiant sold champagne, for example.

[ Video ]

[grizzly_tea]

An excellent deduction, you catch on rather swiftly indeed! I am also a concert violinist, an expert equestrian, well versed in fencing and swordplay, and enjoy a game of chess now and then.

[leekspins]

Maribelle-san! You came back!

[But should she be calling her Maribelle-sama instead now that she knows she's a noblewoman...? Oh well, the formalities likely aren't used in Ylisse, so she doubts it makes any sort of difference.]

I'm really sorry I disappeared right after your grand opening! You were relying on me to make baked goods and I was completely unreliable, and I ran straight to your cafe the moment I woke up again but it was already closed and you weren't here and I guess I felt a little guilty about it because you didn't have the support you needed so maybe that's why you disappeared too...

[Flail flail.]

[locked video]

[grizzly_tea]

Oh...

[Welp... now Maribelle is just crying... because it's one of the people she knows she can trust as a friend. And well... she's a bundle of emotions after dealing with the other conversations she's had in this post. She is locking the thread though, because she doesn't want to give anyone more ammunition to use against her, and she trusts Orihime.]

O-Orihime... I'm so glad you're okay! I worried so much about you before I disappeared.

[She hadn't wanted to hire another baker in her stead, because she liked the bubbly young woman and her pastries.]

It's not your fault dear, I'm just so sorry that I too vanished without leaving anyone to care for my tea shop in my stead, leaving you unemployed for the time being. If you need help finding a job until I get my affairs in order to re-open I'll see what I can do.

[locked video]

[leekspins]

[W-wow...looks like they're both beating themselves up over this. At the very least it causes Orihime to stop flailing, she didn't expect Maribelle to burst into tears. She must be really sad to find that her business has disappeared after all the work it took to make it happen.]

Oh! No no, I'm fine, I'm employed! I got a temporary job at the hospital! It's actually paying a lot of money.

[Way more than she'd make running her own business, that's for sure. But she's determined to live the dream.]

And I found a new friend who's going to open a bakery with me! I'm still on employment probation before they'll accept the application, but you don't need to worry about me! I'm really excited! I just wish it were open now so you could work there for a month too, since someone who specializes in tea would be really helpful.

[Video]

[justicereigns]

Years. [The cigars actually fall out of his mouth in shock.] Everyone's gone. Kuzan. Tashigi. No, you never met her, did you?

[Snorts, and lights up a fresh pair.] Adela and Portgas left. Portgas returned though... [Shakes his head, trying to puzzle it out. Is there a pattern, or is it coincidence? Like trying to wrap your hand around smoke -- except he was supposed to be good at that!]

[His voice softens, and he give her a softer grin, his voice impeccably tender, but don't call him on it.] Welcome back, Maribelle.

I don't know much about the Shepherds or others from your world here. I tried to talk to Robin once... But that was years ago too.

[Video]

[grizzly_tea]

No, I did meet her...

[She's sorry Smoker, she's... she's trying not to cry, but after everything she's been through in the past few days, she's just crying tears of happiness to have the closest thing to a friend back for years back. She knows he probably doesn't remember the time they'd spent on the seas together, and her time in Genessia with him had been relatively brief, but he was still Smoker.]

Smoker... I... I'm so happy to see-ee yooooou.

[Shut up! She's not crying, you're crying!]

[Video] 1/4 I forgot how Smoker changes expressions on a dime

[justicereigns]

Oh, good you--

[Video] 2/4

[justicereigns]

[FLAIL.] Don't cry!

[Video] 3/4

[justicereigns]

[HIDES HIS EYES UNDER A SHIELDED GLOVE SO HE CAN STILL LOOK MANLY AND COOL AND FIERCE.]

[Video] 4/4

[justicereigns]

You want tea or some shii-- something. [HE MADE AN EFFORT TO CURB HIS LANGUAGE FOR YOU. BE HONORED.]