[center] 
[color=gold]
[h1]
Maria von Hohenzollern 
[img] http://i.imgur.com/mHxQYPc.jpg [/img] 
[/h1]
[/color] 
[/center]
[center] 
[color=gold]
[h2] 
Royal Capital Lugnica
Iron Bell Knights HQ
[/h2]
[/color] 
[/center]


[@liferusher]
[@Rune_Alchemist]
[@Heckno12]
[@Lucius Cypher]

Atisha  did not appear in the headquarters to chat, it seemed. There was a much more pressing matter to attend to. The loss of life was something that Maria methodically attempted to avoid within her actions, as any lose of life was not preferable to the sane. Perhaps that was an idealistic approach to things, or even a childish one, but Maria was not the sort to want those under her to die, and if what Atisha said was true, then there might just be a situation in which lives were on the line, even those of the recently acquired trainees like Ryan and Cheiko. 

[color=gold] “Hmmm, I suppose that you would not be without reason to come here,” [/color] Maria said, listening to the claims which were made by Atisha and sipping on the last remaining of her tea.. [color=gold] “But I cannot say that another intruder is what I expected so shortly after the previous. I suppose that is a fallacy in my thought.” [/color] 

[color=gold] “If what you had said is true, then we must prepare for an attack. Though I do wish to know where you might have obtained the information as to the likelihood of attack, I cannot allow myself to second guess your statements. In the event one of my men were to die because of my careless mistakes, I would not be able to forgive myself. Any details you could provide to better prepare the staff would be preferred, Ms. Atisha.” [/color] 

Despite Atisha’s seemingly stern statements, Maria could not be said to have any sort of malice within her voice, nor any reason to chastise the other for their actions. She was not wrong. Despite Maria wishing to believe she had done her best regarding the protection of the institute, there were factors she could not control that lead to the escape of the criminal in question. 

But even if she was not able to control these factors, it was still her responsibility to protect the Iron Bell Knight Headquarters with her entirety. After all, the Iron Bell knights at founding was once a premier Knightly Order. Maria wished to bring the organization back to it’s heyday through her leadership. Though her skill at being a knight was rather great, her prowess for leadership could be considered lackluster. Or at the very least, the factors against her at the time could be considered greater than her experience provides. 

However, if there was one thing that Maria was confident in, it would be her ability to do is to defeat any injustices before her. If someone wished to harm one of her men, one could expect Maria to fight them tenfold. Even if the former actions against a certain cat-like burglar might not have been the best showing of her ability, Maria chose to prioritize the safety of her comrades over the apprehension of her target as she deemed an intruder like him was less harmful, and seeing as his goal was not to be met Maria did not care much about him over the wellbeing of her men and her guests.. Perhaps it could be said that Maria was someone who valued the lives of her comrades over justice, but to her, the act of protecting those of righteous heart was “justice” of its own. 

[color=gold] “Very well, though. I believe you are in the right to be proactive. If we were to find this man before he attacks us, then we would have the advantage that he would have to react to us rather than the other way around. It is like a game of chess. Regardless of how well the player on the black field plays, the player on the white has the advantage. I will accompany you.” [/color] 

[s][Maria has joined the party] 
[/s]

To be reactionary is to be complacent. Though there were strategies involving defensive play in swordfighting, there was always an advantage to “throwing the first stone”.