Phoenix Wright (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wright_idea) wrote2015-10-04 04:18 pm
wright_idea) wrote2015-10-04 04:18 pm
Turnabout Fruit
[Hmm? There's some sort of a disturbance at that booth.]
Phoenix found himself drawn to the commotion despite his usual inclination to avoid trouble where he could. The source of it was obvious: a group of humans, heckling what Phoenix assumes is a young goblin whose hand is currently clutched tight by one of the local merchants. He listened from the back, trying to make out what was going on.
"...'t lie! I saw you..."
"...ut I didn't do it! I swe..."
"Ugly creep... you monsters' fault things are like..."
"Little miscreants! Guards ought to round..."
[I shouldn't get involved. I'll make myself too obvious. I shouldn't...]
"I really didn't do it!"
And that tore it.
"HOLD IT!" The loud voice, echoing through the square, is enough to catch the attention of the group enough to quiet them down for a moment. Phoenix pushed his way through to the center where the merchant and the goblin was. "If I may interrupt for a second? What exactly happened here?" Phoenix could feel the hot gaze of the angry crowd on the back of his neck, could hear the mutters of people noting his outsider status, but didn't dare waver for a second.
The merchant scowled, pulling the goblin in closer, who squawked in pain. "You're not the guard. Stay out of this. It's none of your concern," he replied tersely.
Phoenix stepped closer, maintaining eye contact despite the churning butterflies in his stomach. "I think it is, as a matter of fact. I'm a... sort of knight. A defender, if you will. And unless I'm mistaken, right now the one who needs defending is him."
He pointed to the goblin. The crowd jeered. "Defend a goblin? He must be mad. Hasn't he seen what they did to the sun!" Clear confusion and disdain emanated from the crowd. It gave Phoenix a sense of deja vu to a courtroom with a rowdy crowd and a cage waiting to descend into the flames. [Not helping my nerves, brain.]
An awkward moment passed before the merchant finally replied, spitting. "If you MUST know, this little THIEF stole a pear from my booth. I have every right to either get it back or extract payment in SOME form." He glared at the goblin.
"But... I didn't do it..."
The defense attorney cleared his throat. "May I ask what evidence you have that he's the thief? Does he have what he stole on him?" he asked.
"Who else could it be? He was the only one who passed close! He's just hiding it, the little --"
"HOLD IT!"
That shout caused the whole crowd to jump. Phoenix felt sheepish for a moment -- [Right, not in court"] -- before regaining his train of thought. "Was he really the only one who could have passed close? Unless you're saying you're that unpopular of a booth." [Good thing I can't get in trouble for badgering the witness.]
The merchant blustered. "Don't be ridiculous! I have all sorts of customers! But this one's the only freak! It must have been him!"
[Wow, be more racist.] "That's an interesting way of putting it, isn't it? Sounds like you didn't actually see the boy take anything himself."
Fidgeting. Phoenix knew he'd drawn blood. "W...well, no, I didn't. But I have it on good authority that this little squirt's the only one who passed by the booth the moment the pear went missing!"
[Which means, of course, only one thing.] "So you only have somebody else's word for it. Whose word would that be?"
Red in the face, the merchant pointed to another man in the crowd, blonde with a prominent nose, who stiffened a bit at the sudden shift in attention. "That guy, over there. Why the hell am I even telling you this? You're the only moron who thinks this rat is innocent!"
[Which means I'm the one person who should know these things, but I have a feeling nobody sees eye to eye with me on that.] He turned to the other man. He wasn't sure in the lantern-lit darkness, but he could swear he turned a little pale at that. "Could you tell me what you saw?"
"I... I don't have to tell you anything! You're no guard!" He ran his hand through his hair. "So you haven't got any authority over me!"
[Wow. Might as well put a neon light over this guy reading "hiding something."] He decided to try to push a bit. "You seem nervous. I thought you were certain of what you saw?"
"Of course I am!" he snapped. "It was that little creep! I saw him steal a pear from the second lowest row! Like a shot of lightning! It was him!"
"And where were you when this happened?"
"I was over there, by that place selling rugs! Why are you grilling me?!"
Phoenix looked around. Still a busy time. Goblin was fairly short. Lighting's not great. And based on the testimony of the man...
"Excuse me, Miss? Could you possibly stand over there please?" he asked a woman in the crowd. She hesitated, unsure if to assist. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we can finish up here." A moment's hesitation, and she reluctantly walked over to the rug stand. "Now what?"
"Is it easy to see over here?" He indicated to the crowd to break up a bit, but not too much. They frowned, but did so.
"Eh? Well, no..."
"For that matter, how well can you see the 'thief' from here?"
She frowned. Looked through the partially parted crowd. "Not... easily? I mean, the lanterns help a little, but they don't cover the ground very well..."
"What's the point of this?!" the blonde man screeched. "You saying I didn't see what I saw?! I've got excellent eyesight!"
"Perhaps." Phoenix cocked a hand on his hip, smirking. "But from a distance, in less than ideal lighting, at someone low to the ground? Stealing a very specific pear?"
"Wh... what about the specifics! He said a pear was stolen!"
"He said *A* pear was stolen. Sir, did you mention that it was a pear from the second lowest row of your booth?"
The merchant looked startled. "Now that you mention it, I didn't..."
Whatever happened was enough, apparently. The blonde man suddenly began to run. But with the crowd as dense as it was, he wasn't able to get very far before he got caught. Flailing, he tripped slightly...
...causing a pear with a bite taken out of it to fall to the ground.
Silence. Phoenix turned back to the merchant. "I think I can rest my case here."
***
The guards eventually arrived, escorting off the blonde thief. The merchant warned the goblin child that if he ever saw him close to his booth again, he'd gut him. [Because being found innocent of a crime is definitely worth being trespassed,] Phoenix thought with annoyance. The goblin child looked at him, and seemed to waver between fleeing and approaching the lawyer. Finally, he approached, but only a little. "U...um... thank you..."
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Don't mention it. Just doing my job."
The kid looked dubious, but then nodded and ran off. Phoenix sighed. [Probably would have helped if I'd gotten his name. Maybe I could have gotten more info out of him... Well, never mind, I guess. Still, we've definitely got an uphill battle ahead of us.]
Although Phoenix wasn't aware of it, his actions didn't go unnoticed, though...
Phoenix found himself drawn to the commotion despite his usual inclination to avoid trouble where he could. The source of it was obvious: a group of humans, heckling what Phoenix assumes is a young goblin whose hand is currently clutched tight by one of the local merchants. He listened from the back, trying to make out what was going on.
"...'t lie! I saw you..."
"...ut I didn't do it! I swe..."
"Ugly creep... you monsters' fault things are like..."
"Little miscreants! Guards ought to round..."
[I shouldn't get involved. I'll make myself too obvious. I shouldn't...]
"I really didn't do it!"
And that tore it.
"HOLD IT!" The loud voice, echoing through the square, is enough to catch the attention of the group enough to quiet them down for a moment. Phoenix pushed his way through to the center where the merchant and the goblin was. "If I may interrupt for a second? What exactly happened here?" Phoenix could feel the hot gaze of the angry crowd on the back of his neck, could hear the mutters of people noting his outsider status, but didn't dare waver for a second.
The merchant scowled, pulling the goblin in closer, who squawked in pain. "You're not the guard. Stay out of this. It's none of your concern," he replied tersely.
Phoenix stepped closer, maintaining eye contact despite the churning butterflies in his stomach. "I think it is, as a matter of fact. I'm a... sort of knight. A defender, if you will. And unless I'm mistaken, right now the one who needs defending is him."
He pointed to the goblin. The crowd jeered. "Defend a goblin? He must be mad. Hasn't he seen what they did to the sun!" Clear confusion and disdain emanated from the crowd. It gave Phoenix a sense of deja vu to a courtroom with a rowdy crowd and a cage waiting to descend into the flames. [Not helping my nerves, brain.]
An awkward moment passed before the merchant finally replied, spitting. "If you MUST know, this little THIEF stole a pear from my booth. I have every right to either get it back or extract payment in SOME form." He glared at the goblin.
"But... I didn't do it..."
The defense attorney cleared his throat. "May I ask what evidence you have that he's the thief? Does he have what he stole on him?" he asked.
"Who else could it be? He was the only one who passed close! He's just hiding it, the little --"
"HOLD IT!"
That shout caused the whole crowd to jump. Phoenix felt sheepish for a moment -- [Right, not in court"] -- before regaining his train of thought. "Was he really the only one who could have passed close? Unless you're saying you're that unpopular of a booth." [Good thing I can't get in trouble for badgering the witness.]
The merchant blustered. "Don't be ridiculous! I have all sorts of customers! But this one's the only freak! It must have been him!"
[Wow, be more racist.] "That's an interesting way of putting it, isn't it? Sounds like you didn't actually see the boy take anything himself."
Fidgeting. Phoenix knew he'd drawn blood. "W...well, no, I didn't. But I have it on good authority that this little squirt's the only one who passed by the booth the moment the pear went missing!"
[Which means, of course, only one thing.] "So you only have somebody else's word for it. Whose word would that be?"
Red in the face, the merchant pointed to another man in the crowd, blonde with a prominent nose, who stiffened a bit at the sudden shift in attention. "That guy, over there. Why the hell am I even telling you this? You're the only moron who thinks this rat is innocent!"
[Which means I'm the one person who should know these things, but I have a feeling nobody sees eye to eye with me on that.] He turned to the other man. He wasn't sure in the lantern-lit darkness, but he could swear he turned a little pale at that. "Could you tell me what you saw?"
"I... I don't have to tell you anything! You're no guard!" He ran his hand through his hair. "So you haven't got any authority over me!"
[Wow. Might as well put a neon light over this guy reading "hiding something."] He decided to try to push a bit. "You seem nervous. I thought you were certain of what you saw?"
"Of course I am!" he snapped. "It was that little creep! I saw him steal a pear from the second lowest row! Like a shot of lightning! It was him!"
"And where were you when this happened?"
"I was over there, by that place selling rugs! Why are you grilling me?!"
Phoenix looked around. Still a busy time. Goblin was fairly short. Lighting's not great. And based on the testimony of the man...
"Excuse me, Miss? Could you possibly stand over there please?" he asked a woman in the crowd. She hesitated, unsure if to assist. "The sooner we do this, the sooner we can finish up here." A moment's hesitation, and she reluctantly walked over to the rug stand. "Now what?"
"Is it easy to see over here?" He indicated to the crowd to break up a bit, but not too much. They frowned, but did so.
"Eh? Well, no..."
"For that matter, how well can you see the 'thief' from here?"
She frowned. Looked through the partially parted crowd. "Not... easily? I mean, the lanterns help a little, but they don't cover the ground very well..."
"What's the point of this?!" the blonde man screeched. "You saying I didn't see what I saw?! I've got excellent eyesight!"
"Perhaps." Phoenix cocked a hand on his hip, smirking. "But from a distance, in less than ideal lighting, at someone low to the ground? Stealing a very specific pear?"
"Wh... what about the specifics! He said a pear was stolen!"
"He said *A* pear was stolen. Sir, did you mention that it was a pear from the second lowest row of your booth?"
The merchant looked startled. "Now that you mention it, I didn't..."
Whatever happened was enough, apparently. The blonde man suddenly began to run. But with the crowd as dense as it was, he wasn't able to get very far before he got caught. Flailing, he tripped slightly...
...causing a pear with a bite taken out of it to fall to the ground.
Silence. Phoenix turned back to the merchant. "I think I can rest my case here."
***
The guards eventually arrived, escorting off the blonde thief. The merchant warned the goblin child that if he ever saw him close to his booth again, he'd gut him. [Because being found innocent of a crime is definitely worth being trespassed,] Phoenix thought with annoyance. The goblin child looked at him, and seemed to waver between fleeing and approaching the lawyer. Finally, he approached, but only a little. "U...um... thank you..."
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Don't mention it. Just doing my job."
The kid looked dubious, but then nodded and ran off. Phoenix sighed. [Probably would have helped if I'd gotten his name. Maybe I could have gotten more info out of him... Well, never mind, I guess. Still, we've definitely got an uphill battle ahead of us.]
Although Phoenix wasn't aware of it, his actions didn't go unnoticed, though...