[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/231110/8d749d906d93af45726a04f7ecf5f219.png[/img][/center][hr]The cookie helped his mood, but not nearly as much as the approach of a diminutive new face - the Scion of Light, or (to Jannick, more importantly) the Crown Princess Rosemary Bachmeier Veradis. As both a patriotic Veradian and an uncle to a niece around her age, Jannick was truly taken with the little princess, returning her adorable little curtsy with his best formal bow. Her question, however, threatened to break what little remained of his knightly composure, and he had to clamp his hand over his mouth to conceal the snort of laughter that broke free as he realized he’d just introduced the future Princess of his home country to half of an amateur rap video starter kit. 

Fortunately, Jannick was saved the embarrassment of explaining by the timely and merciful intervention of the man of the hour himself, who smoothly diverted the Princess’ attention before wandering off in the direction of some other Scions. Truly, not all heroes wore capes. 

Jannick could scarcely criticize Hollyhock’s overly familiar tone with the Princess after his own blunder, so he just called it a draw; she seemed to be in a pleasant mood this evening, actually, so he was content to let her keep that vibe going as long as she didn’t start getting them both into trouble. Besides, he shared her sentiment; even if he had stars in his eyes, Princess Rosemary reminded him too much of his niece for him to fully grasp the weight of her station. She was just too cute. 

He didn’t miss the shadow that passed over his charge, however, as the Templar of Gravity came and went; Jannick followed her gaze to the Scion of Gravity, Maya De-something, whom Jannick really only recognized from her presence in those annoying unskippable Youtube ads. She seemed pleasant enough with Scion Kasper and Sir Tyler, in that dead-eyed “you looking for a good time” sort of way, but Hollyhock eyed her like a hare eyeing a hawk, looking liable to jump out a window if she got any closer. That said, Jannick [i]did[/i] recall a few derisive remarks for “influencer” types, and Holly’s distaste for the spotlight was renowned. He made a mental note to keep the two separated; he wasn’t super enthusiastic about showing up on Instagram himself, but mostly he did [i]not[/i] want to chase Hollyhock through the Cathedra Incepta. If any of his buddies on duty saw him struggling to catch up to a 90 pound girl literally blowing away with the wind, he’d never hear the end of it. 

And speaking of social media, the Scion of Earth joined the throng, chatting up the Templar with the cookies. This asshole, Jannick definitely knew: Justinian Gardner, or “RockinRangerJ”, which Jannick hated that he knew, and knew only because enough dumbass teenagers who watched his streams decided they’d try to imitate his stunts without the benefit of Goddess-given powers, leaving the Knights to clean up the aftermath. 

The brightness Princess Rosemary had brought to Jannick’s countenance fell when Justinian addressed him as “Sir Jarrick” - [i]nice[/i] - although Holly’s little jab did ease his rankling a bit, getting an amused huff out of him. Man, she was really putting in work wearing him down tonight; much more of this and he’d start thinking the Templar gig wasn’t so bad. 

But until then, he shrugged at Justinian, acknowledging his congratulations with a curt nod as he finished his cookie, followed by as shallow a bow as he could get away with. [color=9A906B]“Pleasure’s mine, Holiness,”[/color] he replied with barely-passable reverence, [color=9A906B]“She’s got a good nose, that’s for sure. Good skill to have, really.”[/color] He came up with a tame enough response to put the comment to rest; whatever their differences, he wasn’t about to disparage his own Scion.

[i]This[/i] Scion, however, was fair game. [color=9A906B]“But say, uh - if you don’t mind my asking, Your Holiness,”[/color] Jannick stumbled over the formalities as he absently patted himself down for cigarettes, [color=9A906B]“you been keeping busy lately? You used to be big stuff on the internet, my little brother was a big fan. But I feel like I haven’t heard much of you in a while. You pick up a new hobby or something?”[/color] He gave up his search when he remembered that the Crown Princess was within secondhand smoke distance, and he wasn’t that good at manipulating the air yet - or dodging angry Rodian Templars. 
[hr][right][@Raijinslayer][/right]