[color=e0faac][center][h2]Hollyhock[/h2][hr][/center][sup][@Hero][@Obscene Symphony][/sup][/color]
Unfortunately for Ionna, the time and place for snagging a cookie had passed. The dream of a ham and cookie sandwich was killed by the awful mood in the room. Only Rosemary was brave enough to take one. Of course, Hollyhock was tided over by constantly snacking throughout her trip here, so she didn't feel the need to scarf cookies down her throat this time.

As much as she wanted to plug her ears and hide in the corner of the room, Hollyhock was forced to bear witness to her fellow scions. She did not possess the nature of a child that allowed one to simply let discussion fly over her head. The words of her fellows were something that Hollyhock didn't want to exchange. Hawkish words, allegorical rebuttals, and serpentine insults were thrown around like nothing. 

While she didn't want to participate in such a dour meeting, that didn't mean she was daft about matters. . She also had the mental fortitude to see Jannick shuffle over to place himself between her and the new Scion. She could easily guess that he was someone that Jannick didn't trust. That lack of trust quickly extended to Hollyhock. She wasn't going to interact with him unless he directly sought her out. Though, even if Jannick trusted him, Hollyhock probably wouldn't interact with him unless she saw him eating a parfait.

While her ham gift mostly failed, it was nice of Sara to partake and offer some ham to others. Hollyhock wasn't going to cut into the room's mood like she was. Though, only one of them was guaranteed to try the ham.

[color=e0faac]"I'm glad to hear you like it,"[/color] she told Rosemary with a smile, [color=e0faac]"I could get you something even better for your birthday!"[/color]

Then came Lucas' recital of the prophecy.

While Hollyhock was pious, she didn't raise an objection to Lucas' actions. If what he said was true, then she couldn't personally blame him for wishing to accelerate Incepta's will. Or, given that the first verse was what they were familiar with, had the remainder not been transcribed and subsequently forgotten.

Her reaction to the prophecy was significantly less pious than Sara's. Rather, it was pensive. She was deeply thinking about its meanings. Being red of blood could have denoted the state of Terminus, but it could have just as easily denoted a metaphorical meaning. The red moon was another clue. While Hollyhock wasn't an astronomer, she still knew about the concept of a lunar eclipse. That checked all the boxes--namely, shadows and red.

Though, Hollyhock was a coward. Or perhaps she did not want to participate in a serious and intensive discussion about meanings. She had whispered to Jannick her thoughts about the eclipse and and pushed forward another topic to the others.

[color=e0faac]"If the prophecy is about forming connections with each other,"[/color] she said as she stood from her seat, [color=e0faac]"the best time to start is ten minutes ago. Which can only mean one thing."[/color]

Hollyhock placed her hand on the plate that held her gift and pushed it forwards towards the centre of the table. She wasn't about to bond over conversations about war, insults, or overt violence.

[color=e0faac]"Gift ham."[/color]