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Hollyhock

@Obscene Symphony


Being led was a strange feeling. Usually, Hollyhock was the one leading around Jannick. When she stumbled, Jannick would pull her so the two of them could continue to run without missing a step. If her life were a romance novel, this would be the moment where she would say that she could only hear her heartbeat as she gazed into Jannick's eyes.

However, that was not her life. Her heart was beating strong, but it was from a mixture of sprinting and fear instead of infatuation. She could very much hear the bullets fired around her; they were hard to miss. The only thing her eyes gazed at was the exit--not that she could gaze at Jannick's eyes through his helmet anyways.

From ballroom to train, the two ran without stopping. She boarded alongside Jannick without so much as a huff or disappearance. It was uncharacteristic, but expected.

Hollyhock didn't even think about counting the number of people in the train. She wasn't prepared to deal with that thought. She just looked at the ground of the train. Flecks of blood covered the bottom of her dress. The hand that had grasped Jannick's had rusty streaks of dried blood that went from palm to sleeve.

On the other hand, Jannick was coated from the brief moment that Hollyhock had left him. Splashes of blood painted his white and gold armour. It was hard for her to notice in the limited light of the torn up ballroom. Though, she still would have grabbed his hand even if she did see it. The blood had made him look like a bowling pin. Or perhaps a life buoy would have been a better comparison.

She didn't say anything about it to Jannick. Not a single one of her snarky quips. She just stared back down at the floor and tried to not think. It was easier that way. Riding in silence was enough.

When they had finally arrived, Hollyhock didn't have much to say. She followed the group as they were lead to the castle. Every so often, Hollyhock had a wayward glance at a window. The beauty was nice, but she wasn't very trusting of them for now. Crossing the barrier, at the very least, returned some semblance of safety to her.

She listened to what Duchess Bachmeier said. Her lack of injuries made most of her speech not apply.

"I need to wash up," she mutedly told Jannick. Her first words since running with Jannick were expected. Nobody would want to enter a snuggery with blood on them.

She approached a servant and asked to be lead to her room. It wasn't quite small talk as they were walking, but she was speaking with the servant about the location of her room. She paused in the middle of the hallway to look back at Jannick. A slight smile came to her face before she pointed at the roof while asking the servant a question. As the servant turned away from her, Hollyhock had immediately begun to sprint away to her assigned quarters.
In SPIRITUM 5 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Justice


Justice was busy carving a hunk of wood with a knife. She liked keeping herself busy when Kalina was at the helm. Whether it was meditations or simple things to keep her hands busy, meaningless actions kept her senses dulled. Otherwise, she would feel everything: the rattling of every loose bolt, the movement of the asphalt underneath them, and every little thing in between.

Instead, she could focus on what was directly in front of her. The grains of wood being cut and peeled away. The sounds of the fibres breaking apart. The feeling of rough cut wood as she ran her thumb across the unfinished sculpture. Though, her sensitivity was quite useful at a time like this. Even with dulled senses, Justice braced herself and her knife before the truck would dip and bounce. It helped to not launch her knife at someone across the bed as she was whittling away.

The rough-cut bird was taking shape in her hand. Why she was carving a bird was of little significance beyond utility. It was a rounded lump with a tail and beak. In other words, it was simple to carve. Justice didn't have the patience to try to carve anything more complex.

Justice could feel the bottle of whiskey sail towards and past her. The vestiges of his telekinesis lingered on its surface like condensate. She didn't try to catch it. Not because she was busy carving, abstaining from drinking, or that she disliked the taste. She just thought it would be funny if Gerard flung the bottle out of the truck for no particular reason.

Her eyebrow rose as she heard Kalina and Tony speak about the princess. It was apparent that they were soldiers first and foremost. Or headcases. Probably both.

"Firsts? She's heading to the capital. You could kidnap her with a child that understands how zipties work." She answered Kalina before blowing loose splinters of wood off of her whittled bird. "Shitting up envoys only works once. We'd go back and forth sending every diplomats' head in a basket afterwards. Plus, seems to me that the princess isn't worth shit to them. I wouldn't put it past them to stab her in the back and leave a note saying 'Rassies did this' on her corpse. Or maybe they'd stick a bomb up her dress and blow it when they go to shake hands."

She paused for a brief moment before turning to face Kalina in the rear view mirror.

"Take that literally."
Hollyhock

@Obscene Symphony@Xiro Zean


With her pursuers' path slowed, Hollyhock gave an affirming nod and a panicked thank you to Theobald. They would surely prevail with strength in numbers. After all, they were Scions and Templars. Unfortunately, there were some complications.

Justinian was off being a rock with Bianca trying to deal with that mess. Maya and Edmund were on the ceiling. Dom, Zach, and Kasper were together. Tyler was with Lucas. She had expected that Jannick would run with her; he didn't. The rest were in varying states of fighting and missing. While half of them had planned to group together with the human landmark, it was apparent that Hollyhock was the only one who had actually arrived. It turned out that the number of their strength was two. Well, closer to one. Hollyhock wasn't good in a fight.

Then came the dark heralded by a booming noise. Hollyhock didn't need to think too hard about it. Either Rosemary had been dragged out of the venue or their magic had been sealed. Considering the buzzing in her skull, it was likely the latter. It certainly was no good. The colour drained from Hollyhock's rosy cheeks. She felt as though every single cell in her body was telling her to escape.

Of course, Theobald had immediately ran off into the fray and left Hollyhock alone. That meant that their number was now zero.

If that was the case, she might as well go back to her Templar to get the hell out of there. She could work in the darkness. She just needed to let her instincts take over and the moonlight and gunfire to reach her guardian.

She charged back into the dispersing crowd. Hands reached out to grab her. They were always one step too late. The most they could grab were pinches of her dress, the fabric slipping through their fingers. The fleeing and frozen made for efficient obstacles, even if her pursuers had begun to move with more ease.

Dame Irina's entrance had filled the ballroom with light. Hollyhock had reached Jannick and was already grasping for his hand.

"Us. Roach. Now."

She didn't even need to hear Irina's commands. She was getting the hell out of there with Jannick.
Hollyhock

@Stern Algorithm@Obscene Symphony


"It's about as good as the food from nobility can be." Hollyhock said as she gave a smile to Jannick. She knew how her Templar was when he was like this. Hand in his pocket, the glances towards balconies, all of the signs that he wanted a little break. "Go have a smoke. I'll be here with Sara. Though, I suppose you're also leaving me with Theobald if Sara has to return to his side. Are you sure you want him to be an influence on me?"

She stuffed her mouth with another forkful of pasta.

It was a pleasant party. Though, perhaps they should have planned the party better. The lights had shut off. Had someone plugged in a little too much into an outlet? Well, it would only be a momentary distraction. Someone would go and flip the breaker. The light would be back on. Hollyhock could stuff herself with some more food. Simple as.

Unfortunately, that idea was complicated by the arrival of party crashers.

Hollyhock shrieked as the windows broke and dropped her plate. The shattering of porcelain blended into the noise of broken glass as she instinctively covered her ears. It was a good thing that she did considering that bullets had nearly immediately began to fly.

"No smoke break!" Hollyhock immediately yelped out at Jannick.

When Sara gave instructions, Hollyhock was willing to follow them. While she usually wouldn't enjoy Theobald's company, he was perhaps good company at this type of party. Strength in numbers was usually a good idea. It was especially good if those numbers included a Scion who knew how to fight. Hollyhock wasn't going to be useful in an enclosed fight; her mastery of her power ranged from minute and accurate control of wind to devastating hurricane. She didn't exactly practice that useful middle range that wouldn't demolish the building.

Sara had left Hollyhock's side to deal with the party crashers using incredible violence. It was now up to Jannick to protect her.

She lifted the sides of her dress and revealed a set of Rosaria Force Twos that she had been wearing for the festivities. It helped explain why Hollyhock chose to wear a dress that went to the ground; she wasn't about to put herself in a pair of heels. With a glance and nod at Jannick, she went sprinting towards Theobald in a freakishly fast, low to the ground dash. Whoever was chasing after her wouldn't be able to keep up. Theobald was hard to miss, even with the orb of light casting harsh shadows on the party-turned-battlefield.

It certainly was an event to prepare for the new year.
In SPIRITUM 6 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
In SPIRITUM 6 mos ago Forum: Casual Roleplay
Hollyhock

@Stern Algorithm


Hollyhock had been approached by Sara. Unlike Sara's usual ward, Hollyhock didn't immediately engage in scorn and contempt. Rather, the first thing Hollyhock's eyes went to was the plate of food that Sara had been meticulously building. It was full of simpler foods that had less oil, butter, and seasoning. Hollyhock approved. It was a good plating. Someone like Theo would have probably filled his plate with rice, chicken, and broccoli that had all been boiled together.

"I enjoy it about as much as I can. People outside the church seldom approach a Scion wearing a veil. I just honour the push and pull and have my fill."

Hollyhock grabbed a small bowl of pasta and placed it on her plate.

"Jannick does a good job even when I give him the slip. Once he bites into something, he never lets go. Like a uh... honey badger." Hollyhock mused. The man wasn't quite a wolf. She moved her head a little while she digested Sara's comments about Theo.

"If I may offer a little sage advice: sometimes, people need to be protected from themselves. War makes a man's body strangle his soul."

She paused for a moment to gauge Sara's response. It was quite a long pause considering that Hollyhock spent that moment to shovel some Pasta Reggiano into her mouth.

"That line was from Ophelia. From the part where her father was sending her off to her arranged marriage to the mad duke. Though I suppose it's not a great source of advice. That the play was a tragedy, after all. What would I know?"

Her head turned to the noise of glass shattering. In the distance, it had appeared a servant had collided with someone. She watched as Caralynn admonished the servant. Hollyhock's mixture of smug smiles and breezy glances had been replaced by a grimace. Really, making a scene about that kind of thing was something awful. You just become the centre of attention in a negative way.

"Though I do suppose Jannick's presence at my side would defend me from that awful wench."
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Hollyhock


Unsurprisingly, Hollyhock behaved herself during the procession. She was still pious and respected church events even though all bets were off the second one of her obligations finished. Even though she had a disdain for photos and being in the spotlight, standing alongside her peers--especially Maya--made sure that she was never the focus of photography. It was also a blessing that Isabella was there; Hollyhock was just a footnote for those who cared enough to follow the Rosarian royal family.

Before they had walked out, Jannick had motherly pointed out the chocolate stains on her face. Her veil would have covered it, but the thought was appreciated. She wiped her mouth using a pocket handkerchief.

Smile, wave, and follow behind the other Scions. That was her strategy in every single procession. Though, she supposed it didn't really matter if she smiled or not.



While she had some mystery novel misgivings about going to a hilltop manor for an after party, she wasn't going to bring them up to anyone. It was a myopic statement with a death so close. Plus, it wasn't like they had to go through a treacherous mountain road that would definitely have been blocked during a storm. Maybe Jannick would have thought it to be funny.

But Jannick was off entertaining the wallflowers. Hollyhock was, for the most part, unsupervised.

This meant that she spent the party walking and stuffing herself with as much as she could. Hors d'oeuvres had been devoured like she was part-horse. If someone had been astute and been paying attention to her (in present company, such behaviour would be rather strange), then they would have noticed that she had gone through four different plates already.

It was more than her usual supper, but the festivities crunched her regular meal schedule. Sure, she had breakfast, brunch, and elevenses, but her lunch, tea, siesta, and dinner were all interrupted by the appointment and procession. She was now deep into supper territory with half of what she usually ate. Cookies did what they could to tide her over, but only three?

It would be a disaster if the night turned out like a mystery novel. Unless the poison was in the champagne, she was probably going to be the first victim with how much she ate. Hollyhock rarely drank out of the principle that alcohol would take up room in her stomach normally devoted to food.
Hollyhock


Hollyhock knew of most of the Scions and Templars already. After all, she was a Scion for 16 years. While she hated spending her youth studying unimportant matters, it did give her a healthy knowledge of politics and who was who.

She knew nothing of Ionna besides her appointment. But Ionna gave her cookies which automatically made the frosh Templar her favourite.

Rather predictably, Hollyhock saw Theo approaching and speaking to Commander Fyodor. She knew the bare minimum of the Scion of Fire's background. However, she wasn't going to approach the two veterans. While she was a fan of meat, she preferred it as food and not physique. They had an ominous aura; they were one firm handshake away from their shirts ripping off. Well, at least Theo's was.

Though, she did feel a bit bad for his Templar who had followed him. Rumors of their unfriendly relationship did make their way to Hollyhock's ears. It was unfortunate, but what did Hollyhock know? She grew up sheltered. If she had been fighting against a nation that denounced her beliefs, would she be able to accept someone who was a descendant of that nation?

But the ominous aura kept getting closer. It wasn't coming from the two veterans. It was something far more evil. Someone that stood for everything that Hollyhock despised. Someone who caused Hollyhock to immediately build up her flight response. With a flick of her hand, Hollyhock lowered her veil in preparation for who was to come. While she didn't participate in social media, Hollyhock was cruelly aware of it - and she was fully aware of the constant media spotlight named Miriam Grâce Desrosiers.

Thankfully, Jannick had tracked her down by presumably smelling his way to whatever food source was nearby. His presence was always reassuring. He would leap in front of any photo taken of Hollyhock in a bout of media self-sacrifice. Well, she could dream that he would. It was more likely that his ocular pat-downs wouldn't recognize a danger.

Then arrived a figure to break the ill omen that was an influencer's aura: the young Scion of Light. She truly was radiant. In the way that all children were, at least.

With two and a half cookies in one hand, Hollyhock returned a polite curtsy with cookie-filled hand over heart. Though, she did not raise her long dress enough to show off her choice in footwear. If she had been wearing Weezies, she would have probably lifted her dress enough to show the princess. Unfortunately (more likely fortunately), Hollyhock was rather strict when it came to what she wore. Weezies didn't make the cut.

"And a good day to you, Princess Rosemary."

While Hollyhock would have usually been boringly polite for such an event, the addition of cookies had thrown all formality out of the window. Besides, she was watching the young Scion share in her delight of sweets. Hollyhock couldn't keep up etiquette with something so adorable in front of her.

With Maya came Edmund. Unfortunately, Templars didn't usually have reputations that preceded them unless there was significant politics involved. They were good people who did their job and they didn't often interact with other Scions. Hollyhock listened to his fun fact, curious on what he was like. Of course, his brief reverence to the arts was befitting of someone from Rosaria. Not that she knew where he was born; it just tended to be that most people who referenced sonnets shared her birthplace.

Hollyhock never liked Redcrosse. Though, she had not read his works since she was ten. At that age, she was more entertained by the profanity-littered works of Piedspere. His insight of nature was limited to the sound of breaking wind. However, Hollyhock wasn't about to bring up her childhood enjoyment of classical fart jokes in front of a seven year old princess.

Thankfully, the arrival of Kasper and his friendly offer meant that there was now a wall protecting Hollyhock from Maya's grip of influence. Likewise, one of the two men of the hour arriving would mean that she could more easily escape from the prying eyes of social media.

It was also good to know that Hollyhock's worries were not unfounded. Immediately, they were posing for pictures with hugs and pleasantries. Extroverts like Maya were truly a danger to Hollyhock's personal well-being.

Fortunately for Jannick, Hollyhock didn't bolt away from this danger. When Justinian approached Jannick (Jarric?), Hollyhock threw a bizarre jab at his fun fact.

"And I see you're in the habit of glazing your wild side, your holiness."

Ionna had found a kindred spirit to have an interesting conversation with. Hollyhock was, however, a bit out of her depth listening to them. If one of them brought up the intricacies of such an arm, then Hollyhock would completely lose the plot. While she knew of sculpting and magic, magitech was something she had no idea about.
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