Cryo's chest was tight as he descended the steps of the Starlight Hall, every clack of his claws deafening in his ears.

High Speakers.

A Banshee.

How could he possibly have forgotten so easily?

Cryo tucked in his arms, awkwardly attempting to angle his elbows to keep his wings from scraping against the walls in his fluster. His mother had seen a Banshee's Ascension in the auroras. Perhaps that was why he'd recognised his partner's Aspect immediately despite the surprise of the elder Luminaries, yet he'd forgotten why he'd known. He'd simply allowed himself to be led about the Hall like the fool that he was, making no effort to steer the conversation in a direction that may have been useful to her.

He forced himself to breathe.

His mother would become the first High Shadowspeaker. She was entirely capable of securing the position. All he had to do was ensure that somehow, he didn't ruin it--even if the mere thought of his mother's first conversation with Banshee's... rough edges left him with a dread that dragged his wings to the floor.

If anyone can correct Banshee's behaviour, it will be Aurelia, he told himself. If she taught you, she can teach anyone.

But he'd left Banshee on the roof without awaiting her response to his blessing. Even Aurelia's most basic teaching had blanked from his mind the first real instance that anxiety grabbed him. Not that he'd expected Banshee to know the correct response, but he was expected to set an example. She was his partner now--his responsibility. And he'd just left.

At the entrance to the training room, Cryo hesitated and glanced back up the steps, debating whether he should go back.

He could. Should, in fact--but he was so woefully underprepared for such an undertaking. Despite his overall familiarity with the systems that Harpy had described, there were so many details he'd forgotten to clarify. He couldn't expect Banshee to respect him when he himself was still completely incompetent.

As the sickening feeling crept up from his stomach and crawled up his throat threatening to leave him gasping for air, a wave of pure, numbing cold washed through him like a snap freeze on melting ice. He took a breath, he straightened, and he let that frozen, icy numbness weigh down on the breathless panic, pushing it down, down, down until he felt nothing but the burning bite of the cold.

Yes, he decided. It was only logical that he ensure his knowledge of the temple was firm before he attempting to educate his partner.

Cryo descended the final few steps into the ground floor of the Starlight Hall.

The room seemed to come to a stop in his presence. The High Speakers going about their various tasks or conversations paused to solemnly incline their heads in his direction. The cold swirled through his chest again as everything threatened to melt.

"I wish to acquaint myself further with the ways of the temple," said Cryo, addressing the room. "If anyone is available to lend their assistance at their convenience, it would be greatly appreciated."

One of the High Breathspeakers stepped forward, her dark hair caught up in a loose ponytail that partially swept down over her face, concealing that dream-ridden gaze. "I am at your service, Cryophoenix."

He inclined his head. "You have my deepest thanks."

The High Breathspeaker replied with a gentle smile and a nod of her head. "What is it you wish you ask?"

"I find myself uncertain where to begin," admitted Cryo.

"Then, allow me the honour of starting at the beginning. Please interject whenever you deem necessary, and I shall adjust my explanations as required."

Cryo soon lost track of time as the High Breathspeaker guided him about the Hall. Where Harpy's whip crack voice had left him wound tight and struggling to hold on to the words she threw at him, the Breathspeaker's voice was softer, easier to hold on to, albeit slower. She covered much of the same information that Harpy had, but Cryo was grateful for the chance to solidify his knowledge.

She showed him the platforms, the places he and Banshee would step upon for the first time at the Ascension ceremony in two weeks. She explained the process, the words, the gestures.

"And as the to-be chosen High Frostspeaker did before, so shall the to-be chosen High Shadowspeaker," said the High Breathspeaker.

To-be High Shadowspeaker.

Cryo glanced towards the door as he recognised the opportunity. Upon learning of a new Banshee, his mother would likely be close to the Starlight Hall yet unable to enter. While he had the utmost faith in her ability to secure the High Shadowspeaker position, a small, tiny knot in his stomach that not even the cold had numbed felt the near desperation to forewarn her of the task ahead.

With a respectful thanking and dismissal of the High Breathspeaker, Cryo straightened his shoulders, lifted his chin, and strode into the outer courtyard that lay beyond. He didn't venture too far, stepping just out of the shadow of the Hall and into the sunlight that jailed it.

There, he stopped, faced Skypillar, raised his face to the peak as if contemplating its wonder, and waited.

Aurelia was more likely to be within one of the corridors that adjoined the Starlight Hall, most likely hoping for the attention of a High Speaker, yet he knew that if she saw him, she would approach him.

You are not Jason, he had to remind himself as the cold gripped him again, suppressing yet another wave of panic. You are Cryophoenix. Newly Ascended. Logical. Learned in the temple's ways.

It was not long before he heard the all too familiar click click click of careful, balanced, precise steps that he heard every night from his bedroom, dreading the moment that they approached his door.

She has prepared you for this moment your entire life. Do not embarrass her.

"Cryophoenix," said Aurelia from his side, still a respectful distance away. "I had heard of your Ascension, you must forgive my boldness in approaching you."

He turned to face her.

*+*+*+*

Banshee was perched on the balcony in the training room, still throwing her daggers at various sections of wall when Golem walked into the room.

"Banshee?" called Golem, quickly locating her. "Ah, there you are! We weren't sure where you'd got to."

"Sorry," said Banshee. She'd become so focused on Cryo's potential arrival that she'd forgotten the other Luminaries could walk right in too. She jumped down from the balcony. "Didn't know what to do with myself while waiting around for Cryo, so I thought I'd just practice in here for a bit."

"Oh?" said Golem, one stony eyebrow raised. "What have you been practicing?"

If it'd been Harpy or--Starlight forbid--Wyvern, Banshee would have suspected a challenge, but Golem just seemed genuinely interested.

Banshee pressed her lips together and turned around, gesturing at the wall where her daggers were still stuck in the starstone by their tips. "I was jumping around the room for a while, but I got bored of that so I started throwing my daggers since Harpy said the walls healed" She shrugged and walked over to pull them out. "Couldn't think of much else."

Golem trailed after her, inspecting the neat hole she'd drilled into the starstone, one throw after another. He tapped the small, chipped marks around it from the first few times she'd thrown and missed. "Not too many misses. That's pretty good accuracy for your first day. How far back were you standing?"

"Sort of all over the place?" Banshee glanced around the room, pointing out a few of the places she'd thrown her daggers from, including several perches on the starstone blobs around the room. "I was moving around a bit, and when it got too easy, I tried throwing them from the balcony."

"On the other side of the room?"

"Up there on the ledge," said Banshee, pointing to the balcony directly above the wall where they stood. "I figured out how to curve it, but it took a few tries to remember where the hole I was aiming for was."

Golem stepped back, looking up at the balcony, then back to the wall. "Show me?"

Banshee hesitated, then nodded. Golem stepped back to give her room as she jumped from ground to balcony, taking up the stance she'd found gave her the best stability. She took a moment to consider her aim. Not consciously--trying to measure angles and figure exactly where the hole was had given her the worst results--but by listening to a small feeling, an omniscient thought in the back of her mind that knew where that hole was and exactly how to get her dagger there.

Banshee drew her arm back and let the dagger fly.

It struck the wall with a ringing clang that she knew was good. She jumped down off the balcony and landed beside Golem, who stared at the wall before he turned towards her, hands on his stoney hips.

"Landing a blind, curved throw on your first day," said Golem after a moment. "Honestly, I'm kind of impressed." He smiled. "You sure you haven't been a Banshee before?"

The praise left a smile creeping onto the corner of her mouth. "I'd ask if that's even possible, but I have a feeling Cryo might cringe himself into the ground if I ask another dumb temple-related question, whether he hears it or not."

Golem shook his head and chuckled. "Ah, yes. He does seem to know quite a lot about the temple side of things, doesn't he?" His paused, tilting his head to the side as he looked back to the wall. "Though it does seem that knowledge might have come at the cost of other things."

Banshee kicked at the ground. "I'm pretty sure he thought I was a Manifested when he first found me today." She sighed and gave up on tact with a giant, dramatic sigh. She flung her arms out to the side, letting them flop back down against her hips. "He hates me, Golem! I tried talking to him on the roof and he just kind of walked out on me and said he was gonna go... attend to pressing issues or something." She glanced at the door. "I don't even think he's coming back."

"Don't give up on him just yet," said Golem. "Not everyone adjusts as quickly as you have, and it's not entirely unheard of for some Luminaries to be strongly affected by their Aspect, especially in the first few months, and there's little they can do about it except wait. Given how few times the Frost Aspect has been active in past centuries, it wouldn't surprise me if it's left him a little... frosty, shall we say."

Banshee gave a snort of laughter. "Don't let him hear you say that. I made a joke about breaking the ice and I think it nearly killed him." She huffed. "Did you get affected by your Aspect?"

"Not me, but Fae," said Golem. "She... daydreams, I suppose? She's never quite all there when she's transformed, some part of her lost in the magic. It's hard not knowing what her civilian life is like, but she's rarely dim, especially these last few years."

"How'd you cope?" asked Banshee, pulling her daggers free from the wall.

Golem shrugged. "I just didn't have time to doubt myself. I had to be there for Fae when she needed me." He gave Banshee's shoulder a pat. "Just stick with Cryo. He might need some time to thaw out, but Skypillar picked you as a pair for a reason. It's your job to figure out why."

Banshee grinned. "Don't worry. If nothing else, I'm stubborn as Skypillar. He'll have a hard time getting rid of me that easily."

Golem smiled and inclined his head. "I have no doubt that you'll make me proud, Banshee. For now, why don't you go find him, instead of waiting for him to come to you? I saw him speaking with a High Breathspeaker on the ground floor earlier. Given his earlier attention to detail, he's likely still there."

"Probably a good idea for me to learn some of this temple stuff anyway," said Banshee reluctantly, sheathing her daggers behind her. "Guess I'll go see if I can find him."

"You do that," said Golem. "And remember, you'll lose your abilities while the auroras are out. Don't break your leg or get stuck on a roof."

She frowned. "The auroras are hours away."

Golem just tapped the side of his rocky nose. "I know that look. You'll spend the entire night running around on the rooftops if given half the chance. Luminaries need sleep too, okay?"

Banshee just replied with a sheepish smile, then darted out of the training room, quietly humming to herself under her breath.

Maybe she'd been a little too quick to resent Cryo for not immediately jumping to be friends. He did have a point--she didn't know the first thing about the temple. Not that he'd directly said that, but he hadn't exactly tried to hide his disdain. But she was going to take this seriously. Maybe the first step was to ask her partner for help to learn the right way to do things. Show him she was serious, that she wasn't just playing around on rooftops.

Banshee took Golem's earlier suggestion and checked the ground floor of the Starlight Hall first. While there were a bunch of Speakers wandering around doing stuff, she didn't see her walking chandelier anywhere.

She started walking up to one of the Breathspeakers to ask if they knew where Cryo had gone, but the way every Speaker in the room had completely stopped what they were doing to look at her was more than a little weird. Not to mention, if they spoke anything like Cryo, she was going to have a headache ten seconds into the conversation, and prepared to learn or not, it was probably better to start slow.

Banshee flashed the Speakers an awkward grin and flicked two fingers off her forehead before slowly turning away on a heel. She walked out of the Starlight Hall, following that same, buried feeling that'd guided her dagger throws in the training room. Like another presence, a familiar shadow.

It was at the end of that shadow that she found Cryo, his back with those beautiful wings towards the Starlight Hall.

He wasn't alone, which wasn't a surprise. A Speaker in crimson and black robes stood a respectful distance away from him, gesturing with her hands as they spoke in soft voices. Her hair was pulled up into a bun so perfectly smooth that it bordered on impossible, which was the detail that had Banshee realising she'd seen this Speaker before. At the naming day ceremony--the one that'd spoken to her about embracing the feeling in her heart or whatever weird line it'd been.

Banshee was about to leave the shadows of the corridor and approach them when she heard them.

The Speaker's words were quiet, but Banshee heard them regardless. "Though I would never think to question Skypillar's wisdom, I have heard from other Speakers that she is... different?"

"They are correct," Cryo replied. "She seems far more preoccupied with playing with her power than realising the responsibility it carries."

A sensation of burning cold stabbed Banshee straight in the stomach.

"This is concerning to hear," said the Speaker, gracefully placing one hand over the other in front of her waist. "Is it true that her transformation is brighter than would be expected from an average Banshee?"

"It is," said Cryo. "It almost appears as a tasteless impersonation of the true Shadow of Skypillar. Had I not heard rumours of a potential Banshee's Ascension, I may not have realised who she was. Her lack of care for Skypillar's temple protocol is concerning. I suspect she will require the close attention of her High Shadowspeaker in the coming months."

Banshee stepped a little deeper back into the shadows of the Hall, her eyes still frozen to her partner's back and those glorious wings that glittered so magnificently that she'd forgotten how sharp they were.

Playing with her power.

Tasteless impersonation.

The Speaker said something else, but there was a dull ringing in Banshee's ears as she turned away that blocked them out. She had half the mind to march straight up to her so-called partner and tell him exactly what she thought of him, but she knew how that would play out.

She'd tell him that she was going to take this seriously. He'd give her one of those dismissive looks she hated. Or worse, he'd look at her with pity. Just a poor little helpless Banshee who couldn't do anything--and punching her partner in the face on her first day as a Luminary didn't seem like the best way to convince everyone that she really was taking these pompous idiots with their fancy words seriously.

Banshee scaled the wall of the Starlight Hall in seconds, reaching the roof and standing with her back to the edge. She glanced back down over her shoulder, locking her eyes on Cryo.

Cryo, who had noticed her, who had turned around with that Starlight-dimmed chandelier of his because from her place atop the roof, Banshee's shadow had fallen across the sunlight he stood in.

She kept looking at him just long enough to tell him that she knew. That she'd heard.

And then she left, taking off across the rooftops in no particular direction with one single thought in mind.

She was going to prove them all wrong.

*+*+*+*