Jason arrived back on temple grounds more than a little distracted.

He'd been about to transform to save that woman, right in the centre of the street before hundreds of witnesses.

He'd been a breath away from speaking the words. If he had, his mother would have never let him hear the end of it--never in public of course, but within the suffocating walls of the house he was supposed to call a home, her lectures would have been endless. His life would never have had a chance to be normal again.

And yet, none of that had mattered in the moment. All he'd been able to think of was how disappointed Banshee would have been, had she ever found out that he'd valued his Luminary status over a life.

Jason parked the Gleamer, removed his helmet, and went about releasing the trailer he'd been towing. In the sidecar, Olivia opened her mouth to say something but closed it in the end, apparently having finally given up on the questions.

If he'd been annoyed at her before, it was only amplified by her actions during the Manifested attack. She'd blatantly disregarded her safety for her bag--the bag, of all things. There were several Gleamers sitting on the street, but she'd decided her bag was far more important. The more time he spent with her, the more desperate she seemed. He felt dumber than ever for letting his guard down around her, but he only ever needed a lesson once.

He tried to put it out of his mind as much as he could as he involved himself in the work. With the trailer released, it was now simply a case of unloading the boxes. Mundane, but there had been a purpose behind his trade in duties--he'd wanted a chance to make contact with Andrew as Jason. Not just that, but he'd wanted the chance to study their possessions and attempt to determine Andrew's relationship to Ella.

Now, it didn't look like he'd get the chance. Given the corrupted Manifested attack, trusted Speakers were taking the boxes directly to the room, which left Jason with far too much time alone with his own thoughts.

Had Harpy not arrived, would he have really transformed? Banshee would never have known what he'd failed to do, but he doubted he'd ever have been able to look her in the eye again afterwards.

Jason's fingers ran over the hidden form of his starsong amulet, concealed under his clothes.

If he'd gone Dark, would it have changed Banshee's fate?

He shook his head and got back to the work, continuing to unload the boxed possessions.

A few minutes later, the group lost direction, milling about in a rather distracted form, and in the absence of any Speakers, Jason changed his role to one of an organisational nature. He'd seen his mother take charge enough, and apparently his straightforward attitude meant that he was particularly good at it, but it helped that every person in the room knew exactly who he was.

"Yes, Frostsong!" they answered as he finished sorting them out.

Jason turned back, glancing at Olivia to ensure she hadn't run away while his back was turned but sure enough, she was still by a trailer, helping another guy untie the tarp. She flashed her newfound friend a smile, who laughed at whatever she said. Jason had to resist the urge to roll his eyes before he turned away, putting a little distance between him and her as he searched for the missing Speakers.

He found them outside a door frame, standing in a corridor and talking in hushed tones.

"--the Starlight Hall, yes. The reports say that the High Speaker there was attacked by whoever it was."

"Attacked? Here? On golden starstone?"

"It is indeed concerning. The appearance of Hydra has concerned the Luminaries, it seems, with good reason."

"Skypillar guides them, Speaker. They will ensure our great city's protection for many centuries to come."

Jason's insides turned to ice as he listened.

The Starlight Hall had been attacked?

It was recent from the way they spoke of it, which could explain why Harpy and Wyvern had been so quick to respond if they'd already been dealing with an attack on temple grounds, but that didn't feel right. His tattoo hadn't been cold. Not until the corrupted Manifested on the street, but why would anyone want to attack the Starlight Hall of all places? It was suicide. Harpy and Wyvern were usually close by... which was what the corrupted Manifested had been for, he realised in a flash. It'd been a distraction--a distraction to lure them away so someone else could get inside.

And today, Jason knew for a fact that they'd been there. Because last night, Cryo and Banshee had given the High Speakers Ella's fragment and asked them to inform the elder Luminaries about it.

Jason hadn't thought his civilian body was capable of handling Cryo-level temperatures, but as he moved back to the unloading zone with his insides frozen and dread sinking into his thoughts, he was apparently proven wrong.

He needed to get to the Starlight Hall.

Jason walked back into the room where a his well-organised flurry of boxes was still running smoothly, one of the Speakers having returned to oversee the process.

It was that Speaker Jason headed towards.

Jason stood beside the Speaker and spoke in a quiet voice. "I've just been informed there was an incident at the Starlight Hall involving my mother. My presence has been requested. I would appreciate it if you could keep it quiet and attend to this group in my absence."

The thing about authority, Jason had noticed, was that if you spoke with enough confidence, people seemed to forget that they outranked you, which was exactly what this Speaker did as he nodded along.

"As you wish, Frostsong. May Centaur's swiftness carry you."

"Thank you, friend," said Jason, and exited through the corridor, closing the door behind him with a soft bang.

He didn't expect a second bang to follow his a few seconds later.

Jason turned around to find Olivia approaching him, the door shut behind her.

"Ja--Frostsong?" she said. "Did I hear you right? Did you say your mother was involved in an incident at the Starlight Hall?"

Jason bristled. She'd been listening, had she? "I fail to see how that is your business."

"I... well, it's not, really," she admitted with a wince before she took a breath and straightened. "But if you're going to see your mother, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble for my absence. I'll come with you."

"You're presuming a lot, Shadowheart. I suggest you watch your step."

"Y'no, for someone whose mother was just involved in an 'incident', you're extremely uncaring about the whole thing," said Olivia. "I'm not going to be a pain in the ass. I'll stand behind you and shut up. Now let's go."

Olivia started walking off down the corridor without him, leaving Jason's gaze to follow her a few moments before his feet.

If he hadn't been convinced of her motives before, he was now. There was no other reason for her to want to come with him with the exception of his mother's presence.

He watched the back of her head as they walked in silence. It was too much of a coincidence for her to end up in the Starlight Hall when my mother was near. Too much of a coincidence for her to run into me earlier.

The only problem was, he couldn't figure out how she'd managed to set it up so she'd be placed under him for her punishment. Perhaps she really was just that arrogant, that she'd assumed she could just manipulate any situation to her whims.

Either way, Jason was particularly starting to resent Olivia of all people for tainting Banshee's aspect with her chosen name.

They were walking in step, pointedly ignoring the other when they reached the outer courtyard that touched one side of the Starlight Hall. As per usual, the bushes were perfectly trimmed and the immaculate golden walls and pavement gleamed in the sunlight.

The exception today was the pavement squares stained with blood.

The scene was concerning. High Shadowspeaker Aurelia sat, hunched on a chair inside the Starlight Hall's first floor, where the Offerings had been held only the day before. Someone Jason didn't recognise was crouched by her side, tending to a place on her crimson robes that didn't match the rest of the fabric. It was darker, and brief glimpses showed her skin--the robes were ripped.

Jason's gaze fell to the dagger in his mother's hand, its silver tip bright with blood, and knew with a clear kind of certainty what had occurred.

Harpy and Wyvern stood to Aurelia's right. Wyvern with his leathery skin of browny-greens took a backseat to Harpy's magnificent blues and golds, but his presence was no less because of it. His wing-bound arms folded over his chest as his dark eyes swept every inch of his surroundings, the tip of his poison-barbed tail occasionally thudding against the ground menacingly.

Jason stopped just outside the threshold of where regular civilians were permitted.

Though he knew Banshee didn't particularly like Wyvern, Jason looked up to the elder Luminary as somewhat of a role model. Wyvern was tough and strong in spite of opinions that he was disagreeable and often mean. He was a rock for his partner, always there when Harpy needed him. Most importantly, he didn't deal with the political crap Jason was often forced to wade through. Wyvern didn't care for the politics. Still staying vaguely within the bounds of the temple's preferred manners, he'd tell you exactly how he saw it, right up until the point that Harpy stopped him.

Cryo had been offered mentorship by Golem and even DragonFae on several occasions, but Cryo had always declined. Wyvern didn't seem like the type to discuss problems with anyone, He carried the burdens by himself--because that way, they were safe.

From inside the Starlight Hall, Wyvern settled his stare on Jason, which flicked aside to Olivia for a brief moment before returning.

"Newcomers," said Wyvern in a low voice.

Harpy's gaze snapped up, her feathers bouncing with the movement.

"Are you involved, or do you possess information upon events that have occurred here?" asked Harpy.

"The High Shadowspeaker is my mother," said Jason, inclining his head a respectful amount as he usually did, transformed or not. "I was given a message that requested my presence here."

Wyvern's tail thudded against the starstone floor yet again. "No one has left this scene."

"The Speakers outside know of it," said Jason. "I was simply following my superior's orders."

Wyvern looked to Harpy, who frowned.

"We cannot leave anything to chance if it proves important," said Harpy. "You both may enter the Starlight Hall, by permission of Skypillar's Fury."

With a bow, Jason took the three steps up to the Starlight Hall's bottom floor. Hesitant footsteps a few moments later told him that Olivia had followed his lead.

Jason crouched beside his mother, who though hunched in her chair, still seemed very much aware. "May I inquire as to my mother's health before you ask your questions?"

"I will survive," said Aurelia in a breathy, pained voice that twinged something inside Jason's chest. "Though I may require assistance for a time while I heal, the injury is not as bad as it appears. It is merely a surface wound. By the blessing of Skypillar's Shadow, my dagger was able to hold off my attacker, though by the curse of the Other I know not why a civilian saw fit to attack one of the Luminaries most sacred places."

"Someone ran in here and attacked you for no reason?" said Olivia, her head tilted to one side as she drew the attention of the room. She bit her lip. "They didn't... I don't know, steal anything? You didn't get a look at them?"

As Harpy's frown deepened and Wyvern sneered, Jason's theory was confirmed.

The corrupted Manifested on the outskirts of the temple not even half an hour ago had been a distraction to lure both Harpy and Wyvern away from the temple while someone had come into the Starlight Hall, taken Ella's fragment that Cryo and Banshee had deposited here last night for safekeeping, and then fled, attacking Aurelia on the way out when she caught them in the act.

It also taught Jason a rather important lesson.

Apparently, golden starstone had loopholes.

The Other could have agents inside the temple grounds that we're blissfully unaware of, he realised. Andrew and Melissa might not be as safe as we thought they were.

"The attacker's identifiable features were thoroughly covered," said Harpy. "But I believe that we're getting off track. Can you tell me about what you were doing? Who you recieved the message from? Any information may be important."

"I was assisting with the move of Andrew, the now-Dark Centaur Luminary, and his partner, Melissa, after their lives were endangered last night," said Jason, ensuring his breathing was even before he continued. "We were delayed by the Manifested earlier in the day, but had arrived and were unpacking when I was approached by a Speaker about my mother. I do not know where they received the message from, but they could not give me further details."

Harpy asked a few further questions, particularly about events he knew were designed to catch out his extended knowledge of the situation, but Jason answered them and seemed to pass her tests.

"This is unfortunate indeed," said Harpy to Wyvern. "It appears someone was prepared, that this was a premeditated attack." She didn't say why, but Jason knew--Ella's fragment was gone, even if he didn't know what that would mean for his and Banshee's amulets. "We can only hope that they are working alone. If so, their injury may give them pause."

Olivia's head jerked up. "The attacker was injured?"

"It is not of your concern, girl," said Wyvern, his nose turned up at her.

"How would you know what's my concern or not, Wyvern?" Olivia put her hands on her hips as she spoke, but something flashed across her face and wavered her strangely placed confidence as the room looked at her. She folded her arms instead, her gaze on the ground. "I mean, if someone Other-touched is inside gold starstone, then clearly the temple isn't as safe as you're all claiming it is. There might not have been a point to Andrew and Melissa being moved here in the first place if that's true."

Wyvern opened his mouth to reply, but somewhat incredulous, Jason beat the Luminary to it.

"Shadowheart, am I to believe that your thoughts are concerned not with a High Shadowspeaker's health nor with a potential Manifested attack on temple grounds, but with the fact that your labour earlier today may have been wasted?"

Olivia blinked as she looked up to meet his gaze, startled. "What? No, I didn't mean--"

"You insisted that you would not cause a problem and I allowed you to come," said Jason. "It seems that once again, that trust was misguided."

Olivia frowned, her head shaking from side to side. "I wasn't--"

"Jason," said Aurelia, her glare settling on him. "The Starlight Hall in the presence of the eldest Luminaries is not the place for such an argument."

"I agree, High Shadowspeaker," said Jason as he inclined his head towards the Luminaries. "I apologise, Harpy, Wyvern. If there is nothing further you require from me, I will take my leave with Shadowheart."

"Will anyone actually let me finish for two Other-cursed seconds!" said Olivia, stomping a foot on the ground. "If the attacker was injured badly enough, there's no way she'd get out of the temple grounds without being noticed. Someone would have seen her, and she probably would have changed. A fully covered figure is suspicious, right? Plain clothes--injured or not--isn't. She could still be in the temple grounds."

The room went silent, with the exception of Olivia's slightly louder than usual breaths.

Wyvern's attention slid back to Aurelia. "How badly did you say the attacker was injured, High Speaker?"

"I believed them to be a Manifested since they attacked me, so I did not hold back," said Aurelia, still attempting to sit up straight despite her injury. "My dagger pierced their arm and possibly their leg, though I cannot be sure. I know that they bled."

Wyvern turned and walked away. "I'll investigate."

As Wyvern took off with a rush of air, Harpy's curious gaze fell on Olivia, who looked more than a little offended.

"I am intrigued, if I may ask," said Harpy. "Why did you presume the attacker to be a female just now?"

"What?" said Olivia, glancing over her shoulder at the derparting Wyvern before returning to Harpy "Um, well... yea. I think the Shadowspeaker said it before when she was talking about her attacker. Guess I picked it up from there."

"I was listening rather closely, and I must say I missed that particular piece of information," said Harpy. She looked to Aurelia. "Were you aware of the attacker's gender?"

"No, I was--ah!--not," Aurelia said around her gasp of pain as the medic did something at her side.

"Interesting," said Harpy. "Perhaps subconsciously you were aware and mentioned it." She nodded at Olivia. "Thank you for noticing that tidbit. It may be extremely helpful in our search. Though I think that for now, that is all the help I can ask of either of you."

"Happy to help," said Olivia, inclining her head towards Harpy.

Jason held his tongue. He knew better than to voice his opinion against a Luminary, no matter how much he wanted to.

He would have noticed, had his mother mentioned a female in particular. Olivia's jumps in logic--Skypillar--even her jumps in the conversation and which pieces she'd based her spiel on had been far too big for anyone to take seriously, in his opinion. She was wasting the time of two Luminaries, purely because she hadn't been able to hold herself in check.

But he took his leave and said nothing of this as they walked outside of the Starlight Hall and began heading back towards their previous location.

He was happy to maintain their silence until thirty seconds or so later, Olivia spoke.

"Thanks for letting me come, Jason," she said, her voice far too light and happy for the situation. There was no way the small smile she was giving him was real, her head tilted slightly to the side. "I appreciate it a lot."

He was starting to see a series of coincidences that might be more together.

Olivia's wandering into the Starlight Hall. The innocent, naive act she put on. Her punishment that would see her at the temple for the next six weeks. Her absence during the Offerings--avoiding the Luminaries. The loophole with the golden starstone. How she'd known the attacker was a female. How she'd known that something was stolen.

But he didn't let any of it show. He didn't breathe a word of it.

Jason kept his gaze straight ahead and said five words.

"Please address me as Frostsong."

He kept walking, all the while, trying to figure out how he could prove that Olivia Shadowheart had been touched by the Other.

*+*+*+*

A/N - OKAY, SO TO CELEBRATE THE END OF NANO AND MY LAST MINUTE PANIC WRITING RUSH (seriously look at my NaNo graph), WE'RE GONNA PLAY A GAME. 

Until and including Wednesday (Australian Wednesday), each chapter will have a vote goal down the bottom. 

You guys hit the goal, you get the next chapter as soon as I see you've hit it. If you're fast enough, you can get more than one chapter a day ;D 

Vote goal goes up by like 10 votes every chapter you get. 

THIS CHAPTERS VOTE GOAL: 100

GO.

(comments are still appreciated too pls don't forget about those => Yell at Jason aaaaaalll you like~)