“What…?”

Having also lowered her voice as they entered the quiet walls of the cathedral, Bella glanced between Rithrynn and Liaena (who was giving the former the mother of all black stares) with some befuddlement, which was finally replaced with surprise as she caught the Night – Elfs meaning. “Ohhh…no no no, nothing like [i]that[/i]. We just go way back, don’t we Li, hmm?” 

“Oh yes” Liaena simpered with an entirely fake smile to match Bella’s. The two girls continued to eye each other up challengingly as they walked quietly behind Marshall. “What are you up to, Bella? I’m not making you late for anything, am I?”

“Oh well, actually I'm off duty so don’t worry about that. How about you, Li? Anything I can help with, at all?”

“….No, no...but thanks for the offer. I’m—“

[b]"I can hear my own voice in here!"[/b]

….

The two girls paused in their quiet talk to turn and stare at the Night Elf walking along behind them, along with several people passing by in the vicinity around them. They had passed from the atrium, through another set of double doors into the huge hall of the cathedral and were walking up the far left side, parallel to a row of columns that reached up to the great dome of the ceiling. Which Rithrynn’s voice was now echoing from. 
[b]
“—here”

“—here”[/b]

“—here”

[i]“What [b]is[/b] her problem?”[/i] Bella whispered into Liaena’s ear with a muffled giggle as Fran set about berating the Night Elf. Marshall on the other hand, appeared to have entirely ignored Rithrynn’s behaviour, or perhaps was too deaf to hear it. Instead he had strode away into the main body of the church, as the girls turned hurriedly to follow. 

The wide central section of the Cathedral was lined with wooden pews, with a clear aisle in the centre. There were a few local people sitting in various locations on these, but it was evidently not a official time of worship if the low turnout was anything to go by. 

Beyond the pews, there was a small open area before encountering a white marble plinth, jutting out of the floor to form a shallow step and elevating the far back of the gigantic hall. Further back on the elevated area was a flight of steps, leading up to where an altar was banked by glowing candles on its left and right. The back of the hall was given over almost entirely to windows, reaching the whole length of the back wall and up towards the roof. Glancing up towards the arches of the ceiling could reveal cunningly located mirrors if one cared enough to search for them, redirecting light from the windows back towards the altar; ensuring that even the feeble winter sun was enough to bathe the plinth in light. 
 
It was on the first low step that a woman in priest robes stood, speaking quietly to a working man standing on the lower ground and holding his cloth cap in his hands. Passing her hand briefly over his forehead the man stepped away; leaving her to turn to observe Marshall approaching, pursued by Liaena and Bella. 

“Priestess Thea” 

“Priest Marshall”

Thea inclined her head in acknowledgement, before stepping down to look over the other bringing up the rear behind the old man. “Apprentice Rune. Apprentice Silva. Welcome back Fran, I was glad to hear of your fathers recovery. And...”

“….”

The entire group paused to look at Rithrynn, who had cheerfully stepped up onto the plinth to get a better view and was now studying the entire room. 

….

“Wut?”

[i]“Get. Down.”[/i] Liaena hissed after a long moment, where it became clear that nobody else was planning to resolve the situation for her. A hard tug on her sheath had a grumpy Rithrynn down at the same level – of sorts – as everyone else, as Thea inclined her head towards the elf. “Welcome to the Cathedral, Night Elf. I hope you enjoy your visit”

“Not rea--”

“…Priestess Thea!” Liaena jumped in hastily, before Rithrynn could cause events to unravel any further. “Father Marshall had something important to discuss with you!”

Thea gave the old man a brief look, to which he responded with a short nod. Turning to walk towards the edge of the great hall, she turned back as her gaze settled on Liaena again to give her a penetrating look. “Am I to assume this is to involve [i]you[/i], Apprentice Rune?”

“….Yes.” the girl said carefully. “And uh…Fran and Rithrynn here, they’re kind of involved too. Not Bella though. She’s not”

“What? Aw, but Li…”

“I see. Be about your duties then, Apprentice Silva” Thea’s voice, while never raising above a mild monotone, still managed to possess many of the qualities of a whip-crack that had Bella pursing her lips and backing away slowly. Turning to open a side door, she gestured to usher the other towards it. “If you would then, Father. You may use my study.”