"Excuse me - Callum, could I have a moment with Ibis, please?" Ethari asked during the march the next day.
"Huh?" the human prince asked, then, "Oh, yeah, of course. I'll just…"
Callum pointed over towards his aunt, and then jogged to catch up with her.
"Something on your mind?" Ibis asked, wondering what this was about.
"Well," the Moonshadow artisan chuckled, "I feel I should first apologize for my husband's behavior - so much has changed in such a short time. Even shorter fer him. He's still comin' around."
"I understand," the Skywing mage nodded, then chuckled, "As long as he doesn't try to give me any more advice, no harm done."
Ethari chuckled himself, "He did mean well, but I'm sure you got your point across."
"So then," Ibis asked, "What did you actually want to speak to me about?"
"We think Rayla," the artisan glanced over at his foster daughter, "May want to go on ta Katolis instead of returnin' to the Silvergrove."
The Skywing mage chuckled again, "They haven't been hiding it very well, have they?"
Speak for yourself, Ethari thought, but said, "Actually, they had Runaan fooled - until Callum mentioned it when talkin' to Soren. Tha's why we only discussed it last night."
"And where do I come in?" Ibis asked, though he had an idea.
"She's old enough to look after herself," the artisan said, "But nah old enough to be on her own, you know?"
"So you'd like me to look after her if she chooses to go to Katolis?" the Skywing mage asked.
"If you don' mind," Ethari said, "We're a bit too settled to pick up fer a teenaged romance, but we don' want ta hold her back, either. And it could be good fer her - gettin' away from home fer a bit."
"And I was already planning on going there myself," Ibis nodded, "Well, I doubt she'd be in any real danger, but I understand why you'd want someone you trust looking after her. I accept - if she chooses to go to Katolis."
"I get the feelin' tha' she will," Ethari snorted, "Whether or nah she works up the nerve to ask before we leave is another matter."
"We shall certainly see," the mage replied.
"Thank you," the other man said, waving as he walked away again, "We'll let you know."
Ibis waved back, watching Ethari return to walking by his husband's side.
It wasn't long before Callum jogged back over, and asked, "So what did you guys talk about?"
"Nothing in particular," the mage replied, "Did you have any questions about what we've discussed so far?"
It was an easy distraction - Callum always had questions.
That night, Ibis found himself sharing a meal with Soren again. The mage thought about his conversation with Runaan the night before - about how being raised by a dark mage had affected the young Crownguard. He was starting to get hints, but most of what he knew about Viren was secondhand - and not from his new friend.
"Soren," he started, carefully, "What was your father like?"
"You… have to ask?" the young man replied, frowning.
"I want to know your perspective," Ibis clarified.
Soren sighed, looking away.
"You don't have to," the Skywing mage added, softly, "But it must be difficult, not to say anything."
The human sighed again, but turned back and scooted closer. He didn't look at Ibis, and kept his voice low, "It wasn't always bad. Growing up, my dad was my favorite person."
Soren chuckled, "He hates getting his clothes dirty, but he still took Claudia and me mud sledding. Claudia loves surprises, and every year, she would tell Dad and me what kind of surprises she wanted. I don't know if she really forgot - she's… kind of spacey - but she always acted surprised when we pulled it off."
Ibis smiled sadly - while it was heartening to know the human's past wasn't solely filled with bad memories, he already knew how things ended.
"I don't… really know when things changed," the Crownguard frowned, "Claudia started learning dark magic, and she and Dad were two peas in a pod with their creepy ingredients and weird incantations. And I… wasn't."
Soren shifted his weight before continuing, "My dad never… said he was disappointed in me. But he didn't say he was proud of me, either. Not as much as he said it to Claudia. I guess… I always pushed myself so hard because… if I couldn't be the kind of son he wanted, then I could at least be the best at what I could do, you know?"
Ibis didn't want to interrupt - he set his empty plate aside, and shifted a little more comfortably. But he could tell - his input wasn't needed yet.
"And I was the best - I mean, at least one of them," Soren rubbed the back of his neck, "Youngest Crownguard in history! I was so excited about it - and even though it wasn't about magic, I thought Dad would be, too."
"He did congratulate me," the young man went on, smiling briefly, "But… he started talking about how I needed to take things seriously now. Needed to be more mature. Like… like I hadn't worked my ass off just to get where I was. Like none of it mattered."
Soren's knuckles went white with how hard they were clenching his plate - and then they relaxed all at once as he sighed, "So I… just stopped talking to him as much. It was… really easy, actually. Because… I don't think he even noticed. At least, I like to think he didn't notice - it's… better than thinking he did, and just didn't care."
Ibis reached out, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder - just to remind him he wasn't alone.
The human finally met the mage's eyes, and managed a smile before looking away again and going on, "My Dad was always an intense guy - but I used to think he was fair. Harsh, but fair. When I was a kid, I wanted to do anything to make him proud of me. But… I don't remember when I started being more afraid of disappointing him than just embarrassed or upset."
"When Claudia and I were tracking down the princes," Soren started, faltered, and went on, "I fought a dragon. It was stupid - she was flying over this town without hurting anybody, and I though I could scare her off with a ballista arrow. Big some big hero. Instead, she attacked the town in retaliation. Claudia… used dark magic, and we drove her to the ground."
"I know it was wrong now, but we chained her up. Except Callum and Rayla came to free her - and she knocked me into a rock. Paralyzing me from the waist down."
"Forgive me for pointing out the obvious…" Ibis said.
Soren snorted, "Yeah - Claudia healed me with her magic. That was when she chose me over Zym. But, the thing is - when I thought I was never going to move again… I was relieved."
"Relieved?" the elf asked. The mage wasn't sure he was ready to consider the implications of dark magic healing - it almost seemed contradictory. And it most certainly incurred a high price.
"Because I couldn't hurt anyone anymore," the human replied, hunching his shoulders, "And it terrifies me now that I was more scared of my Dad than hurting people. And not just random people, or enemies - people I knew and cared about."
"I mean, not that hurting random people is good, or anything," Soren added, "But…"
"I know what you meant," Ibis assured him, giving his shoulder a squeeze. Well, Runaan wasn't entirely wrong - Viren certainly did twist Soren up inside.
"Still," the human sighed, "I never… wanted to believe he was… evil. Maybe not… good, but at least… I don't know. Doing bad things for good reasons? Man, that sounds lame…"
"It makes sense to me," the mage replied, "I do not agree with the philosophy that the ends justify the means, however, I would hardly judge every person who believes it to some degree to be truly evil."
"For example," Ibis went on, "The Moonshadow elves are assassins - and while they do not kill indiscriminately, they do kill. If you wish to know their philosophy, I would suggest asking Runaan - but the fact remains that I do not consider the Moonshadow elves evil, even though they are assassins."
"Thanks," Soren said, "It… helps to hear someone else say it."
The Skywing mage nodded.
"But what I was trying to say was," the human went on, "The more awful things I hear that my dad did - and not just recently - the more I realize how much I was just… lying to make myself feel better for still loving him."
Ibis flinched in surprise at the admission.
Soren stood suddenly, "I'm going for a walk."
The Skywing mage watched him go for a moment - blinking after the sudden departure. But only a moment - he was following after soon enough.
A fight? Runaan wondered - though everyone else had been close enough to see what happened. The assassin glanced around before subtly moving back.
"Don' you think you've caused enough trouble?" Ethari said quietly.
"I'm nah goin' to cause trouble," Runaan replied, slipping away.
His husband sighed, wishing he believed that. Can never leave well enough alone…
Soren didn't go far - just far enough to avoid prying eyes before punching a tree.
Ibis flinched, pausing.
"I should hate him," the human said, "I should hate him more than anyone. I should-"
It was the sharp intake of breath that made Ibis walk forward - to put a hand on his friend's shoulder and make the young man face him.
"I should hate him," Soren repeated, looking up with tears in his eyes, "But I still don't."
Ibis was ready when Soren turned, wrapping his arms around the young man as he sobbed in earnest - and it made sense, why he'd walked away. Not wanting anyone else to see - or hear - this.
"I don't hate him, and it makes me sick," the human cried, "Because after everything, how can I-! How can I still-!"
"Shhhh," the mage pulled him closer, letting him have it out. It's because you're a good person, Soren.
He didn't put voice to the thought - now wasn't the time. There was no value in saying such a thing when it wouldn't be heard.
"Why can't I just hate him?" Soren asked, quietly.
While they remained, a certain Moonshadow elf assassin reappeared at his husband's side - almost as if he'd never left.
"Learn anythin'?" Ethari asked, mildly surprised by the quick return.
"I am a fool," Runaan sighed.
His husband snorted, "I tried to tell you."
The assassin sighed again, "I know."
"Well, now that tha's done with," Ethari said, and jerked his head towards Rayla and Callum, "Should we deal with the issue that's actually our business?"
Runaan snorted, "Well, we know Rayla won' bring it up on her own, so might as well."
The artisan smiled, then pressed his mouth closed to suppress a laugh as his husband walked up to the pair and crossed his arms.
It was an act - mostly - but it was still funny to watch the teens' backpedalling as Runaan 'confronted' them.
With a glance towards where Ibis and Soren had gone off, Ethari got up to play the steadying hand.