Soren sighed, sitting on the edge of the platform on top of the Storm Spire. He knew he should probably be down below, being a Crownguard and all - but he wasn't too worried about Ezran's safety under the watchful eye of Dragon Queen Zubeia.

He looked down at his hands - they were still shaking. After the elation of winning the battle had worn off, the shaking had come back.

"You don't seem very happy, Soren."

Soren flinched, grabbing his thighs as he turned to see who had spoken.

Ibis tilted his head the human, and waved at the ledge, "May I join you?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Soren said, forcing a chuckle, fingers digging into his thighs.

The Skywing elf nodded, and took a seat next to the young man. He noticed the tension, gaze flicking down and back up, "You seem… troubled."

"What? No, I'm not, I…" Soren waved his hands with false cheer, then sighed, face falling. He looked away, letting his hands fall back in his lap again, "I'm… not a good liar."

Ibis offered him a smile, "No, you aren't. But that isn't a bad thing."

Soren was able to return a brief smile of his own, "Yeah. Guess not."

For a few moments, they sat in silence. This high, the wind whooshed around them, keeping them from falling into complete silence.

"During the battle, I…" Soren started, then reached up to rub the back of his neck, "I killed my dad. Well, I mean, I thought I did - it was…"

"Take your time," Ibis said, leaning back on his arms.

The Skywing elf had apparently missed the human making the speech that caused the other humans to stay and fight, but he'd heard about it second-hand. Still, even before then, Ibis had been there for Soren's arrival - and respected the struggle it must have been to turn against his father. After all that, he could certainly lend an ear.

Soren sighed, letting his hand drop again, "It was just an illusion. But… he-it was trying to kill King Ezran. So I… I had to stop him. It. Fuck."

The human buried his face in his hands, trying to breathe. He couldn't get it out of his head. His dad standing over Ezran, poised to strike. Claudia yelling for him to stop. The way his sword had slid so easily into Viren's chest - like it was a real person. His sister crying.

Ibis hesitated before sitting up, reaching over to rub comforting circles between Soren's shoulder blades.

"I know it was the right thing to do," the human said, shaking as his eyes welled up, "And he still ended up… but…"

"But he was your father," Ibis said, nodding.

Soren nodded as well - more violently as he sat up and rubbed the heel of his palm into his eyes, "It's stupid. He was evil, and… and he brought it on himself, and-"

"It's not stupid," the Skywing elf said, letting his hand rest on the human's back, "You chose to do the right thing - and that is not always easy. Especially with family involved. That does not mean you should feel nothing."

"Thanks," Soren said. He swallowed, holding his shaking hands in front of him again, "I just… I can't stop thinking about it. It's… it's somehow worse, than him actually dying. Me doing the killing, even if it was an illusion."

"You are allowed to mourn, Soren," Ibis said, shifting closer and wrapping his arm around the young man's shoulders, "The battle is over - you should let your grief run its course."

"I keep thinking," the human said, still watching his own hands as he hunched in on himself, "Maybe if I… if I had realized what my dad was sooner, if I wasn't so… so dumb, I could have stopped him before all this. Without…"

Ibis sighed, and gently pushed Soren's hands down, "Your father's death is not your fault."

"Isn't it?" the young man asked, turning to meet the elf's eyes, "I chose the right side in the end, but… he asked me to kill the princes. Way before all this. And I… I was going to do it. I tried to do it."

The Skywing elf blinked, tilting his head, "Did you?"

"Yes!" Soren pushed away from the elf, getting up to pace the platform, "I mean, I didn't like… attack them or anything. I just…" he shook his head, "I didn't want to do it! But I still-!"

He couldn't breathe. He put his hands over his ears, trying to drown out the way his heart roared in them with pressure. He screwed his eyes shut, feeling sick that he'd even attempted to harm Ezran. Ezran - who'd always been like a weird little brother or something. The king, whom he was sworn to protect.

It was fucked on so many levels it made him dizzy.

"Soren," Ibis's voice felt far away, but the hands on his wrists were reassuringly steady, "Look at me, please."

Soren's breaths came in ragged and shallow, but he complied, opening his eyes to meet the elf's.

Once he had the young man's attention, Ibis went on, "King Ezran and Prince Callum are safe. You need to breathe."

Slowly, Soren's breathing steadied out, and he let the elf pull his hands down. He looked at the ground, eyes unable to focus, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Ibis considered the question, hands still wrapped around the human's wrists. He studied the point of contact, and gave a reassuring squeeze, "I am not fond of seeing others in pain. You risked much, coming to warn us - and staying to fight. Why shouldn't I offer some form of comfort?"

Soren sighed, and leaned forward slightly to rest his forehead against the elf's shoulder. He felt drained, "I don't really deserve it."

"I think I will decide that for myself, thank you," Ibis said, letting the human lean into him.

Soren snorted softly, closing his eyes again.

After some time, Ibis said, "I believe you would benefit from some rest. We leave for Katolis in the morning."

"We?" Soren asked, pulling back to arch a brow at the Skywing elf.

Ibis chuckled, "Prince Callum asked me to help him learn more about the Sky Primal - after his help in returning and protecting Azymondias and waking Zubeia, I was happy to agree."

"Oh, yeah," the young man sighed, clearing his throat as he pulled away and rubbed at the back of his neck, "Um, sorry about…"

"You don't need to apologize," Ibis held up his hands disarmingly, "I did ask."

"Right," Soren said, looking at the ground.

He wondered if he'd be able to sleep - he was exhausted. He'd barely gotten any sleep before the battle, even after staying up for days on end - pure adrenaline keeping him on his feet. But when he'd tried to sleep earlier, it had escaped him - which was why he'd come to sit on the ledge.

Ibis seemed to sense his hesitation, and considered before saying, "I happen to know an ancient elven technique for better sleep, if you're interested."

"Yeah?" Soren asked, picking his head up, "Couldn't hurt, I guess - wait, is it magic?"

The elf shook his head with a laugh, waving for the human to follow him back down to the lower level, "No, not in the way you mean."

The young man frowned, then shrugged to himself as he trailed after Ibis. The Skywing elf led the way to one of the bedrooms in the Spire - for elven guests. Soren and the other humans had been borrowing the old barracks of the Dragonguard, but he'd known other rooms existed.

"Is this where you've been staying?" Soren asked, feeling a little uncomfortable with the idea. Like he was invading someone else's space.

"It is where I stay when I visit the Spire," Ibis confirmed, and pulled something out of a drawer before walking over to a side door and opening it, "I know the barracks are a bit spare - perhaps a hot bath can help you relax?"

"Is this your ancient elven technique?" Soren asked, finding at least a little humor in the idea as he walked over and found himself handed a light robe.

The elf laughed, "No, but I thought it might help."

"Thanks," the human replied, accepting the robe and walking into the spacious bathroom.

Ibis closed the door behind him, leaving Soren alone.

It was nice to get the blood, sweat, and dirt off - he'd had a scrub in barracks's communal baths, but the water had been lukewarm and it had been mostly perfunctory. The water here was hot - probably from some form of magic - and being alone made Soren a bit less self-conscious about taking his time. Well, taking more time - sitting doing nothing didn't sit right with him at the moment.

Still, he felt a little less haggard when he came out of the bath in the clean robe.

"Better?" Ibis asked, having changed himself into something recognizable as comfortable sleepwear. He set aside a book, lying on a queen-sized bed with dark covers.

"Uh, yeah," Soren said, shifting his weight awkwardly.

"Good," the elf nodded, patting the space next to him, "Ready for the sleep technique?"

The human hesitated, then nodded, finding a chair to set his clothes on and walking over.

Ibis tugged back the blankets, "It works best if you lie down comfortably."

"Sure, that makes sense," Soren said, and did so. The bed was very soft, and it was already making him feel drowsy.

"Alright," the elf said, pulling the blankets back up and waved a hand, sending out a breeze that blew out the torches in the room, "I'm going to begin."

The human took a steeling breath, not sure what to expect.

And then Ibis just pulled him onto his side, tucking his chin on top of the young man's head and wrapping his arms around him.

When nothing else happened for a few minutes, Soren hesitantly wrapped his arms back around the elf, "Is… is this it?"

"This is a time-honored tradition passed down through generations," Ibis huffed good-naturedly, "Don't make me regret sharing it with you."

Soren couldn't stop himself from laughing, "Cuddling? Your, ha ha, your ancient elven technique is-"

"I understand it is not uncommon among humans, either," the elf replied, smiling and stroking down the human's back.

Soren laughed harder - and then let out a single sob. He tried to take it back - to stop himself - but it was too late.

Ibis pulled him closer, tightening his embrace, "It's okay, Soren."

And that seemed to be all he needed - the human gasped and started sobbing in earnest, holding onto the elf like he would fall apart if he let go, pressing his face into the other man's chest.

Ibis stroked his hair and rubbed his back, just letting him ride it out.

Eventually, Soren exhausted himself into sleep, still holding onto the Skywing elf.