Neverwinter Forest said he would wipe away the tears

Set before the Hydra thread, right?

Well, whatever had gone on with the two imperial siblings, the whole thing had been kind of an oof -- Miriam had been fairly out of line, he thought, but still. Yikes. He wished he could do something to somehow repair things between mother and daughter, but he felt at least some of that was solely up to Miram to figure out, not him. What he could do is always provide safety and love, and not try to force Liliana into a situation where she was clearly unhappy. Had she talked to Simmik yet? He wasn't sure, but he didn't think so. He really did think it would help them both if he could convince either of them to give it a chance.

The howl certainly got his attention and he was quick to respond, cutting from his hunt towards where it had originated on the borders. Mal was always happy to see his children. He showed up swiftly, his expression quickly morphing to a nice muddled mix of curiosity, worry, and confusion. Okay, obviously Liliana hadn't been hurt, but why was she calling instead of just coming home and who was this? He stopped a little shorter than he might have because it did seem she was standing with that man. Was he returning her because she'd wandered too far? He'd known she'd ducked out a few times, but he couldn't do more than offer a gentle correction (or would, when other things happened, but what are timelines?) more afraid of scaring her away than anything. Still, he wouldn't assume here. Liliana? Who's this? And what was going on?