Neverwinter Forest get on up again,

Luhtar’s ears flicked again at Sólhárr's calm reply, the older wolf’s measured words cutting through the cool air like the steady beat of a drum. Sólhárr didn’t falter, didn’t waver, and that unwavering steadiness grated against Luhtar’s restlessness even as it anchored him. The weight of the Hárkonungr’s gaze, coral and piercing, settled on him like a quiet judgment, though not an unkind one.

The mention of his father lingered, pressing on Luhtar more than he cared to admit. His jaw tightened, and for a moment, his gaze darted downward, scanning the path beneath his paws as though the answer might be hidden there. He knew Sólhárr was right—knew it in the way truth often felt uncomfortable, like a thorn stuck too deep to pull free.

“I know I’m not him,” Luhtar said, his voice gruff, though the edge of his earlier defensiveness had dulled. His yellow eyes lifted again, locking briefly with Sólhárr's before flitting back to the forest ahead. “But the storm... it stays with you. No matter how far you go. No matter how much you try to leave it behind.”

There was no bitterness in his tone, just a kind of weary acceptance, as if he had stopped fighting the shadows that trailed him long ago. He took a deep breath, the crisp air filling his lungs as he rolled his shoulders, releasing some of the tension there.

“You say peace doesn’t mean we’re unprepared,” he continued after a pause, his voice quieter now, reflective. “That it’s strength too. But what if the storm comes, and it finds you too still? Too quiet? What then?”

The question hung in the air, not entirely rhetorical, though Luhtar wasn’t expecting an answer. It wasn’t doubt he felt toward Sólhárr—it was fear, buried deep and tangled with the memories of the north. The storms had shaped him, had made him who he was, and even in the quiet of Forneskja, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were never far behind.

But for all his unease, for all his questions, Luhtar trusted Sólhárr—trusted him enough to follow, even if he didn’t always understand the path.