Neverwinter Forest mod is þæt þonne mæg

he doesn't look when cicero approaches, but he hears the shift in weight, the soft drag of that bad leg across stone. hears the way the man settles beside him with the quiet care of someone not used to being allowed stillness.
raedwulf does not speak at first. the silence that comes to sit betixt them is comfortable, not cold. it's the kind of silence that needs no tending. and for a long while, he just breathes. watches the stars, how they glitter above the trees like cold gods. then, voice low and tired but honest, he mutters:
ic wæs nānes mannes, brown eyes do not look to the man but remain fixed upon the stars that glitter down upon them, nǣfre hæfde hlāford. a bittersweet smile breaks his monotone complexion. he doesn't expect the words to be understood, but says them anyway.
nū iċ hæbbe folc. hūs. hæl. he glances to cicero—just once. seeing his silver eyes catching moonlight. þū hæfst dǣl ðǣr. it's not gratitude spoken the way cicero might be used to, but it's more than most ever get from the old-tongued warhound. twice now, cicero has come to heal raedwulf's wounds. twice now, raedwulf finds himself indebted.
he was a man who paid his dues.