He had been doing his best to not let old memories get the better of him. He had been uneasy in the Underdark but the rest of the camps’ lack of knowledge put him on high alert. He had to warn them to avoid the toxic fungi, the exploding spores, the endless bulette tunnels, the beautiful but dangerous sussar tree blooms - so much that it felt like he couldn’t actually rest. Trancing without seeing the night sky made his teeth ache to set them into something, his claws yearned for the chance to change his past.
There would be no shackles, no enchanted collars, no laced drinks and no meals dosed to make him pliant and willing.
But the dangers of the Underdark seemed far less imposing once they had crossed into the Shadow Cursed lands. He could see the weight of the lands as they cloaked each companion - Wyll could barely muster his good natured smile, those proud shoulders slumped as he sat silently next to Karlach. She stared ahead, eyes duller than he could remember seeing, that engine of hers casting an almost eerie glow from the darkness that seemed never ending.
Briefly his eyes met the garnet of Astarion’s, but the rogue seemed miles away - he’d barely looked at the book he held. Lae’zel was as at her whetstone ensuring that all their weapons were up to her standards. Somewhere Shadowheart was offering her praise to her Dark Lady, even with the evidence of Shar’s capricious whims and ill intent all around them she kept her faith. Gale was silent even, still tending to a meager stew to keep their rations while they had no chance to restock.
Halsin couldn’t relax. He couldn’t feel Thaniel at all, all that there seemed to be was the suffocating oppressive aura of the lands. Halsin and insisted on keeping himself on the outskirts - he’d pushed for them to all stay together, tents almost touching - and yet he had been strategic in where he placed his own tent. The bear bristled just beneath his skin, itching to get out and to do something even if it seemed unlikely and impossible.
On the outer edge of the camp, almost outside of the touch of the fire’s glow, Halsin stood with his arms crossed. He couldn’t relax - it might risk them all.