Moonspear I saw the sign and it opened up my mind, and I am happy now living without you

He thanked her with a smile, beginning to eat as she spoke.  His ears pricked attentively as she did so, and when she had finished, he raised his head, licking his lips thoughtfully.  He wanted to go home, of course, but not urgently.  He'd been gone for such an extended period that if they had missed him, they did not now, and they knew where he was.  What she said made sense.

"Ok."  He agreed, happy to comply with what she had decided.  "If you want, I'll stay."  It was easy as that.  These were their lands, and that decision rested on their shoulders; if they booted him at any point, he would understand, and would attempt best he could to make the journey back - aided or not.  In Gannets mind, he was responsible for the pack, but none but he were responsible for himself.  

"Just like last winter," he said, a touch of amusement in his tone.  Then he hadn't been hurt, just lost, but a temporary pack had let him run with them all the same.  It had been fun, but they hadn't been family, and they had not trusted him.  Exactly the same, honestly, aside from perhaps Liffey and Hydra.  There had not been their like there, or perhaps he wouldn't have been so quick to leave come spring.