"I won't force the child to do anything," Gallus assured. "I will be upfront about what he will be giving up if he accepts my offer, and I'll be just as clear about what he will gain. I just want the boy to be given a chance, that's all. If he refuses, I might leave him with coin from a few hides I can hunt and be on my way. It's..." Gallus rubbed behind one ear. "It's important, however, that he knows what happened to his mother. It's unfair to let him assume that he was abandoned. I'll handle getting the location of the clan's escape."

Although he did so nervously, Tzirret spoke up while looking at the ground. "This one...does not think it is a good idea either, Gallus." Tzirret swallowed. "Please, just...can we just go home for a while? All of this is too much to worry about."

Gallus nodded. "Of course. Like I said, we will talk about this another time in the future." Gallus reached his arms to Peiter and Uthri's shoulders either side of him. "We've all been through a lot this past few months. Let's go home, find ourselves, then we can think about unfinished business. How does that sound?"

Uthri was hunched and looking away with crossed arms. "You're a pig sometimes, Gallus," she muttered, albeit with less disdain than before. Uthri's packmates knew this as enough interim forgiveness to accept Gallus' words.