Lost Creek Hollow don't you weep and don't you worry

His gaze went downcast at her cry, for even he was amiss on what it was that they could do. But even that was not entirely true, he knew what he would do in that situation, but he had long surrendered the majority of the decisions to her. It was primarily how they had ended up on the other side of the mountains in the first place, deep into what had been largely uncharted territory. And he knew that they were paying for it, even in spite of whatever scouting had been done beforehand. It wasn't like the cougar was just a problem for them solely, as he knew it had plagued others with its presence and ripped wolves from its ranks. Yet none of them had expressed a desire to fend it off beyond what they could do; fighting it only seemed a fair way to get bloodied and in the midst of winter, none of them had been willing to take that charge.

He didn't know what it wanted, nor did he know what would steer it clear from them. They couldn't stop their own wolves from seeking it out or otherwise getting into harm's way, that much was evident and he didn't expect them to be able to perform such a feat. "We leave," he said in hushed tones. "If we can't keep wolves to aid us, then we leave." He did not possess the faith that she held and was not bound by it. To him, leaving seemed a simple thing to do and in his mind, it was far easier to seek refuge and start again than fix what was so evidently broken.