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

Mordecai calmly gave his counterpoint, and Harlyn found that his reasoning was solid. Nothing they had done so far was working, nor would it were they to continue trying the same things they already had. Ever present in her mind was the nightmares she had involving Luke and the cat. She still felt the push from the spirits, urging her to seek him out and there they would find a solution to the Hollow's problems. But she had tried, and she had failed. And now they could not afford to keep trying considering how few they were. Really with Shikoba down and Ishi still in captive, it was just her and Mordecai left to defend their home, and their children.

It was then that it occurred to her that gods and the demon cat aside, they could not defend their territory. Any other unforeseen villain could walk right into their threshold, and they would be unable to stop them, unable to keep them from claiming their land, throwing them out, murdering their children... What did it matter if they saved themselves from Shardul and the vengeance of the Gods if the very next day, they could be taken by some other enemy?

Harlyn felt the realization fall upon her, and though it was overwhelming and terrifying, it also felt a bit like some of the weight had been lifted. There was no choice here really, was there?  "You're right..." Harlyn said quietly, "We can't stay. We couldn't protect this place whether it was the cat on our doorstep or any other enemy." Her eyes drifted across the trees in the wood and she felt remorse pooling in her heart for what they would lose. This had been everything she'd dreamed of, and now they would have to leave it behind.