Stone Circle so i'll follow the birdsong

Stark had set aside his bleeding heart and turned an ear towards his mate to hear her input. He knew that Xan had a litter, given the state that his mate had been in when he'd visited. She'd already looked ready to whelp when he had seen them, and that was several weeks ago. The addition of the wandering family might not be such a competition to them, and the idea sounded good to him. It was at least a lead on a possible home. Stark listened as the well-worn down male spat his piece, some ire lacing his words as if it was bad of him to think of his own children. Neither adult had presented an option that sounded more than a refuge for their children. Neither had mentioned what they might be willing to do; instead, all they had said was what they would take. Stark's heart went out to the children but his own newborns had to come first. It was cruel, it was ruthless, but it was the way of the wilds. If you couldn't ensure you provided food and shelter, you had no rights breeding and endangering your young.

Bitterly he remembered how thin Octavia had been, how small and scrawny Tambourine seemed - and how he'd run himself and the pack ragged. Even ate the meat of their own, just to keep them alive. No, he wasn't going to do that again. 

He'd waited until they marched their children on, choosing not to respond to the words of the male or female nor the small pitiful sounds of the whelps. There wasn't an option that didn't jeopardize their own, and with Arlette specifically in his mind, he simply couldn't condone any sharing of their resources. He gave a long sigh as he turned to face Valette. "I feel like shit." He admitted freely, reaching out to sooth and errant clump of fur along her nape. "I just.. After seeing what happened with Octavia and Tambourine I just can't risk it with our kids." He felt like a monster, he felt like an asshole, but even if he could he wouldn't have changed his mind.