The announcing bark caused Halcyon to turn around and, for a brief moment, greet his fellow pack mate with a smile. Which faded at the sight before him. The body of an older wolf, beaten and ragged, resting at the paws of the black and white male made his fur stand on end. Eyes wide in shock and lips raised in a silent growl, the new king wasn't sure how to react to the scene. At once, he was taken back to a distant memory he had thought forgotten. A young prince, barely two years of age, hiding in a tall patch of grass, watching the wolfess who had killed his parents and her mate. They had killed a puppy right in front of him and ate its flesh. He had been horrified by the action and it made his blood boil now. An even further memory popped into his brain, a faded image of his father, telling them of his struggle with the cannibalistic wolves that had raged all over Moladion. If Iblis had been alive, he would have attacked Singe without a second thought.

But Halcyon was not his father, which was why he forced himself to calm hackles and sheath his fangs. He had yet to speak, which might have put Singe in an uncomfortable position, but the king needed a moment to gather his thoughts. The black and white wolf had taken him by surprise and in order to best understand the situation he needed to process what the former queen had said. Halcyon had promised the late Tick Tock that her wolves, some known cannibals, could remain in Asteraia. He was not about to break that promise now. But he was not going to allow them to eat the flesh of another wolf within the pack lands! Opening his eyes, Halcyon gazed, reluctantly upon the corpse at his paws. He did not recognize the poor creature, which did little to settle the flame in his stomach. Looking back up at Singe, Halcyon felt his tail rise slightly as he spoke.

"While I do thank you for thinking of the pack in your… hunt… I must tell you that myself, and many of the wolves who live here now do not eat… wolves. I am not going to tell you that you can't continue to feast on our own kind, Singe, but I am going to request that you do so outside of Asteraia lands." His words were kind, but firm. Truth be told, the hunter was probably only doing what had been taught to him. He may not know any better. Thinking again, he lowered his tail slightly and offered a small smile, trying his best to ignore the dead wolf. "If you would like, myself and a few other wolves will gladly help you hunt other prey. Asteraia is thriving with other animals we can eat, like bison or pronghorns."

The king wasn't going to stop Singe from hunting the food he most desired, but perhaps, he could show him that there were other options. He hated to force Singe to eat outside of the pack lands, especially now with strange creatures stalking the nights, but he was not about to let his young niece and nephews discover a wolf eating another wolf. He wouldn't wish that sight on anyone else.