Artur was feeling optimistic about the world, now that his brother had returned with strapping children in tow. He had brought good, strong blood into the family with his choice of mate, even if it had been somewhat accidental, an infusion the family had desperately needed. Artur was proud of his nieces and nephew, and a renewed sense of determination filled him to train hard to be a worthy protector and leader for his family.

He had set out towards the battlefield that day full of vigor, but before he got there found his pawsteps lagging as wariness settled on him, a feeling of being watched settling upon him. Was he being followed? He surreptitiously began to circle so that the wind was at his back to carry the scent of his stalker, but there wasn't much wind today to help him. He kept his ears flicked back for the sound of pawsteps, but there was seemingly nothing. Yet the feeling persisted.

He bagan looking for someplace to lay an ambush, determined to put an end to the charade, but his pursuer took that preoccupation as the cue to strike. Only luck had him turn his head to see the big tawny cat dropping from the rocks. She would have landed on him if he hadn't thrown himself into a roll to the side, barely escaping the leap. She screamed her fury at the miss and swiped at him, drawing a two lines of burning red over the bridge of his nose before he could scrabble out of reach.

He snarled at her in turn, hackles bristling. He'd fled the cat that had left the scars over his eye as a youth, but he would not let himself flee again. This one faced an adult Adravendi in his prime; he would kill her or drive her off, but he wouldn't retreat.

Skælingr worked his way west through the dry, arid land of the Redwater Rocks. He was on the hunt for sheep with his wife, but so far they hadn't much luck. He settled down in a small spot of shade and yawned. "Let's rest a moment, love. The sheep may not grow active til later." He wasn't really sure, he was more a fighter and crafter than a hunter. However, with summer beginning to bloom it wouldn't surprise him if most wildlife was waiting for the fall of night or somewhere close. He'd been about ready to lay his head down to nap when a feeling of unease crept down his back. Something was amiss but he couldn't quite put his paw on it. A lion roared and Skælingr bolted to his feet. At first he didn't see the cat but as he peered around the rock formation he'd been resting near he saw a lioness attacking a young male. Aw hell… it had to be a cat! He charged forward, fangs latching onto the lion's tail. She flipped around, claws extended, just nicking his left shoulder as he let go and ran for it. "Speech"

Ragna padded steadily ahead, her gaze low as she focused on the scents around her. There had to be some prey in this landscape somewhere. At this point she would be happy just for a rabbit. At her husband's suggestion to rest she flopped down next to him and immediately closed her eyes. They snapped open a minute later as she looked to her husband. There was no point in asking what that screeching roar was. Big cat. Skælingr took off and Ragna was quick to follow. She darted after her husband and as he let go of the cat's tail and leapt away Ragna dove in and snapped at the lion's right thigh, drawing blood but failing to get a hold on the slippery feline.

With the adrenaline coursing through him, everything around him came into crystalline focus, while his awareness of the pain amd the blood dripping from his muzzle faded. It was there, he was still aware of the burning pain, but in a distant way that didn't really matter as much as he faced off with the feline. There were subtle differences between this cat and the one who had attacked him as a youth. This one was taller, with a longer muzzle and looser lips, and a tufted tail. Not. Then, a cougar, and perhaps Artur was outmatched in this duel, but he snarled and held his ground anyway.

And then the tables turned on the cat, when a stranger dove for her tail, and another attacked when she turned on the first. Roaring in frustration the feline aimed a swat at the female wolf, and Artur didn't hesitate before he dove in to slam his shoulder into the slightly shorter cat's ribcage and knock her to the side before she could hope to land it. He got a glancing lash of claws across the front of his chest for his trouble as the cat flipped and twisted in that alinky way of cats back to her paws, but the wounds were relatively shallow as the cat was more concerned with getting her feet under her.

The odds were not in her favor, and she had clearly begun reconsidering the easy meal she had thought to find with a lone wolf.

Skælingr circled round as the younger male charged and slammed into the lioness, sending her to the ground. Instinctively, he dove in but she was quicker than he anticipated scrambling to her feet. She aimed a paw at him and he twisted his head around catching her wrist. He moved to shake his head but at that point he felt flaws digging into his side where she'd hooked in her other paw. He released his hold and pulled away before her teeth could puncture him as well. He snarled both in pain and as a threat. It was three against one and he could see the cat going quickly from predator to prey. Rather than hunting she was fighting for her life. "Speech"

After the young male slammed into the cat her husband moved in and she was quick to follow, leaping onto the cat's back and seizing one of it's ears. It yowled and scratched at her husband, eventually flinging her off but not before her teeth shredded the cats ear, sending blood streaming down the lioness' face. Ragna scrambled to her feet, moving next to her husband, ears back and hackles raised. The cat seemed uncertain if it wanted to continue. She took a step forward and snarled, trying to do her best to look intimidating. Ragna didn't go out of her way to kill other predators unless it was necessary. The cat had to be realizing what a folly this was.

Artur moved to circle the cat as though stalking it in his own turn, as the strangers harried her again, bringing himself into a rough semi-circle with the two strangers. He left the cat an out, so that she could flee, a thought that was clearly becoming foremost in the outnumbered predator's mind. She still had quite a few more pointy ends than he and the other wolves, though, and could do a great deal of damage on her way out if they didn't encourage her to get gone in a hurry, so while the cat's attention was on the wolves harassing her Artur pounced, fangs slashing across her flank in a spurt of hot blood and immediately he threw himself back again, barely in time to escape a retaliatory claw aimed for his eyes.

Skælingr kept a close eye on the cat, his legs coiled and ready to spring. The lion's ears were back and her fangs still barred. The young male wolf behind her leapt forward and bit at her flank she yowled and spun around to try and claw him. The minute she spun around Skælingr saw his opening. He darted forward snapping at her right hip, certain that his wife would go for the left. Hopefully, between the two of them they could encourage the lion to give up the fight and flee. He wanted to get on with his hunting as lion free as possible. And for a moment he wondered why this lioness was off on her own. He certainly hoped there was only one of them. "Speech"

The lioness snarled and Ragna snarled back. She snapped a warning, the movement and noise holding the cat's attention as the young male sprang forward. Ragna watched carefully as the cat twisted around to swat the boy. Then, like a well-built machine, Ragna launched herself forward in time with her husband. As he bit at the lion's right hip as she snapped at the left thigh. The lion twisted around and slashed at her but it wasn't a strike meant to wound, more to put distance. This was confirmed as minutes later the lioness took off and ran. Her tail streaming behind her as she raced away from the wolves. Ragna trotted to a stop and looked to the younger male. "Are you alright? I'm a healer if you need help."