No, No, No!

Making his way through the lush western land, now beginning to go to gold, Artur hadn't any particular plans which, frankly, had been pretty par for the course lately. He felt like he was spinning in place, never quite going anywhere but not able to settle either. It was a less than comfortable existence. And, lately, it seemed like his mind was doing the same thing, chewing over the same subjects over and over again obsessively. He needed to move forward but was caught in that same mental rut.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of shouting that drew his attention to two wolves facing off with a lioness over a kill. Artur didn't stop moving, but let his path drift so that it took him closer. It was a good thing he had, because the lioness - who must have been desperate for food, to jump into a fight when she was outnumbered - tensed to leap. In a moment Artur shifted gears, spinning to face the ruckus and covering the relatively short distance through the grass in a series of bounding leaps, slamming into the side of the lioness as she was halfway through her leap and sending her - and him - rolling, as he was moving too quickly to completely control his landing.