Salim remained sitting on the cave floor for quite some time, snuggled up to his kitten and his snout buried in their sparse fur. He could hardly move for grief and anger, reproach and sorrow overwhelmed him again and again, dragging him into the darkness of self-doubt. He knew that the lynx who had caused this crime was probably long gone and there was little point in pursuing him. And even if he had considered it at all, he could hardly have risen.

His little Miles, murdered. The lynx gave a short sob, but didn't lift his head because the smell of blood was still far too strong. Salim listened to the sound of the rain and would have loved to sink into the ground with it. How could he forgive himself for leaving him alone? Alone in his cave, which, as had just been proven, was not at all safe for such a delicate and ephemeral creature.

"Oh Miles, please forgive me," he whispered hoarsely, sitting up and looking down at the blood-soaked body on his sleeping nest. His whole body trembled as he carefully stood up. His legs almost buckled under him, but he somehow made it to the soulless corpse without interruption.

He fell down at his sleeping place and began to wash the blood from Miles' fur. Again and again he ran his tongue over the encrusted fuzz to cleanse his son. The dry liquid tasted bitter on his tongue and reflected the disgruntled storm inside Salim all too well. But the lynx would not be stopped, wanting to pay his last respects to Miles, though he had probably long since ascended to heaven.

Salim finished his work after the fur was clean again and only the soft moss was covered in red stains. Then he stood up, his eyes dull and his own fur, if it wasn't still so damp from the rain, dull with grief. He carefully lifted the corpse by the fur on its neck and laid it with his siblings, who immediately snuggled up to their brother.

"He's gone from us," Salim murmured in a low, trembling voice as he saw the three of them reunited and watched the scene unfold before him. Valja and Akuma pressed themselves against the motionless Miles, mewing unbearably painfully and tugging at their brother's fur. Salim didn't know how much the two of them understood, but they had to feel death too. He would have loved to give them back their brother, would have done almost anything to bring him back to life. But no kitten could survive such a brutal and devious attack. He was bitten in the throat. How cowardly one had to be to kill a defenceless kitten.

Right in the throat, just like the lynx's death bite. His tail swung back and forth restlessly and Salim swallowed as he realized a fact he had completely suppressed until now.

It simply had to have been the same lynx.

~

"Alicia? Alicia, where are you?" Salim's voice pierced his territory to the limit as he didn't bother to keep his voice down. "Alicia! Answer me!" But nothing could be heard except the sound of the wind and his own body.

He should never have let her go off on her own. He should never have let her go hunting alone. Salim reproached himself terribly, but the little lynxess had pushed and pleaded so hard that he hadn't been able to say no.

She had grown older and stronger since she had escaped the cage, but she still didn't seem ready for the wild. But he had had to let her go once. Hunting alone had always been her greatest wish and he had been so happy to fulfill it. Only Alicia had never returned.

"Alicia!" He tried to call her once more, but again he received no answer.

And then, after countless screams and a hoarse voice, he could finally make out a fresh smell. It was one that still had a faint trace of the Baldskins on it, but was already covered by moss, trees and undergrowth. He could smell the earth she always wallowed in because she enjoyed freedom so much. It was her scent.

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Salim took a deep breath of the scent and set off. He followed his little one, could almost hear her incessant chatter, how she spoke to the fir tree that crossed her path, called out a "hello" to a butterfly. He could hear her pawsteps on the ground, kicking up the leaves as she ran.

"Alicia!" There was still no sound, but the scent was getting stronger. Soon he should meet her, soon he would be able to hear her talking to herself. But then his hopes suddenly fizzled out.

A new scent had mingled with hers. A strange one, one he had never smelled before, but it was clearly there. And Salim knew it was a lynxess, could tell by its movements, which left that whiff on blades of grass.

The lynx stepped out from behind a group of trees and then saw her. His Alicia, lying there on the ground. Covered in blood. Her fur was still smooth from the grooming he had done over and over again.

But that empty body up ahead was no longer shaken by the love for life. It lay still and dead on the ground. Her dark golden eyes stared up at the sky without any reaction, nothing moved her except the blood.

The blood that crept from her throat and stained the ground. How cowardly someone had to be to attack a defenseless kitten. How sneaky? How could the murderous lynxess reconcile it with her conscience? She, it just had to be that lynxess that had done this to Alicia, had followed her and killed her with a bite to her sweet throat.

Right in the throat, just like the death bite was done by lynxes while hunting.

~

Salim swallowed. That smell was almost the same, albeit distorted by the time that had passed. And the manner of killing also seemed to match his already familiar murderess. He had never met her, but now he was determined never to lose anyone to her again. He didn't know what had happened to this lynxess that she would commit such crimes and murder, even violate the sacred law of the lynx circle. Could it really be that this lynxess had conspired against all lynxes and was now contemplating murdering all lynxes smaller and more helpless than herself?

Salim just shook his head at all his confused thoughts. What was he thinking, allowing such crazy things to happen? Just because, and even that was just a guess, a lynxess had killed two lynx kittens didn't mean it had conspired to wipe out every single one.

Shaking his head again, the lynx lifted Miles' body from the embrace of his two siblings. Valja opened her little mouth wide and made countless plaintive sounds that made Salim's heart tighten. Akuma clung to his dead brother and only let go when he hung in the air and rolled gently to the ground.

"I'm so sorry," Salim mumbled through the kitten's fur, bowing his head slightly. He would have brought him back if he had been able to, but he was helpless. So helpless.

He trotted outside into the rain, but it didn't bother the lynx this time. His fur was just as wet as his heart felt at the moment, which seemed to be suffocating in unshed tears.

He chose a spot under a sturdy birch tree and sighed sorrowfully. He dug a deep hole with his paws, which was easy for him as the water supported him and loosened the ground. The regular movement calmed him somewhat, but the pain in his bones could not be banished so quickly and easily.

At some point, Salim nodded slightly when he was satisfied with the result and laid Miles in his grave. The lynx gazed at his son for a long time, unable to tear himself away from the suffering that had been done to him.

But then he threw a paw of earth on the body and said: "I should have protected you better." And another load of the material to cover him followed: "Be sure, that your siblings will not meet the same fate." Then Salim pushed more and more of the wet mud into the hole. "I will love you for all eternity. I will find your killer and bring him to justice. Sleep well, Miles."