Salim trotted back into his cave with his head bowed and his fur dripping. The smell of blood was still heavy in the air and not a breath went by without it being felt. Where you didn't see death before your eyes.

The lynx made his way to his sleeping place and looked at the blood-soaked moss. He had lost so many. So many. He began to sort through the moss to the tune of the remaining kittens' grunts, saving what was still dry and throwing the blood-soaked ones outside. The activity did him good, but he could still feel his heart pounding with despair.

How was he supposed to raise Valja and Akuma, take care of them, when their brother was already dead? He sighed deeply and closed his eyes briefly before turning his attention back to the moss.

He never wanted to lose anyone again, but there were already so many. So many deaths he had seen. So many lives that were gone.

Alicia hadn't been the first to die and, he couldn't have guessed at the time, she would never be the last. Perhaps it was Miles who had finally broken the streak of lynx deaths, but Salim couldn't be convinced. Why should he? Live and let live, as the saying went. More and more lynxes were dying and Salim would have done anything to stop it. But he could do nothing against time, nothing against the creatures that were running around out there seeking to kill others. Because he knew he wasn't strong enough to defend himself against them. Against the Baldskins with their wasp stings and against the bears and wolves that didn't even stop at lynx kittens in their search for food.

~

"Mom?" Salim's voice trembled slightly as he caught the scent of fear from his mother and pushed his way towards his two siblings. He heard something, but his hearing was barely sharp enough for him to know what it was.

"Don't worry, Salim." His mother licked his forehead briefly when she noticed that he was trembling. "Be very still." The lynxess pricked up her ears and the lynx noticed her nose twitching tensely, but he said nothing more.

"What's that, Minou?" his sister Laisa broke the oppressive silence, but her mother also promised her to be quiet immediately.

The four of them were standing close to the cave wall of the den that they all knew as their home. Salim had only recently seen the light outside, had run after a mouse for the first time and had felt the wind in his fur. Here, on the other hand, there was not a breath of wind and only the tense breathing of the three siblings filled the air.

Salim's mother stood stock-still, had placed herself protectively in front of her kittens and listened into the day, not saying a single word for what felt like an eternity.

But then, as Salim could hear footsteps coming closer and closer, Minou stirred again. With wide, amber-colored eyes, she looked down at her kittens and whispered the same word first to Laisa, then to Malu and finally to Salim.

"Run."

Salim frowned in confusion and a slight panic rose in him. What was their mother up to? Why would they disappear from here?

"Is this a test? Is our test starting now?" Laisa asked excitedly, but Minou silenced her with a stern look. She shook her head vigorously and picked Malu up by the scruff of her neck, but she resisted.

"Mama!" she exclaimed indignantly and wriggled wildly with her paws and legs so that Minou finally decided to let her kitten back down on the ground.

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She narrowed her eyes to tight slits as she trotted nervously out of the cave. "Quickly now. Follow me." Laisa immediately shot up to her and Salim also followed, while Malu was a little slower but still ran after her.

The only lynx of the family kept turning his head to all sides to see the trigger for their departure, but apart from the familiar trees and bushes, he could see nothing. Even though those strange and heavy footsteps still sounded behind them, now beating irregularly on the ground. Apparently, whatever was behind them was starting to run.

"Faster!" his mother yelled, stopping to wait for her kittens. Salim saw Laisa ahead of him, getting further and further away from him and heading straight for Minou. She was a fast runner, but the lynx also commanded his legs to run even faster. There was some danger in the air, that was clear, even if he didn't know what it was.

"Come on. You can do it." Minou started moving again when Salim had reached her, but she kept turning back to her kitten who was lagging behind. "Malu!" she shouted, "Faster! Run, Malu!"

Salim turned his head in the direction where he thought his sister was. And even though he could only see her for a few heartbeats, he almost stumbled at the scene that was unfolding behind him.

Malu, his little sister, who tried to run even faster than her paws could manage. Almost flying over the ground. And behind her, even further away, but getting bigger and bigger, a huge monster. A brown bear, if he wasn't mistaken. A male, maybe a female, he couldn't tell, they were too far away from him.

Another frantic glance over his shoulder was enough to see that the bear was approaching at breakneck speed. Panting, he saw his mother rushing past him, towards her kitten.

~

Salim knew she hadn't been able to save her, and no one had blamed her then. Minou had tried to free Malu from the bear's paws, but she hadn't succeeded. She had fought, even though Salim had only heard her angry and desperate cries. Until she had finally given up and decided to save her two remaining kittens. Him and Laisa. And that was the only reason he was allowed to stand here now.

The thought of his mother's strength comforted the lynx and made him feel better about the loss of his kitten. His mother had been strong for them both back then and he knew he could do the same. He could be there for Akuma and Valja, even if they no longer had anyone related to them. They were alone, he was the only one they had left. He was the only one left, he hadn't disappeared. And he wouldn't leave either.

Slowly, the lynx nodded and picked up the bloody moss and placed it outside in the pouring rain. Perhaps this would also remove the smell from the cave. Then Salim trotted back with bleary eyes and gathered up the pile of leftover material, trying to make it as cozy as possible. He lifted the two kittens and placed them on the nest with all the care he could muster. Their high-pitched voices suddenly fell silent as they felt the warmth and smell of their deceased brother, who had found his grave here.

Salim also lay down tiredly with the siblings, even though he was sitting on the ground and could barely feel the moss beneath him.

"I will protect you. Come what may. You will grow up safely and no more harm will be done to you," the father whispered into the little ears of the kittens and gently stroked their bodies with his tongue. Valja and Akuma's breathing became calmer and calmer until a gentle breeze signaled that they were now in the realm of dreams.