As quickly as Salim's legs would allow, he crossed the path of the Baldskins and plunged into the forest. Conifers close together blocked the light from reaching the smaller bushes and so the lynx had a clear view of what lay ahead. Unfortunately, he couldn't spot his two kittens.

He lifted his snout and quickly sucked in the air cooled by the lake. And to his luck, he could actually recognize the strong scent of Valja and Akuma, which indicated that they had not been gone for long. Salim set his paws in motion and hurried after the kittens, following the scent. After just a few heartbeats, he was relieved to see that they had made their way back to the cave, just as they had promised.

It took him a while to sweep through the tangle of firs, spruces and cedars and finally catch sight of his cave from a distance. With a few long leaps, he reached it completely and trotted hurriedly into the twilight, which was only sparsely lit by the light of the sun.

"Valja? Akuma? Are you here?" he asked into the oppressive silence and an uncertainty came over him that he could barely shake off. He could smell the two of them clearly, but were they still here? Was that the smell from this morning that was forcing itself on him or was it fresh? He was so worried that he couldn't tell. He turned his head in all directions to check every little corner of the cave, but he couldn't find his kittens anywhere. Where had they gone? Once again, he tried to find Valja and Akuma with the sufficient light, fearing he hadn't looked around closely enough earlier, but again, no kittens. He swallowed quietly and some of the hairs on the back of his neck stood up involuntarily. Where had they gone? Did their disappearance have something to do with the lynxess he had surprised on his visit to the lake? Countless thoughts flew through his head like a whirlwind that could hardly be contained.

The lynxess whose scent seemed so familiar to him, he decided, must have something to do with it. He thought hard about where he knew it from, until it hit his fur like cold water in the morning. It had been the smell he had encountered so many times before. The first time was probably with Alicia, when he had found her dead in his territory. The second time was in his den, the one he'd been in when Miles had been lying dead on his bed. Perhaps there were some differences between the scent of the murderess and the one on the blades of grass by the lake, but he blamed them on the time that had passed. If that lynxess had harmed a hair on his kitten's head, it would be over. He swore to himself on everything he held sacred.

He was just about to turn around in fright to examine the surroundings of his home, hoping that he wouldn't come across any blood, when he heard a noise behind him. Before he could turn towards it, a weight landed on his back and, in surprise, his legs gave way under him and he fell to the ground. Salim exhaled in alarm and opened his eyes. Thoughts blindly flashed through his mind, the murderess of his three kittens had returned, now to add him to the dead. But then he heard a laugh that immediately drove all the tension out of him.

"You should have seen your face!", Akuma laughed and climbed off his back. The weight immediately eased. Salim stood up in disbelief and shortly afterwards looked into the laughing faces of Valja and Akuma.

"As if...", Valja could barely get a sentence out, "...you've seen a ghost!" The two of them rolled around on the floor in sheer joy at the successful prank and kept looking at their father's stunned face, which made them laugh even louder.

"What was that all about?", Salim asked incredulously, his face twisted into an indignant grimace. "That wasn't funny!"

"Oh no?", Valja snorted and paused in her movements briefly to give him a grinning look.

Akuma also opened his eyes, which were watering with laughter, and said: "That was the best thing since the bug in Valja's ear!" Salim could hardly believe it. He was most worried about his little ones and then realized that they were just playing a trick on him. A prank which, he had to admit, was hardly planned and yet succeeded. He really was the perfect victim for something like that. He grinned involuntarily and gave his kitten another, but this time shorter, fit of laughter. Even if it was at his expense, he still loved to see them laugh.

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"You're impossible”, he grumbled with mock reproach. He would get even with the two of them. And then he would be the one to laugh, even if he wasn't a master prankster and his kittens clearly knew better than he did.

He watched them both for a few more heartbeats before he shot forward with a slight grin and grabbed Akuma by the scruff of his neck. The lynx made a surprised sound when he suddenly found himself no longer on the ground but in Salim's mouth.

"Hey!" he said indignantly and wriggled with all four paws to free himself from Salim's grip. "What are you doing! Let go of me!" But the lynx didn't let go of him as he carried him to the moss nest. In the background, both lynxes could hear Valja giggling, which only caused Akuma to struggle even more. It didn't do him any good, though.

"It's getting late. You must sleep now”, Salim explained as he set his son down on the cushion and then turned to Valja, with whom he then engaged in a chase through the cave. And Akuma took the opportunity to move freely again.

It took a long time before he was finally able to drive the two of them to the sleeping area. It was incredible how much stamina these kittens had.

"But, Dad”, Valja complained as she squatted on the moss, not even thinking about going to sleep now. "The sun hasn't even gone down yet!" Salim just nodded in response and took a quick look out of the cave. No, it hadn't quite disappeared behind the horizon yet, but the reddish rays were hard to miss.

"Yes, yes”, he said, smiling a little, exhausted from all the running. It was only with the greatest discomfort that the two of them put up with it.

It was a long time before Valja finally came to rest and then fell asleep together with Akuma. Salim watched his chest rise and fall and then also fell into a light sleep.

The next morning, Salim was awakened by the restless movements of his kitten, who kept looking for a new position to sleep in, but never seemed to wake up. The lynx yawned tiredly and was glad of the warmth radiating from their bodies. Ice-cold morning air entered the cave through the exit and was stored there by the walls or passed on the temperature directly to the three lynxes. The sun had not yet risen, otherwise it would probably not have been so cold and Salim knew he would have noticed its rays by then. He stuck his nose back between his kittens two pelts, where it was nice and warm, even though hair got caught in his muzzle with every breath. They really did smell lovely, so innocent, of earth and leaves, of the moss they slept on and of the lake they had visited yesterday. It had become easy for him to tell them apart by their scent, something he would never have thought at first. Secretly, he even thought he knew them inside out. Their appearance, their character, their habits. If you had asked him, he could have listed everything that made them special. At least he hoped so, otherwise he would have questioned his role as a father pretty quickly.

Another movement on Akuma's part snapped him out of his thoughts and Salim raised his head. His son yawned heartily and his increasingly sharp teeth flashed unusually white in the darkness.

"Morning", Salim whispered so as not to wake Valja, but Akuma only nodded sleepily and his head sank back onto the soft moss that had spread all over his body while he slept. Salim gave the lynx a quick lick over his fur as he fell back into a light sleep.