Some time passed before the kittens and Salim were able to detach themselves from the murky glitter of the water and other senses came back into operation. Suddenly the lynx felt the icy cold whistling wind, heard the sparse chirping of the birds and smelled the fresh scent of the approaching clouds, which seemed to be building up into clouds of rain.
"We should make our way back. It could start raining soon”, said the lynx, shaking briefly at the thought of water in his fur. But Valja and Akuma didn't seem to want to leave just yet.
"Oh please, dad. Let's stay here a little longer”, Valja begged and Akuma added: "A little rain won't matter." Salim couldn't understand the two of them in situations like this. Although they didn't have as thick a fur as he did, it didn't have to be fun for them to get wet either.
Valja gave him her famous begging look, but the lynx shook his head. He wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible and back to his warm and cozy cave.
"Don't be so stuffy!", muttered Akuma, his face grimacing in disappointment. "The river isn't dangerous and a little more or less water doesn't make any difference here." But those had been the wrong words to convince Salim to stay, for a new worry overshadowed his gaze. He had never thought about the possibility that too much rain would cause the river to overflow its banks. And since there was a Baldskin’s settlement on the other side of the bank and they had learned to block the water, the masses would flow into the forest, perhaps even as far as his cave. It would flood it, because although the entrance was concealed, the den opened to the north, where the water must come from in case of a flooding.
"We will retreat to our den immediately. Don't talk back”, he ordered, his eyes widening with fright and flapping his tail vigorously. His kittens would never be safe when it rained. Or he was just getting too carried away. But he did want his kittens to be safe, to be well, to not get hurt or sick.
"Well, let's go back then", Valja replied, extremely annoyed and squinting her eyes to express her disapproval.
"Let's go then." Salim led the way, leaving Akuma and Valja to trot along behind him. He quickened his pace a little when he heard a distant rumble of thunder and noticed a dark flash of lightning in the sky. They still had some time. The storm was still far away, but he knew that the roaring wind would drive it closer and closer to them. His paws almost flew over the ground, stirring up leaves and small branches that were unfortunately lying there. Together they, but especially Salim, hurried between the maples, beeches and lime trees, dodging brambles that suddenly got in his way.
"Salim, wait!", the lynx heard Akuma's voice behind him and he slowed his steps. He quickly glanced behind him, only to find that the siblings had stopped. "We have to keep going. Don't stop", he grumbled, but Valja shook her head reluctantly.
"Dad, what's that?", Akuma asked, raising his head. Salim just frowned and didn't answer at first.
"Smell it," Valja also asked him and so the lynx also stuck his nose up in the air. He really didn't know what that meant. They had better get back home as quickly as possible and not stand around pointlessly smelling something that didn't mean anything anyway. Sometimes he really wondered what was going on in the minds of the two of them to keep him here now. After all, it was getting darker and darker, and the dense canopy of trees didn't exactly contribute to a sunnier environment. Besides, what was he supposed to smell here? There was nothing here except... Salim's eyes widened when he finally smelled the dangerous thing that seemed to be creeping around them. How could he have missed it? Something like that couldn't happen to him! He could have bitten his ear off if it had brought him back to his senses.
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"Wolf", he finally uttered what his kittens had suspected. A wolf wasn't particularly dangerous to him and normally such animals avoided his territory, but this one must have scented Valja and Akuma. Kitten lynxes were a meal for such predators, especially when they roamed the territory unsupervised. But even with an adult lynx at their side, hunger would drive the wolf to a fight.
Salim swallowed slightly and slowly turned around to determine the direction in which the wolf was moving. He could smell him, and his ears could now hear his footsteps very clearly. It stood out among the usual scents of the forest and the prey within it. He swallowed slightly. Could it be that the intruder at the lake had been the wolf that was now prowling around here? No, no, that was not possible. At the water, it had clearly been an animal of his own kind, this one was abysmally evil. Or it was simply hungry, depending on Salim's point of view.
A rumble sounded from the distance and the lynx wheeled around until he realized it was just the sky sending lightning to earth, striking somewhere far away. But then he heard a growl that Salim could clearly identify as an animal. His senses hadn't quite let him down after all.
"Stay close to me", he murmured tensely to his kittens, who pressed against each other, trembling slightly. "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you." Suddenly he heard a movement behind a group of deciduous trees and a picture of what he had heard slowly came together in his mind. The wolf, slowly creeping back and forth, waiting for the right moment to attack. How the wind pampered his fur and prepared him for the attack. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell what color it was. Then he could hear another sound, his tongue licking hungrily over his muzzle, his paws stepping on breaking branches. Salim prepared to fight, ducked down and bared his teeth as he saw the wolf slowly approaching them.
"Don't be afraid", he whispered to the squealing kittens and then he saw Miles lying in front of him, covered in blood and with a huge wound in his cave. Salim tensed involuntarily. He would not let that happen. He would never, ever watch the wolf carry off Valja and Akuma. He took a deep breath.
The wolf stepped out of the shadows of the forest. Its dark gray fur, matted by the ever-increasing wind, reminded Salim involuntarily of a dark snowstorm from which no one could escape. The animal had raised its lips, revealing yellowish teeth. Salim swallowed slightly and a dark and aggressive growl escaped his opponent's throat. The wolf appeared to be strong, but beneath its fur, faint outlines of its ribs could be seen. Probably a bad hunter if you looked like that at this time of night.
The wolf tensed its hind legs and pushed off with a mighty leap. Its teeth and sharp claws flashed in the sparse glow of lightning and Salim knew this could have ended badly had he not jumped aside at the last moment. The lynx let out a growl, but refrained from doing so when he saw Akuma and Valja collide as a result.
The wolf landed awkwardly on the ground, almost falling to the ground when he hit it.
But Salim barely gave him time to recover, instead running at him and dragging his claws along the wolf's flank, who howled in pain and swiped at the lynx with his own paw. The lynx gritted his teeth as he felt a searing pain at the back of his hip and tried once more to catch the wolf. A few tufts of gray hair caught in his paws as he swung, but missed. The wolf had regained its composure and was now facing Salim, snarling.