Salim could smell the wolf's stinking breath, it was so close to him. A shiver ran down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up with eagerness to fight. He wanted to protect Valja and Akuma at all costs, no matter what it took.
The calm between the two fighting partners did not last long. The grey animal lashed out again, this time with a blow to Salim's head. He just managed to avoid the impact by rolling to the side, but his right ear buckled under the claws and paws and a hellish pain shot through his head. He hissed and trembled briefly until he picked himself up and bit into the animal's unprotected tail. It immediately wheeled around, but Salim didn't let go, prancing around on the ground like a squirrel and digging his teeth deeper and deeper into the flesh. After just a few heartbeats, he could taste the sweet blood in its mouth and a pained growl emerged from the wolf's throat as it writhed beneath him.
Salim thought he had won, but the animal suddenly changed sides. It lifted itself onto its paws and stomped forward without making a sound, straight towards Valja and Akuma. The lynx could smell their fear, which seemed to knock him over like a wave, and their frightened and helpless looks made up the rest of the dangerous picture. They both seemed to be frozen like stone. He cursed himself for having focused much more on hunting and finding medicinal herbs during their training. Neither of them had any experience in fighting techniques or evasive maneuvers.
The lynx let go of the wolf's tail, but the lack of weight caused it to leap forward and snap at the little ones with sharp teeth. Salim growled menacingly, even though he was scared as hell, which he hoped he didn't let on. He jumped off, leaving the ground behind him and headed for the back of the wolf, who had already seen the move coming. The animal swerved and Salim landed hard on the barely padded ground. For a moment, all the air left his lungs and he gasped for breath. But there was no time to recover, for by now the gray had taken advantage of his mislanding and sprinted towards the kittens. He left a bloody trail behind him, which clearly originated from the wounds on his flank.
Salim struggled to his feet, groaning, but the image of Miles' dead body gave him the strength he needed to push himself in the right direction. His paws reluctantly left the ground, but he hurried on.
The wolf snapped at the two kittens again and they scattered like two startled rabbits. The animal looked after Valja for a moment, but then decided to follow Akuma. It chased the little lynx in wide circles, making it run continuously, away from Salim and then towards him again. It had him completely under control. The lynx gritted its teeth and tried to follow the wolf. He kept raking his claws in the direction of the wolf, but it always evaded him. The lynx wouldn't have thought the gray had that much stamina, but Akuma wasn't as strong as he was. Salim could see him gasping frantically for breath and stumbling again and again as he lost his strength.
His father tried to stop the wolf, but the predator was small and fast. And when Akuma stumbled over an overlooked root, the wolf reared up threateningly in front of him and bared its teeth. Slowly, its teeth approached Akuma's skin.
"No!", roared Salim, already daring to see the death bite, and rushed towards his son. He jumped up with the last of his strength and landed on the wolf, who immediately collapsed beneath him. With a burst of strength he no longer thought possible, he pushed the animal to the ground and bit through its throat. Its resistance immediately faded and its body went limp.
As soon as that was done, he turned to his son. His gray fur, almost reminiscent of the dead wolf, shimmered bloodily in the raindrops, but was barely washed away by them. There was a gaping wound where Akuma's throat must once have been, but now there was hardly any of the fur that had once covered it.
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"Dad", Akuma mumbled, spitting up blood. Salim himself didn't know how the kitten managed to get a single word out in such a situation, but the lynx was glad he did. He could see the slowly extinguishing heat in the kitten's gaze. For several heartbeats, it tried desperately to breathe, but instead just rattled helplessly. And then its heartbeat stopped.
"No", Salim whispered hoarsely and licked his chest vigorously to revive him. He tried to stop the flow of blood with his paws, but there was nothing left to save.
"Salim?" The lynx turned slowly at the sound of Valja's voice behind him. Her fur was disheveled and tight against her skin from the rain. Her forehead showed a few worried creases, but this time he knew her concern was not feigned. Her dark eyes shone far too honestly and fearfully for her to have staged all this.
"Valja...", he began, walking slowly towards her to spare her a glance at her brother. His legs almost gave way beneath him as he strode forward.
"What about him?", his little lynxess wanted to know and ran around her father. He tried to stop her, but she had already spotted Akuma and froze. It was almost as if she had fallen into a deep sleep as she walked towards her brother in disbelief. Her eyes mirrored the stark realization and sheer horror.
"No", she breathed in a trembling voice and dropped to the grass. "No!", she sobbed, "This can't be true." She turned to Salim. "Tell me it's not true." He walked slowly towards his remaining daughter and lay down next to her. He held her close and her warmth comforted him just as much.
"He's with Miles and your mother now", he tried to reassure the trembling Valja. "He's fine where he is now." If he was honest with himself, he also tried to convince himself of this. Why had this had to happen? He had taken such good care of the two of them, taught them to hunt, not let them near the lake and river, fought for them. But nothing had prevented Akuma's death. Absolutely nothing.
Salim laid his muzzle on Valja's back, full of self-reproach, and gently stroked her with his tongue. He had lost them both and now only his daughter remained. The one who had already survived the rainy day when he had left her behind to take Akuma and Miles to safety. And now they were both dead.
If he had been alone, he would probably have cried his heart out in grief, but he had to be strong for Valja now. To summon up the strength he no longer had. He felt the wound on his cheek and the twisted bones in his ear, mingling with the mental pain to form an irregular and annoying burning and throbbing that robbed him of all his senses.
"You have to be strong now, Valja”, he whispered a little hoarsely in her ear, but she didn't make a move. At least not at first. But then the little girl began to whimper, so violently that her body trembled and vibrated. Salim tried to comfort and reassure her, but he simply didn't know what to do. How could he make her happy? He knew how she must feel, as he had also lost his sister when he was still a kitten.
"We'll bury him. Very close to your mother and Miles." He could feel a slight and barely perceptible nod and then stood up carefully, partly so as not to disturb Valja and partly so as not to irritate his wounds unnecessarily.
The rain was still dripping down on the three bodies, even though the thunderstorm was still a little way off.
He carefully picked up the bloody Akuma, who barely moved, but only swayed in time with Salim's steps. It was horrible to carry his own dead son in his mouth. And it was a feeling he would never forget.