Salim trotted across the forest, Valja following behind him with the dead body in his mouth, filled with the sound of rain dripping on the leaves. He couldn't hear anything else, but it wasn't enough to get the smell of death out of his muzzle. Without letting up, it hit him in every corner of his body with every new movement, while the taste of the blood in his mouth that refused to dry did the rest.
"Come, Valya", he murmured softly and with eyes shadowed with sorrow, he looked back at his remaining daughter. He stopped briefly to let her catch up, but then turned his head away as she walked beside him. He wanted to spare her the sight of her lifeless brother as much as possible. Fortunately, he would soon be lying underground, rising as a new star in the night sky.
Salim's destination was the grave of his mother, who had died when the three were born. He had buried her after the endless rain, not far from a clearing, so that the body would see the sun once in a while and life would sprout on the grave. He had also moved Miles there later, buried close to his mother, and now Akuma was to receive the same honor. Hardly anyone was lucky enough to lie next to their mother, because once you left for your own territory, you never returned. Siblings and parents - despite everything, you never got to know your father - had to be left behind to ensure the continued existence of the lynx. Come what may.
Only a few heartbeats passed after these thoughts until they arrived at the place where Salim suspected the two graves were. He had buried them at the foot of a hazelnut bush and paid his last respects. So that the roots would encase their bodies and never let them be carried away again. So that they would stay in this place forever, but the lynx had overlooked one thing. There were several bushes of this kind here, so he hardly knew which one was the right one.
Nevertheless, in order to demonstrate a certain amount of safety to Valja, he strode purposefully towards a bush leaning against a fir tree. He carefully lowered Akuma to the ground and turned him onto his stomach so that the fatal wound was barely visible.
"Your mother and your brother Miles are lying here," he said, pointing with his healed ear to the floor beneath him. He pulled his daughter closer to him and licked her forehead again. "And now Akuma will also find his resting place there. It is a great honor to lie there." He briefly feared his voice would break, but he held out until the end of his sentence. Valja did not answer, but only gave a short sob, while her eyes grew even darker with irrepressible grief than he had already seen them.
Salim began to dig in the rain-soaked ground to make a hole for the cold body. Deeper and deeper he went, pulling out roots that hindered his work and occasionally flinging heaps of earth around him. It was a painful reminder of the day he had found Miles. In his bed of moss and covered in blood. Only then it had been a lynx that had killed him, Akuma had died at the teeth of a wolf. How could that have happened?
Had he not resolved that neither of them would die? Hadn't he been sure of his strength when the wolf had jumped to attack? How had he been able to give up so quickly, unable to move when the wolf suddenly snapped at Akuma and rushed him to his death? No, he hadn't avenged Akuma after killing the wolf.
A storm of despair and rage at himself erupted from his heart and filled him with the desire for revenge, for retribution against all those who had sold his soul to hell. It had been he himself who had put Alicia, Miles, Akuma and all the others who had crossed his path to death. With his mere presence. How could he live with such a burden, that he was responsible for everyone's demise? He could not punish himself and at that moment he made the decision to find the murderer who was slaughtering his children one by one.
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Always the same bite to the throat, always the same smell. And today this lynxess on his territory. That couldn't be a coincidence. He would find this intruder and make short work of him. No. No, he would chase the murderess, play for life and death with her until death won and took her breath away. And then a new star would shine in the sky, so dark that no one would notice it.
Salim glanced at the grieving Valja and shook his head slightly. He couldn't do it to her that her father had become a murderer. He would have to wait until she went in search of a new hunting ground. And then he would continue his chase.
He carefully picked Akuma up by the scruff of his neck and dropped him gently into the hole. He lowered his head briefly to give him the honor he deserved.
"Come on, Valja. Say a few words to him”, Salim tried to cheer the lynxess up and she sighed deeply, as if she needed to get all the pent-up air out of her body.
She trotted slowly to the grave and bowed her head as she spoke: "I have always loved you, my brother." Her voice sounded thin and shaky, almost breaking off as she tried to express her love. A paw of dirt landed on the dead kitten.
"I loved our races. Enjoyed your pranks. And... And when I was sad, you were always there for me. You listened to me, even when I was upset about the smallest things. You stood by me." A slight and so sad smile appeared on her lips and Salim's chest gave him a stab deep into his heart. More and more earth landed on Akuma the longer and the more she spoke.
Then she let go of him and lay close to a spruce tree, through whose needles water dripped steadily onto her fur. But that didn't seem to bother her. She closed her eyes and let out an agonized mewl, before giving way to a soft whimper that would not stop.
Salim stepped up to the grave and looked at his lost son, who was barely visible under all the earth Valja had covered him with. He sighed deeply and everything inside him tensed up as he slowly began to realize that Akuma was actually dead. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but what he had always tried to prevent had come true. Stunned, he stared at the few tufts of fur sticking out from under the damp and loose earth.
"Find your warm heart and use it for things you think are right," Salim quietly repeated the words he had given the newborn lynx. He knew that these lines could never and would never reveal his fullness. He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. He sprinkled another pawful of dirt over his son, more of his visible flesh disappearing beneath it.
"You were and are something to me that I can hardly put into words. Always up for pranks and who knows how few of your planned jokes can be attributed to Valja. You had a mind for that sort of thing, always a sly retort on your lips." Salim could barely find the words he needed to express everything he was feeling. There was far too much he still wanted to say to Akuma, what he needed to hear, and he wished his mouth would spit out like a waterfall all that he wanted so badly to say.
"But you never meant any harm," murmured the lynx, squinting his eyes in sadness. "We all love you so much and I know that your mother is waiting for you. She would have loved you just as much as I do. I'm sure you got a lot from her." Then his voice broke into a tremble and Salim broke off his speech. The last paws full of wet earth followed to cover Akuma completely, but Salim was too absorbed in his grief. He didn't know how Valja was ever going to laugh again, how she was ever going to concoct new pranks and jump into the water. Without her brother. He knew only too well how she felt. When you lose your first beloved lynx at a young age. In his case, it had been his sister who had been hit by a bear. His mother had done what she could, just as he had tried to do with Akuma, but everything had hurt too much, his wounds had been too throbbing, and they had since gone silent again. As if they bore a plaster of grief.