No death he attended compared to the joy that it was for him to appear with her.
He was resting on the strong branches of the old oak, the cold of the breeze began to bother him, so he covered himself with his hood, he was in his perfect crib, closing his eyes to cling to the fantasies that his mind projected with his soul sister:
In reality, Death didn't know that Kitty was his soulmate, but he liked to think about her.
The soft rain had passed and the world became humid, gray and gloomy, that forest now seemed to be taken from some movie and for sure, this change was hand in hand with the bad mood that Death brought.
His ears were only focused on listening to how Perrito played with the wet leaves on the small branch on which he was standing, he was laughing. He opened his eyes once again and raised his hand with which he was holding that buttercup, breathing deeply against the petals of the flower, feeling all the essence of the bicolor cat impregnated in it, of course, there it was. If after all it was a gift from her to him.
It happened on a quiet Friday afternoon in one of the many encounters that that "angel" and that feline thief had. Puss was going to visit the bear family and Kitty then decided to prepare a surprise for him. She left the house and searched among the ground and bushes for the most colorful, vivid and beautiful flowers there were and she carefully plucked them with scissors to form a bouquet. Perrito, very excited by the idea, helped her put the ribbon on the gift and Death helped build the bouquet (no matter how much he envied Puss). Wanting to cooperate, the therapy dog came to the feline with a very tiny yellow flower which Kitty thanked with tenderness and a pat on his head, but when she turned around, she found that terrifying wolf with crimson eyes, since he In his sudden feelings, wanted to bring a flower for her and her gift, but he brought it with everything and its roots torn from the earth.
Kitty couldn't do anything but laugh at the cuteness and take that flower in her hands, admiring how cute it looked with all its orange petals, so she cut off its root and left it on the wolf's head, which made him feel helpless and even more so when he hear her speak.
"I prefer to give it to the gentlest and sweetest angel that has ever walked the earth" Kitty stated, with so much sweetness that lay in her.
And while Perrito remained hidden watching his friend handing that bouquet to the Spaniard, Death rested his body on the grass background, delighted with her flower, knowing that there was no way to escape from Kitty and her love.
"Oh Kitty" she stayed with him since that night they met in person.
"Oh Kitty" she was getting on his nerves like a drug.
"Oh Kitty" she was so beautiful, Death had no idea about her, but he knew that the fool who fell in love with her was going to play for the help of his old rival: heaven.
Kitty was now with her family and of course with her dear Puss, everything was wonderful, they couldn't have been having a better time... but she really missed that small part. No heist nor adventure within that forest could compare with the enormous love she had for the black hooded wolf. Of course she shared a strong affection for Puss and was happy to know that he also felt the same... but no one could replace her wingless angel.
What was the problem? She didn't know, she maybe she was in love… accidentally in love.
Time and Death had a not at all pleasant friendship, but the last few months he had had with Kitty were so beautiful that he never realized that it was about to be a year since she met him as her guardian angel (even though he hated that ridiculous nickname) and they began to see each other much more often, Kitty was aware that he was always there, so when she was alone at home or her bear family didn't notice, she went for him, she looked for him just because wanting to have him with her, either as her friend or as her guardian and whether to kill time or to play with Perrito.
The white Wolf and the bicolor Cat with each encounter they had felt more like they belonged to each other.
11 months had happened after that night when they went for a walk for the first time but had to separate when the desperate calls of the bear family came to look for the cat. He had no choice but to guide her on her way home and bid her a friendly farewell. However, when everyone was seated for dinner and Kitty was the one who served the dishes, she poured an extra bowl with some of the borriage and also poured another into a small teacup and placed them in front of the kitchen window, calling in the name of the chihuahua and her Guardian Angel, leaving dinner to them as well.
Damn, that borriage was delicious.
The shinigami then turned his head to the side to find Goldilocks' house and the three bears just a few meters away to find what had him so overwhelmed.
Sweet Kitty, outside the house, was having fun with Puss and the bear brothers, moving their bodies to the rhythm of the music produced by an old, rusty record player, after having been bored on the couches in the living room waiting for the rain to end. Goldy was the one who had started the dynamic, using her cane decorated with bric-a-brac to propel herself, move her arms and do pirouettes to attract the attention of the other three. Kitty, entertained by how her "sister" moved her hips, didn't avoid going with her to also started dancing and with Baby Bear and Puss joined in, a whole party started. And the Spanish tabby didn't hesitate to ask the cat for her paw, hold her firmly around her waist and make her move next to him while he lifted her high into the air, leading her in an elegant dance.
Death remained cold and expressionless, being the spectator of what was happening in front of the bear house, but deep inside, in the depths of his cynical and hitman soul... there lay only violence, envy and hatred, emotions driven by the disgusting image he had of Kitty dancing with the feline in boots. He couldn't tolerate the idea of seeing them dancing together and him not being the one there, there was no room in his mind for the thought that Puss could make her happy like he did since he showed his face in front of her that night and it had nothing to do with the curse that he placed on Kitty or because of the resentment he had for the Spaniard.
He saw her smile when she was held by Puss, he saw her hug him when he was looking for the same thing, he saw her call his name with joy, she ran into his paws intertwining.
Death wished to be Puss so Badly
He was so confused and at the same time scared. Overnight, something was happening to the white wolf, his head no longer worked in the same way, his way of reacting and feeling was not the same either, he was saturated by a strange sensation that indicated a threat to what he considers his: Kitty's affection. It wasn't any malice, he just wanted to be with her and that those signs of affection could be given only to him, not to Puss. That only he was in her mind, that no one could take his place.
Perrito didn't take long to recognize the strange behaviors of his boss, he couldn't help laughing that day when under his breath he cursed Puss in Boots and caught him unnoticed and named him by the word "jealousy" with a mocking laugh.
Death...was he jealous?...was he sick? Was this normal for him or was it something only mortals felt?
He didn't like what he saw, every time he had the opportunity to see Kitty with Puss, he would retch, he would feel a rejection that not even he himself fully understood, he was truly afraid of feeling his chest swell from the disgust of hearing her call the Spaniard's name, every time it seemed like he was about to have a fatal heart attack... but then he remembered that he couldn't suffer from one. He just saw him kiss her cheek and he felt like he was about to explode from his anger. He adored everything about Kitty, he adored her from head to toe... but he hated her crush.
"Señorita Mia" he growled like the wolf he was every time he blurted out his ridiculous words and he dared to hold her hips, he was already tired of hearing him say such corny things. He didn't deserve to be his man or her true love.
He was so afraid that she would leave him because that crazy cat with an ego higher than Mount Everest and that he was just wasting his lives on glory and quick adventures with other cats. She deserved more than that, she deserved a man who made her feel like a queen.
Death didn't understand what was happening to him, this type of anger was not normal for him, he had never felt so disgusted when witnessing love. It was almost against his will that he behaved like that, as if it were part of his nature, he felt so much danger when he saw them together, he felt so much hatred when he saw him give her his affection and he felt so much sadness when he missed Kitty. His eyes sharpened and his face twisted into a grimace, while he felt a terrible rage building up in the back of his head that screamed at him to kick someone.
He's the one who should be there with Kitty, not that pathetic, arrogant cat who didn't deserve her. He didn't like the way Kitty saw him, he didn't like him, he didn't like how he held her paws... he was starting to believe that she loved him more than she ever did with him. He had stolen all that show
He was beginning to believe that hewas never going to win that fight against the legend. Why did every time he faced that pussycat he always ended up being defeated?
He wanted to be him, he wanted to be that tabby feline who now curled his lips for her as they danced together.
But then he remembered that if they changed places, he would have missed all those beautiful moments that now filled his mind.
In his older memories, he still had in mind that afternoon walk in the daisy field or that night walk in the dandelion field, where he and Kitty began to play like a dog and a kitten while they watched how the Cypselaes flew through the air, lighting up like stars thanks to the moonlight, both ended with Kitty and her guardian angel relaxing on the soft ground, witnessing the infinite and beautiful September sky.
and in his newest memories, he had that morning when together they climbed a tree bathed in pink petals to the highest branch, where they had a wonderful view of that entire forest and sitting next to him Kitty did nothing but hug him and stay there next to him, watching how the warm sun began to rise above the horizon. The little dog stayed there under the tree, watching how the two shadows of the cat and the wolf came to life when the light of the new day arrived.
or that time when Kitty entertained herself by chasing a little bird to try to catch it, but when she couldn't do it, Death climbed a tree and grabbed a bird that was sitting in its nest by the neck and handed it to the cat just like a gift. Kitty couldn't help but laugh at the cuteness of that hooded wolf.
But what still lived freely in his mind was that Friday afternoon, where the family of bears had gone out together as always to hunt bounties, searching for the fugitives who were found in those papers stuck to the trees and businesses in the city. Therefore, Kitty let him into the house and let him and Perrito stay in his room, where Kitty, sitting him on her bed, strangely took out a brush and gave it to Death, asking him for help to comb and fix her black hair. fur.
The shinigami, upon hearing such a ridiculous request, couldn't help but make a face of displeasure and some hysteria. Was she really asking him for something as pathetic as brushing her cute two-color fur? Well of course he was going to do it!
He had her sitting in front of him, the wolf began to whistle to keep the environment soft and calm, carefully and devotedly passing that brush over her back, feeling how she trembled and twisted slowly while she let out the occasional purr of her own. He then moved to her head and, being careful not to hurt her, took her arm and ran the brush through it and then carefully ran it over her hind legs and tail.
When she finished, Kitty couldn't help but say "thank you", and Death, with his head down, said "you're welcome."
That's where Kitty offered to brush his hair too.
"ooooh Plot twist!" Perrito exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly.
Death remained still and didn't utter a word when he felt how Kitty clung to him and began to pass that harmless weapon against his white and gray fur, passing behind his ears and close to his cheeks, feeling so helpless and shy. As Kitty clung closer to him, he breathed nervously and a pleasant flame of fire began to appear in a certain area of his chest. It was burning him, but the burn, instead of hurting, felt very good, the threads of that brush were very soft and the way Kitty used it made him feel touched by the petals of a rose.
He was so close to her that he could die of such tenderness, that he could hear the beautiful beat of her heart that brought him so much calm, that he could be flooded in her beautiful aroma and lose himself in her eyes like he always did.
But what had him most crazy was that soft little white paw which rested under his chin, deliciously moving the tips of her fingers in the act, cradling his cheek like a baby at night, it was a spongy touch that sometimes burned him like fire, although it was not visible, in his mind the print of her paw was engraved like a tattoo, that softness that she carried on her paw made him nervous and seeing how it slid under his snout caused him to lick his lips and sigh, his crimson eyes turned suddenly and he ran into Kitty's face, with that look full of beauty and adoration, with her eyelids fluttering as if they were butterflies, he drowned in the brilliant sapphire that he had in his vision, Her smile told him that everything was fine and the shinigami could see how thick and rough his white fur was, unlike the delicate fur she carried on her being.
That brushing session only lasted minutes but to Death it felt like an eternity, one that he didn't want to leave.
Even when he leaned against the trees to rest, he could feel her paw caress his chin, burning and leaving a sting that no mortal would be able to withstand.
"Oh, how fun the party they're having looks like!" Perrito exclaimed from the branch "I didn't know Kitty could dance like that, her hips don't lie."
"Yes... who could be that cat to also have her in her arms" Death commented looking at the spectacle with the chihuahua.
"I wish I could go, if Kitty had told me I would've bring the chicken rice and the tortillas," Perrito admitted happily.
"You don't even know how to cook"the shinigami responded.
"Yes, but i could be a good cook"
"The last time you said that you ended up setting a bowl of cereal on fire"
"Oh but it wasn't that bad either"
"It was cereal, how the hell do you set fire to a bowl of cereal?"
"Whatever, what I'm saying is that Kitty should invite us next time, so the three of us can dance together and have a party together as friends!"
"Yes, yes..." Death laid his head on the branch again and closed his eyelids, without realizing that the music had faded "it would be better this way...just her and me, dancing happily...and without that idiotic Cat interfering"
For the first time, Perrito's words and suggestions were music to the shinigami's ears and food for his strange fantasies. A perfect fantasy where he could be with his favorite cat and do all the things Puss did with her, unconsciously a smile curved between his fangs.
"Oi Puss, are you going to tell Kitty that you want to be her boyfriend?"
"To be honest with you Goldi, I'm still not sure if I should do it"
"But don't screw around, you idiot, we've been doing all this for almost more than a year now."
"I know, do you think I haven't counted the days? I miss her more than anyone in this world."
"So what the fuck are you waiting for?!"
The tranquility of Death ended the moment his fine ears caught the words of the blonde with enormous curls and the orange tabby feline. What were they talking about? Curiosity made him raise his gaze again to where the dance occurred. Kitty and Baby Bear returned to the house and now it was just those two having a dispute.
"I want to make sure Kitty feels the same and that she really wants my heart, I can't force her" Puss replied.
"in what way?" Goldilocks asked.
"I have done everything I can to show her how much I love her and every visit here, I have let her know, she is so pretty...as she always has been, but I can't know if we really share the same heart...but I know that I can't continue like this either, because something very bad could happen to her"
The hooded wolf remained completely silent, paying attention to what was being said, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrow in total confusion. He decided to continue listening to find out what the hell they were talking about.
"But what are you talking about?" The blonde asked again.
"I'm scared' Goldilock".
"Scared?... but of what?" Goldi exclaimed with her eyebrow raised.
"..." Puss wanted to respond but instead, he lowered his head thoughtfully.
"Mate, what are you talking about?!" Goldi reiterated, more hysterical than before.
"Of her curse! That's what I'm talking about!"
Those words were enough for the shinigami to feel as if a thin, tiny dagger was sliding across the surface of his chest, ending with it crashing and breaking everything inside him until he left it empty.
For God's sake...how could he forget? If after all, the reason why Kitty was there, the reason why Kitty believed that he was her guardian angel, the reason why she could no longer remember anything was because of himself, because of his childish desire for revenge against the legend.
"Yes, we all know about her curse. In case your memory fails, we all saw it with our own eyes" Goldilocks expressed very annoyed "that dog made it very clear: you break her heart, she pricks her finger with a needle and boom, she's stiff for the whole the eternity!"
"I know!...but...what happens and in the end it doesn't matter how much we have tried and we can't save Kitty...what if in the end that wolf was lying? What happens if even when we get back together everything he casted on her still stands and she ends up asleep forever? Goldilocks, if I lose her, I will never forgive myself"
"Puss, how can you say that-"
"Death did this to make me suffer. Do you really think he was going to make it that easy for me?...I still have hope of being able to save her when we can have our kiss, but you can't come and tell me that you haven't doubt on his solutions. That damn murderer never stopped with me, even when i changed and I leave all my arrogance behind, do you think he's going to play us for fools by making us clumsily trust his words?"
The blonde wanted to strongly disagree but soon the feline's statements made her think and soon her nerves began to eat her alive, with both of her arms she hugged herself and brought her head to the ground, proceeding to give a loud sigh.
None of them realized that the shinigami and the therapy dog were spying on them to find out the situation.
"...can you be sure that Death was telling the truth all this time?" Puss asked in anguish.
"...no..." Goldi shook her head, now restless "...I can't..."
The Chihuahua made a slight face of confusion and tilted his head to the right, raising one of his little ears. He didn't agree with what those two were saying.
"curse? What curse? but if you're not even a sorcerer..." suddenly everything resonated in his innocent little mind "...aah I remembered, I completely forgot that you placed a curse on Kitty that was technically going to kill her when Puss broke her heart" Perrito commented surprised and then let out a funny laugh "hehe...it's strange considering that you guys are super friends right now, don't you think, Death?...Death?"
He cursed her... he unintentionally become attached to the girl he hurt just to fulfill his childish and selfish revenge against the legend... how could he forget it?
The enormous hooded wolf remained in his place, without responding to the calls of his assistant, his figure was paralyzed and his eyes were lost in the british woman and the Spanish cat, these instead reflected a single thing... one that he, in all his existence on the land of the living, he had never experienced.
It was that whose smell always fascinated him…Fear.
"...that moron, how heartless can he be to condemn her just for his tantrums? Kitty has appreciated her life like no one I have ever met. Is he so desperate to make you suffer?" the blonde shouted, squeezing her fists.
"...why her?...Kitty doesn't deserve any of this..." Puss confessed quietly, the pain was felt in his voice "he has always been there, he has been seeing us every day, how has he not been able to see how beautiful Kitty is? He more than anyone would know that Kitty deserves more, even more than me"
He did knew it... he knew it more than anyone, he always knew it and even knowing it, he stayed waiting for them to tell him.
"...what could that bastard care about?...if in the end he's the one who is going to enjoy it the most, because if in the end Kitty ends up asleep on a bed, he is the one who'll come and claim her as his trophy" Goldilocks said
That was where everything broke like glass, his red pupils began to tremble.
Suddenly his legs and arms tensed, and the fingers of his enormous hands softened and began to shake with every millisecond that he remained there, his senses became acute, whatever was walking in his chest and abdomen had transformed in a violent bombardment that wriggled like a mouse being bitten by a snake, it was hurting a lot and it took his breath away, he wasn't realizing it but even his fur had risen like static from a carpet
Due to him shaking so much he couldn't stand on that branch any longer and he slipped from it, falling to the ground on his back, losing his balance when he touched the ground, his two axes created a fine clash of metal as they fell on the hard dirt pavement, Death stood up slowly, keeping his lost face and shaking his arms.
"Death!" Shocked,Perriro looked from his branch to the shinigami "Are you okay? what happen?"
But Death didn't reply, his body continued to twist until he felt very bad, the only sound from him was a strong and desperate breathing that little by little turned into a whimper, Goldi's words did not stop echoing in his mind. The little dog, realizing what was happening to his leader, decided to jump off the branch and go after him.
His eyes looked at the axes lying next to him.
"Are you hurt?" Perrito asked very distressed, but he still didn't get a response.
"No...no..." Death began to shake his head "No, no, no, no, no!"
He ran from the scene at full speed, not even raising his weapons.
"Death, wait!" Perrito screamed when he saw him leave, between his snout he held his two axes and hurried to follow him.
It didn't take him long to lose sight of him, just three blinks and the hooded wolf had already disappeared, so his canine nose came in to help him track his scent. Every step he took, took him deeper into that gothic forest, there were more and more dead trees and more clouds that deprived the world of finding sunlight. His little turquoise eyes continued searching every corner, until finally, Perrito located him.
The hooded Wolf was lying on the ground on his knees next to a large, tall pine tree, his head buried between his shoulders. He could still hear him breathing with desperation and fear, each second faster than the last, and he violently scratched his head, scratching his arms with his sharp claws.
"Death!" Perrito ran towards him and lowered his head to look at his face, a face that made it clear to him that he was suffering a lot "Death, what's wrong?"
His vision was so blurred and his hearing so low, he didn't react to his assistant's words, that whole world had lost value in just a matter of seconds, the shinigami could feel something rumble painfully against his chest as his body continued to shake, Death took his hands to where his heart should be in order to reattach his claws, wrinkling his face in great pain once he left the wounds fresh.
It never seemed to finish, he didn't seem to react, much less come out of that fatal state of panic. Perrito just gasped in distress as he lowered his little ears, he looked around him, there was no one who could help them. So the little dog, in all his innocence, only did what he knew how to do.
He sat in front of the shinigami and closed his eyes, leaning his forehead to press it against the wolf's, who immediately reacted to that show of affection among all his panic and with his trembling hand he held Puppy by his head to keep him close to him in that union. With just the passing of a few seconds, Death felt peace return to him and his body fell asleep, that rapid breathing gained its rhythm and that pain stopped stabbing him. The chihuahua carefully opened his eyes to see him and meet those half-closed crimson orbs and meet a serene Death who was now caressing his forehead with his thumb.
"Thank you...Perrito..." said the shinigami with a soft voice.
He immediately recovered his posture and his body fell lying against that tree next to him, closing his eyes, a soft and almost inaudible sob came from his lips.
"Death, are you okay?" Perrito questioned, taking a few steps to be closer to him "...is something wrong?"
"...Perrito" Death spoke weakly, losing her gaze in the gray sky "i...I'm sorry..."
"But sorry for what?" the little dog asked again.
"Of what I've done to Kitty..." he said, still in pain.
Perrito blinked in surprise:
"Are you talking about the curse?"
Death nodded between soft exhales.
"This is all my fault...I was so hungry for revenge and to make Puss suffer that I was willing to do the impossible to have him dying at my feet, even if that meant hurting the one who least deserved it. I had no interest in that cat, I didn't care what happened to her as long as the curse was fulfilled... but when I got the chance to see her, to see her live her life... to interact with her, I completely forgot about it. all that...and now..."
"And now what?..."
"and now, I care about her more than anyone, even when I have to disappear to take care of other wasted lives, I can't stop thinking about her and how happy I am when she talks to me, when she rests next to me, when she tells me about her experiences in heists and how her paw rests on my chin when she brushes my fur..." he confessed, taking his hand to the aforementioned area.
"Well, when you meet someone for the first time you're not actually meeting them,your meeting their representatives" Perrito said trying to sound understanding "And it seems that that is your situation, you misjudged a book by its cover but in exchange You learned your lesson and gained a great companion"
"Yes, but thanks to my mistake, Kitty will probably get hurt and I won't be able to protect her then..." Death sighed, diverting his gaze to the side, wanting to hide his terrible sorrow "...and I will have to be the one who sees her above her bed asleep...ready to take her life...there will be no pain on this earth that compares to that"
"...yes, you are the one who takes lives, right?"
"Yes...but that's all, I'm not allowed to enter the afterlife. I will never see her again" The shinigami expressed, seeing a small flower on the ground being disturbed by the cold environment "I'm...I'm afraid..."
"It's okay to be afraid, Death..." Perrito told him with a soft smile."feeling is human."
"No! Not for me!" Out of nowhere the older canine became hysterical "I am Death, I don't feel like mortals, I am the one who is scary! Everyone cries when they see me present!"
"But what exactly are you afraid of?..." Perrito lowered his head thoughtfully before saying another word "Does it have something to do with Puss?"
"What? No, no... I'm no longer interested in that hairball"
"Wait…are you afraid that Puss could break the curse?"
Yes, in fact that scared him. But that wasn't the reason he felt mortified.
"Of course not…"
"oh, okay..." Perrito responded "anyway, there's nothing to worry about...because it only breaks with true love and we both know that that's not Puss"
The wolf who was previously distracted with the flower, raised his eyebrow in confusion upon hearing those words said by his assistant and returned to see him, still without having a clue.
"But what nonsense are you saying?" said Death, turning his head to the side.
"You don't have to play dumb anymore, Death." Perrito said with a funny face "It's clearer than water."
"what?" asked the wolf as his impatience grew.
The dog let out a tiny laugh.
"Well, you already know... the fact that you are in love with Kitty..."
The word "surprise" was not the right word to describe the communal disaster that had occurred in the neurons of his mind, those 8 words so that the functional brain that carried Death would disconnect from reality and go blank with its eyes as open as the cap of a bottle, it took him several seconds to demonstrate a coherent response, since he had still stayed in the analysis part.
"WHAT? Of course not!" Almost screaming, the shinigami jumped.
"I mean duh, it's super obvious that you're in love with her... and from what I can see Kitty is also in love with you." Perrito replied.
"Don't get me mad, animal. Me in love? Where do you get such nonsense from?" Death denied again, more hysterical than before "i know you're not the smartest guy around but I didn't think you were that brainless either".
"Death. Stop denying it"
"No. YOU stop confirming it. I'm not in love with Kitty! Where do you get all this from?"
"I know I haven't had good families but I've been close enough to people to know how lovers act" He put his little paw on his leader's leg "And now I see all that in you and Kitty"
"b-but…"
"Those smiles that you two make every time you meet, that happiness that you show every time you're together, that shine in your eyes" Perrito exemplified just how a muse declared her poems, with admiration and wonder "..those nervous laughs, those tremors in her paws when you are very close to each other, the way you hold her hand, the way she clings to you when you see the sunset, how she holds your face and how you hold her. How she jokes with you and you flirt back, how you sigh every time you talk about her" The little dog got closer to his face "that desire in your eyes to be there when a man other than you is by her side. All those things are what lovers reveal when they become a lover".
"No... no, you're crazy... Kitty could never love me, not if she finds out what I did to her." Death confirmed, that last one made him so sad.
"Love is not random, you are chosen for it. I can see it in your eyes and in hers...only love you have for each other, a love that waits to bloom like a garden does"
"But how?! If I am a wolf, and even worse, I am Death itself, while Kitty is a cat who is also a mortal. How could we be together? It goes against nature. Also stop talking nonsense, I don't feel anything for her" Death replied
"Well, to be Death you are very forgetful. Because you say that you can't be with her because you two are very different but I remind you that... THERE'S A DONKEY WHO HAD CHILDREN WITH A DRAGON, DEATH, A DRAGON!" Perrito cried.
"..." Death blinked, remaining silent "Well, I didn't need that information. Now, remind me again why the fuck I have you with me"
"Hey, you two Dogs." That feminine and rebellious voice was a harmony for Death.
When the canine duo raised their heads, there in front of them was Kitty Softpaws with her hands carrying what appeared to be a pie, she was just arriving.
"Have you two finished chasing your tail and barking at the wind?" said the bicolor cat between soft laughs "or did they come to bury your favorite bone?"
The white wolf could do nothing but smile and get up from his place, not avoiding laughing out loud at the comments she had made.
"As a dog, I must say that those are very offensive stereotypes that you are exclaiming, Softpaws" Death raised his eyebrow with pride.
The expression on his face was a delight for her opponent, who covered her mouth with her little white paw trying to suppress her mocking giggles.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to offend you Mr. Wolf, what are you going to do? Will you season me and grill me?" Kitty responded feigning dementia, while she raised her arms in surrender.
"If I were a canine primate I would do it, but I'm not and I'm not hungry. Besides, I'm sure you would taste horrible" The shinigami said with that same mocking tone that Kitty carried, getting closer to her "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Puss and your family".
"Puss left a little while ago and everyone at home said they took a bear nap, so I took the opportunity to escape and spend time with you" Kitty explained and showed that tray with a gentle face "Do you like ti taste it? It's a rawsberry pie, from a week ago. I wanted to bring you the one Mama Bear made this morning but that one is made of chocolate so you can't eat that"
"I do like chocolate, although my stomach gets delicate afterwards" Perrito commented.
Death accepted that tray, those milliseconds where his hands collided with Kitty's soft ones made him tingle.
"I don't want to give her too much credit, but I prepared that one." The sapphire-eyed feline expressed with some vanity, raising her shoulders.
"So, I have before my eyes possibly the best pie I have ever tasted" Death expressed his admiration for the sweet Kitty "these little paws you have are a blessing"
Still was that great crystal lake that in its reflection projected the great weeping willow where the bicolor cat and her "Guardian Angel" lay. The bad weather was gone and now the sky turned a warm orange with dark red spots. The little dog was in front of the lake, very entertained making faces and hitting the water with his paw to create small waves. Nearby, Death was sitting next to the cat, who with great grace began to tell him a story about her most recent theft.
"I stayed inside the chest in the time it took for the guy to open it, so it was like a jack in the box, only instead of running into a clown, he ran into me and my powerful high-heeled boots." The two-color feline said elegantly by raising her legs in the air to show her fine footwear.
"I don't want to imagine how he could tell the doctor the story of how he broke his nose and lost a tooth." The white wolf responded.
"It's my favorite technique when it comes to treasures in boxes. It never fails" Kitty assured coquettishly "and after that came the most pathetic robbery I have ever done in my life."
"which?"
"I stole a coin from Baby Bear while he was sleeping, one that he always keeps in his belly button" Kitty said.
"You're such a kleptomaniac, Softpaws" Death said.
"It's part of me, that's how I managed to survive when the people who said they loved me ripped off my claws and mistreated me." Kitty commented, losing her sight over the lake and meeting her blurry reflection. "It wasn't until I found love and company in Gato and Goldi's family and I could feel that I still had someone to trust".
"Someone you can trust?" Death turned to look at her with intrigue, he only saw her sigh.
"In my entire life, I have never had that." Kitty hugged herself, lowering her ears as she reviewed her sad life since she was a baby kitten. "Because every time I let my guard down they betrayed me and even when someone new one appears, over time I became soft and made the choice to open my heart, only for history to repeat itself...but then they came and everything I ever wanted stayed forever"
"You didn't use magic to have what you always wanted," said Death.
"Like me!" Perrito said happily. "I didn't use magic either to save myself from drowning in a river, only from a huge wolf dressed in black... although maybe magic was a more viable option... I could use it to turn me into a fish and become Pescadito the therapy fish"
Kitty and Wolf were amused by the chihuahua's comment, calmly leaning against the weeping willow.
"And I have nothing more to say...my life has been a normal one of adventures and living on the edge of the law, there was no news..." Kitty then looked at the wolf with a warm smile "and then I met you. Even if I don't know that you are, an angel, a fairy...even if there is a possibility that you are actually a devil" she laughed low "You have been not only like my guard, but also someone very important to me, I would lie If I told you that I haven't developed a strong affection for you. In fact...Puss told me that very soon he plans to take me to the city, where we will stay together and look for new adventures beyond the sea and...I know i would be so sad if you don't become part of that".
Death raised his ears in surprise and a small smile of sincerity was drawn on his muzzle, his tail at the same time began to shake from side to side and he remained attentive to all those sweet things that Kitty released with her pretty lips but the further she advanced and she arrived at her plans with the brindle Spaniard. Grief and guilt invaded him again, snatching away that smile and losing his view on the lake, When Kitty finished, she saw him, alarmed.
"You good?" Kitty asked quietly, carefully taking her paw.
"..." the white canine's ears lowered very sadly.
"Lobo?" Kitty got closer to him, the anguish didn't take long to show.
"...Kitty...I..." Death sighed exhaustedly, clenching her fists anxiously "...I...I have to tell you something very important...
"Tell me..." Kitty responded, feeling a slight insecurity running down her back.
Perrito was distracted by a grasshopper going to the other side of the lake when chasing it, that gave him the solitude and privacy necessary to tell the cat whatever he had to confess, in those seconds of silence he mentally prepared himself for whatever it was and what would happen after that, even if it included losing her forever.
"Kitty...there is..." he took deep breath "There is a great evil in this world, one from which I fear I will not be able to protect you"
"Hey, you don't have to be afraid for me, I'm pretty strong and I know how to take care of myself, I really appreciate everything you've done to protect me, but don't worry about me if at some point you can't do it anymore. I can kick the butt of any idiot that crosses my path" Kitty gave him a small punch on his huge and strong arm, she seemed to be keeping calm in the face of the situation.
"Yes, I know, you are very skilled...but...Kitty...I...emm..."
Death began to stretch his legs and clumsily play with his feet as well as her hands, he looked away from her very nervous and sad, it seemed that at any moment he was going to burst into tears.
"I-I know that you...I know that you say that I am your guardian angel...and that I have been that shadow that has followed you and protected you from evil since you can remember...but, I can't say the same..." Death said with a tone so soft that even Kitty remained silent and gave him full attention, because she knew that it was very important to him. "A guardian angel is supposed to love and dedicate himself to caring for his mortal as a promise forged by love but... I I didn't, I hated you, I didn't like you. I believed that you were not worth it and... I saw taking care of you as an obligation... I could swear that I didn't love you and I thought that would always be the case, until I began to see you live your life, I began to realize how beautiful and intelligent that you are and I envy every part of you..." Death looked up at Kitty, a face full of sorrow and guilt "it was a mistake, Kitty"
"It's okay..." Kitty responded softly, without removing that warm smile.
"no no! It was selfishness!" Death replied, with a clear tone of self-hatred.
"It's okay," Kitty repeated, still appearing calm.
"You are such a wonderful cat that deserves to be loved" The wolf said with some hysteria.
"Wolf!"
"And I believed that you were better off dead-"
"Wolf, it's okay!" Kitty finally stopped him, grabbing him by her shoulders and looking at him calmly. When she managed to calm him down, she moved away from her and approached the tree, immediately exclaiming without concern "I already knew it."
"ah…wait what?" the shinigami reacted stupefied and saw her climb that tree "what? are you saying? How did you already knew that?!"
"Do you think I forgot that day when you started growling at me like a mangy man when I went to collect nuts?" Kitty appeared on a branch behind him "At that time I was hoping that you would change the way you saw me, but I knew you wouldn't. I could compete with your one true love"
"Who!?" Death questioned with frustration, he did not have time to react to Kitty and her fast paws which grabbed his hood and raised it, blocking his view.
"Yourself! a being that goes beyond mortality." Kitty vociferated elegantly. "I didn't want to show in front of him..."
He groaned at being deprived of his sight, but immediately that black cloth on her head moved away from her, meeting that sight… that damn sapphire-colored sight.
"But...you don't seem to be the same guy..." Kitty admitted, before climbing that tree again.
The shinigami saw her go up, not waiting to also jump and find himself among the branches, playing once again.
Kitty couldn't sleep well that night, nor could she fall asleep in the early morning, her mind was very focused on something particular: a decision.
The decision that would change the course of her life forever. She turned around, lay on her back, got up, sat at the foot of her bed, got up to go to the kitchen for a drink of milk, she rubbed her face and even her thoughts and conflicts didn't seem to go away. It was consuming her like clear waters. That frustrated her so much, because she had to analyze all the future scenarios and consequences that this decision would bring, but deep down Kitty knew that it was what she wanted and when she wanted it. So the moment the early morning sky took on color, she gained courage, smiled and said yes.
The bicolor Cat had made the decision to stay in the forest and ask her beloved and precious guardian angel to accept a life with her and Perrito.
She would escape from the bear house and embark on her own path, she would look for a place to stay and start from scratch, looking for new adventures and encountering new opportunities, going through the towns he had never known, sailing across the sea, visiting the kingdoms. most famous and execute new robberies. It would be just perfect.
She could no longer continue denying what was very clear:
She belonged to that Wolf.
The wolf belonged to her in her pure heart.
The day went by peacefully, Kitty didn't say anything at breakfast or lunch, but the bear family and Goldilocks herself soon noticed that Kitty was happier and sillier than usual. She had gotten up to make pancakes for everyone with wild berries in the shape of a heart, she spoke like an innocent girl and even offered hugs to everyone in that home.
"And what's up with her?" Goldi thought throughout the course of the day.
After Lunch, Puss in Boots made his appearance, determined to finally take Kitty away to a pretty nice part of the forest to confess his feelings, ask her to go with him, and give her the only cure to the curse that threatens her life. For almost two years now. He had planned everything with the bear family and they were just crossing their fingers that everything would go well.
Kitty greeted her dear orange friend with a kiss on his cheek and a loving hug and took him by her hand to guide him to the living room. The coexistence lasted almost an hour and Puss was ready to talk to the love of his life.
But against all odds, Kitty was the one who spoke first, exclaiming that there was something very important that she had to let everyone know.
She dropped it all.
She expressed what her desire was now. She told them everything that had been happening when they weren't looking, she told them about her adventures, she told about her discoveries... and of course, she told them about that wingless angel that followed her everywhere.
If anyway, Puss was in total distress with that statement, analyzing the description that Kitty gave about that angel... he knew perfectly well who it was...and an enormous desire to vomit took place, the idea of his own lover along with The one whom he only saw as his murderer, was horrifiyng
"..it's not possible. . . It just can't be" He denied blinded in a terrible panic, his pupils became increasingly sharp.
The bear family was on the verge of fainting, getting worse and worse at what Kitty kept saying. It took only seconds for that room to become a war of words and shouts while Kitty defended her wishes tooth and nail.
However, Papa Bear in the middle of that heated argument... lost all traces of patience and accidentally broke her bubble, saying things he shouldn't have.
"DAMN YOU SOFTPAWS, WE DON'T ERASE YOUR MEMORY AND LIED FOR TWO YEARS SO THAT YOU WOULD ESCAPE WITH THE FUCKING WOLF WHO CURSED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE!"
The entire room was filled with panic. Everyone looked at Papa who covered his mouth with both hands and looked at his family with a face that said without words "you blew it..."
Mama and Baby tried to calm everything down, inventing an excuse and false security that only made the situation worse... which was stopped by Goldilocks, who together with Puss understood that it no longer made sense to continue maintaining that fantasy.
They told her the truth...without sugarcoating, she had been cursed with a destiny that was taken from death and with it, they revealed the identity of that supposed angel that she loved so much.
But the bicolor cat, terrified and in denial, ran out of the house, without turning back or listening to the Spaniard's calls, she just ran incessantly, while small tears of fear and sadness spilled down her cheeks.
No...it couldn't be true. He was her angel (at least she wanted to believe)... he couldn't be Death straight up, he couldn't have done such a horrible thing to her.
In the depths of the forest, she called him by his real name and he among the terrifying hiss of her, came out of the trees in front of her. Without saying anything, his face was sad...if she called him for who he really was, it was because she already knew.
"Is it true then?" Kitty asked her with a voice full of pain and sadness, taking her paw to her heart, which was on the verge of breaking into pieces "Is what they told me about you true?...Are you Death?"
The most torturous and cruel three seconds of her life.
"... yes..." He responded in a gasp, his face crystal clear with guilt.
Kitty opened her eyes, letting that torrent of tears fall like waterfalls, she felt an ugly pressure on her chest and a burning air trapped between her throat which came out in the form of tears. Death just watched as her beloved fell apart.
He tried to get closer to her…but by the time he tried to get her back, he realizes it was too late.
"No, get away..." Kitty exclaimed, turning away from him, crying devastated "...you are the evil of this world..."
and with this said, the bicolor cat ran away from there while continuing to cry and leaving the shinigami, who only stretched out his hand when he saw her leave... he was paralyzed, in his eyes laid pure agony, eyes that cold became blurred and left him blind.
Death, with his heart broken in two and feeling his cheeks become moist for the first time in his entire existence, staggered until he fell against the trees, pressing his face against the wood, where he did the only thing he felt he could do in that moment.
Cry.