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"You see that, chiquita?" A large, bi-bipedal, snow white wolf in a black cloak said to a much smaller fox with brown fur. The two stood in the shadows behind a crowd, watching and waiting for the time to strike. The white wolf pointed at the roofs of Del Mar, right at the orange cat dueling the massive giant of stone. "That will be your target."
"Right." The brown fox replied, keeping her eye on the seemingly fearless feline. "He's the one you sensed will die soon?"
"Not exactly." The wolf said with a chuckle. "He is one I have been following for a long time now. Each and every one of his lives has been wasted with his own arrogance. He won't keep this life for long, and when you hear the bells, those are your cue."
The fox nodded, watching the legend intently with her void-like eyes of pure black. Her paws gripped her scythe close to herself, waiting patiently for the giant to kill the feline, but the bells of death never rang. The stone giant started to collapse from a battle hard fought, falling onto the town square and just barely missing the feline who bested it.
"He... won." The fox said with surprise and awe in her voice. "Death... are you sure he'll die soon?"
"Of course mi querida Grim." The large wolf replied. "Just wait, you'll hear the bells soon..."
Grim nods, being a bit unsure as she watched the celebrations of Puss in Boot's victory over the giant. She listened carefully, and her eyes widened as the faint sound of bells tolling. The Bells of Death, only audible to those who reap the souls of the departed.
Death chucked, a sinister aura emanating from him as he did so.
"There it is," he said as he placed a large paw on Grim's shoulder. "Remember what I taught you chiquita, and go reap his soul."
"Yes sir!" Grim said with a determined nod. She held her scythe close to herself as she stepped into the shadows, hiding within the darkness so she could approach the feline. She had to hold in a gasp as the dangling bell fell onto him, killing him instantly. As Grim opened her eyes, she saw a small blue flame hovering where the feline was crushed.
She moved as discreetly as possible towards the wandering soul, or at least a part of a soul, and raised her scythe. With a swift motion, the flame was extinguished, the soul was now reaped and the light of the soul fragment was now floating gently on Grim's paw.
Being extra careful not to let the soul wander or to reveal herself, Grim gently and carefully blesses the soul fragment and allows it to pass on. As she releases the soul, she let out a soft sigh of relief as it floated up towards the sky, her reaping and blessing successful. She excitedly traveled within the shadows back towards Death, her void-like eyes sparkling with joy.
"Mira! Mira Maestro!" Grim said with an excited smile on her face. "I did it!"
"Muy bien, chiquita." Death said with a chuckle, stroking the fox's head gently. "You did well, I'm proud of you."
Grim could only smile and accept the petting, giggling with affection as she holds her scythe close to her.
"Ehehe! Thank you!" Grim said with a cute smile, her void-like eyes lighting up with joy. "What are we gonna do now? Are we going on another mission soon?"
"Ah, yes. But not for a while chiquita. I have some... business to attend to. It would be best if you stayed back until I finish."
"Alright! Good luck Maestro."
With an acknowledging nod, Death melted back into the shadows, leaving to attend to whatever it he was needed for. But little did Death know, his apprentice's admiration for him was too much for her to resist following him to watch.
As Death left, Grim followed behind as closely as she could. This was much easier said than done due to Death's proficiency in hiding and moving within the shadows, but with a lot of time and a good deal of trial and error, Grim was able to locate him at an empty bar, and only because she could hear the distinct sound of Death's whistling in the distance.
It was getting dark as Grim finally detected where Death was, and as silently as she could, she hid in the shadows and carefully approached the bar's window, hoping to hear what he was saying.
And the conversation she overheard horrified her.
"Can I get your autograph? I've been following you for a long time. Sign right there."
"Puss in Boots laughs in the face of death! Bounty hunter."
"So I've heard."
"You will find your reward does not come easily."
"Everyone thinks they'll be the one to defeat me. But no one's escaped me yet."
"Let's get it over with. Fear me! If you dar-"
Grim could only hear the sharp strike of metal hitting metal, followed by something striking through wood. Almost every part of her was telling her to run, to leave this all to her mentor. But as she heard his taunts and the sound of metal slicing through the air, she felt herself look through the window to see what was happening.
And as she looked, her eyes widen in horror. One of Death's sickles grazed the head of Puss in Boots, the rouge feline she had taken a soul piece from earlier that day. The blade didn't leave a large wound, but it cut deep enough to draw blood.
He was trying to kill him prematurely...
But... he can't be, right?! Trying to kill someone before their time has come goes against almost all the teachings of a reaper! Why would Death do something like this..?
"What's the matter? Lives flashing before your eyes?"
Death's morbid words snapped Grim out of her thoughts. She looked up once again to see Puss in Boots running away in a panic, and Death hauntingly whistling his favorite tune.
She couldn't hold herself back anymore, Grim had to step in. This was getting out of hand. He can't kill him, it's against the rules!
"Corre, corre gatito..."
"Maestro..?"
Death turned around, almost startled by the voice of his apprentice. Her face was filled with devastation, her ears drooped as she held her scythe close to her.
"Chiquita... what are you doing here?!" Death growled. "I told you not to follow me."
"I... I didn't want to go off on my own yet and... n-no matter!" Grim softly shook her head, looking up towards Death with a slight pout, even though she was terrified of making her mentor angry. "Why were you trying to kill the cat that died earlier today? We're not supposed to kill anyone prematurely!"
Death growled even more, approaching Grim with heavy steps, even as she backed up in fear.
"You know, I don't care what we're supposed to do, chiquita. That gatito has gotten eight lives to do whatever he wanted, and what did he do?"
He paused, if it was out of dramatic effect or if he was actually waiting for an answer, Grim couldn't tell. But Death didn't wait for her, as Grim's back touched the wall behind her, he put his paw under her chin and tilted it upwards, forcing her to look him in the eye.
"He wasted every single one of them. So I decided... why wait for him to waste this one too? I haven't been out hunting in far too long..."
"B-But you can't! Reapers aren't supposed to kill before one's time has come, you told me that was one of the most important rules of being a reape- ah!"
Grim let out a gasp as Death's grip tightened around her, a deep growl emerging from his throat.
"Well let this be a lesson to you, chiquita. Sometimes it is necessary to bend the rules, whether to teach a lesson or otherwise..."
Death let go of Grim, letting her stumble to regain her balance. Her breathing became shallow, it was rare for Death to be this bloodthirsty, this intense, this terrifying.
Death noticed Grim's horrified expression. As much as he loved striking fear into the hearts of others, there was something about his apprentice's fearful gaze that made him feel... guilty almost whenever he scared her. Gently, Death lifted his paw towards Grim's head and gently pet her.
"Mi querida," Death said as he tilted Grim's head up to look at him, his voice much softer than before. "Answer me this, if someone given multiple chances at life were to waste each and every one of them, and they showed no sign of cherishing their final one, is it really such a sin to do them a favor and save them the time? Especially when they see themself as 'above' death? Above us?"
Grim pondered her mentor's question. Obviously what Death was doing was against many rules of Reapers, but when he puts it like that... is it truly such a bad thing?
Death didn't wait for a response from his apprentice before his paw went down towards her own, gently wrapping around her much smaller paw.
"Come now chiquita, perhaps you'll be able to benefit from this little chase of mine."