-This was NOT done by me; just commissioned. Please fav the original here

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“I’ve learned to keep my hopes and dreams to the bare minimum. That way if someone or something disappoints me, I’m not hurt as badly. However, if they manage to impress me, well I now have something to hope for…”

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"So are we going to do this the easy way or hard way?" a tired, gruff voice greeted her as she sat in the snow. The weather was getting worse as the snow started to pick up again; a storm was on the way. Whisper looked up at him, somewhat irritated as she threw a handful of snow in his face. Grimm, a fellow assassin, frenemy, and at one time, her trainer, stood over her trying to be patient as he knew this wasn’t easy on either of them. She -hated- having to rely on others, yet here she was calling on one of her alibis...err, friends, to come and help her. Her mission had gone surprisingly well: the person she was sent to dispose of was pretty much a pushover...a quick slit to the throat and it was over in a matter of seconds. His bodyguards, if you can call the weaklings that, went down shortly after, though they didn’t put up much of a fight. However, as she was fleeing the premises, she sprained her left ankle jumping from the third story window and awkwardly landing on it- and while she could walk on it for a short distance, there was no way she could sprint back to her hideout, much less ride her motorcycle back now. The irony of the injury being she was part feline, which are supposedly graceful on their feet, did not help matters much. With no other options, she reluctantly called in a favor from an old frenemy of hers, hoping he wouldn't gloat too much...

“So let me get this straight: you can take out a deadly mafia boss and over forty bodyguards without a scratch…yet you nearly kill yourself jumping out window? I’m glad to see all that training I taught you paid off.” Grimm tried his best not to laugh at the situation, mostly because she was still holding her sword and he knew not to push his luck too much.

She just glared at him, finally managing to nod as she held a hand out to him. Grimm, used her stubborn ways, gingerly picked her up and held her in his arms, making sure her blade was sheathed and in his sight the entire time. While they were technically friends, she still had a nasty mean streak that occasionally popped up and he knew what she was capable of doing if one was not on his guard. "You know, you could be a little bit more grateful considering I'm out here in the cold helping you out. I was actually in the middle of my own mission before you called me; you owe me." he nonchalantly said as he carried her away from the scene of her mischief. While it was late, the kill had been clean and quiet, and there were no witnesses around, any real assassin knew you should never linger around the scene of a mission too long; time was ALWAYS a factor.

"Just shut up and take me back to my base; I'll give you a cut of the payment I receive from this mission and we'll call it even. It's either that or I won't attack you next time you try to interfere with one of my missions" she said, her good foot giving him a swift kick in the face. "Ouch…Understood. Glad to see you’re still as sweet as ever." He frowned as he pondered over her offer, his footsteps crunching in the snow. Grimm had no interest in taking her money, and while the thought of having a free “Get out of fight with a mean ass wolfcat” card appealed to him, he didn’t really want that either. There were times he actually enjoyed seeing her pop up near or at his missions, even if the result was usually one trying to impale, poison, or maim the other. The only way he thought she could repay him was for her to be nice to him occasionally- but he knew that was asking too much. Unfortunately, as fellow assassins, sometimes their clients hired them to eliminate the other’s client, causing them to have their fair share of run-ins with each other...it's a wonder they had managed to stay friends, yet here they were-

…

Chuckling over the dynamics of their odd relationship, he held her close to keep her warm and headed back to her base, unphased by the wind blasting against his short fur. Noticing she had nodded off, probably exhausted from her fighting, he leaned down to kiss her forehead…she almost looks sweet when she’s asleep. However, he was swiftly greeted with a headbutt and a glare that could kill…

“…and that is why you’re still single! Never let your guard down…baka.” she said as she curled back up against him and pointed ahead; they were almost back at her base. Her bike was parked a few blocks away but she decided she would tend to it in the morning after the storm had cleared up. He sighed as he rubbed his now red forehead, shaking the pain off-

“Still as spunky and feisty as ever,” he thought to himself as they treaded through the snow, his breath filling the night air…

“kedo, konna koto ni naru nante, dare ga yosou shita deshou”

(to be continued)

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Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion where Grimm realizes Whisper’s injury was merely a trap to catch him offguard so she could finish him off once and for all!

...or maybe she was just too damn lazy to get back home on her own so she used that as an excuse to get carried.

Let it be known that Whisper never was good at letting others help her, however, she has no problem helping her friends or others as need be…it’s a pride thing. Also, [wolf]cats don’t always land on their feet! Sheesh, stupid gravity forcing Whisper to have to threaten and rely on others. Not that Grimm seems to mind, but then he’s also one of the few people that have lived to tell the tale from her vicious attacks, so her respect for him is higher than most people.

Last commission piece I’ll be posting for 2016! I have several more I wanted to submit but the laziness is so very real; that and I don’t like spamming people’s inboxes. There will be more than enough time to post everything next year-

It’s kind of a thing among some of my friends now that anyone that gets firetally art with me is lucky or considered a close/good friend since she’s one of my favorite artists to commission and work with. So to continue with this “tradition,” me and Carbon_Unit joined forces and got this joint commission of our characters together.

While Whisper is very adept at her profession, even the most skilled kunoichi gets the occasional injury or in a scrape with death while on the job. Thankfully, she has friends she can call on for backup or a quick rescue. Personally, I think Whisper needs a mount or companion she can summon in battle for those quick escapes or to charge into her foes (arcanine mount…yes please!) In the meantime, her friend Grimm is forced to carry her back home…and if he tries anything, she’ll cut him. Let me rephrase that: first she’ll thank him, then she will cut his appendages off.

…with friends like that, who needs enemies?

Special thanks to Carbon_Unit for getting this piece with me! I always love getting art with others, especially pieces that tell a story or have some meaning behind them. Which as an fyi, yes I do welcome art with others as long as it’s sfw and the idea is something creative or unique…the more creative the idea, the more likely I’ll want to get something with you-


Artwork by:  firetally
Whisper belongs to:  Whisper
Grimm belongs to:  Carbon_Unit