I'M BARELY BREATHING // mural

[number nine.]

The utterance of the word "Nine" and "pretty" together caused the jaguar in question to pause, his hidden eyes briefly widening from behind their halo of flowers. While it wasn't the first time the warrior had ever been called pretty – especially with the presence of his husband around once again – he still found himself caught off guard. He had never been the greatest at processing compliments, mainly because of his past as a glorified science experiment. For some time, he had been just a simple, nameless test subject, and once he had escaped, he had become a seemingly nameless soldier, trying to make himself stronger. Neither a test subject nor a soldier had a need to be pretty, or handsome, so it was still difficult for him to assign such words to himself. Despite this, he found a ghost of a smile coming to his muzzle, not wanting the child to think that he somehow disapproved of it. Perhaps when Number Nine had been younger, and had been fresh in his transition after discovering his identity, he might've recoiled at the mere thought of the word pretty. These days, however, he saw it as more gender neutral. He was more comfortable in his own skin, particularly with his shift from soft and tiny domestic feline to muscular and flowing jaguar.

With a chuckle leaving him, the bounty hunter expressed softly, "Thanks for saying that, Foamkit... I'm sure that Lewis would no doubt agree with you." His ghostly husband always had a habit of showering him in compliments, even when the large feline wasn't expecting or asking for them. Of course, he was always fairly quick to return the favor. The thought caused him to grin as he continued, tone encouraging, "Still, I don't think you should completely disregard it. It's clear that you've got some skills, kid. I'm sure you'd be able to paint me really well with a bit more practice." He was always quick to encourage youths to expand their horizons in terms of hobbies, particularly in the arts. Mainly because he had spent the majority of his entire kithood far too focused on just getting ahead, rather than learning as much as he could.

HELLBENT ON MAKING YOU LOVE ME TOO