Alte Liebe Rostet Nicht

Being In Love

Things have drastically changed, to say the least. Sisnya seemed to do so much better these days, in a much better mood. He even noticed proper lunch boxes being around and the bags under her eyes were slowly fading. Her mood was more chirpy and she came off as less and less sluggish the more days passed. It was great to see and it made him a very happy kitty. It has been years since Sisnya was this happy. She even played with Nyeli more often and did her work with even more vigor. And when it came to the process of her stories, he got to read something almost daily! And he enjoyed it a lot, to the point he always begged Papa to read them. Even if it took waking him up, it was worth it for the kitty. He loved hearing the tales she came up with after all. And he could draw illustrations based on them too! He was looking forward to chapters on the daily! The last time Sisnya had such a flow was years ago so this was an exciting time!

And yet, why could that be the case now of all things? That was a question the kitty investigated for some days now, ever since Brothnya moved right into her home. The change creeped in, to say the least, yet the more days passed the more visible it became. Sisnya was so happy recently, it was hard to put into words. Nyeli did not understand it at first of course, it could be literally anything. Maybe a good grade? Passing classes with flying colors? Or winning a jackpot and expanding on her merchandise collection of small figures and plushies. It was sure complicated, to say the least, and made the cat's own head nearly hurt and burn.

That was until he connected the dots, thanks to his Papa a bit. After all, he had pointed out the following one day: "Secchan and Ann–Chan.. They sure are getting close recently, aren't they?"

It clicked at that moment in Nyeli's brain. A light bulb suddenly lit up, almost literally, and things started to make sense! Somewhat. It had to do with Brothnya! Yeah, he was the source of this. How he didn't know but the cat did his research. He tried to read some things on his own but if it got too complicated he made sure to ask anyone. Papa or one of his uncles.

However, the one who gave Nyeli the most insight had to be Auntie Arashi. She was always eager to help so Nyeli was never afraid to approach her with any type of question. So he asked if she could read some of Sisnya's writing or some articles Nyeli randomly clicked on here and there. Needless to say, her face always lit up with excitement, especially when reading Sisnya's little stories.

"Oh my, oh my~ Someone is lovestruck."Auntie once pointed out with a chuckle, eyes sparkling. It only made the kitty tilt his head in slight confusion yet luckily for him she continued talking. "This knight over there reminds me a lot of Izumi–Chan. And how he is portrayed... Very flattering~"

It sounded a little confusing at first. What does that have to do with anything? And he would not hide this confusion, only looking at his aunt with a tilted head, ears wagging non stop. She noticed right away and smiled when looking at Nyeli, having a quick response. Though that is expected from auntie. She knows a lot about those things!

"It's just a thought but maybe Ann–Chan is trying to express her feelings, you see. She might be too shy to say anything or be afraid. I'm not blaming her, given Izumi–Chan sometimes."

"Nye?"

"I mean, wouldn't you agree? You can feel the emotions rushing through, the desire to come closer, an obvious longing. I can feel the tension myself, it is so lively~"

He was wondering for a second if she had just been exaggerating but he remembered something Sisnya loved to tell him when he had conversations with her about art, or when he overheard her talk about it.

" You can get to know a person when taking a closer look sometimes. Maybe I just love it too much but reflecting on my work helped me a few times. "

To Sisnya it seemed like a throwaway line but Nyeli took it to heart, always looking through his drawings to see what he could discover and his own findings were interesting. Sometimes he had not thought about these things actively if at all. So what auntie said started to make sense the longer he thought about it. Something not even Sisnya knew yet is trying to express... That or she is just hiding it too well. So it ended with him nodding and wagging his tail eagerly. Auntie Arashi was smart!

The only thing left to do was ask Sisnya. Maybe she was just trying to mask it or she needed someone to give her a bit of a nudge. And this time he wanted to be the one to help her. After all, Sisnya did so much for him, this was the least he could do for her. So he made it quick by tapping on her arm a few times after having scribbled something on a few papers, then holding them up for her to see.

She of course turned to Nyeli, about to ask what was wrong but went silent when reading and then seeing the two sheets of paper. He couldn't see her reaction though sadly yet the silence meant a surprise in one way or another at the very least.

One of the images was a simple sentence, something he was able to make out easily as he read the sentence over and over. Plus auntie told him what it meant.

' Are you in love? '

To top it off he drew Sisnya and Brothnya, or simplified versions of them together, hand holding and putting in every imagery he could. Best way to get it across was with a heart after all. He had learnt this from Auntie as well! She knew so much too after all! But back to the topic...

There was silence for a good few moments, Sisnya not saying a word. It allowed Nyeli to take a peek from behind the paper, wanting to see her face. It was all red and eyes wide, mouth nearly open. He swore that he saw some sweat too while she was shaking in her seat, even if very slightly.

Usually he would panic, afraid that she had caught a cold if not a fever. However, in this context it was different.

" You see, when you ask someone directly you might see them warming up! Or all red. On top of that they will probably be very nervous. Needless to say, it might be a sign! Especially if they were fine before! " Auntie Arashi's wise words!

With those in mind there was only one option for Sisnya. She was a terrible liar after all, literally. Or at least she had a hard time hiding things when she really had to. She was like an open book to people, even when lying. So Nyeli got his answer. But what about her? Could she admit it to him? He will see in a moment, given how eager he looked. He wanted the answer right here, right now! Does Sisnya love Brothnya? It's all too obvious but—

"Haha, that's a cute drawing Nyeli." She responded, him so close to pouting. He believed that she wanted to avoid the topic yet she added the following: "But no, there's nothing going on between Izumi and me. Yeah, nothing at all. We are just friends."

As if trying to reassure him she even pat Nyeli on his head, accepting it of course. And yet, he didn't like her answer at least at first. However, there is one sentence sticking with him right then and there.

"Besides, there's no way this would ever happen. Not like I'm his type to begin with."

She's not denying it. So auntie may have been onto something after all.