I fell in love with you in my new life

POV - Luahn

Lately, Emilia had been acting strangely.

Not in a bad way; she hadn't become grumpier or quieter.

In fact... quite the opposite.

She was gentler, happier, and smiled more.

She was more attentive.

But the strange thing was that she wasn't saying anything different.

Her words were the same as always.

Her jokes, her sarcastic comments.

Her direct way of speaking.

And yet... something in the air between us had changed.

"Luahn, did you bring the training knife? Yours has a better edge than mine."

"Huh? Yeah... but since when do you care about that?"

"Always. You just never noticed."

"What?"

"Nothing. Give it to me." She snatched the knife from me with a fleeting smile.

While we were training, she offered me her canteen.

"Here. Yours is empty."

"Oh... thanks."

"What's wrong? Haven't you ever been offered water before?"

"...No. I mean, yes, but..."

"But not me. Right?"

"...Yes."

"Well. Get used to it."

"To what?"

"To me taking care of you."

I choked on the water.

She turned to continue practicing, as if she hadn't just dropped a bombshell in a low voice.

I had started to notice other things as well.

Like how, when we sat down to eat with the others at home, Emilia always ended up right next to me.

Or how, during group exercises, she would choose me without even asking.

Or how she would look at me a second longer than necessary.

And although something inside me stirred when that happened... I didn't know how to name it.

One Saturday afternoon, Mom and I went to Leyla and Fortz's house.

It was a custom that had become frequent over the years. Sometimes they came to us, sometimes we went to them. We didn't need a reason.

We were family, even if we didn't say it out loud.

When we arrived, Leyla already had herbal teas ready and a honey and blackberry dessert fresh out of the oven.

"Just in time. Emilia, help set the table."

"Coming."

She looked at me as I passed by.

And, for some reason, she paused for a second longer.

"Will you sit next to me, Luahn?"

"...Sure."

"So, how's the study of the elements going?" Fortz asked, pouring the tea with steady movements.

"Slowly," I replied, lowering my gaze. "I can feel the flow, but I still don't control it well if Emilia isn't around to help me..."

"That's enough," Leyla interjected with a warm smile. "Energy always finds its way."

"And it will with you," Mom added, looking at me proudly. "In time."

"Sometimes all it takes is a spark," said Emilia, spoon in hand, as if her words were nothing special.

I turned to look at her.

She was smiling, not at everyone.

At me.

After eating, we played for a while with the carved wooden pieces. Fortz had made them for Emilia when she was a child, and she kept them fondly. Now we played somewhat ridiculous versions of strategy games while our mothers chatted nearby.

"Luahn..."

"Hm?"

"Do you remember when you broke my first practice board?"

"It was an accident."

"It was a disaster."

"I tripped over a pebble!"

"And you cried."

"I was five years old!"

"And I gave you my handkerchief."

"...I didn't remember that."

"I did."

We were silent for a few seconds.

"You've been acting weird lately," I said without thinking.

She shrugged.

"Weird how?"

"I don't know... kind. Concerned?"

She looked at me, more serious this time.

"And that's strange for me?"

"...Yes."

She laughed softly.

"Then get ready, Luahn."

"For what?"

"For me to be even stranger."

It was nighttime when we returned home. Mom and I walked slowly under the branches of the Hypnos Tree, the cool forest air whistling through the leaves.

"Did you have a good time?"

"Yes..."

"Emilia was closer than usual, don't you think?"

"Did you notice that too?"

"I'm your mom, Luahn. I know when something changes."

"...Do you think something's going on?"

Mom smiled, as if she were keeping a secret.

"Sometimes people start to love each other without knowing it. And when they find out, it's too late to pretend they didn't know."

"...I don't understand."

"You will. Give it time."

I nodded, even though the words were still dancing around in my head in no particular order.

Because no matter how hard I tried... I didn't understand why her smile now made me want to look at her longer.

Or why her voice made me feel that everything difficult... weighed less.

Maybe, as Mom said...

It was just a matter of time.

*

POV - Emilia

Ever since I was little, I always liked the Night of the Dawn Moon.

Not because of the moons or the sacred stories, not even because of the sweets or the dances.

I liked it because on that night, everyone stopped pretending.

Adults laughed without worrying about tomorrow. Children ran without rules. Even Fortz, my father, seemed more... lighthearted. As if the memories of war were softened for one night.

This year, however, something was different.

Not because of the ceremony.

Not because of the moons.

But because of him.

Luahn.

I spent the entire afternoon combing my hair in front of the mirror, something I never cared much about before.

Liifa teased me nonstop.

"Since when do you care so much about a braid?"

"Since forever!"

"Oh, really? And have you always checked the angle three times?"

I ignored her, obviously.

But my heart was uneasy.

I put on the white robe with green trim that my mother had given me. The embroidery had small symbols of the Hypnos Tree. According to her, it was to invoke clarity.

Although I was less concerned about clarity of spirit...

And more about whether Luahn would find me pretty.

In the central square, among floating lanterns and shiny fabrics, I saw him arrive with Olivia.

And something inside me settled.

He was wearing a knitted jacket, a little tight on the shoulders, and his white hair reflected the light of the torches like snow under the moons.

I approached him without hesitation.

"Luahn! Come, hurry!"

When he was in front of me, I took out the two crowns of moon flowers.

Liifa raised an eyebrow.

Selena was already smiling, knowing what was coming.

"Is this for me?"

"Of course not. It's for you to put on."

"On you?"

"No, silly. For you to put this on your head... and me on mine."

But the truth is, I did want him to put it on me.

I wanted to see if his hand trembled a little.

If he looked at me for a second longer.

If he noticed... that something had changed.

During the fire dance, I sat next to him.

I approached him.

I rested my head on his shoulder.

I felt him tense up at first. But he didn't pull away.

That was enough.

"Do you know what I wish for tonight?"

"What?"

"That what shines in the sky... stays in your soul too."

It was a phrase I had read in one of my mother's books.

I didn't know why I had remembered it just then.

Maybe because he was the brightest thing in my soul lately.

"And what do you wish for, Emilia?"

"...That it doesn't change."

"The sky?"

"No. Us. These moments."

I almost didn't say it.

But I did.

And I didn't regret it.

Afterwards, while our mothers talked, I kept watching him.

Every gesture, every word, every smile.

Luahn didn't know it... but everything he did had an impact on me.

When Mom joked about the crown, I took the opportunity to use it.

It was an excuse, of course.

I just wanted to touch him.

To feel that he was close.

And when it was all over, and people started to leave, I stayed with him a little longer.

With no one to interrupt us.

No noise.

Just him and me, under the moons.

"Thank you for coming with me."

"But I came with Mom..."

"Yes, but... you also came with me. Didn't you?"

He didn't answer me.

His face was a mixture of surprise and something else... softer.

I didn't think about it.

I didn't plan it.

I just leaned in... and kissed him on the cheek.

"See you tomorrow, Luahn!" I shouted as I ran away with Liifa, laughing nervously.

I didn't even turn around to see his reaction.

Because I didn't need to.

I had already done it, I had already felt it.

And that night, when I got home, Mom noticed right away that something was up.

"You had a lot of fun, didn't you?"

"Yes?"

"You're redder than fermented bee nectar."

"Mom!"

"And did he... smile at you like you smiled at him?"

"...I don't know."

"Yes, you do."

"Maybe..."

She looked at me.

Then she hugged me from the side.

"We wolf clan members know quickly when we care about someone. It's part of our nature."

"Aren't you exaggerating?"

"Of course not, our hearts don't wait, and you know that perfectly well. You can't fool your mother, young lady."

I hid in her chest, hot as an oven with embarrassment.

But also... happy.

As if, suddenly, something inside me had fallen into place.

And that night... the frost I felt every time I saw him...

began to melt inside me.

*

POV - Leyla

Most young people ignore the little details of life.

The way a person's eyes change when they see someone they care about.

Or how a simple gesture, a smile, a shared silence, can say more than a thousand words.

Luahn was not like most young people.

That's why, that afternoon, when I called him in a low voice to the garden behind my house while Emilia was away, his gaze was immediate, attentive. As if he already knew that this was important.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, serious, with that strange calmness he had cultivated over the last few years.

"No, nothing wrong." I smiled at him, leaning against one of the old apple trees that bore small, sweet fruit. 

"I just wanted to talk to you alone. It's about... Emilia."

His body tensed slightly. Just a little. But I saw it.

"Did something happen to her?"

"No." I shook my head gently. "Rather... an important date is approaching. Her tenth birthday will be in exactly one month."

"Right, I almost forgot," he replied, somewhat stunned.

"It's a special age for us, the wolf clan," I explained. "Dievas gave us a more intense, more instinctive life. It is at the age of ten that a young person's soul begins to take shape: who we are is defined more strongly, what we feel becomes clearer."

"So...?"

"Then," I looked at him meaningfully, "we must prepare. Not just with gifts or celebrations... but with our hearts."

He looked down, thoughtful.

"I... want to do something for her. But I don't know what. Emilia is strong, she doesn't like pretty or simple things."

"Luahn." I leaned in a little. "You don't need to bring her a magic sword or fight monsters. Emilia already has that. What she needs is someone to listen to her. To look at her without fear. And you already do that."

Her eyes rose with a hint of surprise.

"Me?"

"Yes. Sometimes, when someone is surrounded by strength, they just want a space where they can be weak. With you, Emilia lets her guard down. She trusts. And that... is more valuable than anything else."

I let the silence envelop us for a moment. The wind swayed the branches above our heads. A butterfly landed briefly on a flower in the pots.

"There's something else," I said softly.

"What?"

"You know that Emilia and her father... aren't on the best terms, right?"

"...Yes. You can tell when they're together. He hardly looks at her. And she... doesn't make an effort to get closer either."

"Fortz... is afraid," I sighed. "Not of her, but of losing her. Emilia is too much like her father. Like her grandfather. The man who died in the war when Fortz was still a child. He gave up the sword to stay with his family. And now he sees Emilia with that same determination... and fears she will meet the same fate."

"But isn't that unfair to her?"

"It is." I nodded sadly. "But he doesn't know how to deal with it. And this is where I want to ask you for something."

"Me?"

"You're the only one who can talk to her without her getting defensive. And if Fortz listens to you, if he sees you taking care of her... maybe, just maybe... he'll start to think things through better too."

Luahn looked at me intently.

He didn't answer right away.

But something in his gaze changed.

"I'll do what I can. I don't want to see her sad about it. I... I want her to be okay."

"And are you okay with her?"

"Yes."

"Do you need her around?"

He hesitated. For the first time, something flushed his cheeks. Not obvious embarrassment, but a more timid feeling. More genuine.

"...I don't know. I just know that... if she's not here... everything feels emptier."

Ah.

That was the answer.

Even if he didn't know it yet.

I watched him walk away, his steps firm and determined. And as he did, I felt the air in my lungs fill with a hope I hadn't wanted to name before.

Because while Emilia had known it for a long time...

Luahn was beginning to understand.

And that was enough. It was a good start.