Chapter 22

Maria sighed as she reached the top of the stairs.

She never thought she would feel this much trepidation again. The ewe did reason that part of her fears this time was going into the male carnivores' dorm building for the first time. Even all of the stares and slack-jawed expressions that all the predators that watched her pass by their rooms made her pretty self-conscious.

What am I even doing here, she questioned herself as she walked down the hall. It's not like he's been taken to the hospital again. Sure, he skipped out on our study session and class for two days in a row and hasn't answered any of my texts…

Her ears immediately began to droop. She definitely failed miserably in reassuring herself that everything was alright with Rob. But, clearly he's not alright.

"No! Clearly, you're not alright!"

Maria froze in her tracks, startled that her thoughts were echoed aloud almost verbatim. Realizing the voice was coming from almost two doors down the hall, she quickly concealed herself behind a corner of a nearby wall.

"Did you really think I can't see those bags under your eyes? You obviously haven't been sleeping at all!"

Maria peeked from her hiding spot to find the voice belonging to a very frustrated tigress almost glaring up at Rob who was standing at the doorway of his room.

"I-I—L-look! I j-just…s-stayed up a litt—a little late! Th-that's all," Rob began protesting as he turned his head to the side, his face expressing some annoyance.

"What do you take me for? We might not have been going out for that long, but even I can still tell this isn't normal for you!"

The young liliger gritted his teeth and his body began quivering a little. Maria knew there was no way that he would speak up in that paralyzed state after being interrogated in such a way.

Lily seemed to have picked up on that as well, with her expression beginning to soften.

"...Please, won't you tell me what's on your mind?" she said quietly as she lifted her hand towards him. "If there's anything worrying you, I'm her—"

Rob suddenly swatted her hand away as it drew close to his arm, his face showing fear and slight disgust while his ears flattened a little. It was then immediately replaced by a look of shock as he looked at his own hands, with Lily matching his expression of astonishment.

"...Rob," she whispered. "What happened to you?"

He said nothing for what seemed several moments before letting out a weak "I-I'm sorry" and quickly closing the door.

"R-Robbi—! Rob, wait! Open the door, right now!" the tigress yelled as she slapped on said door. It went on for yet another minute before the tempo of her hits slowed down to a stop.

After a few moments, and with some very quiet sobs, she then reached into her bag slung over her shoulder and pulled a small container which Maria inferred to have some sort of food and set it on the ground in front of her.

The ewe decided that it was probably not the best time to see Rob and decided to quietly leave. Unfortunately, her first step was a little louder than she wanted and her shoe let out an audible clack.

Maria froze, but refused to turn around even though she knew for a fact that Lily heard her. Shaking her head, she took a few quick steps, almost breaking into a jog. Her flight was short-lived, however, as she felt a very strong hand squeezing her shoulder, keeping the ewe from moving another inch.

"Please wait…! You're his sister, aren't you?"

The ewe winced, partly from the pain on her shoulder, and very slowly turned around to meet the gaze of the tigress, whose cheeks were wet from tears.

"Tell me…!" she exclaimed, her voice breaking. "What should I do? What happened to him?"

Maria's ears descended a little as she looked down. There was clearly no chance of talking her way out of this, especially when constrained by a desperate and almost-distraught girl.

She took a deep and slow breath. "Why don't we talk outside…?"

…

Maria found it a great relief that it was starting to get warmer in the early evenings, with the sun only beginning to set—especially when the students had to begin wearing their short-sleeved summer uniforms.

Strangely enough, she also found it relieving to be able to talk freely about Rob with someone else at school besides her twin brother. Though, she'd never thought it would be with someone Rob's dating.

While she sat next to the tigress on one of the benches near the boys' dorm, she was finally able to have a good look at the female carnivore. She seemed surprisingly daintier-looking than most big cats the female herbivore encountered in the past, perhaps several inches smaller than Rob's last girlfriend. Of course, that didn't mean very much considering the strength she has as a carnivore. The lingering pain in her shoulder could easily attest to that little fact.

Even so, Maria could tell from the two felines' interactions from afar, and from speaking with her face-to-face, that Lily was a very kind soul. The concern and affection for Rob was definitely present in her eyes.

"I...had no idea," Lily said, clutching her white skirt. "I knew his parents died, but to actually see it happen...at such a young age?"

"Mmm..yeah," Maria answered softly.

"Obviously, that messed him up pretty bad and he now panics at the sight of blood. Couldn't even speak for a while. Even now, his stutters can get pretty bad the more stressed he gets."

"...And there I was thinking it was just a cute quirk he was born with—even poking fun at him for it every now and then."

Lily's ears flattened while her face began to be colored with guilt.

It wasn't that large of an issue, Maria thought, and she was sure Rob wasn't bothered by it as much anymore. Still, to see the tigress being so ashamed of something so minor…

"Hey, so," the ewe began almost sheepishly. "What was it about Rob that caught your eye, exactly?"

The tigress' ears then perked up as her cheeks began turning a slightly darker shade of orange. "...n his tail."

"What was that?"

"...The stripes on his back and tail."

"His stripes?" Maria said in a deadpan tone, with a slightly quizzical look on her face.

"Ooooh, I know it was rude to stare, but when he bent down at the gym that one time I couldn't help myself," the female carnivore cried, covering her face. "I mean, yeah, they were faded and all, but they were just so sexy!"

The ewe was half-expecting Lily to say she was joking about how "sexy" Rob's stripes were, but the mild thumping of the tigress' tail suggested otherwise. She could only suppose that it was a "tiger" thing.

"O-okay…so, what else did you like about him?"

Lily lowered her hands slowly before regaining her composure. "Well…I guess it was when his eyes met mine…"

"Oh?"

"I've never seen eyes so clear and bright as his before…or so soft and gentle. Ever since then, I sort of became obsessed with getting to know him more."

She then scratched her cheek with one claw as she laughed nervously. "Funny thing…I just broke up with my ex and was ready to swear off all men for a while before I began noticing Robbie. Of course, he was already with that lioness at the time, so I could only watch from afar."

The ewe inwardly grimaced, partly out of disgust for that unpleasant ex, but also out of a tinge of guilt for being somewhat involved in the subsequent break-up.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe how happy I was when he asked me out. But…"

"...What's wrong?"

The tigress shook her head. "I don't know…lately, I've started noticing how he'd freeze up from time to time, like something spooked him—sometimes even when we're just taking a walk. Also, the way he'd mutter numbers to himself? I mean, how do you react to that?"

Maria couldn't say her reaction wasn't expected. Considering how his anxiety began to spike more often, of course anyone would be weirded out when they don't know the reason.

"...So, what now?" Maria asked quietly.

Lily said nothing—only cast her eyes downward with her ears flattened.

"Okay…let me rephrase that: what do you want to do?"

Once again, the tigress was silent. Though, now her ears became a bit more erect.

"I…I want…" she began. "I want to stay with him…"

The ewe's ear twitched as she continued to listen carefully.

"I have to admit...there's a part of me that's still afraid of how he'll act or react to things, but…"

"I see…Well, don't be," Maria said casually as she leaned back.

"Hmm?"

"What you really need to worry about is how slow on the uptake he can be when it comes to stuff happening around him—not to mention how much of an indecisive pushover he can be, his

horrible sense of direction, being a crybaby, snoring loudly enough to shake the next room over…"

Lily snickered and held her hand to her mouth, attempting to stifle any further laughter. "That's not very nice…!"

"Hey, if you're expecting a glowing review, you're gonna have to look somewhere else!" Maria jokingly retorted.

Both females ended up giggling and laughing for a while after. During that time, the ewe could have sworn Lily began to glow a little. It may have just been the sun reflecting off her orange fur, but the carnivore seemed to have become a little prettier than before.

"...Hmm, I guess there are some things I need to get used to," Lily said with a sigh. "Still, it's hard to find a guy as warm and gentle as him. And thoughtful, too! You know he'd even give me flowers every now and then 'just because?'"

"Oh yeah, he does do that a lot." It was actually pretty amusing and touching for Maria to see the tigress so giddy about Rob's small gestures. She obviously really was in love with him.

"He's really lucky to have you," she mumbled.

"Hm?"

The ewe just smiled and shook her head, dismissing that she said anything important. "Anyway, don't give up on Robbie just yet. I don't know what happened to him, but I'm sure he'll bounce back soon. He just needs a little nudge in the right direction."

She then extended her hand out a little and made a swatting motion. "And if that doesn't work, just slap him around a few times until he gets it."

"Aha—! I'll keep that in mind," the tigress laughed. "...Thank you, Maria. I can see why Robbie talks about you so much."

"He does?"

"Mm-hmm! He's always saying nice and dependable you are. I was actually a little jealous at the beginning, if I'm being honest."

Once again, the herbivore winced. "He said that, huh…?"

Lily nodded. "And…I think I can depend on you, too, for more advice about him. Think we could exchange our contact info?"

"...Yeah, sure."

It only took a minute for the two females to exchange numbers before it was time for them to part ways. Lily gave a deep and gracious bow to Maria and they both waved to each other as the tigress trotted away.

The ewe's hand slowly descended to her side as Lily faded in the distance before clenching it into a fist.

How am I the dependable one, she thought angrily. You were the one that came to him first and actually decided to stay…

Maria sighed, her fingers relaxing as her ears lowered. She could not help but wonder if she was even needed in Rob's life anymore, before turning heel and slowly walking towards her own dorm building…

Author's Note

Aaaaaannd, we're back!

Hiatus went way longer than I wanted, but I haven't been doing nothing all this time either! Been getting some help and advice from a friend that's become my editor. Slight changes and fixes will be underway in the first chapters, and already made in chapter 1.

Also, finally brought Robbie to life after commissioning someone to draw him! :D

If you're interested in seeing him, he was drawn by a prominent furry artist on Twitter, Phy_Sen! ( /phy_sen/status/1458118167742484480?s=09)