Perhaps the best thing to do would be to ignore her feelings entirely. For some reason, she doubted Novel could reciprocate her feelings -- if she truly was falling in love with her. It might just be better to be there for her, as she had been since she had come to live here, and deal with her own feelings later. It would feel selfish to focus on herself when Novel was obviously suffering still. A gentle sigh left her lips as she leaned into her friend -- how badly she craved to touch her more, to embrace her more fully and with more fervor. She would settle, instead, for placing tender kisses to the side of her face, wanting her to know that Ara would keep her as safe as she possibly could. It seemed she was turning into a fine caretaker; she enjoyed helping Novel, whether it was just being company for her, and she had always been happy to take care of her parents too.
It was painful to watch the realization appear in Novel's soft gaze. They had both avoided thinking about it, but it couldn't be ignored for much longer. "It's okay," she'd assure her quickly, moving to press her nose to Novel's neck as though to stop her head from shaking. "You will be a wonderful mother." The words came quickly and she nearly gasped at how easily she had told her that. What if Novel didn't want the children at all? Certainly she would not abandon them, but she knew someone else within Sawtooth or even Threar would watch over the children as their own if she didn't want to. "I mean.. if you want that." Who knew what Novel was thinking? She wondered if she's spoken too brashly and she let an apologetic whine escape her throat, wrapping her muzzle around Novel's back to pull her closer.
