Since the incident, every time that someone came to her to talk she couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety. Ara was painfully aware of how old her parents were getting, and though they were not exactly unhealthy, they certainly didn't have much longer left. What if one of them needed her, and couldn't call to her in time? What if something happened to her siblings, particularly her newest baby brother? There was no panic evident in Novella's gaze, only the worry that any loving family member might portray, and she felt the tension slowly ease from her mind as she nodded slowly in greeting to Novella.
Warily she offered a smile, though it was half-hearted at best. 'I heard what happened,' she explained carefully, and she found herself nodding again, her gaze drifting to Novel's sleeping form in the shade of her den. "She is... okay," she admitted with a soft sigh. There was no using lying to Novel's family and pretending she was doing well, but she knew things could be worse. Some days were certainly worse than others. The impending birth of her children was coming quickly too, causing a great amount of stress on her. "Doing better, I guess. She is having a hard time, Novella." And it seemed no herbs could soothe the pain -- only time would lessen it. It was a hard fact to come to terms with, that she could not ease all of Novel's suffering, but slowly she was getting used to the fact that sometimes all she could do was be there for her and nothing more.
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