[PRP] I don't want to be long distance! [Naomi x Arah]

[NymiiNym]

Arah paced, tossing her hood over her head as the nerves settled in. Okay. She got this. She knew exactly how to word this. Naomi would certainly understand, and be thrilled! Or.... or not. She could still remember how upset Naomi had been back when Arah considered returning to her birth tribe. Heck, Arah herself had been upset! But she finally found a cause she believed strongly in, and she wanted to bring Naomi with her. Sadly, the rainbow haired vixen wasn't a tribe-person, and she was afraid Naomi would turn her back on the idea.

Inhaling sharply, Arah settled down, tail flicking around herself and paws kneading into the mattress they often slept on. They hadn't moved out of the abandoned warehouse, and the idea of doing so frightened her. Of course, if she found a new home she'd need to leave this one. How many years had they lived here? How long had this been their own sweet refuge?

Her heart hammered, head snapping up when she heard pawsteps. Oh deities, here she was! Swallowing thickly, the vixen tugged on her hood, letting it fall off her face. Naomi hated when Arah tried to use it as a crutch, hiding behind it when nervous. She needed to be as open as possible.

"N-Naomi." Crap! The stutter! She grimaced a bit, flipping her hood back up. Hey, the situation was rough! She was allowed to hide a bit!
 

[NymiiNym]

Today had been a long day. Hunting hadn't gone well, and neither had scavenging. Winter was a rough season for foxes, especially in the city. Other city foxes had the exact same idea as her, and today she hadn't woken up early enough to get the good food left out by the two-legs. She was returning home with only one fish that had been thrown out, and it didn't have much meat left on it. She'd give it to Arah, though. Naomi could handle a hungry night or two, but Arah needed food. Naomi wasn't about to let her mate starve.

Carrying the fish within her mouth, Naomi tried to stealthily pad up the stairs of the warehouse. However, it seemed Arah had heard her, stuttering out her name in greeting. One ear flicked, paws freezing. Huh. Something was going on... Arah rarely stuttered. Internally sighing, she steeled herself and padded through the doorway, tail tip twitching as she set the fish down and locked her eyes on her clearly nervous mate.

"Arah." She cleared her throat, eying her partner with a raised eyebrow. The last time Arah seemed so unsettled was back when they discussed her birth-tribe. Oh no. Had Arah changed her mind? Everyone knew Naomi wasn't a tribe-fox, and especially not that tribe. Naomi wouldn't fit in at all. She'd be miserable, and the tribe would have one useless member. Frustration poured over her briefly before she rapidly shut it down. She didn't even know if this was the topic, she shouldn't work herself up for no reason.
 

[NymiiNym]

She cringed at the tone Naomi gave her. Obviously she hadn't done a good enough job trying to make everything seem alright. Running her tongue over her teeth in though, the fox finally seemed to have some idea of what to say.

"So." She hesitated for a brief second, swallowing back the nervous heart flutters she felt. What was there to be scared of? Naomi would never hurt her, and while she sometimes had a tongue of steel the woman obviously loved Arah. She wouldn't be here if she didn't. Naomi never just spent time with others if she didn't either find it beneficial or felt so strongly for them that she threw aside her usually perfect logic to be with them. Arah wasn't beneficial to Naomi. She didn't add anything more to Naomi's life that was needed, but she gave the woman what she wanted: companionship. Naomi had decided to look past her needs and include Arah into her life, and that itself was evidence the woman loved Arah deeply. Still, her heart hammered, paws kneading into the mattress once more.

"I met someone." Arah tightened her mouth, realizing just how awful that sounded. "Not like met someone. Just, I bumped into another fox a few days ago, and they got me thinking." Oh, the look Naomi was giving her was mortifying. She stopped talking, watching her mate carefully. Yeah, her wording could have been better.

 

[NymiiNym]

Naomi briefly flicked her tail at the cringe, mentally making a note to work on her tone. She never had found it easy to alter her voice, but being around Arah often reminded her that sometimes she did come off a bit rough. One ear flicked when Arah finally began to speak, mentally sighing when Arah cut herself off. She loved her mate, yes, but Naomi never understood why foxes couldn't just say what they needed to without modifying their words to lessen the blow. It was apparent Arah had something potentially upsetting to say, and the rainbow-haired woman just wished she'd spit it out.

'I met someone.' Naomi couldn't stop the intense stare she returned to Arah, eyes slightly narrowing at those words. Met someone? In what way? Romantically? She bumped into an old friend? Normally she wouldn't find herself jumping to these conclusions, but Arah did look a tad guilty. No. She'd never do something like that. Even if she did, there must be a reason behind it. Perhaps Naomi wasn't sensitive enough for her mate? Maybe she had been becoming less of a mate to Arah and more of a friend thanks to her always being out and about instead of spending her evenings with Arah. She'd need to work on that, then. They could work this out.

It was a bit relieving when Arah further explained herself, but her expression didn't change. Now what? Now that all of her ideas had been basically shot down, Naomi was left completely uncertain. She couldn't guess what Arah had to say, and it left her uncomfortable. It took her a good minute to realize Arah had stopped talking because of her own appearance. Straightening her face out, Naomi tugged on her sleeves and settled onto her haunches.

"So you met someone?" She had heard somewhere that repeating what others said indicated you were listening, might as well bring that out.
 

[NymiiNym]

Relief rushed through her when Naomi seemed to relax. Nodding enthusiastically, a smile flashed across Arah's face briefly. Alright. This was going well. Maybe there was no reason to be so nervous?

"Yup." Her eyes flicked to view the fish for a second before returning to watch her mate.

"Yeah, so, I was out by the two-legs party den and bumped right into this guy named Bishop. He's super nice. Well, we got to talking and our mates came up into the topic, and then my birth-tribe and how we, uh, you know. How we had to figure out what to do." Oh boy, there Naomi went again, giving her an intense stare. Right, get to the point. Naomi was probably mentally urging Arah to just cut to the chase.

"Anyway, he mentioned that, um, well, he's making a tribe. And, and I really like the cause of it and what it's based on. It's based on love, all types of love, and encouraging everyone to embrace their special way of romance. It kind of made me think of us? Maybe?" Oh no, that look. Arah snapped her mouth shut, teeth clicking together. Maybe she should have worded that all better, or at least attempted to explain the tribe better. Well, it was already done and Naomi looked close to responding.

 

[NymiiNym]

Deities. Somehow she sensed it was tribe related, but not quite that. She had thought they were over the whole tribe ordeal, but now a new tribe? What about tribes drew Arah in so much? Did she yearn for more family? A community? Naomi hadn't thought that over, only thinking that she had wanted, originally, to be closer to her family. Perhaps what she always wanted was a community to thrive in.

"What are you saying, Arah?" Her mouth felt dry as she spoke, perfectly aware at what Arah was trying to convey. How many times would they discuss tribes? When would Arah be satisfied with their warehouse? Probably never, honestly. She longed for something Naomi wasn't able to give her, and while that was perfectly fine Naomi wasn't sure what this meant between them. Naomi didn't want to leave the city. She also didn't want to leave the warehouse she basically raised herself and her sisters in. This was home, and always had been. She wanted Arah happy, but she also was very aware that this could wedge in a divide between them.
 

[NymiiNym]

Arah anxiously shifted, knowing Naomi knew exactly what she meant. This was torture, but it wasn't intentional. Naomi was simply difficult at times to converse with, and Arah loved it, usually. It made conversing more alluring. Right now, though, it only made her feel a cold shiver down her spine.

"I just," She faltered, again. Just spit it out! "I was interested in joining." She inhaled sharply after her sentence, diverting her gaze back to the fish at Naomi's feet. She couldn't look Naomi in the eye, not until her mate responded. She already knew this wouldn't go well.
 

[NymiiNym]

As she feared. Sighing, the vixen shook her head. She knew it. Naomi bit back her first response, which was about to be something related to her refusing to join any tribe. However, instead, she just watched Arah, pondering a response.

Arah wanted a tribe. It wasn't Naomi's place to tell her no just because Naomi didn't want to be a part of it. Couples did this, right? There were couples where one was in a tribe and the other wasn't. Naomi could stay at the warehouse and Arah could live in the tribe. They'd meet every few days, or weeks, or whenever Arah wasn't busy. It'd work, somehow. They always figured it out.

"Then join." Her voice stayed level, despite the fact she wasn't a fan of her newest sentence. No. She needed to stay logical. Arah needed this, Naomi didn't. Why drag herself somewhere and make them both miserable?