Far and Forlorn
Arana Webb was walking through the dark hallways of the Mermaid Heel guild with a glass of water in her hand. It was almost midnight as she headed back to her room before she noticed her next-door neighbor, Beth Vanderwood, had the door to her room slightly ajar and with a small light coming through the crack in the door. Arana, eyebrows raised in curiosity, decided to walk into her room, disregarding the common courtesy of knocking. When she walked into Beth's room, she saw her red-haired and freckled (and cute, according to Arana) guildmate sitting on her bed looking out at the large window on the left side of her bed.
"Beth?" This sudden utterance from Arana caused Beth to jump in fright and turn around.
"Arana? What're you doing here?" Beth asked in a hushed tone as to not wake up their other guildmates.
"Well I noticed that your lights were on, and I was wondering why you're still up," Arana explained before closing the door behind her and walking up to Beth's bed.
"You're still up too," Beth mumbled. Arana chuckled before sitting next to Beth on the bed and putting an arm around the back of the neck, which caused Beth to blush. Beth had always found the tall Latina wizard very attractive but was never able to strike up the nerve to tell her.
"Yes, but I was just getting some water. You were sitting on your bed and looking up at the sky. Now, do you want to tell me why you're looking out your window?" Arana asked, giving Beth a small massage on the shoulder. Beth looked up at Arana, with her blush still visible on her face, and sighed before giving a response.
"Well…I was just feeling a little homesick. I mean…sometimes being in a big city like Magnolia…it's a little overwhelming," Beth confessed, turning her head away from Arana and looking back down at the ground.
"You miss your home back west?"
"Yeah…I mean don't get me wrong. I really love Fiore, the Mermaid Heel guild, and yo—all the friends I made in this guild," Beth said, catching herself at the last second before she confessed what she felt for Arana. "You really did help me feel comfortable in this big town, but…I still just miss the small-town life I lived in Caelum with my Dad sometimes," Beth admitted. Arana responded to Beth's confession by pulling her into a hug, causing Beth to blush even more.
"Beth…it's totally normal to be homesick every once in a while. I'm not originally from Magnolia either, and it took me a long time to get used to the town. Coming from Enca, it was hard for me to adjust to living in Fiore, but living with Mermaid Heel made me feel better."
"Really? How?"
"When I told Risley and Kagura about my problems, they did everything they could to help me get used to Magnolia. They took me out to see the sights and made me realize that I had some friends with me. What I'm trying to say is that if you feel homesick, you can tell us and we'll try and make you feel better," Arana explained, running a hand through Beth's red hair. Beth looked up at Arana, and smiled at her before, in a moment of weakness, kissed her on the top of her forehead. After that kiss, both Arana and Beth's faces exploded in a red blush before Beth turned herself around.
"T…thanks Arana, that…I appreciate it," Beth mumbled, not even able to look Arana in the eye, believing that she had overstepped her bounds. However, Arana turned Beth's head towards her before she kissed Beth on the cheek, shocking Beth to the point where she thought she was going to faint.
"Of course Cariño, now get some sleep," Arana responded before laying down on Beth's bed. Beth started shaking when she saw Arana get under the covers, and tried to look away, but Arana wouldn't let her. "Come on Beth, I'm trying to help you sleep, and I can't do that when you're not under the sheets."
"But…isn't it a little…inappropriate?" Beth asked. "I mean…it's not like we're a couple or anything." Arana looked at Beth's nervous face and pondered what she said for a few moments before sitting up and giving Beth another kiss on the cheek before bringing her back down to the bed.
"Well…we'll have to change that then won't we?" Arana whispered in Beth's ear before she started nibbling on her ear. Beth, who was so excited about what was going on, couldn't say anything in response, and just hugged Arana back while she continued to kiss Beth on the cheek and the neck. After a few minutes, Arana let Beth go and tucked Beth in underneath the covers before smiling at her. "Well…?"
"I would…love to be your girlfriend, Arana," Beth whispered back, not able to look Arana in the face.
"Well, that makes me really happy, Beth. And maybe tomorrow, we can go and take a walk around the nearby plaza so we can just relax," Arana offered, gently rubbing her finger on Beth's freckled cheek.
"That sounds really nice, I'd love to go out with you," Beth responded before she enveloped Arana in a hug which she quickly returned. The two smiled with content filling their minds before they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, with their dreams consisting of what they hoped that their future together would hold.