<div style="text-align: justify;">Marissa would definitely be relieved to know that Nanook didn’t expect her to believe him blindly. One thing she had learned in her life was that those who demanded blind faith and obedience often have bad intentions. It was good to know that Nanook wanted to believe him, but keep her individuality and trust herself as well. It would definitely make her life easier. <br/><br/>When Nanook said he could wag his tail and asked if she wanted seeing it, Marissa couldn’t help but laugh and nod. She really liked to know that he wanted to humor her, and that he liked having her scratch his neck that way. When he made that gesture, Marissa laughed again. “Well, that is good enough”, she replied, leaning forward and stealing a quick kiss from Nanook, assuming he allowed her to.<br/><br/>Marissa had asked Nanook a question she didn’t really expect an answer to, but she didn’t mind that he decided to answer it anyway. What he had said did make sense. It was something pretty common, that some people would stay within habits that were harmful to them. “I think you do have a point”, she commented quietly. “Some people do cling to bad habits, places or people because they are too weak to shake them and change their lives”, Marissa completed, a little pensive. Hearing him say that he liked her more than that, Marissa smiled, her cheeks a little flushed. It was great to know that he cared about her deeply enough to change her life for the best. Of course, someone else would think it was a pretty twisted thing to do. For Marissa, though, it was an act of compassion. <br/><br/>Feeling Nanook snuggle closer to her brought Marissa a sense of being safe. It was odd, since she was often uncomfortable with physical contact, but Nanook didn’t make her feel threatened at all. <br/><br/>Like Nanook, Marissa didn’t mind the idea of moving slowly. She wasn’t used to the idea of living a long time yet. Still, she was young, and had the idea that she had a long time to live and didn’t have to rush into anything. They would have time to get intimate in the future, should everything go well, after all.<br/><br/>When Nanook asked if she meant that they could go away, Marissa nodded. “Yes, that’s it”, she replied, apparently feeling a little bit lighter after everything she had told Nanook. “I would love to spend a few days away and take a break”, Marissa continued. “I haven’t really taken a lot of time off, so I can easily take a week or two off work and spend time somewhere nice. If you prefer, you can choose us a place and just tell me where we are going so I can pack accordingly”, she completed, imagining that it would be fun to spend some time away from LA with Nanook. It would be even better if they could go somewhere sort of isolated and spend about a week alone, just relaxing and being closer to nature. <br/><br/>Thinking about what kind of games she liked to play, Marissa shrugged. “I don’t really know much about chess. I have watched some people play it, but I have never learned. Would you teach me?”, she asked. It was clear that Marissa was really interested in learning chess. <br/><br/>After speaking, Marissa finally stopped, waiting for Nanook to say something. While she did so, the girl ran her fingers through Nanook’s hair after he shook her head, enjoying that quiet moment between them and the knowledge that he didn’t think less of her because of her past.</div>