One of the things that were most endearing to Nanook about about Marissa was the fact that she never seemed to critique his behavior. She never second-guessed or doubted him. Nevertheless, that didn't mean that he thought it was blind faith either. He wouldn't have liked that at all. Blind faith wasn't really true faith at all no matter what anyone said about it. It meant that someone wasn't really following something because they genuinely cared about it, but because they were misguided.<br/><br/>In spite of everything else, he wanted her to think independently. Nanook wanted her to follow him and learn to be a proper werewolf because she wanted to, not because she felt she had to please him. In a way that would have ruined everything for him, and he wanted to go back on it. He wouldn't have wanted someone who followed him like a lost puppy. In a sense, too, it would have been fairly creepy. He was looking for a friend and an eternal mate who didn't shy away from violence, but instead reveled in it. What he wasn't looking for was a sycophant.<br/><br/>"Are you talking about people who have a little appendage on their backs? That's not a tail; they don't have any bones in it!" He laughed a bit, having thus suggested that they wouldn't have been able to wag them even if they had tried to. Nodding once she seemed more serious, he eventually raised a brow at her. "Like I said, at this point I doubt even a machine wash would cause any problems. You don't have to fear shrinkage, because it's probably stretched out hanging in the closet all this time."<br/><br/>While a machine wash and a tumble dry probably weren't suggested for suits very often, it might have actually been the best thing in this case. "I bought it at a thrift shop anyway." That sounded just like Nanook to take the most frugal and resource-conscious way out.<br/><br/>"Do what again, you mean this?" Laughing, he then grasped her more tightly making his hug more forceful as he then rubbed their noses together. Sure, that wasn't historically what his people would have actually done. At the present time he just considered it harmless fun. He wasn't going to let anything get in the way of having fun with her.<br/><br/>Well, then again it had looked as though the serious conversation that they were about to have was going to do just that. That kiss might have been wonderful, but what was going to happen next certainly wasn't going to be.<br/><br/>It was painfully obvious that she had to prepare herself for what was coming up here next. Admittedly, the thought of having to put her through this made him quiver. Nanook didn't like to have to essentially hurt the woman that he loved. "Please never be afraid to speak your mind if there's something that you need or something that bothered you, alright?" Frowning softly, he shook his head toward her, figuring that she might have been a little reluctant to do so thus far. He didn't want her to be, though.<br/><br/>Once he found himself lying on the bed, Nanook was glad that she placed her arms in the position that she had. Certainly he wouldn't have wanted to have her stop holding to him at the moment. This was going to be a tough time for her, and he understood that. Rather than give lots of feedback while she told her story he merely cocked his head to one side. If she looked closely, then she might have realized that was the same position a dog or wolf used to indicate that they were listening.<br/><br/>Considering the material in the story it was hard for him to listen to without showing some sort of strong emotional reaction. Nevertheless, he did his best to listen to what she was saying. The reason it was hard for him was relatively obvious. He didn't at all like the idea that the woman that he loved could have suffered so much pain. That had hurt him very seriously.<br/><br/>While that might not at all have seemed rational, he had good reasons for thinking that way. She was the woman that he had loved, thus any assault against her even by herself was a clear assault against the woman that he had loved.<br/><br/>Eventually, when she posed a question to him, Nanook found himself massaging her shoulder in turn before shaking his head. "You were in a very difficult situation, and she hurt you, I would not think badly of you. There are many people in this world that need to be done away with so that peaceful individuals like you don't have to suffer. You are safe from her now, and you have the power to make so many other people safe from them too."<br/><br/>Naturally he hoped to ignite some sort of righteous anger within her that she would be able to use. He wanted her to take all of those bottled old emotions and focus them. That was how she would be sharp as a predator. Rather than feeling sad or alone about any of these things, he had wanted to toughen her up.<br/><br/>"Never ever say to me that I would want you to go away, alright?" Should she have allowed it, Nanook would have then cradled her head and given her what might very well have been the most passionate kiss that he had the opportunity to give her thus far. He figured that if such a motion didn't make her feel like she was wanted then surely nothing would have.<br/><br/>"Was there more to the story in that case? If there is, then you may still feel free to tell me anything. You're not going to ruin my opinion of you or anything like that. To tell you the truth, I'm ever so slightly disappointed that you would even think that considering how open I would have figured that I've been to you thus far." Frowning, Nanook lowered his head, acting as though her self-doubt must have been in some small way his own fault.