<div style="text-align: justify;">Knowing that Nanook wouldn’t have minded her asking many questions. There wasn’t much Marissa could do, since she was stepping into a world she didn’t know. Asking questions and having them answered would definitely make things much easier. Knowing that he liked her smile would also have made Marissa happy, and in turn, caused her to smile even more to please Nanook. <br/><br/>When Nanook took that posture, Marissa watched as he stayed in that position, wondering where she had seen it before. It took her just a moment to remember - it was the kind of position dogs and wolves sometimes took. She would have certainly have hoped that he didn’t take that posture in public often, as someone with a keen eye could probably figure out what he was from it. <br/><br/>As Nanook spoke, Marissa focused her attention on what he had to say. Nodding at his words, she replied in her usual kind intonation. “Thank you”, she murmured, relief clear in her voice. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Nanook, it was just that the idea of not having any expectations such as being his mate placed on her made things easier, as they would have the chance of building a relationship naturally. “I think so”, she agreed to his question about them preferring to be together. “I like the idea of not having any pressure on that front, though, as I like feeling that I have a choice”, she explained. <br/><br/>When Nanook leaned into her petting gesture, Marissa smiled and continued to do it. It made her happy to know that the little gesture she was doing pleased him. She would definitely have done if as often as he wanted if he asked her to. <br/><br/>While he spoke about when he had been born, Marissa’s already wide eyes widened even more. She continued her petting, though, and didn’t seem to disbelieve his words. She just looked really surprised at the idea. The idea of living a really long life appealed to her, though, Marissa thought to herself, this life would definitely call for company, as it would be terrible to live alone for years and years. <br/><br/>She thought a bit about his words and tried to calculate the age he might be now. “I have two more questions”, she started, with an almost guilty expression, as though she was afraid of being bothersome. “One, do you remember how old you actually are? And two, is it true that we can be harmed and killed by silver?”. After asking her questions, Marissa picked up the coffee pot and held out her hand for Nanook’s cup, silently offering to refill it.</div>