<div align="center"><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Monday, January 6th - 11:00 PM</strong></span><br/><em>Kitchen</em></div><hr/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/06/8a/78/068a784bd2176ad1eed0bd4e56afc321.jpg)</div><strong>WHO:</strong>Marley Ann (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=316749.msg15283294#msg15283294)<br/><strong>WEARING:</strong>Dressy outfit as pictured<br/><strong>DOING:</strong>Teaching, eating<br/><strong>NOTE:</strong>--<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong>Amber | OPEN<br/><hr/>Marley took a bite, then a second, of her half sandwich, observing Amber. Her blue eyes widened at the young girl’s request. “Shit, that’s a tall fucking order.” Marley waved what was left of her grilled cheese sandwich at Amber. “Trust is complicated. It’s earned over time.” She took another bite of her grilled cheese. The young woman was making her think of all the people who had walked through the front doors of the Cathedral over the last three years. Marley hadn’t trusted a single one of them at first. This was supposed to be a party house, a true symbol of escapism. Yet, she still welcomed them in, and gave them a safe place to stay. This wasn’t about trust. She finished her half sandwich.<br/><br/>If what Amber was admitting about herself was true, then it meant she didn’t feel like she could depend on<em>her</em>either. Marley swallowed, running her tongue along her teeth. Marley was often right, but she wasn't perfect. “You obviously don’t trust<em>me</em>, Amber," she began, though she was careful to keep her tone neutral, rather than upset, "and yet you screamed when I burnt my hand." She clasped her hands together on the table. She couldn't teach trust, but she could teach this young girl something<em>else</em>. "Do you know why that is?" Marley continued, looking at her uncertain green eyes with firm blue ones. But Marley didn't gave her a chance to answer. "Because I<em>let</em>you in. You don’t know everything about me, but you know<em>enough</em>to feel concern." Granted, the young girl was likely unaware that Marley could heal herself. She liked to keep her powers a secret until the perfect,<em>teachable</em>moment arose. Marley may have, inadvertently, become a head of a boarding school, but she was still a mischievous wild child at heart.<br/><br/>She nodded at Amber, as if agreeing with some of what the young girl had unleashed. "If you continue to devote<em>all</em>your time to your... project," it sounded less harsh, "the other people here<em>will</em>end up hurting you, even when they don't mean to, because they don't feel anything for you." Marley looked at her intently. "Once you let people know who you are, even a little bit, it's<em>incredibly</em>hard for them to feel nothing and throw you to the wolves. Unless they are fucking assholes, like the dipshits in your past." Marley tapped her hand on the table. "But, I don't<em>let</em>dipshits into my school, Amber." It was why Marley took the vetting process so seriously. Especially after the Eclipse. Most of the people who survived the war were hardened, broken, and often destructive. "The people here won't hurt you, if you<em>let</em>them know you. They will protect you, as we<em>teach</em>them to do, as I am<em>teaching</em>you to do with your project." She wasn't building a new security system to protect herself. Amber was building the security system to protect everyone in the Cathedral.<br/><br/>Marley breathed. It was time for the part she<em>could</em>actually teach Amber, the part that didn't rely on trust: her<em>self worth</em>. Some dipshit had clearly shattered it long ago. "You are likely one of a handful of people who can use technology nowadays," she began, leaning on the kitchen table in front of the young girl again, "You are smart and a little relentless." The kid did have a bit of a snarky streak. It made her prickly, but not a bad person. "But, you are aiding in humanity's survival. You are<em>worth</em>knowing, Amber." She had to believe she was worth something first. They could work on trust later.