She snorted softly and nodded in agreement when he spoke of fear. That was all too true. Not just in having people be afraid of you, but also in being afraid as well. There was much to fear, even without the world turned upside down. Marilaine, was much in the same boat as him, needing and wanting to understand this place so that she might carve out a place for herself. She just had the home field advantage.

"Don't be afraid to bear your teeth either if you think it warranted." There was nothing worse than having your spirit crushed. Her people were a walking example of that. A broken people with nothing but fragments to call their own. Not that she felt like telling him that. That was something he would learn soon enough on his own.

She returned the nod with another small smile. "I am Marilaine. Sometimes I answer to Mari if I like you enough." She left it ubiquitous if he could call her by the nickname or not, figuring he could come to his own conclusions.