They could play! They could actually play! It was all she took from his words - his stumbling had gone unnoticed, her ears shut off to any answer other than the one she wanted to hear. It made her wiggle on the spot; her tail frantically slapped the ground and her paws swatted at the water before she shuffled back several paces. She crumpled herself back into a play bow, tail arced and waving slowly as he moved forward. Even though he moved to be away from her, she still pivoted in order to face him no matter the direction he moved. If it hadn't become obvious by now that she took the promise very seriously then it ought to settle in soon - Eto had finally found a singular track for her mind to run along,
after all. It was the best day ever for her so far!

He licked his lips and it made her pause. Her entire body seemed to come to a halt as her eyes narrowed momentarily - nervous. Submerged, she hadn't been able to notice it so much. But now? Now she saw it. The part of her that was her father's daughter flinched in response to the perceived weakness - for that's what nervousness was, right? - but she quickly drowned it out. Instead, her eyes shot down to the earth as she pawed at it, an ear twisting forward - Lefty. "Left...ee!" She repeated his name with emphasis on the syllables before her eyes rose to his once more and her mouth peeled back into an even broader grin. "E...to!" She liked that they matched. She giggled. If they matched, that was a good thing right?

Then, she remembered his promise (even though it hadn't really been one) and she feigned a pounce forward with a puppy-like bite of her teeth. Another giggle, unbridled. "You're like me! You're out here allllll alone. But now we can play together! Then we won't be lonely." She seemed so sure of it and for now, he had likely found himself the best way of keeping safe: a wiggling woman-child who snorted and bit at the dirt with a shake of her head, scratched at the soil and slush and practically squirmed with desperate desire for something fun or... well, any direction.