Common

She is warming up to him with each moment that he lingers; he clearly holds no ill intent for her despite what the nagging of her constant pest has to say, and her body feels looser now, limber where it was previously taught as a bowstring, each muscle waiting for the moment to spring into action - away, run, flee. Flee, Luthien, flee, she hears, but it is quieter now - suppressed by her own will to not be afraid, however fragile that will might be.

So fragile that it might shatter at the first sign of trouble, but for now it holds strong. Strong enough to keep her legs still, at the least.

”My mom...she was a free spirit. She loved to travel, though my father discouraged it. He was the warmongering sort, always angry it seemed. I haven’t seen him since I was a little girl… Since my mother died, really. I wasn’t quite two,” she murmurs, her voice fading out with a little crack. She’s not sure why she tells him this - she doesn’t trust him, or anyone, for that matter but it seemed right to say at the time. Now, she just feels out of sorts and strange, any more words she might’ve had sticking in her throat like a lump that she must choke back.

She’s afraid if she talks about her mother, things she doesn’t want to think about will come out, and she isn’t about to break down in front of this stranger. Ill intent or no, there are things she isn’t ready to spill - perhaps she never will be.

His words break her silence and snap her from her momentary misery, almost like a lifeline and for the first time she is thankful for his presence rather than simply tolerating it. ”No, no. It’s fine. You’re fine.”

Is it fine, Luthien? You’re doing it again - being trusting, being stupid. He could be a monster luring you in and you follow like a lamb to the slaughter. You -

She stomps, closing her eyes and shutting out the sound as best she can, distracting herself instead by the words now coming from her new companion. He describes his home - Tinuviel, a place she’d briefly passed through but hadn’t had much time to explore during her last expedition to the islands - and she listens in rapt silence, losing herself in his words to distance herself from the ones assaulting her mind. When he invites her to come visit his home, she can’t help but feel that this is the perfect distraction - just what she needs to keep the voice at bay, or at least make it easier to ignore.

”That would be nice, I haven’t seen the islands in so long, I’m sure things have changed quite a bit. And you’re not such a bad stranger, after all,” she adds, giving him a small, bashful smile. Perhaps she should’ve given him more credit, despite the parasite’s crude opinions.

And she’s just so tired of being lonely.

”Lead the way, Cinnamon. I promise to be less timid if you promise not to kill me on our journey.” She’s only half joking, but he doesn’t need to know that.