she acts like summer & walks like rain
He smiles too, and the expression softens his whole face, setting it ablaze against the bright summer day. It's enough to have heat warming Ettie's pale cheeks, given her lack of experience with anyone - of any gender - that she was unrelated to. His baritone voice prompts her gently for which island calls to her and she laughs again, half delight, half embarrassment as she shakes her head.
"I haven't the faintest clue."
She knew the islands had names, of course. Auntie Swan had taught her that much, although they had not traveled to any other isle. Coming here had taken nearly all of her strength, but seeing the Peak outlined against the rest of the Crossing had seemed to give her a sort of peace for which Ettie was grateful for. Beyond a vague description of Tinuvel being frigid but beautiful, Luthien temperate and wooded, Atlantis humid and tropical, and Salem being dry and harsh, she had not much else to go off of. Even Auntie Swan's experiences seemed to have been mostly related to the Crossing itself, but she had encouraged Ettie to find something else. To find a home, like the one Auntie Swan had eventually found on the mainland.
Luthien could be what you seek, he prompts, and she hides a smile, wondering if he was attempting to be subtle, even as her heart gave an excited little flutter at the invitation she could practically hear forming on his lips. Instead, he offers his name, and then admits to his own residency in Luthien. The revelation - expected though it was - tugged another light laugh from her chest, this one wholly delighted.
She was ready to say yes before he even began to challenge her, and her eyes darkened slightly at the upping of the ante.
"I think I would like that, mister Gwyn, although I make no promises that you shan't soon regret such a kindness." Which was entirely a farce, or, at least Ettie hoped so. She considered herself an agreeable sort, pragmatic even, wise beyond her years, as her family had oft said.
But Gwyn didn't know that. Perhaps she could hold onto that air of mystery a while longer.
"Perhaps you might tell me of yourself whilst we walk?" She prompts archly, stepping boldly forward to join him if he were willing to take the lead. She knew she would need to rely on him for directions as these isles still felt rather vast and disorienting compared to the small meadow she'd grown up in.