Evie
Evie would have cherished the shell alone, given how rare they are in Halo - and rarer still in the Grounds, where they only had the Oasis - but she flushes all the same when Hadama gently points out that there’s more to gift than meets the eye. At least his grin, wide and mischievous, is worth the slight embarrassment.
When she obligingly presses on the inset sapphire, a small noise of surprise escapes her when it opens, and a strangled gasp follows directly after as the earrings within are revealed. Her eyes go wide, and then misty thereafter. The exactness of the shade is not lost on her. Her ensuing laugh is choked, clearly an attempt to dispel the emotional tears with only moderate success. “They’re so beautiful. Thank you, Dama. Thank you. I -” her mouth hangs soundless for a moment before she shakes her head in a whirlwind of red, no words coming to mind that could possibly encompass the weight of how much this means to her. Instead, she closes the shell gently once more, too scared to pull the earrings out and try them on by the water. Then she hugs him once more; tight, lingering this time. “I’ll wear them and know you’re with me,” she promises; though she knows she’ll see him the morning of the wedding too, the earrings will be a grounding reminder of her dear friend when he can’t physically be there at her side. Her tears are warm against his ocean-chilled skin, but she’s smiling all the while.
When she obligingly presses on the inset sapphire, a small noise of surprise escapes her when it opens, and a strangled gasp follows directly after as the earrings within are revealed. Her eyes go wide, and then misty thereafter. The exactness of the shade is not lost on her. Her ensuing laugh is choked, clearly an attempt to dispel the emotional tears with only moderate success. “They’re so beautiful. Thank you, Dama. Thank you. I -” her mouth hangs soundless for a moment before she shakes her head in a whirlwind of red, no words coming to mind that could possibly encompass the weight of how much this means to her. Instead, she closes the shell gently once more, too scared to pull the earrings out and try them on by the water. Then she hugs him once more; tight, lingering this time. “I’ll wear them and know you’re with me,” she promises; though she knows she’ll see him the morning of the wedding too, the earrings will be a grounding reminder of her dear friend when he can’t physically be there at her side. Her tears are warm against his ocean-chilled skin, but she’s smiling all the while.
a golden cage, for all its worth and beauty
is still just a cage
is still just a cage
