[ June. | @illustrii - from here ]
As she saw Isabela pulled out the little chain to hand to her, June’s instinct was to smile and shake her head. “You really didn’t have to give me anything…” She weakly protested, gaze flickering from the gift in her hand and to Isabela. A few seconds lingering on her gift and June could see just what it was, the small pearl catching her eye. June personally could not really tell how ‘flawed’ it was. She was no expert on any of that. What touched her was that Isabela had given her a gift at all and that it was something so dainty, pretty, and quite… feminine, now that June thought about it. Feeling feminine was not something June felt often and to feel that way only broadened her smile as she accepted the little gift.
She turned the pearl carefully between her fingers before she moved to secure the chain around her neck. She already wore one necklace, often hidden by her shirt for its elven origins, but this one? The chain was shorter, not so easily hidden by her shirt; one that she would show off without any worry for what anyone would think. June hesitated at first but soon stepped closer, her arm lightly wrapping around Isabela’s waist to pull her into a one-armed, brief embrace.
“Thank you, I… I’m not that used to receiving gifts. What brought this on…?”
“It’s pretty. You’re pretty. I figured I’d make an introduction, see how you two look as a pair,” she jests in deflection of June’s ‘thank you’. Isabela was no stranger to touch. Anyone who knew of her or her reputation would say as much. But these soft gestures like June’s light embrace caught her off-guard. It wasn’t hard for Isabela to find someone to touch, or that wanted to touch her, but there was always a dark want in those encounters. Lust was something she understood well, and it could never be a stranger to her. But the smile on June’s lips? Her embrace? It made her heart feel...fluffy. A weird, pleasant fluffy. A foreign feeling that she couldn’t properly describe in her own mind.
A flush of pink spreads across her cheeks, and she scoffs at herself. Was she actually blushing over a hug? Andraste’s flaming ass, what was wrong with her?
“I was out for a swim and I found some oysters. At first I was going to take them to make dinner, but after opening a few, I saw this, and I knew I had to give it to you. Consider it a small thank you for all the help you’ve given me.” Her feet shuffle on the ground, head dipping in futile hope to hide the color that claimed her cheeks. “Y’know, I’ve never liked how people try to refine pearls; turn them all round and white and boring. They’re much more gorgeous with their flaws. Sometimes the flaws make the hues look deeper. Almost prismatic. It gives them more character, and you can’t replace them with another pearl. They’re too unique.”