A little earlier...
The gunmetal black of Kokuten's arms and eyes reflected the light of the rooms. He had taken the time to add another polish to his cold cybernetics, their lustrous sheen, adding a certain pizazz that was rarely seen on the man except for that day. Of course, only his hands could show their bright shine from under the cuffs of his green turtleneck and the dark-tan suit set above it. He wore the suit open, giving himself a semi-formal, casual look. It was something he corrected by buttoning it up as he walked out of his own room. His dark-tan slacks were cleanly straight, and ironed, flushing over the dark brown wing-tips, which were once again polished to a reflective brightness. His hair was combed perfectly, a with a certain appealing smoothness to it that spoke of his own comfortable, affable nature.
He took a deep breath and almost made his way to the elevator, before a single concern came across his mind. Earlier in the day, Tweak seemed to hold reservation in the idea of attending to the dinner. While he wasn't sure if her opinion had changed yet, he needed to make sure. He turned to go approach her room, before being stopped by a thought.
Wait, what am I doing? Tweak is fully capable of making that decision herself. He nodded, before turning back to go to the elevator. Yet, even with the head start, he began to slow, held back by his own personal concern of the Freespacer Neko. He cleared his throat, and looked back towards her room, his eyes gracing past the doors of the others. Well, it wouldn't hurt to check on her.
He made his way to her door, and tapped his metal knuckles on the surface.
Tank Tank
"Tweak? Are you there?" asked the Captain.
Thirty-five minutes before the dinner...
In her room, Tweak was staring at the...'outfit' on her bed. The room service was not going to be happy. Nor was Cassefin. The hotel would probably not find out, because she cleaned as well as she could. Which was quite well, thank you very much. And anything else could be plausibly blamed on her being a Freespacer...
...Hopefully.
- - - - -
Twenty-seven minutes before the dinner...
The knock made the 'Spacer neko stumble a little. Heavy footfalls were heard beyond the door, then a faint "Just a minute!" as presumably she made her way to the door.
A click later and Tweak poked her head out. Her hair was covered with a heavy, gray velvet shawl that was pulled back over her shoulders instead of being draped over them. Wrapped around her neck a couple times was a very long, patterned scarf that hung down to her knees in front and presumably as far behind. The shawl covered her ears well, the cloth stiff enough to keep from showing their outline underneath.
"Oh, Kokuten! Um...can I help you?" she asked quickly.
"Oh! I like your... headwear." said Kokuten, tilting his head just slightly in a way to try and figure out just what it was. "It looks very nice. I like the creativity in it. Heh, I think you're going to impress some people." The Captain smiled, getting somewhat off-subject as he was caught up in the unique design of Tweak's upper-wear. Though, he gathered himself and brought a fist to his mouth, clearing his through shorty. "You are going, right? I came by to make sure you're comfortable with all of this. If you have any great concerns, then I'd be glad to be address them."
There followed a short pause to which he clapped his hands together with an audible clack.
"If I'm interrupting you, I can be on my way. I'd hate to just bother you with my concerns, especially with the kind of situation, but... I'm just..." he pursed his lips there, failing to come up with a better word, "Concerned."
"Oh...um, thank you." Tweak nibbled her bottom lip for a moment, looking down, then shook her head. "No questions...many concerns, but..." She pulled her head back inside the room, looking behind her apparently. Kokuten got a quick glimpse of a skirt or something, then she opened the door.
"I was putting on...well, trying to put on, some shoes when you knocked. I'll be a minute, but you can come in if you want."
The shoes in question were on the floor next to the chair she'd sat in earlier. High leather boots, with a heel to them and that would have gone up to about mid-calf, and most definitely not the engineer's usual 'style'. Tweak almost glared at them as she held the door for Kokuten.
The rest of her outfit was a mixture of conventional and outlandish. The shawl draped down her back almost to the bottom of her shoulder blades, and the scarf's other end did indeed trail as far down her back as it did the front. Her black dress mostly just hung on her, like a drape, with another scarf wrapped several times around her waist, and the skirt portion of the dress hung down to her mid-calf...presumably where the boots would take over. Over the dress, and under the neck scarf, Tweak wore a deep black long coat that looked like it was lifted from a men's suit.
Everything had been given the "Freespacer" treatment. From somewhere, Tweak had scavenged cloth samples and had decorated the rather simple outfit with strips -- cleanly-cut strips, with trimmed edges -- of cloth that dangled like the fringe on a buckskin from the hem of her dress, the hem of her coat and the cuffs of its sleeves, and a few wider swaths draped and tied over her shoulders. The colors of the cloth looked somewhat familiar to Kokuten, but it wasn't really important to remember where he'd seen them before. What was more interesting was the metal ornamentation that also featured prominently on the outfit. Some pieces were large, some small, some dangling while others seemed attached to and sewn or woven into the coat, shawl, and dress. All were ornate and well-crafted.
Tweak glanced over at Kokuten, then back at the boots...and then her eyes drifted over to the work boots she'd worn from Cirrus, the pair she was always wearing. She sighed, then sat down to try putting on the provided boots again.
"Ah, well... why not? I've got plenty of time." shrugged Kokuten as he followed the Freespacer inside, noting the odd customizations of her dress. The strange layout of different fabric and material reminded him of the small shrine back on the Cirrus, and even the ship where he had first met the Freespacers on. It was slightly reminiscent, but moreover amazing. This kind of preparation almost made him a little ashamed of the small touch-ups he had made from before his room. "This is... amazing! You've been really working at this."
The Captain took a few sparring steps left and right, ensuring he didn't trip over anything as he went around. He made another short survey before catching sight of the boots, and then Tweak's momentary glance at her usual footwear. He blinked, once or twice, the iconic clacking sound following his curious stare.
"Do you need help with those?" said Kokuten, walking on over, and eying the boots she was wearing. "It doesn't really seem like something you'd wear, but it's nice to see you're making the best effort to stay formal." He looked between the boots again, wondering if any Freespacer would wear something like heels.
"Of course she'd be upset, being upset is how she conveys herself. Besides, you heard the administrator, it's formal dress." said Kokuten, apparently not buckling under the pressure of the 'sad kitten face'. It was actually rather hard to resist succumbing to it. Tweak's face usually ranged between curious and plain. Whenever she made any other facial expression, it seemed to carry a lot of weight to it. Which was more evident as he made the mistake of meeting her stare with his own. His natural, composed face crumpled a little at it.
Despite how distasteful most Nepleslians found Nekos, the pointy-eared cat-women could make themselves damningly cute when need be. Something Kokuten was made blatantly aware of.
"Then again," caved the Chiaki, "I guess you could consider a pair of practical, comfort-fitting boots a sort of... luxury in Freespacer society. In a way, I would say that makes it culturally formal. If Cassefin does get upset, I'll support your decision, either way you choose." He smiled at that, sealing the deal.
Tweak looked at the dress boots yet again and then nodded, mostly to herself, as she scratched a little at the link cable that was still attached to the back of her neck under the scarf and shawl.
"And I've done so much to the dress, the boots might even look out of place...alright. Good shoes it is!" She hopped over to retrieve her work boots and then back up until she was seated on the comfy chair again, quickly lacing up her boots over the black-gray-white argyle socks that ended just under her knees (well above the dress's hemline and out of sight), wrapping the laces several times around her ankles before they were short enough to tie in a reasonable manner.
"In for a milligram, in for a kilo," she murmured, then stood up and took a couple steps, then one stomp per foot to settle her feet in them before nodding to herself and smiling over at Kokuten. "All set," she said, looking rather satisfied. It likely wasn't a state that would last for long, but, for the moment, Tweak was happy.
"My my, Tweak." said Kokuten, judging her appearance closely, passing a mental judgement on the final result. The boots were a mild after-thought with how the meshed in with the design. Though a pragmatic man, Kokuten was no stranger to formal fashion, the boots definitely stood out a little. Still, it was rather iconic of her origins and roots, the Freespacer ones.
"You do look lovely." He began to laugh, bringing a knuckle to his chin, "Heh heh, I bet you'll be the best looking Freespacer out there tonight." Especially considering the fact that she was likely to be the only Freespacer out there tonight. "So, when do you plan on going up to the restaurant?"
Resistance gave out and Tweak blushed at the approval, the problem with the no-fail conditional going over her head for the moment. She spun in place once and finishing with a curtsy, her smile almost breaking into a grin.
Why was she so happy? The cautious question tapped at the back of her mind. She was going to a dinner with known enemies in a place crowded with people in a building possibly watching her and the party she was with. So why...?
Because she wasn't there yet. Tweak was in a locked room with someone she trusted; she felt safe. She had just finished a project that tested her ingenuity and creativity; she felt accomplished. Now Tweak was wearing the result of that creativity and had been complemented on her appearance; she felt beautiful. And the complement had been given by--
There were likely more reasons, but those were the top ones, and together they created a near-perfect storm for her happiness. Rising from the quick curtsy, Tweak checked her mental clock. "We will arrive on time if we leave now," she said, the smile nudged aside by her focus on a new goal.
She picked up a couple of metal-and-cloth creations from a nearby table, sliding one on as a bracelet and carrying the other in one hand...it was difficult to discern what it was. There were many interlocking pieces, almost like a puzzle device, or a complicated bag...the 'Spacer neko walked back to the door (clearly more comfortable in the choice of shoes) and paused to wait for Kokuten, opening the door for him when he approached. It was her room, so she had to make sure the door was properly closed once they were outside. The formality of a male opening the door for a female applied to public entrances, she decided. Tweak looked to Kokuten with a smile (more subdued than a minute ago, but still happy) and gestured for him to lead the way.
Once again, into the unknown with no information on what lay ahead. Just another day...night...mission, for Squad 35.
As Tweak began to smile, so did Kokuten. The Captain felt a little glee from getting such a positive reaction. Once more, it was the change from the usual curious/bland expression that she put on whenever you could see her face past her hat. Yet, it seemed a little more than that. It was nice to see someone actually having a good time, especially someone who seemed to have few reasons to be happy in the first place. Kokuten was like that, his own neutral state getting raised up by the positive airs in others.
His hand came to his chin, eying the Freespacer as she twirled around, and giving a polite curtsy. She was even more energetic, it was almost strange seeing her excited in that mild way of hers. He brought his hand to his chin rubbing the tuft of hair that connected hair on his chin to the bottom of his lip. He looked to the side, at the trash can, and the scraps within it. It was a wonder on how she was able to construct so much in such a short time, and for it to come out so well.
"Oh! Right." said Kokuten, pulled out of his immediate thought. He quickly made his way to the door, his eyes locking on the half-metal items she picked up. You're kidding. She even made accessories!? By the hand, she's fast.
He stepped his way outside into the hall, looking back at Tweak and her final result. The Captain couldn't resist another smile at the utter incredulity of the outfit. The Freespacer Neko was looking classy, and she seemed to have the manners and grace well-practiced. In fact, he was willing to go as far as to say she was almost the Freespacer equivalent of the regular kind of customer that came to these sort of places.
"I can't believe my luck," said Kokuten, almost jokingly in tone. "Escorting a woman as refined and dressed as yourself." It was almost a faux pomp, somewhat embellished. He pulled at the collar on his turtleneck. "I believe that I should play my part, as a gentlemen." He looped his arm in her direction, as if offering to go arm and arm to the dangerous event. Inwardly, it was all mostly a polite joke, playing on the regality of it all. Though, the usually serious Captain made no attempt to make it look like a joke. He gave another warm smile to Tweak, his arm still offered.
"Shall we, milady?"
Tweak froze, the red on her face refusing to go away as she looked down at the denim short-gloves on her hands to try hiding it, the joking manner that Kokuten spoke nearly lost on her. Where had this come from? He hadn't been this formal before, not outside of a mission, and this was a different sort of formal than mission protocol. Then something occurred to her.
Is he playing with me? There were two ways to take that concept if it were true. Either he was toying with her, or he was trying to help her relax by making light of the situation. Which...the latter actually fit what she knew of him. She couldn't recall him being hurtful-- wait. Tweak flagged the memories of Kokuten and Cassefin at the elevator for future analysis. Now that the idea was brought up, she had missed something there that might help her recognize that sort of exchange later on. Meanwhile, that possible example aside, and in the shuttle rides especially, she noted that the squad captain tended toward the more light-hearted sort of comments.
Alright, then was he making light of how 'refined and dressed' she was? Yes, but that didn't mean he had lied about how she looked. His complements in the room were genuine; this was meant to make light of how different she was likely to be dressed compared with the other women at the dinner who were probably a bit more...dignified in their clothes, while she was clearly not. And that was her intent, so Tweak didn't feel bad about that. It made her feel special.
"A-al-alright," she said, her smile making a tentative return as she looked down after vanishing for a single second at the comment while she processed it. Tweak looked at his proffered arm a moment before getting up the courage to take it, gracefully clasping her hands in the crook of his elbow (he might notice that the dark blue gloves had a fourth finger added to her usual three-plus-thumb, and it moved like the rest) and glancing up at him. "Shall we, Captain?" she said, making her own attempt at using the exaggerated formal tone he had used.
The smile on Kokuten's face almost broke in surprise as she actually went along with it! He began to question if this really was the Tweak he knew or not. Perhaps she was actually an agent of Yu-Cranker sent to put him off his guard, or maybe the behavior was for some other hilariously convoluted reason. Either way, it was something that took the low priority in the back of his mind, as his free hand we to pat her hands lightly.
"We shall! Ha hah!" He laughed, delighted with how she played along, "Now, let's not keep everyone waiting." said the Captain with a grin, guiding Tweak along the hallway and towards the elevator. He didn't mind this little escort, not one bit, especially with how he could easily hold out his cybernetic arm for her. The arm stayed out there for her for the entire way, or unless she decided to let go, despite what stares they may have garnered.
-----
Coming out of the elevator, Kokuten made short of his surroundings to look for Cassefin and any other Cirrus members. With is perceptive eyes, it didn't take long to single out not Cassefin, but the bright pink of Purina's hair. With that one detail found, he found both George and Cassefin standing with her from his distance. He looked down at Tweak, still hand-in-arm with her if she had kept up.
"There they are," said Kokuten, pointing a gunmetal-black finger in the direction of the group. He looked back over, shading his eyes with the same hand and squinting his mechanical lids. "Miss Montreal, Purina, and Mr. Resetti. Seems like no one else is here yet."
Kokuten stepped on forward, waving at the group.
"Hello!" said the Captain, waving with the free-hand, greeting them all with a warm smile.
The gunmetal black of Kokuten's arms and eyes reflected the light of the rooms. He had taken the time to add another polish to his cold cybernetics, their lustrous sheen, adding a certain pizazz that was rarely seen on the man except for that day. Of course, only his hands could show their bright shine from under the cuffs of his green turtleneck and the dark-tan suit set above it. He wore the suit open, giving himself a semi-formal, casual look. It was something he corrected by buttoning it up as he walked out of his own room. His dark-tan slacks were cleanly straight, and ironed, flushing over the dark brown wing-tips, which were once again polished to a reflective brightness. His hair was combed perfectly, a with a certain appealing smoothness to it that spoke of his own comfortable, affable nature.
He took a deep breath and almost made his way to the elevator, before a single concern came across his mind. Earlier in the day, Tweak seemed to hold reservation in the idea of attending to the dinner. While he wasn't sure if her opinion had changed yet, he needed to make sure. He turned to go approach her room, before being stopped by a thought.
Wait, what am I doing? Tweak is fully capable of making that decision herself. He nodded, before turning back to go to the elevator. Yet, even with the head start, he began to slow, held back by his own personal concern of the Freespacer Neko. He cleared his throat, and looked back towards her room, his eyes gracing past the doors of the others. Well, it wouldn't hurt to check on her.
He made his way to her door, and tapped his metal knuckles on the surface.
Tank Tank
"Tweak? Are you there?" asked the Captain.
Thirty-five minutes before the dinner...
In her room, Tweak was staring at the...'outfit' on her bed. The room service was not going to be happy. Nor was Cassefin. The hotel would probably not find out, because she cleaned as well as she could. Which was quite well, thank you very much. And anything else could be plausibly blamed on her being a Freespacer...
...Hopefully.
- - - - -
Twenty-seven minutes before the dinner...
The knock made the 'Spacer neko stumble a little. Heavy footfalls were heard beyond the door, then a faint "Just a minute!" as presumably she made her way to the door.
A click later and Tweak poked her head out. Her hair was covered with a heavy, gray velvet shawl that was pulled back over her shoulders instead of being draped over them. Wrapped around her neck a couple times was a very long, patterned scarf that hung down to her knees in front and presumably as far behind. The shawl covered her ears well, the cloth stiff enough to keep from showing their outline underneath.
"Oh, Kokuten! Um...can I help you?" she asked quickly.
"Oh! I like your... headwear." said Kokuten, tilting his head just slightly in a way to try and figure out just what it was. "It looks very nice. I like the creativity in it. Heh, I think you're going to impress some people." The Captain smiled, getting somewhat off-subject as he was caught up in the unique design of Tweak's upper-wear. Though, he gathered himself and brought a fist to his mouth, clearing his through shorty. "You are going, right? I came by to make sure you're comfortable with all of this. If you have any great concerns, then I'd be glad to be address them."
There followed a short pause to which he clapped his hands together with an audible clack.
"If I'm interrupting you, I can be on my way. I'd hate to just bother you with my concerns, especially with the kind of situation, but... I'm just..." he pursed his lips there, failing to come up with a better word, "Concerned."
"Oh...um, thank you." Tweak nibbled her bottom lip for a moment, looking down, then shook her head. "No questions...many concerns, but..." She pulled her head back inside the room, looking behind her apparently. Kokuten got a quick glimpse of a skirt or something, then she opened the door.
"I was putting on...well, trying to put on, some shoes when you knocked. I'll be a minute, but you can come in if you want."
The shoes in question were on the floor next to the chair she'd sat in earlier. High leather boots, with a heel to them and that would have gone up to about mid-calf, and most definitely not the engineer's usual 'style'. Tweak almost glared at them as she held the door for Kokuten.
The rest of her outfit was a mixture of conventional and outlandish. The shawl draped down her back almost to the bottom of her shoulder blades, and the scarf's other end did indeed trail as far down her back as it did the front. Her black dress mostly just hung on her, like a drape, with another scarf wrapped several times around her waist, and the skirt portion of the dress hung down to her mid-calf...presumably where the boots would take over. Over the dress, and under the neck scarf, Tweak wore a deep black long coat that looked like it was lifted from a men's suit.
Everything had been given the "Freespacer" treatment. From somewhere, Tweak had scavenged cloth samples and had decorated the rather simple outfit with strips -- cleanly-cut strips, with trimmed edges -- of cloth that dangled like the fringe on a buckskin from the hem of her dress, the hem of her coat and the cuffs of its sleeves, and a few wider swaths draped and tied over her shoulders. The colors of the cloth looked somewhat familiar to Kokuten, but it wasn't really important to remember where he'd seen them before. What was more interesting was the metal ornamentation that also featured prominently on the outfit. Some pieces were large, some small, some dangling while others seemed attached to and sewn or woven into the coat, shawl, and dress. All were ornate and well-crafted.
Tweak glanced over at Kokuten, then back at the boots...and then her eyes drifted over to the work boots she'd worn from Cirrus, the pair she was always wearing. She sighed, then sat down to try putting on the provided boots again.
"Ah, well... why not? I've got plenty of time." shrugged Kokuten as he followed the Freespacer inside, noting the odd customizations of her dress. The strange layout of different fabric and material reminded him of the small shrine back on the Cirrus, and even the ship where he had first met the Freespacers on. It was slightly reminiscent, but moreover amazing. This kind of preparation almost made him a little ashamed of the small touch-ups he had made from before his room. "This is... amazing! You've been really working at this."
The Captain took a few sparring steps left and right, ensuring he didn't trip over anything as he went around. He made another short survey before catching sight of the boots, and then Tweak's momentary glance at her usual footwear. He blinked, once or twice, the iconic clacking sound following his curious stare.
"Do you need help with those?" said Kokuten, walking on over, and eying the boots she was wearing. "It doesn't really seem like something you'd wear, but it's nice to see you're making the best effort to stay formal." He looked between the boots again, wondering if any Freespacer would wear something like heels.
The compliment made Tweak smile a little, trying mightily to surpress her blush reflex, and she looked down just in time to nudge a trash can out of the way of Kokuten's path as she closed the door. Somewhere in the middle of her cleaning, she'd moved the trash receptacle there and forgotten to return it.Kokuten said:
MissingNo said:
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, brushing a few loose strands of her green hair to one side. "No...I just don't like them," she muttered. "I can move in them fine, but it's like...I don't know what it's like." She looked back at the work boots again, then the dress boots, then Kokuten. "Is there any possibility that...well, that I could wear my own boots?" If there was not yet a sad kitten face to be used in place of sad puppy eyes, Tweak invented one. Then she used it. "Would the administrator be too upset if I did?"Kokuten said:
"Of course she'd be upset, being upset is how she conveys herself. Besides, you heard the administrator, it's formal dress." said Kokuten, apparently not buckling under the pressure of the 'sad kitten face'. It was actually rather hard to resist succumbing to it. Tweak's face usually ranged between curious and plain. Whenever she made any other facial expression, it seemed to carry a lot of weight to it. Which was more evident as he made the mistake of meeting her stare with his own. His natural, composed face crumpled a little at it.
Despite how distasteful most Nepleslians found Nekos, the pointy-eared cat-women could make themselves damningly cute when need be. Something Kokuten was made blatantly aware of.
"Then again," caved the Chiaki, "I guess you could consider a pair of practical, comfort-fitting boots a sort of... luxury in Freespacer society. In a way, I would say that makes it culturally formal. If Cassefin does get upset, I'll support your decision, either way you choose." He smiled at that, sealing the deal.
Tweak looked at the dress boots yet again and then nodded, mostly to herself, as she scratched a little at the link cable that was still attached to the back of her neck under the scarf and shawl.
"And I've done so much to the dress, the boots might even look out of place...alright. Good shoes it is!" She hopped over to retrieve her work boots and then back up until she was seated on the comfy chair again, quickly lacing up her boots over the black-gray-white argyle socks that ended just under her knees (well above the dress's hemline and out of sight), wrapping the laces several times around her ankles before they were short enough to tie in a reasonable manner.
"In for a milligram, in for a kilo," she murmured, then stood up and took a couple steps, then one stomp per foot to settle her feet in them before nodding to herself and smiling over at Kokuten. "All set," she said, looking rather satisfied. It likely wasn't a state that would last for long, but, for the moment, Tweak was happy.
"My my, Tweak." said Kokuten, judging her appearance closely, passing a mental judgement on the final result. The boots were a mild after-thought with how the meshed in with the design. Though a pragmatic man, Kokuten was no stranger to formal fashion, the boots definitely stood out a little. Still, it was rather iconic of her origins and roots, the Freespacer ones.
"You do look lovely." He began to laugh, bringing a knuckle to his chin, "Heh heh, I bet you'll be the best looking Freespacer out there tonight." Especially considering the fact that she was likely to be the only Freespacer out there tonight. "So, when do you plan on going up to the restaurant?"
Resistance gave out and Tweak blushed at the approval, the problem with the no-fail conditional going over her head for the moment. She spun in place once and finishing with a curtsy, her smile almost breaking into a grin.
Why was she so happy? The cautious question tapped at the back of her mind. She was going to a dinner with known enemies in a place crowded with people in a building possibly watching her and the party she was with. So why...?
Because she wasn't there yet. Tweak was in a locked room with someone she trusted; she felt safe. She had just finished a project that tested her ingenuity and creativity; she felt accomplished. Now Tweak was wearing the result of that creativity and had been complemented on her appearance; she felt beautiful. And the complement had been given by--
There were likely more reasons, but those were the top ones, and together they created a near-perfect storm for her happiness. Rising from the quick curtsy, Tweak checked her mental clock. "We will arrive on time if we leave now," she said, the smile nudged aside by her focus on a new goal.
She picked up a couple of metal-and-cloth creations from a nearby table, sliding one on as a bracelet and carrying the other in one hand...it was difficult to discern what it was. There were many interlocking pieces, almost like a puzzle device, or a complicated bag...the 'Spacer neko walked back to the door (clearly more comfortable in the choice of shoes) and paused to wait for Kokuten, opening the door for him when he approached. It was her room, so she had to make sure the door was properly closed once they were outside. The formality of a male opening the door for a female applied to public entrances, she decided. Tweak looked to Kokuten with a smile (more subdued than a minute ago, but still happy) and gestured for him to lead the way.
Once again, into the unknown with no information on what lay ahead. Just another day...night...mission, for Squad 35.
As Tweak began to smile, so did Kokuten. The Captain felt a little glee from getting such a positive reaction. Once more, it was the change from the usual curious/bland expression that she put on whenever you could see her face past her hat. Yet, it seemed a little more than that. It was nice to see someone actually having a good time, especially someone who seemed to have few reasons to be happy in the first place. Kokuten was like that, his own neutral state getting raised up by the positive airs in others.
His hand came to his chin, eying the Freespacer as she twirled around, and giving a polite curtsy. She was even more energetic, it was almost strange seeing her excited in that mild way of hers. He brought his hand to his chin rubbing the tuft of hair that connected hair on his chin to the bottom of his lip. He looked to the side, at the trash can, and the scraps within it. It was a wonder on how she was able to construct so much in such a short time, and for it to come out so well.
"Oh! Right." said Kokuten, pulled out of his immediate thought. He quickly made his way to the door, his eyes locking on the half-metal items she picked up. You're kidding. She even made accessories!? By the hand, she's fast.
He stepped his way outside into the hall, looking back at Tweak and her final result. The Captain couldn't resist another smile at the utter incredulity of the outfit. The Freespacer Neko was looking classy, and she seemed to have the manners and grace well-practiced. In fact, he was willing to go as far as to say she was almost the Freespacer equivalent of the regular kind of customer that came to these sort of places.
"I can't believe my luck," said Kokuten, almost jokingly in tone. "Escorting a woman as refined and dressed as yourself." It was almost a faux pomp, somewhat embellished. He pulled at the collar on his turtleneck. "I believe that I should play my part, as a gentlemen." He looped his arm in her direction, as if offering to go arm and arm to the dangerous event. Inwardly, it was all mostly a polite joke, playing on the regality of it all. Though, the usually serious Captain made no attempt to make it look like a joke. He gave another warm smile to Tweak, his arm still offered.
"Shall we, milady?"
Tweak froze, the red on her face refusing to go away as she looked down at the denim short-gloves on her hands to try hiding it, the joking manner that Kokuten spoke nearly lost on her. Where had this come from? He hadn't been this formal before, not outside of a mission, and this was a different sort of formal than mission protocol. Then something occurred to her.
Is he playing with me? There were two ways to take that concept if it were true. Either he was toying with her, or he was trying to help her relax by making light of the situation. Which...the latter actually fit what she knew of him. She couldn't recall him being hurtful-- wait. Tweak flagged the memories of Kokuten and Cassefin at the elevator for future analysis. Now that the idea was brought up, she had missed something there that might help her recognize that sort of exchange later on. Meanwhile, that possible example aside, and in the shuttle rides especially, she noted that the squad captain tended toward the more light-hearted sort of comments.
Alright, then was he making light of how 'refined and dressed' she was? Yes, but that didn't mean he had lied about how she looked. His complements in the room were genuine; this was meant to make light of how different she was likely to be dressed compared with the other women at the dinner who were probably a bit more...dignified in their clothes, while she was clearly not. And that was her intent, so Tweak didn't feel bad about that. It made her feel special.
"A-al-alright," she said, her smile making a tentative return as she looked down after vanishing for a single second at the comment while she processed it. Tweak looked at his proffered arm a moment before getting up the courage to take it, gracefully clasping her hands in the crook of his elbow (he might notice that the dark blue gloves had a fourth finger added to her usual three-plus-thumb, and it moved like the rest) and glancing up at him. "Shall we, Captain?" she said, making her own attempt at using the exaggerated formal tone he had used.
The smile on Kokuten's face almost broke in surprise as she actually went along with it! He began to question if this really was the Tweak he knew or not. Perhaps she was actually an agent of Yu-Cranker sent to put him off his guard, or maybe the behavior was for some other hilariously convoluted reason. Either way, it was something that took the low priority in the back of his mind, as his free hand we to pat her hands lightly.
"We shall! Ha hah!" He laughed, delighted with how she played along, "Now, let's not keep everyone waiting." said the Captain with a grin, guiding Tweak along the hallway and towards the elevator. He didn't mind this little escort, not one bit, especially with how he could easily hold out his cybernetic arm for her. The arm stayed out there for her for the entire way, or unless she decided to let go, despite what stares they may have garnered.
-----
Coming out of the elevator, Kokuten made short of his surroundings to look for Cassefin and any other Cirrus members. With is perceptive eyes, it didn't take long to single out not Cassefin, but the bright pink of Purina's hair. With that one detail found, he found both George and Cassefin standing with her from his distance. He looked down at Tweak, still hand-in-arm with her if she had kept up.
"There they are," said Kokuten, pointing a gunmetal-black finger in the direction of the group. He looked back over, shading his eyes with the same hand and squinting his mechanical lids. "Miss Montreal, Purina, and Mr. Resetti. Seems like no one else is here yet."
Kokuten stepped on forward, waving at the group.
"Hello!" said the Captain, waving with the free-hand, greeting them all with a warm smile.
