"So what do you think?"
The Doll appeared to take Balyn's question seriously. She stared at the hunter, unblinking (or maybe she just didn't have articulated eyelids?), then tilted her head to one side as if trying to change her perspective on things.
"It looks…decorative," she decided.
"Oh." He let out a sigh.
"Did I overlook something significant, good hunter? I tried to answer to the best of my ability, despite giving fashion reviews having nothing whatsoever to do with the purpose for which I was created."
Balyn supposed a bit of testiness was justified. She had, after all, drifted off into a nap on her seat by the stairs, only for him to wake her up upon his return. Even a doll could be crabby when she had her rest interrupted.
Even so…
"I don't know. I mean, you're not wrong. This outfit is pretty decorative. Look at all these glittery seals and fobs! But…I guess maybe I was hoping for a more personal assessment? Like, does it make me look more sophisticated and stylish, like the kind of guy who gets invited to fancy balls at Castle Cainhurst and everybody is sure that they dispatch beasts elegantly with a threaded cane?"
"You are always yourself to me, good hunter, regardless of what you may or may not be wearing."
Somehow, Balyn didn't think the sentiments behind that statement were as endearing as they sounded on the surface.
"Although," the Doll added, pressing her fingertip to her lower lip as she considered the point, "all in all, I believe that I prefer you in your normal hunter's garb."
"Oh? You think that look suits me better?"
"Most definitely. While I have never hunted beasts myself, I would think that the plethora of seals and charms could jingle together, alerting enemies that you were trying to sneak up behind them, and that leg brace might easily come loose, slip down to your knee, and cause you to trip. Of course, you are sustained by the Dream so your deaths would not be permanent, but even so I do not think you should be giving yourself a deliberate handicap over and above your natural limitations."