"Laces first." He adds carefully, almost as if a response to her muted commentary: a gentle nudge towards ensuring the appropriate steps are taken, otherwise he'll need to redo them again for ease of movement.

And in truth, tedious as those corded leather laces are to cinch tight enough in the gaps between his breast and back plate (at their tightest they yet leave a good four inches of exposed leather around his ribs on either side; a glaring point of weakness that might have been utterly intentional in the eyes of his former masters), they're a simple enough task to take to.

"The buckles hold little on their own."