Antoinette
*She continued to eat the rest of her food, paying almost no notice to Almann. God knows how long it's been since she had a proper meal. Eating the food was like the first drops of rain in the desert; it refreshed her palatte and sated her appetite, but she enjoyed every single bite of it. Midway through eating her roasted pig, she used a napkin nearby to wipe off the grease from her sword, and also used it to wipe the leaked juices from her hands after setting the pig down on it's platter. She stopped, grabbing the pair of earrings that Almann had pointed at. He said not to lose those, for they were good luck; it'd be best if she put them on so she wouldn't forget them later.*

*She grabbed one, then realized she wouldn't be able to properly pierce both of the ears so that the earrings wouldn't be lopsided from the side profile. She imagined that getting your ears pierced was one of those things you had to get right the first time, otherwise it'd be ruined entirely.*

"Hey Almann," *She said, watching him slowly finish his lamb.* "Mind putting on these earrings for me? I don't think I'll be able to do it myself."
Travis
_Almann puts his food down and wipes his hands with a clean cloth. The truth was that he hadn't pierced his own ears, and has never pierced the ears of anyone else, let alone someone with... Non-human ears. He did know the procedure, and figured it couldn't be that difficult given his history of having steady hands. He judged that it might be better to be closer to the outer ridge of her ears, they would be more sturdy there and less likely to weigh them down fully._

_He nods._

"Sure, but it will sting a little. Hold still."

_Almann gets up and walks over to Artoria, taking out one of his sharpest steel knives to perform the operation. He figured he would put them up about half height from the top of her head to the tip of the ear about 1.5 cms from the outer edge. Gently, he positions the knife so as to make a small hole for the earring. To create counter-pressure, he positions his thumb putting pressure on a small piece of leather on the other side of the ear. He noticed that her ears were soft. Were all kitsune's ears this soft? He resisted fiddling with them more than need be._

_He quickly pricks a small hole at the desired position of the earring, wiping away what blood propagated from the small hole, and threaded the thin part of the earing through, clasping it the loop closed. One earring down._

_Almann gently grabs her head and turns it slightly towards him so he can get a better angle to position the earring. It seems he is completely focused on the task at hand. Like before, he simply repeats the step of piercing and and threading the earring through. It looks like his steady hands payed off. They are both lined up with each other approximately from the same distance from the top of the head and inwards on the ear._

_He grins and pats her head._

"Done. You will need to keep them on until your ears heal if you wish to be able to take them on and off again. Cleaning your ears should be as easy as wiping them and the earrings down with clean booze."
Antoinette
*Artoria nodded as Almann walked over to her side, handing him the earrings as she turned towards the wall. It was only then, out of nervous anticipation, when she decided to ponder the differences between piercing a kitsune ear and a human ear. It dawned on her that the earrings were originally designed for macen and humanoid ears; not animal ears like hers. Now she didn't know the procedure, but she knew that Almann did; or at least she believed so. That was for people with normal ears, though - again, not for hers. Distrusting the operator as the patient right before the operation never was a good thing. Nonetheless, she tried to keep a cool head as she heard the drawing of a sharp knife from it's sheath.*

"Wh- What was that?" *She squealed softly before feeling the grasp of a large, calloused hand on her head.* 

*She felt Almann's spare hand constantly brush up and down her ears as he simultaneously drug the knife slightly on the outer edge of her ear, away from the soft inside. Feeling leather opposite of the knifepoint, she closed her eyes, prepared for the prick of metal through the outer ridge. There was a pause where Almann's hand was still, then she felt a small sting where the knife went through. A pang of pain shot through her body, but quickly went away. She could feel the needle weave it's way through the hole left behind by the knife, and then it was over. Nothing really changed, from what she could see; she only felt her right ear slightly become heavier as the bronze weighed down a bit.*

"That kinda hur-" *She said as she got cut off by Almann turning her head towards his. By the gods, he was... Rather close. Too close for her comfort, anyway; she felt her cheeks instinctively go red as blood rushed to them. It put Artoria a bit on the spot, with his face so close to hers, yet Almann didn't seem to mind. Why did she?*

*Absolutely entranced by the operation, Almann swiftly mimiced what he'd done to the previous ear to the current one, all with Artoria staring down to her boots. The knife piercing's pain was drowned out by her thoughts of trying not to mind the distance between the two, and it was over seemingly faster than the ear before. Almann patted her head, causing Artoria to look up at him as he grinned. To be frank, she was rather flushed at the entire ordeal; she barely kept up with his tangent about the cleaning and healing and the like.*

"Alright, I got you..." *She began.* "For the record, though? I'm still a guy at heart, man. Don't be so close to my face next time. And *Don't* Pat my head. I don't like headpats. Makes me feel inferior." 

*That last part was a lie. She did like headpats.*