Asami nodded silently, her eyes squinted barely as she listened to what the assistant had to say. Her arms were lowered back to her sides, allowing her thick hair to fall back into its usual long, dark waves. She didn't recognize Songho's assistant, although it had been some time since she had been in here. That being said, he couldn't have been here for more than a few months, and the tailor already trusted him to make suggestions to whom she knew was one of his biggest clients. That said something impressive about the young man, and Asami eagerly listened to what he had to say about the design. There was little room for improvement, as far as she was concerned. Songho had always done amazing work; other than a few that had been imported from Ba Sing Se, every dress in her closet was his design. That being said, she wasn't going to close herself off to any fresh ideas. She was always interested in new concepts.

What the assistant said made sense, and Asami instantly decided which suited her best. Traditional was not what she wanted to go for. Professional, yes, hence why she preferred a mere triangle of her neck to be revealed versus a plunging neckline. Nothing about Future Industries, though, was traditional. They were new money, a family whose roots traced back to Dragon Flats instead of some of the more illustrious parts of the city. Their only claim to fame and fortune was innovation and racing to be the next to come up with something spectacular and unheard of. Asami herself was far from traditional as well. She may have been raised to behave a given way when in the presence of certain company, but most young women of her stature were far from capable of defending herself, nor could they even drive - let alone well. She was more focused on furthering her family's company rather than merely enjoying the wealth it provided.

Her painted lips curled inward, pressed together with thought. Asami's green eyes slimmed as she tried to picture the assistant's suggestion. Too many ruffles could look overly girly and undermine the impression she was attempting to make, but with just a slight amount, it would work. There was a vast difference between appearing silly and childish and having the imposing yet feminine presence of an armadillo lioness. "I like it," she grinned. "Let's go with the dive, please, and just a bit of ruffles. Other than that," she turned again slightly, inspecting the back of the dress, "it's absolutely perfect. You did an amazing job, Mr. Songho." Asami's attention moved back to the assistant. "What's your name, by the way? I don't think we've met." The young man was far from the first tailor's assistant she had ever met, but most were either too meek to suggest anything or so over-confident that they wound up with their feet in their mouths. This one appeared to be neither, and Mr. Songho clearly trusted his instincts.

Without trying to seem arrogant, it was generally a safe assumption that her identity was known to whomever she was speaking to at a given moment, at least by name. Not everyone recognized her face, but everybody was familiar with her surname. Considering it was tagged on to the most widely used form of transportation in the city, it would be shocking to find someone who didn't know the name Sato. Her father was of course the more well-known of the two, but Asami had been a target of the press more and more often as she grew older. While she would like to think that it was because she was becoming more involved in Future Industries, she wasn't so ignorant as to be unaware that it was primarily due to her being a pretty face. That was not what she preferred to be known for, though she would neither lament her features nor be too bothered by this fact. The world was what it was. She was in a unique position to change it in many ways, but certainly not in others.

After Jing's introduction, Asami brought her hands together and bent at the waist into a small bow. Good; the movement was effortless in the dress. That was important, considering how frequently she would be required to show her respect to her father's associates. No matter how pretty a dress might be, she had no interest in a garment that restricted movement too drastically. It made life just miserable, to say nothing of suffocating her ability to defend herself. Asami had been trained from a young age to never place herself in a situation where she could not fight to the best of her ability. Kicking or flipping would be much more difficult in a dress like this, but it was not necessarily impossible. "It's nice to meet you too, Jing," she smiled upon straightening. "I'll have it ready for you in just a minute."

Turning from the tailor and his assistant, the heiress stepped behind the divider situated in the corner of the room, shielding her from the others as she undressed. The dress was handled as though it were made of glass as Asami slithered out of the sleek fabric. She would hate to ruin it somehow; it was a work of art, truly, and the last thing she wanted to do was create any additional work for Songho or Jing. Once it was removed, it was carefully laid of the top of the divider. Having heard Jing leave the room, she spoke up again. "I like your assistant," Asami said as she dressed herself in her usual outfit. "He isn't afraid to say what he thinks, but he actually thinks before he says it." That was an unfortunately rare quality. She freed her dark hair from where it had been trapped under her recently replaced jacket. Once her feet had been slipped back into her boots, she stepped out from behind the divider. "Where should I bring the dress? I'm not sure where Jing usually works."

Asami's ink-black hair shifted as she moved to look over at Jing, who had just reentered the room. With him came direction on where to place the delicate dress she had been wearing several minutes prior. His words brought almost a twinge of disappointment; Asami was not typically an impatient person, but she was excited to see the finished dress. Knowing that she would have to wait for Jing to work on it made her anticipation heighten. She knew it was silly to expect her dress to be finished first, of course. She was hardly Songho's sole client, and it was only fair to work on the orders as they came in. Besides, she wasn't in any sort of hurry to have it finished. Her father's banquet was still several weeks away. She gave Jing a nod at his instructions. "Here's your new project, then," she said, bringing the garment across the room. The dress was laid out gently on the indicated table. The more she looked at it, the more Asami decided she liked it. Green may not have been her color of choice but it was still beautiful, and the dress itself was stunning. She was lucky to have someone of Mr. Songho's talents available. Never had he failed her, nor did she ever expect him to.

When she thought about it, she truly was blessed to have the people around her that she did. Everyone working at her home was patient, sweet, and excellent at what they did, as were the Future Industries employees and the tradesmen whom she interacted with personally, such as Mr. Songho. Asami tried to make their work as enjoyable for them as possible and let them know that they were appreciated; she may have been born into wealth, but her father had not, and through him she had gleaned some understanding of the life of one in a less fortunate position than she. The people around her worked hard to support themselves and their family. It was a life she would probably never fully comprehend, but that didn't mean that Asami wasn't grateful for the work that they did and the attitude they did it with.

Jing's question caused her to take a brief moment to consider if there was anything else she required while she was at the shop. Her dress itself was all that she desired, though something else did come to mind. "Actually, there is. Mind if I watch you work?" asked Asami. "It's okay if you do, I don't want to be a distraction." Jing's fashion instincts appeared to be finely tuned; it would be interesting to see what else he was capable of. Asami was by no means interested in replacing Mr. Songho as her regular tailor, but she always enjoyed seeing new talent at work. Besides, he seemed like a kind young man. She would respect his wishes, though. Some people were capable of, and even seemed to perform better, while multitasking and carrying on a conversation while working. Asami wouldn't assume such, however. There were just as many people who demanded absolute silence so that they could concentrate on their responsibilities. Neither was better than the other, merely different.

While Jing seemed somewhat taken aback by her request, Asami was pleased that he permitted her to stay and observe his work. Part of her wondered, as it often did, if he did so because he truly didn't mind her presence or if it was merely because he feared the consequences of saying no. He wouldn't be the first, if the latter was the case. A great negative to being in her position was that Asami could not always trust those around her to be perfectly honest with her. It was as though they believed upsetting her somehow would bring a curse upon them. While she could be angered just like anyone else, Asami hoped she wasn't so spoiled that being denied something would truly incite her temper. She would just have to hope that Jing earnestly didn't mind her presence. "Thanks," she grinned, both at his voiced permission as well as the motion to sit. She did so, with one leg folded over the other and her elbows resting on her bended knee while she leaned forward to watch.

The hat that Jing was presently working on was lovely even in its unfinished state, but Asami's brows drew together at the story that came with it. What a heartbreaking reason behind such a beautiful hat. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to lose the love of one's life, even at such an age. When a person's soul was intertwined with another, they were never supposed to be separated. She had been young when her mother had been killed, but she still vividly recalled how her father had behaved in the aftermath. His face, always lit with a wide, kind smile, had been transformed. The sparkle in his eyes had vanished, and he had seemed to age years overnight. The grief that had overcome him had been merciless. Over time his smile returned to him, but even twelve years later he was a changed man. Asami wasn't sure that a person could ever truly recover from such a thing.

The sight of the flower, delicately crafted and flawlessly white, brought the smile back to Asami's face. When Jing held the piece up, she nodded in approval. "It's beautiful," she lauded. "It's a shame it's for such a sad occasion. But, at the same time, I can't think of anywhere it would be more needed." Placed anywhere else, and the flower merely became decoration. Here, it was as Jing said: it represented the hope of the widow. Though the pain of her lost love would likely never leave her, she could still go on. Just because one person's life had ended didn't mean the other had to as well. Asami rose from her seat and approached the table to take a closer look at the hat. Her dark lips curled upward, and her green eyes slid from the hat over to Jing. "You put a lot of heart into your work, don't you?" she said, less a question than an observation. Many tailors merely made clothes. Jing was creating artwork with a history and a message. It was refreshing and impressive to see someone who put so much of himself into what he was doing, who understood that he was in a position to better people rather than simply clothe them. Too many people did what they did for the money and nothing else.

Only when she followed Jing's eyes to the clock did she realize what time it was. Asami couldn't claim to have anything pressing to attend to that evening, but the amount of time that had passed since she had arrived still surprised her. It would be time for her and her father to sit down to dinner soon. Given how busy he often was, dinner was sometimes the first time she was able to see or really speak with him in a day. She wasn't willing to miss that, as much as she enjoyed watching Jing work. It wasn't as though she would never be able to return here, of course. She would be back within the next few days to retrieve her finished dress, and given the quality of Mr. Songho and Jing's work, Asami was certain that she would be returning in the not so distant future when she required a dress for some other event. If there was one thing she could count on in her life, it was that she would be obligated to don her nicest clothes on a regular basis.

Upon standing, the heiress waved away Jing's apology. She had enjoyed watching what she had been able to, and she wouldn't ask for more than that. She had probably intruded enough as it was, even if Jing had been kind enough to humor her. "Take your time," Asami assured him. "You work hard while you're here, so you shouldn't have to take your work home with you." Her dress only required minor alterations, and given the amount of time between now and her father's banquet, she wasn't concerned about having it finished in a hurry. She was eager to see the finished product, but not so much that she would expect Jing to work all day and then still go home and work more. Once his work day was done, it should be just that. It wasn't healthy to focus on work all day, every day, even if it was something that he enjoyed. A person just needed a break from that sort of thing.

Once she was ready to leave and Jing had given him notice of his own departure, Asami turned to Mr. Songho in order to bow and thank him for his work before bidding him farewell. He, like Jing, was a hard worker whose efforts were greatly appreciated. She was glad for his sake that he had Jing around. The older man deserved a quality assistant to help him. When she turned back to the younger of the two tailors, Asami couldn't help but laugh quietly. Jing's assumption that she had a vehicle parked outside was correct. Her family was most famous for her father's invention of the Satomobile, obviously, but as she had grown older she had gained something of her own reputation for being a strong driver. She wasn't content to only have her name attached to the vehicles; she knew them inside out, upside down, and backward. There were few people more knowledgeable about the inner workings of a Satomobile than she, nor were there many who could drive with greater skill. Asami still favored her moped purely for its sentimental value - it had been a gift from her father, after all - but every now and then she preferred to take out one of her family's Satomobiles. It wasn't nearly as thrilling to drive them through Republic City as it was to take them for a spin on the test track, but she always enjoyed being behind the wheel regardless. "You guessed right," she grinned. "That would be nice, thank you."

She still felt a bit guilty at the thought of Jing continuing to work on her dress past when his day should have been done, but Asami supposed that if he insisted upon doing so, then that was his choice and there was nothing she could do about it. Was it a fervent work ethic or simply an intense love for what he did that would make him want to do such a thing? Most likely both, she inwardly decided. It was easier to put a great deal of effort into something that appealed to a person so strongly. She admired his dedication, even if she still wished that he would give himself a break. Everyone deserved some rest after a long work day.

Asami thanked Jing as he opened the door. "It's not far," she promised. Trying to park near her destination was nearly impossible in a city like this, but she had been lucky enough to snatch a spot as another driver was leaving. The briskness of the outdoors contrasted sharply with the warm shop as they stepped outside, though her jacket was more than enough to keep Asami warm. The one drawback to all of her personal vehicles were that they weren't enclosed, so she was used to dressing warmly when she drove downtown. It was hard to enjoy the ride when the windchill made her shiver, as much as she loved the feel of the breeze grabbing at her hair. It was one of the reasons why she often preferred to drive her Satomobile instead of her moped.

Said vehicle sat nearby, a sleek, gleaming black machine unlike the vast majority of Satomobiles on the road. She adored the thing like a child; it was one of the newer models and because of its price wasn't widely available to the public, so it was a rare sight on the road. Even when compared to other Satomobiles of the same style it stood out; the crimson and chrome detailing had been Asami's choice when the vehicle was bestowed upon her. Her moped was a fun little thing to zip around the city on, but it lacked the raw power of a Satomobile like this. There were days where she just wanted to sit behind the wheel of something with a bit more ostrich-horsepower, and this had been one of those days.

"This is me," said Asami as they approached the vehicle, though in hindsight she supposed that was probably obvious. There weren't exactly many other Satomobiles nearby that would be the sort of thing she would drive. "Thanks for letting me watch you work, even just for a little while," she added with a smile. "I hope your client likes that hat." She brought her hands together and bent into a brief bow. Maybe at some point she would be able to see what else Jing could do; she did have to come back to pick up her dress, after all.