Me? I'm Your Father's Cat [Yugiri/Ada]

Yugiri drew a blank. She had a couple of ideas that could potentially be said, but she thought that would probably get interpreted wrong by Ada as making it out that she didn't see the point or worth in modelling, it would be like if someone told her that the goal she had of being the fastest was stupid. The more she thought about it, the harder she struggled to come up with a real reason beyond feeling like she couldn't compete against someone like Ada for one and that she'd just not like it as the second.

"I don't really express myself well. Apparently I have a really bad resting face that makes people not want to approach me."

She was sure she heard a couple of people refer to her younger self as distant and unapproachable. For the moment she tried to play that card, despite the fact she had been nothing but expressive and open with Ada. Maybe that was more a thing she had towards her family than other people, but pride made her dig the hole deeper of trying to justify her position now that she had started by saying she didn't think it'd work out.

"Mm, I see... Well, that can certainly prove troublesome. I can understand that. But perhaps it might be worth considering from the perspective that it would help you to overcome those difficulties in expressing yourself, yes?"

Refilling her teacup and Yugiri's own, Ada looked out over the city of Karakura once more, thinking over her life here, and of course, about the woman that was currently sitting opposite her. Had her father sent her here for the sake of advice or guidance? Likely not, to be perfectly honest. However, Ada still felt as though she ought to offer it regardless. Perhaps she felt she owed it to her father to give a friend of his whatever she could, or perhaps she simply felt as though it was the right thing to do.

"I would of course be happy to assist in the endeavor, if you did choose to pursue it. I do believe it could certainly be quite rewarding."

"..."

She bit her lip at the way that Ada made out that it would help her develop past those issues of expressing herself. Why did she have to say it like that, now her actual back-up of just saying she was to shy to be a model really fell flat when Ada already established it would overcome difficulty.

"Maybe. I suppose, but I don't know. It doesn't feel like something I see myself sticking with."

What kind of stuff did modelling even entail? Did she have to change around to people, how many people would see photos of her. The tangents really did just make her feel sick in the stomach thinking about them.

"Ah, well that is of course to be expected. You still have goals you intend to follow, yes? I would never ask you to simply give up on them, or even to abandon traveling with my father, simply to pursue a career path you have never considered prior."

Her tone was reassuring as she spoke, wanting to help make clear this was hardly a lifelong commitment she was getting into. After all, even if many had trouble getting into the industry, particularly with predatory contracts, Ada knew the ins and outs well. She could ensure Yugiri was able to leave when she wished.

"I certainly do not mean to pressure you, of course, and I do hope it does not seem that way."

"Mhm. I've got things I need to do."

Yugiri was still unsure, it was a detour for one, not something she saw as something she'd really care about. There's no way she'd get whatever Ada got out of it, at least she thought so. Being a model sounded like she'd need to think of herself much more like a girl, which besides acknowledging the the fact as it was, she couldn't say that she really focused to heavily on being feminine or building on anything associated with it.

Her life had never really given her a chance to consider it and that neglect turned into apathy, maybe she'd have been better off as a guy, she might even have been taller. Hey, that didn't sound to bad.

"It's okay. It's just something to think about, I suppose. Dressing myself up and parading around though.. I'd be really bad at it. I always got my older sister to pick out my kimonos and help me look proper, until I kind of got the hang of it, but modelling sounds so much harder."

"Well, you know, the vast majority of modeling is done in outfits chosen for you. You need not worry about dressing yourself up, at the very least. But I wull say that to present yourself properly for a shoot is far more rewarding than to simply look attractive."

Ada didn't particularly take any offense at Yugiri's perceptions of her career. If anything, she was rather used to it. She would never pretend that it was a strenuous job, of course, but it did demand quite high qualifications in both appearance and temperament. She took pride in it.

"It does, I suppose, come down to having photographs taken of oneself while well-dressed. But one must be able to convey any emotion or tone in a manner which will be clear to a viewer in only a moment. You must be able to assert yourself not only on the set, but with the crew. Establish your boundaries, make clear that you are the one around whom the whole affair centers. You must be able to interact with the media and the public in a way which conveys only the image you wish to present for your career, whatever that may be. And, I suppose, that is something worth remembering in itself. You are always the one in control of your image, not anyone else. If you wish it to be that of a mere pretty face, then it certainly may be. But I am not called the Lady of Iron by the media simply because I hoped they might call me that."

Sipping her tea, Ada admittedly would have been the first to admit that most modeling was not so intensive. But, at her degree of fame, she very much believed what she had said to be wholly accurate.

If it was chosen out it didn't seem so bad, then Ada continued and got into the real gritty parts of it. The long explanation really left her confused, that sounded like an awful career. All of that work, it didn't even sound like you ever stopped. It sounded like your privacy also just evaporated in the process of it all, you became the centre of attention and everyone criticised your every word and action. It sounded like.. home.

Then it made her think, she have thrived in this once upon a time. She could already imagine the icy, noble attitude Yugiri Shihoin carried herself with because that was just being a member of the Shihoin family. It was also the nail that made her shake her head abruptly at Ada when she finished.

"I don't want to be a model."

She didn't really look at Ada when she said it, instead she was thinking back on her life up until her banishment. That time when she forced herself to fit into what she believed a member of a noble family should be, and for a moment it seemed indistinguishable from being a model. She wondered if she'd slowly fall back into that mindset if she did try it out and that was enough to make her reject the idea.

It seemed Ada had perhaps pushed Yugiri away with that explanation. But, she had considered it only the truth, and so if Yugiri found the thought unpleasant, she would certainly not pursue it any further. After all, many did find the life wholly disagreeable--there was nothing wrong with that.

"Then I will not ask about it again. My sincerest apologies, if I have made you uncomfortable."

Though she was sitting, and could not offer a full bow of apology, Ada still lowered her head enough to convey the same intention. She did, after all, wish to help Yugiri, not to simply bother her.

"I do hope that I can offer you something, however. I would feel like a rather poor host if you came all this way simply for me to ask you questions."

"It's fine. I'm not uncomfortable."

She lied a little bit in saying that and anyone with a little bit of awareness would figure that out as well by her body language and the way she looked away at the window, distracted. She was free now, and one cage for another wasn't how she wanted to live.

"Why do you feel like you need to offer me something?"

That did stick out as weird to her, did she mean something material? It wasn't like Yugiri understood why Ada might need to give her something, did she do something to make the model feel indebted to her? That just made a plethora of questions in her head.

Ada thought, for a moment, to simply say "because I've made you uncomfortable," but given that Ugiri was going out of her way to hide that, she felt it would likely not be ideal. So, instead, she thought for a moment about how best to put this.

"Is that not polite? I have always thought a host ought to show any guest a degree of hospitality beyond the necessary. But, I suppose in this case, I simply feel indebted to you."

Shrugging at the thought, Ada's own gaze went out toward the city. It had been some time since she spoke with anyone like this, hadn't it?

"You have done a great deal of good for my father, and for me by that merit. I do not mean to simply give you any sort of gifts, for I think that would only seem crass, as if I were cheapening what you have done. But if there are questions I may answer, or insight I may offer, I would be quite happy to do so."