Chapter 30

Le Hotel Tangiers. The hotel was located at the heart of Paris' fashion district, and was a fashion statement in and of itself. Its main concourse would be the site of this year's Parisian fashion exposition. The hotel, which was huge, had four individual ballroom…in addition to the spectacular venue of the hotel's main concourse. The grandfather clock---an heirloom from the turn of the century---chimed eight o'clock just then…just as six very pretty women---three vixens, a petite tigress, and a tall cheetah----moved over the lush deep blue carpeting to the door to the Malta ballroom.

"Maria," Svetlana gasped softly, her dark brown eyes wide, drinking in all the splendor before---and around---her. "Have you ever seen such a lovely place?" She gazed down with a happy, dreamy sort of smile to the lush blue carpeting emblazoned with golden fleur-de-lis.

"Da," Maria agreed, not able to keep the awe out of her voice as well. "We have many fine places back in Russia…but, nothing like this." Maria ran one slender white hand over the smoothly polished rich oak paneling of the hallway walls.

"Come, amis," Naomi commanded with a smile, tossing an errant lock of her long platinum hair back over one smooth rounded shoulder. "It is time. Madame will be waiting for us within…"

Never one to sit back, Kitty took the initiative, and strode confidently forward to push open the tall gilded wood door. She pushed her way in, then stopped…having to allow her big blue eyes time to adjust to the near darkness to be found inside. "Yo, Yuri!" Kitty's voice boomed in the eerily silent ballroom.

Carmelita moved in behind her impulsive friend, shaking her head…both from Kitty's slightly obnoxious behavior, as well as the butterflies she was now feeling in her stomach. It was going to be a disaster, she groaned inside her head. I'm going to make such a fool of myself…and in front of my friends! "Kitty, indoor voice, okay?" she growled at her friend, more from her own nervousness than any real irritation at Kitty herself.

Svetlana blinked then looked over to the unsettled Carmelita. She was still wary of this beautiful, yet mercurial vixen. But, she had a feeling that Carmelita was more bark than bite, most of the time. She took a risk, and moved closer to her, reaching out to place a nervous hand upon Carmelita's forearm. "Carmelita? Are you…well, okay?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

Carmelita twitched from her touch, and she whirled quickly toward poor Svetlana, a scowl on her face. "Back off," she answered, irritated with the small tigress from some reason. "I'm fine, Svetlana."

Svetlana cringed, hurt by the look of…well, distrust she found when Carmelita looked her way. Stung by the rejection, Svetlana blinked and moved away…back to the security of her dear friend Maria. "I do not think Carmelita likes me much," she whispered to Maria, the hurt in her voice.

"Nonsense," Maria countered, taking Svetlana's hand in her own. "She's just nervous is all. Like the two of us, da? You are nervous, are you not, Svetlana?"

Oh, da," Svetlana whispered, not wanting to do anything to garner another 'look' from the daunting Carmelita. "I am excited too, understand…but I am nervous."

"Give her time, Svetlana," Maria advised with a smile. "She'll come around. Just be yourself, dear…and she'll see what a wonderful girl you are. Like I know, da?"

Svetlana grinned thankfully over at Maria. "I will. And…thank you, Maria," she answered.

Kitty, now that her eyes had adjusted to the semi-darkness, turned to Naomi. "All right. It's eight o'clock. I agreed to come to this farce…so where in the heck is Yuri already?" As you can see…subtlety wasn't Kitty's strongest suit.

"You shall see, cheri," Naomi responded most mysteriously. "You shall see…"

Just as the smiling cheetah girl said this, the ballroom exploded with light and sound. Lasers---in blue, red, and bright green---lit the ceiling, as the flashing and waving floodlights in the floor sprang into motion as well…all of this in time to the pounding, catchy rhythm of music that enveloped them all. "What the heck?" Kitty questioned, blinking her big blue eyes at the dazzling light show.

Just when they were becoming accustomed to that, a single spotlight blinked on, highlighting the very beginning of the long runway that bisected three-quarters of the ballroom. The spot went out---along with all the other white lights---a moment, then the spot winked back on to reveal a tall shapely snow leopard woman standing motionless in the halo of the spotlight. She stood with her left arm upraised, her wrist cocked outward, her other hand on her hip, her hips canted to a saucy, sultry angle. This beautiful, bewitching woman was clad in the loveliest bright green dress that any of the girls (with the possible exception of Kitty---who didn't much care for dresses, thanks!) had ever seen. The snow leopardess stood this way a long moment, then…exploded into motion, gliding forward into an aggressive sort of strut, the small spotlights on each side of the runway flicking on as the woman passed them.

"Typical Yuri Sing," Naomi said softly, shaking her lovely head, her long platinum locks swaying. She grinned at the show. "Always showing off…"

Yuri---and it was indeed her!---continued her breeze down the runway until she got to the end, where the girls all stood looking up. She stopped, smiling brilliantly down at them all, then did a slow sensous pirhouette, finally ending up looking over her shoulder, her amazing green-gold eyes smoldering, in a most alluring and provocative pose.

"Bozhe moi," Maria exclaimed, then clapped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment.

"So…did you like, cheris?" Yuri asked, relaxing, her chest still rising and falling from her performance.

"Madame!" Svetlana exclaimed, her lovely eyes huge. "Is that you?"

"Oui, mon petite," Yuri replied, smiling. "It is I. You were surprised, oui?"

"Oui," parroted Svetlana with a laugh of awe and respect. "Madame…you are…beautiful."

Yuri smiled sweetly down at the gushing Svetlana. "Merci, cheri," she purred. "You are very kind to say so." She then turned her attention to all five girls. "Now, I hope you all noticed how a beautiful dress, some subtle use of cosmetics, and a new hairstyle can change one's appearance…quite dramatically."

"Yeah, we saw that, Yuri," Kitty laughed. "Very clever. However, it doesn't hurt that you look pretty amazing most of the time…even in your old blue bathrobe…"

Yuri laughed in response to Kitty's remark. "Kitty, Kitty, Kitty. What a remarkable young woman you are." Kitty had the good grace to blush. "Tell me, cheri…just how is it that you recognized me so easily, hmm?"

Kitty grinned at that. "That's an easy one, lady," she answered. "Remember, my boyfriend's a snow leopard too, right? And, from what I hear, no two of you have spots in identical patterns, right?"

Yuri nodded, intrigued. "Oui, that is true," she agreed. "So?"

"Well," Kitty continued. "I know Ling's spot pattern right down to the tip of his tail." She blushed, but hurried on…before any one could comment on her admission. "And, I've been around you enough to know at least the pattern of your spots on your face, Yuri." She pointed up to Yuri's left eye. "Especially that one pattern just above your left eye, girl."

"Ah, I forget I am dealing with a detective," Yuri teased, grinning. "Very nicely spotted…pun intended, mon cheri." She giggled softly.

Kitty shook her head, then chuckled at her pun. "I don't care what kind of make-up you want to use on me…it sure ain't gonna hide these freckles of mine, Yuri," she pointed out.

"Ah, Kitty," Yuri answered. "It is quite obvious that you are unschooled in the use of cosmetics, cheri. Give Naomi and I time, and we could make it so even your charming Ling would not recognize you…"

Kitty blinked in surprise, then grinned. "Really?" she asked.

"It's twenty after eight already, Yuri," Carmelita pointed out a bit brusquely. "We don't have all night for all this girl talk, you know."

Yuri blinked, surprised by the harshness in the normal polite Carmelita's voice. She cocked an eyebrow reflecting this, but said nothing. "You are correct, Carmelita," Yuri said most urbanely…leaving off any rebuke. "Time is wasting, no? Very well then…my first lesson will be the art of walking the runway."

There were nods from all four girls new to the runways. Yuri smiled encouragingly. "Now, walking the runway is not hard, cheris," she told them with a knowing smile. "After all, most of what you need is simply the mechanics of being female. You have hips, and a lower center of gravity…we will simply put that marvel of physics to work for us, no?" She grinned exotically.

Carmelita---as if right on cue!---spoke up. "Yuri, c'mon…I've seen you walk. I have hips now, true…but really, you---" she protested, only to be cut off by Yuri.

"Non," Yuri replied curtly, raising her hand to Carmelita. She then shook her lovely head again and again, stating. "Non. Non…non!" She then beckoned for Carmelita---and the others to join her up on the runway. "Come…all of you, up here…now!"

As soon as the five of them had ascended the stairs up to the polished runway, Yuri had them line up. "Now," Yuri began, taking up a position directly in front of Carmelita. "You are all very beautiful girls. Tres belle femmes, oui?" she stated, nodding. "Now, as this is the case…let me tell you something." Yuri paused, sounding more like a general now than a fashion mogul. "Every single one of you lovely girls has the ability to walk with poise and grace. Every. Single. One."

"But---!" Carmelita tried, but was cut off yet again.

"Non!" Yuri barked. "I will not hear it!" She stomped one prim foot on the polished surface of the runway. "Not one protest. I know these things, and you shall do as I say. Especially you, Mademoiselle!" She lifted her arm to point imperiously to Carmelita, her green gold eyes boring relentlessly into Carmelita's own startled brown ones until she had to look away, blushing. She then reached out a hand to cup Carmelita's chin gently, raising her eyes to her own. "Do you think I was born walking this way, Ms. Fox? Hmm, do you?"

"I---well, no…probably not," Carmelita replied sheepishly…although a part of her would swear she probably did! Walk so gracefully from birth, that is!

"Well, just for the record, my darlings," Yuri observed. "I did not. When I was a small child I walked---how did my Mother put it again?---ah, yes…like a duck."

Kitty chuckled, and Maria and Svetlana tittered at the very idea of that!

"Well, I did!" Yuri protested, but with a charming grin on her lovely face. "Now, of course, many say that I appear to glide everywhere I go, instead of walking. Do you agree?"

Carmelita was the first to nod her head emphatically…soon to be followed by the others, with the exclusion of Naomi---who had heard all this before.

"And why can I walk this way, you may ask?" Yuri offered, walking back and forth before them. "Follow me, ladies, and I shall tell you." She began to walk down the length of the runway, followed first by the adoring Svetlana, then Maria, then Kitty, Carmelita…and finally Naomi.

Naomi knew precisely what Madame was doing…and grinned at her cunning.

"You see," Yuri began, even as she walked, "I was trained from a very young age to walk a certain way. For, in the circles I was born into, and raised in, appearances are oft-times everything. A woman could be penniless…and yet, if she could keep up appearances…why she was still treated as a lady. Silly, no?"

The four girls trailing behind Yuri began walking their normal gaits. Carmelita her ground-covering policewoman's stride, Svetlana her flirtatious strut, Maria her purposeful easy glide, and Kitty her patented tomboy amble. However, Naomi grinned to herself as she trailed this eclectic group, as she noticed the others strides slowly transforming themselves into their own version of Yuri's sultry glide. Madame…you are ever the master, Naomi thought, shaking her head.

Meanwhile, Yuri continued her tale---one that Naomi knew hands down, of course---more to rivet the girls' attention on that, instead of their own walking.
"Now, cheris…it is not to say that I particularly liked this training. Non, I simply had no choice, you see. Much of what you all would consider a normal childhood was sacrificed---in my instance---to produce the woman I am today. You must understand that my Mama and Papa were initially appaled when it was even suggested that Jacques---he being my older brother----and I attend public school. Oh, my Mama would not hear of such a thing! No, we were the children of aristocrats…and as such we had our very own private tutors, who would teach us both in the comfort of our very own chateau." Yuri upped their pace a bit more, forcing the girls to match her stride or fall behind. She was secure in the knowledge that her Naomi would watch to ensure all was going as she intended.

"However, unlike other boys and girls," Yuri continued on, "after our school lessons, we were daily groomed to be proper ladies and gentlemen. Which, mon amis, was not a painless process…no, far from it. No, I have acquired my share of scars in my life…much as you all have, no doubt. They are---how you say?---unavoidable, no? It is part of how we mature and grow, nes pas?"

Naomi grinned. Yuri sure had a way of teaching, and that was for certain, she observed. She watched as the formerly nervous Carmelita now moved along, hips swaying softly, her strides breezy and effortless in Madame's wake. Svetlana---as Naomi privately thought---was a natural, as was Maria. Why, even Kitty had lost much of her more manly sort of walk, now moving with a soft sinuous grace that most likely would have had the poor tomboy blushing and cursing had she known!

"How was I able to accomplish so much, you ask? Well, Mama was responsible for that. You see, my Mama had a very special way of teaching us, Jacques and I." She frowned, then smiled weakly. "Ah, I see I confuse you. Hmm, perhaps I should elaborate, no?" She paused, thinking, then continued. "Let us say, she wished me to walk…now, should I not perform it just so the very first time...well, eh, suffice to say, Mama was a firm believer in the adage that 'the burned hand teaches best' no?" Yuri, caught up in her remembering, didn't even realize it when one of her hands moved down subconsciously to briefly touch her lovely posterior. And, with that simple faux pas, everyone instantly understood what had gone on. "Ah, but enough about me, darlings. I'm certain you find me a stuffy old bore by now," Yuri said, smiling. "Come…all of that is in the past now, and as such, there is nothing we can do about it, no?"

Naomi had to hid her smile with her hand, as well as briefly turning away until she could compose herself once more. All four girls now had adopted their own versions of Yuri's walk.

Yuri then grinned, then with a nonchalant wave of her hand, even as she continued to move, she observed. "Oh, cheris?" she said smoothly. "I must commend you on your walking…you have all made Yuri very proud."

Yuri moved gracefully down off the runway via a small set of stairs, even as four startled young ladies realized exactly what they were now doing. Carmelita was stunned! Her heart pounded with excitement…she could do this! Without even realizing it, she turned to Svetlana, who just happened to be the closest to her and exclaimed softly, "I can do this!"

"Da," Svetlana said without even thinking. "I can now see what Sly Cooper sees in you, Carmelita. You are a most lovely woman."

Carmelita blinked upon hearing that, surprised. She looked at the tiny Svetlana a moment, then chuckled, reaching out to take the startled girl's hand. "Svetlana, thank you," she offered as a way of apology. "I've not been very nice to you of late."

"Nyet, you have been most gracious," Svetlana protested, though privately she did think Carmelita was a bit cool to her.

"That's nice of you to say," Carmelita said with a half-grin. "But, you're lying. I've been a prickly so-and-so, and not as friendly as I should have been. I'm sorry, Svetlana."

Svetlana was touched, and smiled a glowing smile. "It is nothing, Carmelita," she protested weakly.

"No," Carmelita told her, holding her eyes with her own. "And, I'll tell you why, okay? I had a partner once…she was a tigress, like you, okay? She was different than you too…but, well, her name was Neyla. And…here's what happened…" She proceeded to give the pleased, yet startled Svetlana the fifty cent tour on what had happened between her and the traitorous Neyla.

"Bozhe moi!" Svetlana exclaimed softly at the end of Carmelita's tale, adopting Maria's exclaimation of choice. "I had no idea! You poor thing…to have been betrayed that way!" Svetlana's lower lip trembled, and her big dark eyes welled up. She was an emotional little thing…but her heart was in the right place. Before she realized it, she had thrown her arms about Carmelita and had hugged the startled vixen tightly.

Carmelita was unprepared for Svetlana's emotional response, and initially she stiffened. But, after a moment, she put her arms around the now sniffling little tigress and held her close. "So, that's why I've been…well, keeping you kind of distant the last few months, Svetlana," Carmelita said, feeling the heel just then. "That doesn't excuse my poor behavior, but---"

"Nyet, nyet!" Svetlana protested, moving away from her so she could look up into the taller vixen's eye. "I understand. I was afraid that you hated me for being…well, I was an ex-criminal, you know."

Carmelita chuckled softly. "No, no…that's not it, really," Carmelita soothed. "Hey, c'mon, girl…I'm in love with Sly Cooper, for Pete's sake."

Svetlana grinned then laughed softly. "Da, I guess that would make my fears all that much more silly now, wouldn't it?" Svetlana pointed out with a wry grin.

"Just a bit, yes," Carmelita agreed. "Oh, and hey…I was initially just a little jealous of the attention my Sly was paying you. But, hey…that's just the way he is, you know. I know he loves me, but he just can't help flirting with all the pretty girls."

"You think I am pretty?" Svetlana gasped, looking up at Carmelita. "Really?"

"No," Carmelita said, grimacing as she saw the flash of pain in Svetlana's eyes. "Sorry…I'm too blunt for my own goodness. But, what I meant to say was no, I don't think you are pretty. I think you are gorgeous, Svetlana!"

Svetlana blinked, then gave Carmelita a most thankful grin. "Thank you, that means a lot coming from the lovely Carmelita Fox," she replied.

"So…are we good then, kiddo?" Carmelita asked, looking down at the small Russian with a grin.

"Da! We are very good," Svetlana responded, then reached up and kissed Carmelita on the cheek.

Naomi then appeared moments later with a rolling clothes rack, covered with a plastic zippered cover. "Ah," Yuri piped up with a grin, clapping her hands together once. "Naomi, you are such a dear. Open it, would you?"

Naomi simply nodded her head, and unzipped the rack's contents. Inside, hanging upon the rack were some of the loveliest dresses and outfits all of them had ever seen (even Kitty had to agree they were pretty awesome looking!). "Some of Madame's creations from last year's show, my friends," Naomi explained, motioning to the clothing beside her.

"Pretty nice, Yuri," Kitty observed, then almost instinctively looked down at the bottom of the rack where the shoes for all these outfits lay. "Um," Kitty added a moment later. "Yuri?"

"Oui, Kitty?" Yuri answered. "What is it, cheri?"

"Okay, now…don't take this the wrong way, or anything," Kitty ventured warily. After all, she didn't really want to hurt Yuri's feeling or anything. "But, I don't do high heels. No way, no ma'am, no how." Kitty crossed her arms petulantly before her chest.

"Cheri," Yuri then answered with a small laugh. "I am well aware of your shoe preferences, you know. And, accordingly, I made sure that my Naomi included several pairs of shoes in the appropriate colors that have minimal heels. Satisfied, cheri?"

Kitty frowned, thinking. She would of preferred flats…or even better, her cross-trainers…but, she did realize that they just wouldn't go with the flamboyant outfits Yuri intended her to wear. "All right, acceptable…though, barely so."

"D'accord, cheri," Yuri proclaimed, announcing her agreement. "Now, you all now know how to walk the runway, you have outfits to wear and show off in, so…the only thing you still lack is one simple thing: confidence in yourselves."

Reluctantly, Carmelita gulped and nodded her head. She was pleased when she say both Svetlana (who she was almost sure would shake her head!) and Maria nodded their head in agreement too. Even Kitty had to begrudgingly admit she needed a boost in that department as well.

"Much as I had thought," Yuri proclaimed, though her voice showed no surprise. "That will come in time, mon cheris. However, time is one thing we do not have the luxury of, I am afraid. So…therefore, I have decided to bring in a special pair of folks to help. Now who might these two be? Well, you should ask, cheris…well you should ask. Now, perhaps, with a little thought, you can tell me, no? So, who would it be that can tell you all just how lovely and breathtaking you all truly are? Hmm? Because you are, mon belle cheris…beautiful…each and every one of you. Any guesses, cheris?"

"No, Madame. Please, tell us who this amazing pair might be!" Maria asked, voicing what everyone else, with the exception of Yuri and Naomi, was thinking.

"Ahem," came the sound of a pair of masculine voices being cleared. The ladies, one and all, turned and looked straight down into the faces of a charming, grinning Sly Cooper, and a shy but softly smiling Ling Chu.

"Sly?" Carmelita exclaimed in shock, her eyebrows almost disappearing into her hairline.

"Ling?" Kitty proclaimed a moment later, her face pale as a ghost.