Petite form turned before the mirror once again, watching the way the dress fell around her body. To say that Patsy had kept her promise was an understatement. Indeed, Valarie had been nearly overwhelmed by the beautiful things and people to be found in Los Angeles. She was grateful that Patsy had been with her to smooth things along, otherwise the shy kitten would have run for the hills to escape the hundreds of people. It wasn't hard to understand why this was the place where people wanting to be in the movies came.
Fingers drifted over the silk of the dress, something by someone named Ferretti if she remembered correctly. She was positive that her new wardrobe was worth more money than she would ever see in her back account. But, oh, the clothes were absolutely beautiful. She'd felt guilty at the thought of using Patsy's money to buy her these pretty things, but when Mommy said go ahead who was Val to argue? After all, if there was a limit to the amount of money that could be spent, she was sure that Patsy would let her know.
The hangbag that had started it all was lifted and held against the silk dress, a smile forming on the kitten's lips. It was amazing that without trying she had picked out many things that would go with that handbag. Chocolate browns turned to the bed where the bags and boxes still lay with their treasures hidden inside. She had no idea where she would go dressed in these things, but at least she had them if she needed them.
Designer dresses, shoes, jeans, shirts, even a couple jackets and a suit or two. She would look like a whole different person and maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. After all, now she would look somewhat professional when she worked with Beaver. Maybe he would appreciate the new look. A soft laugh escaped at that thought. Beaver rarely noticed what she was wearing, always focused on his work or the work he was giving her to do. A slight shake of her head as she took off the dress to hang it in the closet.
She spent the next hour trying on the clothes again and looking in the mirror, then putting things away in the closet or dresser drawers. Mayhem and Chaos had not been impressed with the number of boxes and bags except as a source of kitty fun, so they'd been banished from the bed until Val finished putting things away. When she finished with a bag, she'd drop it on the floor so that the gray bundles of fur could crawl in it or pounce on it.
As she worked, she thought back over the trip and smiled some more. Patsy was so good to her. If she started to become too overwhelmed, there was Patsy with her comforting scent and energy to smooth the way. Vegas had been a whirl of colors and light, sights and sounds, but she'd enjoyed every minute of it. She would have to think of a way to thank Patsy for everything. But what do you get a woman who has nearly everything? Something would come to mind, she was sure.
Cell phone was scooped up and she punched in the numbers to call Beaver. She left a message for him that she was back from her trip and would be at the university to see him soon. That done, she decided she was going to go visit Barbie and Milo. Maybe Barbie could help her figure out what to do with all the new make-up she'd gotten.
-Jude had missed the pard. So many had gone on that trip with Patsy that he had felt like they were just a normal old Horde again. When he caught Valeries scent in the house he grinned and stalked the smell through the house until he poked his head into her room and smiled at her in that innocently happy way of his.-
"Val! You're home."
-Jude stayed in the doorway not wanting to invade the leopardess's personal space unless invited. Then he saw all the stuff and his mouth dropped open wide and just stared.-
"Jeez. What did Patsy do? Rob a department store?"
Val was frowning at the closet, a shoebox in hand and one of her new dresses -- a pink and blue number with a bow at the breast -- on her small form when Jude greeted her. Since she had been so distracted, she had not noticed his scent growing stronger until those words startled her into turning toward the doorway where he stood. Shy smile crept its way onto her lips, soon parting to allow laughter to bubble free at his stunned look.
"It does look that way, doesn't it? Patsy told me to pick out things that I liked, but there were just so many things. I don't know how I'm ever going to thank her for this."
Shoebox was allowed to drop to the floor, a soft thump as the shoes inside bounced a little. A few steps and she was clearing off the bed so that there was room to sit, a slight motion letting him know he could come on into the room if he wanted. Then she did a little turn to let him get a look at the dress and the way it clung to her, fingers tugging the sleeves into their proper places though they didn't need it -- nervous gesture.
"What do you think? Does it look all right?"
Was she fishing for compliments? No. She wanted his honest opinion. After all, the salespeople weren't likely to say anything that would make her not want to buy something and Patsy was probably a little biased when it came to her. So, when in doubt, ask someone else's opinion.
-Coming into the room Jude flopped down on the spot offered on the bed and watched her as she sorted through her things. From beside him he picked up a bag and looked inside. When he saw the frilly lacey girly things inside he grinned and just set the bag away pretty sure that was not for him to see. Her question caught his attention and he turned to look at the dress.-
"It looks beautiful. But you'd look good in anything Val."
-Charmer. He said it in such a sincere way though that it didn't sound like flirting, just his natural good will. Leaning forward he picked up a pair of shoes from the floor and held them out towards her.-
"You should wear these with it. Then you just need a handsome man to take you out to dinner."
-She looked like a princess. Or Patsys barbie doll which was a similar thing. Jude would have to thank Patsy himself.-
Blood crept into her face, staining her cheeks with a pretty little blush. Fingers lifted to brush hair behind her ear, wondering if she would ever be able to hear compliments without blushing like a little girl.
"Thank you. You're so sweet, Jude." Sweet and sexy, it was a combination bound to make her act like a little school girl. But he didn't need to know that, now did he?
When the shoes were held out to her, she moved forward to take them. With a few less than graceful hops they were secure on her feet and she stood up smiling at the few inches of added height. She turned to look in the mirror for a minute, admiring the way everything looked together.
"But I don't know any handsome men who want to take me to dinner, so it doesn't really matter how nice I look, does it?"
Now, some men might take that as flirting or teasing, but in fact she was simply stating what she knew. No one had expressed any interest in taking her out, though there were a lot of men she knew who could be called handsome. She'd only been on one date and he'd left the islands soon after that night, so she couldn't be worth dating, could she? Thoughts of this ran through her head for a minute before she turned back to face Jude with that little smile in place.
The edge of Jason's thumb was cornered by his lips and teeth. He was feverishly gnawing on the skin to get to the nail. Quietly walking down the hall from the dinning room to the other rooms. He wanted to get back to his working desk. There was a chip there that was calling his attention. There was something so relaxing about micro bytes and the circuit boards.
His ears picked up the sounds of his brother's voice, followed by a familiar one. Jason hadn't head Valerie's voice in a while. Patsy had whisked her off on this grand trip to New York. Guess she was back. He dropped his hand getting closer to the room. A brow carefully rising seeing Jude handing Valerie's shoe.
"Jude, I thought you didn't like that color?"
Jason said in all honesty. The smile on his face said he was only teasing.
"Welcome home Valerie. Missed you."
Like his brother Jason stayed at the doorway not entering unless he was allowed to.
Chocolate brown pools glanced to the side, picking up Jason's form in the doorway via the mirror. At this rate, the shy kitten was going to become as vain as some peacock strutting about with his fan spread. Naw, that couldn't happen to her, could it? Turning away from the mirror, she gave Jason a smile and went over to shove more things off the bed. It was turning into a little party in her room.
"Thank you, Jason. I missed all of you, too. It's good to be back." The two bags of frilly, lacy things - things the brothers didn't need to see unless they wanted Val to turn a bright tomato red - were stashed in the closet to be put away later. "Come on in if you want."
Val soon moved over to the chair at her little desk and, after smoothing the dress down in back, sat down and looked at the brothers. Mayhem was scooped into her lap, one hand keeping the little gray female from sliding off, while the other gently scritched under her furry chin.
"So, what's been happening while we were gone? With all the excitement of seeing a new place, I didn't even think to call and see how everyone was."