Jim swiped his badge to enter the magical and exceptional animals department. The door beeped and swung open for him. The scent of fresh hay hit him as he stepped through the doorway. To his left a large mound of hay bales sat waiting to be delivered.

A small orange cat lay curled up on top of a short stack. A distant horse whinnied. A dog barked in response. Jim looked around for anyone that might inform him of what he was expected to do.

The halls were empty.

Jim leaned against a bale of hay and opened his tablet. He pulled up his service instructions to double check for special directions.

Hawkins, James - Service

Detail - cleaning duties in the magical and exceptional animal department

Time - 0700

Reason - Swearing

"Well this is great. I'm a couple minutes early, so maybe they'll show up in a moment." Jim reached over and started to stroke the cat's back. "I think Roger and Anita still work here. Man those renovations changed this place. I wouldn't even know where to find their offices." The cat was purring, so he moved to scratching his ears.

Jim closed his eyes and leaned back into the hay. He had no doubt that he could easily fall asleep on this stuff. It was hard to blame the cat for having chosen to nap here. The cat purred louder as Jim worked his fingers against his neck. Maybe after he got out of service he'd see about getting a cat. He snorted at the thought. Morph would hate a cat.

His tablet dinged with a notification. Jim sat up and grabbed his tablet, flicking through to clear his 0700 reminder that he had service starting now.

"Why did you stop?"

"AHH!" Jim leaped away from the hay bales. His tablet hit the floor.

The cat blinked at him. "I was enjoying the scratches. You should not have stopped like that!"

"I thought you were a cat!"

"I am a cat."

"You talk."

"This is also true." The cat stood up and arched his back. And then he stood up fully. He was wearing boots. And a belt. The cat reached behind one of the haybales and pulled out a hat and sword. "You do not come from one of the worlds with talking animals, I see."

Jim shook his head slowly. "S-sorry mister cat."

"I am Puss." The cat flashed a smile. "In boots."

"Sorry Mister Boots?"

Puss laughed. "That shall do! Come. Walk with me. I shall direct you today. You must be James."

"Jim," Jim answered hesitantly. He stooped to grab his fallen tablet. "Yes, uh, sir?"

Puss clasped his paws behind his back as he walked. "You shall be seeing many talking animals today. You will be my assistant!"

Jim found himself starting to grin. "Better than mucking out the horse stalls like last year. What are we doing?"

"Mucking out the elephant stalls."

Jim froze. He stared at the small cat before him as his mind tried to process what he had just heard.

Puss burst into laughter. Clutching his sides, he curled over as he howled. "You should've seen the look on your face! Mucking out the elephant stalls!"

Jim glanced about to see if someone was playing an elaborate prank on him. "Eh..heh heh.." No one seemed to be coming to his rescue. "So what are we actually doing?

The small cat straightened out his hat as he stood up. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly to fully settle himself. "Whew. You boys know no fun here. Alright. To business! Come. We shall be starting with the talking donkeys. There has been a whole herd that was located where they should not have been. We are giving them baths!"