A New Pair of Pants part 5

                Mynxs falls asleep quickly after plugging back into her game. Mac helps her out of the SSMP and takes her back to her room. Mac lays the fox down then goes back to his room with Tail. Tail is holding a stuffed cat as she is stretched out on the blankets. She sniffs at the air and looks over “have you been working out?"

                Mac struggles to try to find the words to describe what he had just experienced “Mynxs, she should me this thing…"

                Tail nods “She should it to me also." Tail grins. Tail holds the toy cat over her head looking at it. “Hay Mac, would you ever call a cat a purry?"

                Mac shrugs as he lays down “I cant think of any time when I would."

                “I remember a cartoon once called Pound Purry's. it was a counter part to a show called Pound Puppy's. now I get the term Puppy, I know what a puppy is. Now if I was going to make a show that was a continuation of Pound Puppy's with cats why wouldn't I call it Pound Puss…" Tail stops for a moment thinking about the phrase she was about to mutter “well… I think I just got it."

                Mac nods as he rolls onto his side looking at his love “I think that is called a double entendre"

                Tail turns to face Mac, she slips a hand under her head “so Pound Pussy would be a touch risky?"

                “I think that would need to be a fan fiction."

                Tail places a hand on Mac's face tickling him. “you look uneasy."

                Mac whispers with Tail “I just had sex with an 11 year old."

                Tail shakes her head “no, you were artificially stimulated through a medium with an AI as your navigator."  Tail offers a kiss

                Mac shuts his eyes lost in thought for a moment. “she loved it, it made me feel confused."

                “Maybe we are just out of touch with century." Tail flicks her tails creating a soft breeze

                “we just lived though a decade of rapped change in the world. I think I am ready for things to slow down a little." Mac moves a hand behind Tails back pulling her in tightly to his body hugging her.

***

                Before sunrise Mac  has gone out for a jog, he is showered and shaved, food is prepared, and clean clothes have been picked out for everyone. Mac wakes his family; Mac is a fine housekeeper. After eating the three get into matching outfits and go up to the ruff of the shop. All three practice eastern sword dancing. Mac leads them in drills. Then it is off to lift weights, and time for the girls to get showered.

                Tail leaves for work, Mac opens the museum late so he has the opportunity to go appraise the peace Ashley Minrow has found. Mynxs follows Mac, having nothing else to do on a Sunday afternoon.

As Mac and Mynxs walk, the two are approached by a towering automaton. It addresses Mac. “I am the Sentinal assigned to this community. Mac Vixon, I would like to inform you that you are due for four your weekly check-in and assessment. Would you like to log an entry with the network now?"

Mac fails to make eye contact with the pseudo human mechanism, he shakes his head trying to hide his repulsion of the sentinels “Take a walk metal-face. I have places to be."

The Sentenal crosses one arm under its stomach and turns away from them to return to his post “forgive the intrusion. We can continue this conversation another time."

Mynxs looks up at her father, her ears down her eyes wide. “do you always talk to sentinels that way?"

Mac explains “Cilverant and I have an understanding of each-other. He keeps his toys at arm's length and I don't break his stuff."

Mynxs runs around in front of Mac walking backwards “so that is the type of relationship you have with the Adjudicator? How do you and Cilverant know each other?"

“he was my replacement. The job he is doing now I did three centuries ago."

Mynxs shakes her head in disbelief “no, how were you able to keep track of all the AI's"

“I didn't. the AI's have only been around for a few decades."

Mynxs looks shocked “humans really were mortal once then?"

Mac nods “most of them."  Mac plays around “turns out that when you game overed in real life, you weren't able to reload form your last save point."

Mynxs jumps up and down a few times “I am happy that patched in the quick save option."

Mac nods “so am I, to bad it took so long."

The two arrive at what looks like a tea house. On one side there is a wall of herbs and spices, on the other wall there is a collection of clocks and watches of all shapes and sizes. There is a human looking woman at the desk, she has red hair and cat ears. Sitting at a near by desk looking at a small clock is a grizzled looking man with long brow hair and a think beard.

Mynxs seemingly having no internal censoring points “Does that smelly dog have a mate?" she points at the women manning the desk

“Welcome to 'Wolves Brier'," the women at the desk announces. “I am Juliet Minrow, is there anything I can help you find?"

Mac has a wide grin as he walks up to the desk, “Hi Jewels." Mac points at her ears “I see you are letting the panther out."

“Sal-la-daynamO" she replies “still pretending to be human? I liked you more as a cat myself."

Ashley Minrow looks up form his work. He jumps to his feet and stumbling he falls across the room to get side by side with Mac and Jewels. “Welcome back Mac. I see you have met my new mate."

Mac explains “I bumped into her on a trip to Africa a few years back."

Minrow has a confused look “Did she just say you were once a cat?"

Mac nods “like you I can change shape."

“you don't smell like a changeling." Minrow points out.

Mac never addresses this; he instead reaches over and playfully slaps his friend on the arm “What have you been up to? It has been a few."

Ashely Minrow talks with a stutter “Well, I have been given a tradesmen's licenses, I just signed up for a procreation certificate. Juliet and I are expecting a call back on that in the next day or two. We are hopping that we get the call before the end of the week. Juliet is excited to try natural breeding…"

Juliet pokes Minrow in the chest and gives a glair silently ordering him to change the subject.

Minrow takes the hint and without pausing for a breath sidesteps the conversation “so, what do you have to trade today?"

Mac picks up the bag he had been hiding behind his back and sets it on the table. Mac pushes the bag down revealing a glass dome with a spinning cog in it and a clock face with roman writing on it. Mac picks up the clock and turns a nob on the underside to turn it on. I small sliding door in the dome opens a silver jell slides down the bronze arm of the clock then is pushed back up by an enclosed pully system.

Minrow leans into the clock entranced by the movement of the device. “what is this?"

“A mercury timer. It is a modified watercock. It was designed by an alchemist around 700BCE." Mac explains.

Minrow is starstruck “this is unbelievable."

Mac lowers his head with a disappointed grin “it is almost nonfunctional."

Minrow looks up “I can fix it."

“I don't recommend it. The liquid inside is toxic. It is more of a showpiece than anything else." Mac explains. Mac turns to face Minrow “So, what did you find?"

 Ashley Minrow nods, he walks into the back room of his shop. It takes him a few moments to return. He lays on the table a pair of blue jeans.

Mac rubs his hands together “well lets take a look."

Mac stands along side Minrow, Mac looks over the paints he set down “Lee, 401 cut, 1996, 38-42" Mac claps “good find. I would have liked them if they were 34-40, but this is nice."

Mynxs slides over looking at the jeans “there just pants."

Mac looks to his puppy, he sets a hand on her head and rubs her ears “they are something real. In the world we live in finding something real is getting harder and harder. This may be one of the last pair of pants every sown by human hands."