[bluex]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: bluex
Buttermilk: Lyre

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: bluex
Buttermilk: Lyre
Word Count: 560 words
Prompt: Lyre’s mischief and tricky can often times tangle her up in some messy situations, most of which she can solve on her own. She’s a pretty free-spirited heifer, putting herself before others in almost all cases. She used to be more trusting, more willing to aid others and make people smile with her silly tricks; but she grew cold as time passed, the months that flew by creating a distance between her and other bovines. While many creatures of the surrounding lands noticed her demeanour rapidly change, it is only Lyre and the few that tore her apart that know the grey heifer’s underlying battles.

“Wake up, you nuisance.”
Stirred from her sleep by a sharp kick to her leg, Lyre slowly picked up her heavy head, weighed down by the dread running through her veins. Her usually bright eyes were dimmed with worry as she looked up at the group of weanlings in front of her. She was the newest addition to the weanling paddock, the new kid on the block. She had been warned by her mother the helplessness she’d feel upon arrival into the paddock, and since she’d made no attempt to make friends with the rest of the calves of her season, her integration had become even more unbearable.

Lyre went to respond to the bull calf that had awoken her, but she was interrupted.
“Have you made yourself useful yet? I asked you to find out what the younger calves have been saying about us. You done it yet, or are you still as helpless as usual?” the bull calf sneered, his grey muzzle curled into a condescending grin, his brown eyes ablaze with disdain and the adolescent feeling of invincibility. Lyre froze. She wanted to pick up her limbs and run, but her legs just didn’t move. All she could feel was her heartbeat, quickening rapidly as the bull leaned in towards her. The large heifer calf on his right starting laughing after a few seconds, Lyre not realising that her eyes had become flooded wells of tears, water tumbling down the sides of her dark grey face. The smaller cream bull on his left started laughing, and the grey bull snorted in annoyance, nostrils flaring. Lyre had never had to use her tricks for something like this. She wanted to go back to her mother, and make mischief with the heifers. What she’d give to make the time pass faster.

After months of enduring these confrontations, from this group and many others, Lyre knew she had little choice; she had to use her cute old mayhem to create a storm that would rip through the relationships of the young cattle. It wasn’t something that came easy, though her ability to manipulate others around her came quite naturally. Clique by clique, she began to accumulate information of misdeeds and led cattle to fall for her deceit. She had to be the rift that would tear them all apart.

That childhood experience permanently changed Lyre’s behaviours and habits, and since then has caused her to be an outlier of many herds. She’d had a few collaborative efforts with other cows over the course of her life, but she mostly works alone.
It’s left her with the inability to create deep relationships, but to Lyre it’s all trivial.
In Lyre’s eyes, life is just another game.

[Cactologist]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Cactologist
Buttermilk: Bedelia

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Cactologist
Buttermilk: Bedelia
Word Count: 648
Prompt: "Hey, Braindead-Bedelia! Whattcha doin'? Looking for your lost marbles in the sky?" "Haha, nice one Flupnard!" "Yeah, stupid Bedelia! Haha!" The snarky, cracking voices of a three of Bedelia's teenage bull distant-cousins echoed up the hillside that Bedelia sat on. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to block out their voices so she could focus. Why anyone would waste their time trying to put down others (and family, no less!) was beyond her. She obviously wasn't about to stoop to their level. Slowly, she opened her eyes again and trained them on the darkening sky where the meteors should be appearing any minute.
When Bedelia didn't respond, though, the bulls took it as a sign that she didn't hear them, and Bedelia heard them getting closer. "Don't move, Bedelia. Be strong. You know a reaction is what they want. They'll stop and go pick on someone else if you don't give them what they want," Bedelia told herself as she didn't look away from the sky. Oh look, there was Mars, arriving to also enjoy the spectacle that should be starting any min-
Bedelia's concentration was cut short by a jolt that sent her sprawling to the ground, knocking the wind out of her lungs and bringing tears to her eyes.
"Did you not hear us before? We called you dumb!" Bedelia blinked back her tears to appear stronger and turned to look Flupnard in the eye. His face was inches from hers and spit splattered her face as he yelled the words.
Careful to control her emotions, she responded, "I was busy. I'm sorry I didn't hear you. Next time I'll try to pay better attention."
"You should know to listen to us when we're talking to you! I guess we'll just have to teach you a lesson. BULLS!" Flupnard stepped back and the other two pulls her to her feet. She tensed up and turned her face away as she waited for the assault. There was nothing she could do. There were no adults within miles and she couldn't (and wouldn't) fight off all three. It was hopeless. At least now she was experienced to cover her wounds so her grandmother wouldn't see and anger the bulls more. They hated tattles.
Just then, she realized the assault hadn't started. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized. In fact, the other two bulls' grips on her had loosened, and she slipped to the ground. Confused, she peaked open an eye and then the other. To her amazement, all three bulls stood shock-still, their dumbfounded faces turned upwards towards the heavens. Their gaping mouths and wide eyes reflected flashes of light, like lightning, but it wasn't storming. Suddenly, Bedelia realized what was happening, and threw her face skyward as well. The meteor shower had begun! Hundreds of streaks of light streamed across the sky. The ground below was cast into an unusually bright light as stars shed their tears.
After a few minutes of the four cows' silent captivation, Flupnard whispered, "What- Bedelia, what's happening?"
Any remaining tension Bedelia had been holding was released, and she responded in a whisper, as if not wanting to break the peaceful moment. "They're meteors. Shards of space rock that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere. Right now, the earth is moving through the trail of a meteoroid that passed by in space. This is what I was watching for. Isn't it wonderful?"
"Yes. Yes it is. And Bedelia? I'm sorry. I- I just- you're always so much smarter than us, always seem to know something we don't, an- and we don't like to feel stupid, right bulls?" "Yeah," "Yeah," "So um, I'm- we're sorr-"
"Flupnard, it's okay. Next time just ask if you want to know. I'd be more than happy to have a meteor-watching friend. Sound good?"
"Yeah, thanks Bedelia,"

[Elliad.]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Elliad.
Buttermilk: Melody


“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Elliad.
Buttermilk: Melody
Word Count: 506 Words
Prompt:
A young heifer, barely older than a calf, stood in front of the herd, holding her head up high as she felt her legs shaking, hoping she can mask the fear. “Please listen- please- It’s import-“

As she tried to speak out to the crowd, she was met with chatter, cows ignoring her as she tried to shout louder. She stomped her hooves, hoping to make enough noise that the other in the herd simply could not ignore her. One of the elder cows, Dandelion, let out a sharp huff, stamping her hoof down. “Will you keep that racket down?”

“Thank you-“

“No, you,” Dandelion huffed, “we are trying to graze here.”

“Please, I just-“

“No, go be a good calf and go play.”

Melody turned away, trotting off as her whole body shook. As she trotted away, she found Aly trotting after her. “You just need to listen to Dandelion, she is well respected, and everyone trusts her opinion,” Aly whispered, glancing back at the herd as she does so.

The herd were grazed, showing no concern over the event that had just occurred between Dandelion and Melody. Instead, they just continued doing what they had before.

“It’s not that she wants what is best for the herd – she just doesn’t want to take me seriously. She sees me as a calf – but I’m not.”

“I know, I know.”

Aly lowered her head, beginning to graze. “Maybe talk to her about this,” Aly replied, words muffled by the mouthful of grass she had just consumed.

“That won’t help, I really wish it would,” Melody sighed, looking up at the sky. “I need some time alone, gotta get my thoughts together.”

Aly nodded as she lowered her head to continue eating grass. Melody walked away from her friend, heading towards the nearby river that trickled through their field, lying down in front of it. She looked down at it, watching the fish swim by. “Why can’t she just listen to what I have to say?”

Melody gazed at her reflection in the river. “Does she not want to listen to me?”

The heifer just let out a sigh, lying her head against the grass. “I guess I have just got to prove to her that I am as much an adult as she is,” The young heifer shouted, pulling herself up from the ground, having to take a moment to regain her balance.

“I will show her that I am someone that she can trust with the herd,” Melody muttered enthusiastically to herself, trotting back towards the herd, signalling Aly on the walk past to join her. “I’m going to show Dandelion that I am an adult and worthy of being trusted with the herd.”

So, Melody trotted up to the herd, holding her head high and no longer feeling that shaking of fear. She took her newfound confidence and determination and stood back up in front of the herd, ready to show Dandelion that she knows more than what the old heifer thinks she does.

[honeybunchesofoats]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: honeybunchesofoats
Buttermilk: Triton


“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: honeybunchesofoats
Buttermilk: Triton
Word Count: 568
Prompt:

"Triton? Have you seen Rhodos? She isn't in her room." Triton rubbed his eyes, waking up from his second nap of the day. Usually he wasn't as lucky to even sneak in one but his father had decided to give the kids a bit of a break from farm work. Not like Rho was ever one to actually help out anyway so it was more just a break for him. "No ma, you know how she is though have you checked the barn, the lake, the forest, and the meadow?" He was honestly being rude but he still couldn't shake the weird feeling he had when she had visited his room just a few hours earlier. "Yes your father and I both have. Triton, it's getting late. I think we're going to call the police."

Triton felt himself go completely rigid. The police? Certainly this couldn't be that serious. Rho had disappeared plenty of times before but she was always in one of her spots on the property, if not in the woods behind it. He was entirely too quiet and he knew it was setting his mother even more on edge. "Listen I don't want to scare you but you're going to have to talk to them. You guys are close and they're going to wan-"

"She's not missing." Triton cut his mother off. "You guys just didn't look hard enough!", his tone of voice rising. He sprung out of his bed and hurried down the steps and out the door. He had no shoes on but that didn't stop him. "Rhodos!!!" He let out a guttural scream and started to sprint down the road by the field, his bare feet slapping against the pavement. It stung and little pieces of gravel were sticking to his skin but he paid it no mind.

When he couldn't find her in the field he searched. The barn turned up empty, even after he climbed to the haystacks above and disturbed all of the cats that used to give his sister a hard time. The lake was a lost cause as well, the rope swing she would launch herself off of to dive into the cool waters hung eerily still. He pivoted and ran ran ran to the meadow. He could hear her...laughing and singing. He ran faster to catch the sound of her voice but-

Triton had run the entirety of the grassy acre. She was still nowhere to be found. He was so determined to find her but in the end he had failed to even keep her. She always talked about running away from the farm but realistically he never thought she'd do it. This was crazy. He couldn't comprehend why she never understood how much her actions affected others, especially him.

In the distance the sounds of sirens started to move closer in. Triton turned and watched the flashing lights pull into his driveway. He stood, panting heavily, still surveying the empty space before him. Now that he thinks about it...this situation was entirely too plausible from the beginning. It's like he could sense something was coming, ever since she had come into his room to talk to him and she had refused to poke back at him when he made fun of her. His entire body felt numb but there was still something pulling at him, telling him to move forward. He took a deep breath and started jogging back in the direction of his house.

He knew what he had to do.

[Venatici]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Morghettio
Buttermilk: The Holy Trinity

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Morghettio
Buttermilk: The Holy Trinity
Word Count: 601 / 600
Prompt: What is a time where your buttermilk experienced adversity, and how did they deal with it / cope with the stress? Are they more determined, or do they prefer just going with the flow?




Most of Morgan's later adversity was when he was getting reintroduced back into the real world. Having to learn what a phone was, having to learn what a job was (you do not just do work to be nice???) and most importantly, learning how expensive college then was.... all this was incredibly overwhelming. For someone who was content living as a keeper of a forest, where the most he had to worry about were patches of drought or flooding rains, this new system of living was wildly confusing and also kept giving him massive headaches.

Given he had... well, such minimal help, Morgan did not really cope with the stress.

Thankful that he got his job at the small nursery, most of his time was dedicated towards working. The owners were kind to the young adult and let him stay in their basement: they told Morgan he was able to furnish it as he pleased, and they did their best to help a grown adult who had absolutely no documentation. Especially now that he was no longer a child, Morgan now had his thick fur grown in and impressive pairs of horns. It would have been hard even comparing baby photos, given if they had them.

They did their best, though, being as absent as they were given that they never planned to take in another person in their house, let alone this grown man who says he came from a life in the forest. So, Morgan tried his hardest to help. He did his best in school, got on a measly scholarship that was just enough to cover some part time classes.

In the mean time, Morgan just... helped everyone else. His help, did, eventually get to a point where then people got so enthusiastic about the nursery that they would come and buy plants just to talk to the bull about their problems. He would sit, and listen. His only escape from his stress of the world gardening and taking care of the plants who could not take care of themselves: preparing them for their journey to their forever home, where Morgan could ask about their wellbeing when their human counterpart came in to talk about how their dog barks too much.

Most of this was still a struggle, though. Morgan had no idea how social conventions worked. He would not understand sometimes why people would get so mad if he stopped to talk to them after the waved and said hello, asking how he was doing. Morgan always replied he was doing well: but he was invested in how everyone else felt too! He could not make sense of how things were supposed to go. Were things this hard for everyone else? He was thankful for this new life, and the chance to return to the forest whenever he pleased (which he did, typically during the nights where he was not needed early the next day) made his heart feel calm. But whenever a bill came in, his heart became tight, as he struggled how to do taxes and struggle how to take organic chemistry.

It was when he first started meeting more students on his campus that it helped, but even then, it was difficult. The only reassurance Morgan had is that everyone else was going through the same thing, too: he just happened to have a lot more "unique scenarios" than the typical college student.

The only way he could cope, as poor as it was, was the plants.

So Morgan tried to be there for the plants as much as they were there for him.

[paopu]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: paopu
Buttermilk: Seraph

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: paopu
Buttermilk: Seraph
Word Count:
Prompt:
What is a time where your buttermilk experienced adversity, and how did they deal with it / cope with the stress? Are they more determined, or do they prefer just going with the flow?

There are many people who would claim that Seraph had not experienced adversity during her lifetime. There are many more who would say her life was without any hardship at all. And, in a sense, they'd be right. Seraph has never know the claws of hunger or the sting of being told she as lesser. Her life has been a cozy one - comfortable and secure - and filled with access to anything she could ever need. Money has solved most of her problems in life.

However, that's not to say she doesn't know what rejection feels like. In fact, her whole life has basically consisted of her mother telling her she needs to do better. Anything less than perfection is not acceptable. Do not falter your posture. Do not speak with contractions. Do not open your mouth without carefully considering every word that is going to leave it. Every single day criticism after criticism piling up and building behind walls Seraph constructed to keep it in. Because a proper lady doesn't cry. A proper lady doesn't show her anger. A proper lady handles her own grudges with dignity and poise. That last one is a lesson she will never forget. She is, more often than not, fueled by spite. Compassion fell to the wayside to make room for an ice cold need to prove herself. She is driven to do well - but not for her mother, no. She is Seraph and you will know her name, even if she has to sell her soul to make it happen. And she will do it without her mother's resources. She will do it through her own sweat and blood and she will do it well. She will show her that beneath the little girl she raised is a force to be reckoned with.

300 words

[Namida_☾]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Namida_☾
Buttermilk: Lola

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Namida_☾
Buttermilk: Lola
Word Count: 272 words
Prompt:

Growing up, Lola had always been a curious calf, wanting to know more about the world. She always wanted to ask older cows who travelled the world questions about everything and became really confident about talking with adults and most of them loved to tell her about the world and answer her questions.
But there were quite a few times were she was told that she was being too annoying and shouldn’t bother adults with her pesky questions. One time she was even told off, the old Heifer yelled at her that she should act like her age and be more mature, not asking so many questions and she should be more like others her age, playing on the fields. Of course Lola was confused and did not understand what she did wrong, because everyone always told her how good it is to be curious and ask questions. So she tried to continue to talk with that old Heifer nonetheless. Some day, that Heifer told her mother about how rude Lola was in her opinion and then her mother even told Lola to go play rather than bother the adults. When Lola asked why, her mother said she wasn’t old enough to understand some things in the world. Of course Lola did not want to go play, so she proceeded to go to her uncle, her mother’s brother, who then told her that she had done nothing wrong and that she should go on with asking questions to understand the world. And although she knew her mother didn’t like that, she did as her uncle suggested and never lost her curious nature.

[Northstar.]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Northstar.
Buttermilk: Eponine


“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Northstar.
Buttermilk: Eponine
Word Count: 331
Prompt:



"You're joking right? You weren't there when this whole zombie apocalypse started?"


A year ago everything was normal.  Jobs were normal.  People were normal. Life was blessedly normal.  Something happened. Something bad.  Over the course of a few days no contact could be made with the east coast.  Anyone who went there... didn't come back. Planes dropped like flies.  Global communication went up in flames.

And then, in the midst of panic, they came.  A single undead... thing... spotted near the bay, then a handful spotted on the highway.  And finally, herds roaming far and wide. Always hungry.  And whatever they bit changed.

The first few months were chaos. Mass chaos. I think I lost it for a little while, with all the panic.   I was with a group then.  We only travelled in the daylight - a hard lesson learned.  Every lesson we learned was hard. Don't get cornered by a herd, don't get bit. Be quiet. And no, they can't climb ladders.

Scavenging was almost too easy. So many people were just gone too fast, and they enough for us in their wake. It was easy until it wasn't.  Then it was just he and I.... and then just me.

I think I found myself, all alone with only me to depend on.  Every day was a fight, until I carved a place for myself in a boarded museum.  The walls were sturdy, boarded, and barred with only one entrance from the rooftop left open. I made it my home.  I survived.  I thrived. Almost.

It was lonely in that museum, with only old bones for company, so I filled it with living things.  Feral cats, perhaps simple house pets before, were fed and housed inside.  They came and went as they pleased and used the skeletons of dinosaurs as pedestals.  On one of my supply runs I found a pair of parakeets and just had to bring them back to the greenhouse. Now there's a flock of multicolored birds. 

And after a few run-ins with the most reclusive bovine I've ever met, I was able to rope her in to coming back.  She was just as alone as I, if not more so.  I call her Ghost, but she doesn't talk much.

Maybe one of these days the world will go back to normal.  Until then it's just me and Ghost, and our army of cats.

(402)

[Andromeda]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Bluebird-
Buttermilk: Belle

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Bluebird-
Buttermilk: Belle
Word Count: 404
Prompt: As Belle began walking down a long row of radish sprouts, a basket saddle slung over her back, she recalled a tough time in her life. She wasn't sure what brought it on, but sometimes there's a domino effect in our heads, one thought leads to another and another and suddenly you aren't sure how you got there. Any who, Belle thought back to her early days in calving school. Everyone called her "snake girl" because she loved reptiles so much. She didn't see anything wrong with it really, some people liked cats, others liked fish, but she liked snakes and lizards. She would go off at recess on her own, trying to find small tree geckos or garden snakes slithering through the grass in a streak of dark gray. She would whisper to them, pretending they had conversations, let the small lizards crawl along her raised leg before letting them get back to their tropical tree homes.

No one wanted to be Belle's friend, not the freak cow who plays with snakes and lizards. Some calves would call her "Scaly Belly" just as a play on her name. It really hurt her and she felt so alone and almost wanted to give up her interest in reptiles. However, once she graduated from calving school, Belle never saw any of the other kids again. They all went their separate ways and Belle found herself offered a tropical internship on the island of Madagascar to study reptiles there! She was nervous, of course, for how people would look at her...what they would call her. But once she attended the first preparatory meeting for the trip, she met all sorts of reptile experts and people who were just as passionate as she was in the scaly creatures!

And so they were off! Belle and a number of other animal scientists, two others whom were cows such as herself! However she found the most interesting conversation with a large turtle who wasn't sure how he got there or why he could talk and other reptiles couldn't. Belle always shrugged at his bizarre wonderings and smiled sweetly at him. He always...slowly..returned one back. Once they arrived to Africa by plane, they took a small boat to Madagascar where a non-invasive headquarters area had been set up about 30 feet from the edge of the jungle on the beach. Time to put all those herpetology books to the test!

[Yodel]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Yodel
Buttermilk: Alli

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Yodel
Buttermilk: Alli
Word Count: 528 words
Prompt:

Alli actually quite enjoyed mindlessly picking crops yesterday. Although she enjoys being around others, she doesn’t often enjoy being around people she has just met, and so she was grateful for the opportunity to do some quiet work in the field during her first day exploring the farmer’s market. Helping Elizabeth gave Alli time to take a break from being in the large crowds that had gathered during the excitement of the farmer’s market’s arrival, especially after looking for that pesky duck

Alli had been looking forward to coming back all morning. “Ahhh, back for more I see! I just can’t keep you youngins away. Don’t be shy, get to work!” the older cow had said when Alli finally arrived at Liz’s booth. Alli nodded, a weak smile on her features, turning away to head towards the crops. On her way over, she caught her front hoof on a surprisingly large stone and stumbled forward. A couple of rows over she heard a snicker from another cow that was giving Liz a hand with the crop collection.

The heifer had a memory suddenly brought to the front of her mind as her face flushed pink, one she hadn’t thought of in a long time. Alli wasn’t always as skittish or shy as she tends to be now, but it is instead, like most things, a product of her childhood.

On the farm that Alli grew up on, there were a lot of calves at the time, and well, she got teased. Why? Alli was born with exceptionally large horns, or it seemed that way when she was little. It was like having teeth that are too big for your mouth, but right on top of your head for everyone to see all the time. She was jokingly called a monster because of her horns, always some jab at her ‘abnormality’ anytime she passed by another calf. She knew the adults had similar thoughts, but they held their tongues, which almost made her feel worse.

Eventually, she grew into her horns as she aged. They are still bigger than the average heifer’s but they aren’t quite so prominent as they used to be. Despite this, she still carries this part of her past with her daily, and it has caused her major insecurities around her horns. Her insecurities and past bullying contribute to her shyness.

To cope, Alli has found a lot of comfort in animals. She absolutely adores small little critters. They don’t pass judgment, they don’t make comments, and they don’t often sneak up behind your back, they are the perfect companions. Alli always feels like she can be herself and free of worry when she is around these fellows.

That is how she came to know one of her little buddies, Kiwi. One of the ranch hands where she lives has a little green and yellow pet budgie. Over the years that he’s been at the ranch, Alli has become quite fond of him, and because of this, he is often brought outside so he can perch on a fence beside Alli. He has come to be quite a comfort for her when she gets anxious.