[acadicus]

Say hello to this little heifer! They've got a new rare trait known as the Kankrej body type. It includes loose skin, downward-pointing ears, longer horns, and a back hump [a package deal, similar to Brahmans!].

To win this Buttermilk, write up to 600 words related to the prompt below. Each art piece included is worth 200 words, so you could do up to 600 words and no art, one art piece and 400 words, two art pieces and 200 words, three art pieces with no writing, et cetera.

Prompt: "I can hear voices, but nobody else seems to notice them."

This is a fairly ambiguous and open prompt, so feel free to interpret it however you wish! Write a short story, talk about the voices, explain their feeling towards them — whatever you want.

Feel free to message me with any questions or concerns!



Code: Select all

Username:
Name:
Gender:
Collar:
Competition:



End date: July 5 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

[Winter Shores]

Username: Winter Shores
Name: Chérie
Gender: Heifer
Collar: Artist Choice
Competition:
Can hear her soulmate in her mind?? Doesnt have to be a s/o but just someone who will cherish her in the future?? WIP

[BiscuitTheDog]

Username: BiscuitTheDog
Name: Neah
Gender: female
Collar: hmmm, mayhaps something based off my prompt response? go ham
Competition:

[flashback - 5 years ago.]



---

zoolingualism, she'd heard it been called. it was a very rare power. neah supposedly had some variation of it- she could understand other non-bovine animals (which wasn't normal), but not in the way one would expect. their speech took the form of voices inside neah's head. they wouldn't open their mouth to speak- every conversation occurred within the mind. it was an odd thing, and for all neah was aware, she was the only cow alive that possessed this ability.

[flashback - 3 years ago.]

"honey, i've been noticing..."
neah lifted her head and turned around. she'd been chewing grass when her mother came up to her, concern in her voice.
"yes, mother dearest?" neah said, chewing slowly on the lush green grass she held in her mouth.
her mother awkwardly shuffled her hooves. "well, neah, lately i've seen you staring off into space quite a lot. it usually happens when there are other animals near you. i just wanted to ask if you were okay?"
neah stopped chewing. she swallowed and blinked slowly. "o- oh! yes. i'm completely fine. just... daydreaming. as cows do, you know?" neah laughed a little, but the worry didn't leave her mother's eyes. the older cow sighed. "alright then. just making sure."
neah's mother had almost walked out of earshot when neah called her back quickly. "wait! mom! c- can i ask you something?"
"yes?"
"do you... do you hear the voices of animals in your head sometimes? voices in your mind?"
neah's mother snorted, and then she laughed. her anxious demeanor from before vanished.
"that's preposterous, neah!!" she exclaimed, still laughing.
neah grimaced. her mother stopped laughing and gave her daughter a hard stare.
"don't ever bring up any nonsense like this again, or you'll make a fool of both me, you, and of the herd."
neah's ears drooped, and she frowned.

---

it was strange to say the least. when an animal opened its mouth to talk, all she heard were noises. arff, tweet, mrrrow.
but when the animal directed its thoughts towards neah, she heard its own unique voice, clear as day in her mind.
every conversation she had was fruitful.
her life outside of her "superpower" was very... boring.
but the company of the animals around her made it worth it.
even if her mother disapproved of her.

[400 words - including words in drawing]

[Cactologist]

"Good morning, Gwyneth!"
"Morning, Miss Sunflower!"
"How's your day going, Gwyn?"
"Quite well, Mister Bumblebee. How about yours?"

What may seem like a fever dream to some was Gwyn's normal as a calf. Her every moment was spent talking to the plants and the bugs, those that others call silent. To her, though, it was normal to hear the giggle of a ladybug or the murmur of a rose. Her ears, like a radio, were tuned to understand the voices of those without one. Her world was full of sound, of voices, of friends to be had and stories to be heard, all unique to her. Gwyn's ears had no limits...

"Gwyneth, what did I tell you? Stop talking to yourself, or you will get made fun of in the new neighborhood. Go inside and pack your bags,"

... that is, until she moved from her family's farm into the lifeless, metal city. The voices she lived for were drowned out by a neverending cacophony of artificial sounds. Her gift was taken from her, and her world fell silent. Now it's been years since nature has spoken to her. Some days she wondered if she had imagined the voices entirely. Her life was bleak, ordinary, and uneventful. That is, until today...

"Wait... do you hear that?"
"Hear what? Hurry, Gwyn, or we're going to miss the train!"

But Gwyn was frozen on the busy sidewalk, her mind spinning. The voice she had heard wasn't a cow's, but one she hadn't heard for an eternity. Her eyes scanned the ground, the sky, the faces of those around her, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Right as she was about to give up, she heard it again...

"Everyone has a voice... listen to what the world has to say,"

Barely a whisper, but there all the same. In the same moment, a streak of colors flitted through the air before her, the most beautiful butterfly she had ever seen. Even more beautiful, though, was what she heard. Like a broken dam or the flip of a switch, all the voices of the world suddenly came flooding back in. Instead of the old farm voices, she now heard the weeds and moss, flies and mosquitoes. The harmony of the world, a perfect melody, greeted her once again, and this time it would never be silenced.

[fleurs]

Username: lil.
Name: Emerald
Gender: Heifer
Collar: Emerald Green
Competition:

[chromatic.]

--snipped--

[certified]

Username: certified
Name: Margeaux
Gender: Heifer
Collar: mmm. You decide!
Competition:
It started when she turned two.
They were there, and they were loud but also quiet. It's like they were there but not and you wouldn't have really understood unless you heard for yourself. But nobody but Margeaux seemed to notice. Sometimes they sounded like family, other times they sounded like strangers.
At first, it was complicated to get used to and decipher what only she heard being spoken or what was being spoken by those around her. They really just came up with stories to tell or talked over one another, arguing over who was right or not. Sometimes they were a blessing and sometimes they were a curse.
She always felt like it was hard to constantly hear these voices knowing she would never really be able to put a face to them or have an actual face to face conversation.
They later quieted down as she got older but they never actually went away. They started coming when she was more lonely than anything. She learned to enjoy them when they came, indulging in conversation for hours, explaining everything that was going on and they'd listen and chime in and give their opinion. And it's like she had friends that no one else could hear. They were all hers and hers only. She didn't have to divide up time or fight over who was the best. She didn't ever get left out, though there were times they'd bicker and all she wanted was for them to just be quiet.
But they were there, and they didn't always quiet down when she wanted.
In the end, she was grateful to have the voices nobody else heard. It was nice to not feel so empty and alone all the time. It felt nice to have "someone" who understood when no one else did.

[zaz]

mark <3

[Ravendarus]

Username: Ravendarus
Name: Virva
Gender: Heifer
Collar: Artist Choice
Competition:
Virva is a wanderer who guides the souls of the lost, though no one else can hear them the somber heifer ignores that fact and continues her work.

[Cygnus]

Username: Cygnus
Name: Adelaide
Gender: Heifer
Collar: amber colored with your choice of design

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On a cold foggy morning, Adelaide heard desperate calls from across the meadow. She looked around and saw that the rest of the heard wasn't troubled by these calls, they just continued to graze on the dew-covered grass. Not even the barn cat seemed bothered by the noise.

How could no one else hear it? she thought to herself. Was this a calf that got separated from their mother?

The distressed sounds lead Adelaide to a small rain pond that had formed during a thunderstorm earlier that night. She heard the call again. It was coming from a little yellow ball of fur right next to her hooves.

The small ball of feathers then squeaked, "Are you here to eat me?"

Adelaide was puzzled, frightened even.

How could I understand this duckling?

"My mom isn't coming back, is she?" The duckling wistfully said, trying to hold back tears.

Adelaide moved her nose down to where the duckling sat and with all the motherly nature she could muster, voiced, "I'm sure she'll come back, but I can take care of you until she does."

The duckling hopped up onto Adelaide's snout and buried itself in her tuft of hair on top of her head.

art links: x x