The light. That was the first thing I saw. The bright light in the sky. The… sun. That's it, the sun. So there is a word for it. I didn't know where I was or how I got there. In fact, I didn't remember much of what happened before I woke up. However, I do remember feeling more… aware? Sentient? Conscious? I don't know how to explain it. I decided to get up, but it was shaky. I needed to go home. I needed to get back to my herd… but I couldn't. I felt something. I felt pulled into another direction. I was missing something. So I walked. I don't know why, but I did.

Immediately I noticed something different. I was taller. I ran to a nearby river and looked at my reflection. A human looked back at me. No, not a human. The reflection showed what looked like a human with horns. I put my new hands up to touch my face, more confused than afraid. I was even more surprised when I heard my own voice. "What it- argh!" Images suddenly began flashing in my mind. I could see dark faces. I could see bright eyes. I could see… her. A face that made my heartbeat quicken. I only saw it for a moment, but it still resonated. When I came to, I knew what I had to do.

I had to find her.

I walked for a long time. I didn't feel the need to rest or sit. I was pushed forward by the image of her face. I don't know why, but I knew she'd be happy to see me. Maybe that's just wishful thinking? I could see the sun beginning to set as the sky became bright orange. It was beautiful. A sky I had probably seen hundreds of times before was now beautiful for some reason. Perhaps it was the new form I had taken? I felt like I could properly examine things. I could form opinions and ideas. I could feel… things? I'm not sure what I felt, but I knew they were real.

I stopped when I saw lights ahead. A village, perhaps? I smiled. I remember seeing villagers visit my fields when I was with my family. They'd take some of them back to the villages, but no one knew why. It was just another occurrence. As I got closer, I could see the village silent. The denizens have gone inside for the night to avoid the monsters. It was odd. We never paid the mobs much mind. They ignored us. I walked through the small town, but suddenly stopped. In front of me was a stone building with a large glass window next to the front door. The objects in the window horrified me: carcasses. Skinned corpses of cows. They hung in front of the window, coaxing the townsfolk to come in and by their share, but to me, it was a brutal awakening. The cows that came here were… were…

I ran. I ran out of that horrid place.

The light. That was the first thing I saw. The dim light in the sky. The… moon. That's it, the moon. So there is a word for it. My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden shadow looming over me. It mooed gently as it stared at me. One of my brethren. The cow licked my face, making me smile. As I stood, I realized I was different. I looked at my new hands in awe. "What… how?" I put my hands over my mouth. That was my voice? I looked around and found myself surrounded by a herd of cows grazing in a field. At least I was in a familiar place. I tried remembering what happened before waking, but alas, it was for naught. I sighed, but suddenly heard a rustling in the brush. I looked and found a duo of humans moving towards the herd, swords drawn. I hid behind a tree, wondering what they were up to. I could hear their conversation.

"Well, lucky us. A whole herd is here."

"Awesome! The King will surely promote us for bringing this much back to the settlement!"

"Calm yourself, we still need to bring some of them back to replenish the farms."

"Alright, alright. No getting antsy with the sword." The second human approached the herd with his sword outstretched while the other pulled some wheat from his inventory. He led several of the cows away, leaving the second to do his deeds. He approached one of the herd members and raised his sword. I could do nothing but watch as he slashed and hacked his way through my brethren. The smile on his face radiated with an odd satisfaction as he continued hunting the herd. They were powerless to stop him and even more powerless to run away. I didn't want to watch anymore. I fled the scene.

I don't know which where I was going, but I felt like I was going in a specific direction. It was as if my heart was being pulled toward… something. I didn't put much thought into it as I was still reeling from what I had just witnessed. Those humans… they slaughtered an entire herd of my innocent brethren. They were just grazing, existing, yet those… monsters decided to harvest them. I felt my eyes flood with tears, but as I wiped them away, I couldn't watch where I was going. I ran into something.

Or rather someone.

I looked up, expecting to see another human, but instead I saw another cow. Well, not a cow. Another me. A seemingly human woman with horns. The sides of her head were adorned with mushrooms. We stared at each other for a long time. Something about her was… familiar. We stood and circled each other for a moment. Eventually, we stopped and stared. She held out her hand. I looked at it, then at her eyes. They seemed to plead to me. I don't know what compelled me to comply. It was like a piece of a grander puzzle was right in front of me. I grabbed her hand.

We both immediately fell down as a sharp pain flowed through us. My mind flashed with images of the girl in front of me. Her loving smile, her soft lips, her beautiful eyes. She was… she was… "My love… Belle…"

Belle looked at me with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. "Dot… darling!" We happily embraced, our two hearts finally reunited.

We found a clearing nearby and sat in silence, merely enjoying each other's company. "Darling… where have you been? How did we get here? I remember… others like us and… white eyes…" I asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

Dot rubbed my head, lovingly. "I wish I had an answer, love. I can't remember much either. I only woke up a short ways away. I witnessed something… horrible…" She shuddered a bit, an action either due to anguish or anger. I held her hand, reassuringly. "What did you see?"

"I… I woke up in a field with a herd. It was normal enough until… until…" She put her face in her hands, still shuddering. She looked back at me with tears brimming her eyes. "The humans… slaughtered them!"

I looked back at her, heartbroken. I looked down. "I woke up alone and made my way to a village. When I got there, everyone was asleep. I looked around and found…" I didn't know what I had found. There was really only one word for it. "... a slaughterhouse."

"Oh… love!" She embraced me, an action I did not hesitate to return. We held each other for a long time. We had both seen the horrible truths that eluded us for so long.

Our embrace ended after a moment. I suddenly felt a new feeling manifest within us. We looked into each other's eyes, as if a psychic link was established.

We wanted justice.

I wiped my tears away. "They must pay for what they've done to our kind."

"Indeed. The ones who slaughter us for personal gain without any sign of regret! We must avenge our fallen brethren!"

I thought for a moment. "But… how? We are but two creatures in a world of many."

She grabbed my face in her hands, smiling. "Remember! We aren't the only ones! If we can gather the others, we may have a chance!" I smiled at her words. This plan seemed simple enough. We just needed to find the others. We needed to show them the injustices of this world.

I looked at my love with a smile. "Every village will burn. Every human will fall."