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Prompt False, Beans.
“It's nothing against you, you know?” False says trying to explain her reasoning, she yanks against a thick rope, it doesn't move, she only receives a very unamused stare back.
“Look, we are poor. We don't have a use for a bull.” The bull that is sitting in the middle of the road, refusing to walk, only stares harder at her.
“What?” She asks, unamused. Her face scrunches realizing that she is talking with the bull.
She feels silly, but now she has already started it.
“I know you don't like it, but we need food. We have no money, and Stress is very against killing any animal, so this is what is going to happen.” She says with a no discussion voice. “You will get up from the ground, we will go to the market, where I- will trade you for something edible that we don't have to kill. You can live your life on a less poor ranch and I can buy food for today and we can all be happy. Sounds good?” She asks, clenching her teeth, looking at the bull that is still not moving.
She sighs, that is what happens when you try to be nice.
False grabs her sword from where it was strapped on her waist. “I guess Stress doesn't need to know where the meat has come from.” she says menacingly. Surprisingly this makes the bull move, quickly he stands and starts walking in the market direction.
“Good.” The blonde woman sheathes her sword and walks matching the bull’s pace.
The market is packed full of people, but even so False's mission looks more harder than it should.
As it looks like, not a lot of people want to buy or make a trade for a very scrawny and slightly malnourished bull.
The sky darkens and False knows that she has to go back now if she wants to get home before midnight. She sighs tiredly, yanking at the rope going in the direction from where they come, somehow the bull looks smug, noticing they are going back.
“YOU, blonde lady, wait!” False hears a shout and stops, a weirdly dressed man runs in her direction.
The man dressed in weird purple robes stops, breathing heavily after all the running. He is quick to fix himself, dusting his pants and looking at false with weird green/blue tinted eyes.
“Well hello there, I heard some whispering around that you are looking for a trade ?” The weird man says, his lopsided smile and friendly voice, betray the sense of unease False has looking at his eyes.
“Ye- Yes I am.” She is quick to try to hide how weirded out the man makes her feel. “I have this bull with me.” She gestures at the disgruntled scrawny animal. “I am looking for food in exchange for him.” She says trying very hard to not shiver with the way the man's smile widens.
“Oh that's perfect! More than perfect! Wonderful!” The man exclaims excitedly. “I have exactly what you need!” He puts his right hand in one of his pockets, grabbing a handful of something. “Here!” He opens his hands - that are covered in jagged scars - showing to False what look like just half a dozen of-
“Beans?” False asks confused. “That’s- that’s not worth the bull.” She mumbles, looking at the man that didn’t stop smiling.
“Oh, no. You don't understand. See?” He grabs one of the beans showing how it slightly sparks with light “These are no ordinary beans. These are magic beans! The most pure type I must say.” The man has a charming voice, clearly a very experienced salesman by the look of it. False only looks skeptical at him.
“Magic beans.” She just raises an eyebrow and asks, unamused. “What makes them magic?”
The man looks a little taken out with the question. “Well you see… I got them from a trade with an old mage friend of mine! They are certainly magic and very powerful, can't you feel?” The man's eyes glaze more blue than green saying that.
False gulps nervously. “I don't think that these beans are worth my bull. I have to go home. Have a good night sir.” She tries to go away, weirded out by the interaction, but the weird man puts his heavily scarred hand on her arm.
“Wait!” He says, voice slightly crazed. “It doesn't need to be your bull!” With that False and the Bull look weirdly at him.
“Not the bull you say-” False's voice oozes suspicion “- If not the bull what do you want from me?” Subtle she puts a hand over her sword, distrustful of the man's glazed stare.
The man's grin is sharp and unhinged. “Yes! It can be anything… your shoes are very nice looking.” He says looking at her worn leather boots, as the conversation goes his salesman voice gets more and more unhinged, taking on the tones of a desperate addict.
Something in the air shifts, False's blue eyes glaze hearing the words, she was ready to go away from the crazy man, maybe threaten him with her sword to guarantee he wouldn't follow instead she just says. “My boots?” Her voice is flat and dreamy, the bull starts stomping on the ground agitatedly, but gets no reaction out of it. “Yea, my boots for magic beans, sounds like a good trade for me.” She concludes.
The man smiles, big and unhinged. “So it's a deal!” He extends his hand to False, robotically she mimics the movement, grabbing the cold scarred hand of the salesman. “Deal.” she says, to any outlooker it is clear she isn't really there when saying that.
And in a blink of light the man is gone, and so are False's shoes, in her hand half a dozen of beans lay innocently. She blinks dazed and looks at the bull that is looking worried at her.
A string of curses are thrown in the air when she realizes what happened.
Miserable, on her socked feet, she starts walking back to her and Stress shared ranch, the bull walks at her side, no complaining and delay from his part this time.
“Man, what I will do with these.” She ponders over the “magic beans” on her open palm.
Maybe plant them? Magic or not they could use some beanstalks on the ranch.
The bull choses that exact moment to bump against her legs, she stumbles, but does not fall, the beans are another story.
The magic beans fall on the ground, the bull eagerly trots to one of them. “Oh no, you don't” She knees trying to grab them back, but it's already too late, the bull sniffs one of the beans and promptly eats it, taking great pleasure in his heist.
False's eyes bulge out of her head looking at the scene, in one moment the bull was eating her shoes worth of beans, on the other with a puff of smoke a very disoriented man was sitting where the bull was standing moments ago.
Slowly he turns to look at her, he has a bush dark brown beard on his face, he is wearing leather clothes that resemble the bull’s skin and growing from the sides of his head two horns -exactly replicas of the bull's- are standing proudly.
His blue eyes are as wide as hers, his bull ears flick nervously. “The beans were really truly magic.” The once bull says almost breathless in perfect english.
“Oh, no shit sherlock.” I's all she can muster at that.
…
False clenches the four remaining beans on her hands. She will plant these.
“So I guess you will not become beef now.” She jokes, still weirded out with the situation, walking home bringing this complete stranger - Its my home too, you know? Me becoming human doesn't change that- to where she and Stress live.
“Yea, at least that. But… hummm I guess, I need a name.” The once bull says, a pondering tone trying to wrangle his bovine brain with his new shiny human one.
“Maybe…” He ponders. “I think Beef… may be a good name. Call me Beef.” He says decisively.
False snorts. “Sure Beef. If that’s what you want. You can call me False by the way, it's a pleasure to meet you” She extends a hand for him to shake.
It's Beef's time to snort at that. “Yea I already knew that, I already know you, but I guess it's a pleasure to finally be able to properly talk with you.” He grabs her hand and shakes it back.
Now to explain this to Stress.