Chapter Text
Zhinu has only ever known filth.
Sometimes she wonders if she was born just to live amongst filth. To be covered in it; for it to crust her fur and dirty her horns; for it get jam packed into the bottoms of her hooves; for her ear to be pierced with a humiliating number tag. She’s always lived in the filth that humans leave behind, and she believes they've always looked down upon her as filth.
Being a satyr in a human’s world is… difficult. Being a cow satyr makes it nigh impossible. Her human masters see her as nothing more than livestock amongst her fellow species, with the ear tag they'd hung from her ear making that fact obvious. She has to work and toil away for them, because otherwise she wouldn't have a home.
Satyrs aren't meant to live on their own, no matter the breed. Unicorns live with dragons, horses live with centaurs, deer live with royalty, goats live with gods, and cows live with humans. They are meant to have a “higher species”, as history calls them, to look after them, to help them survive. Satyrs may be magical creatures in their own right, but they don't have the capacity to fully care for themselves. They've never truly known how. It's not in their blood.
Besides, even if they did know how to care for themselves, they are too much of a delicacy for most predators in the world to live safely. If they do not have some species caring for them, then they instantly become targets to the mass hoards of starving monsters that would want nothing more than to sink their teeth into a satyr’s yummy flesh.
She supposes she's no different in that regard. She’s a cow, and so she lives with humans. Well, that's exaggerating it a little. She lives on the property of a human family, serving them however they see fit. They have a whole herd of cows that tends to their farm in return for quarters and safety, because if they didn't they'd be kicked out. They'd have to fend for themselves, which isn't necessarily possible.
Humans believe cow satyrs to be below them, and treat them as such. They don't pay them, because why would they have to? The satyrs rely on them solely already.
All cow satyrs are treated the same, for the most part.
All aside from her. She’s a tad different from the rest. She has been since she was born, as her mother told her, before she’d left for another farm.
But Zhinu is different in the fact that humans consider her beautiful. Unlike other cows, her fur isn't brown or black or tan. It isn't covered in spots and it isn't coarse or rough. Instead, it's a silky smooth, spotless silver color, while her horns are a bright white. Her hooves match that theme, and shine a gentle silver in the sunlight. She’s been compared to “moonlight captured in the body of a satyr” by her Mistress Olivia, who loves to stare at her and take in her beauty.
Now, this doesn't mean she’s free of doing the hard labor the rest of her herd does. Far from it. She’s constantly in the fields, tending to the crops and plowing new fields. The difference is that the human caretakers always remember to give her food, and will sometimes take her with them into town. They even enjoy having her in the manor, allowing her to eat dinners with them on the occasion. They like to flaunt her rare beauty for others to see, and because of this, they let her bathe once a week so she isn't too filthy when they exhibit her.
It’s on one of these days she’s being flaunted that a man with a crooked grin approaches them, his hands clasped behind his back, his dark eyes scrunched at the corners. His scraggly beard and mustache have been brushed into some kind of shape, his clothes dusty but still holding a sense of refinement.
He stops her and her masters on their walk, clapping his hands together. “Masters,” the man says, flashing a golden tooth. Olivia and Bert Winston pause when the man speaks to them, their noses scrunching a little at being interrupted. She stops as well, hooves clicking on the stone street as she shifted her weight from one to the other. Her silver fur is much cleaner than usual, with only a thin layer of dirt clinging to the silver strands. Her tail sways behind her, the tip of it brushing against the ground. “May I have a word with your luxurious selves?”
“And who might you be?” Bert asks the man, a single, plucked eyebrow raising. He’s quite tall, and towers over the strange man. “You’re interrupting me and my wife’s walk.”
“Yes, and I’m terribly sorry for that,” the man says. His eyes dart to her, and her bovine ears pin backwards. She doesn’t like the way he’s looking at her; she feels like a piece of meat being judged at the butcher’s. “It’s just… I couldn’t help but notice your satyr.”
Olivia perks up instantly; she loves to flaunt her pretty things. She steps closer to Zhinu, holding her hands up to gesture from her ears to her legs and hooves to her tail. “Isn’t she the prettiest thing?” Zhinu’s ear twitches, the number tag heavily hanging from it. “Oh, of course she is. I’m sure you’ve never seen a silver satyr before.”
“Not at all,” the man says, his grin turning crooked. He wipes his hand off on his shirt, and then offers it to Olivia for her to shake his hand. Oh, Olivia will love that. She loves the attention of any man that is fractionally attractive, and this man checks that box off. Zhinu has never known how Olivia gets away with her interest in other men; Bert must turn a blind eye at it. He acts too oblivious to it otherwise.
Then again, he has shown his own interest in Zhinu before. Uncomfortably so. Whenever Olivia isn’t looking, he’d approach Zhinu, cupping her face to playing with her tail. He’d whisper sweet nothings to her, and press kisses to her cheeks. Zhinu didn’t mind the attention if it got her extra food to share with her friends in her herd, and would even reciprocate at times. Bert loves her attention when he calls on it, and she is always willing to give it for an extra bite to eat.
Olivia giggles and takes the man’s outstretched hand, placing her free hand over her lips. “I am Tu Jin, curator of treasures,” the strange man introduces himself with a slight flair, rubbing a thumb over the side of Olivia’s hand. She lets out another giggle, a light blush coloring her cheeks.
“Well hello, Tu Jin!” Olivia exclaims excitedly. “What can we do for you?”
“Yes, we would like to return to our walk,” Bert says, impatient. Tu Jin’s charm isn’t working on him, but Bert is rarely ever impressed. He reaches down, grabbing Zhinu’s tail. She jumps a little as he tugs it up, playing with the tuft of fur at the tip of it. She bites down on her tongue, dragging one hoof across the stone ground. This is fine.
“Well, as I said, I couldn’t help but notice your gorgeous satyr,” Tu Jin says once more. He steps around Olivia, growing closer to Zhinu. She watches him warily, her ear twitching when he leans in a bit closer than she would have liked. “I’ve never seen one with silver fur before as stated… I became curious if you’d be willing to part with her.”
Olivia lets out a small, melodramatic gasp. “Part with our twenty-one?” she says with shock. She looks at Zhinu, and then back at Tu Jin. “Oh, Tu Jin, I’m not sure if my heart could handle it. She’s such a pretty little thing…”
“It’s as my wife says,” Bert mumbles, his arms crossed over his chest. “Twenty-one is her favorite from our herd.”
“Oh, yes, of course, I can see why,” Tu Jin says with a serious nod. Zhinu’s ears flatten against her skull, her eyes narrowing as they speak of her so blatantly. Even back on their estate, they didn’t speak of her like this, directly in front of her. She crosses her arms over her chest, unable to stop the glare forming as she stares at the treasure curator. “But I have a proposition for you. A trade, if you will. Very much worth your while.”
Zhinu blinks, her mouth dropping. Now they’re speaking of “trading” her? She could deal with the ear tag and the constant servitude, or even Bert’s curious advances, but she would not allow herself to be spoken of as an object to be “traded”. “Now just one moment-” she begins, her tail subconsciously lashing, freeing itself from Bert’s grip.
“Oh!!” Olivia exclaims, bouncing on the balls of her feet, similarly to a small child told they’ll be receiving chocolate. “Do tell me what will make it worth my while, Tu Jin!”
“As I said,” Tu Jin says, a hand on his chest. “I am a curator of treasures. Back at my shop, I have many such treasures for you to browse. If you come with me, I am confident you’ll find a piece of treasure you will fall in love with.”
“Oh, how fun!” Olivia says with a laugh. She grabs onto Bert’s hand, tugging on him. “Bert, I must see Tu Jin’s shop, I must. Let us go, please!”
Zhinu’s tail continues to lash, her eyes darting to Bert. Maybe this whole ridiculous scenario will end now with Bert’s denial. After all, Zhinu isn’t an object to trade, she’s a worker. Sure, she’s a satyr. But that doesn’t change the fact that her species are supposed to be able to go where they wish. Besides, despite how Bert acts as if he doesn’t care for Zhinu, she knows that he finds her pretty. That could help in her favor right now.
But then her hopes deflate as Bert shakes his head with a small smile, patting his wife’s hand. “I can’t say no to you, Olivia,” he says with a chuckle. His eyes turn to Zhinu, raising a brow at her shocked face, “I’m sure you can’t either, twenty-one. After all, you wouldn’t want to disappoint the masters of your home.”
Ah. So that’s how it’s going to be.
Her shoulders deflate, her tail lowering towards the ground. She looks away from them, not wanting to meet any of their gazes as they all stare at her expectantly. Right. She doesn’t have as much free will as she’d like to actually think, does she?
“No, I wouldn’t,” she finally replies, the tip of her tail twitching against the ground. She hears Olivia clap her hands together excitedly as Tu Jin bursts out with laughter.
“Come then, come then,” Tu Jin says, motioning with his hands for them to follow. “Let me show you my collection of treasures from all across the world.”
…
Zhinu watches quietly as Olivia and Bert exit Tu Jin’s shop, a bag of jewels and gold held in the mistress’ hand. She’s speaking excitedly to her husband about all the jewelry she’ll be able to make, and how excited she is to be able to flaunt it all to her friends and family once she’s finished. Bert laughs and pats her on the shoulder, informing her that he’ll need some to keep raw and in one piece for himself to display.
She clenches her jaws, her long tail wrapping around one of her bovine legs, brushing through her silver fur. She looks over her shoulder, ignoring the rows and rows of treasures lining the walls and shelves around her to stare back at Tu Jin, her new master. He stares back at her with a crooked smile, his hands clasped together as he slowly approaches her.
As he reaches her, she quickly turns around, her mouth dry. She feels betrayed, embarrassed, and ashamed all at once. She can’t believe she’d been treated as just another object in one end of the trade that had just occurred, instantly forgotten by her old masters the moment they’d seen the piles of treasure Tu Jin had offered them. Her chest aches, thinking of how she won’t be seeing her friends back at the estate ever again. They’d never know where she’d gone. Olivia and Bert would probably tell them she’d gone off on her own, or had chosen to go to a new farm.
…Is that what had happened to her mother? She remembers her mother leaving one day while she was working. Olivia and Bert had told her she’d gone to a new farm of her own volition. Had they traded her away as well, just like they’d done to her now? Her stomach churns at the thought, and the number tag attached to her ear feels heavier than before. She’d known humans didn’t think very much of satyrs growing up, but she hadn’t known it was this low.
She jumps when Tu Jin places a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it tight. “I have big plans for you, twenty-one,” he whispers to her, his voice low and grating. Her ears flatten backwards, and she pulls her face away from his as his hot breath hits it. He chuckles thoughtfully, “Ah, but that is too much of a mouthful… Tell me, do you have a name?”
That’s a first. She’s only ever been called twenty-one her whole life despite the name her mother had given her. Her previous masters had never asked for her name, but then again, why would they? Their satyr herd was so large, it would probably take too much brain power to remember all of their names.
“Zhinu,” she replies,one of her ears flicking. Tu Jin hums, rubbing the bottom of his chin. “My mother named me.”
“As all mothers should,” Tu Jin says with a nod. He pats Zhinu on the shoulder, and then grasps it once more. “Now, tell me, have you ever performed before? I have big plans for you, as I said, but I need you to be able to keep up.”
She doesn’t like the sound of that. “No, I have only ever farmed,” she replies honestly. He hums once more, tapping at the side of one of her horns. She huffs, pulling her head back, only for him to grab onto it, yanking her back towards him. She stumbles due to the action, her hooves clacking on the ground.
“I can work with this…” Tu Jin mutters to himself, tugging on her horn as he drags her deeper into his shop. She grunts, her tail lashing side to side at the rude treatment.
“Please let go of my horn-”
“Hush,” Tu Jin snaps, cutting her off in an instant. Her mouth snaps shut as he pushes her into a dark, windowless room. He shuts the door behind them, snapping his fingers. In an instant, multiple candles come to life, their wicks flickering with flames. So this man has magic. Zhinu would be impressed if she wasn’t so nervous. Most humans can’t handle magic, due to their physiologies. They’re one of the only species in the world that can’t unanimously tap into magic, leaving them high and dry. “I need to work my magic.”
With glowing hands, Tu Jin approaches once more, reaching out towards Zhinu. Her eyes go wide, and she backs up until she hits the wall farthest from him, terrified of what he’s about to do. “Wait- what are you-?”
Tu Jin grabs her face, his hands hot hot hot. His magic courses through Zhinu’s very being, and she lets out a scream of pain as it begins to change her.
Her horns are moving and twisting across her skull, her leg bones popping and cracking, her hooves splitting as her tail stretches. The pain envelops her, causing her eyes to fill with tears, her hands trembling at her sides. Her head spins, her eyes rolling until she collapses backwards, her breaking legs unable to hold her own weight up any longer.
Her head smashes against the wall hard, causing her bovine ears to ring. Stars fill her vision, before quickly being chased by darkness. She can feel her grip on consciousness quickly fading as her body continues to twist and change, her eyes slipping shut.
“I truly am a master of my work,” she hears Tu Jin say with a dark chuckle. He doesn’t grab her to keep her from falling, and so she hits the ground hard, her bones rattling. “From a cow to a beauty… Oh you’ll bring me so much money.”
She groans, and then falls unconscious, no longer able to grasp reality.