Corva sat in the dirt looking at the blood covered monster in front of her, the moonlight outlining his broad figure as the night air cut through her. She pushed her hooves into the damp earth, her instincts telling her to get up and run. The fear in her belly and adrenaline coursing through her veins made her eyes wide and skin hot.
'Predator' her mind cried out, trying to warn her of an impending doom.
32 days earlier.
Corva walked out of her small cabin on the working farm she managed, she stopped and inspected the landscape. Looking at all the autonomous equipment throughout the fields and ensuring no hiccups would arise to throw off her morning schedule. She brought her coffee cup to her lips and took a long sip of the light and creamy brew. She was the single hand that ran the property, harvesting crops and tending to any live stock that was kept in the perimeter.
Her tall seven foot frame stood rigid in the morning light, her brunet hair trimmed short to shoulder length so as to keep out of the way. Her broad shoulders flexed and stretched out the morning fatigue, while her ample chest heaved up wards as she drew in a deep breath. She turned and continued her way to the barn, powerful thighs easily carrying her. While her hooves clopped in the dirt, she was an Ox girl. She had strong horns on either side of her head, she also had thick shaggy fur below the knees, and legs that ended in large hooves.
People in the town joked about how the best person to tend to a farm, was a farm animal. But she proved she was a hard worker and solely managed the farm alone with no one else's help. Until today however, she was assigned a new hand and she couldn't deny she was eager to dump some of her work load onto them. Her brown eyes flashing joy at the thought of less stress and maybe shorter work days.
She looked at the note her landowner had left her, 'You'll pick up the new hand at the feed store, ask Tilly where to find the hire. They've been juggled around, but seem to be competent.'
She got in the truck and started the engine, 'Now that Penn got me some help, maybe he'll get a truck that isn't such a piece of shit.' Corva thought.
Penn was the land and farm owner, though he didn't stay on the property. He did keep in contact with Corva and ensure she had everything she needed. It took some convincing over a couple months, but he had finally agreed to higher on a new hand. Corva had been tending to the machines and livestock all by herself for five years now. In that time she had proven that she wasn't about to waste Penns money, so he trusted her when she made a request.
Corva pulled off the property and made her way down the road to the feed store, going over her mental checklist of bags she would need. After 30 minutes of driving she finally pulled into the dirt lot, with the trucks tires kicking up dust. She waited for it to settle enough so she could safely watch her mirrors as she backed up to one of the many loading docks. Once there, she shut the engine off and exited the cab of the vehicle. Making her way inside to find Tilly and get her new hire out to help her load.
She walked in through the front door, looking at the register and not seeing anyone there. She made her way further into the store, looking down the aisles so she could find the woman with the info she needed. As she neared the last one she could hear two women talking in hushed whispers.
"I heard he made Martha cry," one of them said, "she feared for her life."
"But she was always kinda sweet on him, why would he do that?" The other one said.
Corva recognized the second womans voice as Tilly, the girl she needed to talk to.
The first woman spoke up again, "He's just too fuckin big." she said in a hushed whisper.
"Tilly, you back here?" Corva said as she rounded the shelves and looked at the two women.
Tilly spun around in slight shock looking up at her, "Corva! Hey sweetie you here to pick up your feed and your new hire?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am, you doin alright?" Corva said as she inspected the both of them.
"Why yes ma'am we're fine as frogs hair, why don't you look over your pallet and I'll go get 'em. He's having coffee with the boys in the back. He drove in from the Mcrurrys this morning and he's just been waitin on you." Tilly said as she made her way past Corva.
They both walked into the back area and found Corvas pallet of feed, she inspected it and ensured the contents were all there. As she did this Tilly disappeared to find the new hire and get him to Corva.
'Him' Corva thought as she looked at the pallet, 'She said 'Him', dammit.'
Corva had never had luck with most human males. They always hated looking up at her and she found they were mostly insecure about a woman lifting more than them. Every now and then a male would ask her out, but their small stature and frail physique was usually a turn off for her. She would entertain them to a date, maybe more, but nothing ever lasted.
'Mcrurrys? Like Martha Mcrurrys family farm? Did he make that sweet girl cry?' Corva asked herself.
"Corva?" a soft sounding voice asked.
Corva was bent over inspecting the pallet, she looked up at the man who made his way closer to her with an outstretched hand. She stood up straight and looked down at him before she took his hand in her own and gave him a firm shake while examining him .
'Tilly wasn't lying, he's big.' She thought, looking at him he was still shorter than her, but taller than the other males in the building. His wide physique reminded her of a tree stump, thick and hard to knock over. His arms were large but not too defined. His belly had a slight pudge and Corva knew by looking that this man never missed a meal.
"I'm looking forward to working with you!" he said in an enthusiastic tone, "Is this yours?" he asked while pointing at the pallet.
"Ya, the blue trucks ours. If you wouldn't mind loading, I'll go pay and we can be off." Corva said.
"No problem." Her new hire said as he started to pick up the first bag, "My names Braxton by the way, you can call me Brax."
