Milking The Cow | open

[Sonja Maaria Harmaja]

Sonja was walking around the grounds when she heard a "moo". She hadn't even realized that there could be animals in Eden! She made her way towards the animal pen, and was sad to find the cow looking distressed, her udders heavy with milk. She caressed the cow's head briefly before going to look for a halter to keep her in place.

She tied the halter to a post and gave the cow some hay to eat. She then fetched a bucket of warm water, and caressed the cow's sides and back to gain her trust before bowing down to clean the teats. The cow tensed, and for a while Sonja thought she was going to kick either her or the bucket of water, but the cow relaxed soon enough, and continued to eat the hay.

"There, there, let's see how this works," Sonja spoke in a low voice. "I haven't milked one of you guys in years, so we're going to have to see how this works..."

Sonja grabbed some Vaseline and lubricated her hands before squatting down with a bucket between her legs. She hated the position, but she knew the cow needed milking. She then wrapped her hands around the front pair of the teats and squeezed gently. The squirt was solid, and Sonja could actually smell the milk. She noticed that the cow had realized what was going to happen and thus calmed down. The poor thing must have been waiting for someone to milk her for ages.

When the bucket was full, she went and emptied it into a bigger bucket. Then she went and milked until the cow's teats were deflated and looked empty. The cow had eaten the hay by then and was getting fidgety, so Sonja quickly got up and took the milk to the side.

She wondered if the cow would be inseminated or if they'd just end up running out of milk eventually. That'd be sad. Milk was useful, after all.

[Markus Wish Erinston]

The bleats of kids were what had gotten Markus' attention. There were two baby goats, running and wrestling with each other in one of the nearby pens.
Markus was a big fan of baby farm animals, ever since his elementary school trip to the farm. It had left a rather big impression on the, then seven year old child.
Now at the age of twenty-one, it was strange to find him kneeling in the pen and playing with the kids. He didn't notice until maybe ten minutes later that the mother was lying down in a corner.
Her big eyes watched him closely, surveying and deciding that he was not a threat before she stood up.
The kids automatically rushed over to her, grabbing at one of her teets and starting to nurse.
It was a beautiful moment, too beautiful in fact that Markus left, afraid that he might have been imposing.
He continued on, looking around at the other livestock. Pig pens where the animal lie around in mud all day. Chickens in the hen house, laying eggs.
The dark haired man noted that it would be good to have eggs just in case. He grabbed a basket, carefully trying to collect eggs.
After being pecked a couple of times, he got the hang of it, collecting at least twenty before he left.
These would make a good breakfast. He rounded the corner, looking up and almost bumping into another girl.
Her attire made her look intimidating and the man stood there tongue tied. His mouth wouldn't move at all as he stared at her, face going red with embarrassment. He hated talking to people.

[Sonja Maaria Harmaja]

Oh, OK. So Sonja hadn't been quite as alone as she'd thought she was. Fortunately she hadn't spilled her heart out to the cow as she'd heard some people do. That would've been awkward, should the boy have heard her speak. The good thing about cows was that no matter what you told them, they never sneered or giggled. They just looked at you with their large, sad eyes and it seemed as though they understood every single thing. Sonja personally was certain animals did understand, but she wouldn't admit that to anyone.

She forced a quick smile, and looked at the boy with narrowed eyes. She didn't even realize that she seemed menacing. She usually made an effort to seem menacing, but something about this boy stopped her. Perhaps it was the fact that he was voluntarily with the animals. A person who liked animals didn't deserve her bitchiness, seriously. Except if the boy was some kind of a pervert. In that case, he'd deserve all the bitchiness in the world and then some. But the boy was holding a basket of eggs, and that wasn't something a pervert would be doing, right?

Sonja licked her lips, smearing her purple lipstick a bit. She didn't notice that. Then she said, casually as ever, "Do you think there's all-purpose flour in the house? I could make pancakes for everyone now that we have milk and eggs."

[Markus Wish Erinston]

This was so embarrassing. Likewise, Markus thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't a big talker anyway. He was sure if he was, he would've said a lot of embarrassing things about himself. And if this girl was so close by, and she had heard...
He tried not to think about it, face taking on a deeper shade of red, almost scarlett. It looked as if he might faint at anytime from all the blood rushing to his cheeks.
The quick smile that the girl gave him calmed his nerves a bit. Perhaps she wasn't a bad person. Perhaps she only dressed that way because she like those kinds of clothes.
"Do you think there's all-purpose flour in the house? I could make pancakes for everyone now that we have milk and eggs," she asked him. He cleared his throat to try and shake off some of the shyness.
Had he seen any flour? He though he saw some in the pantry next to the sugar.
"I think so," he answered, voice smaller than what he intended, "There should be anyway. Um...."

[Sonja Maaria Harmaja]

Sonja smiled again, as the boy blushed. How sweet! She had always had a thing for blushing people. She was sure that everyone who blushed was a great person and worth spending time with. She didn't blush easily, but she did blush occasionally. Not that it was particularly visible as she usually had so much make-up on, but still. She did blush.

Blushing was a sign that a person felt with his or her body and that his or her feelings were genuine and real. In short, she liked people who blushed.

"Good," Sonja said, flashing a smile as beautiful as she could manage without showing too much teeth. She didn't like smiling with her teeth because when she did so, her lip piercing tended to stick out and sometimes even hurt a bit. She knew it was because she'd pierced her lip herself when she was a teenager, and it was placed a bit awkwardly.

"I'm Sonja, by the way," she said, smiling again. She really wanted to get to know the boy.

[Markus Wish Erinston]

Ah. What a smile could do to brighten up another's day. Once she smiled at him, Markus himself couldn't help but smile. She had a very welcoming and friendly smile as well.

Anyone who could smile like that was not a bad person. In fact, they could be nothing but good. So her style of clothes was a bit out there, she seemed to be nice enough. His arms held the basket of eggs more carefully now that he was able to concentrate.

"My name is Markus," he said, nodding to her, "You want me to hold the milk?" The bucket looked heavy

[Sonja Maaria Harmaja]

Once the boy smiled, Sonja's heart got lighter. So, the boy didn't hate her, nor did he think she was some kind of a freak. Perhaps he'd thought so at first, but not anymore. People usually thought she was a freak at first. Some said it out loud, some shunned her, and some kept their thoughts to themselves.

"That's not necessary, but thanks", Sonja replied. She was used to holding heavy things - she'd grown up on a farm. The strength that she had hadn't yet disappeared, even though she'd lost a lot of weight during her... umm, worse times. Her arms were wiry, yes, but they weren't weak.

"How long have you been here?" Sonja asked. She knew she'd have to get the milk to a fridge soon, before it was ruined, so she took a couple of steps towards the door, hoping Markus would follow her.

[Markus Wish Erinston]

Sonja had said that she had the bucket, but Markus felt a bit weird letting the girl carry the heavy bucket of milk and he was carrying a small basket of eggs. But she said she had wanted to and she didn't seem to have trouble doing it. So he let her be.

"I haven't been here long," he answered as they walked towards the house, "A couple months or so. It's starting to feel a little bit like home now. What about you?"

He turned to the girl, eager to hear her answer. She seemed like an interesting person.

[Sonja Maaria Harmaja]

Sonja actually laughed out loud. Not for long, Markus had said, but still, he'd been in here for so long...

"Well, I arrived yesterday," she said, and smiled. With each word they exchanged, smiling and speaking felt easier and easier. Sonja didn't usually warm up to new people this much, but perhaps there was something different about Markus?

"May I ask you something?" Sonja asked, looking uncertain. She could've just asked the big question - why was Markus here? - but she didn't want to be impolite. She didn't want to push Markus away. Not yet, anyway. If she was to find out that Markus wasn't worth her time, she wouldn't have any problems with pushing him away.

[Markus Wish Erinston]

"Wow. Just yesterday? It must be a big adjustment," Markus answered, smiling. Talking to Sonja was becoming easy as well; which was weird. There was only one person he had warmed up to in the literal sense of the word and even then, it was still gradual. Talking to the girl was like talking to a friend he'd had for years. Perhaps she was like him; shy and not out putting under those layers of flashy clothing.

She had asked him if she could ask him a question, in which he answered, "Go ahead." She was polite as well; she wouldn't be a bad friend to have. As long as she contineed to be kind like this.

[Sonja Maaria Harmaja]

"It sure is. I'm still trying to figure everything out," Sonja said. She'd nearly got lost while looking for the bathroom that morning, and she'd had some trouble trying to find the door out. She'd nearly climbed out the window just to make it outside.

"Why are you here? I know it's not a good question to ask when you've just met someone, but I want to know you're not... some kind of a pervert, you know?" she asked. She smiled reassuringly, trying to make herself seem even more nice and more trustworthy, and not someone that would take advantage of the knowledge. But she had to ask. If Markus liked, say, young children too much, Sonja would rather know it now, before they became friends. Finding out something horrible about someone you cared about was difficult. Better get the hard things out of the way right ahead.

[Markus Wish Erinston]

"Why are you here? I know it's not a good question to ask when you've just met someone, but I want to know you're not... some kind of a pervert, you know?"

A pervert? Well, considering his relationship with Ari..... But the white haired male was only seventeen. Months shy of being an adult! So Markus wasn't a pedophile. Or so he liked to tell himself to keep his spirits up. He had to tell himself after their intimate encounter, even if it had been the sex addict's fault.

"Oh well, I got here cuz of my addiction to painkillers," he explained, his voice becoming a bit quieter, "I got into a fight with my dad and he messed up my back pretty bad so I was prescribed oxycontin. And I just couldn't get off of it. I got caught trying to buy some off the street."

That was just the surface of what he had done to get the drug. The pills had taken over his life. It was hard, even now, to ignore the shaking.

[Sonja Maaria Harmaja]

Ah, a fellow addict, then. Sonja couldn't help but smile. She was glad the first addict (she didn't know if there were more of them) wasn't a heroin addict. Though who'd she be to judge them? Sonja didn't like being judged, so she usually tried not to judge others. There were two groups of people she openly judged: those who deliberately hurt animals, and those who deliberately hurt small children.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sonja said. She didn't know what else to say. What could she say, really? What is the right thing to say when someone tells they've fought with their own father and, as the result, had their back messed up? 'I'm sorry' was a good thing to say, right?

"My reason is addiction as well - Lorazepam, to be more specific, but I've tried a fair share of other benzos as well," she said. She didn't know if Markus wanted to hear, but she wanted to tell. Honesty was important in a place like this.

[Markus Wish Erinston]

A simple 'Im sorry' did wonders for people. Markus smiled, looking over to Sonja.

"Thanks," he said; her concern was very comforting. Then she began with the reason why she was here as well. A fellow addict; that made Markus feel happy. Someone who was fighting her own battle just like him.

"What happened with you?" he asked, wanting to hear her story.

[Sonja Maaria Harmaja]

Sonja shrugged. She didn't really know how to tell her story in a way that made sense but didn't make her too vulnerable. Well, then again, she'd just thought that honesty was important, so she might as well open up...

"I was depressed and had an anxiety disorder, and I was then prescribed Lorazepam to control the anxiety. I ended up becoming addicted," she said. It was the short version of the story, but it was the truth... in a nutshell. She didn't want to go into what she'd done to get the pills, but the story she'd told was enough to give Markus an idea of what had happened. Markus didn't necessarily need to know everything. Perhaps Sonja would tell him more if they ended up spending more time together, and if it felt like the right thing to do. She wouldn't force him to listen to her story.