While Damon living the high-life as the zoo's new happy and productive elephant stud, Marcy was finally settling into her own new life as the new and unexpected head of livestock in a cattle pasture 10 miles from her now-abandoned human home.
"Golly, this grass tastes fine tonight!"
"You're telling me, sister!"
To anyone else, it would sound like mindless moos, but to Marcy, the idle comments of her field-mates made as much sense as any human noise of contentment. It was one of many reminders that this was really her life from now on. Like them, she had her own wide muzzle tucked down in the grass munching the rich green strands. She gave her own deep moo of agreement. It satisfied her to feel the blades slide up her throat and stuff her first huge stomach chamber. But she was already looking forward to chewing it up more thoroughly later.
It was one of the first great pleasures she'd discovered not long after her first meal as a cow. She'd heard "chewing the cud" used as a figure of speech during her time as a human. She'd written longingly on CYOC once or twice about how the literal act might taste and feel. But one of it had prepared her for the relaxing bliss of literally and figuratively chewing her cud with her cattle herd. Both the chewing, and the conversation, were excellent.
"When do you think the farmer will find the new girl?" asked one of the cows nearby.
"I dunno, but--hey Caroline! Stop hitting me in the face with your tail!"
"Sorry, Nora!"
Marcy didn't know her mind figured out names for the other cows. But she wasn't complaining. She just giggled in her own cattle-like way at the conversations going on around her. But she had to wonder what would happen when the farmer did find her. Would he try to return her to some other farm? Would she get branded as his own? Would branding hurt too much? Would she get to keeping grass as good as this stuff? Her own tail slapped her side and chased off the same fly it had two minutes ago. "Dumb insects" she mooed to herself.
"What did she call me?" said Caroline. The other girls laughed.