FFXIV Write 2024

1 - Steer

I do not think my husband understands what hunting is.

He called what we did last night hunting, though what we were hunting was cows. He did not want to wake the farmers who owned the cows, and thought the cows would make too much noise if we scared them, so we equipped as Dancers and threw our rings.

It was typical of all the hunting we have done in this place he calls Oklahoma. There are no fates here, no truly large beasts, nothing that with our skill and our strength and our weapons we cannot kill with a single hit. What Husband calls hunting I might instead call gathering.

There are different things I miss of Eorzea at different times. What I missed last night was La Noscean buffalo.

But we needed beef for the meat pies we sell, and since the stores do not take gil and we do not yet have many dollars, we get our beef from hunting these tame beasts on farms. Husband says it is not stealing since our kills respawn. But that makes it all the more like gathering.

After killing cows over and over we had enough beef to work with, along with animal hide and milk. But it left me restless. I needed something more to do, to feel that I did something worthy of myself with my evening.

"Can I not actually fight one cow, Husband?"

"They're too clustered and close to the house, my love. We don't want to raise the alarm."

"What about that one?" I pointed to a cow that was standing apart from the others. Unlike most of them, that one at least had horns.

"That's a bull. Might be quieter than the others if it's charging you." He glanced across the field. "But try to kite it away from the house a bit, just to be safe."

It was bigger than the others, and it had horns, but it would still be an Earth animal, and not as strong as me. So I changed to what Husband calls my "Earth-normal" gear, simple low-level hempen clothing and leather Pugilist gloves. Perhaps, I thought, it would give the bull a chance, and me a challenge.

I walked around the cows, away from the house, then slowly approached the bull. It noticed me. It stared at me. It made a snorting sound. Then it started to run. A slow trot, at first, then it picked up speed.

I stood in its path. When it got close enough I grabbed its horns. It tried to keep on charging at me, but I kept my distance from it. It tried to shake its head to fling me away, but I held my grip.

It was more work than any other Earth kills had been, but I still did not feel challenged. I could probably have killed it with a single Bootshine. Simply to see what would happen, I suddenly released its horns and slapped it across its face.

To my complete surprise, it stopped. It grew quiet and stared at me.

Husband approached as the bull and I faced each other. He looked the beast over. "Huh. My mistake. This is a steer."

"What is the difference?"

"A steer is a bull without the bull parts. He can't breed. Takes some of the aggression out of him."

"You are saying I picked to fight a cow that cannot fight?"

"Pretty much, yeah. But I hear they're good for steaks."

I switched to my Cryptlurker Monk gear. I contemplated the sorry bull, then punched it in the head. As its body faded, I said, "You had best know how to cook a good steak, Husband."