Hello! Just a starting note because I wanted to warn you all that is chapter may contain the following content:

Blood/Gore, Animal death, animal abuse, knives, axes, and killing... also decapitation... (But I guess that was to be expected of a chapter called 'kill the cows' I mean c'mon. Also, all the stuff kinda appears in the like, middle-end section of the chapter, so if these bother you, feel free to skim the first couple hundred words.)

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"Welcome to the slaughterhouse." Farm said, arms spread theatrically wide as the lights flickered to life and Horror was no longer blinded by them. "I know it's a little shabby, but we don't actually get a skeleTON of money here on Font Farm." 

Horror rolled his eyes at the ill-timed pun, instead ogling the so-called slaughter house that looked more like a workshop. 

There was a long, flat table in the middle, speckled with little red and brown splotches, no doubt a bovine's blood. On the walls were multiple anatomy charts showcasing cows. Below the posters were shelves, stocked with knives and other tools of varying sharpness, though Horror trusted his axe would do the job better then any measly little knife. 

"What you're going to want to do is—" Farm began to state, cutting himself off as his hat was nipped off by Roxy, who mooed in triumph. "Take the reins off the cows, so they won't get tainted." He finished, snatching back his accessory. 

"Ok." Horror said, taking the reins off the more tame cows, like Vanny, who would only stare. Or Cupid, who seemed to already have taken liking to him.

 "Reins off, can I kill them yet?" Horror queried, hands flexing eagerly for his axe. Though the motions died when Farm wagged his finger. 

"Don't say it out loud! They're not as stupid as they look." Farm reprimanded, getting Roxy to back him up with an aggressive moo as she went for his hat again, only to be dodged. 

Horror snorted in response, catching Vanny's off-putting stare and thinking cows weird more than anything else. "They don't really look all too stupid in my opinion..."

Farm sighed, ushering the rein-stripped cows into a small holding cell that Horror hadn't noticed before. Situated on the back wall, was a small chamber that looked large enough to hold animals. How smart. 

"Let's take care of them together, ok? I'll walk you through it." Farm instructed, sliding a knife from its holster on one of the many shelves. 

Horror nodded, forcing away the warmth that bloomed in his rib cage at the sight of Farm holding the knife. It glinted beautifully in the slaughterhouse's lights, illuminating the deadly tip at the end.

"You're going to want a clean cut, ok?" Farm informed Horror, softly guiding out Vanny by the neck, noticing how Horror stared heatedly at her. "It doesn't matter too much where you cut them, but you'll probably want to slice the head off... since it's not really a common cut of meat." 

Horror hummed in acknowledgment as his fingers drummed readily against his axe. He was ready to hack and slash. Hunger and bloodlust mixed together in his metaphorical veins. 

Horror was hot to trot. He could feel it in his bones. 

"Hey hey, Horsie calm down." Farm cooed, pulling on some latex gloves and putting on some goggles to protect his eye sockets. "You're going scare the cows— more than you already have..." 

Horror rolled his eyes as he let out a hot huff. All his fizzling sparking energy was somewhat contained by the gloves and goggles Farm put on him, as he growled lowly to quell his raging appetence.

"You'll need an apron and a mask too." Farm muttered, turning around and walking past Vanny to access a random drawer. "It's only me and my bro here, so I'll let you use his." 

Predictably, an apron and mask were thrown in Horror's direction. Unpredictably, they hit Horror square in the face, causing the poor skeleton to stumble and nearly cut himself with his own weapon. 

"WATCH IT!" Horror screeched, wildly flailing for a few frenzied seconds before the clothes were hurled off of his head and onto the floor. 

"That... that escalated quickly." Farm mused, stifling a chuckle as he tied his apron on, and did up his mask. "If you need help, you know where to find me." 

Horror glared daggers as Farm, murmuring expletives as he fastened on his mask and attempted to tie on his apron, to no avail. Trying again revealed the same results, and the third time, and the fourth time, and the fifth...

"You could just say; 'Oh Farm, please help.'" Farm purred, a playful smirk on his face as Horror hissed out an empty threat. "You know you can't do it on your own~." 

As though a jinx had occurred, Horror was miraculously able to tie a loose knot in the small of his back. Finally fastening the oversized apron onto his body. 

"Actually I can." Horror stated obviously, sticking a triumphant tongue out in Farm's direction. The latter mumbled something bitter. 

"Alrighty, let me show you how it's done." Farm said, stretching briefly before leading Vanny over to the table, so that she was to the southern side of it. "Personally, I prefer to decapitate the cow completely, and then make use of the meat." 

Horror grinned as Farm demonstrated, whispering something to Vanny that made her moo, before deftly slashing the blade he carried across her neck. 

The cow mooed in loud distress as Horror watched the blood spill intensely from the neck cavity, unable to look away. Farm visibly stiffened before taking the rest of its head, blade cutting cleanly through thick leather skin. 

"Little help here!?" Farm shouted, catching the head and placing it on the table as the body began to wobble. 

Immediately, Horror rushed over to assist, pushing the cow onto the table with the help of Farm. Warm, red liquid trickled across his gloved fingers. If it weren't for the mask, he'd be smelling it too. Being lost in it. 

"We gotta do this... what like six more times?" Farm panted, actually looking generally winded for once as he slumped down on the side of the table, Horror slinking down with him. "Let's get this cleaned— Horror are you good?" 

Horror's hands shook violently, instinctively reaching for his mask. He wanted to tear it off. He wanted to smell the blood, taste the cow's flesh. He wanted to rip the cow to pieces with his bare hands. 

"Horror." Farm said firmly, settling a hand on his shoulder and successfully snapping him out of his little frenzy. "We have to clean this up... maybe bringing you here was a bad idea?" 

"No!" Horror snapped, pushing up off the floor and jumping to his feet. An expression close to panic on his face. "I'm better than this!" 

Horror didn't know who he was talking to. Himself or Farm. Farm or himself. His vision blurred as unwanted memories attempted to surface in his mind. He was losing control. Again. 

"Breathe." Farm whispered, suddenly beside Horror settling his hands onto his shoulders. "Relax. Calm down. I'm not going to lose you to something as trivial as hunger."

Listening to instruction for once, Horror took a deep breath, cooling his frayed nerves. He just needed to reset. Step back, and float away somewhere safe. 

"Remember buddy, we're cool skeletons." Farm supplied, offering a sincere smile. "Nothing gets under our skin." 

Horror chuckled, grounding himself to Farm's touch as the thought of food subsided. He could count on Farm to bring him back. 

"We'll try again tomorrow ok?" Farm promised, patting Horror on the back as he smirked to give reassurance. "For now you get some rest. It's evening already."

"Really?" Horror wondered, voicing his thoughts as he glanced outside at the setting sun, and dying lights of afternoon. "I thought it was still noon." 

"Welp, you thought wrong." Farm teased, ignoring the glare Horror gave him. "Take off your stuff and head home. I'll take care of all this." 

Horror nodded, taking off all his cow slaying gear, enthusiasm melting out of his veins as he turned towards the door to leave.

"Oh and Horror," Farm called, catching him at the doorway. "I promise I'll save you a few cows." 

"Thanks buddy." 

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Wow... I went for a highlight on emotions and thought this time... did I do it well? I made sure not to focus on the descriptions or background details too much, in order to show off mindset more than the 'slaughterhouse'. (P.s this chapter was actually a bit longer than expected... also did the warnings show up appropriately? I don't want to warn for things that aren't really prevalent in the story.)

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

- De Moogus