The Crow and The Dog

"Oh." They step towards her and offer a hug. "I didn't know you'd see everything."

 

"Not everything, but lots of stuff..." She hugs them again. "It's kinda like getting to see a bunch of photos all at once, except some of them are actually movies, and they have feelings." She rests her head on their shoulder. Her beak is surprisingly warm, for something so hard.

 

"It sounds like a lot." They squeeze her a little tighter. "I didn't mean to...to..." the word escapes them, so they just lean their head against hers. "You're good. I like you."

 

"I see lots of sad of sad and scary stuff, it's okay. You're good, too, I'm happy we're friends." Her head feathers are silky-soft, cushy like a nice pillow.

 

Mutt's face breaks into a grin again. "Yeah!" Friends!

 

"Okay, let's play! You wanna explore?" She gives them a little pat before letting go, and points to the trees again. "Maybe we can find a dwarf."

 

"A dwarf?" Mutt looks where Munin is pointing. "Yeah, let's explore!"

 

"Yeah! If we catch him, he's gotta give us a wish!" She leads off for the trees, hopping between the clumps of grass. She stands on things whenever there's a chance, tussocks and rocks, anything she can wrap her feet around instead of standing flat. "I would wiiiiiish... For a big cake!"

 

"You don't have to wish for a cake!" Mutt isn't nearly as fast as Munin, but they're keeping up as best they can. "Legion and Even said they'd get me a cake, and you can have some too!"

 

"Really?!" She flaps her arms, excited. "We never get to have cake!"

 

"Well, then you have to come eat cake with us!" Mutt bounces up and down. "And we can hang out more, and you can show me how to listen to the cards."

 

"I'll try!" She promises. "I think it's something I got born with though... That's why Odin picked me!" Hop, hop, hop, she keeps her slightly zigzag pattern towards the trees.

 

"That's okay! I can still try." They follow her as closely as possible. "Munin, what does the dwarf look like?"

 

"Ummmm... they're small, and kinda ugly, and they've got beards. But sometimes, they're rocks."

 

"There are rocks everywhere!" They kick at a pebble to prove their point. "How do we tell which one's a dwarf?"

 

She stops, perching on a hefty fallen branch. "...I dunno! Maybe if we ask, they'll tell us?" She twists her head down and her foot up to scratch under her neck feathers.

 

"Ask the rocks?" Mutt looks at a fairly large boulder. "Are you a dwarf?" they ask it.

 

The rock does not respond. If it's a dwarf, it's a good actor.

Munin peeers at the rock suspiciously, then pokes it. Feels like a rock. "Hmmmmmm..."

 

"What are you gonna wish for instead of cake?" Mutt asks. They stand next to Munin and look over at her instead of the rock.

 

"Oh." She tilts her head, feathers lifting up all over as she thinks about it, then gives herself a fluffy shake to settle them. "I'm gonna wish foooor... a toy!"