The Crow and The Dog

"That way," Mutt decides, though they're not entirely sure it isn't the same way they came. They reach out for Corvie's hand again.

 

She takes it, and off they go through the brush. Munin points out all sorts of things as they go, from a big crystal bug to a red squirrel carrying a screwdriver to a vine curled through the upper branches of a tree, dangling a fat fruit that shines like oil.

 

Mutt tries to catch the squirrel, but it just chatters at them angrily before disappearing up a tree. They grin sheepishly at Munin as they walk back to her.

 

She shrugs. "They're like that, even I can't catch them. Hugin did once, and it bit him on the foot, and he perched funny for days." She offers her hand back.

 

Mutt takes her hand and squeezes it. "Squirrels aren't that good anyway. They're not really worth it."

 

"They are when you're small, then there's lotsa good stuff, like the eyeballs and the tongue and the guts!" She clacks her beak a couple of times merrily.

 

"Eyeballs feel weird," Mutt complains. "The rest is fine, but eyeballs don't feel right."

 

"Eyeballs are my favourite!"

 

"Well, you can have the eyeballs then. I don't mind."

 

"Okay, if we kill anything then I'll have those." She nods. "You can have the liver!"

 

"Okay!" They look around to see if there's anything else they could go after, but they don't see anything.

 

"I ate a whole horse eyeball, once." She informs him. "It took me like, an hour."

 

"Gross," Mutt says appreciatively. "Horses are huge! What are you supposed to do with the, the feet parts?"

 

"Leave 'em for the bigger eaters." She shrugs. "They'll chew them up for the good parts. We just get the soft parts."

 

"Oh, okay." They're still not really used to eating with other people.

 

"We get the tasty small stuff, they get the big chewy stuff. Geri and Freki always chase us off, though."

 

Mutt nods. That's something they're more familiar with. "If you stab them a little they'll leave you alone."

 

"But they're our brothers!" She protests. "They're not Bad. Just greedy. Big greedy guts." She shakes her head, fluffing her feathers. "Besides, they're way bigger, they could chomp us."

 

"Everyone's bigger than me, and stabbing always works. Do you need a knife? I can - here." They pull out one of their smaller knives and hand it to Munin, hilt first.

 

She starts, then darts her head close to examine it before taking it. "It's shiny! But I don't think I can use it when I don't have hands..."