"So what now?" The captain asked as she stomped back into the room with a platter of assorted cold meats. "I told the chef it was a late-night snack for you. He's angry about someone stealing from his stores. If he found out it was an animal, he might want to kill it." She explained when Su raised a questioning eyebrow at silver service for a foxcrow.
Su motioned with her free hand for the tray to be set down. "Thank you for your consideration. I'm sure we'll find something that this one likes." She turned her attention back to the foxcrow, which suprised her by still staring at her rather than leaping for the food.
"What have you suffered at the hands of humans?" Su mused, taking a piece of meat, and eating it herself. "See? It's not poisoned."
She picked up another piece of meat and held it before the foxcrow but it turned its nose away. "You only like food when it's stolen? Is that it?" She went to eat it herself but the foxcrow let go of her hand and leapt suddenly, its wings knocking into her face as it snatched the meat from her hand. "So it is." She couldn't help but laugh even as she wrapped her hand in her robe, watching as the foxcrow wolfed it down and then gobbled up every last scrap that had been on the platter.
"You should get to the healer. There's no telling what that thing has."
"I doubt it's venomous." Su smiled, amused at the captain's concern. She waited until the foxcrow had returned its gaze to her before speaking to it further. "I have a proposition for you. We will give you food if you stop stealing from our stores. If you still wish to feel as if you're stealing, I will order platters of food and leave them here on this desk for you."
"Wait!" The captain interrupted in a helpless voice. "That still means we're losing food!"
Su fixed her with a sharp stare.
"Is it to be your pet now?" the captain realised a lost cause when she saw one.
"A foxcrow is a wild animal." Su frowned in remonstration at the idea. "I wouldn't dare even an attempt at taming it. But I'm curious about its ability to metalbend. Worth a few scraps of meat to find out more, hm?" Su's tone was resolute, and the captain gave up.
"Just go see a healer about that hand." She sighed. "I'm going to tell the extra guards they can get some sleep now."
"I should get the healer to check you over too." Su watched the fox crow groom itself, sharp teeth pulling feathers into a more orderly position and paws smoothing the fur around its ears. "Well? Are you coming with me?" she asked as she stood up.
The foxcrow tilted its head to one side, as if considering her for a moment before it spread its wings and half clawed, half flew its way onto her shoulder. Su froze for a moment, not wanting to startle it as it scrambled to find a way to keep its balance. She grasped the food platter, hoping the foxcrow would see it as safe and bent it into a wide shallow bowl, attaching it to the back of her necklace. She gripped her necklace tightly in her good hand to prevent it from throttling her as the foxcrow quite happily slid into it and sat there. She could smell its pungent scent, feel its warm breath on the back of her neck. As she walked along, she laughed softly at the thought of what her healer would say to such a strange patient.
Her healer fixed Su's hand in minutes but admitted to having no experience of foxcrows.
"You'll need a vet; there's several in the farms in the valley. But she's lively enough." The healer had put on thick leather gloves to protect him from the sharp needle teeth of the foxcrow but she was still making a spirited effort to chew his hands. "I'd recommend a bath though."
The foxcrow froze.