"Erik!", your eyes widened in shock as the raven suddenly spread its wings and escaped the stone by a hair's breadth.

Cawing, it fluttered up to the beams, considered perching there, but finally decided to disappear through the same window it had come through.

Sleipnir let out a snort.

You could hardly believe that Erik had thrown a stone at a bird. A raven of the Allfather.

The thought sent shivers down your spine.

"Why did you do that?", you asked with a furrowed brow. "The poor animal."

Unmoved, he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's a raven from Odin.", he said, as if that justified what he had done. "I don't want to be spied on."

A heavy sigh rolled from your lips as you closed your eyes to collect your thoughts.

"You are acting rashly.", you said in a warning tone.

"Why are you afraid of the gods? They have no interest in simple people like us."

"I am not afraid.", your gaze wandered up to the window, hoping to catch sight of the raven.

But all that met your eyes was a sky slowly decorated with the sparkling of the stars.

With an annoyed grunt, Erik rose from the hay and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't tell me you care for that bird?"

"Its not at fault."

"You're always so gentle and understanding.", he murmured, almost disgusted, and glanced at you out of the corner of his eye. "Someday that will be your undoing."

You took a deep breath.

A wave of anger arose in you. But there was no point in it.

In the end, your anger would do nothing but harm.

Most of his words didn't carry much weight anyway. When the day was long he said a lot and the next morning it was all forgotten again.

"Go home, Erik.", you said in a low voice, tired of listening to him talk any longer. "I will do the rest."

Hesitantly his eyes wandered through the stable.

The floor was already swept, you had already fed most of the animals. He had slept quite long this time, long enough to do most of the day's chores on your own.

All that remained was to brush the Allfather's horse so that the fur would continue to have a perfect shine.

But you always did that task alone anyway.

Sleipnir was no friend of Erik's and kicked his stomach whenever he had the chance.

"Erik.", you finally turned your head to look him in the eye. "Go. I can do the rest on my own."

For a moment he stared at you.

His eyes did not even blink. He just stood there and did nothing.

It wasn't hard to get emotions out of Erik. He wore his heart on his sleeve and was otherwise quite transparent.

But this time you couldn't tell if he was relieved or offended that you sent him home.

Finally he lifted his chin, took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders.

"If you insist.", he said in an indifferent tone, plucking a few straws from his hair.

Without looking back or hesitating, he headed towards the gate.

"Take care!", you called after him.

Then he was gone.

For a few minutes you stared in the direction he had disappeared, watching silhouettes on their way back to their loved ones after another day of hard work.

Inwardly you wondered how long Erik would go through life like a child. He could hardly keep his mouth shut and whenever something didn't suit him his moods got worse.

You had hoped that he would change with age.

But he was still the same dreamer with unrealistic ideas.

Sometimes you thought he thought of himself as one of the gods. He made fun of the fact that you were satisfied with the life of a simple person.

But you knew that his attitude would eventually be his undoing.

All at once, a muzzle bumped against your shoulder and pulled you out of your thoughts.

A thin smirk conquered your lips.

"Don't be so impatient.", you said in a gentle tone and rubbed Sleipnir's nostrils.

Satisfied, the horse snorted but pounded the ground with his hooves.

Next door, Gulltoppr raised his head. Blood had stained the pale fur around the muzzle.

It smelled of raw flesh and iron.

The Allfather's horse regarded the beast beside it for a moment before looking back at you with calm in its eyes. So it was not the degree that had made the creature so restless, but the presence of Heimdall.

It was not clear to you why Sleipnir disliked the god of foresight, but there must surely be a good reason for it.

Animals had a fine sense. Especially when it came to creatures more powerful than themselves.

Your hand slipped into the bag you wore around your shoulders and fished out all the fruit you could grab.

The horse's ears lifted at the sight. Curious, he sniffed your hand before opening his lips to pluck a carrot from your fingers.

Gulltoppr did not seem averse either.

The big head lifted.

Warm breath brushed over your outstretched hand, up your arm and into the rolled-up sleeves of your shirt. The mouth opened to reveal two rows of sharp teeth.

Hesitantly you held out your hand.

The rough surface of the tongue grabbed the fruit.

For a moment you feared that the beast forgot that your fingers were not food.

But Gulltoppr was surprisingly gentle for a creature of his nature and pulled back before he began to chew.

Satisfied purrs sounded.

Relieved, you exhaled and wiped the saliva on your clothes.

"Good boy.", you stroked the animal's head.

Sleipnir stomped on the ground.

Huffing, you scratched his ears as well.

"You're also a good boy.", you said with a smile. "And so demanding."

You could feel a yawn rise up your throat.

Exhaustion was already spreading through you.

The work was demanding, especially when you had to do everything yourself without the promised help.

Tiredness made you yawn.

Your gaze wandered to one of the mountains of fresh hay.

A little nap wouldn't hurt.