A/N: I do not own Thor or anything else you would recognize. I, also, do not own the Norse Gods. I merely researched so I could eventually get a little more indepth and gain more understanding of Thor. This is eventual Loki/OC despite my OC, Josilia Griffinhoff, meeting Thor first.

This is Pre-Thor. I plan on making this story go through Thor, Avengers and eventually Thor 2 as well, just hang in tight and enjoy!

Chapter One: A Run-In With the God of Thunder

The trees wavered in the breeze. Her ears were strained to snatch any sign of movement made by a life form other than the impeccable plants that grew gracefully in Asgard. Despite her remarkable hearing, she found herself loathing the windy days when the leaves would rustle with every small gust of wind that surpassed the woods just beyond the village below Odin's mighty castle. The simple task of hunting became something more complex with every blow.

At the sounding of small feet landing on bark, the goddess stood still and strained her ears to where she thought she had heard the noise. She spotted the common creature in the middle of nibbling on a wild nut; brown fur covered in dirt and mud and round, black eyes bulging as it saw its predator ready to shoot an arrow in its direction. Before it could leap away to a different branch, she flung one of her home-made arrows at it and caught it dead in between the eyes.

The goddess had a sort of skip in her footing as she climbed elegantly up the tree to inspect her catch. This would be the seventh piece of meat she was able to take back to the village that night. It wasn't the most she had ever caught, but it was plenty to last tonight. Tomorrow she would get up early enough to begin a longer day of hunting.

It was increasingly dark and staying out late at night wasn't at all the most brilliant idea; even in Asgard. There were many thieves, abductors, murderers and immoral persons who would love a beautiful goddess to lie beneath him in his bed. Such a thought made the robust woman shudder. She could easily annihilate one or two; however, any more and she might be able to escape harm's way.

Another noise snapped the goddess from her sinister thoughts. She pulled her hood on her cloak over her head, equipping another wooden arrow and placing it against the bow, ready for something or someone to attack.

The noise was growing nearer. It was clear that they were footsteps belonging to a rather large size of a man, but everywhere she turned, she couldn't find a single soul.

Her stance protruded strength as she circled in place.

"Who are you?" asked a deep, booming voice that caused the goddess's heart to quiver.

A low growl escaped her throat after reacting in a pathetic way.

The stranger had come out from behind a few trees and overgrown brush. His strides showed he was confident. He didn't appear too dim-witted, so she waited for more to come out behind him, but none showed. His shoulder-length blond hair and handsome face made her recognize him immediately. Odin's mighty son, God of Thunder, the incredible Thor, Prince of Asgard.

Muttering a curse to herself, she tossed the bow and arrow aside and instead, equipped a dagger she had encased under her cloak. She couldn't hurt him, for there would be severe punishment for harming the Prince of Asgard, but running away was never her idiosyncrasy. And the very last thing she wanted was to give the prince something to feed his confidence more-over.

Thor examined the Asgardian before him. He appeared little and quite thin-boned for a man. He concluded that he was probably just a boy looking for trouble. "I mean no harm, but I suggest you leave the woods before you run into someone who will truly kill you, for there are many who roam especially at night. Your physique doesn't help you plenty."

The goddess furrowed her brows at the insult. She knew of how the Asgardians lived and that included the cliché portrayal of women being the weaker gender. They were placed in the homes, doing nothing more than cooking and cleaning and watching after the young. That was definitely one reason she refused to make Asgard her permanent home. Having grown up in a kingdom where every person—male or female—was trained to become a warrior for Odin's army. Although, Odin never cared for the women being in his large army of warriors. As far as the goddess knew, the women worked under his wife's orders instead, which the goddess found discriminating and crude.

The prince was expectant upon the smaller of the two to leave, but the goddess stood in her attack stance, not backing down. His brows furrowed as were hers and he stepped closer to her.

"If you want a battle, I can provide one for you," he smirked, clearly over-confident.

She chuckled at his words; after all, it was always fun to find a new opponent. It was only too bad that she couldn't inflict any damage on him. Instead, she will have to prove his poor judgment in a less harmful manner.

He gave a stiff nod as if understanding what she wanted. He made a swift swing and she ducked unfazed. Her dagger was gripped tightly in her left hand. Glancing overhead, she saw a low branch that she would easily be capable of climbing onto.

The goddess let Thor swing and miss her one more time before grabbing onto the low branch with her free hand. She pulled herself up and leaped to a different branch that was behind her opponent. She jumped onto his back and placed the tip of her dagger in his neck. The attack was quick and a blur to Thor. He was taken aback by how swift the little one moved and he felt angered having been left vulnerable to the one who was now on his back.

When he felt the point of the dagger on the nape of his neck, he dropped his massive sword and reached over to grab a part of the little one. Taking hold of the small wrist, he pulled the goddess over his shoulder and thrusted her onto the forest floor.

She gasped for air. She hadn't hit the ground that hard in a long time and the feeling of having all the air knocked out wasn't a feeling she particularly liked. The goddess rolled onto her stomach and got up, trying to hide the fact that she was still struggling for oxygen.

She had taken her bow and arrows back into her possession and aimed it at Thor, but he was already holding his sword on her cloak against her neck. She smirked. Now, it was whoever could move quicker.

A soon as she saw a smirk across the prince's face, she lifted her right leg and kicked the sword out of his hand as hard as she could. Having dropped his sword, he decided he would use his bare hands. Thor didn't take losing to his liking, and he would hate to know how he lost to a small boy such as the one before him, so he stormed over to the little one and took the goddess by the throat.

She glared at him from under her cloak. The little one was internally grateful for the darkness of the night. The last thing she wanted was for him to know what she looked like. Not only was it because she was female, but because she would have to leave Asgard and wander until she found a new purpose to live. Currently, feeding those who needed the food was her top and only priority. Having that stolen from a prince who could easily end the poverty made her blood boil.

"I must say," he started arrogantly; "you are quite the fighter. Tell me your name, if you will."

When he didn't get an answer, he placed his hand on the edge of the hood and tried removing it, but he was stopped immediately by the little one's dagger back at his neck.

Thor frowned, "You do realize who I am, do you not? I am Thor, God of Thunder! Prince of Asgard. Your attack could potentially get you sent to prison for life, if not executed immediately."

She was quite disappointed. It appeared as though he was trying to use his status to get her not to sever his handsome head from his large neck.

Kneeing him in the groin, he let her neck go and fell to the ground in pain. The goddess felt satisfied with his pain and sprinted quietly away from him before he could get up and go after her.

Being ever so thankful to the Gods that he hadn't taken her hood off her petite head, she found herself running all the way through the village and into Keenan's small house.

Keenan was a woman of fifty-four, living with five small grandchildren and two of her own children who were now in their thirties.

Walking into the one-room house with heavy breathing, the goddess noticed that Keenan was the only one present. She was mixing a large wooden bowl of meal with a large ladle. Had the meal not been so thin, the goddess would have suggested using a different utensil to do the job, but Keenan seemed to know that a ladle was doing the job just fine.

"Ah! Josilia, I am happy you have made it back to town safely. It is quite dark out now, you know. Did everything go well with you hunting trip?" she asked with a smile.

The goddess took off her cloak and returned the kindness with a pearly-white smile as well, "For the most part; however, I fear I have gotten myself into a predicament that could cause me to retire from this town a lot earlier than initially planned."

Keenan raised a brow in curiosity. As she waited for the young Josilia to elaborate on the matter, the old woman took a notice to how dirty and worn her jade cloak looked and made a mental note to sew and clean it in due time.

Josilia made her way to the cot lying on the floor and plopped herself down onto it, feeling a rush of tiredness run through her body. She didn't feel like explaining the events that happened only moments ago. Of course, she wasn't sure she could explain. Why was the prince outside of the castle? What was his business before he had ever caught her sneaking around in the woods?

It was true that the law stated no Asgardian was to wander the woods and poach unless given permission; however, being the goddess she was, Josilia took that literally and went to hunt anyway for she wasn't an Asgardian. She merely traveled there to help those in need and didn't plan on staying for all eternity, so punishment didn't seem something to bestow on her. The thought seemed on the contrary because laws would be laws and royals would be royals and soldiers would be soldiers; therefore, she would be castigated. The Gods only knew how the castigation would go about.

Peering at the dead animals before her, Keenan gave a half-hearted chuckle, "Only seven, I see? I assume you will take your leave in the morning and go back to the wilderness, eh? You know, you have done so much for us. I believe a vacation is in order. Yes, indeed. How about you stay in the house with me and we will create a feast," she smiled. When she looked back on the meat, she added, "Save the meat, however."

"Gathering meat in the forest is not hard labor, I promise you, Keenan." The goddess removed herself from the cot and walked over the old woman, giving her a small peck on the forehead, "I left my weapon of choice in the forest. I will be back shortly. If any thieves had robbed me of it, I think I might be a bit longer," she winked at her.

Keenan shook her head, "I do not think it wise. Wait to tomorrow and I will see you out."

The stubborn young lady wouldn't have it. She shook her head, "I won't be long. Merely swift, yet thorough searches for my bow and I will be back before any of the others realize I'm late."

She walked out the small door, leaving Keenan worried of her safety; however, Josilia was no ordinary lady and she respected that. Her strength was of the strongest warrior, she held skills of weaponry of the most dedicated craftsman, and her wit was of the wisest king. Of course, that was all in the old woman's eyes.

Glancing about the narrow streets, Josilia noticed that there were more guards marching. One of them knocked on the door of a neighbor she had only met once. When the owner of the house opened, the guard asked, "Have you seen a small boy with a green cloak running loose in the town?"

The neighbor shook his head nonchalantly, "I haven't seen this boy you speak of. However, if you would like to speak to the woman next door, she may be of more help."

Josilia sidled along the wall and turned a corner before darting off. The damned prince had already tattled on her before she could even have a peaceful night's sleep. When she made it into the forest, she pulled the cloak hood over her head and tried to calm herself down.

She retraced her steps to where she had thought her weapon was, but seeing that it wasn't there, she figured she was in the wrong spot. Of course, as she looked to see the heavy footprints and the smaller ones intertwining with one another, she knew that this was where the small battle against the Thunder God had been at play. She wasn't in the wrong area; the prince had just taken her bow and arrows. She felt herself go into a panic.

The goddess wanted her bow and quiver of arrows back…. No, she needed her bow and quiver of arrows back.

"There he is!" someone shouted from behind her. A rapid amount of footsteps marched in her direction.

Running was something she considered rationally now, but one of the guards shouted, "Sir! The prince of Asgard has requested to see you. He stated that he and you were old friends and he would like to dine with you this evening."

The goddess kept her head to the ground and away from the guards. Giving a huff, she mumbled, "I had mine own dining this evening and would like to have the rest of the night in peace."

"The prince told us you would say that. He also told us that if you did not come, he would destroy the bow and arrows you had carelessly left behind in this very forest," the guard said. None of them seemed to care or question what was going on. They were like loyal puppy-dogs with nowhere and no one else to go to, so they followed orders from whoever had taken them in.

Feeling torn between forgetting her arrows and leaving with only a small hole in her heart and going with the guards to only be revealed to who she truly was, had kept her in that same, neck-bent stance before finally making her decision.

She gave a lowly mumble as to not reveal her true gender, even though she knew that it would be inevitable, "I suppose I should follow the prince's orders. Take me to him and don't be so quick and manhandling. One single movement out of place and I will see to it that your heads are mounted above my fireplace."

Some of the guards gave a chuckle at the empty threat. They wondered what such a young boy could do to them, but they weren't going against his request, because he was the prince's friend as far as any of them knew. Hurting him would end up resulting in facing the God of Thunder's wrath and they all knew it wouldn't be pretty. However, they were more fearful of what his brother could do. After all, the Thor's brother was the God of Mischief and Lies and was known to be quite the brutal trickster.