"Is that ink?" Loki inquired, seated to one side of Odin, Thor to Odin's other side. Winter sat across the table from Loki, and Heimdall was seated at the side of Thor, Loki seemed more then willing to find something OTHER then tales he'd already heard a hundred times before. It would appear the Vikings did enjoy a good feast, particularly when in the presence of 'gods'. It was rather fortunate Winter had arrived when she had, for instead of the returning members of the village taking it upon themselves to attack, the group joined in the merriment.

The feast was a glorious one, if you liked that sort of thing. Ale and mead was aplenty, as well as various portions of hunted meat and game, with good stories passed all around. The Vikings seemed more then willing to hear about the tales of Asgard, a few being penned down as legends as the night went on, and alternatively, the Asgardians were interested in the world of Midgard and its developments since the last time Midgard had been visited.

Before the night was over more than one Asgardian ways had been quickly adopted into the culture of the Vikings. Winter couldn't help but smirk a moment as destruction seemed to cluster around the heels of the seated, as was typical on Asgard when a meal was good. Winter had been seated beside a rather rambunctious bunch of Vikings, who took to laughing boisteriously at nearly every tale.

A rather loud laugh that grew infectious throughout the night, a smile touching on her lips every so often.

"Mm? Where?" Winter frowned, quirking an eyebrow to the teenager across the table, he was about as tall as her, though his shoulders were far more broad. Winter's plate was piled with pickings she had long since learned she favored on Midgard. Truly, Asgardian food was superior, and she didn't often make a habit of the Midgardian diet. The ale, however..

She could make a habit of drinking that!

"On your arm, the shoulder." Loki gestured to Winter's arm, much to her bewilderment. At the start of the day, she KNEW she'd had sleeves, but, low and behold, her arm was bare, and more then one layer of the ornate dress was torn beyond repair.

Hmm, no wonder she had gotten more 'Are you insane' looks then usual.

Her left shoulder did indeed hold ink, a strange runic curling across the base of her shoulder, lined with cracks of a deep red design.

"Oh, that." Winter shrugged as if it were a trivial matter, "Yes.. I suppose that counts as ink. But it's actually under my skin, so it's called a tattoo." Winter continued as he looked strangely interested in the concept, ah, he always had such an active curiosity! "They take these needles, and inject the ink under the skin." Winter explained shortly, turning her arm towards him to more prominently display the tattoo, "It hurts quite a bit, I'll admit, but it's permanent. So it doesn't wash out."

"I don't recognize the symbol." Loki leaned forwards interestedly eyes skimming her shoulder as if trying to decode the runic symbol.

Poor thing.

"Why should you?" Winter smirked, raising a mug of ale with a grin, "It's a Nightmare one." She explained shortly, taking a fair amount of drink.

Mm.. She hadn't realised just how long it'd been since she'd been on Midgard. A week? Two? Strange, she seemed to be spending more and more time on Asgard!

How unlike her.

"What does it mean?"

"Oblivion." Winter answered distractedly, turning her head to the stories Thor was so eager to tell, knocking over a few mugs of mead and plates in his desire to portray the action of the moment through arm movements. Winter smiled under her breath as Odin shook his head disapprovingly, Thor immediately gave a charming sort of smile, rightening a few mugs before continuing his story.

"It must have great meaning to you, to desire it to be permanent." Loki noted with a small sigh to his brother's actions, shaking his head shortly before looking back to Winter.

"Indeed it does." Winter smirked, setting the mug back on the table, receiving an amused grin of challenge back. Before Loki could speak, however, Odin called for his attention, and kept it for the majority of the night on matters of a boring nature. Winter leaned back in her chair, eyes settling upon the sky for a long, quiet moment.

A shame she had to wait to leave with them, truly.

After a good deal of time, when others would not accuse her of sulking, you see, Winter stepped away from the feast, excusing herself with nothing short of perfect manners.

So, of course, she swore to a fair degree with a smile and a quick tongue.

Heimdall so after, joined her, standing to her side as she browsed some of the wares of the few remaining traders that didn't participate in the feast. "I did not open the Bifrost to you." He stated, not accusingly, but most certainly not questioningly.

"Indeed you did, I have been on Midgard for a short time now. I do leave Asgard quite often, perhaps you simply forgot?" Winter didn't look up from her matters, giving the trader a short smile as she relinquished a handful of silvers, dropping the clinking coins into his waiting hand. Heimdall watched her a moment longer, "I did not forget. I did not open the Bifrost to you."

"Perhaps you are mistaken." Winter insisted with a look to Heimdall, taking the Viking knife in hand, bouncing it in her palm as if assessing the weight, mocking the appearance of her mind on other matters. In truth, her mind was working quite quickly. Winter had threatened Loki with her telling of the portal's presences had he not helped her, which he, in the end, had, as such, they would remain a tale untold.

Regardless, who knew when she'd need them once again?

Odin didn't trust her, and she didn't trust him, to say the least. So why lay all her cards on the table? Anything she told Heimdall would no doubt be immediately told to Odin, proving him an inneffectiual confidant on these matters.

She could most certainly multitask, as it were, on this subject.

But oh HELL! He was IMPOSSIBLE to argue with! He didn't doubt himself, didn't SUPPOSE he may have been mistaken, didn't retort, didn't drop the subject.

He just TOLD.

"I am never mistaken."

Winter turned the knife in her palm, a wooden handle with carved intricate markings upon the hilt twisted nearly to the blade. The blade itself was a soft sort of grey, with Viking runic markings hemming the edge of the blade. It was smaller, easily concellable. Setting the knife at her belt, Winter gave Heimdall a friendly sort of smile.

"Just what are you accusing me of? If I had the ability to teleport without your knowledge, I assure you, I wouldn't be bothering you every week for your help. Not that I dislike your company, of course." Winter added with a short laugh.

Heimdall watched her a moment longer, wearing perhaps the best poker face Winter had ever seen in all of her lifetimes. "I accuse you of nothing, Lady Winter."

Winter chuckled, giving him a warm sort of smile, "You know I hate that title. I am simply a merchant."

"My apologies, it seems my memory is failing me of late." He grinned.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"I am rather curious where the origin of a 'god' comes from, Winter." Winter inclined an eyebrow to Loki, the feast was continuing in the background, and most certainly the majority of those still remaining were far too drunk for their own good. It lead to a few laughs, of course, where a bit of lack of coordinate led to some entertaining, yet predictable outcomes. But other then that, it tried on one's nerves. The pair had taken to a walk around the village itself, rather, once Odin had finished the important matters.

Truly, Winter could TELL they were important Asgardian matters, from her desire to doze off as soon as they were mentioned.

Besides, she hadn't enjoyed the inability to speak with him during the feast, so many people demanded the both of their attentions, and truly, she found herself interested in his inquisions.

It baffled her what interested him.

"God? Why, it's some nonsense word." Winter chuckled, shrugging her arms softly, her breath curling in the air as she spoke. The cold edged her skin, though Loki seemed unaffected by the freezing temperatures, how strange.. She supposed at a thought, though.. What did she know of Asgardians?

"It's from the Nightmare word Goddess. There was only one Goddess, unlike what I told. Her name was Tasaria, the Star Thief." Winter chuckled, "Oh, I always loved her story, her legend.." Sighing softly at the memory, Winter shook her head instead, leaning down and lifting some of the powdered snow between her fingertips, absently balling it up between her quickly numbing fingers. "But, I digress. Goddess was a rank, a title, if you will, it translates loosely into 'Immense Power Not To Be Offended.' "

"Just what are those legends, might I inquire?"

Winter chuckled, allowing the snow to drift between her fingertips, mind on other matters. "Truly, her legends exceed the length of the night. Though, I can tell you she was as revered as she was feared, blamed for the destruction that came upon Daxidaile yet adored for the existance of it."

"Quite a bit different then the stories you told, I see."

"Well, yes. I had to change the word a bit to make it more masculine, so it translates into something else." Winter smirked, "Actually, 'God' translates into 'Immense Power To Be Offended.' "

"Do all masculine Nightmare words translate to such?"

"Why yes, they do. Feminine endings such as 'ia' or 'ess' in titles means 'Not To Be Offended' while the lack of such means one SHOULD offend them."

"And what did the Nightmares refer to men who were not to be offended?"

"Mm.. We didn't get a lot of those, to be honest. Besides, most words sound better with 'ess' on the end. Dragoness, Tricksteress.."

"Asgardians have those words, Dragon, Trickster. What's the difference between a Tricksteress and a Trickster?"

"Well, you get the word Trickster from Nightmares, we came first. But the definitions are different, for you, Tricksters refer to one's tendancy to play pranks, tricks, jokes, and the like. A Tricksteress, however, is far different. They're.. Darker, in a sense. They were powerful beings that ranked higher than Atdis himself. They didn't age as the Nightmares did, lived longer, actually, by a rather far amount. They were powerful creatures, and often ruled."

"And what are the differences between a Dragoness and a Dragon?"

Winter stopped, a frown appearing on her lips,

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm simply trying to think of how to explain it. It's a complicated matter, actually."

Loki pointedly shifted his weight between his feet, folding his hands behind his back patiently with a smile. Winter smirked and tapped her chin, "Well, Nightmares, as a species, are fused with other creatures. Not in the manner you're thinking of, I assure you." Winter held up both hands, shaking her head, "Nightmares had this method of Magick, like you do, but it comes with age, and upon a certain age, the Nightmare children venture out into The Nightmare Realm on their own. Surviving by themselves they locate an animal, be it supposedly mythological, or not, that they favor. Once the animal is found, the Child Nightmare takes specific traits from the creature, which become permanent, and their appearance, personality and other such details change to match the creature."

"A Dragoness is a Nightmare that located a Dragon, and took specific traits of it, they're truly quite hard to locate. Typically, certain creatures are more respected than others, it's called the title of a name, while Tricksteress is a rank."

"What is YOUR title?"

"Mine? Why, I'm nothing but a lowly merchant of fine and exotic wares." Winter grinned coyly. Loki grinned, shaking his head, "What if a man wanted to be a Trickster in the Nightmare Realm?"

A laugh slipped out from Winter before she covered her mouth with a grin, "What? A guy Tricksteress?" Another, louder laugh slipped out between her fingers, bubbling to the surface, "Why would he do THAT?" Winter's shoulders shook with withheld laughter, "Doubt it'd work, everyone'd just be laughing all the time." Winter pointed out, a grin across her features at the very idea.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Later that night, the Vikings took to proclaiming the full titles of each supposed god, at Winter's.. Gentle guidance.

Truly, it should, at the very least be mildly entertaining.

Thor at the time had told more then a fair deal of stories, each coloring the personality and touching upon the past and misadventures of all that he could think of. Winter, was of course, not included, at least, not in the obvious sense, occasionally she made appearances in the stories, but she quickly derailed any and all stories where she was one of the main characters or made an impact of great deal.

Thus, the vast majority of her stories remained untold.

In truth, while a good story should include herself, she couldn't risk Atdis discovering her survival from her death, even if her name had changed. All Royal Nightmares could always leap from the Nightmare Realm and into Midgard, if they desired it, Atdis and herself being the final ones, there was no doubt as to why she didn't desire word of her survival to spread.

Odin had quite the title, taking both the rank of God of War and Death, as well as God of Wisdom and Poetry. How poetry was associated with him, Winter had no clue.

Heimdall was simply given the title of The Watchman of The Gods, personally, it seemed kind of disappointing. Still.. She supposed that God of Shiny Things and Rainbow Bridges didn't sound too good.

Thor, for his part, was given quite the title in return for his rather likable nature and obvious power. He took the title of The God of Thunder and Lightning, for his actions to claim the title of 'god'

Loki, hilariously, was entitled The God Of Mischief, and, further, The Trickster.

Winter fell back, laughing so hard she couldn't breathe, lungs completely empty. Winter's shoulders shook with complete laughter and her head was thrown back at the very idea of a Trickster so much so that she had to hold herself up with a hand on the nearest wall. Oh! She couldn't breathe!

A Trickster?!

Priceless!

Loki watched her completely unamused, seemingly quite taken with his title, and less then impressed with the STILL laughing mad woman.

Chuckling, Winter rightened herself, still grinning widely at the very idea, unable to help herself as another laugh slipped out. A Viking to her side, one of the loud, drunk ones she'd been seated beside, inquired as to her own title, and her own stories. Winter smirked, shaking her head softly at the idea, "No," Winter smiled to herself, "I'm not one of them."

"I'm no Goddess."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"You stole a horse." Odin scowled at her from the throne, his hand holding that staff of his firmly, sitting stiffly. This time Winter did not have chains upon her, she had the feeling it was due to her tendancy to make others' ears ache with a vengence for chaining her up. Behind Winter, in a vast array, stood several supposedly 'wronged' people in which Winter had committed crimes against in her rush to Midgard.

Ungrateful things!

But it wasn't as if she could admit she'd committed the crimes during her rush to Midgard.

"Indeed." Winter nodded her head.

"As well as a barrel." Odin frowned at the idea. And ever so slightly, appeared perhaps a bit baffled at how it was necessary in the moment.

"Yes." Winter inclined her head.

"And a goat." He narrowed his eyes, as if some joke was being played.

"Yeah.." Winter shrugged her arms slowly.

"And a woman?" Odin gave Winter a look, one bordering on bafflement to the list of crimes, as well as annoyance for something so petty coming to him.

"In my defense, I had no idea she was in the barrel." Winter held up both her hands, shaking her head. "Truly, she should have said something."

"I did!" A woman behind Winter insisted, to which Winter turned on her heel, pointing at her with a mock stern face. "Apparently not loud enough."

"What is your defense, Winter?"

"I payed for a new barrel," Winter ticked a finger off of her hand, "I returned the goat," She ticked off the next, "The horse, I assure you, I meant to return, but he's been following me around since. Apparently, I'm to charismatic for my own good, as such, I payed it's worth twice fold. As trying to return him by force proved innefectual, as he simply decimated the stable. I had it rebuilt, of course." Winter ticked off another finger, holding up only one, "And the woman, I have no idea how to repay that. That one wasn't my fault. And there's not exactly any way one can undo that."

"But hell, the barrel ride must have been fun. Frankly, she should be paying ME." Winter laid a hand over her heart, a smile on her features as she turned back to Odin, who didn't appear to amused by her antics.

Same old, same old.

"That is not an explanation, nor a defense, Winter."

"Indeed it is not."

"You refuse to explain your crimes?" Odin frowned, raising an eyebrow.

"Indeed I do." Winter inclined her head.

"Then you'll pay four times the value for your crimes. Each." He sentenced, more so attempting to prompt her into an explanation then a proper sentence.

"As you say." Winter turned upon her heel, moving to stride out of the room, Odin blinked, as if surprised.

"What was your business on Midgard?"

"Our agreement included that none should be hurt from my coming to Asgard," Winter answered over her shoulder, "Either directly or not. If you followed after me, I should say the Midgardians getting harmed would be, in effect, indirectly my fault."

"I see. You may leave now." He excused her, eyes narrowed as to her strange tendancies to avoid questions, even when she should be more then willing to answer them for her own sake, if nothing else.

Winter smiled under her breath, striding past the 'wronged' array of people and out the palace doors. Loki, who at the time, had long since taken to eavesdropping on Winter's trials, strode out after her, under cover and well hidden, naturally.

"Do you have the necessary amounts?" He inquired quietly, striding at her right side as soon as they were out of earshot of Odin. "Not in the slightest." Winter admitted with a sigh, raising a hand and pinching the bridge of her nose, "I have no idea how to come up with the amount necessary, actually. My wares are useful, certainly, but they truly only go so far. Coming up with that amount in a short amount of time.."

Loki stopped, giving an amused sort of grin to Winter, "Allow me to assist."