As expected, Yuna healed nicely in a few days' time. The meal had been more than enough to suffice long enough for her to return to her usual activities. She no longer had her pack, but she didn't need them. In truth, the goddess simply enjoyed their company. Running around with a group of wild animals was preferable to being completely alone.

Now, in much better condition, she was aiming to complete her desired goal. Paws padded softly through the snow as she tracked her next target, a small deer she had found wandering through the forest. It was young, likely separated from its herd. The winter goddess felt sympathy for the fawn. She took no pleasure in its death, but realistically, all alone in the woods, its days were numbered anyway. It was better for her to put it out of its misery, as her method would be far more merciful than that of her brethren. After tailing for a short while she found it, still isolated near the forest's edge. Yuna made sure to extinguish its light as painlessly as possible.

A small trail of red stained the landscape as the wolf dragged her kill through the forest. Her destination was a small cottage not far from the woods. Immediately after recovering, Yuna had followed the scent of her helpers through the brush. The trail led her to this location. While Balder's scent appeared to lead further into the city, Loki's was strongest here. Exiting the tree line, she moved into the open and made her way towards the cottage, dragging her prey along with her. Her plan was to simply leave it on his doorstep and be on her way. With her debt repaid, there was no further reason for them to interact with one another. But it seemed that very little was going according to plan as of late.

"Eh?!"

Startled by the sudden voice, Yuna jumped slightly and turned her head. Behind her, emerging from a different part of the tree line was the very god she had been looking for with a reasonably surprised look on his face. She must have looked ridiculous, standing not ten paces from his doorstep, dragging a lifeless fawn by the neck.

The two stared at one another for a short while, neither one certain how to handle the other. The situation was strange to say the least and certainly the last thing that Loki had expected to find when he returned home from his outing with Balder. After a short stalemate, the goddess decided that she had had enough and resolved to make the first move. Slowly, she lowered the fawn to the ground with a quiet thump and lifted her head. She was eyeing him carefully, as she had no idea how the other god was going to react.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he observed her. In his many centuries, he had encountered more wildlife than he would ever care to count. Wolves in particular were a common confrontation as they generally hunted the same game. They were dangerous creatures, especially in Asgard, where all living things seemed to grow larger, stronger, and far more aggressive. Yet strangely, this wolf had little interest in conflict. In fact, she seemed to desire the opposite, stepping cautiously away from him.

It was such an unusual behavior that the fire god couldn't help but lift an eyebrow, following her movements with his golden eyes. She seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen her before. Then, it hit him. Her snowy white fur and moonlight eyes. The first and only animal to ever reject Balder. Stepping slowly forward, he muttered partially to himself. "It's you…"

At the sound of his voice, Yuna turned and fled. She rushed across the clearing and back into the cover of the trees, leaving a startled Loki behind her. After she vanished into the brush, the god of fire tilted his head slightly at the slaughtered fawn near his doorstep. Had she brought this for him? Now, he was beyond suspicious. Recalling their first encounter in the forest, he thought for a moment, just a moment, that perhaps she was returning the favor. Of course, it was as ridiculous as it sounded, a wolf repaying a debt. That was nonsensical even to him, and he was a god of mischief.

Yet before him lay the proof, a fresh kill that she had clearly dragged to his doorstep. Or would have if he hadn't interrupted her. How had she found his home anyway? Had she followed his scent all the way through the forest? If so, why? Placing the absurdity of an indebted animal aside, the concept still didn't make any logical sense to him. Did she really go to all to this trouble over a little rabbit?

Shaking his head, Loki quickly silenced his rapid thoughts. At this point, his brain was going off on a pointless tangent. Regardless of her intentions, she was gone now. There was no point in pondering it further. For now, he would simply enjoy the gift, since she had been kind enough to bring it to him. Continuing through the snow, he grabbed the small deer and dragged it behind him towards his home. He was so preoccupied contemplating how he was going to prepare it, that he didn't feel the golden eyes watching him through the trees.

. . .

A few days had passed since Loki's unusual encounter with the forest wolf. After cleaning and carving the carcass, he had prepared a hearty meal for himself and two closest friends. He invited them to his home, where the three of them enjoyed a small feast with generous helpings of mead. Over their dinner conversation, the topic of their meal arose, leading to a discussion of the animal in question. Unsurprisingly, the two brothers stared incredulously at him as he attempted to explain the events from earlier that day.

Balder shook his head, white locks waving like a silken curtain. "Loki… this had better not be another one of your pranks."

"I'm not making this up." The fire god frowned, a little hurt by the accusation. "Besides, even if I did come up with such a thing, why would I prank myself?"

Thor slowly nodded his head in acceptance of Loki's explanation. It was truly an elaborate tale, and certainly not one that would be of any benefit for him to set up. Considering that the result had been free venison, it would actually be more helpful than troublesome.

After a few moments of silence, the light god tilted his head. "It's certainly strange."

Loki bobbed his head up and down, eyes gazing into the fire between them. As the yellow and orange flames danced beneath his gaze, he was reminded once again of her determined eyes. "But you know…" He started, gently twirling a crimson braid around his finger. "What's stranger is, I think I've seen her before."

"There are many wolves in Asgard." Thor commented, throwing back the remainder of his beverage.

"No, no, no." Loki shook his head. "I mean, this particular wolf. A while ago, I left her a rabbit as a last meal. It's almost like she was returning the favor."

The group fell silent for a moment, Balder's eyes slowly lighting up with realization. "Wait a minute, Loki. You don't mean that poor creature we found in the forest?" His redheaded companion nodded, earning a sigh of relief from the blonde god. "You're saying she survived? That's wonderful!"

Loki rolled his eyes at his longtime friend, once again showing far more concern for the wildlife than he should be. Thor lifted an eyebrow at the two of them, silently inquiring about their encounter. Sharing a look with one another, the two gods explained to him what had happened on that day, lifting his furrowed brow even higher.

As the three of them traded stories, it was discovered that the wolf was indeed the same one that they had all met on that day. Balder frowned slightly upon learning that Thor had been the one to render her in such a state, but ultimately there was nothing to be done. She had apparently recovered just fine since she managed to hunt a fawn and bring it all the way to his cottage.

However, the situation did raise concerns, particularly among the two brothers. Thor sat quietly, staring into his empty mug with a pensive expression. "Strange."

"Eh?" Loki tilted his head at his response, a look of obvious confusion on his face.

"The wolf. There is something strange about her."

"Obviously. What wild animal brings goodies to your doorstep?" Loki asked with a shrug.

Balder lifted an eyebrow, a look of amusement appearing on his soft features. "Well -"

"Not you." The fire god interrupted, shooting him a mildly irritated look. While it was true that woodland creatures frequently showered Balder with gifts, the same wasn't true for everyone else. As the god of light, all living creatures flocked to him and barraged him with affection. Which was precisely what made this animal so unique.

Thor looked between the two of them and shook his head. "It's her eyes. There is something odd about them. Something beneath the surface."

Balder nodded slowly in agreement with his brother's observation. Both he and Loki had noticed the same thing when they encountered her the first time. Her mannerisms and behaviors had baffled the two of them. Her lack of aggression despite her injured state. Her avoidance of Balder, in contrast to every animal they had encountered in his life. Her piercing gaze, calculating, watching, learning. It was so pointed that she barely resembled an animal at all, displaying far too much sentience to be a mindless beast.

"Do you think we should…?" Loki began, trailing off as Thor affirmed him.

"…Perhaps."

In those few words, the two of them communicated a silent agreement. The events had been unusual enough to no longer call them a coincidence. Something was certainly going on with that woodland creature and depending on the severity, they began to wonder if they should inform Odin of her presence. He presided over Asgard and watched all that took place within his realm. Surely, he would think curiously of his sons for reporting on an animal in the forest, so perhaps it would be wise to bide their time before raising any alarm.

"I can't say it wise. Father may not appreciate interruption for such a trivial matter." Balder muttered, knowing full well the consequences of baseless accusations. Their father was a powerful man, respected by all. But he was also known for his foul temper. While it was unlikely that he would hold it against his sons if it turned out to be nothing, it would still be best to gather more information before moving forward.

Loki leaned back in his chair; arms wrapped lazily behind his head. "Nope. Especially with the feast coming up. Odin won't wanna be bothered about nonsense, least of all forest wolves."

Thor nodded his agreement. "We should observe her."

Balder hummed his consensus, his friend simply shrugging his shoulders. Without anything to go on, it would be best to keep their findings to themselves for the time being. In the meantime, they would be observant and wary lest the mysterious creature make another appearance. If and when they located her, keeping an eye on her whereabouts would allow them to gather more information. It couldn't hurt, at the very least.

As the three gods continued their discussion, topics eventually switching to food, beverages, and the upcoming feast, a bush rustled softly beneath a cracked window. Relaxing within the cottage, they were unaware that they were being watched. Hidden in the snow, the winter goddess observed them, her keen senses following their voices and conversation through the window. Yuna listened carefully, although she couldn't understand much of what was being said.

Over the past few days, she had found herself skirting along the outskirts of town, following hunting parties, and observing the Asgardians from the shadows. Gods were highly intelligent and, given enough time and interest, could learn languages and other information rather quickly. Her grasp of the Scandinavian tongue was sorely lacking, but she had been paying close enough attention to pick apart various words and phrases. This was especially true among the trio, as they seemed to have a habit of speaking about her often.

During her stay, she had learned that the tall one's name was Thor and he was very friendly with the other two gods. She had heard the words spoken around her and in reference to others like her frequently enough to discern when they were talking about wolves. More specifically when they were speaking about her. Yuna's fur stood on end as she heard mention of her once more, in reference to a new name that she had been hearing fairly often as of late: Odin.

As the winter goddess never left her realm, she knew relatively little about the outside world. And as she rarely associated with those even within her own homeland, she knew even less. In terms of other worlds, she was ignorant to most of their residents, culture, and leadership. However, this name was one that even she had heard mention of in passing over her lifetime, although she couldn't actually identify him. Whoever he was, he was important, as his name was spoken in whispers among those in the realm. What were they discussing about her, she wondered? Were they looking for her, or simply recounting the week's events? Had they developed an interest in her? Should she be concerned about it? And how did any of it relate to Odin?

Her mind reeled with questions one after another. When she arrived here, she hadn't planned on interacting with any of the other gods as she had no desire to be discovered as an outsider. She was going to enjoy her time there and leave once she had her fill. But Yuna's plans had gone awry, resulting in both her injury and discovery. The goddess had encountered not one but three gods on multiple occasions and now, they were developing an interest in her. If they were thinking about reporting her presence, then she would have a difficult time trying to leave. If they were trying to find her, then she would need to be careful when traversing the forest. If they wanted to hurt her…

Yuna shook her head to rid herself of the possibilities. For now, she could do nothing but listen to the string of words bouncing between the three men. If she was to make her next move, she would need to gain a better understanding of the language. Only then could she discern what they were saying and figure out how to proceed from that point onward. Her mind set, she melted back into the landscape and into the forest.