Yuna busied herself learning the language of the land. When she wasn't in the forest following hunters, she was watching the other gods in the city. Her white coat allowed her to remain relatively unseen, even during the day, as parties traversed the frozen landscape. In the town, Yuna wandered around in god form, drawing far less attention than she had originally expected. As it turned out, Asgardians were a rather fair people, likely due to the everlasting winter climate. Thus, her own skin wasn't entirely unusual. Unfortunately, her smaller frame stood in stark contrast to the large, muscular builds of the natives. However, most tended to keep to their own business so aside from the occasional look her way, she didn't have any more unfortunate run-ins.

Over time, she came to grasp the Scandinavian tongue. It took a bit of effort, but through careful observation and a handful of social attempts, she found herself capable of relative communication. While she wasn't what one would call perfectly fluent, she had enough understanding to get by from day to day.

In doing so, the goddess found herself spending far more time in the Norse realm than she had originally intended. Between the frigid temperatures and the fascinating culture, she quickly found herself considering Asgard as a new residence. Or at least until she had to leave. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn't need to move on, however, for some time. After travelling across so many realms, it was a welcome change to finally find a place that she could call a suitable home. Each passing day only served to further solidify her desire to remain.

Today, she was taking a leisurely rest in the forest clearing. After practicing more of her new language and a successful hunt, enjoying a nap in lukewarm sunlight was just the thing she needed. The goddess had scouted the area, thoroughly examining the surrounding forest for any possible threats in the vicinity. Finding none, she curled up in the snow and lowered her head. Yuna heaved a heavy sigh and allowed her eyelids to slide closed.

. . .

Her slumber lasted for a good while, lying silently beneath the rustling trees. The peace and tranquility soothed her, interrupted only by the sound snapping twigs. Golden eyes fluttered open, roused by the quiet noise. Something was moving through the trees. Her gentle stir lasted only for a moment as the following sound tore her from her restful state with violent force. A loud crash echoed through the forest, scattering birds, and waking the winter goddess with a startling jolt. Lifting her head, Yuna looked towards the sound, an eyebrow raising curiously at the voices drifting through the tree line.

"Enjoying yourself down there?"

"Don't make fun of me, Loki!"

A huff of smoke left her nostrils with a tired sigh. It seemed the duo were wandering the forest again today. She relaxed slightly, laying her head against her paws. There were worse things she could have run into and by comparison, those two were almost a relief. Properly hidden within the snowy drift, she closed her eyes and remained perfectly still. Unlike their last encounter, she should stay unnoticed so long as she didn't draw attention to herself. Listening carefully, she tried to make out their words, putting her grueling lessons to the test.

"You are coming to the feast, aren't you?" Balder asked, as Loki helped the clumsy god to his feet.

"Nah. Not my style."

Balder frowned, a look of disappointment showing on his soft features. "Loki, you should come."

"Why? Nobody wants me there." Loki shrugged, averting his eyes. Balder had a way of drawing everyone in and continuing to look at him would only serve to damage his resolve. It was difficult to say no to the god of light, especially when he looked down at him like an injured puppy.

"That's…" Balder trailed off, uncertain of how to respond. Loki wasn't incorrect in his assumption. The god of mischief was an outcast in Asgard, and he and his brother were his only companions. It was possible that his attendance would do more harm than good, but he still didn't like the idea of his closest friend being left out. "Just think about it, alright? It would mean a lot to me if you -"

"Fiiine." Loki groaned, giving in to Balder's begs. It was truly impossible to remain steadfast under his pleading gaze. "I'll go, but only because you asked so nicely. And for the food."

Balder's laughter was a pleasant melody, the sound bringing a smile to Loki's face. "Just try to enjoy yourself. If you behave, maybe you'll even meet someone. A lady mayhap?"

Loki nearly doubled over in laughter at Balder's suggestion. The mere thought alone was utterly absurd. If he could get through the entire night without a string of insults hurdled in his direction, that would be a miracle. Even still, he appreciated the other god's optimism. So long as he had him, it didn't matter what the others would say.

From her resting place, Yuna slowly lifted her head. Interest won out over secrecy as she followed their conversation. Some of the words were foreign to her leaving her in a state of uncertainty, but she captured the gist of what they were discussing. Something was taking place in the city and apparently, Balder was requesting Loki's presence. From the pleading sound of his tone, it was relatively important, at least to the taller god. She wondered what sort of event would be happening within the city walls. Back home, the winter goddess had never attended many gatherings. Not for lack of desire, but because other gods generally didn't appreciate her presence.

The more they spoke, the more fascinated she became, ignoring the sounds of crunching feet at they continued to move forward. She found herself so engrossed in their conversation, that she hadn't noticed just how close the two of them were getting. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her once again and she was about to pay the price for it.

Balder's eyes drifted over the clearing as the two emerged. All was still within the blanket of white, all the world frozen solid… Well, almost. Outlined in the snow was an odd shape that stuck out against the landscape. Golden eyes, pointed ears, and an ink black nose were the only indication that something was present. "Loki… isn't that…?"

The fire god quirked a brow, following his gaze towards the center of the clearing. His eyes nearly missed the white outline, drawn only by the twitch of an ear. It was a wolf. Not an uncommon sight in Asgard, but this one was alone. More importantly, it was passive. And it was staring at the two of them very intently. "Do you think it's…"

Yuna blinked, realizing that she had left herself vulnerable. She hadn't noticed them approaching and out in the open, she was relatively visible in her upright state. Unsurprisingly, they had spotted her, and the redheaded one didn't seem all too pleased. Rising to her feet, she turned and trotted across the clearing. The last time she encountered one of their ilk in the forest, she had gotten a hammer to the chest. She didn't need any more unnecessary conflict. But the blonde god had other plans.

"Wait!" Balder called, hoping that he would at least get her attention. As the god of light, all creatures of the world were drawn to him, human, god, and animal alike. Even nature itself fell at his feet, rain and snow avoiding him. Yet somehow, this one seemed to do the opposite, piquing his interest.

Yuna paused, stalling at the sound of the god's gentle voice. Her instincts told her to run, something about the light god raising concern. Despite the warnings however, she did recall that the pair of them had shown her kindness during their last encounter and so far, didn't seem to have any malicious intent. At the very least, perhaps she could hang around, from a safe distance of course. Against her better judgment, the wolf slowly turned around once more to face them, regarding them with wary eyes.

Balder and Loki both blinked, a bit surprised by her reaction. While it was true that living creatures had a tendency to approach him, a wolf was still a wolf. Yet somehow, this one had clearly responded to his words, a look of understanding in its golden gaze. The light god moved forward, approaching the wolf with curiosity. Loki followed closely behind him, regarding her with suspicion. Something was strange about this animal, and he didn't like it. Of course, nothing in this world could hurt Balder, but even still, he didn't want to take chances.

Stepping forward, Balder chose his following words carefully. He slowed his movements when her body tensed, silently warning him that he was close enough. "Can you… understand me?"

Loki opened his mouth to argue. While it was certainly strange that the animal had halted its flight, this was going beyond. "It's an animal, Balder. There's no way it can -"

His words caught in his throat, his jaw nearly falling open in utter surprise. The wolf watched them, listening carefully to Balder's words. Then, it slowly nodded its head in response. What in the hell just happened?

Loki narrowed his eyes, his uncertainty growing ever more prevalent. Conversely, Balder smiled. His curiosity returned ten-fold at this fascinating discovery. The wolf could understand speech. This was certainly a first. While he had communicated with animals throughout his life, he had never met one that could comprehend spoken language. They could read emotion and intention, feeding off of and responding to his energy, but never actual words. How unusual. Hoping to build on his success, he continued his line of questioning. "Do you… have a name?"

Again, Yuna nodded, taking careful note of the pair's conflicting reactions. Loki looked unnerved and a bit confused. Balder looked absolutely delighted.

Tilting his head, the fire god contemplated. "Maybe she belongs to someone. Could be a familiar."

"Perhaps. This one, it seems, has quite the vocabulary."

Loki shrugged, muttering quietly to the other god. "Or she's just responding to certain words. Wolves aren't stupid creatures, but…"

The growl that emanated from her throat startled both of them. His voice had lowered, distorting part of his sentence. But Yuna understood one of those words and it definitely wasn't a compliment. Curling her lips back, she bared her teeth in warning. She would not be insulted.

Balder frowned, turning towards his fiery friend. "Loki! Don't call her stupid!"

"I'm not. I said she's NOT stupid." He clarified, lifting his hands in appeasement at the light god.

"Look, now she's upset. Apologize, Loki."

"What?! I am not apologizing to an animal, Balder!"

"Loki!"

Yuna narrowed her eyes at them, growing tired of their bickering. It was clear that neither one of them had anything of importance to say and she saw no reason to continue conversing. Especially if one of them was going to be rude. Turning, she walked away and headed towards the forest edge. As she distanced herself, she heard Balder calling out from behind her…

"Hey, wait - uwah!"

... followed by a familiar thud as he faceplanted into the snow. Her head turned back to look at him, lifting an eyebrow as he scrambled to stand. Shaking her head at the display, she continued into the tree line and disappeared. What a clumsy, unusual god.

. . .

Evening fell and once again, the trio of gods were convening in Loki's cottage. The topic of discussion was Yuna and their encounter with her. Thor listened carefully as Balder explained that she was capable of understanding speech and how she had responded to his questions. He also gave a sideways glance at Loki as he mentioned that she had been agitated and left the area.

From there, the conversation descended into bickering as the two gods childishly prodded each other with backhanded comments. As usual, Thor acted as the mediator and settled them down, reminding them that there were other more important matters that they needed to discuss. It was becoming more and more evident that the All-Father would need to be notified of this creature's presence. She was highly intelligent and clearly had a strong sense of autonomy, evidenced by her resistance to Balder's power. He would likely want to observe her, and sooner rather than later.

As the night dragged on, the three of them laughed and talked, enjoying each other's company. The gathering had devolved into a bout of drinking and both Balder and Loki had partaken of a bit too much mead.

"You are going to apologize, Loki." Balder slurred, his gaze playful but stern.

"Why should I?"

"You were being cruel."

"Wha - Balder, I said she wasn't stupid. Wasn't. Of course, if she couldn't understand that, then maybe -"

"Loki!"

Thor shook his head at the two of them, tossing another log into the blazing fire. Rising from his seat, he made his way toward the barrel and filled another round of mugs for the three of them to enjoy. If they continued at this pace, chances were their argument would eventually end itself. Both Loki and Balder had a habit of drinking themselves to unconsciousness. Returning to his chair, he offered them each a mug, which they both happily accepted. Of course, not without continuing their debate immediately after.

Balder sighed, frowning at the stubborn trickster. Clearly, he wasn't getting through to him. "Loki, this could be very serious. If you've offended her, then she may want nothing more to do with us."

"And this is a bad thing because…?"

"What if she avoids us? If we are to give a report, we must have at least an idea of her whereabouts. We are going to need to find her… unless you want to explain to father how we managed to lose her."

At the mention of Odin, Loki's face flushed. The All-Father wasn't one to be trifled with. He was the supreme ruler of Asgard and his rage was feared by all both in and outside the realm. Balder wouldn't really tell on him… would he? Deciding that it would be best not to test him, the fire god stumbled to his feet. "Fine, fine, if it'll make you happy. Don't say I don't do anything for you."

As he wobbled towards the door, Balder watched him with a shocked expression. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to find that over-sized dog, and apologize, like you said!"

"Now?! It's the middle of the night. How are you even going to find her?"

"I have an idea."

"Loki - oof!" Standing to the follow him, Balder promptly tripped over his own feet, crashing back down again with a loud thump. Thor shook his head at the two of them, helping his brother to his feet before following after the other god. He had no idea what nonsense their mischievous friend was getting up to, but most likely, he would be the one cleaning up the mess.

Wandering out into the snow, Loki frowned. The drastic shift in temperature wasn't lost on him and the fire god hated the cold. Thankfully, he was far too intoxicated to care and turned to face his friends with a playful grin.

"Loki… what are you doing now?" Balder asked, a sigh of exasperation following his inquiry. It was very late, and he wasn't in the mood for one of his pranks.

"Shh, shh, just watch." Loki didn't have a scheme in mind on this evening. Instead, he widened his smirk, cupping his hands over his mouth.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the frigid night air. Then, in a ridiculous, drunken display, he howled as loudly as he could into the night sky. His voice echoed through area, startling a flock of birds and prompting them to take flight. Silently, Thor and Balder watched, staring incredulously at their friend who was now giggling like a madman. That was his plan? Sighing, Balder shook his head and walked forward to bring him inside. This was harebrained, even for him.

But as he wrapped his arm around Loki's trembling shoulders, he paused. Echoing through the night from somewhere in the forest… they heard a response.