With Odin and Frigg's blessing, Yuna was free to remain and explore Asgard as she chose. The first and immediate concern was living arrangements, but they were quickly disregarded. After all, she had been residing in the forest her entire time there. There wasn't much point in changing it now. She would continue living as she had up to that point, enjoying the frigid outdoors and spending time with her new friends.

Thus, the winter goddess began the remainder of her stay in Asgard, however long that may be. With her identity revealed, she traveled freely and wandered around in her god form, shifting only to gather food or stave off boredom. In doing so, she found herself spending a great deal of time around Balder, Loki, and Thor, all of which seemed unperturbed by her presence. In time, the timid goddess slowly came out of her shell. All was well with the four gods… well, almost.

"Uwah!" Balder fell to the ground with a crash, startling Yuna with the sudden sound. After identifying the source of the noise, she returned to her activities, ignoring the inevitable banter that was sure to follow.

"Haha! Balder. You're supposed to sit in the chair, not in front of it!"

"Stop making fun of me, Loki!"

This was the routine. Nearly every day, the four of them relaxed with one another, laughing and enjoying the winter air. All except for Loki, of course. In spending time around the Norse gods, she grew familiar with each one of them, learning more about them during her stay.

Thor was the god of thunder and Balder's half-brother, as they shared a father. He was incredibly stoic and outlandishly passive. His eyes stared forever forward, and his facial expressions essentially never changed. At first, it disturbed Yuna, leading her to believe that he didn't want her around. Over time, she came to understand that he had nothing against her personally. It was simply his way. And his face.

Balder was the god of light. He was the son of Frigg and, like his mother, was beloved by all living things. Rabbits laid at his feet and birds sang songs in his honor. Even the occasional boar and wolf were enraptured by him, much to Loki's dismay. Yet none of those things were what amazed her. By far, the most striking thing that Yuna learned about Balder was that he was very, very clumsy. He was possibly the most uncoordinated person she had ever seen in her life. Even humans had more balance than he did. The only thing more confusing than his inability to remain upright was his near immunity to the consequences. No matter how many times he fell, tripped, and slid, he never got hurt. Not even once.

Then, there was Loki, the god of fire. His origins were unknown to her as he never really spoke about them. He was an incorrigible prankster that enjoyed nothing more than causing chaos wherever he went. He was so troublesome that Yuna was slowly starting to see how he had gained such a notorious reputation. It seemed that every fiber of his being screamed trickery, sometimes making it difficult to differentiate between his teasing or trying genuinely to be nice.

And of course, there was no one that Loki seemed to enjoy teasing more than Yuna herself. With the exception of Balder, perhaps.

With the god in question climbing to his feet, Yuna helped him sit properly in his chair. The four of them were in Loki's cottage today, a location that had become a hangout of sorts for the four of them. Balder had been attempting to sit beside Thor when he missed the edge of his seat and fell spectacularly to the floor. With Loki returning to them, mugs in hand, the goddess couldn't contain herself anymore. She had to know.

"Balder."

"Yes, Yuna?"

"How is it that someone so graceful can be so inelegant?"

"Pardon?"

"She's saying you're clumsy." Loki teased, taking a seat beside Yuna.

"Loki!" Balder whined.

The goddess gave him a rueful smile. "I was trying not to put it so crassly, but… well, Loki's right. Truly Balder, you must fall over 20 times a day."

The god smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, well… I suppose I am a bit awkward in that way."

"Yet somehow…" Balder paused, waiting patiently for her to finish her sentence. "… somehow, no matter how often you fall, you always seem to return unscathed. It's rather remarkable, really."

"Oh, you don't know?" Loki asked, casually crossing one leg over the other. At the look of her obviously confused face, he continued. "Nothing can hurt Balder."

"…Beg pardon?" Yuna blinked, a bit confused by the assertion.

Balder smiled and nodded in agreement. "Loki speaks the truth. My mother was very protective of me and wanted me to always be safe. So, she made a pact with all of creation."

"Right. Thanks to his mom, nothing can ever hurt him." Loki said with a grin.

"Nothing?" Yuna questioned, a small bit of skepticism entering her voice.

"Nope."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all."

The goddess frowned slightly. She looked between the two of them uncertainly, slowly beginning to doubt. Surely, this must be another one of Loki's tricks. Her eyes shifted to Thor who remained silent throughout the entire exchange. Noticing her gaze, he simply nodded, agreeing that the other two were speaking the truth.

Loki smirked. "You don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just…"

The prankster smiled, reaching into the hearth. From it, Loki retrieved four pieces of smoldering charcoal, left behind from the previous night. Gesturing to her with a finger to watch, he casually tossed one of the burning rocks… right at Balder's head.

Alarmed, Yuna reached forward, prepared to use her power to stop the burning stone. Then, she stopped. The charcoal missed him, rolling harmlessly across the floor. At her look of surprise, he tossed another one to the same result. Then another. And another. Every charcoal missed him, almost as if they were evading him on purpose. Turning to Yuna, Loki shrugged. "See?"

"I… that's…" She shook her head in disbelief. It was true? Balder couldn't be hurt? By anything?

"Go ahead, give it a try!" Loki exclaimed, grabbing a piece of fresh firewood. He handed it to her and waved.

Yuna stared at the small log in her hands, eyeing him suspiciously. Was he telling her to… strike him? "Wait, that's -"

"He'll be perfectly fine." Loki shrugged.

"But -"

Balder nodded. "It's true. You cannot hurt me."

Yuna looked between the two of them, a bit unsure. She couldn't explain what she had seen with the charcoal, but it was entirely possible that Loki had tampered with them somehow. He was the god of fire after all, and his ability to create traps and contraptions beyond her wildest dreams amazed her. If his claim was true, then Balder would remain unharmed. If this turned out to be another one of Loki's schemes… she would end up bludgeoning the god of light with a log. Something that Frigg and Odin surely wouldn't appreciate. Yet the god himself seemed perfectly unconcerned.

Slowly, she rose from her seat and stepped forward. She approached him, brandishing the object uncertainly. She looked one last time at them, lifting the log over her shoulder. Balder genuinely couldn't care less. With a deep breath, she swung the log right at his head… at least, she thought she did.

The log missed, sweeping through the air with a woosh. Confused, Yuna tried again, swinging in the opposite direction. The same result. Lifting it above her head, she swung downward, nearly stumbling forward as it sailed passed him towards the floor. She looked down at the log in confusion. Then, she picked it up, lifted it over his head, and dropped it. The wood maneuvered around his shoulder and clattered to the floor. It was as though there was an invisible shield surrounding him, redirecting anything that drew near. It was one of the most incredible things she had ever seen.

"Told ya." Loki sang, smiling as Yuna returned to her seat.

"That's amazing… sorry about that."

Balder waved away her apology. He was the one who invited her to clobber him after all. "The only thing that can hurt me is myself. Which actually happens more often than you might think."

Yuna lifted her mug from the floor and took a sip of her mead. "So, it's true. There's nothing in any of the realms that can harm you."

He nodded. "Indeed. Well -"

"Yup! Balder is truly amazing!" Loki interrupted, throwing an arm around the confused goddess. She brushed him away, lowering her eyes in embarrassment. He glared at Balder in warning before returning to heckling the goddess. There was, in fact, one thing that could penetrate the Balder's invisible forcefield… but he wasn't about to reveal that to just anyone.

"Yuna, Yuna, Yuna…"

The goddess let out a quiet sigh. She was familiar with that tone. The prankster was up to something. "Yes, Loki?"

"I miss having you as my pet." He whined, smirking at the look of irritation on her face.

"Your pet?" She questioned, sharpening her tone. She couldn't stop the mischievous god from messing with her, but she could let him know that she wouldn't simply tolerate it without argument.

"You were my familiar, right? Although, I can't say you were a very good one…"

"Excuse me?"

"You ignored my calls, and you were very rude to me. Such a stubborn, ill-mannered pet you were." He winked, grinning in satisfaction at the color rising to her cheeks.

Yuna's eye twitched with annoyance. After moment, she shot back. "A familiar mirrors its master, Loki. So, what does that make you?"

His eyes widened slightly, showing a bit of surprise at her quip. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. She smiled defiantly him, letting him know that she wasn't going to lose his game. Not this time.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, so petulant. If you're not careful, I'll have to punish you."

Yuna's eyes narrowed, her lips pulling into a feral grin. "You've already proven yourself an unworthy master… perhaps you should be careful you don't get bitten."

Loki frowned, taking note of her smug expression. Who was this woman? What happened to the petrified little lamb he met in the halls of Odin's palace? Could it be perhaps, that this was the real Yuna, now free from her uncertainty? If so, things just got a lot more interesting. Smirking, Loki shifted his strategy.

"Tell me, Yuna. Why a wolf?"

"Didn't we already cover this?" She asked.

"It just seems so strange to me. I wouldn't want to be a dog." He emphasized the word for maximum irritation. "I'd rather be something more entertaining… like a bird."

Yuna's lips tightened, fighting the urge to growl at his satisfied expression. He wasn't going to get away with this one. Crossing her leg gracefully at the ankle, she looked him dead in the eyes and fired back. "Of course, you would… you have about the same level of intelligence."

Loki's mouth fell open, utterly stunned at the savagery of her retort. Balder erupted in laughter, unable to contain himself at the floored expression on Loki's face. Even Thor gave a chuckle, lifting an eyebrow at the fire god. It seemed the trickster had finally met his match. He frowned, cheeks turning red with embarrassment as the room teased him. Crossing his arms, he turned his nose up at her, relenting for the time being.

With their battle decided, Balder shook his head. "Oh my, Yuna. That was something. I didn't think I would ever see the day that Loki was left speechless."

Thor nodded slowly, taking a large gulp of his mead.

Yuna shrugged, smiling at the two of them. "Truly? Is he really that troublesome?"

"He can be." Thor shrugged, much to Loki's irritation.

The room resumed casual conversation, primarily between Balder and Yuna with the thunder god's occasional input. They drank and laughed well into the night, stopping only when the moon rose high into the sky. Through it all, Loki remained relatively passive. For the first time in his life, he had lost a bout of wordplay… and to a wolf no less! A small smirk formed on his lips as Yuna wandered off into the forest. The night's round went to her. But their battle was far from over.