They didn't see any moose.
After breakfast MJ helped Steve do the dishes, while Tony, Stephen and Peter went out front to the porch and picked out snowshoes to wear. The others came out watch as they practiced walking in the deep snow on the untested side of the building just to make sure they could actually walk any great distance. It took a bit to get the hang of it, but eventually they had it figured out.
"Don't get lost," Pepper told them.
"If we do, hook a flask to Jack's collar and send him our way," Tony told her.
"Take lots of pictures," Ned called as they turned and headed into the woods away from the hill, and the others went back inside to get ready to go skiing.
Peter waved to show he had heard, and then turned his attention to what he was doing.
When they reached the trees, it was almost like being in a different world. The sunlight filtered down through the evergreens and the only sound that they heard through the muffling effect of all the snow was more snow being shifted from branches around them as the occasional bird or squirrel moved through the trees, following their progress.
Peter was enjoying himself, even though walking in the snowshoes was hard exercise. He had his camera out, taking photos of the two men who were walking ahead of him and what little wildlife they saw.
"Find us some animals to look at, Tony," Strange said to Stark when they stopped for a break. "There must be some around here and that would make for a more interesting photo. No bears, though."
Tony activated his Ironman suit and did a quick scan of the immediate area. A moment later, he was pointing toward the west.
"You guys have a choice. There are a couple of bison a mile or so that way, and there is a herd of deer – Friday said elk – a little way over there. Preference?"
"The elk," Stephen said, looking at Peter to see if he agreed. "We already saw bison."
Besides, he had seen the documentary with the bison taking on a wolfpack, too, and didn't want to get too close to something like that. Not on foot, anyway.
They turned and went toward the elk, moving silently in the snow, the only sound giving them away being the rustling of their coats and snow pants. After almost an hour, they heard an odd sound, like someone slamming sticks together – only really hard. At almost the same time, Peter caught a motion off to the distance and stopped to get a better look. Stark and Stephen stopped as well, and it took them a moment to figure out what they were seeing.
Two large elk were squaring off against each other. Both males, with huge racks of antlers that they were using with serious intent as the two locked their antlers and tried to wrestle the other down. Close by were several does, watching the contest but nibbling on undergrowth and tree bark as well.
"Wow."
Peter wasn't the only one to pull out his camera.
The elk didn't even notice them, it seemed. The males, of course, were too intent on what they were doing to care about anything else, and the others were just trying to stay out of the way of the contest and fill their bellies. As they watched one finally tired out and began to give ground, being pushed by the other buck toward the general direction where Peter and the men were watching. They prudently stepped behind a very large tree – just to be sure – and watched as the exhausted buck was driven away and winner headed back to the waiting herd.
"Well, that's something you don't see every day," Strange said, impressed.
"Yeah."
OOOOOOOO
It was starting to snow by the time they made it back to the house.
Natasha and Jack were outside in the front of the cabin when they returned. Earlier that morning Steve had taken a shovel and had cleared out a large area of ground, piling the snow into steep banks – almost walls – to form an area that would allow Jack to run free off his leash but still make sure he wasn't going to be able to run off if he saw something to chase. That was where they found her when they came tramping around the corner of the house from the same side they'd left.
She pulled her hood back to see them better and moved to the steps of the porch, while Jack came running over once they reached the cleared out area, barking happily.
"Did you guys have a good time?" she asked, knowing the answer before any of them replied.
They looked far too cheerful to have had a bad time.
"It was great," Peter told her, bending down to take off his snowshoes, and trying to dodge Jack's excited licking. "What did you do?"
"Not much," she admitted. "Watched the fire, cuddled the dog, made a snack, took a nap."
"Sounds productive," Strange said, also pulling off his snowshoes. "I'm ready for a nap. And a snack. Tony?"
"Yes. To both. Are the others back, yet?"
"No. But they haven't been gone long." She smirked. "It took them a while to get the hang of the skis. There was a lot of falling."
Stark looked at Peter.
"Are you hungry?"
"No. I'm going to go sledding."
"Alone?"
The boy smiled as he recognized the immediate concern.
"It's sledding," he pointed out. "Not a trip to the moon."
"Smartass. What if you hit a tree?"
"Then I bounce off and get up and go again. I'll be fine."
Stark frowned, but then shrugged.
"Fine. But if something happens and you need me, call. Okay?"
"Yeah."
"And stay on the hill. Don't wander off."
"Okay."
He headed up the steps at a trot before Tony could change his mind for some reason, and this time instead of a sled, he picked up one of the innertubes that had been inflated and were waiting for use. The three adults watched as he hurried off, and Strange shook his head.
"I can't believe he has the energy to climb that hill. I'm beat."
"So am I," Stark agreed, heading for the stairs to the porch. "I need some coffee."
"You're in luck," Natasha told them both, sliding an arm around Stephen as they went up the stairs, too, following Jack who had rushed into the cabin when Tony opened the door. "I just made a fresh pot."
OOOOOOO
The innertube was even more fun than the sleds, Peter soon discovered. Every bump on the hill made the tube bounce under him and it moved even faster than the sleds did, making the ride a little less certain – which added to the fun as far as the boy was concerned. The first time down he was sitting upright, and when he went over a bump, the thing dumped him off the back of the tube. He looked up from the snow just in time to see the innertube heading down the hill without him, but a quick almost unnoticeable web shot caught the thing and halted its descent.
He caught up to it and took it back to the top of the hill for another go, grinning at having been tossed.
By the time the snow was really starting to come down, Peter was getting better at clinging to the innertube. The fresh snow was making the hill slicker than before, increasing his speed as well as the fun. He had graduated to going down on his belly and was at the top of the hill once more when he saw MJ walking toward the hill, with Steve beside her. Neither of them was carrying sleds. He waved at them and took a running leap onto the innertube, sending it down even faster, and grinned when he finally came to a stop at the bottom of the hill next to them.
"That looks fun," Steve said.
"Yeah. It's faster than the sleds." He sat up. "How was skiing?"
"It was fun," MJ told him. "We saw some bison, but we didn't get close enough to take any really good pictures – Pepper didn't think it would be a good idea."
"Probably not," he agreed.
"Then it really started snowing, so we figured we'd better get back before Mr. Stark got worried and came out looking for us."
Which Steve and Peter both knew he would.
"Natasha sent us to check on you," Steve told him. "It's past lunch time. Ready to call it for a while?"
"Yeah." He was pretty hungry, by then, and breakfast had been a long time ago. "Thanks."
They walked back to the cabin, with MJ between Peter and Steve and the innertube hanging over Peter's shoulder. He dropped it on the porch when they arrived, and stripped out of his coat, boots and snow pants, not surprised to find that his jeans were soaked as well. There had been a lot of snow flying when he'd been sledding and each time he wiped out he slid one direction or another which had sent snow in places best not mentioned in front of others.
A quick glance into the living room showed that Pepper was sitting on the sofa, drowsing with her head on Tony's shoulder. Stark was asleep, head back and looking comfortable despite being upright Strange was in a recliner, reclined all the way back and also asleep, covered with a light throw blanket. Ned was drowsing in what Peter was beginning to think of as his beanbag chair, and Jack was sprawled in front of the fireplace, soaking up heat and MJ's attention in equal measures.
It was a very cozy scene, and Peter took a couple of pictures before he turned toward the dining room – and Natasha.
Natasha smiled when he walked over, clearly wet and chilled, but looking as though he'd had a great time.
"You're soaked."
"I know. I'll go change in a minute."
Her eyes narrowed as she read his expression like an open book – which to her, it was.
"Don't you dare hug me, young man."
"Whaaat?" he gave her an innocent smile and held his arms out to either side. "Would I do that?"
"You would."
Clint had spent plenty of time with him, after all.
He grinned.
"Yeah. Probably."
"Go change and I'll make you some soup and a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches."
"Okay."