Lunch wasn't very sophisticated, but since it had been a chilly morning for everyone involved they decided that soup would be a good addition to the sandwiches that had been planned – just to provide some warmth to the meal. Peter helped Tony put it all together, and the two simply enjoyed the company the other was providing while Natasha set the table for them and they waited for Strange to go change and dry off.

"I was hoping that I'd actually get to see some wildlife," Natasha mentioned as they finished their lunch. "So far all I've seen are fish."

The camping trip was almost over, after all, and she knew there were creatures out here – she'd seen their pictures.

"I could take you to the clearing where I saw the deer after we eat, if you want," Peter offered. "I don't know if they will be there, but it's worth a shot."

"Perfect. We might even see other things on the way." Natasha looked at Strange and Stark. "Interested?"

"I was thinking of taking it easy," Tony told her. He'd been up late the night before, and up early. A nap now that the sun was out and it was warming up appealed to him.

Strange shook his head as well, although he looked tempted.

"I probably shouldn't risk that much activity with my ankle, yet. I'll stay back and keep Tony company."

She nodded. He was a doctor; he probably knew best, after all.

"Then you guys can do the dishes so we can leave after we're done eating…"

Strange nodded.

"I don't see why not."

Peter had done his share of dishes already, and it wasn't like there were that many from lunch.

"How far away is this clearing?" Tony asked Peter.

"No idea," he admitted. He hadn't actually measured his walk time, after all. "Not too far."

"Okay. You guys be careful."

Natasha doubted that there was much out in the trees that they couldn't handle. Especially since the bear was gone, now.

"I'll take care of him, Tony."

"And who will take care of you?" Stark asked, tilting his head, curiously, a bit of a challenge warring with amusement in his expression.

"I will," Peter told him with all the confidence that came with being a teenager who had already been out in the woods twice by himself.

"Fair enough. Just be careful."

He wasn't too worried. Even if they found a moose or something that wanted a piece of them, they both had watches to call for help, and the forest wasn't so big that Ironman couldn't be there in a minute.

The two finished eating and then headed into the woods, Natasha's hand resting fondly on Peter's shoulder.

"Why don't you go Ironman, do a quick scan and make sure there are no surprises out there waiting for them?" Strange said, watching them go.

"Are you worried about them?"

Strange shrugged.

"Let's just say the whole bear thing has made me a little more aware of what can be out in the trees."

"Fair enough. But if I do, then you have to wash dishes."

"Fine."

Ha.

Tony activated his suit and had Friday scan the same area that they'd scanned the day before.

"Lots of little things and some deer," Stark reported after a long moment of filtering the data coming at him, his voice muffled like it normally was when he was wearing the suit. "A lot of deer. Hopefully they see some of them."

"No bears?"

"No. There's a coyote that I saw the other day, and a few foxes that I didn't. Nothing else that I'd consider dangerous," Stark assured him, disengaging the suit. "It was a good idea, though."

Tony was all for anything that kept the others safe, after all.

"Good."

OOOOOOOOOO

They walked for about half an hour before Peter thought that he was sure he was getting close to the area he'd seen the deer in. The same place that he'd seen the poachers, too, but when he'd reminded Natasha of that she pointed out that the rain would most likely have kept anyone inside. Not to mention that Romanoff had no concerns about dealing with a couple of people with bows – even if they were foolish enough to pose any kind of threat to Peter – or to her.

While Clint Barton was extremely adept with the weapon, Natasha knew that in the hands of an average person it wasn't anywhere close to being as deadly as the throwing knives she generally carried as a habit, or – for that matter – as deadly as she was.

Suddenly Peter grabbed her arm, stopping her and dragging her to the ground. As always, Romanoff was surprised by just how strong the boy was. He didn't even realize it; he just was. She'd gone down without resistance, because it was him, but even if she had struggled, she knew she still would have been dragged to the ground. He could have picked a spot that wasn't quite so muddy, because she'd slipped and now both of them were pretty muddy as well, but places like that were probably few and far between just then.

She looked over at him and he pointed, excitedly. Following his gaze she saw that they'd found a clearing, and a large group of deer. They were darker than the pictures she'd seen but she decided that that could be because of the rain which had probably soaked their hides. There were ten of them, including the buck that Peter had shown her, the one with the amazing set of antlers. All of them were grazing on the far side of the clearing, and none of them seemed too concerned that they were there.

Fascinated, she crouched by the boy and watched them for a long time, amazed at how graceful they were and how dainty they appeared – although she remembered reading somewhere that people had actually been attacked by deer and seriously injured. Maybe from the buck – those antlers were pointed and probably could do some serious damage – but she didn't see how one of the does could hurt someone.

But she didn't care to find out, either, so they kept their distance and simply watched. The deer didn't stand still while they grazed. They wandered from spot to spot, searching out the best grass, presumably, and as Peter and Natasha watched, the deer came closer and closer – until a few were within only twenty feet or so. Which was amazing to Romanoff.

Peter had his camera out and was taking pictures when he suddenly stilled, looking around, suddenly wary. Natasha noticed the change in the boy immediately, of course, and looked at him.

"What is it?"

She was well aware that those senses he had could tip him off to dangers that she didn't catch quite as quickly – although her own senses were well honed.

"I don't know," he whispered. "Something is happening…"

"Here?"

"Yeah. We should go."

She hesitated, preferring to stay still until she knew where the problem was so they didn't end up going towards it instead of away from it.

"What do you feel? Danger?"

"No… something bad, though. I can't really explain it. We need to get out of here…"

"Is it the deer?"

Maybe one was going to attack them, after all?

"It is... and it isn't…"

Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Peter looked to his left and she followed suit, both watching as a motion in the undergrowth near them caught their eye. Suddenly a small black creature appeared, moving their direction but not threatening them at all as far as Natasha could see. She didn't realize it was a skunk until it turned a little and she saw the white stripe on its back, and then she froze.

"If we don't move it won't do anything," Natasha told Peter.

"We need to go," he said. "Something-"

"Is it the skunk?"

"No. I saw one the other day – they don't even smell, you know? Not like everyone says they do. But-"

Abruptly, one of the deer snorted, catching sight of their movement – or the skunk, or maybe they had senses of their own that told them something was different. Every head popped up and they were staring their way. The skunk froze, too, turning slightly away from them – which made Peter and Natasha look that way, also, thinking that something was coming that the deer and the skunk could see or smell.

That inexperience was their undoing.

There was a flash of a brownish red hide – nothing big, maybe the size of a smallish dog – and that startled the already tense deer. They broke and ran, startling Peter, who was already hair triggered because of those senses of his, and Natasha, who was trying to decide if whatever the dog looking thing had been was a threat.

That startled the skunk, and it reacted predictably.