A/N: I forgot to upload the chapter 4 of this work, so the new chapter for this week is 'Seed of Something Greater'. Apologies for the inconvenience.

Loid was never a man who went back on his word: and Yor wasn't surprised when she heard the distant hum of a car engine after waking up for her morning workout. Careful to not wake up Anya, sleeping in the adjacent room, Yor shuffles down the stairs: putting on a pair of fluffy slippers alongside her usual attire.

"Who is it dear?"

"The ranger I called." Loid was still in his teal suit: had he even slept? There were light bags under his eyes, and a steaming cappuccino already on the table for her. "She just did the perimeter check."

"Perimeter?"

Right. The figure that she saw was still out there. Yor was certain now that it existed, the fact it got so close to her home and her daughter made the assassin's blood boil. How dare it approach her and her family?

Taking a deep breath, the woman slides into a chair next to her husband: who looked a few good blinks from falling asleep where he sat.

"Perhaps it is better that I greet our guest." Yor smiles. "You look so dreadfully tired."

"I can manage."

The man clearly could not manage, Loid running a hand through his messy hair. He lets out a deep sigh, pushing aside one of the many other cups that Yor had just begun to notice. How long had he been awake? And why did the kitchen smell like burnt paper?

"Loid, please." She inches closer, moving her arm over his shoulders. Yor presses her head onto his own, and the man inadvertently reciprocates: leaning into her waiting embrace. A growing blush flickers across her cheeks. With him so close, Yor cannot help but plant a little kiss on the side of her husband's head.

"Go, rest. I'll take care of things down here."

A cough.

Both partners disengage, Loid hiding his embarrassment much better than she did. His voice remained even and controlled, while it took all of Yor's willpower to not blurt out an excuse of some kind.

"Officer. I thought you'd be waiting outside."

Yor figured she was an office worker from the way she moved and spoke, but her formal looking badge said otherwise. Her outfit was a plethora of browns contrasting her pure white hair - immaculately combed and trimmed to the point of insanity. How someone maintained such a professional appearance while working outdoors with a mystery of its own. She even wore high heels- in the forest!

The range also looked vaguely familiar- though Yor wasn't really good with faces, so she couldn't be sure.

"Please, call me Friede. We are friends after all." The woman lingers at the last word.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, no of course not." Loid smiles, joking despite how exhausted he was. "My wife and I were just discussing the day's activities."

There is a smile given back, but not one sincere in the slightest. Yor gulps nervously. Why was this woman so cold? Had she done something to offend her? The ranger's frigid stare seemed to be focused on Yor specifically, her deadpan poker face having just about as much life as a corpse did.

"Well, Friede, how are the results? Find anything out there?"

"The fence is intact." The ranger finally breaks their staredown, Yor breathing a sigh of relief. "But there's a few tracks on the outside that I am unsure about."

"Perhaps I could take you and your dog outside for a second perimeter check? The intuition of a canine, after all, is more accurate than anything that us humans have."

Bond snores in his sleep. He had found a nice nook beneath the windowsill, completely obscuring the small dog bed that they had bought for him. Loid looked weary at the prospect of going out, but he stood from the table regardless.

"Of course, just give me a moment to-"

"I can take you."

Two pairs of eyes dart to Yor. The assassin wanted nothing more to disappear at that moment.

"My husband needs to rest." She gives a very unsubtle glare at Loid, and the man seems to understand. "And he will do so right after this."

"I'm sure that I can accompany you instead."

The ranger maintained a poker face: though as an expert of body language, Yor noticed Friede's shoulders stiffen. Just what was her deal with her husband?

"Sure."

It got awkward. Really awkward.

Yor wasn't good with strangers, and the fact that Friede was so cold towards her did not help either. With Bond sniffing about, the two women were left standing awkwardly on the dirt path between the house and the perimeter.

"So, Friede."

"How is life as a ranger?"

"Boring."

"Do you see much action?" She presses on, unhindered by the cold shoulder.

"No."

"Have you ever had to - rescue someone?"

"No."

"Really? How about fighting? Have you ever fought a wild animal?"

A judgemental stare. "No."

Oof. Yor gulps, maybe she shouldn't try to ask about Friede's job. The short-haired woman seemed to be completely inanimate - but the assassin did notice that the one time she did perk up was when she was with Loid. Perhaps there was a story there, and Yor was nothing if not curious.

"If I may ask, how long have you known my husband?"

"..."

Ah. Was that a weird question to ask? Does she think I'm crazy?

The assassin sneaks a glance at the ice-cold woman, and balks when she notices the woman's striking lavender eyes fixated on her face. Up close, Yor notices how angular and sharp her features were: that chin could be used as a stabbing weapon.

"We met at the park. He used to work with us."

She had assumed that Loid had always been a doctor at the hospital, but she supposed that he had other passions in life outside of his job.

"W-wow? Really?"

"Yes." Friede's nose twitches, as if repressing a smile. "He was very, very competent."

"An admirable man who saved many lives, including mine."

The ranger reaches for something from inside her pocket. Yor tenses up out of habit, but relaxes once she sees that it's just a small photograph. Friede twirls it in between two fingers, and deftly hands it to her without taking her eyes off Bond- sniffing at the fence intently.

"Here. A photograph of us."

"Oh! How quaint!"

The assassin narrows her eyes, noticing immediately how young Loid looked. It was him and a bunch of other people, with his tailored suit standing out from the rest of the rangers and their uniforms. Yor felt a warmth in her chest as she noticed his smile, a rare sight from Mr Forger.

"You two must have been close friends, huh?"

A pause. A squirrel bolts from the flower field as the barking Bond chases it off their property. The large dog loses it once the animal runs up a tree, growling playfully at the squirrel as it stares him down from above.

Friede looked upwards, closing her eyes.

"We were."

Another pause, colder than the winter winds. Yor slides away, letting the woman think. She approaches Bond, triumphantly wagging his tail after chasing away a harmless woodland creature.

"Find anything? Besides the squirrel of course."

"No? Well, at least you tried."

Bond huffs, almost looking a bit chuffed. Yor giggles, squatting down and rubbing her dog's head- much to his delight. She tenses as someone approaches from behind her, an instinct honed after years of being put into life or death situations. Yor briefly reaches for a weapon that is not there, before she hears the familiar deadpan voice of ranger Friede.

"May I?"

"Sure!"

She watches as Fride kneels, carefully putting her hand on top of Bond's head. The dog looked confused, and Friede didn't seem to know what to do next. For a ranger, she looked a tad uncomfortable when Bond licked at her hand.

"Well behaved." The ranger nods approvingly, purple eyes flicking to Yor. "Loid certainly trained him well."

"He did."

Speaking of the Devil, a voice calls out from the direction of the cabin. Both women turn behind them, and Yor is nearly knocked over by a runaway Anya. Her beloved daughter hugs her tight, with Yor lifting her up into her arms.

"Mama!"

"Morning Anya!" She leaves a kiss on her forehead, daughter giggling as they embrace. "How was your rest?"

"Good!"

"How's your father doing?"

"Sleeping on the couch…" Her daughter makes a face. "He took my blanket also!"

"I'm sure you'll get it back, Anya."

Anya immediately changes the subject, rattling on about a Gisney movie that she had watched. In reality, she fell asleep halfway through: and Yor had to carry her to her new room from the couch. Not exactly a hard thing to do, but the young mother was a tad surprised at how sound a sleeper her daughter was.

She remembers that she had a guest.

"Yes, yes that's very cool Anya." Yor coughs. "But can you go inside? Mama needs to talk to Papa's friend for a moment."

"Ok!"

Anya runs off, and Yor is finally free to attend to the ranger. Based on their first interactions, Friede already didn't like her for some reason or another: and leaving her standing there with Bond was not going to help their relationship.

"Ah, Friede, where are my manner-"

"Friede?"

Yor narrows her eyes. The ranger had - left? Bond was eyeing the open gate to the perimeter fence, and Yor manages to hear the gradually fading hum of a car engine. Perhaps she had work to attend to. The assassin reminds herself to work on her etiquette, sighing at another interaction gone wrong.

"Mama- Papa says we're going on a hike later!" Anya called out from the house.

"Coming!"

She hurries off, not noticing that someone else was watching from the trees.

Nightfall scoffs. Yor Forger was nothing if not a bumbling oaf, especially compared to her. Why her beloved sensei Twilight had chosen her, she could not fathom. Nightfall would have made a better mother, wife and secret agent - and in her mind those were the only things that mattered.

Then again, the woman was kind- if not a bit dense. Perhaps they could be friends when the Operation, both Titanomachy and Strix, came to an eventual end.

After Nightfall won Twilight over, that is.