Story of Seasons: Fire and Ice

One in the Same

As expected, Yuna healed nicely in a few days' time. The meal had been more than enough to suffice long enough for her to return to her usual activities. She no longer had her pack, but she didn't need it. In truth, the goddess simply enjoyed their company. Running around with a group of wild animals was preferable to being completely alone. Now, in much better condition, she was aiming to complete her desired goal.

Her paws padded softly through the snow as she tracked her next target, a small deer she had found wandering through the forest. It was young, likely separated from its herd. The winter goddess felt sympathy for the fawn. She took no pleasure in its death, but realistically, all alone in the woods, its days were numbered anyway. It was better for her to put it out of its misery, as her method would be far more merciful than that of her brethren. After tailing for a short while, she found it, still isolated near the forest's edge. Yuna made sure to extinguish its light as painlessly as possible.

A small trail of red stained the landscape as the wolf dragged her kill through the forest. Her destination was a small cottage not far from the woods. Immediately after recovering, Yuna followed the scent of her helpers through the brush. The trail led her to this location. While Balder's scent appeared to lead further into the city, Loki's was strongest here. Exiting the tree line, she moved into the open and made her way toward the cottage, dragging her prey along with her. Her plan was to simply leave it on his doorstep and be on her way. With her debt repaid, there was no further reason for them to interact with one another. But it seemed that very little was going according to plan as of late.

"Eh?!"

Startled by the sudden voice, Yuna jumped slightly and turned her head. Behind her, emerging from a different part of the tree line was the very god she had been looking for with a reasonably surprised look on his face. She must have looked ridiculous, standing not ten paces from his doorstep, dragging a lifeless fawn by the neck.

The two stared at one another for a short while, neither one quite certain how to handle the other. The situation was strange to say the least and certainly the last thing that Loki had expected to find when he returned home from his outing with Balder. After a short stalemate, the goddess decided that she had had enough and resolved to make the first move. Slowly, she lowered the fawn to the ground with a quiet thump and lifted her head. She was eyeing him carefully, as she had no idea how the other god was going to react.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he observed her. In his many centuries, he had encountered more wildlife than he would ever care to count. Wolves in particular were a common confrontation as they generally hunted the same game. They were dangerous creatures, especially in Asgard, where all living things seemed to grow larger, stronger, and far more aggressive. Yet strangely, this wolf had little interest in conflict. In fact, she seemed to desire the opposite, stepping cautiously away from him.

It was such an unusual behavior that the fire god couldn't help but lift an eyebrow, following her movements with his golden eyes. She seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen her before. Then, it hit him. Her snowy white fur and moonlit gaze. The first and only animal to ever reject Balder. Stepping slowly forward, he muttered partially to himself. "It's you..."

At the sound of his voice, Yuna turned and fled. She rushed across the clearing and back into the cover of the trees, leaving a startled Loki behind her. After she vanished into the brush, the god of fire tilted his head slightly at the slaughtered fawn near his doorstep. Had she brought this for him? Now, he was beyond suspicious. Recalling their first encounter in the forest, he thought for a moment, just a moment, that perhaps she was returning the favor. Of course, it was as ridiculous as it sounded, a wolf repaying a debt. That was nonsensical even to him, and he was a god of mischief.