Chapter 2
I do not own Spice and Wolf or Holo, the Wise Wolf of Yoitsu
Returning their attention to the soft rain coming down, her grandfather remarked, "Well, rain or no rain, there's work to be done!"
They put on their rain gear and boots and headed out to do chores. The chickens needed feeding and cleaning up after, their manure was scooped up and tossed into a barrel.
The bigger livestock also needed feeding and cleaning up after, with their associated waste going into a digester for the methane gas that was burned in the house, periodically the solid waste was removed and dried for fertilizer.
Towering above the farm was a large windmill which spun lazily even in the slightest breeze and provided electricity for the farm and the surplus was sold to the grid.
Self sufficient was the Lawrence farm. Founded by the first Lawrence to come to the new world, it had been lived on and worked by the family for several hundred years.
The old barn was one of the oldest barns in New England still in use.
By early afternoon, Grandpa straightened up and declared, "I do believe I'm tired and hungry! Let's take a break."
He shouldered his shovel and turned towards the house now indistinct from the rain, Elizabeth did likewise and as she turned to leave the wheat field they had been working in, she thought she saw a naked young girl standing in the rain with her arms raised to the sky as if catching the rain.
When she looked again, there was no one there.
Approaching the house, Elizabeth glanced up at the weather vane and noticed as if for the first time, that it was a wolf running through tall wheat, hence the name "Running Wolf Farm".
Elizabeth had never really questioned the name of the farm, nor the reverence her grandfather had towards wolves and his support for wolf relocation and reestablishment efforts.
She took it for granted that her grandparents did not attend church and instead, honored the old ways.
Getting out of the rain at last, they sat under the porch and removed their muddy rain boots and rain gear. Stepping up onto the porch itself, they paused a moment whilst a flurry of rain danced by the house and her grandfather laughed.
He rustled her hair and said cheerfully, "It's going to be a good year! Holo is already playing in the rain!"
Elizabeth stopped short and asked, "Grampa? Why does the name Holo seem so familiar? I remember great grampa singing a song about someone named Holo and how she traveled with a merchant named Lawrence."
He smiled at her for a moment and said softly, "Holo is a name from long ago in our family's history, she is or was, a great wolf spirit. She watched over the lands and helped with the wheat harvest, she especially loved freshly baked bread with honey drizzled over it before baking. Lawrence was our ancestor, he met her in his journeys as a merchant. He was supposed to take her back to her homeland in the north, in time they became inseparable and when her journey ended and she had seen her homeland once more. They continued their journey together as husband and wife until he died and she returned to the wheat."
He looked out at the soft rain with a far away look in his eyes and said half to himself, "Her essence was in the wheat and so, a small cloth pouch, the very one she wore around her neck while she was with Lawrence, has been kept in a safe place ever since. Our family became wheat farmers and we resolved to honor her by respecting the old ways and always leaving some of the wheat unharvested for her to enjoy. Even after coming to the new world, we continued this tradition or rather, I have. My one brother and sisters never understood the story of our family as told to us by my own great grandfather, but I did and I took it to heart, as did your late uncle Thomas."
He paused and sighed, "Of all my own children and grandchildren, you are the only one with an affinity for the land. Grandma and I, we're getting on in years and we hope to leave this old farm to someone who will respect the old ways, we hope that you are the one, Elizabeth."
He glanced at her, his face, weathered by the sun and the years, crinkled into a grin and he said finally, "Lunch is probably ready, let's see what your grandma made us!"
Lunch was a simple bowl of barley, corn, mushroom and bacon soup with a sandwich alongside it. Washed down with hot cider it was a fitting mid-afternoon meal for the hungry pair.
As she ate, Elizabeth noticed as if seeing them for the first time, the numerous touches showing a devotion to the old ways, a carving of a wolf sitting amongst sheaves of wheat here, a row of runic letters there, suddenly these took on a significance she hadn't thought of before.
Her ancient pagan heritage was writ large all through the old house, finally she understood why her family had never attended church.
It was the ancient ties to a wolf spirit named Holo, and was the reason her great uncle had studied the family's history to keep the knowledge alive.
It was the reason she had inherited all of her late great uncle's books on the old ways and the ancient language of the strange runes carved so deeply into her family's soul.
Grampa?" she asked, "What did Holo look like?"
Finishing his bite of sandwich, her grandfather replied, "Legends say, Holo could take the form of a young woman, a girl of about fifteen with reddish brown hair, wolf's ears and a wolf's tail with a white tip. Her true form was that of a gigantic wolf, though she disliked appearing in her true form as it frightened people."
He grinned at her and remarked teasingly, "You certainly are interested in our ancient family history all of a sudden. Is there something I need to know about?"
Elizabeth grinned at her grandfather and replied, "No Grampa, I was just curious. I'd never really noticed before all of the little carvings and runic writing all over the house and farm. The farm's name is odd too, "Running Wolf Farm". Your saying "Holo's in the wheat" Our never going to church, things like that. Now I know the reason for them."
Her grandfather glanced at the old clock on the wall and said to her, "One last thing, then it's back to work. We came here around 1600, it was our earliest opportunity to get away from the church in Europe, they hunted and persecuted those of us who still lived in the old ways. We took what we could and pretended to be pilgrims seeking a new world. To safeguard Holo's wheat, we divided it into three portions and each of the sons took a portion for safekeeping. Sadly, one of the sons perished when his ship sank in a storm and all were lost. The second son made it here and established the farm, his portion of the wheat was consumed in a fire that burned down the original house. The third and last son arrived and his portion of the wheat was divided once more, some of it was planted to start the wheat crops and the last of it went into the very same bag that Holo had worn around her neck. It has survived to this day, thankfully."
They rose from the kitchen table and piled the dishes in the sink, exiting the house they pulled on their rain gear once more and walked to the huge old barn to check on the feed supplies for the livestock.
Once inside, Elizabeth watched while her grandfather counted the various bags and bales then made notes on a clipboard.
Getting slightly bored, Elizabeth glanced around and to her horror, realized that she had not put the ladder back where she had found it, it still leaned against the pillar that she had climbed to find the hidden box.
Silently praying he wouldn't notice it, Elizabeth fidgeted, she fidgetted so much that her grandfather glanced up at her and asked, "Are you okay sweetheart?" She smiled at him and replied nervously, "I... I'm fine grampa, I...I think I need to go, to the bathroom..." He grinned at her and said cheerfully, "Go ahead, I'm just counting bags here."
Elizabeth hurried off, but just before she left the gloomy old barn, she heard her grandfather exclaim, "Now, who left this here?" She turned and saw that he was looking right at the ladder she had left leaning against the huge pillar.
Her heart fell into her feet and she fled to the house, stripped off the rain gear and locked herself in the bathroom next to the kitchen.
"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" she silently yelled at herself, he would ask her if she had moved the ladder.
She couldn't blame it on any of the farmhands that worked for him during the week, it being a Saturday.
She couldn't hope he would think that he was getting forgetful, he was way too sharp for that to happen.
All she could do was hope he wouldn't ask her about the ladder.
When she could no longer justify hiding in the bathroom, she came back out just in time for her grandmother to ask, "Liz? I'm going to the store, would you like to come along? I'm sure you'd like to get into town for a little while."
Elizabeth felt a surge of hope wash over her and she blurted out, " Great! Just let me get my wallet!" as she dashed upstairs and into her room to fetch her wallet. She would deal with her grandfather later.