A Shrine is Born
True to their word, a week later, a crew from the Nichiren Shu Buddhist temple, arrived bright and early at the big house once built for a giant.
With Gregory Iwasaki, the temple's kannushi and Tamatsu Ikeda, a priest in training overseeing their efforts, they consecrated the grounds surrounded by the coppice of trees, then began working.
An area of ground just beneath the spreading branches of the oak tree, was carefully leveled off and a shallow trench was dug in a rectangular pattern.
Next, form boards and lengths of rebar were laid down and staked in place to prepare them for the concrete slab to follow.
The next day, a small cement mixer was brought in and put to work mixing the concrete.
The churning noise it made, attracted a number of onlookers unbeknownst to the workers.
Before long, fresh cement began to be poured into the forms built the day before.
First the slab itself was poured, then the foundations for the walls were poured and topped off after setting in place using a jig, the bolts that would secure the walls.
When this was done, the workers relaxed and cleaned up the mixer while waiting for the cement to harden up a bit, before they removed the form boards and began finishing the fresh cement.
Curious sprites gathered and gossiped among themselves as they perched along the tree branches to watch the workers as they went about their labors.
Before long, the workers became gradually aware of the audience they had acquired.
While faint, the tittering amongst the trees could be heard during quiet moments and one of the more sharp eyed workers finally noticed, tiny forms flitting amongst the branches.
When he pointed them out, Gregory Iwasaki smiled and said cheerfully, "Congratulations, you have seen the sprites that live here, what good eyes you have!"
The young temple volunteer worker stared at Gregory as if he had taken leave of his senses and finally said, "Sprites? As in fairies? Sprites?"
Gregory smiled at him and replied,"Yes, as in fairies, sprites. They live here and take care of the trees and gardens. I have no idea how many there are and they are not to be molested in any way, shape or form."
Gregory said more firmly, "That means, do not even think about catching one of them, so put any ideas like that out of your heads."
He grinned and said,"You've seen the giantess who lives here and the giant wolves, what you haven't seen is the wood elves, the sprites and so I've been told, the many tree spirits that live here."
The workers looked around uncertainly and Gregory chuckled, "They won't bother us, we are here at their invitation to build this Inari shrine, to make a place for a kitsune to stay in while she's visiting."
The young volunteer gulped and said softly, "So the tales really are true? Youkai really do exist and gods live among us?"
Tamatsu Ikeda smiled at the nervous young man and said,"Isn't that the reason why we are here? To honor the gods and pay them the respect they are due? To learn to live in the way of the gods? That is why I am here and so are all of you, to honor the gods and pay them our respects."
There was a brief interruption when Roger stopped by to see how they were coming along.
He appeared at the entrance to the coppice, where the torii gates would go.
Perched on his head was something that caught the eyes of everyone there.
A tiny girl, no more than a few inches tall and dressed in lacy cobwebs, sat cross legged atop his head.
Her lacy, insectlike wings spreading for several inches on either side of her delicate form, twitched slightly as he strode into the coppice with a grin on his rugged face, darkened by years spent in the hotter places of the world.
"Gentlemen! How are things going?" he said.
Tamatsu smiled at the two and said,"Things are going well indeed!"
He grinned at April and said a cheery, "Hello April, it is good to see you again!"
April smiled and tittered, her tiny voice little more than a squeak, "It's good to see you too!"
Tamatsu turned towards his fellows and said, "This is Roger Tate and the girl is April, she is obviously one of the sprites who live here."
Roger smiled at the crew of volunteers and said, "A pleasure to meet you all!"
April stood up, her wings blurred and she rose from his head and hovered briefly, before flying from worker to worker to get a better look at each one of them.
They in turn, smiled at her and bowed slightly in respect.
Having met each one of the volunteers, April returned to Roger and settled atop his head again before sitting back down and smiling at them.
Still smiling, Roger glanced around and said, "I see you have acquired an audience, don't mind them, they are merely curious."
He grinned, "If they didn't like you, you'd definitely know it! Sprites like to drop little bits of twigs and dead leaves on unwanted people. Sometimes, pebbles will get added to the mix, if the person they don't like really annoys them."
Tamatsu smiled and said, "Hear that guys? Don't annoy the sprites!"
Roger grinned and said, "Welp, I've interrupted you men long enough, thanks for all your hard work!"
After they'd left, the young volunteer said wistfully, "I wonder if there any kodama in this area. That would be wonderful to see one in person!"
Tamatsu chuckled and said, "While I can appreciate your sentiment, I'm afraid there are no kodama here for a very good reason."
"Why is that?" asked the young man.
"I was told that this house and lands are under the protection of the Gealach of Tir na nOg, otherwise known as Titania, queen of the British fae, or neighbors as they prefer to be called."
"I think the sprites here serve in the same role as the kodama of the ancient forests and farms of Japan, they watch over the growing things and protect the harvests."
By the end of the day, the form boards had been taken down and the cement smoothed over in preparation for the flooring and walls to come next.
Before leaving, the refuse and the cement mixer were cleaned up and hauled away.
They would return in a week to allow the concrete to cure fully before putting up the walls and roof.
That night, countless tiny foot prints appeared in the still fresh concrete of the floor, the sprites had landed on the still damp concrete surface and danced about, enjoying the slightly squishy feel of the concrete underneath their feet.
By the time the workers came back, the tiny footprints were a permanent feature of the flooring inside the Inari shrine.
A week later, the crew returned only to find the floor slab was covered with the tiny foot prints, left behind by the curious sprites.
Gregory Iwasaki and Tamatsu Ikeda looked over the foot print marked floor slab and after some thought and a bit of meditation on it, decided to leave the floor as is.
Gregory smiled at the crew and announced, "After much thought and meditation on this, we have decided to leave the floor as is. We are taking this as a sign of their approval of our project."
At his remarks, the young volunteer asked, "Will the kitsune approve of these markings?"
"Honestly? I have no idea, although I do feel that she will enjoy knowing her shrine was approved of by the local sprite population."
There was an interruption when they heard the rattling cry of the huge raven that lived in the big pine tree out front.
As they looked towards the sound, they saw the raven's dark shape hurtling after a magpie that appeared to be chasing something tiny.
The tiny shape flitted out of the way as the enraged raven gave chase to the trespassing magpie.
While the magpie fled hastily, the tiny form settled down briefly on a nearby tree branch to catch its breath..
It was a sprite, a sprite child in fact.
None of the crew dared move a muscle lest they scare the tiny being away.
To their wondering eyes they saw it was in fact, a young boy, barely into his growth spurt before puberty.
Having caught his breath, the tiny boy looked around at the silent crewmen watching him.
He smiled at them and with a twitch of his lacy wings, took off again, apparently none the worse for his experience.
As one, the hitherto silent crewmen let out their breaths with a 'whoosh!' of relief. The boychild sprite had escaped injury or far worse, death.
An accented voice coming from the entrance to the coppice, spoke,"'at was Auld Poe th' raven who watches ower th' sprites tae protect them frae other kimmers who woods eat them if they coods."
Glancing towards the source of the voice, they beheld the towering nine foot two inch tall form of Freya Sigurdsdottir, the giantess of Portland.
Resembling a Norse goddess in aspect, the towering beauty stepped into the coppice and smiled at them.
"Guid morrow!" she said, "Ah cam tae see hoo th' wee shrine is camin' alang!"
Having met her before, Tamatsu smiled at her and said, "Good morning to you too!"
He glanced at the gobsmacked crew and grinned before he said, "Don't mind them, they haven't seen you before."
The youngest volunteer was heard to mutter, "Oni?" under his breath.
Freya smiled at the shy young man and said, "Ah kept hearin' 'at when Ah visited Japan lest summer. Ah'm nae oni, jist a Jotun lass!"
His face turned nearly scarlet as he had not intended for Freya to hear his muttering.
Freya came into the coppice and approached the concrete slab and foundations.
Up close, they realized that she really was an eyeful in every sense of the word and tried to be discreet about looking at her.
Standing close to the concrete slab, she stooped slightly and squinted a bit before she said,"Ah see th' sprites hae bin jiggin' oan thes an' left their foot prints."
Straightening back to her full height, she smiled when Tamatsu said to her, "We noticed the foot prints when we first got here and have decided to leave them as they are. We took them as a sign that the sprites approve of what we are doing here."
Freya grinned at them and said, "Ah hink th' black kitsune will loch them left aloyn."
One of the older volunteers asked suddenly, "How do you know it's a black kitsune?"
Freya merely smiled and replied, "When Ah mit 'er, she was introduced tae me as Kurokitsune, th' three tailed black fox hen."
Gregory raised an eyebrow and said, "Where was this?"
"Oan th' island ay Hahajima, whaur a cousin ay Lorna Yamada abides."
Gregory closed his eyes briefly then he asked, "Where does the nine tailed white fox come into the picture?"
Freya grinned and replied,"'at was up in Hokkaido, whaur Lorna's auntie Meiko abides. She was seen in 'er backyard an' they're buildin' a wee shrine tae mark whaur she sat."
After her remarks about what she saw while visiting Japan, there was a lingering silence, then a collective "Whaaattt?!" was exclaimed by nearly all the volunteers at once.
Freya looked a bit surprised at their reaction, then she said,"Ah thooght ye ken, didnae Lorna tell onie ay ye? She saw 'er too."
Gregory Iwasaki chuckled and remarked quietly, "I'm afraid Lorna Yamada wears her Buddhism only lightly, she rarely comes to temple anymore, which is sad. Her grandmother was a regular, or so I've heard."
He looked up at her and said, "I was told she pretty much adopted you and would share her family recipes with you, because you appreciated them so much."
At his remark, Freya smiled and said wistfully, "er cookin' was loch naethin' Ah'd tasted afore, ay coorse Ah appreciated it, oanly an oaf woodnae appreciate 'er cookin'!"
Freya grinned, "Ah used tae invite 'er tae represent th' crone at me winter solstice ceremonies. Lorna woods bring 'er nabe pot an' mak Japanese scran while Ah welcomed in th' noo year at midnicht."
She sighed and said quietly, "Ah miss 'er, she was me mukker!"
That said, Freya looked around at the set of prefabricated walls waiting to be stood up and fastened together with wooden pins like a large wooden puzzle.
She smiled and said brightly, "Woods ye loch me tae help put thes up?"
The men broke into a collective grin, the idea of a towering beauty like Freya Sigurdsdottir lending a hand was a pleasant one, one they liked.
As one, they all nodded a collective 'yes!'.
"Whaur dae Ah start?" asked the giantess of Portland, Oregon.
By lunch time, the outer walls had been stood up, placed over the foundation bolts, pinned together with the others, and bolted down hand tight.
Leaving only the front wall and doorway to be set in place before installing the peaked roof and interior furnishings.
Lunch time was decided when Silky appeared at the entrance to the coppice, bearing a wicker basket with Freya's lunch in it.
The ever silent, silk clad house spirit merely announced her presence with a tiny silver bell, whose clear tone carried for a surprisingly long way, and over the clattering and banging of construction noise.
Taking the hint, the men sat down and broke out their own bento boxes and flasks of tea, while Freya reached into the wicker basket Silky had brought.
During lunch, the young volunteer asked Freya, "Who was that who brought your lunch? She looks like someone out of a Victorian era fairy tale or something?"
Freya smiled at him and replied,"We call 'er Silky ur th' Silver lady, she is a hoose spirit who takes caur ay th' hoose an' us."
"House spirit, as in like a ghost or a youkai?"
Freya chuckled and said gaily, "Nae onie ghost, she used tae be a banshee. She ne'er speaks coz 'er voice coods deafen ye."
Freya paused, then said, "Ah guess ye coods say she is a youkai efterall."
She smiled, "She arranged fur a chorus ay banshees tae wail ootwith th' temple at Akane's wake."
On hearing this, Gregory Iwasaki chuckled and remarked,"I'd heard about that when I first got here. The head priest had never heard anything like it, that eerie wailing they make. He likened it to the sounds made by the Konaki Jiji, a youkai known as the 'Old man crying'. Legend has it a Konaki Jiji would trick a passerby into picking it up by taking the form of either an old man, or an abandoned baby. Once picked up, the Konaki Jiji would then transform into an enormous rock, crushing the passerby."
After lunch, they put the roof framework together and with Freya on one side and three of the tallest volunteers on the other, they hefted it and placed it atop the small shrine building before pinning it in place and tightening all the pins, top and bottom.
When the youngest volunteer finished driving the pins home tight and tightening the bolts, he reemerged from inside the small shrine. Afterward, they all stepped back and admired their progress on the small shrine they are building.
Tamatsu Ikeda smiled at Freya and said, "Thank you for your help today, we made a lot of progress because of it!"
He then turned towards her and bowed at the classic fifteen degree angle, the rest of the volunteers quickly followed suit as a sign of their gratitude and respect.
Freya grinned and returned the bow after saying, "Ah'm glad tae be ay help, t'was me pleasure!"
They covered up the unfinished small shrine to protect it from the elements and gathered up their tools.
Two days later Gregory Iwasaki, Tamatsu Ikeda and crew returned with the tiles for the roof, the shrine's doors and the interior furnishings.
With Freya at school, Roger pitched in to help and after scrounging up a couple of carts from the farming portion of the extensive property, they loaded everything into the carts and trundled it all up to the coppice in one go.
Upon entering the coppice they saw the numerous paw prints left behind by the giant wolves while they investigated the new object within their territory.
Jin Morita, the young volunteer marveled at the nearly eight inch diameter paw prints and when he said, "What kind of animal left these behind?"
Roger merely smiled and replied, "Our giant wolves left those behind, being wolves, they'll investigate any new object found in their territory until they are satisfied it is harmless."
"Did you say 'giant wolves' as in TV show Dire wolves? Giant wolves?" asked Jin.
"Bigger than the CGI TV show wolves actually, more like pony sized wolves."
Roger grinned and elaborated, "They are big enough for a small human to ride on, in fact one of them has been ridden by his human companion, as she is pretty tiny."
"How tiny are we talking about?"
"Five foot nothin' tall and ninety pounds sopping wet, tiny."
Roger grinned, "Of course in some parts of the world, a woman that size isn't at all unusual, in fact she would be more average sized, for that area."
Jin looked around curiously and asked, "Will they bother us?"
"Nah, they'll stop by to see what we're doing and likely watch us while we're working. That is, if they aren't on kiddie duty somewhere in the neighborhood."
"Kiddie duty?"
"Yep! Kiddie duty, several of our neighbors have small children and the wolves watch over them while they're playing. Only a fool would bother children being guarded by a Jotun great guardian wolf!"
Tamatsu chuckled at Jin's expression and said, "I've met them, they're amazing animals and tend to have a gathering of sprites riding on them. It seems the tiny creatures like nesting in their fur."
Jin shook his head and remarked, "Doesn't animal control ever come up here? It seems to me a gigantic wolf in someone's front yard would attract attention."
Roger smiled at Jin and replied, "They do come up here and they do know about the wolvies, they also know the wolvies keep the local deer population in check; otherwise they'd be getting complaints about the deer eating someone's prize roses in their garden."
Roger grinned, "Roberta Mercer, our local animal control officer will stop by to visit with our wolvies, play with their velvety ears and give them treats."
"They've got her buffaloed!"
With that out of the way, they set to work.
Roger and Jin were put to work handing the roof tiles up to the two older men who were setting the tiles in place and fastening them to the roof's framework.
Two other men were installing the interior furnishings and the doors.
When they were finished hanging the doors and interior furnishings, Jin and Roger started in on digging out the pathway and the rectangles where the large flagstones would go.
Due to the gentle slope within the coppice, the flagstones would be laid out like low rise stair steps.
But first Roger and Jin had to make the dirt fly.
They heaved the excess dirt into a wheelbarrow and trundled it outside the coppice where it was simply dumped for later.
Having finished with the doors and interior furnishings, those two men began digging the foundation holes for the Torii gate to be installed at the entrance to the coppice and a second pair just inside the coppice.
When Silky appeared with her wicker basket filled with Roger's lunch, everyone put down their tools and found places to sit while eating.
While they ate, Tamatsu and Gregory conferred on what else there was to do.
The shrine building itself looked fairly complete.
Needing only a couple of Inari statues outside and the Torii gates put up, it would be ready to receive the small inari statues given to Roger by the nine tailed white fox.
Any landscaping could be finished later.
They decided to finish everything outside before installing the small inari statues and the small bundle imbued with a kitsune's scent, to make the small shrine available for use by a traveling youkai.
Namely, the three tailed kurokitsune Roger had met when they visited Hahajima island months before.
There was a pause in the work when a young Japanese woman arrived to see the small shrine.
She was introduced to Roger as Aiko Tasiko, a miko.
She would be visiting the shrine once a week to clean and sweep the shrine and its environs.
When she bowed slightly towards him, Roger responded in kind and said, "A pleasure to meet you Miss Tasiko!"
He smiled at the shy young woman and said,"Just so you know, we have people here who take care of the buildings and the grounds. First, I'd like to introduce you to one of the people who will be looking after this shrine once it's finished,"
Roger turned and called out, "Dena! It's time you made an appearance, come say hello!"
He stood smiling at the slightly puzzled young woman and the rest of the crew, "She'll be along in just a few moments, she's probably inspecting the library building right about now."
A few moments later, a voice somewhat akin to a piccolo in tone spoke up,"Ye called me?"
Roger looked down at the two foot tall blonde haired fashion doll that had stepped into the coppice and said, "Yes, I did. Dena, I'd like you to meet the builders of this small shrine. These are Gregory Iwasaki, the temple's kannushi, Tamatsu Ikeda, a priest in training, Tohru Kaneda, a master carpenter, he built the shrine and furnishings. His brother Youji Kaneda, he will apply the stucco and he made the roof tiles and will lay the paving stones for the walkway. Jin Morita, a volunteer and lastly Aiko Tasiko, a miko, she will be cleaning and sweeping here once a week."
He grinned at the tiny beauty standing before their disbelieving eyes and said, "Everybody, this is Dena Greenwood, she is a wood wife and is in charge of the woodelves, who live in our shadow and maintain these buildings."
There was a lingering moment of silence after he'd finished with the introductions, then Aiko squealed like a love struck fan girl upon seeing her object of adoration.
"Oh, my, gawd! You, are, sooo cute!" the petite young miko gushed.
The girl stood almost vibrating in place as she beheld Dena's curvy form for the first time.
Dena in turn, moved closer to Roger who then stooped slightly to pick her up.
Cradling her in his arm, Roger said,"Dena lives with myself and Freya, she and her fellow woodelves, like the sprites, are not to be molested in any way."
He grinned, "Don't bother trying to sneak a picture or two, any signs of a camera or smart phone and they'll vanish in a heartbeat."
"Even I rarely see the woodhusbands and only see the other woodwives on rare occasions, the children are almost never seen by any humans. Dena, I see because we have an understanding, a companionship. She trusts me and I trust her."
He smiled, "You're only seeing her because I asked her to come out and be seen."
When he was finished talking, Aiko found her normal voice and she asked, "Is Dena by any chance, the inspiration for the 'Dena' fashion doll? I have both her and the 'Freya' doll, in my collection."
She smiled, "My grandmother in Japan sent them to me for my graduation present."
Roger suppressed a grin as he took out his smartphone to send a text.
Moments later, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and said,"You'll get your answer in a few minutes, provided she's not busy."
A few minutes later, Freya's towering form appeared in the entrance to the coppice and she said, "Whit's sae important 'at Ah had tae put doon me textbook?"
Aiko gasped and nearly collapsed in place and would have if Jin Morita hadn't helped her to a nearby rock.
She looked up at Freya's towering form in awe as standing before her, was a young woman a bit over nine feet tall and in the flesh, not some green screen CGI magic imaging trick.
Freya looked over at Roger and asked, "Whit's wi' 'er?"
He merely smiled and said, "She's having a fangirl moment."
"Fangirl moment? Wa th' fangirl moment?"
"She just found out that you and Dena are real and not, some fashion doll maker's ideas."
At Freya's puzzled expression Roger elaborated, "It seems her grandmother sent her a 'Dena' and a 'Freya' doll, as a graduation present."
Freya smiled and said amiably, "Ah ne'er thooght Ah'd meit someain who had one ay uir dolls, hoo fun!"
Having recovered her wits, Aiko screwed up her courage and said, "May I get a picture of me standing next to you, to show my grandmother?"
Freya smiled at the diminutive girl and said,"Ay coorse, Ah dornt min', better yet, hold Dena in yoor arms whilst yer standin' next tae me."
Before Dena could object, Roger deftly handed her over to Aiko's slender form, so she could hold Dena while several pictures were taken of the trio by Jin, using her smart phone.
Aiko was nearly in tears by the time she handed Dena back to Roger with a shy smile and a murmured, "Thank you so much!"
Dena muttered she would get even with Roger for putting her on the spot like he did.
Roger merely grinned at her mutterings, he knew that Dena actually enjoyed meeting Aiko like she did, she just didn't want to admit it.
When the shadows reached a certain point, tools were put away and the job site cleaned up a bit.
They had nearly finished digging the footing holes for the torii gate posts and the pathway leading to the small shrine.
Gregory Iwasaki looked over the job site, clapped his hands and bowed towards the half finished shrine.
Next, he turned towards the volunteers, clapped his hands again and bowed before saying, "We got a lot accomplished today. Next, we'll be putting together the form boards for the stepping stone foundations and torii gate post sockets."
He bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for all your hard work today! We'll see you tomorrow!"
The volunteers bowed in return and took up their lunch boxes before leaving en masse for home.
Roger toddled back to the house for his own supper and well earned tankard of ale.
The next day Roger spent much of his day working on his biannual report on progress at the library regarding the translation of Induna's trove of Jotun literature.
He left room for Freya to add her own report about what she had found while translating.
He did make a note about locating the scroll that described in detail the incident that was later rewritten into the story of Beowulf and Grendel.
The biggest difference being that the warrior was a woman from the southlands and her name was Sheila. It described her strength and fighting ability and how she married a Jotun man after the battle.
He mentioned that a copy of the scroll was made to be given to Sheila Ericcson during her next visit, as she was the Sheila mentioned in the story and had expressed a desire to see the story in its original form.
That evening he visited the shrine and saw how much the volunteers had accomplished.
They had applied the scratch coat to the shrine building and had built all the forms for the torii gate posts, the bases for the stone rectangles and the edging for the pathway from the gate to the shrine itself.
To give the scratch coat more time to cure, a sort of tent made of plastic sheeting was draped over the small shrine building, and a misting system had been put up and would keep the scratch coat moist for two more days.
Two days later, the brown coat was applied to the shrine building first, then the concrete for the paving stone support pedestals and torii gate posts was mixed and poured.
After setting up the plastic sheeting cover and the misting system, the volunteers cleaned up the job site and left.
That night, they had a visitor, or visitors.
It was nearly midnight, Roger was enjoying the ambience of the front parlour with its gathering of sprites softly tittering among themselves, the deeply furred forms of Sasha and Golden eyes dozing before the pleasant warmth, emanating from the fireplace with its resident salamander enjoying a slip of apple wood.
Roger was alternating between dozing off and wakefulness, he had just about made up his mind to head off to bed and the warmth of sleeping with a giantess.
The tinkling of Silky's tiny silver bell roused him to wakefulness and he glanced over to see her standing in the doorway with the form of a pubescent girl standing beside her.
Roger blinked away the last vestiges of his drowsiness when he saw it was a fragment of Titania herself.
Standing up out of courtesy, he smiled at the girl-child and said pleasantly, "Your highness! What a pleasant surprise! How may I be of service?"
The lovely fragment of Albion's true queen smiled and said,"I'm getting a scent from a far away land, one that I have smelled before and I thought I'd come see what it could be."
Having announced her intentions, she squealed and slipped into Roger's arms for a hug.
Behind her could be heard the gruff voice of Spriggan saying, "Majesty! Cease this unseemly behavior!"
Titania's fragment briefly pressed her perfect lips against Roger's and she said gaily,"I like this mortal, he can resist my charms and I find that so intriguing!"
Stepping back she said,"Tell me more about this foreign scent I am smelling!"
Roger cleared his throat and replied, "What you are smelling your majesty, is me fulfilling my obligation to both the nine tailed white fox and the three tailed black fox of Japan, or Cipangu as it was once known."
"And your obligation would be?" asked the fragment of unearthly beauty.
"I promised to build a small inari shrine and torii gate, so they could come visit us via the back ways."
"And how will they know to come here? The back ways are quite elaborate and without a guide, one can get quite lost."
Before he could reply, Silky came in pushing a tea cart, laden with fresh tea and nibblies.
She bustled about setting everything up, poured the tea and slipped out again, but not before smiling shyly at Spriggan.
Roger and Titania's fragment smiled at each other knowingly, then he said,"If you'll excuse me, I will fetch the guide."
Titania nodded her head to grant permission and he left, while she selected several of Silky's freshly baked nibblies before taking her seat in Roger's favorite red leather chair, of course.
Moments later, Roger returned bearing a small wooden box and said, "This is the guide, it is sealed up inside this box and once it is to be placed in the inari shrine, it will be unsealed so the black fox can follow its scent, as it is made from her hair."
"Will other 'neighbors' be able to follow it?" she asked between bites.
Wrinkling her perfect nose in disgust she remarked,"It definitely smells like a wet fox!"
Roger quickly took it out of the front parlour and returned after washing his hands.
He said in apology, "Sorry your majesty, I forgot how sensitive your nose can be and I apologize!"
Titania's childlike fragment merely took up another nibblie and said, "Again I ask, will other 'neighbors' be able to follow it?"
"So far as I know, only other inari and maybe a bakeneko of my acquaintance, would be able to scent it."
He grinned, "Our wolvies and your spriggan guardians can handle most any stray youkai that might find its way through our torii gate. They certainly handled the last wild hunt that came through here!"
"What is a bakeneko?" asked the lovely fragment.
Roger smiled and replied,"A bakeneko is a cat that became a youkai because she could not let go of her family, the one I met is named Kurona and she can take human form if needs be."
Titania's fragment smiled at him and said, "Iwill allow it, provided it is limited to inari, or this Kurona of yours only. If not, it will be dismantled at once!"
Roger bowed low to Titania's lovely fragment and said, "Yes, your majesty, and thank you for your generosity!"
The two smiled at each other until the gruff voice of spriggan said, "Majesty, the hour grows late and his highness might come looking for you, we must away back under the hill!"
Titania's fragment sighed and murmured, "Alas, my demesne requires my full presence once more."
Roger smiled and said wistfully, "In the words of William Shakespeare, 'parting is such sweet sorrow'. I enjoyed our meeting and will keep you abreast of any changes, your majesty."
Titania's lovely fragment extended a three fingered hand and Roger took it in his own as he led her to the back kitchen door.
They stood at the door and Roger took her slender form into his arms for a lingering hug.
Her perfect lips met his for a brief moment, then she murmured, "I knew William Shakespeare, we spent a pleasant evening together once and he wrote a play about it."
Roger chuckled and said softly, "I thought his imagery sounded familiar, he saw what I've seen amongst your people."
She kissed him again and spriggan cleared his throat, letting them know of his annoyance at their dallying.
They separated and Roger watched as the two disappeared into the night.
He grinned at the sight of a paper bag in spriggan's hand, doubtless it was filled with sweets made by Silky herself.
The next morning when he woke up in a tangle of limbs, both large and very small, it all seemed like a very lovely dream, his encounter with a fragment of Titania, the true queen of Alba, the enchanted isle.
A week after the brown coat had been applied, the volunteers returned and uncovered the small shrine building.
The brown coat had cured without any blemishes and they began preparing the top and final coat while the wooden trim portions were taped over to protect them.
The final coat was mixed thoroughly and after the first wall was lightly moistened, the smooth white stucco finish was laid on.
Working quickly, the second wall was lightly moistened and covered with the fresh coating.
Before long, the third and final wall was coated a gleaming white.
Going back to the first wall, a steel hand float was used to burnish the wall to a very smooth finish that would never need painting.
A couple of hours later, the finishing tools were cleaned up and put away, then the blue masking tape was removed from the wooden trim.
Gregory Iwasaki and Tamatsu Ikeda admired the handiwork of the volunteers, and bowed towards them in gratitude.
They returned the gesture of respect and smiled.
The little shrine was coming along nicely.
The paving stones for the pathway arrived via a heavy truck and with the help of Freya and her big horse, Samson, the stones were brought to the site and carefully installed.
The gravel for the pathway around the coppice would arrive later on and laid in place.
The next day, the torii gates were brought to the site and once again with Freya's help, the cedar posts were stood up, the cross pieces set in place and pinned down to lock everything together.
The several tons of washed gravel arrived the morning after and Samson once again hauled the gravel to the coppice, one half ton cart load at a time.
The delivery truck's driver gawked at the sight of Freya and Samson as she loaded the cart with gravel while he watched.
He commented to Roger, "Wouldn't it be easier to rent a Bobcat and move the gravel that way?"
Roger shrugged and replied,"We don't really use motor driven equipment here, that horse is quite strong and he likes the work."
"What about the girl? She may be the biggest girl I've ever seen, but..."
"But nothing, she's stronger than any three men, I've learned to get out of her way when she's on a mission!"
"Ah, okay...She is an eyeful though."
Roger chuckled and remarked, "No arguments there!"
When Freya and Samson returned quicker than expected, the driver exclaimed, "That was quick!"
Roger chuckled and said, "There's a bunch of volunteers up there with wheel barrows, shovels and rakes. They're putting the gravel in place while these two, haul it up to the site."
The driver grinned and climbed into his truck, he closed the door first then took a couple of pictures of Freya as she made the gravel fly while loading up the cart.
He grinned at Roger and said, "They'll never believe me back at the yard!" Just before he cranked up the truck and drove off.
With the truck and driver gone, Roger picked up a scoop and began helping Freya load the cart.
By the end of the day, the gravel was in place and both Roger and Freya were stiff and sore.
Shoveling all that gravel had been quite the workout, even for Freya.
They took a long, hot shower together that night and afterward, a long soak in the huge bathtub had a very therapeutic effect.
They slept like the dead that night, even Dena's furtive snuggling between them failed to get a reaction from either one of them.
When Roger finally made it up to the shrine, he saw a couple of painters busily applying a fresh coat of vermillion paint to the wood trim and doors.
Another one was up on a ladder carefully retouching any nicks or scratches that had appeared on the torii gate posts during installation.
He smiled when he saw Aiko dressed in her shrine maiden costume, carefully sweeping the gravel path free of any fallen leaves.
Looking inside the open doors he saw that some of the shrine furnishings had been installed, the food offering dishes were in place but not the small inari statues given to him by the nine tailed fox.
He would personally install them and the scented bundle given to him by the Kurokitsune, when it was time to do so.
Heading back down to the house, he entered his study and opened the hidden drawer on his roll top desk, inside it lay the wooden box containing the scented bundle.
Taking it out of the narrow drawer, he carefully slid open the lid and looked inside.
Nestled inside was the small bundle made of banana leaves, this was the scented doll Kuroshima had given him.
He smiled at the memories of his visit to Hahajima island, closed up the lid and put it away again.
Two days later, a pair of inari statues were installed outside the shrine and red votive bibs were tied around their stony necks.
Next came a pair of kasuga-doro stone lanterns installed next to the torii posts.
The shrine was nearly complete with only the installation of the small inari statues, an ofuda and Kuroshima's little doll to be performed before a shinto priest could consecrate it.
A day later, Roger and company met up with Gregory Iwasaki and Tamatsu Ikeda just outside the first torii gate.
Accompanying them were The Yamada family, Tohru, Mako and Lorna, and Aiko Tasiko, the miko who would be caring for the shrine.
The Yamadas bore musical instruments.
Roger's company consisted of Freya Sigurdsdottir, Dena Greenwood, Warren Johnson, Anita Larsen and Flora Oakenwood, her horns and hooves cleverly hidden by a voluminous skirt and decorative scarf.
Dressed in his priestly robes, Gregory Iwasaki bore the carved wooden ofuda that he had made for the small shrine and he would act as the shinshoku during the ceremony.
Tamatsu Ikeda bore the two small inari statues given to Roger by the nine tailed white fox, he would place the inari statues as directed.
Aiko bore the gohei that she would use during her kagura dance to purify the shrine prior to its being sanctified.
Roger meanwhile, bore the wooden box that had the little doll Kuroshima had given to him, that little doll contained the essence of Kuroshima in the form of a snippet of her hair.
When directed, he would unwrap and place that doll into a hidden compartment inside the shrine.
It would serve as a guide for her, should she come to visit their home.
The Yamadas began playing a slow paced dance tune and Aiko began her dance, she slowly moved towards the small shrine while waving her gohei to sweep away any negativity and summon the god.
Her lovely face a mask of tranquility and grace, as befitting a shrine maiden.
She circled the shrine while sweeping her gohei over the small building, her face placid in her bliss.
After completing two circuits of the building, the Yamadas began playing a somewhat livelier tune and Aiko began whirling and leaping while brandishing her gohei vigorously, driving away any lingering negativity.
She completed two more circuits of the building, then whirled away to make way for a priest.
Gregory Iwasaki stepped forward and bowed deeply towards the structure, as it was now ready to receive the ofuda he had made.
Holding the ofuda in front of himself, he moved towards the unoccupied shrine and after offering it to the kami, he placed it inside and backed away.
Tamatsu Ikeda then offered up the small inari statues and bowed deeply.
He stepped forward and placed the two small inari statues of unknown age, inside the shrine, their faces turned outward.
Having completed his task, he stepped away and it became Roger's turn.
He stepped forward and offered up the box before bowing deeply.
Straightening up again, he opened the box and took out the bundle.
He stepped forward and again offered the bundle to the inari kami before unwrapping the bundle to reveal a tiny figure made out of black hair, with fox's ears.
Even his all too human nose could pick up the faint scent of a wet fox, as Titania's fragment had said in disgust, only a few nights before.
He stepped closer and breathed on the tiny figure before placing it inside a small compartment built into the shrine furnishings.
Having done that, he closed the compartment and placed the ofuda in front of it.
Hiding it from view.
Completing his task, he stepped away and Aiko came forward bearing a tray with food offerings and a small bottle of sake placed on it.
She knelt and said a prayer before she stood up and closed the shrine doors.
Her final act was to take up a bundle of bamboo leaves, dip them in hot water and shake them towards the small crowd of witnesses, as a final purification before they left the shrine.
Two days later, Roger was in his semi-organized study when Anita tapped on his door and said, "There is a black fox and a black cat sitting outside begging for food, do you know anything about them?"
He grinned and said, "I got this!" then he went outside to greet his visitors.
14