Chapter 70
The next morning Roger rose and was dressed before 6 A.M.
Not bothering with a breakfast, he made ready to leave the house when he realized that Sasha was determined to go with him.
The gigantic wolf was literally at his elbow tugging on his sleeve with her teeth.
He gently tousled her great head and asked, "Do you want to come with me?"
Her wagging tail was her reply. And so, they left the house together.
The morning was bright and crisp, a good mid winter sort of a day.
Roger got as far as Ildico's house when he saw her outside going through her morning stretches before running.
Ildico waved at him and called out, "Hey stranger! About time you got out of the house!"
She came up to him and they hugged briefly, Roger enjoyed the feel of her lean, lithe body pressing against his.
Except for size, Ildico was built almost like Freya.
Separating after a moment, Ildico looked him over with a critical eye and said, "You've lost weight, and not in a good way."
Roger replied quietly, "I have had these medical issues if you'll recall. The doctors say I'm cured, I just gotta get my strength back."
Ildico smiled at him and said cheerfully, "You're always welcome to join me on my morning run. I always run at 6 A.M. And I run about three miles, or more, if I'm getting ready for a ten K coming up."
Roger grinned at her and replied, "Okay, you lead and I'll follow as best I can."
Ildico chuckled and said firmly, "First, you'll do your stretches, your leg muscles need to be loosened up before a run."
Roger grinned again and soon, he was going through her stretching routine.
Ten minutes later they made an interesting sight.
Ildico trotting along at an easy pace, her long, well tanned legs capable of far faster speeds.
Laboring behind her was a red faced Roger, puffing and blowing as he toiled in her wake, gasping for breath.
Finally there was Sasha, the great guardian wolf trotting along with little effort, she stayed close to Roger in case he stumbled.
The news paper delivery guy drove past slowly, his widened eyes taking in the sight of a pony sized wolf trotting alongside the red faced, sweaty Roger Tate.
They jog-walked for almost an hour and by the time they got back to Ildico's place, she was apologetic.
"I didn't mean to go so far today, you should have said something."
Roger smiled at her and replied, "No, you were fine. I needed this. I'll be sore later on, but I'll live."
She smiled at him and said, "Anyway, weather permitting. I'm out here every morning at 6 and you're both welcome to join me."
She grinned as she played with Sasha's great furry ears, "You too Sasha, since you're now his 'service animal' you can come along too."
Roger chuckled and remarked, "Service animal' yeah, I can just see myself going shopping at the bulk warehouse with her."
Ildico grinned and retorted, "She's better qualified than most I've seen. She's always at your side and doesn't react to those around her, only you. She'll let me play with her only because she knows me. But, if I call her she'll likely ignore me unless you say it's alright."
She smiled and said, "I can get her certified and have an I.D. vest made up for her. I think it'll be a hoot!"
Roger laughed and remarked, "I don't think 'hoot' will quite cover it."
He thanked Ildico for the run and walked up hill to the house.
It was now just after 7 A.M.
He and Sasha reentered the house where the smells of breakfast cooking lured him into the kitchen.
Anita was standing at the huge stove attending to a large skillet while Freya was juggling coffee cups and tableware and plates and napkins, seemingly all at once.
Anna was apparently 'supervising' the two young women as they prepared breakfast for everyone.
Roger quickly took care of Sasha's breakfast and refilled her water dish before briefly tousling her great head and laughing while getting shlurped for his pains.
He washed up before rejoining the trio in the kitchen and saw that the trio was now a quartet.
Dena was up and inspecting everything with a critical eye while Freya, who towered nearly four times her height, finished up pouring the coffee and making the toast.
Not even attempting to lift the heavy skillet, Anita served up everyone's breakfast. Her omelettes were quite lovely and the sausages were perfectly done and everyone took a moment to admire her efforts before digging in.
It was Freya who finally asked, "Whaur did ye gae sae early thes mornin'?"
Roger replied, "I went for a walk with Sasha and bumped into Ildico. Next thing I knew, I was running with her...Well, more like I wheezed and puffed while she merely trotted along."
He smiled and said, "I really needed it...The run this morning. I'll pay for it tomorrow of course. Anyway, she has invited us to join her in her morning runs. Sasha will be going with me of course."
He chuckled and remarked, "Apparently Sasha is now my 'service animal' and Ildico's gonna look into getting her certified and have a vest made up for her."
They all sat in silence, mulling over what he had just declared.
It was Anita who started giggling first, then Freya joined in and soon Anna was snickering while poor Dena sat there not getting the joke.
Finally she raised her piccolo of a voice and cried, "Whit is sae funny?"
Anita wiped the tears from her bright blue eyes and said, "It's the idea of Sasha being a 'service animal'. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a dog sitting in the shopping cart while its owner shops for groceries. The owners claim they're 'service animals' when in reality, it's just a spoiled brat of a dog."
Anita grinned and said cheerfully, "I say go for it! It'll be fun to see."
Anna smiled and commented, "It'll be a good way to raise awareness for demi-humans, having a Jotun guardian wolf as a service animal. I confess, I would love to see the reactions the first time she goes into a shopping mall."
Roger sipped at his coffee and muttered, "Sasha, I'm not worried about, she's quite the lady in mixed company and remembers her manners. It's the other morons I'm worried about, the ones who won't remember their manners. And gawd help us if she so much as growls or snaps at anyone."
Freya remarked, "Sasha an' 'er kind ur bred tae be guardians. They protect. She'll protect any body ay us because we're 'er pack. Sae lang as we're nae in danger, she'll be fine."
After breakfast, Anna disappeared into her room where she was busily at work on her latest novel.
Freya and Anita readied themselves for school and Roger dutifully dropped them off before heading over to the bulk warehouse shopping center.
Wasting little time looking around, Roger soon had a shopping cart full of sorely needed items for the house.
Bulk cans of coffee, a case of toilet paper or 'moon floss' as he once called it.
Several dozen eggs and most importantly, two cases of canned dog food and three fifty pound bags of dry kibble, plus a big jar of doggie treats for Sasha.
Heading towards the check out, he couldn't help observing a couple with their Pit Bull terrier in action.
The dog was clearly untrained and making a nuisance of itself.
Finally, it pooped on the floor and the owners ignored the mess.
Walking away as if they hadn't noticed their dog leaving a mess behind.
Roger was about to speak up when the store manager, a large, athletic looking man swooped in and ordered the couple out of the store.
When they tried to claim it was a service animal, he retorted with, "Show me his certification and where was he trained? Where is his I.D. Vest?"
When they couldn't answer he finally said, "Just leave the cart right where it is, we'll take care of it. You're not welcome here with that dog."
They sullenly left the cart and left in a huff.
The manager saw Roger standing there with a big grin on his face and making a thumbs up gesture.
He shrugged and said, "I don't mind service animals if they're trained and certified and are wearing an I.D. Vest. It's the yahoos with their 'special dogs' that annoy me."
He glanced at the contents of Roger's cart and remarked, "Must be a pretty big dog, judging by the size of those bags. My Irish Wolfhound can go through one these pretty quickly."
Roger smiled and replied, "Sasha is a Jotun guardian wolf, she's the only one in the U.S. All the others are up in Canada. This spring we're planning on taking her up there for breeding purposes and she'll stay until her pups are properly weaned and gone to good homes. Then she'll come home again, at least that's the plan."
The manager looked slightly puzzled and asked, "I haven't heard of that breed, is it a new one?"
Roger grinned and pulled out his cell phone, he pulled up a photo of himself relaxing in the parlour with Sasha's great bulk curled up on the floor next to him.
"This is Sasha, this is not photoshopped, she really is that big. She goes wherever I go, if I let her."
The store manager laughed and said gleefully, "Holy crap! That's no dog, that's a pony! No wonder you're buying so much dog food."
Roger cheerfully pulled up another picture of her standing amongst a small crowd of children and other dogs, apparently right at home among them.
The store manager chuckled and commented, "I see she's quite sociable, that's always a good sign."
Roger replied drily, "She has quite the following in our neighborhood, small kids just flock to her."
Finally, Roger showed him a photo of him and Freya together with Sasha dozing on the floor.
The manager did a double take and exclaimed, "That's Freya, she's friends with my oldest daughter who was team captain of the women's volleyball team at Portland U."
He laughed and extended a meaty hand to Roger, "Name's Tony, Tony Hansen. My daughter Ingrid was always talking about Freya, how big and strong she was and all that. Talk about small world time!"
The two shook hands and Tony glanced at his watch and said ruefully, "Welp, duty calls and all that adulting B.S. Tell Freya I said hello!"
Tony walked off, back on duty and Roger concluded his business at the Bulk Warehouse store.
He returned home and lugged his purchases into the house, piling them on the dining room table.
After he put the eggs away.
Sasha wagged her luxurious tail in approval of his choices in dog food and graciously accepted a nibblie from the freshly opened jar of doggie treats.
About midday, Anna emerged from her room and saw that Roger had already put away his purchases and was now seated at the breakfast nook table and eating a sandwich.
Across from him sat a small silver tray and on it rested a champagne flute filled with a rich, red fluid.
Covering this was an embossed paper napkin.
Anna smiled and joined him.
Raising the flute to her ruddy lips, she took a sip and closed her bright blue eyes as she savored the taste of the blood freely given.
Opening her eyes again, she smiled and said,"This, is exactly what I needed...A fine vintage...Type A-Positive and freely given...Very sweet. Thank you!"
Roger smiled at her and remarked, "I don't know why, I just felt you could use a little fresh blood and since Anita's not here, why not spruce it up a bit. Sticking a straw in a blood packet can't be all that appetizing!"
Anna smiled at him and commented, "And I am enjoying both it and your company. I do appreciate your letting me stay here when Los Angeles gets to be too much of a good thing. I like having a place to escape to!"
Roger grinned and remarked, "We do have a connection now, an after effect of that 'rose kiss' you gave me I suppose. I'm not complaining mind you. I like knowing you and the others, my life is so much richer now. I sometimes pinch myself to see if I'm awake."
Anna chuckled and replied, "Please, don't you ever wake up from this lovely dream, I'm enjoying it too!"
Having finished their luncheon, they rose from the table and placed their dishes in the sink.
Anna turned to Roger and said cheerfully, "Welp! My novel is calling to me. The hero is about to learn that his true love is more than he bargained for.!"
Roger smiled and replied drily, "Sounds like a couple of my ex-wives...I wasn't ready for all their extra baggage!"
They hugged briefly and not for the first time, Roger enjoyed feeling her slender body pressing against him.
A brief kiss later and she was back upstairs, inside her room with a "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging from the doorknob.
Roger looked up at the tiny sprite sitting atop the refrigerator.
She smiled and fluttered her birdlike wings in amusement.
He smiled at his tiny observer and said, "I'll bet you enjoyed seeing that." She grinned in response.
He got out a tiny dish from a child's tea set and filled it with chocolate morsels.
The sprite fluttered her wings in anticipation.
Sprites loved sweets it had turned out.
He set the tiny dish atop the refrigerator near the diminutive being and said, "Don't eat it all up, you'll get sick again, remember?"
He left the kitchen to the tiny sprite's delight.
She had every intention of devouring the chocolate before the other sprites could see it and want some too.
Moments later, Roger stuck his head back into the kitchen and gleefully said, "Hey everybody! There's some chocolate for all of you on top of the refrigerator!"
There was a rush of tiny wings and the half dozen or so sprites living in the house settled on top of the refrigerator and began happily nomming on the chocolate morsels.
Maribel the sprite, stuck her tiny tongue out at him as her sister sprites jostled each other for the chocolate morsels.
Roger grinned at her and winked.
Theirs was a special relationship, she had watched over him while he was at the Fae hospital and she followed him back to the mundy world.
Several other sprites followed soon after and took up residence in a house built for a giant.
That afternoon, Roger pulled up in front of the school and got in line with the other parental cars waiting to pick up their offspring.
He waved to Christina's mother and she smiled and waved back.
Minutes later, the school dismissal bell rang and soon, a torrent of children flowed out of the buildings and made its way out of the gates to freedom.
He saw tiny Christina dashing to her mother's car and hopping in before it sped away.
Roger smiled, the girl had not even reached four and a half feet tall, she would always be a living doll of a girl.
There was a commotion when two boys decided to start fighting for reasons unknown and were blocking a gate with their foolishness.
Meanwhile, the teacher on duty was not able to reach them because of the crush of student bodies around them.
Roger laughed when he saw Freya wade into the crowd and she hauled both boys up by their jacket collars, pulled them apart and took them out of the way.
The look of shock on their faces was hilarious when she carried them to one side and dropped them on the cold, hard ground away from the crowd.
Being nearly two feet taller and far stronger, she easily cowed them into submission.
Freya had little tolerance for foolishness at school, she was there to learn, not socialize.
Leaving the now thoroughly chastened boys behind, she climbed into the van, kissed him and buckled up before they sped off.
"No Anita tonight?" Roger asked.
"She's got somethin' gang oan wi 'er writin' club. She'll gie a ride later oan." Replied Freya.
Roger made note of that and said, "By the way, I bumped into Ingrid's dad at the Bulk Warehouse, apparently he's the manager there. He says hello!"
Freya smiled and said, "Ah'll hae tae gie 'er a call an' hae a gab later."
She asked, "Did ye get everythin' oan th' list Ah gie yer?"
"Yep! Everything on the list and a bag of doggie treats for Sasha to try." He replied.
"By the way, Maribel's none too happy with me right now."
Freya looked at him and shook her head, "Ye shouldnae be teasin' tha' wee lass th' way ye dae."
Roger grinned and said, "If I didn't like her, she would not be living with us. Believe me, she'll get even, she always does."
Freya smiled and said, "An' yoo'll deserve what ever she does dae tae ye."
She smiled and remarked, "She diz seem tae really loch ye though. Sprites ur loch 'at, ef they loch ye, they're loyal tae ye tae th' end."
"And we have a houseful of them living with us. Thankfully they eat so very little and the neighbors can't see them." Remarked Roger.
Freya shrugged and said quietly, "Uir hoose has become a place fur th' wee fowk tae visit or stay...'Tis sad 'at Anita cannae see 'em, she woods loove tae see 'em flittin' aboot th' hoose."
Roger chuckled and commented, "Then she would have even more reasons to stay with us. With her mom working overseas temporarily, she's practically moved in already."
Freya grinned and retorted, "Ah dinnae recaw ye complainin' when she's headin' fur th' shower!"
Roger couldn't help smiling, Anita was almost as casual about nudity as Freya and the others were, more than a few times he'd seen her in the all together and knew what a cute little shape she had.
Naked girls were almost too common in their house, even the sprites went almost naked but that didn't count, clothing would restrict their ability to fly and the cold didn't seem to bother them too much.
Although they weren't shy about sharing a bed with a nice, warm human.
Pulling into their driveway, they could see the sprites playing outside in the pale winter's afternoon sunlight.
Two of them were happily teasing a huge raven perched forelornly on a bare branch. Roger chuckled and remarked, "Quoth the raven: Go, and tease me, nevermore!" Freya just rolled her bright blue eyes at his attempt at drollery.
Exiting the van, Roger called out, "Leave that old bird alone, he lives here too!"
The raven cawed raucously and flew off for a quieter perch.
The sprites chittered happily and soon, the air was filled with the whirring of tiny wings as they circled above Roger's head waiting for him to open the door.
The door opened and with a whirring of wings, the sprites swooshed inside where it was warm.
Freya muttered, "Ye gave them chocolate didnae ye?"
At Roger's grin she said, "Whit am Ah gang tae dae wi' ye?"
"Put up with me like you always do?" came his reply.
Sasha strolled into the front hall, her back covered with sprites.
She was one of their favorite rides, with her great furry body being so accommodating and warm.
It was well after dinner when Anita came home from her writing club.
She had with her some folders for her to read and evaluate before their next meeting.
In typical Anita fashion, she refused to bother Anna with any of it, feeling that Anna had enough to deal with and didn't need her asking for her help.
Besides, she hadn't even mentioned to the club that she even knew Anna Karlsen, let alone pretty much lived with her when she was in Portland, Oregon.
Winter break was coming very soon and Anita really wanted to get cracking on a story idea she was playing with.
She intended to go through the folders over the weekend and set down to work on her story.