Chapter 74
It was the last day of school before spring break and after he'd dropped off Freya and Anita at school, Roger went by the local post office and requested a hold on mail deliveries until his return.
He next stopped by their small neighborhood dairy and arranged for a quart of fresh, heavy cream to be picked up by Ildico Swensen every two days and he would settle up the bill when he got back.
Silky had a lovely dinner being prepared for them when Roger returned after picking up the girls from school.
It was still cooking and the enticing aromas filled the house, causing Maribel and her little family to perch near the kitchen in anticipation of the meal.
Meanwhile, Dena's family had set up their own table, chairs and place settings and were all dressed for dinner.
The food was delicious and in spite of being told not to, they all thanked Silky anyway for all her hard work and delicious food.
The next morning Ildico showed up just as the van was finished being loaded up for the drive to the airport.
Sasha was very excited about going for a ride in the van as it usually meant Roger was taking her out to the nearby forest, so she could run about and smell things.
During the drive to the airport she looked out the window and caused a few double takes as people next to them suddenly realized that there was a giant wolf in the van in the next lane over.
Pulling up next to the bulky Martin Mariner PBM-5 now known as Moby Dick, Ildico commented, "This thing's huge!"
She laughed and remarked, "You live in a house built for a giant, you have a giant wolf and your girl is a growing giantess. It figures you'd be flying a giant airplane!"
Roger grinned at her and replied, "I don't actually own the house or this airplane, they both belong to the museum I work for. I get the benefits, but I don't own either."
Roger opened up the bulky plane and they carried their luggage inside to stow it in the lockers provided.
Sasha gave the plane a good going over with her nose before giving it a tail wag of approval.
Anita was grinning from ear to ear as she glanced around inside the cavernous interior of the big metal bird.
She said brightly, "This thing's like a flying RV!"
Roger chuckled and drily remarked, "An RV with the wingspan of a B-24 Liberator bomber!"
Anita grinned and asked, "So, where do I sit?"
Freya smiled at her diminutive friend and replied, "Once we get airborne, ye can sit onie whaur ye'd like."
Ildico smiled at all of them and said, "Well guys, I'd better get back, my boyfriend's coming over for lunch. I'll be keeping an eye on your place and Sgt. Jonas'll make it a priority stop while you're all gone. I'll make sure Silky gets her fresh cream and anything else she might need."
Ildico hugged all four of them and Sasha as always, gave her a shlurp and a tailwag.
She laughed and waved goodbye before getting into their van and driving off.
Freya smiled at Sasha and held up a colorful harness while saying, "Ah gotta pit thes oan ye fur yer safety durin' th' flecht."
Sasha calmly allowed herself to be harnessed and clipped to the D rings set into the cabin floor.
Anita sat bright eyed in her seat which was the radio operator's old position and watched while Roger and Freya went through the preflight checks before starting the big radial engines.
She was amazed at the sensory overload she was getting while sitting right beside an 18 cylinder Curtiss-Wright cyclone engine as it coughed to life and shot out a puff of white smoke before settling into a busy idle while it warmed up.
She understood then why she had been given earplugs and ear muffs and Sasha had been fitted with her own hearing protection.
This was real flying!
Anita smiled as she watched Freya ease the big airplane out onto the access runway and taxi it into position at the flight line.
At that point Roger took over the controls while Freya continued monitoring the engines.
A short time later, the engines roared and the entire plane seemed to get blurry from the vibration.
A minute passed very slowly as the engines roared and strained to be unleashed.
Then the plane surged forward and gained speed at a seemingly glacial pace.
Not at all like flying in a jet with its surging, relentless acceleration.
Just when Anita began wondering if the plane would ever get airborne, she felt the nose angling upward and the juddering and bumping lessened greatly.
She heard another bumping sound as the landing gear rose into its place and locked in.
The plane continued its slow rise to cruising altitude and eventually, it leveled off and the engines became quieter and vibrated less as they were eased back to cruising speed.
Anita saw Freya unbuckle her seat harness and climb down from the flight deck, she grinned at her and said, "You can get up noo if ye'd like."
Freya unhitched Sasha who happily shlurped her and grinned while Freya gave her a good scratching.
Moments later, Sasha was curled up on the cargo deck, at peace with the world.
Anita took a seat by one of the glazed in former waist gunner positions that now made for excellent observation windows.
She smiled at Freya and said, "This is real flying! I've been in jumbo jets that were just so sanitized by comparison. You're just sitting in a narrow waiting room high above the earth."
Looking down at the landscape rolling beneath them she remarked,"We're not very high up, what's our altitude?"
Freya grinned and replied,"We're belaw ten thoosain feet. Otherwise, we'd need oxygen tae breathe an' heavy clothin' tae keep warm."
Anita laughed and retorted, "You? Getting cold? The girl who wears only a hoodie even on the coldest days, gets cold? Be still my heart!"
Freya stuck her tongue out at Anita and retorted, "Nae me ye silly lassie, th' clothes ur fur ye wee fowk 'cos ye get cold sae easily!"
Soon after that, the two girls were sitting up in the cockpit with Freya at the controls while Roger took a little coffee and sandwich break.
Anita grinned at her giant friend and hollered over the din, "I probably sound like a broken record, but this is so cool! Sitting up here while you're flying this big old airplane, I knew you were a pilot, but I didn't realize it would be something like this. I pictured you in a smaller, private plane sort of thingy."
Freya laughed and replied, "Ah got me license in a small plane, but ah've been learnin' tae fly this because Ah jist don't fit in th' small planes onie maur."
Hours later as they approached the lake, Freya rehooked Sasha's harness and Anita resumed her seat, buckled up and held on grimly, landing on water was entirely new to her and she wasn't taking any chances.
Roger eased the bulky plane onto the lake's placid surface and slowed to a near halt by reversing the propellers as the plane slowed.
He brought it about and eased up alongside a rude looking dock jutting out into the placid waters of Ape Lake.
He shut off the engines and silence quickly returned as the whirling propellers came to a halt.
Roger activated the cooling down system and climbed down to open the side cargo door.
Anita found herself gawking at Freya's family as they all waited for her.
Up until now she had only seen the pictures Freya had showed her of her family.
Seeing them in the flesh was another matter entirely.
Her father was truly enormous and her mom only slightly less so.
The younger man had to be one of her four older brothers as Anita recalled, the other three were now married and starting their own families.
Three giant wolves accompanied them and Anita looked forward to meeting all of them.
Roger tossed a mooring line to the younger man who cheerfully tied the plane off to the dock.
Sasha was whimpering to be released and Roger did just that.
With a single bound, Sasha leapt onto the dock and was joyously greeting the family and the other wolves who gamboled about as they renewed their acquaintance with Sasha.
Roger extended a boarding plank to the dock and they were soon being greeted warmly by her family.
Anita was nearly overwhelmed by Freya's family.
Her ten foot tall father of mountainous aspect, smiled down at her and in his booming voice said," Welcome tae uir haem Anita, we hiner yoo'll enjoy yoor visit."
Freya's mom was almost as overwhelming, with her nine foot height, immense bosom and robust hips, meaning she was built for comfort.
Her brother was only a mere nine foot tall lad and his red-gold beard was still filling in.
Anita laughed and said brightly," You guys are amazing! I always thought Freya was the biggest person I'd ever see, now she seems like a shrimp by comparison."
She grinned at her nearly eight foot tall friend and Freya retorted, "Wait'll ye see some ay me friends at uir village. If ye think me family's big, wait'll ye see some ay uir friends!"
They all glanced at Roger who was surrounded by the gigantic wolves, all wanting a good scratching from him.
Sigurd laughed and declared, "Yoo'd hink these wolvies were starved fur affection th' way they carry oan when Roger's haur!"
Freya grinned at her massive father and said merrily, "Sasha jist follows heem everywhaur knowin' he'll gie 'er a scratchin'."
Roger just grinned at them and retorted, "They've been patiently waiting for me to get back and I'm not going to disappoint them. Especially not this big fellah here!"
His hands were deeply embedded in the dense fur of an enormous young male with a dark brown coat, almost black in color and yellow eyes.
The way he and Sasha had cavorted and nuzzled each other had conveyed their feelings to the others.
He was her chosen mate and they would soon mate for the first time, of course they would wait until they could be alone and undisturbed.
Even giant wolves valued their privacy.
Their luggage and the gifts were loaded onto the waiting carts and without further ado, they set out for the rocky dell the Jotuns called home.
For Anita it was an all new experience and she got a much greater appreciation for just how strong Freya actually was as she walked alongside her enormous parents, looking like a young girl by comparison.
Anita looked over at Roger who was plodding along with Sasha at his side, the two had become almost inseparable after the nasty incidents earlier in the year.
She smiled to herself, the flipside of all that was her acquiring the sight.
Bestowed upon her by Queen Titania herself, it had really awakened her to the realities of the world.
For the first time she finally understood why Freya did all these little rituals and insisted on things being done in certain ways.
She finally learned why a lone raven would suddenly take off uttering a string of ravenese profanity, it was because a mischievous tree sprite had pestered it to distraction.
She learned why firewood laid in the fireplace would catch fire seemingly by itself.
It was the salamander that lived there feeding on the freshly laid wood by burning it up.
She had also seen the ugly side of things, the boggarts lurking in the shadows to snatch at the sighted who got too close.
She realized that Sasha, the huge wolf protected them from the night gaunts and the ghostlies lurking in the shadows.
She also suspected that Anna Karlsen, her favorite author and now friend, was far older than she appeared.
They met up with another group of Jotuns, all carrying tightly wrapped bundles upon their broad shoulders.
This group was returning from a foray into Bella Coola, the nearest town, to pick up some trade goods they couldn't make themselves.
The huge fellow leading the group grinned at Roger and declared,"Och! Yer jist in time, Ah've got a barrel ay ale ah laid doon last Summer an' it's ready fur tappin'"
Roger grinned back at the giant and replied cheerfully, "I knew I was getting thirsty for a reason! I'll be there and this time, I have my own tankard."
The giant laughed and gleefully retorted, "Yer don't mean tha' wee sippy cup ay yoors? Why t'woods take aw nicht jist tae drink me fill!"
The other giants laughed when Roger retorted, "Aye but I can drink all night with my 'sippy cup' while you've gone and drunk yourself under the table where the wood elf children can tie pink ribbons in your hair and beard!"
The huge man had gone and done just that and the wood elf children couldn't resist the opportunity, to his embarrassment.
He grinned at Roger and replied, "Ah was yoonger then, Ah hide th' ribbons noo!"
The two of them laughed at the joke and after a few moments Roger said, "We've come up for two weeks, the girls are on Spring break from school and Sasha is here to mate for the first time."
The huge man smiled and Roger gestured at Anita and said, "I'd like you to meet Anita Larsen, Freya's friend from school."
The giant paused in mid stride and bowed slightly to the five foot tall, very petite Anita.
He smiled at her and said, "'Tis a pleasure tae meit yer young miss, me name is Harald Thorson. Me grandfaither is th' brewmaster, he is 'Old Harald' an' Ah am 'Young Harald' an Ah'm learnin' his secrets ay brewin guid ale."
Anita smiled up at the giant who stood more than twice her height.
Harald Thorson was also called Harald the Tall as he stood eleven feet tall, a big man among big men.
They continued climbing the winding trail to the dell and Anita began struggling to keep up.
Sigurd without breaking his stride, calmly swept her up to one mighty shoulder and continued climbing.
She felt some embarrassment and commented, "I thought I was in better shape than this, I climb the pathway to the library everyday without any problems, but this is a whole new level of strenuous."
Sigurd gave a mountainous shrug and replied, "We walk every whaur we gae an' we carry most things on uir backs, th' carts're saved fur th' bigger things."
"Like that barrel of ale Roger brought?"
Sigurd laughed, that deep sound emanating from him was his laughter and he replied,"Th' ale is a precious thin' an' needs ter be handled wi caur."
Anita could only laugh and remark in reply, "Yep! You're Freya's dad alright!"
The long uphill slog ended and the trail leveled out as it threaded between the rocky slopes of the mountain.
Here, Sigurd set Anita down and she resumed her trudging alongside her towering friend.
Freya as always, walked alongside Roger, his hand in hers as they matched strides easily.
He had matched her stride for stride during the long uphill slog and Anita smiled to herself.
While they stoutly denied any romantic feelings, they frequently slept together and often shared long hugs and tender kisses.
They clearly loved each other even if they wouldn't admit it, the evidence was plainly there.
Even Anna had commented to her once, "Those two are having the most platonic love affair I've ever seen!"
They rounded a bend and were greeted by several other guardian wolves who joyously welcomed Sasha home and gave them a good going over.
Anita stood perfectly still while she was getting the once over, then just like that, they returned to lolling about while the party resumed its trek into the mountain cleft hidden by the gigantic pine trees at its entrance.
Roger grinned at the look of wonder on Anita's pretty face.
The enormous pine trees had spread their branches until they nearly interlaced over the dell and the air was filled with their piney scent.
Pine tree sprites flitted about over head as they smiled at them and capered along the great branches before leaping across the spaces between the trees, to continue watching them.
Wood elves peeped shyly at them from behind massive tree roots buried deeply into the living rock of Ape Mountain.
The elf girls all looking like Dena while the boys all looked brown and gnarly.
Anita found it remarkable that the two sexes could be so unlike each other.
The wives could be so pretty while the husbands could be so rough looking.
Nearing the widest part of the dell, Harald and his crew continued on to Old Harald's brewery to deliver the bulging sacks of grain they had lugged up the mountain.
Freya and her family continued on to their house, which had been carved right out of the living rock of Ape Mountain.
Anita stopped and looked around, her pale blue eyes widening at what she was seeing.
Here and there, doorways had been cut right into the rocky face, while others appeared to have grown among the mighty roots of the great pine trees covering the dell.
These pine trees were found only where the Jotuns lived, elsewhere they were mere saplings by comparison.
She watched as a doorway peering out of a moss covered mound opened up and two enormous children came barreling out with their enormous mother right behind them armed with a broom, she hollered "Tak' yer mischief ootwith!"
She smiled at them and paused a moment to say, "Welcome haem Freya, mah hoo yoo've groon thes year! Awrite Roger! Mah guidman will be glad tae see ye."
She grinned at Anita and said cheerfully, "Och! We hae a visitor! Ah hope ye didnae gie th' wrong impression, but me wee scamps dae gie oan me last nerve at times. Their grandmother will calm them doon a bit."
Roger laughed and replied, "I did bring my rifle and we'll be staying a fortnight. Long enough for Sasha to choose her mate and start her own pack."
The giantess grinned and replied, "Me guidman will loch hearin' tha' an' Ah'll ready th' smoker!"
Roger smiled and replied, "An' I'll be ready whenever he is."
He looked over at Anita and said, "Her husband and I go out hunting whenever I'm here. The meat is smoked and preserved for later. If I hunt in the fall, the meat can be stretched to last through winter. This time it will make summer sausages."
Anita looked slightly puzzled and she asked, "Don't they have some sort of hunting season?"
"For regular folks yes, although the first nations people, especially the ones living off the land pretty much hunt and fish year round. So whenever I come up here I always bring my grand dad's old hunting rifle, it's not really much to look at but it does what I want it to do and it never lets me down."
Roger smiled wistfully, "Funny thing though, if I'd had that rifle with the first time I came up here. I never would have met Freya and her people, nor you for that matter."
The door to Freya's house opened up and an enormous woman came out.
She greeted Freya with a big hug and next, she enveloped Roger in her lush bosom and planted a resounding kiss right on his lips before setting him back down again.
She turned her attention to Anita who suddenly felt that an immense hug and a big kiss was in her very near future.
"An' who might ye be?" she asked.
"A...Anita, I'm a friend of Freya's from school."
The giantess smiled and extended an enormous hand, "Me name's Barbara, Ah'm Freya's auntie frae 'er mother's side. Pleased tae meit yer!"
Anita smiled as Barbara's huge hand engulfed hers briefly before Barbara remarked,"Freya hud mentioned she was bringin' a mukker alang, I didnae hink ye woods be sae wee. Ah hiner we dornt became tay much fur ye."
Anita smiled again and replied,"I think I'll be okay, just don't do me like you did Roger!"
Barbara laughed and said merrily,"Ye neednae frit nane abit 'at! Ah'm jist playin' wi' heem. He's way tay bony fur me tastes, we Jotuns like our partner tae hae some meat oan their anes!"
She glanced over at Freya's tall, slender form and remarked softly, "Me favorite niece takes after 'er stoatin' grandmother, Alfriede the Fair. She was renowned fur 'er beauty an' slenderness. Few men woods approach 'er coz she was sae thin, they felt she was tay bony an' wooldnae bear strang sons ur fair daughters. Ah'm glad she proved them wrang ur Ah wooldnae be haur!"
"Nor I" replied Anita with a grin, "I met her at our school. She stood out so much with her height and her reddish hair. Some people tried to bully her because she was so different, but she just ignored the rude names and anyone who tried getting physical with her regretted it immediately. And Gawd help anyone who picked on any friends of hers."
Anita chuckled and said, "I didn't really get to know her until I bumped into her at a book signing event. It turned out that Roger somehow knew my favorite author and that she was staying with them at their house. Which you'd really like by the way, it was built for a circus giant and everything is scaled to your size, even the toilet in the master bathroom! We slowly became friends because most of her other friends are all these really tall athletes who play on college volleyball teams. Those girls all make me look like the shrimpie I am!"
Barbara chuckled and said, "Weel, Ah'm glad she mit ye tay! We hear abit 'er life doon sooth an' hoo she flies airplanes an' has seen th' jungle way doon sooth whaur th' sun is sae strang th' folk thaur hae mirk skins coz ay th' sun bein' sae strang. Gie me th' cold onie day, Ah'm built fur it!
That evening the fire pit was lit and all the Jotuns gathered to enjoy the coming Vernal equinox and to welcome Anita to their hamlet.
The ale flowed freely and the food was good, some of it was the last of the smoked meats and dried vegetables from last winter's stores and some was freshly caught lake trout stuffed with herbs and sweet grasses and roasted over the coals.
Anita had her very first taste of Jotun ale and it clobbered her.
Weighing less than 100 pounds, the ale hit her hard, much to Freya's surprise and she commented, "She's tasted ale before why's she sae... Drunk noo?"
Roger commented drily, "Anita's just a little bitty girl and Jotun ale is pretty strong stuff. That ale she's tried at home is pretty weak by comparison."
Freya carried the sleeping Anita inside, put her to bed and returned to the feast.
It was quite late when the newly mated Sasha and her mate returned to the dell.
She came to Roger with her new mate and Roger gave him a big hug and a good scratching.
The young male was quite handsome with his deep brown, almost black coat and his yellow eyes.
He was even larger than her and their pups would prove to be both big and intelligent.
Sasha let her mate know in no uncertain terms that Roger was her human companion and that he was to be protected.