Chapter 86

Dinner that evening was a pot roast Gudrun had made in expectation that Freya's guests would be hungry, and hungry they were.

As Phillip had put it, "Ildi and I work out and we watch our diet as our daily lives just aren't that vigorous. If we need to run errands we just hop into our cars and take off. If we're hungry there's so many food options, I could list them for several minutes.

Here, it's back to nature. You grow or hunt your own food. If you need to go somewhere you walk. The sheer physical nature of your lives amazes me."
He grinned, "I ordinarily, would not eat this large a meal, but since midday, I have been on my feet. I can run a marathon any day, but today, climbing this mountain and all the walking since then, really raised an appetite!"

Then he dug in with gusto.

After dinner Roger, Freya and Sigurd, her dad visited Old Harald's for a tankard.

Phillip and Ildico had begged off going back to Old Harald's and stayed at the house with Gudrun and her teas.

Arriving at Old Harald's, they saw Greta in her prime, a foaming tankard in each hand and a smile on her pretty face.

Her evening outfit resembled the dirndls worn by the beer hall girls during the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.

Only her top was cut a bit low to emphasize her impressive bosom and its sleeves were cut a bit short to show off her well muscled arms.

The bodice was elaborately embroidered and emphasized her lean waist.

Even the skirt was cut slightly short to show off her marvelous legs.

A sight to see was Greta in her element.

Smiling at them, she directed them to a table outside and as they sat, she asked, "Whit wull ye be havin' tonicht?"

"Three tankards ay summer ale, if ye please." replied Sigurd.

Greta smiled, "Camin' reit up!" she declared, then sped off to fill their order.

As she flounced away Roger chuckled softly, to which Freya asked, "Ye've tauld me afore abit Oktoberfest in Germany, diz she remind ye ay Oktoberfest?"

Roger laughed then relied, "Actually, she does. I don't know where she learned about the outfits the beer hall girls wear, but she definitely has the spirit of their outfits."

He paused, "Come to think of it, traditional dirndls do resemble the clothing I've seen Gudrun and most of the other mature women here wearing. Greta just shortened and tightened things up a bit. Not that anyone is likely to complain."

Freya gave him an arch look and said drily, "Dae ye hink Ah coods wear sich an outfit?"

Without hesitation he replied, "Yes you could, and you, would be a knockout!"

Surprised at his candor, Freya paused momentarily, then said, "But Ah'm nae as big as her up top..."

Roger smiled, "Yeah, so? That doesn't make you any less attractive!"

He said firmly, "Any man who would turn you down over something that trivial, is not a man worthy of you. And don't you EVER, stoop to please a man that kind of shallow."

He squeezed her hand, "Besides, you're not quite fourteen yet, she's fully grown. You still have high school and college ahead of you. Who knows what sort of adventures we have ahead of us?"

Freya rolled her eyes and said, "An' knowin' ye, adventure wull fin' us regardless ay whit we feel abit it."

Roger could only shrug at her comment and Sigurd's chuckle was like a rumble of thunder off in the distance.

Greta arrived with their order, a smile on her pretty face.

Setting the foaming tankards down, she said cheerfully, "Haur ye ur, summer ale, drink up, thaurs plenty mair whaur 'at cam frae!"

Pausing momentarily, she asked, "Whaur ur Phillip an' Ildico?"

Freya smiled at the towering hostess and replied, "Ah'm afraid we wair them it, They're at haem wi' me mom."

Greta frowned slightly, "Ur we still seein' each other oan th' morrow?"

"Och aye, it's still oan, e'en if Ah hae tae drag them it ay th' hoose meself!" Declared Freya.

Greta laughed and said cheerfully, "Guid, Ah'll see ye oan th' morrow!"

Then she sped off to another table to take their order, leaving the trio to their foaming tankards.

Roger hoisted his tankard and said, "To us!"

Sigurd and Freya joined him and they gently tapped their tankards together before taking that first big sup.

Setting his tankard down, Roger wiped the foamy mustache off his upper lip and sighed, "There's nothing like a good ale at the end of a day."

Freya set her own tankard down and murmured, "'At was verra guid."

She glanced at Roger and asked, "Shoods Ah hae another, efter thes?"

He shrugged and replied,"Don't you have to be up early to join Phillip and Ildico when they meet up with Greta?"

She sighed and muttered, "Aye, Ah dae. Sae much fur another tankard then."

"Sorry."

Finishing off their tankards, they set them on the outside counter and started for home.

As always, they joined hands and strolled alongside her enormous father's mountainous form.

Roger at one point asked, "So, where is Young Harald, the place seemed a little quiet without him, tonight?"

Sigurd rumbled in reply, "He's gang intae town tae pick up hees order ay grains fur th' brewery. Some ay th' menfowk went wi' heem tae help carry th' load back."

"Ah."

Arriving home, they found that Phillip and Ildico were already asleep in Eric's old room.

The next morning, Roger awoke when Freya got up to get ready to meet up with Greta.

Yawning hugely, he got up too and soon, the four of them were having a light breakfast before leaving.

While they were eating Sigurd lumbered in and smiled before telling Roger about Rolf Bristlebeard and a couple of other men going hunting that morning.

Roger chuckled and replied, "I thought I was missing out on something. I didn't bring my granddad's old rifle as I thought there wouldn't be time for a meat hunt."

Sigurd grinned through his own reddish thicket of a beard, "Thaur's always time fur a meat hunt when ye bring that auld rifle!"

"Sorry."

"'Tis nae problem."

Ildico glanced over her tea at Roger, "Do you always go hunting when you come up here?"

"Most times I do, I didn't even consider bringing my granddad's old rifle this time." He shrugged, "Oh well, I got to sleep in this morning instead of being 'oot an' aboot afore dawn' as Freya would say, it's all good."

Phillip glanced at his watch, "Welp, I guess we'd best be leaving now, Greta's probably already wondering where we are."

Rising from their chairs, Phillip and Ildico thanked Gudrun for their breakfast then followed Freya's towering form out the door.

Roger noted with interest that both Freya and Ildico had similar outfits and he briefly pondered where Freya had gotten hers from, sports attire for women did not come in her size, it had to have been made especially for her.

He also noted how similarly they were proportioned, allowing for size differences of course.

Freya, he concluded, was no longer a young girl, she was a young woman now and becoming quite the eyeful!

Sigurd's rumbling voice interrupted his musings, "Ur ye ready tae help me wi' th' smoker?"

Roger grinned, "I was born ready!"

His gigantic host smiled and handed him a bucket filled with strips of seasoned elk meat.

Taking up his own much larger bucket, Sigurd led the way outside.

Once outside, Roger chuckled when he saw Sasha's pups playing with some of the children while the adult wolves looked on.

He smiled, the pups were being accepted, they would soon have their own families to protect.

In another year, he and Freya would be bringing up Sasha's next litter of pups to be integrated into Jotun society.

Roger fell in alongside Sigurd as the two of them walked down to Induna's old cottage.

The cottage bore little resmblance to its former self.

An additional room had been added out back and the reason for that was toddling about in the front yard.

Twins had recently graced the parents with their presence and the parents, already raising a girl and a boy were slightly overwhelmed at first.

Fortunately the girl, now a mature nine year old and the boy, now a slightly more mature, six year old, were able to help their parents with the task of dealing with squalling infants.

The rest of the hamlet, stunned at the arrival of twins, pitched in and helped Peter Ericcson add the extra room to the back of the house.

Now nearing their first year, the tow headed duo were toddling about in the front yard, their little faces wreathed in smiles.

They were walking now, just like the older folks!

Peter Ericcson's workshop was open and he was working diligently on what appeared to be a chair.

He looked up at the approaching pair and grinned, "Guid morrow!" he called out, "Ah didnae see ye twa at Auld Harald's last nicht!"

Sigurd chuckled and replied, "We war thaur fur oanly a wee visit tae slake uir thirst. Freya had guests tae escort thes mornin' an' we turned in early."

"Ah"

Moments later, Helga came outside and smiled.

"Guid morrow!" she said cheerfully, "Th' smokers awreddy tae gae noo."

Smiling at Roger she said, "It's guid tae see ye, Roger."

"It's good to see you too, Helga..." he glanced at the wobbly toddlers and quipped, "I see you two have been busy."

Helga rolled her bright blue eyes and remarked, "Hoo was Ah tae ken Ah was saae fertile?"

One of the twins stopped in mid toddle to stare at Roger, her cherubic face a study in curiosity.

She was familiar with her own family and their neighbors, but Roger was new to her.

He was about the size of her older siblings but he was an adult, a tiny adult.

She blinked at him a few times then resumed her efforts at mastering two legged locomotion.

Helga said softly, "She's ne'er seen a wee cheil afore, dornt min' 'er."

Roger shrugged and replied, "Why would I mind a child's natural curiosity? It was Freya's curiosity about me that led to her living with me and all the experiences we have shared."

Helga smiled and led the two of them to her big smokehouse behind the cottage.

Roger was impressed, it was far larger than ones he had seen down in the states and could handle a whole elk carcass if so desired.

Helga opened the door and stepped aside until the outpouring of fragrant smoke had abated.

Quickly reaching inside, she pulled out a couple of wooden frames for them to load with their seasoned meat.

She watched while Roger and Sigurd loaded their prospective frames. Roger loaded his frame with the meat to be made into a form of jerky while Sigurd loaded his with the larger roasts and haunches.

Once they had finished loading up their frames, Helga hung little tags on the frames to signify ownership of the meat.

Next she hung the frames inside the smoky interior of the shed and closed the door.

Adding a few more pieces of fragrant wood to the fire grate and after checking the vents, Helga stepped back and declared, "Th' jerky wull be ready in twa days, an th' roasts an' haunches shoods tak' a week ur mair."

After thanking Helga, The two headed back to the house tunneled directly into the mountain itself.

Walking alongside his gigantic host, Roger chuckled to himself.

"'Tis somethin' funny?"

"I'm just thinking about how familiar this place has become to me. I've gotten to know most of your neighbors and look forward to coming up here, even if it's only for a weekend and no hunting is involved.

This place is almost like a second home to me and for a kid who grew up in the foster system, that's saying something!"

Sigurd rumbled, "Ah cannae imagine abidin' loch 'at. Abidin' wi' strangers tae me bluid an' nae kennin' ef Ah e'en hae onie kinfowk."

Roger shrugged, "I may have some relatives out there somewhere, Tate is not that unusual a name. But, after all this time, would I even want to know relatives who did nothing to help while I was growing up?"

He smiled and said drily, "Hell, my ex-wives certainly didn't help any, except to make it a bit harder for me to really trust a woman."

He looked up at his towering host and said, "In a way I owe my present situation to Freya. Our house is full of life, we share our home not only with Dena and our guardian wolves, we have one of her classmates living semi-permanently with us, a house spirit we simply call Silky and a whole raft of little sprites, all flitting about."

He smiled, "I trust Freya and care for her very much."

The appearance of Freya and her guests trotting along with Greta ended Roger's musings.

Clearly, they had been running for awhile if their reddened faces were any indicator.

They slowed to a walk to let their breaths catch up to them and grinned at each other.

Greta smiled and said, "Hoo dae ye loch me wark it routine?"

Phillip laughed and said, "It's certainly not for the faint hearted! And your weights were pretty impressive considering your limited resources."

Greta chuckled, "Th' hardest part was gettin' th' steel bar. Young Harald foond it doon in Hagensborg an' brooght it tae me."

Phillip grinned, "Where is he, I haven't met him yet?"

"Wa he's doon in Hagensborg pickin' up some sacks ay grain fur th' brewery. Heem an' most ay th' rest ay th' yoong cheils aroond haur."

Her reply cleared up why Roger hadn't seen most of the younger Jotun men since they'd arrived.

They had trekked down to the town to help carry the load back to the hamlet and Old Harald's brewery.

Freya came over to Roger and hugged him, her skin was clammy from her work out but he still enjoyed the hug.

How could he not? He felt safe with her, his heart felt safe.

"Enjoy the workout?" he asked.

"Och aye, Greta's wark it alsae has weights an' her run gaes fur miles an' miles."

She glanced over at Phillip and Ildico still chatting with Greta , "Ah 'hink she held back tae allow 'er wee guests tae keep up."

She squeezed him again then started out for home, leaving him feeling slightly damp from her memorable hug.

Watching the four of them heading towards his house, Sigurd muttered, "Ah hope they'll leave us at least some hot water!"

Roger chuckled and commented, "Ladies tend to use a lot of water while bathing. Our house has two fifty gallon water heaters and even then, it seems like they're barely enough when we have visitors."

By the time Roger and Sigurd returned to the house after an obligatory stop at Old Harald's for a 'wee sup' as Sigurd had put it

Freya and her guests had bathed and changed into sweat free clothing, while Roger and Sigurd had exchanged pleasantries with Greta as she headed down to the brewery and her job.

Greta was certainly the eyeful in her sleeveless top which was laced up the front much like a bodice and her pleated skirt which came down to mid thigh.

Around her muscular hips hung a tooled leather belt with a sporran like pouch hanging from it.

Her thick soled leather boots came up to mid calf, further lending her a steampunk meets Scottish highlands sort of a look.

Her short reddish hair and fair skin capped off her total look.

With her free swinging stride and muscularity proudly displayed, Roger muttered, "Gawd help the man who pisses her off!"

"Och aye." rumbled Sigurd.