A Big Girl comes into his life

by Claidheamh Mohr

An Investigator for the Museum of Cryptozoology gets lost in the Canadian woods and meets a girl. A frost giant's daughter, here are their adventures.

120. Chapter 120

Home again, home again.

It was early evening when they saw Troutdale airport lying ahead of them.

Roger smiled and said, "Well, we made it and Moby Dick made it!"

"Ay coorse he made it, Ah did most ay th' flyin'!" Cried Freya with a laugh.

Having gotten clearance to land and after a final check on the landing gear, Freya eased the big sea plane onto the runway at Troutdale airport.

As the heavy plane scrubbed off speed, Roger glanced out his window and saw their tall van parked beside the hangar where Moby Dick was kept between flights.

He thought he saw the slight forms of Anita and Anastasia standing beside the tall van, but they had gone past it before he could be certain.

Slowing almost to a halt, Freya steered the sea plane onto the service road running parallel to the runway.

Many of the denizens of Troutdale were standing outside and waving at them as they taxied past.

Roger grinned and waved back, acknowledging their welcome home gestures and glad expressions.

Moby Dick was back!

Home from a nearly nineteen thousand mile excursion across the Pacific, the plane's formerly white exterior bore the travel stains from its long flight, and Roger knew he would be hearing from the airport's own aircraft maintenance crew about giving him a much needed scrubbing!

Freya stopped the plane and by holding the brakes on the right side then throttling up the left engine a bit, neatly pivoted Moby Dick until he was lined up with the parking spot next to the hangar.

She then reversed the propellers and backed him into place before stopping, setting the parking brake and shutting off the engines.

Activating the post flight cool down system, Freya grinned at Roger and he laughed, they were back!

Unbuckling their seat belts, they opened up the plane and stepped outside in the evening air.

"Welcome home strangers!" cried Anita and she zoomed into Freya's arms for a hug, while Anastasia glomped onto Roger with surprising strength for one so slender.

A sweet kiss later she said softly, "Welcome home!"

Roger grinned at her, "It's good to be back! Annnd, I've brought a little surprise!"

Anastasia stepped back, raised a perfect eyebrow and said, "What did you find this time?"

He grinned, turned slightly and called out, "You can come out now!"

Moments later, both Anastasia and Anita squealed in girlish delight and said in unison, "You, are sooo cute!" as they beheld tiny Lana for the first time.

The two foot tall menehune was standing in the doorway of Moby Dick, dressed in an outfit she'd lifted from one of the fashion dolls Freya had gotten from Danny Chen's Smartdoll booth at AX, 20XX when she had gone there.

Smiling at everybody Lana said brightly, "Hello everybody, my name's Lana Llacuna, what's yours?"

Anastasia smiled at the tiny menuhune and said, "My name is Anastasia Karloff and it is my great pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Anita bowed slightly and said, "My name is Anita Larsen and I am delighted to meet you!"

Anastasia grinned and said to Roger, "Dena, is going to have kittens!"

He laughed and replied, "I expect her to! Now, enough with the gabbing, we've had a long flight and a nap is in my very near future."

Anita laughed and said, "Good luck with that once Dena sees Lana here."

Anastasia paused a moment, then asked, "What happened to your friends?"

Freya smiled and replied,"Lorna is wi' 'er auntie's fowk in Japan an' Christina was invited tae bide wi' 'er fur th' rest ay th' Summer."

"Ah, okay"

A few minutes later, with their luggage tossed in the back and their travel weary forms ensconced in their seats, Anita drove the tall white van to the big house known as Wolf Hills manor.

Lana sat up front in Anastasia's lap, looking out the windows at the sights and sounds of Portland, Oregon.

When Anita brought the van into the driveway and came to a halt, Lana saw the massive forms of several giant wolves, several humans, and a house spirit, all patiently waiting for them.

Sitting on top of the mature female wolf was a tiny, blonde haired, curvy girl, same size as her.

The van stopped and shut off, then Roger opened the sliding door and stepped outside the van.

The curvy little blonde squealed in delight, leapt off the she-wolf's back, grabbed onto him and began kissing Roger right on his lips, something Lana would never do.

After a moment, he deftly moved the tiny blonde to one side and glommed onto the huge female wolf, her floofy tail wagging happily as she shlurped him on his grizzled cheek.

Finally, Roger let go of the gigantic wolf and said to the little blonde, "Dena, I'd like you to meet what may be a distant relative of yours!"

He gestured to Lana and she waved before saying, "Hello Dena, my name is Lana, Lana Llacuna and I'm a menehune from Hawai'i!"

Dena's mouth briefly formed an adorable 'O' and she said,"Ah'm a wuidelf frae Canada an' Ah bide wi' Roger tae tak caur ay heem."

The two tiny women circled around each other, sizing each other up until Dena said, "Ah see yer me own size."

Lana grinned and replied, "It does look that way, I got these clothes from a fashion doll that was given to Freya. I hope you don't mind my wearing them, I didn't really have any clothes for this cooler climate we're in."

Dena raised an adorable blonde eyebrow and asked, "Whit sort ay clase did ye bring?"

Lana smiled and held up her little satchel made from palm fronds and replied,"This sort of 's my native clothing and all I have!"

Dena looked up at Roger and said accusingly,"Did ye hae 'er runnin' aroond naked sae ye coods swatch at 'er? Am Ah nae guid enaw?"

Freya laughed and said cheerfully, "Then Ah guess we'd best nae tell 'er aboot aw ay us skinny dippin' in th' lagoon at Wake Island!"

Roger rolled his eyes at Dena's gob smacked expression and said, "Welp, there's no putting that cat back in the bag, our secret's out now!"

"Whaaaa?!" cried Dena, then she said, "Whit were ye daein'? Runnin' aroond aw naked? An' ye didnae tak' me?!"

Roger chuckled, picked up Dena and as he cradled her in his arm he said, "First off my tiny bedbug, it wasn't planned that way, it just happened and yes, they saw as much of me as I saw of them, not that anyone was complaining."

He grinned and said, "I hadn't been thrown like that since I was a tyke!"

Anita grinned and said, "Nevermind the nekkid part, how was the lagoon?"

Lana giggled and said, "It was very nice and warm, like a giant bathtub kinda warm and Freya was just tossing us around like we were her playtoys. She threw me the farthest!"

At that comment, Dena twisted herself around and poked Roger on his grizzled cheek as she said stoutly, "Dornt ye e'en hink ay takin' anither trip loch 'at withit includin' me!"

"Or me!" declared Anita Larsen nascent author of several young adult novels.

Roger smiled at her comment then glanced at Anastasia who quickly said, "Not me, that's waaay more sunlight than I can handle, I'd burn to a crisp!"

"But, you're always going outside during daylight hours up here?"

"Hello! Northerly latitudes? Sunlight less strong up here, easier to compensate for with proper clothing and sunscreen lotions, liberally applied!"

"So, no tiny swimsuit photos of Anna Karlsen next to a tropical lagoon, then?" said Roger with a wink and a grin.

Anastasia smiled and retorted, "As if! I only do boudoir spreads with lots of pastel satins and fluffy pillows, to be seen by a very select few, no cameras allowed!"

Freya merely rolled her eyes, took up her luggage and went into the house muttering to herself.

When he had a moment, Roger turned to the ever so patient, pastel shaded silk clad house spirit, bowed towards her in respect and said, "As always, thank you very much for your patience with me."

Silky flushed slightly and swept into his arms for a very brief hug, then she disengaged and swept back into the house, the faint rustling of silken garments being the only sound she made.

He next turned to Warren who was standing there with a foaming tankard in one hand and a grin on his leprechaunesque face.

"Welcome home and here's a bit of ale to wash the dust from your gullet!" he said as he handed Roger the foaming jack of ale.

Roger gratefully took the tankard, saluted Warren and with a cheery "Probst!" Took a big sup.

A long moment later, he lowered the somewhat lighter tankard with a sigh and said,"You're not going to believe this, but I barely touched alcohol while I was gone, too busy flying the plane and keeping two attractive young ladies in the same condition I found them!"

"And that condition was?"Asked Anita while Anastasia hovered nearby in case of a juicy tid bit.

"Virginity unsullied for one." replied Roger "Of course once we left Christina in Japan with Lorna, all bets were off!"

"How did that happen?" asked Anita with one raised eyebrow in place.

Roger grinned and said, "It seems Christina's grandmother wanted to marry her off to someone she knew and Christina was having none of it! A big argument ensued with lots of bad feelings and unkind comments tossed into the mix. Grandmother read her father the riot act and it was decided that perhaps, Christina should stay in Japan a bit longer until things have cooled down in Quezon City."

"Sounds like it was pretty crazy for a bit." remarked Anita.

Roger shrugged and said,"It'll be alright, I made sure I was the bad guy who interrupted everything and took Christina away from her grandmother's house...Without permission!"

Anastasia purred, "Deflected and distracted?" her lovely eyes twinkling in amusement.

"It worked, didn't it?"

Roger looked down at his tankard and remarked, "Somebody's gotten into me ale! As Old Harald would say."

"'at someain woods be ye!" cried Dena's squeak of a voice from down by his right knee.

Roger laughed, took up his luggage and went into the house once built for a giant.

He was now officially home!

The next morning he and Freya woke to a mild uproar.

Tired from all that flying over the past three weeks, falling asleep together in her huge bed was the perfect welcome home for both of them.

Even the tiny presence of Dena happily burrowing in between them was barely noticed.

Sitting up in their bed, Roger looked around in confusion until he remembered where they were, in Freya's bedroom.

He listened for a few moments and picked up snatches of conversations drifting through the air.

"Trust me, you look great! This is the last weekend, we gotta make it count!"

"Where's my book of bawdy poetry?"

"Axel! You're getting fur all over my bodice!"

"Check out Dena! Flauntin' those curves, you go girl!"

He heard a soft clopping sound, the sound of Flora's hooves, "Woah! Check out Flora!"

There was a gentle rapping of knuckles on Freya's door and Anita quietly said, "You guys awake in there? We're getting ready for Faire in case you might want to go."

Freya groaned softly and muttered, "Ah'm awake, gie me a few..."

Roger called out, "We're still waking up, give us a few!"

Anita laughed and replied, "Take your time, we're still garbing up out here!"

Roger slipped out of Freya's huge bed and toddled into the en suite bathroom with its giant sized fixtures.

Feeling like a child again, he turned on the shower and soon was standing in the warm stream, washing away the dregs of sleepiness and travel weariness.

Halfway through his shower, Freya stepped in and suddenly, the huge shower stall didn't seem quite so roomy as her towering frame took up much of it.

Finishing up his shower, Roger stepped out and quickly toweled off before exiting the huge bathroom, once made for giants.

With his towel wrapped around himself, Roger slipped out of Freya's bedroom and into his own before he was seen by anybody other than one of the many sprites that lived in the house.

He laid out his Renfaire garb before he took off his towel and when he did so, he heard Dena's squeak of a voice as she exclaimed, "Noo Ah can say Ah've seen th' sam things Lana saw!"

He yelped and threw his damp towel at Dena's tiny form, "You little pest! Go peep at someone else...Sheesh! It's not like you haven't seen me before!"

Dena artfully dodged his clumsy attempt at revenge and gleefully skipped out the door to his bedroom, which he firmly closed and locked after her departure.

Dressing quickly, he left his room and went down stairs to see about a breakfast.

Entering the dining room he saw the whole mob seated at the big table, all dressed in their period finery as they ate.

At the head of the long table sat a silvery dome.

Anita said cheerfully, "That's your breakfast, courtesy of Silky."

She grinned and said, "She must've really missed you as she insisted on making your breakfast, even though Anna was already in the kitchen playing short order cook."

Roger smiled at Anastasia seated at her own breakfast and said, "Funny seeing you here so soon after AX, and all that it entails!"

She smiled and replied, "I came up here to decompress after that madhouse. The final headcount was almost four hundred thousand attendees for that weekend, I must've sold and signed thousands of my books!"

She grinned, "This'll be my first Renfaire!"

Roger chuckled as he uncovered the hearty breakfast Silky had made for him, he would give her an extra large cup of fresh cream later on in appreciation.

A short time later, they were piling into their prospective vehicles.

Anita and Flora were riding with Warren Johnson, while Anastasia would be riding with Roger, Freya, Dena and Lana. Naturally little April, Roger's spritely companion hitched a ride, she wanted to visit and play with her friends at the Faire.

The drive south was its usual tedium in town and picking up its pace once past downtown Portland and onto Silverton, near where the Faire was being held.

Freya steered the tall van into a parking spot and soon they were exiting the tall white van.

Anastasia slathered herself up with sunblock and set her big hat into place before tying it down with silken ribbons, to keep it in its place.

With everything in place, they headed towards the entrance where they could hear the town crier making announcements.

Moments later, a cannon boomed, the gates opened and fanfare commenced, the Faire was open!

Freya grinned, she was wearing her special doublet that she had been given for helping to set up the faire stages, it signified that she was a crew member and therefore, got in for free.

Drawing nearer they saw Tom Shannon puffing contentedly on his gnarled pipe as he extended greetings to one and all.

He grinned hugely as they drew near and called out, "Yer cuttin' it mighty fine this year, ye almost missed it!"

Freya smiled at him and said, "We jist got back frae uir trip athwart th' Pacific in uir aeroplane!"

Tom grinned and said, "Why'd ye hurry back?"

Freya laughed and retorted, "Whit, an' miss th' Faire? Ah hink nae!"

Roger grinned as tiny April settled on his shoulder so Tom could see her.

The older man smiled at the wee sprite and said cheerfully, "It's glad I am to see you again, Miss April!"

He smiled at Anastasia and said, "It is good to see you again, welcome to Canterbury Shire Miss Anna."

He then spotted Dena walking with Lana and said, "Oh, Hello! These old eyes haven't seen you before. Whence came you and from where?"

Dena beamed and said in her piccolo of a voice, "She's me cousin an' she cam frae Hawai'i!"

Tom smiled and bowed as he swept his battered hat off his gray head before he said in his most courtly manner, "'Tis my great pleasure to welcome ye to our marvelous faire, what name shall I convey to our most gracious queen?"

Lana smiled at the older man and replied,"My name is Lana Llacuna and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, kind sir!"

Her ensuing fit of the giggles was politely ignored by all concerned.

After all, she was new here, mistakes in protocol were to be expected and allowances were made.

As they got closer, Roger paused to pick up the ladies to lessen the likelyhood of either one of them getting stepped on.

Stopping at the ticket booth, he bought three adult tickets and got two alcoholic beverage wrist bands which he gave to Lana and Dena who wrapped them around their waists.

The girl in the ticket booth freely gawked at the sight of the two tiny ladies as they put on their wrist bands like belts and smiled at each other.

Taking them up again, he grinned at the ticket taker as he realized that Roger was carrying two doll sized girls with him.

Freya had simply smiled at the ticket takers as she strode through the gate and into the faire grounds, her doublet signifying her as being a crew member.

Once inside the Faire proper, Roger saw Lord Thistle waiting for them with a smile.

He was to escort them to the Queens court at once!

Smiling at Roger's approach he spoke, "Hail and well met, sir knight! I see you've brought visitors!"

He smiled at Dena and said, "Lady Dena, it is a great pleasure to see you again, you are as lovely as ever I see!"

Dena tittered before she said, "Et is guid tae ye agin, yer lairdship!" she gestured towards Lana and said, "Thes is Lana, she may be a cousin frae Hawai'i, nooly cam tae thes lain."

Lord Thistle smiled at the tiny menehune and said, "It is a great pleasure to meet you Lady Lana, our gracious queen will greatly enjoy meeting you!"

Roger smiled as he set down Dena and Lana before turning to Anastasia and saying, "Anna, Id like you to meet John Thistle, Lord of Canterbury shire and emissary to Elizabeth, the queen."

He said to Lord Thistle, "My lord, may I introduce to you Anastasia Karloff, AKA Anna Karlsen, author."

Anastasia smiled as she extended a hand and Lord Thistle bent over and brushed his lips across the back of her hand it politely while saying, "Our gracious queen enjoys reading your works, she will be delighted to meet you Lady Anna."

As he turned to lead them to the Queen's court Roger asked,"Have you seen Anita the Bard yet?"

Lord Thistle smiled and replied, "Yes and her friend the Lady Flora Oakenwood made quite the impression!"

Roger chuckled and muttered, "I'll bet she did!"

With Freya taking one hand and Anastasia taking his other arm, Roger found himself being the center of attention as he appeared to be squiring not one, but two lovely ladies.

His cheeks darkened slightly at the attention he was getting, namely the knowing grins on the faces of the menfolk.

Or the occasional muttered, "How does he rate two?"

With Lord Thistle leading the way whilst carrying and chatting with Dena and Lana, they made for quite the impression.

Court protocol required that they stroll in an unhurried manner, so as not to appear to be in a rush, while proceeding towards the Royal Court to pay their respects to the queen.

Arriving at the Royal Court, Lord Thistle paused to set down his tiny companions who smiled and thanked him for the ride.

Roger and company stopped just outside the court and waited until they were announced.

Freya standing just over nine feet tall now, made for quite the sight as she stood there in her garb.

Anastasia stood beside Roger wearing her own form of garb, it being a simple long sleeved dress that even covered her hands and had no discernable seams, as it was a gift from Silky.

The outfit helped bring out her lithe dancer's build and being like a second skin, it hid nothing while covering her up from the sun's ultraviolet rays.

'Devastatingly sexy' was the comment Roger had made when he first saw it.

Standing just in front of them were Dena in her own traditional outfit and Lana wearing a Hawai'ian traditional native dress.

Lord Thistle stepped forward and announced, "Your grace! May I present Sir Roger Tate, knight of the realm. The ladies Freya Sigurdsdottir and Dena Greenwood of the realm. The lady Anna Karlsen, author and the lady Lana Llacuna, come all the way from the realm of Hawai'i!"

The queen smiled and clapped her hands in delight upon hearing Anna's name and strove to control her urge to squeal at the sight of tiny Lana dressed in her native garb.

Roger, Freya and Dena all stepped forth and paid their respects to her majesty, which she acknowledged with gracious smiles and nods of her royal head.

Then it was Anna's turn to step forward, curtsy and say, "Your Majesty, it is a great honor to make your acquaintance. I look forward to visiting this faire and enjoying its entertainments, its foods and its drinks!"

The queen beckoned and said, "Come hither that I may look at you better!"

Anastasia smiled as she stepped forward and the queen rose from her throne and stepped down from the dais to embrace Anna Karlsen, author of popular Gothic romance novels and actual 263 year old vampire out in the sun.

The two women separated and the queen turned her royal attention to the two tiny mythical beings, come to pay their respects.

The queen gestured and a page swiftly placed a three legged stool for her to sit on.

Lord Thistle assisted her as she took a seat.

Once seated she smiled at the tiny visitors and said to Lana, "Welcome to our fair shire, may your visit be a pleasant one. What pray tell, do you call yourself?"

Lana smiled at the queen and replied,"My name is Lana Llacuna, I get my clan name from the Hawai'ian native family my family lives with, as Menehunes we adopt the name of the family we choose to live with."

"I decided to join Roger and Freya on their way around the Pacific after I had learned of Dena's existence and wanted to meet other 'little people'."

She smiled and said brightly, "It has been very interesting!"

The queen smiled broadly at her remarks and asked,"How so?"

Lana grinned, "The people that I let see me have all told me about the stories of the 'shy ones' or the 'youkai' in the form of bakenekos or kitsunes in Japan and on my home island we spoke of the Nawao, the giants that were driven up onto the high mountains."

Lana glanced up at Freya's towering form and said, "My people believe that the Nawao may have been some of Freya's people and after learning of Dena's people, I decided to travel with them to meet her."

The queen smiled at her remarks and said, "We are grateful that you came here and are looking forward to learning more about your people and your customs."

At her signal, a page stepped forward and held out a small purple ribbon.

The queen took it and said, "Lady Lana, allow us to present you with this small token of our esteem!"

Lana stepped forward and at the queen's directive, turned around so the queen could tie the ribbon in her dark brown tresses.

When Lana turned back around the queen smiled and declared, "Welcome to our fair shire Lana. May our friendship grow and prosper!"

Having paid their respects to the queen at her court, they set out for the nearest ale stand.

Arriving at the stand, Roger placed his tankard and the little tankards of Dena and Lana on the counter.

"A pint of your Summer shandy for me if you please and the same for my friends."

The tavern maid glanced at him and smiled as she whisked away his tankard to be filled.

Moments later she set his foaming tankard on the counter then took up the two little tankards.

She looked them over then leaned over the counter which caused her operatic bosom to lap against the top of her peasant blouse and threaten to spill over.

Seeing the two tiny women looking up at her, she smiled and said, "Hello Dena, you're looking well I see."

Smiling at Lana she said, "My name is Marian, I run this ale stand, and you are?"

Lana grinned and replied, "My name is Lana, I am a Menehune from Oa'hu and it's my pleasure to meet you Mistress Marian."

Marian smiled and replied,"I'll have your wee tankards filed in a jif!"

She straightened up and the crashing waves of her bosom settled down quickly.

Filling the tiny tankards took but moments and as she placed them on the counter while Roger counted money to pay for their drinks.

She smiled as the two little ladies sipped at their drinks and smiled at her.

Noting the 'of drinking age' wrist bands placed around their waists, she chuckled and said, "I like your choice of belts!"

Lana giggled and said, "We didn't know what else to do with them!"

There was brief pause while Freya got her own tankard filled with a cider and a remark from Marian, "It's hard to believe you're not yet twenty one, as big as you are!"

Marian smiled at Anna and gladly filled her tankard with cider as she said, "Thank you for coming to our faire!"

Anna grinned at her and replied, "It's a pleasure to be here!"

They set out to find Warren's booth where they could sit in its shady interior and enjoy their drinks.

He was easy to find as his giant wolf companion was sitting outside under the shade and enjoying the attention of many a faire goer, before they stepped inside Warren's booth to peruse his wares.

In her deep fur was nestled a goodly number of tiny sprites taking advantage of her bodily warmth and soft fur.

Warren was standing outside his booth talking to Anita and Flora when he noticed them approaching.

He smiled and called out, "Hail and well met!"

Roger called out, "Good morrow! How fares thee?"

Warren grinned, "No complaints here, except for my tankard running dry faster than I'd like!"

"I can't help you there my friend! Could it be a pixie has gotten into your ale?"

Warren smiled, "Pixies are always welcome to my ale, just as our sprites are always welcome to come visit a spell."

Roger held out his tankard, "Summer shandy, courtesy of Marian's ale stand, care for a sip?"

Warren grinned and took the proffered tankard, said "Probst!" and took a mighty sup.

A young couple strolled past and there was a pause as the young man found himself looking Flora over a little too closely for his young lady's liking, before she tugged on his arm and all but dragged him away.

In his defense he could be heard exclaiming, "Did you see the costume she was wearing? Those horns looked so real, and I could've sworn she had hooves!"

Anita giggled and said merrily, "That's the fifth guy today to react like that!"

Flora could only smile shyly and say apologetically, "I don't mean to stand out like I do, I can't help being what I am!"

Swftly glancing over her outfit Roger grinned and said,"Wearing an outfit designed to catch the eye is certainly a part of it. Then again, you are a part of the show here."

Roger smiled and said, "This is a fantasy faire in many ways, and in recent years people have come to expect fantasy more than authenticity."

He gestured at Freya and said, "It really began when Freya and I first started coming here, then we brought Dena and noticed all the sprites living around here."

He grinned, "Warren and I began putting up hidey holes for the sprites in addition to the bat boxes and that encouraged more sprites to come here. It's all good really, the faire has benefited, the sprites have benefited and so has our karma!"

He smiled at his towering companion, "Freya has pretty much grown to womanhood here and is now a part of their crew."

Warren smiled and said, "I'd love to see some of Freya's people come down here especially her cousin in law Britt! That girl dressed like a barbarian and carrying a huge axe, would really make an impression!"

Anita laughed and said gaily,"All those gamer boys who love to play WOW or any of the other fantasy games involving muscular barbarian types would be following her around like love sick puppies. All those curves and muscles of hers covered in furs and chain mail, would be killing them!"

"Or a chain mail bikini and a big ass sword, like some comic books I've seen out there." opined Warren.

"Death by snuu snuu would become a possibility in their minds." said Roger drily.

Warren chuckled and said, "Let's hear it for snuu snuu!"

Freya merely rolled her bright blue eyes at their commentary and said, "Whilst ye twa hae yer wee sordid fantasies, Ah'm aff tae see abit a coupla acrobats an' their noo show!"

Not caring who saw it, she leaned way over and lightly kissed Roger before straightening up and striding towards one of the stages.

As she walked away, virtually everyone turned their heads to watch her walk by.

At nine feet two inches tall with red gold hair and Norse goddess looks, she stood out no matter where she went when she wasn't at home with her people.

Dena naturally reached up and tugged on Roger's sleeve, "Dinnae fret none, Ah'm still haur!"

"And what about your cousin?"

Dena glanced over at Lana who was happily sitting on Astrid's furry self and said, "She'll be fine, nae warries thaur!"

Roger simply reached down and picked up Dena who as always, snuggled up against him as they were bonded for his lifetime.

Anita called out to Lana, "Flora and I are taking off, you want to come along?"

Lana seeing that Dena was occupied by Roger, grinned and hopped off Astrid's mighty form before getting picked up by Anita who said cheerfully, "Bring on the puritans!"

A few moments later, it was just Roger, Warren and Dena now seated inside his booth.

Warren paused a few moments while he slipped behind the curtain that hid the cubby hole in the back of the booth.

When he reappeared his large tankard was full again and he said with an impish grin, "One gallon insulated growlers are a wonderful thing!"

"That and lax security not looking too hard at what the 'merchants' are bringing in, a growler or two lurking beneath the day's luncheon can be easily missed,especially when the thirsty Beefeater knows they can stop by a certain booth and get a sip or three."

Warren merely grinned and remarked, "This faire is much more casual about us merchants bringing in 'refreshments', they know we're pretty much confined to our booths during the day. Getting food is no problem as the Green Man inn will send me a lunch if I ask for one."

He sighed, "Southern Faire got to be pretty strict about a lot of things, I knew a few guys who got banned when they objected to the stricter rule changes after the new owners took over."

"I'm guessing no more 'after faire' parties?"

"That and no more camping out in the back of the booth, even though they still allowed a cubby hole, you weren't allowed to spend the night in it."

Warren gestured around, "Some of these booths belong to folks who live in other states, these folks travel from faire to faire during the season. To keep their costs down, they'll live in the back of their booths throughout the faire, they're almost like the Roma at times."

Roger heard the faint buzzing of her wings and tiny April came whizzing into Warren's booth, a big grin on her tiny, quite adorable face.

Settling down on the cabinet where Warren kept his sales stock, she chirruped, "Choclit?"

Warren smiled at the wee sprite standing before him and said, "Just a moment please!"

As he was getting out his tiny cannister filled with chocolate morsels, a second tiny sprite came whizzing in and settled down beside April, she also wanted 'choclit'.

Roger smiled at the newcomer and said, "Well hello there Julia, is Maribel nearby?"

Julia giggled, which on a tiny sprite was almost too cute and pointed outside.

Roger looked where she was pointing and saw Maribel in full Renfairy mode, her tiny, taut body dressed in an almost not there outfit, she was perched beside Astrid's massive form where even the most ardent lurker would keep his distance.

Warren smiled and said, "That girl is definitely easy on the eyes." as he was giving out chocolate morsels to the two sprites.

The tiny pair thanked him and with a whirring of their lacy wings, they left the booth to go play.

Roger chuckled and said, "Wearing an outfit designed to catch eyes and being insanely cute also helps."

Warren saw Roger's grin as he was putting away the chocolate and said,"What?"

"And I'm the one who gets called a sap when it comes to the sprites!"

Warren grinned and retorted, "I'm just better at not getting caught spoiling the wee sprites, like you do."

Roger could only shrug at Warren's comeback, it was true he did get caught regularly 'spoiling' the sprites as he enjoying watching them going about their daily lives.

"Any more travel plans?" asked Warren.

"I think we're done with traveling for this year, Freya's got college starting this fall and her studies might interfere with any traveling she might want to do. She does have a coming of age ceremony coming up around her eighteenth birthday, but that's next year."

A mundanely dressed woman with a young girl in tow, entered Warren's booth to look around.

The girl child was wearing a blue Disney Princess costume, the one where the princess in question lived in a frozen land.

While her mother admired Warren's offerings, the girl was looking around in her boredom, clutched to her bosom was a somewhat bedraggled plushie toy snowman with a carrot nose.

As luck would have it, she spotted Dena who had fallen asleep on the straw bale while Roger and Warren were talking about boring things, again.

The curious child gasped and exclaimed, "Wow! Lookit th' dollie!"

Then reached for the sleeping form of Dena Greenwood before Roger could intervene.

Hardly had the child picked Dena up when she awoke and began kicking to be set back down, NOW!

The child released Dena in her surprise at finding that the sleeping 'dollie' was now wide awake and pissed off!

"Leave aff ay me!" cried Dena in her most outraged squeak of a voice.

The man sitting next to her suddenly extended his arm between the child and the angry woodelf.

The child's mother exclaimed, "What's going on here, why is my child so upset?"

She rounded on Roger, "What did you do to my daughter?" she demanded to know.

Dena cried out, "He didne dae anythin' tae yer bairn, she grabbed me an' Ah gart 'er tae pit me back doon!"

At the sound of her high pitched voice, both mother and child gaped in amazement at the two foot tall woodelf standing on the strawbale beside Roger.

"You can talk?" gasped the child's mother.

Dena folded her shapely arms across her well rounded bosom and declared,"Ay coorse Ah can gab! Aam nae dollie tae be snatched up loch a toy! Ah am a woodwife an' wullnae be handled withit sae much as a by yer lae!"

The girl child smiled at Dena in wonder and said, "My name is Samantha and I'm sorry to have been so rude. I really did think you were a sleeping dollie and wanted to get a better look, please forgive me!"

Her mother briefly glanced at her in surprise and said, "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost be saying 'who are you and what have you done with my child?'"

The girl looked up her mom and said, "Don't you get it mom? We're in a fantasy, here we'll see people like her. Don't you remember the giantess we saw earlier, or the girl with the horns and hooves?"

She gestured at a somewhat mollified Dena and said brightly, "Now we're seeing an elf!"

The child looked at Dena and asked, "Did I get that right?"

Dena smiled and replied,"Ah am a woodwife, ur a wuid elf hen. True elves ur taller much loch men ur tall. Oanly they left a lang time ago."

The child cocked her blonde curled head slightly and asked, "Where did they go? The true elves I mean?"

Dena could shrug and reply, "They left ben a gate tae anither warld beyond uir own.

"That's aw Ah ken abit it. They simply left."

The child sighed and murmured, "I'm sorry to hear that, I would love to see elves someday."

At her remark Warren muttered, "Wouldn't we all!"

The girl's mother blinked and said, "That's right, we came in here to buy something to remember our dog by, before we got so distracted!"

Roger grinned and said, "Dena and I have got some visiting to do and we must be off!"

He smiled at the girl and said, "Samantha, it was a pleasure making your acquaintance, enjoy your stay at our faire!"

Samantha grinned and squealed with delight when Dena held out her tiny hand so she could shake it.

Extending her own hand, Samantha beamed when Dena grasped a finger and shook it gently.

Roger stood, gathered up Dena, doffed his hat at the woman and her child, then left to see who else he might chat with for a spell.

One of his first stops was the small booth selling freshly baked Scottish meat pies.

The young woman inside the booth grinned as she saw Roger and Dena approaching.

"And a good morrow to you M'lord, m'lady!" she called out as they drew near.

Roger smiled at her and replied,"And a very good morrow to you, young miss, how fares your booth on this fine day?"

She grinned, "Middling well M'lord, middling well. The visitors seem to be liking my wares."

Roger chuckled, "That's always a good thing is it not?"

The young woman nodded enthusiastically in agreement and asked, "How may I help thee M'lord?"

Roger looked over her offerings and said, "I would like a couple of your steak and mushroom pies with some mash and crumbled bacon on top."

He glanced at Dena and she said, "Ah woods loch a steak an' tattie pie."

The girl smiled at the tiny woodelf and asked, "Would you like some mash with bacon on top? It's very good!"

Dena thought briefly and smiled as she nodded a 'yes'.

Roger laid money on her counter and said, "We'll be right back, our tankards have runneth dry!"

As he took up Dena and strode away the girl called out, "M'lord! Your change!"

"Keep it!" replied Roger as he homed in on a nearby ale stand.

"Huzzah, for the tipper!" was heard in the background as he stepped up to the ale stand and smiled at one Meredith Baker, a long time friend of Warren's and at present, manager of an ale stand at the Canterbury Shire Renaissance Faire.

Meredith smiled at the two of them and she said to Roger, "I'm so glad you and Freya made it back in time for our faire."

She grinned and said in a conspiratorial tone, "Warren was fairly pining for you two to get back from the Pacific."

Roger chuckled and remarked, "We almost didn't get back in time, Freya found herself putting up a few Inukshuks here and there and we brought back a distant cousin of Dena's!"

"Oh? Pray, tell me more!"

"Her name is Lana and she is here with Anita and Flora, so you might meet her before end of faire, if not at the closing party afterward."

"Does she look like our Dena?"

Roger chuckled and replied, "Think Polynesian beauty Dena's size and you'll have a good idea of her appearance."

Meredith clapped her hands together and smiled, "All the more reason to stick around tonight!"

Placing his tankard on her counter Roger said, "Summer Shandy if you please!"

Dena set down her own little tankard and squeaked, "An' fer me too!"

Moments later, Meredith accepted Roger's money plus his usual tip and they returned to fetch their Scottish pies.

With pies in hand, they sought a place to sit and eat and were soon perched on a picnic table, enjoying their meat pies and sipping at their Summer Shandy.

Sitting on the table top, her feet dangling, Dena quickly demolished her steak and potato pie with mashed potatoes and bacon bits sprinkled atop the mixture.

Roger eyed his tiny companion and said, "You weren't very hungry were you?"

Dena grinned and said, "Ah skipped breakfest thes morn as Ah wasnae guttin'."

Roger rolled his eyes and muttered, "That explains your appetite just now."

"Whit's next?" asked Dena.

"Next we catch a show! Let's see how Freya and her acrobat friends are getting along?"

Dena grinned as he picked her up and cradled her in his arm, the look on her tiny face was one of pure bliss.

She was with her Roger again.

Striding purposefully, they soon left the eateries behind them and were rapidly approaching the the 'arts and entertainment' district.

Roger smiled when he saw the 'Pocky arsed mob' up on the 'Den of iniquity' stage in the midst of performing one of their favorites.

The young woman who had been lured on stage was blushing prettily while the singer was beseeching her with wooing words, she burst out laughing when he began pleading with her to have intercourse with him, regardless of what her man thought about the idea.

He in turn, was laughing at her discomfiture, while she was mouthing 'I'm sooo gonna get you for this!'

Continuing on his way, they walked past the 'Iron Lady' show.

She was a big, muscular woman, well over six feet tall and she was performing feats of strength with a small man as her assistant/ toy.

She easily tossed him about while going through her routine.

Roger smiled to himself as he pondered the effect Greta Ericsdottir would have on such a show.

Greta had greatly impressed him with her size, strength and fashion sense.

Her clothing tended to emphasize her shapeliness and muscularity with its 'steampunk meets Scottish Highlander' look.

Her ability to carry two firkins of ale without discernable effort and her workout that left Ildico and her boyfriend Phillip exhausted had made quite the impression.

Her younger sister Britt was no slouch either in his opinion.

Leaving the Iron Lady and her 'toy' in mid toss, they rounded the bend and saw Freya strolling along, a young giantess out enjoying the fresh air.

A loud whistle and a haloo! interrupted her leisurely stroll and she paused while a colorfully dressed small man strode out from the stage and began coaxing her to join him.

By signs and courtly speech, he lured her onto the stage whilst Roger and Dena quietly took their seats to enjoy the show.

"We have a volunteer!" The small man cried as he stood next to Freya's towering form.

He turned to her and cried "Hast thou time to spare for a dalliance with romance?"

She looked him up and down, measured his height with her hand and noting that he barely came up to her crooked elbow, declared, "A dalliance wi' thee? Surely thou jest, for thou barely come up tae mine elbow.

P'raps thou hast taken lae ay thy senses if ye seeketh a dalliance wi' me."

With that she made ready to leave until the small man cried out, "Oh beauteous lady, spare me a moment more, for I have a solution to our dilemma!"

He dashed off the stage while calling over his shoulder, "I shall return!"

For a few moments Freya stood alone on the stage looking around and muttering, "Ah was mindin' me own business until jist a moment ago."

She looked at a small hourglass she was carrying and shook her head at how long it was taking for her would be lover to return.

She was just about to leave when her would be suitor reappeared.

He was now her own height, although his legs were absurdly long for his height.

Freya looked at him skeptically and remarked, "Whilst thou ur noo me own heecht, it appears thy legs ur overly lang an' yer torso is much too cuttie!"

She looked at the audience and declared, "He main hink Ah'm slaw upstairs, 'at me heecht has somehaw caused me tae become addled frae lack ay oxygen!"

The man stoutly declared, "My legs are just the right length, whatever do you mean by saying they're overly long?"

Freya laughed and said, "We'll see abit 'at!"

She stepped forward and slipped her hands under his armpits while asking, "Ye did wash thes morning, did ye nae?"

Before he could react, she lifted him above her head and shook him, which caused his stilts to slip out of his trouser legs and drop to the stage floor to his mock horror and the audience' s laughter.

Setting him back down she declared, "Whit dae ye tak me fur if ye hink Ah kin be fooled by a pair ay stilts?"

"A big, dum...Beautiful girl!" he cried in desperation.

Suddenly from off stage, a man's voice called out,"Freya?...Is that you up there?"

She looked over the audience, then broke into a big smile and waved her hand energetically.

"Cam oan up haur, me loove!" she cried and moments later, a man made his way to the stage, on his sturdy shoulders was riding another man.

This man cried out, "Freya my dove! My beauteous lady, how I have missed thee!"

The sturdy fellow doing all the work, got to the stairs and grumped,"T'would be nice if thou wert playing the beast once in a while!"

He tried to take the first step, failed and groaned, "Ooof! Thine arse hast grown too heavy for mine knees!"

The top man visibly rolled his eyes and said, "I offer you fame and this is the thanks I get?"

He looked around for sympathy and cried, "Why can I not find good help these days?"

The beast man grumbled, "Why can I not find a good boss these days?"

The costumed duo briefly separated until the bottom man finished mounting the stairs and resumed his alloted task, that of being the living platform supporting his boss' attempts at wooing.

Freya embraced the awkward duo and as she held them, the first man stood there in disbelief and cried, "What do they have that I don't have? Why have they barged into my show and thwarted my desires? Was it the stilts?"

From off stage, a woman's voice called out, "I turn my back and off you go, chasing after tall women, am I not tall enough for you?"

Everyone's head turned and a near seven foot tall woman, strode to the stage and leapt up onto it.

She stood towering over the first man, while ignoring Freya and the costumed duo at their social intercourse.

"Am I not tall enough for you?" she growled.

Roger chuckled as he recognized the woman, she was Emma Schmidt a former team mate on the Portland Pilots basket ball team.

He felt a presence sitting down next to him and a soft voice purred, "Isn't that Emma Schmidt? I gave her a signed copy of one of my books that one year."

He smiled and asked, "Enjoying our faire?"

Anastasia smiled at him and said, "Very much so. The climate here is more in keeping with the English renaissance than the southern faire where it can get so hot!"

"So I've heard."

Anastasia asked, "Just what is going on here? I'm seeing Freya with two men and Emma with a man, what gives?"

"Utter chaos as far as I can tell!"

Anita's soft voice asked, "What on earth is going on up there?"

Glancing over, Roger saw her and Flora taking their seats nearby.

Despite the floral garlands wrapped around them, her glistening horns were readily apparent and so was tiny Lana seated on her knee.

The original actor threw up his hands and cried, "How could this shit show possibly get any worse?"

Emma cried, "Don't you go changing the subject!"

The first actor declared, "Anyone else want to join in?"

Anita grinned and said, "C'mon Dena, I've got an idea!"

Scooping the tiny woodelf up, Anita clutched her to her modest bosom and murmured her idea as she headed towards the stage.

Seconds later she strode to the center of the stage and with a smile and a curtsy, said, "Hello everybody, I would like to show you what my puppet can do!"

Setting Dena on her feet, Anita stood over her and began waggling her fingers as if she was working with a puppet.

Dena began by walking around at first and as Anita's fingers waggled more, she began to dance.

Leaping and bounding, twirling in place Dena danced across the stage with a brilliant smile on her pretty face.

The first actor stood there with a bemused look on his face, "Upstaged by a puppet! Is there no end to my suffering?"

Anita's fingers ceased their waggling and she turned towards the actor, "You asked for volunteers!"

Dena at that point strode over to the first actor and standing as tall as she could, cried out in her piccolo voice,"Who're ye calling a puppet? We're aw puppets haur!"

The audience gasped as what they had thought to be a realistic looking puppet turned out to be in actuality, a real person, albeit a very tiny one.

Not to be outdone, Lana jumped down and quickly made her way to the stage where she too confronted the actor by saying, "Am I a puppet to you?"

This inspired even more exclamations from the audience as they realized Lana was also a real person.

Roger looked over at Flora who was fidgeting while she sat and looking around hesitantly.

She clearly wanted to get up on the stage along with the others, she looked at Roger, her lustrous eyes pleading, her hands snugged against her pretty bosom.

He smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'll watch your things."

She smiled and stood up, then adjusted her skirts to show off her deerlike legs and cloven hooves to even greater effect.

With a firm clopping sound, Flora strode up to the stairs and cried out, "Don't forget me!"

Once on the stage she began dancing, her cloven hooves drumming on the stage's floor.

The original actor cried out, "Oh beauteous lady! From whence you came and why haven't I seen you before?"

By now, Roger could hear mutterings of, "Woah! Didja see her legs?" "Does she really have cloven hooves?" and "How did she make those shoes?" "Are her horns for real?"

Anastasia muttered, "They think she's either in costume or she's wearing some sort of prosthetic limbs."

Flora whirled to a stop and declared, "I came from afar to visit this lovely shire and see for myself if the tales I've heard be true!"

She fixed the actor with her look and said, "Are they?"

He just stood stock still while talking to himself.

"Are they true?"

The actor shook his head and looked out at the audience while saying, "Ever had one of those days? Welcome to my version!"

The sudden ringing of a bell signalled the end of his show was fast approaching to which Dena strode to the center of the stage and waved to get the audience's attention.

Once she had their attention, she began singing and waving her hands in a fare thee well.

For those with the sight, sparkles could be seen coming from her fingertips while she sang her song of forgetfulness.

When she was through singing, she said happily, "Thenk ye aw fur comin' tae uir show, we'll se ye aw next year!"

The audience broke into applause and gave generously to the tip collectors as they made their way out of the open air theatre.

Finding themselves standing in the road, Roger and company mulled over their choices as it was getting late and the faire would soon be closing down for the season.

Then the after faire party would take place and would likely go on through most of the night for the younger and more energetic faire crew members.

Anastasia, Anita, Lana and Flora decided to help Warren Johnson take down his wares for the season and quickly set off for his booth.

Roger, Freya and Dena made their way to the royal court where Freya was given a Beefeater's doublet made in her size.

Putting it on, she joined up with two other Beefeaters and they set off to begin shooing visitors and playtrons out of the faire's grounds.

The queen smiled at Roger and remarked, "We nearly missed you three this season and next season will be running an extra week end. Thanks in part to you and Sir Warren's efforts at improving our faire site. Because of your efforts we have had a larger attendance than before and we feel that you in keeping with your position, shall henceforth wear clothing in keeping with your stature within our community."

Roger smiled at her and bowed in response, "Thank you, your majesty. The Whartons have my measurements, I shall contact them once I get home tonight."

Moments later the closing gun boomed and the merchants began finalizing their last sales or closing up their shops.

The Beefeaters began gently shooing dawdling playtrons or visitors towards the exits.

At the royal court, the nobles and their entourages began assembling for the closing parade.

The musicians and the guardsmen arrived and formed into their groups.

When the last of the Beefeaters had returned and taken their places, a great fan fare was sounded by the trumpeters and the marching drums began their steady beat.

The parade began and Roger fell in with the other knighted minor nobles as directed by the queen herself.

Finding himself marching alongside Sir John Thistle he smiled and remarked, "It seems I have to upgrade my wardrobe at the request of Her Majesty!"

The Earl of Canterbury Shire chuckled and remarked, "Wait till she makes you a member of her court!"

Ahead of them they could see Freya's red clad form striding alongside the queen's sedan chair.

Sir John remarked, "It wasn't so long ago that she was merely a very tall peasant girl come to visit the faire. Now she is wearing the Beefeater's tunic and walking alongside our gracious queen in a closing parade."

As they marched past the merchant's booths and acknowledged their efforts, the merchants fell in line behind the procession and added their number to the ranks.

Marching past Warren's booth, Roger saw him with Anastasia, Anita, Flora and tiny Lana as they waved at the queen.

Once the end of the procession marched past, they joined the serried ranks and added to the merriment in their own way.

At some point, Roger found himself scooping Dena up and placing her in the crook of his arm as he strode.

Lord Thistle chuckled to himself as Roger had executed this maneuver without breaking stride.

As they entered the tavern green in front of the Green Man inn, the procession circled around until it had formed a colorful circle with the queen overlooking them all.

There was a final fanfare and a frenzied beating of the drums, then there was silence.

The queen stood and smiled at her gathered subjects. Then she spoke, "To my loyal subjects, the time has come for this wondrous faire to close."

She paused, "It has been a most delightful journey to this fair shire of Canterbury and it saddens me to leave you all, to have to resume my responsibilities as your regent."

She smiled brilliantly and said, "But first! I have an announcement! Because of the hard work of all of you here, our faire will be extended next year to three week ends, instead of the paltry two."

A collective gasp was heard, then spontaneous applause broke out and the crowd roared its approval, this was welcome news indeed!

Still beaming the queen placed her lace gloved hands together and she bowed to the colorful assemblage, to which the crowd responded in kind.

Straightening up again, the queen cried, "If you all will join me in song, we will now say our fare thee wells to Canterbury Shire 'til next year!"

Her clear voice began to sing.

"May the circle be open but unbroken...

Moments later the crowd took up the song and joined her.

"May the peace of the Goddess be ever in our hearts

"Merry meet and merry part

"And merry meet again!"

Their final verse was, "Huzzah! God save the Queen!"

And with that, the faire was ended when the queen took off her crown and placed it in its carrying case until next year.

The musicians began playing a lively reel and before long, couples began dancing on the tavern green.

Others lined up at the ale stand with tankards in hand, among them stood Warren Johnson with his own tankard, standing with him was Meredith Baker, the long time friend he had moved north to be near.

Roger himself was feeling a mite peckish so he got into the food line at the tavern, with him was Dena, as always.

Freya soon joined him and the trio enjoyed watching the dancers all awhirl.

Roger smiled when he saw Anita dancing with her long time paramour and knew that they would soon slip away to engage in a more intimate form of dance.

Maribel the Renfairy, had found herself a dalliance for the evening and he was marveling at how tiny and taut, her finely tuned body was.

Flora was dancing with a fellow who was dressed as a Satyr.

At best, he was clumsy by comparison to the lovely Northern Wood Nymph with her deerlike legs so lively and in full view, no lurkers or cameras were around now!

Overhead there seemed to be this soft glow as if the stars themselves were shining down upon the revelers at play.

To Roger and the others with the sight, they could see the hundreds of tiny sprites flying overhead, their sparkling trails blending together to form a soft glow.

Even though he was carrying Dena in one arm, he still held Freya's long fingered hand.

Roger smiled when he recalled that at one time, her hand was the same size as his own, now it was considerably larger and it was even more comforting to hold on a quiet night at home before the fire in the front parlour.

Freya looked down and smiled at him, the warmth in her expression conveyed her hidden feelings far better than mere words could manage.

He too, felt the warmth deep inside his most secret of hearts, the one he kept hidden from all who came near. It was not time, not yet.

They ate, they drank and they danced until the midnight hour, and that was when Roger called it a night.

Making their way out to the parking lot, Roger was relying on Freya's excellent night vision to help find their tall van in the dark.

She opened the door and climbed in while Roger with Dena in the crook of his arm, climbed into his own seat.

Behind them Flora settled into her seat while Anastasia said happily, "I haven't had that much fun in ages, I must've danced with half the nobles in the Shire!"

She grinned and said to Flora, "You're really quite the dancer!"

Flora giggled and replied,"It kinda just happens when I hear lively music, my feet just want to dance!"

They paused before leaving and looked back at the faire.

While it was mostly dark, above where the tavern green lay was a softly glowing dome from the sparkling trails left by the many, many sprites flitting about high over head.

Roger gently patted the tiny form of April snuggled in his Doublet and said to the sleepy young sprite, "Your friends really do make a pretty light."

She said sleepily, "They're showin' their gratitude for all th' shelters you an' Warren have put up for them."

He murmured, "And we were happy to put them up!"

Freya engaged the transmission and they were off.

Back to Wolf Hills Manor, and their home.

Two days later Roger contacted the Nichiren Shu Buddhist temple to inquire about erecting a torii gate and an inari shrine on the library grounds.

They responded by sending out one of the more junior of the temple priests, a young man named Tamatsu Ikeda.

Dressed in the black robes of a priest in training he arrived at the house and was greeted by Roger at the door.

He smiled when he saw that Roger was providing him with a pair of house slippers for inside the large house they all lived in.

Leaving his street shoes at the door, Tamatsu stepped into the house slippers and followed Roger into his study where he saw that a tea service was all laid out with the customary tea and nibblies in their proper places.

Roger showed him to his seat and poured a cup of tea for him, while he was making himself comfortable.

Taking his own seat, there was a brief pause while they took up their tea cups, selected a nibbly and took an exploratory sip.

Tamatsu smiled in appreciation, green tea served at the proper temperature was always welcome and the nibbly was perfectly matched.

Having gotten past the preliminaries, Tamatsu said, "You enquired about putting up a small inari shrine and torii gate on the library grounds?"

Roger smiled at him and replied, "Recently I visited the island of Hahajima and encountered an inari shrine in need of a good cleaning."

Tamatsu sipped his tea and asked, "How so?"

"There was an accumulation of windblown trash and dead weeds around the shrine itself and the building and torii gate could stand some fresh paint.

Lacking paint, I did the next best thing and simply cleaned the shrine up and placed a food offering in front of the doors to the shrine itself."

"And how does this pertain to your wishing to put up an inari shrine, are you a believer?"

Roger smiled at his question and replied, "Not so much a believer as such, but one who has encountered many things that are hard to dismiss, things that defy modern science and conventional thinking."

"How so?"

Roger smiled at Tamatsu and said, "Allow me to demonstrate..."

He turned his head and whistled sharply, then called out, "April dear I'd like you to meet someone, there's a bit of chocolate in it for you!"

A few moments later Tamatsu heard the faint whirring of insectlike wings and to his disbelieving eyes, a tiny insect winged girl flew into the study and hovered before Roger Tate.

His ears heard a squeak of a voice say, "Choclit?"

Roger smiled at the tiny presence and said, "Say hello to our guest."

The tiny girl no bigger than a sparrow, turned to face him while still hovering on blurred wings and said, "Hello, my name is April, April Tate and you are?"

Tamatsu struggled to keep from gaping like a country bumpkin and managed to say, "I am Tamatsu Ikeda and it is my greatest pleasure to meet you Miss Tate!"

April smiled at him then settled down on Roger's cluttered desk so he could get out the tiny wooden cannister he kept the wonderful chocolate morsels in.

Having obtained her chocolate, April sat down on Roger's desk, her lacy wings in full view and daintily ate while trying to keep from getting too many chocolate smudges around her tiny mouth.

Tamatsu tried not to stare at April until he finally asked, "I don't wish to be rude but, what is she? She is a she, is she not?"

Roger chuckled softly and replied,"April is definitely a 'she' and 'she' is a sprite and one of the hundreds that live here with us.

"Her kind are very helpful to us in that they take care of our gardens by eating the insect pests and watching over the ripening fruit, they also act as an alarm system in the event of an attack by a night gaunt or something worse."

Roger smiled and commented, "Our sprites could be considered as being similar to the kodama spirits of the ancient forests of Japan. And yes, I' ve seen them too."

"Thus my interest in putting up an inari shrine and torii gate."

Tamatsu glanced over at April as she sat quietly listening to their conversation.

Moments later he said,"So your reason for wishing to put up an inari shrine and torii gate is to communicate with okami or spirits of Japan?"

"In a word, yes. I met the inari who lives inside the shrine at Hahajima and I promised her I would seek to put up a shrine and a gateway here at the library."

"Gateway as in a torii gate?"

"Yes."

"What is your perception of a torii gate?"

"They serve as a means of travel for youkai wishing to visit other parts of Japan."

"What makes you think that?"

"That is what I observed during my all too brief visit to Hahajima island. The obakeneko who lives with a relative of Lorna Yamada's and I saw the gate in use.

There would be a brief flicker of light and youkai would emerge from the gate before they would assume human forms to visit the island."

"Why that island?"

Roger sighed and remarked, "I presume it is because it is about as far south as one can go and still be on a Japanese island that is inhabited. During winter it would be a pleasant diversion from winter's cold and snow."

Tamatsu smiled and nodded in agreement, yes it would be a pleasant diversion indeed.

He asked, "Shouldn't you be concerned about mischievous youkai causing trouble after they get here?"

Roger smiled and replied,"First off, any troublemakers would get quickly sorted out by the many 'neighbors' we have living here.

"The sprites would raise the alarm first and if the house itself is involved, then our housekeeper would step in and if she couldn't handle it there are several spriggans posted here.

"We ourselves are not without the means to protect our home by way of potent cantrips and warding spells and, we are under the protection of the lady of the night herself."

At Tamatsu's baffled look, Roger said, "The lady of the night is Titania the queen of old Albion as it was known before the Britons came and drove the fae under the hills of western Wales. This house and lands have become an outpost of New Albion, a nexus between the worlds."

Roger smiled, "Youkai are welcome to visit or even study in our library of ancient lore, so long as they behave themselves."

Tamatsu mulled over his remarks and said, "Are you expecting many youkai to come visit this library of yours, via a torii gate?"

"I know of two who are most likely to visit, possibly three, they would be Kurona, the obakeneko who lives with Mikura Amelia at Hahajima island, Kuroshima, the three tailed Black Fox kitsune of Hahajima island and the nine tailed white fox of Hokkaido who met with me in the backyard of the Sato family's house. The place where she sat is now becoming a small shrine and her sitzmarks have been preserved for posterity."

Roger grinned and said, "Plus I have these items!"

He opened a small drawer on his huge roll top desk and took out a small wooden box that held a tightly wrapped object about the size of a large sausage.

Holding it up for Tamatsu to see he said, "This was given to me by Kuroshima herself, it has her scent on it so she can follow its scent trail through the torii gates between here and Hahajima island."

April wrinkled up her tiny face and squeaked, "Eww, that smells!"

"See, even April can smell it, so a kitsune will have little trouble finding her way here."

Closing the box back up, he placed it back inside the drawer and closed it again.

Only then did April cease making faces at the scent.

Next he stepped over to a shelf and took down a fair sized wooden box.

Setting it down on his desk he opened it and pointed into it.

Tamatsu stood and looked into the box and there, nestled in straw sat two inari statues of indeterminate age.

Roger said quietly, "I received these from the nine tailed fox herself, they were presented to me by a kannushi from her shrine and are to be placed in the shrine with her blessings."

Roger smiled at Tamatsu Ikeda and said, "Well, what do you think?"

The priest in training smiled at him and said,"I will write up a report on what we discussed here today and give it to my own master for his evaluation, any decisions on putting up a torii gate and inari shrine would be up to him."

He glanced at April and said, "I will certainly mention the presence of many 'neighbors' here at this marvelous house, in the hopes that it may influence his thinking in your favor."

Roger grinned and remarked, "Of course we can extend an invitation to him and he can see for himself, our 'neighbors'."

Tamatsu chuckled at his remarks and replied, "That would certainly make an impression! Shall I extend an invitation?"

"Please do!"

Having come to an agreement with Roger, Tamatsu Ikeda remarked, "I must be returning to my duties at the temple. It has been an interesting interlude here and I shall report my observations to my master and extend an invitation for him to come visit himself."

Roger smiled at him and they shook hands, a most un Japanese gesture.

As Roger led him toward the door, the door opened and Freya came in newly returned from enrolling at Portland U.

She smiled at Roger and exclaimed, "Ah got aw me classes wi' nae troobles at aw!"

Tamatsu stopped in his tracks and gaped at Freya's towering height and Norse goddess looks.

She smiled at him and said, "Och hello! Me nam is Freya Sigurdsdottir an' ye ur?"

Tamatsu swallowed briefly and nearly stammered, "Ikeda, Tamatsu, I'm a priest in training at Nichiren Shu Buddhist temple."

Freya smiled warmly at him and said, "Ah've bin thaur fur a wake an' a funeral. It was a few years ago noo."

Tamatsu smiled and replied, "I've only been there for about two years now, it was before my time. I know I'd remember seeing you!"

Freya merely grinned and said brightly, "Ah get 'at a lot!"

Tamatsu grinned and remarked, "I can imagine you would with your height and all."

With that Freya continued on her way into the kitchen for a nibbly while Roger walked Tamatsu out to his car, an older Honda sedan of substantial mileage no doubt.

A few moments later, Roger watched as Tamatsu drove off to his temple to report to his master on what he had heard and seen.

Roger smiled, no doubt April's appearance would be mentioned in detail.

The very next day, Tamatsu returned with a man he introduced as the kannushi from his temple, any decisions made regarding a small shrine and torii gate would be his responsibility, and his alone.

Greg Iwasaki, the kannushi asked to examine the items Roger had shown Tamatsu the day before.

Roger dutifully got out the little doll that Kuroshima had given him and set it on his desk.

Greg looked it over very closely and at one point, seemed to be sniffing it in an attempt to get a scent from it.

Straightening up again he remarked, "Only a fox could get a scent from this, I certainly can't."

This caused Tamatsu to remark, "That's odd, yesterday your little sprite girl said it smells."

Greg looked over at him and asked, "Sprite girl?"

Tamatsu replied,"Yesterday this little sprite was sitting right there, and she said it smelled!"

Tamatsu looked at Roger as if to ask where April was, whereupon Roger commented,"She's more than likely outside tending to her fruit trees. I can ask her mom?"

"Please do."

Roger grinned and called out, "Maribel! Could you come into my study please?"

Moments later, there was a whirring of insect wings and a visibly pregnant sprite woman came into his study and settled onto his desk.

Maribel stood before them and said, "Did ye need me for summat?"

Then she glanced over at the little doll fashioned by Kuroshima, the black fox kitsune and said, "That thing smells like a fox!"

Roger grinned at the two men and said, "Does that answer your question?"

They nodded in unison then Greg whispered, "Is that truly a sprite I'm seeing?"

Roger smiled at Maribel, took out his little wooden cannister and gave her a couple of chocolate morsels before saying, "Thank you dear, that will be all. Go back to your rest."

Maribel smiled brilliantly, then her lacy wings became a blur as she rose from his desk, planted a tiny kiss on his cheek and flew out of his study.

Looking over at his visitors, Roger smiled and said, "I think of our sprites as being somewhat like the kodama seen in the ancient Japanese forests, an indicator of the health of the let you see them because I wished for you to see them."

Tamatsu spoke first, "Is she truly pregnant, how many children has she had?"

"Yes, she is truly pregnant, her husband is out with the others tending the gardens. She's had four children, April being her eldest."

Greg dabbed at his eyes briefly and said, "Your house is truly blessed to have such a being living with you."

Roger said quietly, "We have many such beings living with us, and yes, we know we are truly blessed."

Greg glanced at the wooden box that was also in question, and at Roger's invitation, carefully lifted the lid off of it.

Setting the lid aside he looked in and beheld the small inari statues nestled in straw.

He gazed at them for a long moment, then he looked away, took up the lid and put it back in its place, before sitting back down.

Closing his eyes, he paused a long moment then opened his eyes and said, "Those inari statue are centuries old and really should be in a museum."

Looking at Roger he said, "The kannushi who gave you those, gave you some truly priceless artifacts."

Roger nodded and replied,"I had a feeling that was the case and have not touched or removed them from their box and only you two have seen them."

He turned and picked up a slightly battered and travel stained note book, then handed it to the two men with the words, "This is my note book of the youkai I saw while traveling in Japanese territory. For better or for worse I have the sight and some small, artistic skills to sketch what I see."

He smiled and continued, "If you'd like, I can make a copy of this for your own archives."

Greg flipped through a few pages and said, "A copy of this would be most welcome for our archives."

He smiled, "I can translate it into Japanese for those who think our native language is the only one worthy of archiving."

Roger grinned and remarked,"It may distress them to hear that the Black Fox kitsune of Hahajima Island speaks passable English, those huge ears of hers can hear many things, in addition to the squeaking of mice in the the chatter of foreign tourists."

Continuing on he said,"My conversation with the Nine Tailed White Fox of Hokkaido was in English, out of courtesy for my lack of Japanese language skills."

Tamatsu and Greg looked at each other then Tamatsu said,"It seems our youkai are abreast of the times, language wise."

"We like to call them 'our neighbors', those who live in our shadows." Remarked Roger who then said, "Come around the house during our annual Winter Solstice event or perhaps our annual 'Samhain' observance festival held up at the library. Not saying you'll encounter any 'neighbors', but the likelihood is far greater."

The two men pondered his remarks, then Greg said, "Where were you thinking to place this shrine and torii gate you wish to intall?"

Roger smiled slightly and replied, "That's part of why I asked for your knowledge and insight. I don't want to put it up just any old place, I want to put it up where it would be safe from the worst of the weather, either hot or cold. Where a resident would enjoy living there, should such a thing occur."

Tamatsu nodded at his remarks and said,"Have you any places in mind?"

Roger grinned and said, "Yes, I do...Would you like to see them?"

They grinned at him and he said cheerfully, "Let's go for a little walk!"

They rose to their feet and Roger led them outside, as they filed through the house they walked past Silky and nodded at her politely and she returned their acknowledgement in kind.

Once outside Greg said quietly, "That woman had almost no presence, if I hadn't seen her, I wouldn't have suspected she was there!"

Roger merely smiled and said, "That woman is our housekeeper, she is a house spirit, a silky and woe to anyone who enters our house with bad intent."

He grinned, "Think of her as a youkai housekeeper who takes very good care of us."

Smiling at the two priests he said, "Come with me!"

They fell in behind and he led the way towards a copse of trees that stood by itself, apart from the forested portion of the extensive property.

"This coppice is quite old, probably from before the coming of the white settlers, we've looked it over pretty thoroughly and determined it has no residual magical effects lingering." he said as they approached.

Leading them through a gap in the trees, they walked in and saw a large oak tree near the center, its gnarled branches filling much of the interior of the coppice.

Stopping to look it over, Roger said, "There are other places like this within the forested area, but they tend to have standing stones in them with magical residue and were clearly put up by the people who once dwelt here."

He smiled, "I don't think those other places would be a good place for a small inari shrine and gate, I think any magical residue could make any resident or visitor feel unwelcome. When the idea is to make the place feel welcoming."

He grinned, "Correct me if I'm wrong!"

Greg Iwasaki looked it over pretty closely, he sized up the gap between the trees then slowly walked around inside the woodsy circle and looked at the stately oak from various angles.

Roger and Tamatsu simply watched him in action as he pondered the location.

Finally he stood still with his eyes closed, his head bowed and his palms pressed together as if he was praying.

He lifted his head, clapped his hands together once and turned towards them.

"I like this spot, with proper care it could make a lovely little shrine in about two hundred years. Provided we start building it very soon."

Glancing at Roger he asked, "Is there someone who could take care of it, or do we need to have a Miko come by to tend it?"

Roger chuckled and replied, "We do have people who take care of the library building complex sight unseen. Not to say that a Miko would be unwelcome, she could verify that the shrine is being properly cared for and report to you."

Tamatsu having seen April and Freya already, said,"More of your sprites perhaps?"

Roger grinned and replied, "A bit bigger than sprites, actually."

"The giantess I saw the other day?"

Roger chuckled at the mental image of Freya dressed in a Miko costume, carefully sweeping away the leaves outside a shrine and replied, "Not that large, somewhat smaller though...Give me a moment!"

He turned and called out, "Dena! I know you're nearby, bring yourself and one of your foremen out, we need to talk to you!"

He stood smiling while the two priests looked at each other and shrugged, what next?

The piccolo squeak of Dena's voice saying, "Whaddaya need?" broke into their thoughts and they looked to see a two foot tall curvy blonde wood elf dressed in a blue dress with a green bodice and a red jacket over that, looking up at Roger.

Standing beside her was a somewhat taller man with brown skin and hair, wearing all brown clothing that appeared to be made of tree bark.

The men stood gaping at the sight of the two wood elves standing there with not a care in the world.

Roger smiled at the tiny duo and said cheerfully, "I'd like you two to meet Tamatsu Ikeda, he is a priest in training at the temple Lorna's family attends." at his remarks Tamatsu bowed slightly, "And Greg Iwasaki, a kannushi who is attached to the same temple."

Greg in turn bowed slightly as well.

"This, gentlemen, is Dena Greenwood, she is a wood wife who lives here and is likely related to most of the wood elves living and working her and her people keeping things running smoothly, this place would likely fall apart fairly quickly. My point in all this is, these wood elves will be taking care of any shrine and torii gates that get put up here."

Dena flashed a brilliant smile, one that could cause mere mortal men's hearts to fluttering and said, "Ah'm pleased tae meit ye!"

Her cohort merely smiled and tugged at his forelock as a gesture of respect.

Dena said, "Whit is this Ah'm hearing abit a shrine?"

Moments later she added, "Will it be occupied, wull summat be abidin' in it?"

Roger smiled at her and replied, "Not necessarily occupied, it is intended to be a gate, a portal for Japanese youkai scholars to come visit our library. I promised a couple of them I would arrange for this to get put up here, and I thought this coppice would make a great setting for such a shrine."

Dena looked thoughtful, then asked,"Whit did ye mean by 'youkai'?"

"Youkai are the same as 'neighbors' and the two I made a promise to are fox youkai, one of them gave me a little doll she made that is imbued with her scent, the other one will simply follow her scent through the gateway."

Dena paused, then said, "Is 'at whit Ah keep smellin' in yer study 'at smells loch a fox?"

Roger looked a bit contrite and muttered, "You're not the first one to say that, is it really that bad?"

Dena merely grinned at him and nodded a 'yes'.

He turned to the two priestly men and said, "You heard the lady, the doll stinks and needs a new home!"

Greg smiled at him and said cheerfully, "Well, we'd better get busy then!"

He stepped over near the oak tree and declared, "We can put the shrine itself here, the gate will go between the trees and we can put in stepping stones from the gate to the shrine. Around the stepping stones, we'll put in coarse gravel to encourage visitors to walk the path to enlightenment via the stepping stones."

He looked over at Roger and Dena, the little brown man had slipped away unnoticed.

"Afterward, the head priest at our temple can perform the ceremony to make it an official inari shrine, and not merely a garden decoration."

He grinned, "He can install that 'smelly thing' as you put it, Miss Dena."

Dena smiled at the eager young kannushi and said, "'At woods be appreciated."

Having settled where the small shrine would go, Roger stooped slightly to pick up Dena and said, "Would you gentlemen care for some tea before you go? Silky makes the best scones you'll ever taste!"

Tamatsu and Greg smiled at the suggestion and nodded a 'yes', they wanted to sample a bit of a silky's cooking and cheerfully followed Roger back down to the big house.

As they drew near, Greg commented, "This house is quite large, it's as if it was scaled up a bit."

"That's because it was built for a retired circus giant couple who both stood around eight feet tall, hence the reason for the twelve foot high ceilings and ten foot high doors."

Remarked Roger who then chuckled to himself and muttered, "I really ought to print up a little pamphlet to give to first time visitors, to save some explaining."

Entering the looming pile known as 'Wolf Hills Manor', Roger called out, "Silky dear, could you please put together some tea and scones for our guests?"

The clear tinkling of a tiny silver bell was her only reply.

Leading his guests into the front parlour, they beheld the slumbering forms of several gigantic wolves, carefully arrayed in front of the fireplace and its ever present, cheery blaze, courtesy of the salamander in residence.

Giving them a few moments to take in the view Roger said, "This is pretty much the heart of our home and not just because it is somewhat of a wolf's den, it is because in the evening, after a day's work, a good dinner and a pint of ale, we like to relax in here with our loved ones."

Sasha raised her great shaggy head and regarded the two Japanese priests briefly, before laying her great, grey head back down and going back to her dreams.

Tamatsu and Greg both looked over at Roger, their eyes very wide and a question on their faces.

Roger grinned and said, "Yes, they are real and are the reason why this neighborhood is known as 'Wolf Hills'. During the day, you'll often see one of them watching over a passel of kids, all playing in a neighbor's front yard without a care in the world, for they are safe from any strangers. Mama wolf is watching over them!"

He pointed up towards the paneled ceiling and they could see dozens of tiny faces all looking down at them from a narrow shelf that ran clear around the room.

"Those are just some of the sprites that live here, they like the warmth during the long, cold winter and you'll hear them tittering amongst themselves."

Stepping over to the fireplace, Roger picked over the firewood stacked nearby and selected a stick, he held it up and said, "Fruit tree wood, our salamander loves this stuff, it's like candy to him!"

Using tongs he laid the stick next to the cheery blaze, stepped back and said,"Watch!"

Before their very eyes, they watched as what looked like a fat, glowing salamander with tiny flames licking along its sides, crawled out of the cheery blaze and dragged the stick back into the blaze, before wrapping its stubby legs around the stick and holding it closely.

"Salamander, this is his favorite place in the house as his fires are greatly appreciated here." Purred Roger.

A tiny silver bell tinkled two times and Roger said cheerfully, "Tea, is ready!"

Taking their eyes off the glowing salamander at his meal, the priestly men followed Roger into the dining room where they saw a tea service carefully laid out for them.

It was laid out in the European fashion rather than the Japanese fashion, but the tray of nibblies looked tempting and they were not about to quibble.

Taking their seats, they smiled as Roger poured their tea and gestured to the cream and sugar if they so desired.

He pointed out the nibblies tray with its assortment of scones with clotted cream and fruit jams and various small sandwiches to choose from.

Having made their selections they smiled as Roger said,"This house and lands has become a nexus between the worlds of men and that of our neighbors. It is under the protection of the Gealach of Tir na nOg, otherwise known as Titania, queen of the British fae."

He sipped his tea and remarked, "Freya has placed boundary stones all around the property to mark our lands and the borders of Titania's demesne. While they may look like nothing more than a stone, they are imbued with a faint energy that marks them as being boundary stones. I don't know what she did to them, I just know that certain things living here will not go past them."

He grinned, "Even our big horse won't go beyond them, and he isn't a neighbor!"

Tamatsu nodded at his remarks and said, "These boundary stones are meant to keep your 'neighbors' within the boundaries?"

"I'm thinking they are more to let our neighbors know where they are safe, here there are guardians in place. Guardians that will intervene in the event of an attack by night gaunts or boggarts."

Roger smiled, "We haven't had such an incident since the last Hunter's moon coincided with what you know as Hallowe'en."

The two men looked at each other and Tamatsu asked, "What happened?"

"The wild hunt. Led by Cernunnos the dark god, it surges across the nightscape looking for unwary fae to hunt. It only happens when the last full moon of October coincides with Hallowe'en night. To the unaware it seems like a windstorm blowing across the land, knocking things over and scattering leaves. To us it was an attack, where we fought off many boggarts and night gaunts, and acquired a great white stag we named Moonbeam Stormwind. He lives up at the barn with Samson, Freya's big horse."

Tamatsu and Greg looked at each other for a few moments and Greg nodded before he looked at Roger and said, "That sounds like Hyakki Yagyo, the night parade of a hundred demons. It's where the demon Nurarihyon leads a night parade of a hundred demons though the streets of a town. Anyone who sees it and doesn't have a scroll of protection written by a Onmyoji, would either perish or get spirited away."

"T'would appear that our cultures are more interconnected than we know."

Remarked Roger, "When we visited Hahajima Island the people there took one look at Freya and muttered 'Oni' because of her height, the same thing happened when we went up to Hokkaido and she ended up building a couple of Inukshuks because she recognized some of the words spoken by the Ainu elders, who saw her as being an oni."

He grinned, "I have a theory that many of the 'giants of old' stories came about because of people seeing or encountering a Jotun in their travels."

"Many of these legends come from northerly peoples in Europe and Asia, where the Jotuns once lived among the ice and snow. Some two thousand years or more ago, they left Europe and mass migrated to Canada, before scattering themselves across the Canadian forests and becoming the source of the Sasquatch, or Big foot legends."

Roger paused when Axel trotted through the room then he heard the front door opening and Anita's voice called out, "I'm home! Axel! What is it you big fuzz ball, why are you sooo happy?"

Moments later, the slightly built teenager bustled into the dining room with bags in hand, a gigantic wolf in tow and a smile on her pretty face.

She smiled at Roger's guests and bowed slightly before saying, "Hello, I'm Anita Larsen, pleased to meet you!"

Tamatsu and Greg bowed slightly in return and introduced themselves.

Upon learning they were priests, Anita smiled and said, "Is this about putting up an Inari shrine? There's this really neat coppice with a big oak tree in the middle, that would be perfect for a shrine like that!"

At her remarks, Roger and the two priests grinned at each other then he said, "Funny how we were just talking about that very thing!"

She smiled and said, "So, I was right?"

"Yep!"

She grinned and said, "That'll be nice...Welp, I've got things to work on and not enough time, as usual."

She ruffled one of Axel's velvety ears and said, "Come along now, you've done enough snoozing in the front parlour. Time for you to snooze in my room!"

Moments later, she and her gigantic wolf companion were gone.

Tamatsu grinned and remarked, "Busy girl!"

"You have no idea, if she's not working on her next book or collection of short stories, she's busy making clothes for herself or her friend Flora Oakenwood."

Roger grinned, "I suspect she's working on clothing, judging from the Joann's fabric store bags she was carrying."

"And before you ask, she has a young man in her life, they've been together since she was about fourteen. He treats her well."

The two priests smiled and nodded their approval.

Tamatsu looked over at his cohort and said, "I think we've come to an agreement here, now it is just a matter of building the small inari shrine and consecrating it."

Greg nodded in agreement and with that, the three men rose as one and Roger led them out of the house once built for giants.

Standing beside the older Honda sedan they had arrived in, the two priests thanked Roger for his hospitality and the brief tour of the house and grounds.

Tamatsu had opened his door and was about to get in when a tall boxy van pulled up and stopped.

Moments later, the door opened and the towering form of Freya Sigurdsdottir got out.

All nine foot two inches of her and clad in shorts and a sleeveless top for the summer weather.

She smiled at Tamatsu and said a cheery, "Guid day!" then she smiled at a thunderstruck Greg Iwasaki and said, "Hello, me nam is Freya Sigurdsdottir, pleased tae meit ye!"

Greg closed his mouth with a snap and managed to say without stammering, "My name is Greg Iwasaki, pleased to meet you too!"

Tamatsu grinned at his discomfitted cohort and said, "You haven't met Freya yet? It seems she is quite close to the Yamada family, as in practically adopted close."

He chuckled, "Don't feel bad, I had the same reaction the first time I saw her too."

Freya smiled at his remark and gave Roger one of her memorable hugs before she declared, "Ah got me textbooks fur me classes."

She grinned, "An' guess who Ah got fur me English Language History professor!"

"Okay, I'll bite, 'who do you have for your English Language History class'?"

"Doctor Richardson heemself."

"Seriously? Who did you piss off?"

"Nae a body, he was th' only instructur fur 'at subject. Ah hud nae other choice."

Roger chuckled and said, "He's gonna flip when he sees you with an enrollment slip at his desk."

Freya merely shrugged, said her good byes and trotted into the big house.

Roger smiled slightly as he noted the two priests admiring Freya's long, slim legs as she traipsed up the stairs to the front door and disappeared into the house.

Tamatsu looked at Roger and asked, "How was it she was 'practically adopted' by the Yamada family?"

"Freya and their grandmother became quite close as in she was sharing her secret recipes with her because she enjoyed her cooking so much, close.

Freya would invite her to represent the crone aspect of the triple goddess, during her winter solstice celebrations."

He sighed, "Akane was this tiny doll of a woman, all bundled up to the eyes and enjoying it hugely.

When she passed away, a chorus of banshees wailed outside the temple where her wake was held, probably a first for any Japanese funeral; as banshees are known in Celtic mythology, not Japanese."

Glancing around Roger remarked, "Perhaps you guys ought to scoot before anything else comes up to interfere with your leaving!"

Tamatsu chuckled and said, "Yes, that would be a good thing to do."

He paused and said, "We'll start breaking ground for that inari shrine next week and it shouldn't take more than a month to finish and consecrate."

"That way, the sprites can stop complaining about the foxy smell in my study." quipped Roger.

He shook hands with the two of them and they quickly hopped in the older Honda sedan and departed before anything else came up.

Moments later, Roger heard the soft clopping of dainty cloven hooves and Flora's voice asked, "Who were they?"

Roger smiled at the lovely Northern wood nymph and said,"They, were Tamatsu Ikeda and Gregory Iwasaki, they are from the Nichiren Shu Buddhist temple and next week, they and a crew of volunteers are going to start building a small inari shrine in that coppice with the oak tree inside of it."

"Ah, okay. Shall I keep clear of them while they are working?

Roger chuckled and replied, "That might be a good idea, you would likely be a real shock to their delicate sensibilities."

"If you say so!" she giggled, she knew the effect she had on men quite well.

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