A Close call

A few days after Roger and Freya came back from Canada and announced their engagement.

Alexandra made an announcement of her own at dinner time.

The dining room was more crowded than usual with the addition of Sheila Ericcson, Anna Karlsen and Alexandra Wolf, in addition to the daily roster of diners.

Namely Roger and Freya, Anita Larsen and Flora, Warren Johnson and Helga and of course, Dena Greenwood.

Silky had outdone herself with a marvelous spinach souffle, French onion soup and freshly baked baguettes, served with fresh creamery butter courtesy of Oak View dairy and their subsidiary bakery.

Having already finished the soup and the garden salad, the salad bowls were set aside and everyone looked forward to the basket of baguette chunks served with fresh butter.

While Silky brought out the bread baskets, Anita and Flora discreetly gathered up the soup and salad bowls and placed them in the kitchen sink for later.

More wine was poured and everyone dug in by taking up a piece of bread, spreading a bit of butter on it and taking a bite.

It was Anita that commented to Sheila, "People tell me I eat like a bird, but seeing how little you eat, puts me to shame when it comes to eating small meals."

Sheila merely smiled at the slightly built teenager and replied,"Blame it on my hybrid nature, the surgery that created me, made it so I need only small amounts of food or water in order to survive."

She took a small bite of her bread, then said, "The surgery also gave me my strength and speed, my training and experiences gave me my skills in combat."

Sighing she said, "It also gave me my apparent immortality, the tell you the truth, I couldn't tell you just how old I am. The calendar we used is no longer in use and would be horribly out of date by now."

Anna smiled at the towering former warrior and said, "How are your memoirs coming along?"

Sheila chuckled and replied,"Slowly to be honest, I'm having to recall events that happened during the Chalcolithic age, that's copper age by the way. Luckily, I can ask my sisters for help when it comes to recollecting an event from back then, many of them are even older than I am!"

She grinned and remarked, "I sometimes visit museums with exhibits from the early days and find myself thinking 'I remember when those were new!' Of course I'm not going to tell the curators that!"

Warren thoughtfully finished his bite of food, then said,"You're saying that you're how old?"

"Roughly 7,500 years old, pre bronze age, give or take a century or two."

"That would almost make you older than civilization!" exclaimed Anita.

Sheila laughed and retorted,"Hey now! I'm not THAT old, give a girl a break!"

Warren remarked, "That sword of yours, it's not made of bronze or even copper, in fact it looks more like a stainless steel alloy. How was it made?"

With a slight shrug, Sheila replied, "I have no idea, it was issued to me when I was given my ranking. The rune engraved in it was to identify me. All I know is that the organization got them from somewhere else besides the island, where I was born and raised."

"Miria, my old captain would know more about them, she investigated the organization pretty thoroughly prior to the uprising of the warriors."

"What I can tell you is that not one of them ever got broken, nicked or even dulled in service. I've cut boulders in twain during a battle or accidentally cut down a tree while aiming for a yoma's neck."

She smiled, "Roger saw me cut down several trees with it to make firewood, when we were clearing away the excess growth from around Anna's mansion."

Roger smiled at her remark and said,"She made it look so easy, it was like 'wham!" Instant pile of firewood. When I tried swinging her sword, all I could manage was getting it stuck!"

The tinkling of a tiny silver bell announced the arrival of the main course, a wonderfully tasty spinach and feta cheese souffle, fresh from the oven.

The bread baskets were hastily collected and set aside and in rolled the service cart laden with silvery domes covering the souffle's.

Silky smiled slightly as she served each diner with their own individual portion.

Roger smiled and nodded his thanks as the diminutive silk clad house spirit placed his portion before him last.

With little more than the soft rustling of silken garments to mark her passage, Silky rolled her service cart back into the kitchen for the final portion of their semi-formal meal.

With a flourish, the silvery domes were removed to reveal the porcelain dishes holding the still hot souffle's, each one tailored to the diner's dietary preferences.

Once again, Sheila's portion was notable for its lack of size, not its content.

Her souffle resembled a cup cake more than anything else and she smiled as she prepared to dig in.

Wielding a tiny fork, Sheila teased a small portion of her souffle from its cup and was about to put it in her mouth when Anita said drily, "I know that you eat very small meals, but really? A pickle fork?"

Sheila ignored Anita's comment while she popped her bite of food into her mouth and smiled.

To Anita's dismay, Anna remarked,"That was a bit unkind, don't you think? This is hardly the time or place to worry about how another person is eating, and which utensil they are using while they eat."

To emphasize her point, Anna held up a blood pouch and said, "Why not comment about my own 'dietary peculiarities', while you're at it?"

Anita flushing a deep scarlet at Anna's admonition came as no surprise, but her rising from her seat and fleeing the room, did surprise the other diners as it was so unlike her character.

"That was different." remarked Roger as he watched Anita's slim backside exiting the dining room.

He glanced around and asked, "Is there anything I need to know about? Anita's not usually that snarky or dramatic, did something happen?"

In a small voice Alexandra replied,"While you two were gone, there was an incident involving me and Axel."

Gazing at the young werewolf bodyguard, Roger said, "Care to elaborate?"

"It's kinda personal..."

"Really embarrassing personal, or just slightly embarrassing personal?"

"Really embarrassing..."

Roger smiled slightly and replied,"Okay, I'll leave it be for now, but if things get worse, I am gonna pry, just so you know."

"Okay."

Having settled that, Roger looked around and said cheerfully, "Anyone care for dessert?"

After dinner and the post meal cleaning up chores were done, Roger retired to his study with a mug full of coffee and some typing to do.

After letting his ancient computron warm up a bit, he settled in at his vintage roll top desk then opened up the folder and the report in question.

Before long he was typing away using a technique he called 'rapid-fire hunt and peck' while tiny symbols formed long lines across his monitor.

He would pause to make any corrections, then he would resume his misuse of the keyboard.

Belatedly realizing his coffee was all gone, he rose from his seat and toddled into the kitchen for a refueling.

Having achieved a refueling of his caffeine levels, he poured a cup of heavy cream for Silky then made his way back to his semi-organized study.

Seeing Alexandra standing outside his study door was a bit of a surprise, and so he invited her inside.

Offering her a chair he said, "Would you like anything to drink? Coffee, tea, something stronger, perhaps?"

Alexandra shook her head at the coffee or tea and muttered, "Something stronger, is that okay?"

Roger smiled at the young werewolf and said, "I have some rum, is that acceptable?"

Alexandra nodded a yes and Roger opened a little drawer on his huge roll top desk and took out a silvery flask.

He handed it over to Alexandra who hesitated a moment at the silvery gleam of the small flask, then took it when Roger said, "It's pewter, no silver in it."

Unscrewing the little cap she took a couple of healthy snorts, replaced the cap and handed it back to him with a smile.

"That's pretty good rum, who makes it?"

Roger grinned and replied, "Mount Gay dark rum, from Barbados, my personal favorite."

He put aside the small flask and said, "You didn't come here to talk about rum, what's on your mind?"

Alexandra sighed and said quietly, "About earlier..."

"You mean what happened at dinner, earlier? Or are you talking about the 'incident' earlier?"

"A little of both, actually."

Roger leaned forward as if to hear better and said, "I'm listening."

"I may have mated with Axel during last month's full moon."

Roger briefly closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he took in Alexandra's remark.

"You 'may have' mated with Axel last month? How can you be so sure?" He asked.

"I was on my monthly inconvenience and it coincided with last month's full moon."

The implication of her remark sank in and Roger straightened up suddenly and muttered, "That could explain Anita's odd behavior earlier tonight."

He looked at her steadily and said, "Start at the beginning and leave nothing out."

Alexandra eyed the pewter flask and Roger asked, "Need another jolt to steady your nerves?"

She nodded a 'yes' and Roger handed it over without comment.

She took the small flask and knocked back another couple of healthy snorts before she recapped the flask and handed it back with a slight smile.

"Whenever you're ready, dear."

Alexandra took a breath and began,"It was a couple of days after you guys had left for Canada. My monthly had just started and I was dealing with it like every other woman has ever had to do."

Roger nodded in sympathy, he was well aware of Freya's monthlies and her efforts in dealing with them.

"For me there is not just my monthly cycle, there is also the lunar cycle, the one I cannot ignore or take a Midol for. We call it the 'bonebender' and for a female like me, it's quite the experience."

"That would be putting it mildly, I'd say."

Alexandra smiled slightly and said bluntly, "No male, human or werewolf, will ever know how much a woman like me looks forward to reaching menopause, just because that part of my life will at last, have come to an end."

"So, you were having your monthly and then the full moon happened along?"

"Yes, I knew it was going to get kinda rough and so Sheila and I looked for a hidey hole in the basement I could ride it out in."

"And that was the small closet that was all scratched up inside and had a broken window?"

Alexandra grimaced and muttered, "Sorry about all that, I was kinda out of it at the time."

"You must've been as that window isn't very big and you somehow, forced your way through it."

"Bonebender remember? My skeleton was rearranging itself and all my bones were quite rubbery, in a way I didn't actually have a skeleton at the time."

"But you were still strong enough and coordinated enough, to break that window and escape?"

"More like desperate enough, at home we have special cells we lock ourselves in during a full moon. That closet was the best we could do."

Roger pondered her remarks and muttered, "We'll have to reinforce that closet and put bars in the window for next time, then."

He looked at her and said,"What happened after your escape?"

She grimaced and replied glumly, "I'm not sure to be honest. Most of the time after I've shifted, I can still think in a way and I can recall what I may have done while shifted. That's what separates us Beowulf troops from ordinary werewolves, we still have our minds after shifting."

Roger raised an eyebrow and said, "So there's other types of were folk?"

"Yes." replied Alexandra.

Roger gazed at her steadily and said, "Could I get you to give me a list of the known were folk types, and where they can be found?"

"I can do that and F.Y.I. They're mostly within the Hidden Realm for their safety, as they would be hunted anywhere else."

"That's good to know...Anyway, back to what you were saying?"

"If my monthly and the lunar cycle coincide, it's a lot worse. My mind seems to revert to a more primitive state of being, I almost become a Berserker during that time."

" So, how did Axel get involved in all this?"

"Apparently, I sought him out and spent the night with him because the next morning, we were found together in the woods behind the barn and corral."

"Apparently?"

"That's what they told me after we were found together. They'd followed the tufts of fur we'd left behind while tussling it seems."

Roger chuckled at the mental image he got from her remarks and said, "They can play pretty roughly at times, and I have seen the aftermath of a fight between one of our wolvies and a boggart. It can get quite ugly!"

He looked at her and said frankly, "And you think it was during this time that you two mated somehow?"

"Hello! I was a female wolf in estrus and he is definitely all male, we had the opportunity and who was going to stop us?"

Roger held up his hand and asked, "Have you taken a pregnancy test yet?"

"Well, no." replied a slightly confused looking young were wolf.

Roger muttered, "It's been a bit over two weeks, that should be long enough for a test to get results..."

Roger then declared, "Tomorrow, I can take you to get a home pregnancy test kit to make certain."

"Why do you want me to take a pregnancy test?"

Roger grinned and replied,"Our wolvies have been around female dogs that were in heat and they didn't even react. They might be similar in appearance, but they are not even remotely the same species."

"And this test will confirm or deny my assumption?"

"In a word, yes."

After a moment's thought, Alexandra replied, "Okay, we'll go get a home pregnancy test in the morning."

Roger smiled and said cheerfully, "Good girl!"

Alexandra glowered at him and muttered, "I'm not a dog y'know! You try playing with my ears when I'm shifted and I'll bite you!"

"Of course you will, I would expect you to. You are your father's daughter after all." he said with a grin.

Alexandra paused then said, "You said earlier that your wolvies didn't even react to a female dog in heat, and that they weren't the same species, what did you mean by that?"

Roger thought for a few moments, then said,"Canids came from a common ancestor some forty million years ago. We believe the ancestor to the great guardian wolf could have been the extinct Epicyon haydeni. A lion sized canid which existed during the Miocene era. Somehow, a group of them allied themselves with the ancestral Jotuns who may themselves be descended from the giant ape Gigantopithecus blacki. Unfortunately, the fossil record for both species is pretty scanty."

He smiled, "Shall I continue?"

"You might as well."

"That said, the ancestral lines split apart some thirty million years ago with the canids and the borophaginids diverging to the point where they would not see each other as possible mates."

"Borophaginids?"

"In English? It means 'bone crushing dogs' and our wolvies can crunch a beef bone with the best of them!"

"So, you're saying I might still be a virgin?"

Roger chuckled slightly and said, "That would be between yourself and your physician. However Axel, by being what he is, a great guardian wolf and all.

He may have regarded you as a young pup needing protection and acted accordingly, by protecting you while you were so vulnerable."

He smiled at the young were wolf body guard to the vampire queen and said, "We'll know more tomorrow, after you've taken that test to be sure."

Alexandra pondered his remarks and said, "Thanks, I feel somewhat better now that I've spoken to you and you answered all my questions."

She shrugged and said ruefully, "To be honest, I am a little disappointed that I may not have mated with Axel during that night. My mom has told me I would be quite the catch!"

Roger laughed and said cheerfully, "Don't count yourself out dear. You are quite the lupine femme fatale and when the right one comes along, you'll both know it!"

"Now scoot! I've got a report to work on tonight before I call it a day."

Alexandra grinned at him and as she rose from her chair, she leaned in close and kissed him on the cheek before purring, "Thanks Rodge!" and exiting his semi-organized study.

The next morning, Roger took Alexandra to a nearby pharmacy so she could look for a home pregnancy test.

After picking out the one claiming to be the 'most accurate and reliable', he paid for the item and they left.

On the way home, Alexandra looked over the directions while Roger deftly slipped his tiny Japanese truck through the morning traffic.

At a particular intersection, he made a left instead of going straight and soon pulled into the parking lot next to the Oakview dairy and bakery's store front.

Shutting off the tiny engine, he asked, "Coming in?"

"What're you getting?"

"Coupla bottles of heavy cream for Silky, she's going to make potato leek soup for tonight."

Alexandra smiled and said, "Her soups are always divine!"

Roger grinned and replied, "That's why I'm here, I love her cooking!"

After locking up the tiny truck, they entered the store and Roger snagged a shopping cart as he came inside.

He made a beeline for the dairy case and picked out four bottles of their heavy cream. Then he headed towards the baked goods section.

There, he picked out a half dozen baguettes that were still warm from the oven and exuding delicious, freshly baked bread aromas.

He bundled them together and slipped them into a long paper bag before folding over the end of the bag.

At Alexandra's quizzical look he said,"With three extra mouths to feed, we go through the groceries faster than usual."

"I wouldn't be one of those 'extra mouths' would I?"

Roger merely grinned at her in reply.

This particular morning Tom Thornhill was at the front counter and smiling as they approached him.

"Good morrow, hail and well met!" he said greeting.

Roger set the bottles of heavy cream and the paper bag on the counter and said, "And a good morrow to you too, sir!"

Tom grinned and retorted, "My parents was married, I'm not a sir!"

Roger chuckled and said, "Once a G.I. Always a G.I."

Tom grinned as he rang up their purchases and said, "Making soup?"

"Some of it is for the soup, some of it is for the Silver Lady. The baguettes are for our hungry guests."

Tom grinned and said, "Give them all the baguettes they want, we'll bake more!"

"Of course you will!"

"What kind of soup is she making?"

"Potato leek. The potatoes and the leeks came from our gardens."

Tom smiled and said, "Silky makes a killer potato and leek soup, I still remember that big pot of it she made for last year's Samhain festival, it disappeared way too quickly!"

"She'll make more for this year."

Tom chuckled and said, "She'd better make two big pots, that way I'll get a bowl too!"

Tom glanced at Alexandra and Roger said hastily, "Where're my manners? Tom, this is Alexandra Wolf, Alexandra, this is Tom Thornhill, he and his wfe Laura run the 'Green Man Inn' at the Canterbury Shire renaissance faire."

Tom grinned at Alexandra and said cheerfully, "We run this store to pay our bills, our hearts are really in the Green Man Inn at faire."

Alexandra smiled and replied, "I work in security myself."

"Loss prevention?"

"No. More like head of state protection detail."

Tom smiled and said, "That explains your eyes, they'll see things others will miss."

"You could say that!"

After leaving the store, Roger headed for home and a few minutes later, he was parking his tiny Japanese truck alongside the tall white van.

Entering the house with their shopping, Roger headed into the kitchen with the heavy cream and the baguettes, while Alexandra headed for a bathroom with the test kit in one hand.

Roger smiled at Silky while he was putting the bottles of fresh cream into the fridge, "I got you an extra bottle for yourself, and the baguettes were on sale!"

The diminutive silk clad house spirit smiled at him, her small neat mouth curving upward slightly as she showed her appreciation.

Then she continued washing the potatoes and leeks, freshly dug up that morning.

The carrots she was going to shred were already washed, peeled and laying on the cutting mat.

Having put away the cream, Roger got out their twelve quart stock pot and began washing it.

He was in the midst of drying it when he heard Alexandra's voice crying, "Whoo Hoo!" and moments later she burst into the kitchen in her excitement and exclaimed, "I'm not pregnant!" as she showed Roger the negative test results.

What he saw was a little window on the testing device, it showed a negative sign to indicate she was not pregnant after all.

"What am I looking at here?" he asked.

Alexandra grinned hugely and said happily, "Negative means I'm not pregnant, a positive would mean I was pregnant...I took it twice to make sure!"

"Have you told Anita yet?"

"Not yet, I haven't seen her today."

Roger looked her in the eye and said, "Does your father know?"

Alexandra shook her head vigorously and said emphatically, "No, I was waiting to see if I was pregnant before telling him."

Roger smiled and remarked, "That means I don't have to worry about him breaking down the door and demanding answers!"

Alexandra smiled at the memory of Roger entertaining her queen after she had slipped away from her ever present bodyguards, and how he had purposely unlocked the back door just in case her father came barreling through the doorway, looking for his wayward queen.

He grinned and said, "I certainly won't say anything, as there is nothing to say. Axel protected you because that's what his kind does."

"What's all the excitement about?" said Anna as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen.

Alexandra showed her the test and said, "Take a look!"

Anna squinted at it and said, "What am I looking at here?"

Roger stifled a grin as he had just asked the same thing not moments before.

Alexandra sighed and said patiently, "It's my results from a home pregnancy test, the negative says I'm not pregnant."

Anna was about to comment when they heard Silky clearing her throat pointedly, they looked at her and saw her finger pointed towards the dining room, she was kicking them out!

They hastily departed the kitchen and sat at the dining room table.

Anna looked at Alexandra and said, "As I was about to say."

"What induced you to take this test?"

"Roger and I had a long talk last night and even though he didn't think I had mated with Axel in my shifted state, he still encouraged me to take a test, just to be sure."

She glanced at Roger and said, "Why wouldn't Axel have mated with Alex here?"

He smiled at her and said, "Two words, 'Wrong species.'"

"They're both wolves aren't they?"

"True that, but their lineages have been separated for millions of years and Axel likely thought of Alex as a puppy needing protection, as they're now two different species and too genetically dissimilar for mating."

Anna whistled softly and muttered, "Sounds like you dodged quite a bullet! Does your dad know?"

Alexandra laughed and said, "I haven't told him and I have no intention of telling him, ever."

"Is he a bit over protective?"

"You could say that, he wasn't too keen on my appointment to the queen's guard in the first place. The queen herself asked me to apply and one does not, ignore a royal request!"

"Yes, one does not, as their 'requests' are tantamount to a command." remarked Anna.

Roger found himself thinking of his various interactions with the Faery Queene herself.

Titania, and how he had turned her down when she offered him a dalliance.

Even prince Oberon had thought he was bonkers to turn down a chance to spend a night with the queen of the fae.

Roger also knew there was nothing preventing Oberon from turning him into a donkey or something worse, once she was finished with him.

Roger had defended his decision by pointing out Titania's human eyed donkey, one of Titania's former lovers.

He had been a donkey so long that Oberon himself couldn't remember which spell he had used in a fit of jealousy, and so the poor guy was doomed to spend an eternity as a beast of burden for the queen's pleasure.

Anna's exclamation of "Hello! Born in 1764 here? They didn't have such things when I was young."

Quickly snapped him out of his reverie, "What'd I miss?" He spluttered.

"Where were you just now?" queried Anna.

"Musing over past times?" replied a slightly abashed Roger Tate.

"Well, stop it, we need you here and now, not wandering in some memory somewhere."

"Yes, dear." replied Roger with a slight grin.

Anna looked at him and said, "These pregnancy tests, how long have they been out?"

Roger shrugged and said, "How should I know? A while I guess?"

Sheila at that point, came into the dining room and said, "There you are, did you get that test done yet?"

Alexandra smiled at her trainer and said, "Yes, it was a negative for both tries."

The towering former warrior clapped her hands together and said cheerfully, "That's great! We're gonna celebrate with a nice five mile run for starters!"

She grinned toothily and said, "Be ready in five minutes, I'll be out front!"

Alexandra grinned at her tormentor and said a cheery, "Yes, Ma'am!"

Just before she dashed upstairs to change.

Sheila grinned at Roger and said, "You're welcome to join us!"

Roger grinned at the towering woman and said, "I was out with Ildico this morning at six A.M., I'll pass!"

Sheila grinned, "Good boy!"

Roger laughed and said, "I recently said something similar to Alexandra, she promised to bite me if I tried playing with her ears while she is shifted."

Sheila grinned and was about to reply when the sounds of someone bounding down the stairs was heard, she cried, "That's my cue!" and she seemingly vanished as she 'phantomed' out of the dining room and went outside to greet Alexandra.

Leaving Roger to call out "No running in the house!" then he muttered "Oh what's the use, she's already outside!"

Finding themselves alone together Anna said,"So, where is Freya?"

Roger shrugged slightly and replied, "Not sure, she was gone when I got back from my run with Ildico."

"She's your fiance and you don't know where she is?"

"I'm her betrothed, not her keeper." Retorted Roger.

"Okay, fair enough. Any ideas?"

Roger thought a few moments and said,"It's Saturday, she's likely either at the Gilmer lumber yard or she's at the Pomarius nursery, either checking out the bare root trees or the seed offerings for the fall planting season."

"She doesn't have enough fruit trees already?

Roger grinned and said, "You try telling her she has enough growing things already, go ahead, I dare you!"

Anna laughed and replied,"Not even gonna try, I'd just be wasting my breath!"

"You're catching on dear heart. Freya's a Jotun, she's one of the earth lords, the caregivers for the planet. Making things grow is in their DNA!"

"So I've noticed, in fact this whole area seems to be cooler than other parts of Portland."

Roger chuckled and remarked "The winters do seem to be colder around here. Not sure if it's Freya's doing, but it is a coinkydink!"

Anna smiled and said, "I do know the pumpkin crop does well around Hallowe'en."

"Yep, just in time for our Samhain festival."

He smiled at her and said, "Are you coming up for that this year?"

"I hope to!"

Glancing at the small clock on the wall above the sideboard, Anna said,"Welp, I've got editing to do and I originally came down to get some coffee before I got so distracted."

"Sorry about that!"

"Not your fault dear, it was me being nosy again."

Anna smiled as they briefly embraced for a warm hug and a peck on the lips, then she swept away into the kitchen for her long overdue cup of fresh coffee.

That evening after a very satisfying dinner, everyone was still seated at the table sipping coffee and enjoying an apple strudel courtesy of Silky.

Alexandra set down her dessert fork and sighed contentedly before she said, "I have good news and sad news to report."

Seeing that she had everyone's attention, she continued, "First the good news, it seems I did not mate with Axel during the recent full moon that coincided with my menses. I know we were found together the next morning and it looked very incriminating, but Axel was a proper gentlewolf and protected me in my hour of need."

She smiled,"Therefore I am not pregnant, and my father won't need to flip out!"

In the moment of silence that ensued, Anita raised her slender hand for attention.

Alexandra acknowledged her and said, "Yes?"

Anita cleared her throat and asked, "How did you figure all this out?"

"First, Roger explained to me how Axel wouldn't have recognized me as a mate, then he took me to get a home pregnancy test kit. The results came out negative both times."

"Did he mansplain?" asked Anita as she shot a meaningful glance at Roger.

"Mansplain?"

"In simple terms, it's when a man explains something to someone in a condescending manner, regardless of their gender."

Alexandra considered Anita's remark and replied, "I didn't think so when he told me in a brief manner, how my canid lineage and Axel's lineage have diverged so much, that even if I was merely a gray wolf, he'd ignore me as a mate."

"In short, we're two different species even though we may look similar, we aren't."

"Oh, okay"

Clearing her throat once more, Alexandra continued, "Now for the sad news, my vacation time is nearly over and in two days, I have to leave for home."

She smiled at everyone, "I've had a wonderful time, I probably ate too much of Silky's wonderful cooking, but I regret nothing in that regard!"

A silvery tinkling was heard coming from the kitchen and everyone grinned, Silky was without any doubts, an amazing cook.

"I didn't get to train with Sheila nearly enough but I learned a lot, and for that, I am grateful!"

She turned towards Sheila and bowed slightly, "Thank you for the lessons you taught me!"

Sheila smiled and replied,"It was my pleasure and you're most welcome!"

She grinned and said, "My sisters and I get together fairly regularly to train, to keep ourselves fresh. Getting to teach Alex here was most enjoyable, especially out in the deeper part of the woods where we could cut loose!"

She winked at Roger and said gaily, "Don't worry, it was strictly hand to hand, I left my sword in my room!"

"Although we may have knocked some bark loose off a dead tree or two, when we bounced off of them!"

He grinned and retorted cheerfully, "That's okay, you just saved us the trouble of selecting a tree for the yule log, we'll look for the one with biff marks and cut it down."

"You're welcome!" replied a grinning Sheila Ericcson, former claymore warrior.

As Alexandra sat down, Anita rose to her feet and spoke up, "While we're all in one place..."

She looked around and said, "I wish to apologize for my being a little snot the last few days, my being worried about Axel and Alexandra was no excuse for my poor behavior. And for that, I am very sorry!"

With that, she bowed deeply and held that position for a few moments before straightening up again and sitting back down.

With that said, Anita looked over at Alexandra and asked, "While I could understand your dad not being too happy about you getting preggers, would he really flip out?"

Alexandra smiled and replied, "I'm not sure to be honest, I kinda think he would have approved of a union between myself and such a big wolf as Axel, especially if he could shift!"

"Thing is, I'm kind of a rarity among my kind. Females like me are not born very often, males greatly outnumber females where I come from and a female that can assume the Anubis form, is even rarer."

"Anubis form?" asked several voices at once.

Alexandra looked around, "None of you have heard of the Anubis form?"

"Anubis, as in the Egyptian god?" queried Roger.

"You're close!" replied Alexandra.

She muttered, "Perhaps a demonstration is in order here?"

Alexandra closed her yellowish eyes and allowed her self to relax.

It began when she let out a low groan and grimaced, then her face began to alter as a faint crunching, cracking sound was heard.

Her face slowly elongated and her ears grew larger and moved up and back on her head, while her hair grew shorter.

Dark gray fur began to appear on her face and neck, as her mouth grew into a snout filled with gleaming white teeth and sharp fangs.

Her tear filled yellow eyes opened and they had an agonized expression in them.

Her hands remained normal, but they opened and closed repeatedly while scrunching up her place mat into a mangled remnant.

Ten agonizing minutes later, Alexandra's head and neck had transformed into that of a dark gray wolf, while everything below remained human.

Her shoulders slumped in relaxation and she looked around, her yellow eyes gleaming in stark contrast to the dark gray of her furred head and neck.

What she saw was her fellow diners, staring at her in mute astonishment, any and all clever commentary was silenced by what they had just witnessed.

The transformation of an attractive young woman into the Anubian form of an alpha female werewolf.

Of all the diners present, only Anita had the presence of mind to calmly record a video of Alexandra's, not for the squeamish, transformation.

In the near silence, Roger's soft "No wonder your father was so protective of you, despite the queen's desire to have you in her security detail. He must've suspected you were an alpha." could be heard by all concerned.

He glanced over at Anita and said inquiringly, "When you get a chance, I'd like a copy of that video if you please.?"

"Sure thing Roger, I'll email you a copy."

Roger raised his hand and said, "Just bring your phone into my study and we can transfer a copy via USB cable, I'd rather not chance that video to the internet, just in case somebody's listening in."

He smiled, "Let's keep Alexandra's secret, a secret a while longer shall we?"

Roger glanced over at Alexandra's Anubian form and said, "I'm going to be reporting this to my superiors at the main museum. They'll need to know about this. I'm sure you'll understand."

Alexandra nodded her Anubian head and neck in agreement, then rose to her feet to leave the room.

She would recuperate in her guest room.

Two days later, a rather eclectic little group had gathered at the departure gate for the flight to New York City, then on to Berlin, Germany.

The group consisting of a towering giantess just over nine feet tall, a tall athletic blonde, a slender blonde dressed in light resistant clothing, a slightly built teenager in a Goth-Loli outfit, and another young woman wearing a full length outfit with a bustle in back and an elaborate hat on top.

Accompanying them were two men, one a lean, rangy looking fellow with a sun darkened aspect about him, the other a portly, leprechaunesque fellow dressed all in browns and greens.

For some reason, they were carrying two well dressed fashion dolls, that seemed to be moving on their own.

They were engaged in saying various 'fare thee wells!" to an athletic young woman with yellow eyes and iron gray hair.

Hugs, kisses and last minute exchanges were freely given and gladly received by all concerned.

The P.A.'s "Flight 118 to New York city, now boarding at gate fourteen!" Rudely interrupted and the young woman hurriedly departed, leaving behind an eclectic group of well wishers.

Alexandra Wolf was on her way back to Romania, and back to serving her queen.

With Alexandra well on her way back home, Roger grinned and said cheerfully, "Who's up for some ramen?"

Warren piped up, "You have to ask?" and tiny Helga nestled in the crook of his arm, nodded in agreement.

Hearing no dissent, Roger grinned and said, "Ramen it is! Yamada Ramen house, here we come!"

Anita promptly quipped, "They'll never recover!"

Roger chuckled and retorted, "If they found out we were in the vicinity and didn't stop by? It could get ugly!"

Twenty minutes later, Mako Yamada looked up to see Roger and Company entering the door.

She beamed at them and said, "Welcome, welcome, we've missed you!"

Smiling at Roger and Freya, she said joyfully, "Congratulations on your engagement!"

She then looked the group over and said, "We can put you all in our banquet room, where Lorna can take care of you!"

She smiled at Dena and Helga and said cheerfully, "We'll get out the toddler seats for you two!"

Dena looked surprised and exclaimed, "Ye ken aboot us?"

Mako smiled and said gaily, "We've known about you for years! Lorna's mentioned you and anytime Roger would come by for some ramen, he'd always ask for a kid's portion to take home."

She grinned, "It's a pleasure to meet you both!"

For once, Dena had nothing to say and Helga merely smiled.

Moments later, a grinning Lorna Yamada came bustling up and said cheerfully, "Hey everybody! Welcome to our house, if you'll follow me? I'll show you to your seats!"

As Lorna flounced away, Roger noticed Mako silently shaking her head and in Sotto Voce said, "Still fighting that battle?"

Mako could only grin at his sly remark, Lorna was going to remain Lorna, despite her mother's efforts at making her a 'proper' Japanese girl.

"I'm still hoping!" Came her muttered reply.

"More power to you!" said Roger as he followed the rest of the group into the banquet room.

He entered the room as Lorna was already taking orders from Warren, Anita, Sheila, Flora and Anna.

Sheila's ordering a kid's portion meal was no surprise, Lorna knew she ate like a tiny bird already.

She already knew what Roger and Freya were likely to order and had written it down.

When she got to the two wood wives, she wrote down 'Two kid's portion beef curry ramen, for here.'

Lorna grinned at the two woodelves and said cheerfully, "Glad to see you guys!"

She gestured around the room and said proudly, "We've been here almost a hundred years and we are glad to have you all as our guests!"

With that, she scurried from the banquet room and returned moments later, bearing a tray laden with cups.

Quickly placing the cups before her guests, Lorna left and came back with two pots of green tea.

She poured everyone a cup of the green tea, then set the pots on their trivets and left again, to place the order in the kitchen.

Hardly a minute had gone by when Tohru Yamada came out of the kitchen in his clean white tee shirt, shorts, skull cap and apron.

He was grinning hugely and said, "When I saw the order I knew it had to be you two, only Freya could get my mom to make her 'secret family' recipes...Congratulations on your engagement!"

He shook hands with both Roger and Freya, grinning while his work hardened hand was nearly engulfed in her much larger hand.

He smiled at everyone else and said cheerfully, "Welcome to our ramen house!"

He was about to turn away when he noticed Dena and Helga perched in their toddler seats and smiled at them, "You two are especially welcome and if you don't mind, I'd like to add your pictures to our wall of fame!"

Dena glanced over at Helga and said, "Ef ye dornt min' Ah dornt min'."

Helga shrugged and said, "I'm okay with my picture being taken."

Freya barged in with, "Ye can tak a picter ay th' three ay us taegaither wi me betrothed!"

Tohru grinned and said, "Done, and done!"

He clapped his hands together and said, "Welp, back to the kitchen, I've got guests to feed!" then he scurried back into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Tohru, Mako and Lorna all came out of the kitchen bearing bowls of freshly made ramen.

They served Warren, Anita, Sheila, Flora and Anna first, then quickly returned to the kitchen only to reemerge moments later, with more bowls of ramen.

Dena and Helga were served next while Mako gushed over how cute they were.

Finally, Roger and Freya got served.

And with a collective "Itadakimasu!" they dug in.

Lorna grinned and took numerous photos of them as they enjoyed her family's cooking.

She sighed and said, "If only my gramma could see you guys all enjoying her cooking so much!"

Freya smiled at her oldest friend and said, "Ah miss 'er too, she was me mukker!"

Lorna chuckled and replied, "You certainly got her to let us see her secret family recipes, we've added several of them to our shop's menu!"

She bowed towards Freya and said, "Thank you for being her good friend, she really enjoyed knowing you!"

Freya replied, "An' Ah enjoyed knowin' 'er, yoor verra welcome!"

Mako appeared in the doorway and pointedly cleared her throat.

Lorna grimaced and said, "Duty calls, if you need anything more let us know!"

"Will do!" cried Roger as Lorna scurried out the door.

After enjoying Lorna's mochi ice cream for dessert, everyone lined up against the 'wall of fame' and with a grinning Lorna in the center, several nice photos were taken of the smiling group.

While Roger was settling the bill for all the food they ate, Tohru was looking over the photos he'd taken to decide on which one he was going to frame and put up.

In one of the photos, Flora had taken off her elaborate hat and her horns could be plainly seen as she stood next to Anita in her Goth-loli outfit.

He squinted at the image in the camera, then looked at Flora, squinted and looked back at the image again.

He muttered to himself until finally, he asked Flora, "Are you wearing horns under that hat of yours?"

Flora smiled at him in her most charming manner and replied,"No, those are my horns, I was born with them. I'm wearing the hat to hide them."

Taking her hat off, she turned her head from side to side so Tohru could get a good look at them.

"Well, I'll be...You really do have horns!" declared an amazed Tohru Yamada.

Flora and said, "I have hooves too!" With that she hiked up the hem of her long flowing skirt and stuck out her right cloven hoof, highly polished and brightly painted to match her outfit.

Moments later, she let her skirt fall and she smoothed it down.

Tohru took a few moments to ponder what he had just seen, then he said,"I really did see a hoof did I not? One that was polished and painted, amiright?"

Flora smiled and nodded a 'yes' to both his questions.

Tohru screwed up his sun tanned face and said, "Ever since Lorna became friends with Freya, I have seen her grow into a giantess with giant sized parents, several giant wolves that think they're family dogs, tiny doll sized girls and now you, a girl with horns and hooves."

"I gotta ask...What, are you?"

Flora grinned mischievously and said, "I'm a northern wood nymph, not a pan. No goat will ever catch me!"

Lost for words, Tohru looked over at Lorna for an answer and her reply was, "I see you've met Flora Oakenwood."

"You know her?" blurted out a baffled Tohru Yamada.

"I met her about three years ago at one of Freya's winter solstice events she held after gramma died."

Lorna asked, "You never saw her before?"

Tohru shook his head in an emphatic no!

Lorna cleared her throat and said in a formal tone, "Dad, I'd like you to meet Flora Oakenwood. Flora, I'd like you to meet Tohru Yamada, my dad!"

Tohru and Flora smiled at each other and said nearly in unison, "Pleased to meet you!"

Mako came up and said, "Hi Flora, that's a lovely outfit you're wearing, did Anita make it for you?"

"You two have met?" spluttered Tohru.

"Almost three years ago now. You've never met her before?"

Once again, Tohru shook his close cropped head in a 'no'.

The next morning Roger woke to a somewhat empty bed, Freya was up and already out of the house, leaving him with only Dena to keep him warm.

The tiny woodelf was snuggled against him, her curvy little body conforming to his own physique while she slept.

He ran her recent comments through his still slightly fog bound mind.

"Oh yeah," he thought, 'A farrier's coming by this morning at 6:30 A.M."

Rising from their huge bed, he toddled into the en-suite bathroom while Dena slept and washed up before breakfast.

A short time later, Roger was tucking into a bowl of steel cut oats, sipping his coffee and eyeing the bacon he'd snagged on his way out of the kitchen.

He heard the one at a time thumping sounds of Dena hopping down the stairs one by one.

Soon after she came into the dining room carrying her own small plate of food and a tiny cup of coffee.

She stopped by his chair and he automatically reached down without even looking and placed her breakfast on the table beside him.

"An' wa didnae ye wake me?" she asked in her piccolo of a voice.

"I figured after all the excitement of yesterday, you'd want to sleep in this morning."

"Thaur ye gae thinkin' agin!" she retorted as she sprinkled a bit of salt on her oatmeal before she added any sugar or cream.

Taking up her tiny spoon, she asked, "Whaur's Freya?"

"Apparently, a farrier is coming by this morning to see Samson."

"Whit e'er for?"

Roger sipped more coffee then replied,"To look at his hooves and replace his shoes if needs be."

"Ah, okay."

Anita toddled in and after a desultory greeting on her part, made her way into the kitchen where she helped herself to some oatmeal, a couple of strips of bacon and a brimming mug of coffee.

Emerging from the kitchen, the bleary eyed teenager set her food and drink down, then slipped into her chair.

Before doing anything else, Anita picked up her coffee mug and downed almost half of it in one go.

"Rough night last night?" asked Roger.

Anita nodded a 'yes' and took another mighty sup before saying, "One A.M. Plot bunny hit me hard! Got half of it laid out before the zee monster took over."

"How many words?"

"About five thousand before I started losing focus and called it quits."

Roger said softly, "I forgot how fast you can type, that's a pretty good start!"

Anita smiled at his remark and said, "When everything's in place and I'm not distracted? I can bang out a 70,000 word novel in about a week of hard work."

"And we've learned to leave you be when you're on a roll!"

Anita chuckled and replied, "And your efforts are appreciated greatly!"

"I wonder how her novella's coming along?" she mused.

Roger shrugged slightly and remarked, "I have no idea, she's hardly come out of her room ever since she got here and I haven't pried."

"I'm surprised, usually you're pretty good at getting people to talk about themselves, Alexandra certainly confided in you."

"I have an honest face?"

Anita scoffed and remarked, "Next, you'll say you're a good listener!"

"That too."

"You forgot highly annoying!"

She took one last sip, then peered into the depths of her empty mug and muttered, "Welp, I guess I gotta make a new pot of coffee."

Roger finished off his breakfast and took his last sip of coffee, before he rose and carried his dishes into the kitchen where he placed them in the sink.

He turned to leave just as Anna and Sheila came into the kitchen.

Sheila was looking as fit as ever, while Anna was looking a bit goggle eyed.

Sheila grinned at him and said, "If I hadn't gone into her room and fetched her, she'd still be at it."

Anna gave Sheila the side eye and muttered, "I'm a vampire, I'm supposed to be nocturnal. This being out and about during the day isn't in my nature!"

Roger chuckled and remarked, "Anita's in the dining room, she was up late too. Perhaps you two can commiserate over coffee after breakfast?"

By this time, Sheila had poured the last two cups of coffee and was making up a fresh pot of coffee.

"It'll have to wait for the fresh pot to finish percolating!" remarked Sheila as she took her minuscule breakfast into the dining room and joined Anita.

Anna glanced at Roger and asked, "Finished already?"

"Yep, now I gotta see a man about a horse!"

At Anna's puzzled look, he replied, "Freya's up at the barn with a farrier, I guess he's gonna shoe Samson?"

"I didn't know he was shoed."

"He wasn't, I guess this guys gonna look at his hooves and give them a trim or something?"

Anna smiled and said, "Have fun!"

"I will!"

A few minutes later Roger was approaching the farrier at his job.

He was a powerfully built Black man standing next to Freya's towering form and asking her questions about Samson.

As he drew near Roger heard, "Samson here's gotta be the biggest horse I've ever seen and I've shoed some of the biggest!"

He gestured at Samson's hooves, "It's a good thing his hooves are in such good shape, I'd have to make his size shoes from scratch!"

Shaking his head he remarked, "I can usually take a commercially made shoe and adjust it to fit most any hoof. Even the big draft horses have pre-made shoes available, this guy's a whole new level of big!"

He looked up at Freya's lovely face and asked, "Where did you find him again?"

Freya thought about his question and replied, "Ah got heem frae a fellah named Sammy Tubbs, he said he got heem frae a breeder somewhaur up in Canada."

"Any idea who and where this breeder is?"

Freya could only smile at the farrier and say, "Ah ne'er asked."

The farrier sighed and remarked, "I was just curious as I've never seen such a big horse before. He makes a Shire look almost like a pony!"

He glanced over at Roger and Roger said cheerfully, "Roger Tate, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" as he extended his hand in greeting.

The farrier grinned and replied, "Ezekiel Rawlins, most people call me Easy, but I'm not easy if you know what I mean!"

As he took Roger's hand in his, Roger felt an inkling of his powerful grip in his firm, confident handshake.

Roger grinned, "I'd never accuse you of being 'easy', not when you've got all those muscles!"

Easy Rawlins chuckled and replied, "They came with the job!"

"I can imagine!"

"Humping that anvil in and out of your truck all day's, gotta be a real workout!"

Easy grinned, "That and dealing with an unruly horse who isn't cooperating!"

Looking over at Samson's massive form, Easy remarked, "I'd like to take some pictures of him, he sure ain't any of the draft horse breeds I know of, he's something different!"

Then he looked up at Freya and said, "I'd like to get a picture or two of you, to show my kids 'cause if I tell them about you..."

Freya grinned and said, "Ay coorse, Ah dornt min' Ah get asked tae pose aw th' time."

"And I usually take those pictures!" quipped Roger with a grin.

A few moments later, Easy and Freya were standing together beside Samson and smiling at Roger.

He took a few pictures and asked, "Want a few more?"

Easy grinned and was about to reply when his eyes seemingly bulged out of his head and he gasped, "Behind you!"

Quickly turning to see, Roger beheld Sasha and Goldeneyes as they approached him.

Roger smiled at the giant wolf couple and said cheerfully, "Come to see what we're up to?"

"You know them?" spluttered Easy as he gawked at the two gigantic wolves.

Roger grinned, "They live with us, come say hello! They love a good rump scratching by the way."

Easy grinned and went to meet the enormous wolvies half way.

Soon he was laughing while he gave Sasha a good scratching, his powerful hands digging deeply into her dense fur.

Roger recorded a brief video of Easy Rawlins making friends with the huge wolves from an earlier time, a much earlier time.

Stepping a bit further away, Roger took pictures of the group all together for posterity.

Returning Easy's smartphone, Roger said, "Your kids will get a kick out of these pictures with you in them for scale!"

He grinned and replied, "You do realize they'll want to see them in person."

Freya smiled and said, "Yoor bairns wull be welcome tae cam see uir place, bring your hoosewife too, Ah'll gie 'er somethin' frae uir gardens!"

Easy smiled and said, "They'd love it and my wife is quite the gardener herself, she's from North Carolina originally, grew up on a farm near Rockymount."

He looked over at Samson who was placidly munching on some carrots Roger was giving him and said,"Personally, I'd leave his hooves alone, they're in good shape and weren't all packed up with debris or cracked any."

He scratched his head, "Other than giving him a looking over, I didn't really do anything today."

He reached up and caressed Samson's powerful shoulder before saying, "You sure are one hell of a big horse!"

Samson nickered appreciatively as he munched on another carrot.

Freya asked, "Whit dae we owe ye fur yoor time?"

Easy smiled and said, "I didn't even get my hammer out"

Roger smiled and said, "Okay, we'll go with an assessment. That's gotta be worth a C-note at least!"

Easy grinned and said authoritively, "In my humble opinion, Samson here stands about 23 hands tall and has to weigh at least 3,200 pounds. To me that would make him the largest horse ever recorded. He is well fed and well taken care of as evinced by how well he is groomed and the condition of his hooves. Which have to be the largest I've ever seen in my 25 years of shoeing horses."

He grinned, "Will that do?"

Roger laughed and handed him a C-note while saying, "Works for me!"

As Easy put away his money he asked, "Who's his veterinarian?"

"Doctor Jane Fletcher, she's a specialist in large animal veterinary medicine at the Portland Zoo. She's also taken care of Sasha here when she's having pups."

Easy grinned and said, "I've worked with her, she hired me to help out with a Indian Gaur that needed special shoes for an injured hoof. That was one ticklish job as we had to sedate him before I could make his shoes. Those Gaur are not like horses or cattle, they'll gore you and trample you without hesitation."

He shook his head and muttered, "Even our bison are pussy cats by comparison!"

Glancing at his watch, Easy said, "Welp, I've done all I can do here. If you need me, give me a call!"

With that he stepped into his truck, fired it up and was soon driving down the hill.

Once his truck was out of sight, Flora emerged from behind the barn and said, "Is he gone?"

At Roger's affirmative nod she said, "I saw him pull up and luckily got Moonbeam into hiding before he saw him."

"What did he do?" she asked.

"He cam tae gie Samson a lookin' o'er tae see ef he needed onie shoes an' said he didnae need onie."

Freya grinned and continued, "He hinks Samson may be th' biggest horse oan record, as he's ne'er seen a larger one."

Flora grinned and said a cheerful, "I coulda told him that!"

Roger chuckled at the young wood nymph's remark and said, "You coming down for dinner?"

"After I've fed and watered my boys!" Her 'boys' being the enormous horse and the great white stag she takes care of.

Roger nodded his approval and said, "It's at the usual time, don't be late!"

"As if!" came the gleeful retort and he and Freya joined hands before walking down to the house.

Dinner time was the one meal everyone dressed for.

Roger wore a button up shirt, Chinos and desert boots, Freya wore a casual blouse that went with her dark gray slacks and open toed shoes.

Dena had on an outfit that matched Freya's, courtesy of Danny Chen.

Anita wore a somewhat toned down Goth-Loli outfit and Doctor Marten thick soled shoes.

Flora wore a simple white button up top and dark gray voluminous skirt, her hooves were freshly polished and her horns gleamed.

Warren was decked out in his Scottish Great kilt, while tiny Helga wore her traditional wood wife outfit.

Anna was wearing her own Gothy outfit that she'd wear at book signing events.

Sheila came in last and everyone stopped and stared.

Instead of her usual sports casual attire, she was wearing a flirty little black dress and smoky black stockings, her shoes sported four inch heels thus making her stand just under seven feet tall.

With her long flaxen hair combed away from her face, a hint of eye shadow and a bit of lip gloss, she made for an eye catching appearance.

A true beauty was Sheila Ericcson.

In the moment of silence after her arrival, only a softly muttered, "Damn!" was heard and no one spoke up.

She smiled at everyone and said, "Sorry I took so long, I wasn't sure I wanted to wear this."

Anita blurted out, "Are you kidding? You look amazing! And those legs of yours, they go on forever! I'm so jealous of your legs!"

Sheila laughed then looked down at the rondure of her bosom and said coyly, "No comments about my boobies?"

Anita giggled and retorted, "I'll leave that sort of thing to the menfolk...Guys?"

Roger snorted and said, "If you think I'm going to step on that landmine...No comment!"

"What he said!" remarked Warren.

"You guys are no fun!" pouted Anita.

Roger chuckled and retorted, "We're survivors, we listen to our inner lemurs that shy away from an obvious trap."

Anita folded her arms across her small, firm bosom and said, "Seriously?!"

Roger smiled at her and said frankly, "I've seen nearly all of you ladies in the all together and honestly? All of you are knockouts regardless of your size! Asking me to choose soley on the basis of a particular part of a woman's anatomy is silly. I'm not that kind of shallow!"

He grinned, "You're all gorgeous and sexy as hell! So there!"

"Hear, hear!" cried Warren.

"Wussy's!" muttered Anita.

Sheila smiled and came into the dining room with a fluid grace that spoke of her athleticism and poise, she knew how to rock a little black dress with the best of them!

Roger meanwhile, had risen from his seat and stood behind her chair, ready to assist her as she took her seat.

Towering nearly a foot taller than him, Sheila slipped into her seat as Roger eased it forward before returning to his own seat.

This time Anna was heard to remark, "During my upbringing, I was constantly drilled in proper etiquette and comportment at the dining table. I would get a scolding if I didn't take my seat properly or enter a room gracefully while in formal attire. You just made my best efforts look like a rank beginners!"

"Sorry?" replied Sheila.

Anna laughed, "You have nothing to apologize for! I was just making an observation, no worries."

Dinner was a haunch of slow roasted elk, sliced thinly and drizzled with a honey mustard sauce.

The vegetables were freshly picked, washed and steamed to retain their vitality.

The salad came fresh from the kitchen garden and was picked that afternoon.

The soup was a creamy potato leek with finely shredded carrots added for a hint of color and was served with the baguettes Roger had brought home from the Oakview dairy and bakery shop.

Dessert was a dish of chocolate ice cream, also from Oakview dairy.

In a nod to Warren's vegetarianism, he had his own spinach and feta cheese quiche to enjoy.

After a joyful chorus of 'Itadakimasu!' everyone dug in.

Anita cut herself a bit of her elk roast and popped it into her mouth, she smiled and murmured, "This is good! Every time I taste elk I'm reminded of how good the meat tastes."

She looked at Roger and asked, "Did you shoot this?"

"Yes, I did. It was during our last visit when we became engaged."

"Was it during a hunt?"

"Sort of..."

"Sort of? What do you mean, sort of? You shot it didn't you, isn't that a part of hunting? What am I missing here?"

She glanced at Freya for an answer and saw that she was blushing slightly.

Anita grinned evilly and purred, "Have we got something to confess? You know, confession is good for the soul."

Freya just blushed all the more and muttered, "Ah've naethin' tae confess, we did naethin' wrang!"

Anita said gleefully,"Then why the reddened face and shyness, all of a sudden?"

Freya did not reply.

Roger cleared his throat and remarked, "We were returning from a long hike when we surprised him as he munched on some berries. I had only seconds to react and I shot him. Freya ran home and got help while I field dressed him in place with only a fire to see by."

Tapping his meat with his knife, Roger said, "This haunch came from him and was aged by a butcher of my acquaintance."

He smiled at the slightly built teenager and said, "Happy now?"

Anita flushed a bit and mumbled, "Yes."

Sheila at this time spoke up, "Since we're all here, I may as well say it here and now. I have to go back this Friday as I have things to do business wise in L.A."

She smiled, "As always, I've had a great time and am looking forward to next time!"

Roger asked, "Any idea of when that might happen?"

"Alexandra wants to come back next year about this time for more training. So, probably about this time next year?"

"We'll mark our calendars?"

"I'll let you know when I hear from her, since she now has my contact info."

"keep us posted."

"Will do."

Roger smiled, "You know you're always welcome here anytime, my dear."

Anna tapped her wine glass that was filled with a dark red fluid and said,"I'm not quite done with my editing, Anita has shown me her latest and it looks interesting, so I'll be staying a bit longer."

"Always glad to have you!" quipped Roger, momentarily between bites.

"Glad to be here!"

"Glad you're staying!" piped up Anita, seemingly recovered from her earlier snarky mood.

Warren cleared his throat and announced, "I think Astrid is ready to have her first litter of pups, she's been engaging in den building and I think she's ready to mate."

His news came as a surprise and Roger got to thinking about the implications.

Sasha was almost middle aged now for a wolf and her breeding years were coming to an end.

How much longer would he have his lupine companion, the huge wolf that had saved his life?

She and her mate, Goldeneyes seemed to spend more of their time snoozing in the front parlour now.

They were getting old.

Roger cleared his throat and said, "We'll have to find her a suitable mate, that means we'll be taking the two of you up to Canada and bringing back another male wolf."

He grinned and winked, "You'll get to see Britt again and talk beer brewing with Old Harald, I think you'll survive!"

"Although, you might want to start hiking to build up your wind."

Warren chuckled and replied, "I think I'll manage to survive!"

He looked over at his tiny companion and smiled, "Helga here will keep me sane!"

Roger grinned, he knew Helga would insinuate herself between Warren and Britt, much like Dena slept between himself and Freya.

She would keep him honest.

For a brief moment, Roger wondered what Meredith thought about Warren's current domestic arrangement, she had to know about Helga by now.

Shrugging slightly he decided it didn't matter, they were all adults, they'd work it out.

Later that night Roger was in his somewhat cluttered study thinking over Warren's remarks about Astrid.

A soft rapping of knuckles on his door intruded into his thoughts and he said, "Come in?"

Anita slipped into the softly lit room and she stood there smiling shyly.

He turned to face her and said, "How can I help you?"

"Can we talk?"

Gesturing towards the extra chair he said, "Have a seat."

"Now, what is on your mind?"

"It's about Raphael..."

"Is it bad news?"

Anita thought briefly and said, "Yes, and no?"

"You kinda phrased that like a question, what is up?"

"Sit!" he ordered, Anita hastily sat.

Roger leaned back slightly and said, "In twenty-five words or less, what is going on?"

Anita sighed, then said, "Raphael has been accepted at CalArts in their dance program."

"Where is it again?"

Anita looked surprised and said, "I thought you would know that, you know so many things!"

"Some things I know a lot about, art schools aren't in that category, sorry."

Shrugging slightly Anita said, "It's down in Santa Clarita, California."

"So he'd be living down there I take it?"

"Yes, way out of my reach I'm afraid."

"Sorry."

"So'm I"

"You say he's into dancing? I thought he was a gymnast."

Anita grinned and purred, "That's what makes him such a good lover! His dancing ability."

"I'll have to take your word for it."

Roger asked, "So when is he leaving?"

"He's thinking it over for the fall."

"This impending move on his part, would that be a reason for some of your snarkier moments of late?"

Anita sagged in her chair and said quietly, "Probably, it has been on my mind."

"Portland U doesn't have an arts program you could look into?"

"Not sure..."

Roger smiled and said, "Why don't you look into that before giving him up?"

" I can do that."

"Please do, and in the future, if things aren't looking good, don't take it out on those who love you...Okay?"

Anita smiled slightly and murmured, "Sorry."

Roger smiled and said softly, "Don't apologize to me, I'm incorrigible. Apologize to those who aren't so thick skinned."

"I will!"

With that said, Roger stood up and said, "Now scoot! Don't you have a book in the making?"

Anita stood up and grinned, "Actually, I do as a matter of fact. Thanks for reminding me and thank you for listening to me!"

"Any time baby girl, that's what I'm here for, to listen."

Roger smiled as he opened the door to his study and held it.

Anita grinned and slipped into his arms for a nice, warm hug.

He slipped his arms around her slight form and held her closely for a few moments before releasing her.

He smiled and said, "I always forget how slender you are until I hug you, then it all comes back to me how tiny you are!"

Anita chuckled and said roguishly, "Every girl you hug will feel tiny because you've gotten so used to hugging Freya's big self!"

She quickly rose on tip toe and gave Roger a peck on the lips before saying cheerfully, "G'night unca Roger!"

Roger laughed and said, "Not you too!"

Anita laughed and walked towards the stairs and up to her room.

His eyes followed her slight form as she walked away and he noted her slender waist and swaying hips.

Roger smiled and mused, when did Anita get such a nice hip-waist ratio?

When did she become a full grown woman?

Friday evening came and the domestic flights departure gate at Portland International saw an eclectic group of people gathered to wish a friend safe travels.

The friend was a tall, athletic blonde dressed in sports casual attire.

The group consisting of a towering giantess just over nine feet tall, a slender blonde dressed in light resistant clothing, a slightly built teenager in a Goth-Loli outfit, and another young woman wearing a full length outfit with a bustle in back and an elaborate hat on top.

Accompanying them were two men, one a lean, rangy looking fellow with a sun darkened aspect about him, the other a portly, leprechaunesque fellow dressed all in browns and greens.

For some reason, they were carrying two well dressed fashion dolls, that seemed to be moving on their own.

Sheila smiled at everyone and said, "I enjoyed my stay, I got to train with a Beowulf troop member and taught her a few things about close quarters combat that she didn't already know."

She smiled, "Mostly I wasn't in the office, dealing with mid level managers who don't know I own the company."

"I got to spend time with dearly beloved friends, and that was the best part of my visit."

Roger quipped, "You know you're always welcome to visit anytime, your room is always ready for you. We don't let anybody else use it, or Anna's room either."

He grinned, "Silky keeps both rooms locked up when you're not here."

"That's nice to know." replied Sheila as she took Roger into her arms for a hug.

Moments later, he groaned while receiving a bone creaking hug from her and croaked, "You really don't know your own strength!"

She laughed and retorted, "You're a guy, guys can take a little agony, it's in your genes!"

Then she kissed him tenderly.

"Har de har, har!" muttered Roger while he recuperated from Sheila's powerful hug.

When she was finished doling out hugs and kisses, Roger commented drily, "I noticed you didn't make Warren beg for mercy!"

Sheila grinned and replied,"Warren is a teddy bear, a poet, a gentle soul who hasn't known combat. He, I will protect, because I know you can fight and have done so."

Anita giggled and said gaily, "I think you've been tolt! As Freya would say!"

When he looked to Freya for a response, she shrugged and said, "She's nae wrang, as she woods say."

He glanced at Anna and she merely grinned at his situation.

"Yeah, yeah." muttered Roger Tate, combat veteran and adventurer-scholar and at the moment, the target of gentle teasing from the women he loved dearly.

The P.A. Announced, "Now boarding flight 64 to LAX at gate 14."

Sheila exclaimed, "That's my cue! Take care everyone and I'll be seeing you again real soon!"

With that, she turned and entered Gate 14 with boarding pass in hand and was soon out of sight.