Reindeer James

Chapter 20

The storm's thick, black clouds loomed over Mount Permafrost, hammering the icy mountain with hail. James's breath came out in foggy plumes as he led the reindeer toward the massive peak.

"Why would anyone with even a speck of sanity go up there?" Tango grumbled. He glared at the towering whiteness up ahead. "I'd rather listen to Twinkle Nose blabber about the time she got a really big ear of corn in her trough, and that's saying something."

"I still think we should have tried to get Gabe to make popcorn out of it," Ruby grumbled.

"Nick was super upset after we crashed," James said quietly. He shuddered as the wind dug its frigid fingers into his shoulders. Even bundled up in half a dozen layers, a pile of blankets, and the scarf his mom gave him, the bitter chill still sank into him.

And if he was this cold, Nick must be freezing. Alone.

"So when he gets upset his first thought is to run to the tallest mountain on the entire Pole." Tango snorted. "Remind me to never make you cry. You'll probably prance off to the Sahara or something."

"Dad used to take us skiing there," James said through chattering teeth. "Not high up, but there's plenty of good slopes near the bottom."

Ruby dug her hooves into the ground with a grunt, slowly pulling them further up the steepening incline. "I'll say. Climbing is exhausting!"

"It would be easier if we flew," Tango said. He pawed the ground. "Hang on to that snow globe, kid."

"Wait," Ruby said. She bowed her head so low her antler nearly scraped the ground. "I'm no good at flying."

Tango snorted in surprise. "Did I just hear you admit you're no good at something?" 

"Yeah. I suck." Ruby's voice cracked like a thin sheet of ice breaking beneath the weight of her shame. She shivered as the wind pierced through her fur, jingling her bells softly.

Tango pulled forward, shielding Ruby from the cold. His broad shoulders didn't even twitch as they bore the brunt of the storm. "That can't be right," he said. "Mambo definitely thinks you're pretty cool."

Ruby's nose brightened. "Really?"

"And you may be as irritating as a tick in the ear sometimes, but I think you're alright, too." Tango stared at a line of sharp rocks up ahead. "Now, are we gonna have to go around these, or are you ready to go over them."

"Ready."

James tightened his grip on the reins, the old leather digging into his fingers. The reindeer sprinted forward before leaping into the sky, kicking up a flurry of snow. The sleigh lurched sideways as Ruby struggled to stay in the air next to the buck, only to level itself out as she found her rhythm. Stone screeched across the bottom of the sleigh as they scraped over the jagged points.

"Dad's gonna freak when he sees that," James muttered as chips of crimson paint rained onto the snow.

"Bah," Tango said, "if he's so worried about the paint job, he can kiss my hooves. Better for the sleigh to get banged up than my feet."

"Did you mean what you said," Ruby asked, "or did you just not want to walk?"

Tango shrugged. "When you're older, you'll understand exactly how annoying things can get. One pebble out of place, and my hooves'll start throbbing like I've been dancing on cobblestones. As for whether I think you're any good in the air—" he tossed his head as if he was dismissing a fly "—I guess we'll see. I bet I can fly faster than you."