Reindeer House pt.23.5
“Right, we’ve spent more than enough time lazing about.”
Everyone except Dashaa groaned loudly.
“Whenever Rufu starts a sentence like that,” Puransa muttered, rubbing his temples, “you know the rest isn’t going to be good…”
Rudorufu adjusted his glasses with a sharp glint. “It’s time to get stuck in and start training for the big night, which — may I remind you — IS TOMORROW!!!!”
“Oh yeah…”
“Laterrrrrr…!!”
“Do we have to?”
“YES!!” Rudorufu clapped his hands twice. “Get your jackets on. We don’t have a top-of-the-range, magically snow-repelling outdoor training track for nothing!!”
Reluctantly, the deer shuffled outside.
⸻
The first exercise was running formation practice.
“Nice and steady!! Even spacing!! No overtaking!!” Rudorufu shouted, stopwatch in hand.
Dashaa immediately took off like a missile.
“THIS IS A WARM-UP, NOT A RACE!!” Rudorufu yelled.
“I’M JUST PASSIONATE!!” Dashaa called back, already three laps ahead.
Behind him, Dansaa tripped over absolutely nothing and skidded dramatically across the track. “HELP!! I’VE FALLEN AND I’M TOO BEAUTIFUL TO GET UP!!”
Donaa calmly jogged over, picked him up under one arm, and set him back on his feet without breaking stride.
Meanwhile, Buritsen somehow ran backwards, waved cheerfully, and then ran directly into a signpost.
“—I’M OKAY!!” he called, from the ground.
Rudorufu pinched the bridge of his nose.
⸻
Next: flight practice.
“Take off cleanly, form a V, and avoid sudden altitude changes,” Rudorufu instructed. “This is about coordination.”
Kometto soared beautifully, glowing with purpose. “I feel like an angel already!! The Yule Goat would be so proud—”
He flew directly into a glittery star prop that Bikkusen was admiring, which blinded three deer instantly.
“My EYES, darling!! My beautiful EYES!!”
Puransa flew in a perfect straight line for exactly five seconds before nodding off mid-air and drifting gently downward like a tired leaf.
Donaa caught him without comment.
And then there was Kyuupiddo.
“No running on sugar,” Rudorufu warned sternly.
Kyuupiddo smiled sweetly. “I only had a little~”
He took off.
He did not fly.
He launched.
A blur of red, pink, crumbs, wrappers, and jingling pockets streaked across the sky at an alarming speed.
“WHAT WAS THAT?!!” Dansaa screamed.
“THAT WAS KYUUPIDDO!!” Buritsen cheered. “WOW!!”
Kyuupiddo looped around the track six times, ricocheted off a cloud, and landed perfectly at Rudorufu’s feet, vibrating slightly.
“…I found some caramels in my pocket,” he said proudly.
Rudorufu stared at his stopwatch.
It was smoking.
⸻
Finally, Rudorufu announced the most important drill.
“Obstacle course. Team flight. Low visibility. Tight turns.”
This was it.
This was where they’d prove themselves.
They took off together.
Immediately, Dansaa struck a pose mid-air “for morale", Dashaa carried Bikkusen bridal-style through the hoops “because it’s faster.”, Buritsen hit every obstacle but somehow remained airborne, Kometto narrated the entire experience poetically, Kyuupiddo weaved through everything at illegal speeds, Puransa accidentally flew upside-down and said nothing.
A crash.
A sparkle explosion.
Someone screamed “SORRY!!”
And then —
They landed.
All of them.
Breathing hard, covered in snow. Glitter. Wrappers.One traffic cone.
Silence fell.
Rudorufu looked at them. Then at his clipboard. Then back at them.
“…Objectively,” he said slowly, “that was better than last year.”
They cheered.
“I KNEW IT!!” Dansaa cried.
“WE’RE READY!!” Kometto beamed.
“Does this mean snacks?” Kyuupiddo asked.
Rudorufu sighed, deeply and tiredly — but there was the faintest hint of a smile.
“Go rest,” he said. “Big night tomorrow.”
And for the first time…
he almost believed they might pull it off.
To be continued...