Page 2 of Reindeer in the Headlights
The mewing began again, and it was closer this time. And that was when I picked it out, a tiny black body traipsing through the snow.
I reached out through the window. “Come on. It’s okay.”
The kitten hesitated, but it had few options. Freeze or take a chance with me. I leaned out, with the pain in my leg blurring my vision, and scooped it up. The poor thing was shivering, but it wasn’t injured, that I could see.
The kitten was a little boy, and I held him close to my chest as I considered what my options were. The car was tilted at an angle, and the engine had cut out. Even if I got it started, there was no way I could drive it out of the ditch.
One option was to stay where I was, and I could stop someone passing by. The problem with that was because of all the traffic when I left the city, I’d chosen a roundabout way of reaching the hotel. And there were very few cars on this road, and the snow was getting heavier.
The other option was to walk. Although I hadn’t tried it, I suspected I’d be limping at best and crawling at worst. I glanced at the woods on either side of the car. I didn’t like my chances of either sticking to the road or going on safari through the trees. And it was so cold, I’d be dead before I got very far.
But what was that? I strained to make out if I was imagining things or was that a light between the trees? No, it was, and that had to be a building, probably a house where I could get help, and they’d have a phone.
The kitten burrowed into my jacket, wanting to get warm.
“This sucks, I know, but you’re better off with me than out in the snow by yourself.”
With the decision made, I tucked the kitten into my jacket. Getting out of the car was an effort because of my leg, and the car tilted at an angle. And when I hauled myself up, the coldbarreled into me and almost knocked me over. Damn, I hoped I’d made the right decision.
“We can do this.” I was talking to the kitten because that made me feel less alone. “It’s not that far.”
I’d made it about ten feet from the car, which took forever because I was limping and the wind was biting at my cheeks. But I kept going. The trees closed around me, and I tried not to think of the animals waiting to attack or how much my leg hurt.
The kitten was quiet, and I hoped the baby was okay.
The lights didn’t get any closer. Maybe it was a mirage, and now the panic was rising again. But a movement straight ahead had me freezing.
Something large stepped out from between the trees. I blinked and stared at the shape outlined in the moonlight. A reindeer. It turned, and I followed it because it must have somewhere cozy to sleep. It looked behind itself as if it was checking I was still there. I limped after it as the light got brighter, and I could see it was coming from a house.
The kitten and I were safe.
2
AMBROSE
The weather sucked. It wasn’t unusual for where I lived. People teased that they lived in a place that hurt their face, but in reality, it often did. But today, it exceptionally sucked. Ice before snow always did.
I was in a more rural part of the state, so not only did the weather suck, but getting the roads cleared took forever. This mess was going to take a long time to get drivable unless we lucked out with a warm spell, which was doubtful, given tomorrow was expected to have a high that didn’t pretend to be in the same country as double digits.
Normally I didn’t mind the bad weather. I had a wood stove, a generator, and enjoyed the solitude. I bought my cabin to enjoy living the quiet life, and that was rain or shine, or in this case snow or shine. Living here worked for me, but more importantly, it worked for my reindeer.
Being a shifter of an animal that didn’t naturally live where you did wasn’t easy. A wolf up here could blend in. No one would see one wandering too close to their backyard and think, “Oh, that animal doesn’t belong.”
But a tiger, an elephant, or a reindeer? We didn’t blend, which meant we needed to keep to ourselves. Sure, with a passing glance, somebody might see me and not realize I wasn’t an average doe or buck. Not all humans could tell a deer from a horse at a distance. But especially this time of year, when all the kids were talking about Santa’s reindeer and everyone’s decorations were up? Yeah, I’d stand out.
My location was perfect for my reindeer. There was a lot for him to forage for, no houses nearby, and a river he loved to run through. This location usually kept my beast in check.
Only today, my reindeer was being a butt. Every time I tried to do something, he interrupted. It wasn’t that he had anything to say. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. He just made his presence known, distracting me enough that I had to begin again. I hadn’t managed to so much as get the dishes done, thanks to him. And the worst part was I didn’t understand why.
I’d offered him time in his hooves, to go to the river, to mix him up a bowl of his favorite berries I’d collected and frozen last summer. Nothing made him happy. He kept on pushing at me.
“Fine. I’ll let you out. But after that, you need to chill.” The more high-strung he got, the less I wanted to let him free. I was stronger than my beast, and he basically fell in line in both human and shifter form. Something about today, though, told me that wasn’t necessarily true in his current state.
It wasn’t something I wanted to test out. But doing what I was currently doing wasn’t helping the situation at all. Something had to give, and it was the best idea I had.
I walked out onto my porch, took off my clothes, and tossed them in the box I kept there for just this purpose. They wouldn’tbe warm when I went to put them back on, but at least they’d be dry. Then I jumped down into the snow and shifted midway, my hooves landing where my feet would have.
Alright, buddy, go do your thing.
