Snow (Elliot The Littlest Reindeer)

~.:.~ Prologue - Rattle And Rumble ~.:.~

Dancing rays of light filtered through the window, brightening the darkness behind Yuki's eyelids to a warm mango red. The black and white reindeer blinked groggily and parted her jaws in a yawn, heaving herself up in a long stretch. She shook out her smooth pelt and nudged her stall door with her antlers. Yuki knew what was coming for her today, the same as always, but today, she was bound to prove the other reindeer wrong; she had potential. She could do this.

The snow dusted roof said otherwise.

She ran dead smack into a pole, and to top it all off, a good 2 pounds of slush fell on her head. Shock and cold took over, and she gasped. From about 5 feet away, she could hear the snickering of...

Oh no.

"Hey guys, look! Short stack became an ice cream sundae!"

Yuki brushed the snow off her face and drooped her ears. "Enough, Tora."

The caramel colored reindeer she had addressed only rolled her eyes in response. "Yeah, I'll stop." She must've seen Yuki's hopeful gaze, as she added with a hint of malice, "Once your able to reach the fence."

Laughter burst from the other reindeer around, and Tora's emerald eyes glinted with satisfaction; Yuki believed she was too much of an attention seeker for anyone's honest liking. One reindeer stepped forward; The tallest of the reindeer, Shoko. Shoko's white and gray pelt rippled as she marched in front of Yuki and whipped her head around to glare at Tora. Shoko's horns seemed to glow, and her hooves caught the sun as she pawed at the snow, creating gouges in the white blanket. "That'll be enough out of you, Tora."

"Oh really," Tora pressed on, stepping forward to glare up at Shoko. "And who's going to make me? You seem to have forgotten that I'm team captain."

Shoko hardened her 'oh, I didn't forget' gaze, and an air of authority suddenly radiated off her.

Tora snorted. "But yeah, whatever. We have training to get to anyway." She strode off towards the obstacle course. "Let's go."

Yuki glanced up at Shoko with gratitude. "Thanks."

Shoko nodded with a small grin and trotted towards the course. Yuki broke into a similar pace to follow the others.

She arrived at the obstacle course, which was sort of a makeshift course made of tires and hula hoops and poles that swayed when you passed them. It worked for the most part, and Rei, the coach, was saving up for a more official course.

Yuki snorted and broke into a run, stretching her legs into each tire before springing upward through the hula hoops. The weaving bit was a lot easier given her size, so she swept past them with ease, the zigzag pattern effortless to her. She slammed her hooves on the icy ground to stop, but she swerved out of control and ran into the fence.

She could hear Tora's cackle from behind her, followed by Tsuki's, a dark gray and silver reindeer, then and indistinguishable tangle of laughter. Yuki whipped around and glared. "It's not funny!"

Tsuki blinked his brown eyes in amusement. "Keep telling yourself that shorty."

Yuki stamped her hoof. Tsuki had been teasing towards her for as long as she could remember, but he'd always been there for her in dark times. They were like siblings, yet Yuki had always had a small crush on him; his skills on the field and his beautiful self, inside and out, had caught her eye.

A red and white reindeer, Sho, called in his higher voice, "How bout you run off to the forest again, stop wasting our time for a change!"

That. That was the last straw.

Yuki thundered at him and kicked his chest, sending him flying into the fence. She spun on her hoof and charged forward to stab her antlers into the fence, leaving no way for Sho to escape. Sho headbutted Yuki and slipped away before kicking her legs, sending her towards the ground. The two locked antlers, thrashing.