Snow (Elliot The Littlest Reindeer)

*~* Chapter Two: Snowdrift Encounter *~*

The golden sun was hovering high in the sky by the time the reindeer had trotted off for a break. They were going for grain and carrots, but Yuki was going for an opportunity.

If I can just work on my strength, I'll be a worthy opponent to DJ.

Without a second's hesitation, she leapt through the obstacle course, the one thing she could count on never changing. Her legs pounded through the tires, and she flew through the hoops with a graceful twirl of her body. Given her small size, she wove past the poles with ease, grinning in satisfaction as they swayed to avoid her. She skidded to a halt, leaning backwards to avoid flying forward. She'd been mentally timing herself. Wow! 12 seconds!

She breathed out before she looked up at a towering mountain of snow. It glistened and shone like a pile of stars, and it towered so far above her she felt dizzy. Yuki knew, however, if she were to develop her strength, she would have to climb it.

She sped forward, skimming the surface of the snowdrift as her light hooves pushed her up toward the top. She leapt into the air and landed squarely on the tip of the snowdrift. She lifted her chin in triumph and stomped her hoof.

Big mistake.

Snow gave into the dent made by her foot, and caved in beneath her, sending her plummeting into the snowdrift and slush piling on top of her. Cold blinded her as she tried to thrash, but the snow was too much. She called out, muffled, "Uh, a little help here!"

It was barely a second before she felt something tackle her from behind, shoving her out of the snowdrift. She landed with a thud onto the icy ground, and she rolled onto her hooves to see whoever had helped her.

Two animals, near her height, one a cream mini horse with a brown mane and one a red and white goat with odd horns. The mini horse gave a timid smile, and the goat was hopping from hoof to hoof, blue and gold eyes gleaming.

"Hey there!" The goat greeted excitedly. "You're the new reindeer! Yuki, right? I'm Hazel, and that's Elliot!"

"Oh!" That was the horse. DJ had mentioned him wanting to join the North Pole tryouts. Surely a mini horse couldn't try out for Santa's team? "I heard DJ talking about you. It wasn't all too friendly though..."

"Of course it wasn't..." Elliot dipped his head, sounding used to it.

Yuki sat down with innocent eyes. That had definitely been the wrong thing to say. "Hey it's OK. I know about you wanting to make Santa's team, and I think you could do it. You're sure strong-looking for a mini horse." Truth be told, Yuki had her doubts about the horse, but surely with good training he could achieve his goal.

Elliot looked up, eyes bright. "Thanks, but I need to stay and help Peanut Butter handle the goats. It would be amazing if I could make the team though!"

Yuki's ears pricked in confusion. "Peanut Butter? Goats?" Was there something else about this training camp she didn't know? Were the two standing before her not really in reindeer training? Maybe that's why she hadn't seen him earlier that day.

Elliot stood up and swished his dark caramel tail. "Follow me."

Yuki trotted to follow him, and Hazel matched her pace. The two color eyed goat turned to smile at her. "Just you wait until you see Peanut Butter! He's more strict and koo-koo than an owl born upside down!"

Yuki giggled. "That's... interesting. Is he a reindeer?"

Hazel shook her head vigorously. "Goodness, no! He's an old mini horse! He's in charge of the goat run here!" Yuki tilted her head in confusion, and Hazel added, "It's a tradition once every month. All of our farm's goats come together in a race. And around Christmas time, the reindeer get to train with an audience."

Yuki was interested. Getting to show off in front of an audience? Then she could show everyone what she was capable of!

Before any further conversation could continue, Elliot kicked open the door to a maroon barn. The three flooded into the room, where a more complex obstacle course was set up, occupied by a colorful horde of goats. In the center was a tan horse with a darker mane and blue paint along his left half. His azure eyes flickered in greeting as he saw Elliot. "Aye, laddie!"

Hazel hopped to join the other goats, turning to catch up on news with a copper and white one. Elliot turned to Peanut Butter, who had a thick Irish accent. "Hey Peanut Butter."

Peanut Butter motioned towards Yuki with his head. "This is the new horned devil, I take it."

Yuki's nose twitched. "I'm not a horned devil...but alright, I guess." Her voice had a hint of suppressed amusement.

"Aye lass, it was just a joke." He flipped his mine innocently.

"Also," Yuki started, bringing up her question, "I've only ever been raised with other reindeer. How come this training camp has horses and goats?"

Peanut Butter sat back. "Whittick inherited this place from his old folks. It was a petting zoo, just us horses and goats and our thoughts and goat runs. Then the training camp program showed its face and Whittick took in some reindeer to train. Now, we are annexed in this ranch with those horned devils."

"Oh!" Yuki gasped. That made sense! "So this used to be just a petting zoo?"

Peanut Butter nodded and stood up, then turned to Elliot. "We need to hurry and round up these goats, before they trample yer hooves!"

Elliot sighed and turned to Yuki. "Oh boy... You should get going too. The reindeer are probably waiting."

"Alright," Yuki turned to leave. "It was nice to meet you all."

As she left, she could hear a heartwarming chorus of goats bleating their farewells. She smiled to herself, then turned to the obstacle course, where the other reindeer were crowding, ready to begin.

She admired DJ for his confidence on the field. However, she admired Elliot more now. A mini horse, the one who never backed down against any challenge to try and make Santa's team. He never gave up trying to prove himself.

She broke into a run, a new wave of determination surging through her.

That means neither can I.