Responsibilities
Diana DeRiggs
Brad lay down on the snow and ice covered ground, luxuriating in the relative peace and calm that washed over his whole being. It was the first time he hadn't been tied to a sled or running so hard he thought his heart would burst. He'd had enough of Coach Rudolph and his blinkin' nose. True, Rudolph was famous, and had trained many teams of reindeer, making Santa Claus's sleds pull faster, harder and more efficiently. This was important at a time when there were more children to distribute presents to.
There was a need for so many reindeer because Santa Claus was not actually a one-man operation. Years before, the original Santa Claus had retired, and created a Santa Claus franchise, where different men and women, wearing identical beards and outfits and boots, would travel a certain sector of the globe, bringing presents and cheer to good children. That's how in Mexico, Santa Claus speaks fluent Mexican Spanish, while in Spain, he speaks a continental dialect.
Further, there was a song about "Pablo the Reindeer" featuring a flying reindeer who spoke Spanish. Many children wondered how this could be, since among the famous reindeer, none were named Pablo, or Paul.
With so many different Santa Clauses, there had to be so many reindeer teams. When the famous reindeer retired from active pulling and flying duties, and trained teams for the many Santas. Reindeer would be selected by size, linguistic abilities, and compatibility with teammates. Teams varied in size from the original eight to twelve, depending on many factors.
It was common to have more good reindeer than there were teams. So the reindeer were swapped and trained in temporary teams, sometimes just to see which would make the best combinations. For instance, if a reindeer had shorter legs, it was better to put him or her with a team of powerful, shorter legged teammates.
Competition was fierce to get onto the most prestigious teams, with the longest distances to cover, with the most good children in the sector. Tales of heroic bravery would come from these teams; last year, the Sector 2 team, in order to deliver their gifts on time, split into two teams of six, each crisscrossing the sector. Their Santa Claus fearlessly leapt from sled to sled, so that he could be seen by as many children in as much of the sector as possible. With precision timing, the two half-teams would run past one another, one under the other, catching the falling man as he jumped out of one sleigh into the other, never missing a beat. The two half teams were the primary feature in Sleigh & Muscle Annual and the talk of all the Christmas workers.
Every reindeer hoped to be chosen to pull a sleigh, any sleigh, in any sector. But the truth was for every position, there were up to five reindeer competing. Every year, younger reindeer would compete, and older or injured ones would be displaced. It could be brutal, and there was no room for soft-heartedness in this operation.
Brad had been in training since he was very young. As the great-grandson of the original Comet, he was expected to make one of the glamour teams. He had grown into a fine specimen of reindeer-hood, reaching a rare height and breadth. He'd already been selected to train with an elite team, and had done so for many months. So well had they performed that they were already tapped for first run try-outs for the very prestigious Sector 2.
But today, something snapped in his head. He realized there must be more to life than pulling sleighs and the thought of being strapped into the holsters made him sweat and panic. He actually didn't like pulling sleighs. In addition to the constant running and flying and weight training, reindeer also had to go to finishing classes in deportment, speaking to the press, grooming, antler polishing, and get A's in every class. Brad barely slept for all the work he had to do. And if the coaches didn't like the look of you, you had to pull a fully-loaded sled yourself until you reached launch speed, an exercise which could take hours.
Brad couldn't take it anymore. He had to get out!
His first chance to escape came after drills with Gamma Group. Gamma had 13 reindeer on its roster; Brad had deliberately left his stall a mess, so he was grounded and left to muck out the barracks. As soon as the others were out of sight, Brad grabbed his pack of supplies and ran for the forest.
He ran till he couldn't hear the reindeer camp, or the whistles and alarms that signaled maneuvers. Brad didn't really know what he was doing, but he kept running, scaling rocks, dodging trees. He ran for at least six hours, and the sky was getting gray in the early winter twilight.
Now he was lying on the snow, catching his breath. The snow melted around him, responding to his elevated body heat. The warmed air around him started to steam off his haunches.
Brad hadn't realized he'd been dozing. He must've fallen asleep without realizing it. He woke up cold and shivering in a freezing puddle.
He pawed at one frozen eyelid, breaking the icicles, and opened one eye. Must be loopy ... that rock looks like a small kitty. Heh. He stared at the rock for a long while, marveling at how the lichen grew on it to look just like two pointed ears and whiskers. Then one of the lichen ring spots blinked at him.
Brad leapt up, scattering cold water and ice chunks every which way. The "rock" skittered away -- for it really wasn't a rock -- to avoid the freezing splatter. When he came crashing down to earth again, he saw the black kitty had scrambled up one of the limb-less birch trees.
"Oy! You gave me a fright, you wicked thing!" exclaimed the reindeer.
The kitty was panting hard. Brad realized it was a very thin kitty, and every breath it drew showed it's skinny ribs.
"You a demon of some sort, cat?" Brad was suddenly concerned. He'd heard of snow demons who hid in snowdrifts and trees, waiting for lost victims, to drag them down to Hell. He edged away from the kitty.
"No," mewed the cat, "just a cat. I'm lost. Have been for weeks!" She sounded so frightened that Brad became hyper aware of his size and robust healthiness. He remembered the pack he'd prepared for his escape and opened it. He rooted around and found a meat-like, grain and protein stick of substance and offered it to the cat.
She leapt from the tree and attacked the food stick. Brad stepped back to ensure she didn't voraciously chew on him by mistake.
The kitty finally finished and licked her paw daintily, "Thank you! I haven't eaten in a quite number of days. By the way, I'm Cattica."
Brad nodded, "I'm Brad, great grands-- I mean, I'm Brad."
Cattica looked up at him quizzically, "Great grandson? Like a title? You one of those sleigh-pulling reindeer descended from the first nine?"
Brad looked miserable, and nodded again, once.
"Wow," remarked Cattica, "that's a BIG responsibility. Are you on an orienteering exercise? Or running away from it all?"
The startled reindeer turned sharply to look at the cat. How much does she know?
"Ah," said the Cat, unperturbed, "I understand. Really, I do."
"How could you possibly?"
The black kitty stopped licking and grooming herself and glared at him seriously, "I can fly."
"Hunh?"
She furrowed her brow in concentration, then levitated about a foot off the ground. Spreading her limbs front and back, she glided into a tree. So that's how she got up the limbless tree! marveled Brad.
"H-how did you d-do that????"
Cattica had floated back down to the ground, "Same as you -- genetics. I descend from the couple in the poem that reads, 'The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat ...'
"My responsibility is to continue the line. My parents were both cats, so I have to marry an owl or someone who flies. One was chosen for me, an old, scary owl with a lot of influence. But I'm only two! I don't want to get married yet!"
Brad suddenly understood, "So you ran away?"
Cattica was snuggled up to Brad, who was much warmer than her, "Yes, but I didn't prepare as well as you did. Thanks again for the meal. What are you going to do now?"
The reindeer and the pussycat talked more about their lives, what they were running away from, and what they hoped to accomplish. They walked until they found a dry cave uninhabited by another animal and fell asleep. It had been an exhausting day.
Cattica had stirred from her sleep and was blinking at the spectacle. She whispered, "They must be here for you ... not from my tribe. Wait a moment."
He looked around and noticed Cattica was gone. It happened so suddenly that he wondered if perhaps she'd decided she didn't want his company, or didn't want to be found here with him? He became more frightened, realizing he was all alone.
Many terrifying moments passed before he saw a small, black shape creep into the cave. Cattica spotted him huddled in the back and walked over quickly.
"I talked to one. He said Donella and Vixen the Fourth had broken their legs in an accident. They had taken post position and the sled fell into their back legs! So instead of being "plus one" they're "minus one." They need you back to get the team up to twelve, otherwise they have to collapse down to eight, and they lose Sector 2." The kitten was breathless, "Wow, this is going to be awful for you if you go back, but really awful for them if you don't."
Brad was shocked. He wasn't particularly close to Donella or to Vixen IV, but they were teammates and that they'd gone down in such a common beginner's accident was unthinkable.
He told Cattica that he felt guilty because Vixen IV was the "spare" reindeer on the team, and would have been in Brad's spot once they'd discovered he was gone. But still, he didn't cause the accident, did he? He was lucky to have escaped. In fact, he was justified! Look how dangerous sled-pulling is!
Cattica agreed. Did he want her to go back to the search party and tell them he wouldn't come back? Before Brad could stop her, she sped off to do just that.
She didn't come back for a long, long time, and the short day darkened once more. He stopped hearing the noises outside the cave, and he was worried about his little friend.
He was cold and hungry, but his concern for Cattica outweighed his fear and he ventured out of the cave. He managed to detect in the bright moonlight reindeer hoofprints and a single set of tiny pawprints. It seemed the reindeer spoke to Cattica, and then left; the prints headed back toward the training camp. But where was Cattica? Where were her prints? She was either carried away or had flown away ...
Brad looked up, hoping that she'd flown, but she wasn't anywhere in the trees. He did see something white wedged into the crotch of one tree, about his forehead height up off the ground. He grabbed at it and found it was a note from Cattica.
Brad, they want me to lead them to you. I know you don't want to pull the sleigh, so I'm pretending you're located in the tundra. Run as far as you can away from it! Your friend, C.
Brad was in a panic. He'd just met Cattica, and she was already doing something dangerous to help him out. He felt guilty again ... he never would have done that for Cattica, he didn't think. After all, he had concluded he wouldn't have taken Vixen IV or Donella's places in the sledge accident. Why would he help Cattica if she were in similar trouble? He should just take this opportunity to head away from the tundra, as fast as he could.He didn't have much to pack, so he was on his way quickly. He thought about a lot while he walked, and he was startled to discover that, for the first time, he wasn't thinking about his own escape. He was wondering how the injured reindeer were doing. If their legs didn't heal, what would they do with themselves? Some reindeer, growing old or having been injured, grew depressed. Some even died ...
And what about Cattica? How long could she keep this act up? What would happen to her when they discovered she was just a decoy and leading the search party away from him? He wondered if they would beat her up, or if they'd just abandon her in the tundra. She was so young and so thin, she'd die before she could get back to the forest on her own.
Brad thought about his parents, how proud they were of him when he'd been selected. About his teachers and friends, all taking pride in his success. About all the young reindeer whose eyes shone with envy when he paraded passed them.
The runaway reindeer felt his head bow down with shame. He was being selfish, thinking only of his own suffering and his own desires. Here he was in the middle of the night walking who-knew-where, away from anything and everyone he'd ever known just because he couldn't deal with the training and had freaked out one day. Cattica at least had a good reason to run -- she didn't want to marry an old owl. Her reason was selfish, too, but marriage was a serious thing and she was so young!
Something made him want to stop in the clearing he'd entered. Then a tree stepped in front of him. Demon! thought Brad, scared witless.
"You're not just selfish. You're a bad being. You're coming to Hell with me," whispered the tree, its long limbs reaching for the reindeer.
Brad's legs felt frozen, but he managed to duck under the tree's grab ... just to see another one turn to face him ...
He ran. All around him, he saw the trees and rocks reach out to grab him. Even worse were the phantasms -- he thought he saw the night mists forming into the body of his great-grandfather, then his grandmother, another into his baby sister, who died the day she was born. All accused him, but not of his running away from sled-pulling ... They all started chanting to him. Soon the blood pounded in his head, till all he heard was, "Ca ... tti ... ca ... Ca ... tti ... ca ...."
Brad broke out of the forest into the tundra. The huge expanse of snow and tussock didn't deter him. The cruel winds had long whipped away any trace of the search party's passage, but Brad kept running, hoping to find her.
In truth, Brad was being chased by his own demons of guilt and remorse. He'd suddenly understood that what he was doing was valid, but it wasn't the right way to go about it. He could have talked to Coach Rudolph, or his parents, or his friends. He could have found another way. He didn't need to hurt all the people who had been cheering for him. And he didn't need Cattica's help in his duplicity.
He'd been running for a long, long time when he felt a shift in his weight, as if something had been tossed onto his back. He reared to shake it off, but sharp nails dug into his neck, holding it on.
Brad stopped in a panic, turning to see what it was. To his great surprise, it was Cattica. But she was holding on more out of instinct than conviction -- she looked drawn and tired, and she shivered uncontrollably.
Brad rummaged through his pack, throwing out things, until he had room to put his friend inside. She dropped into the pack with no resistance, cuddled up to a tofu stick and closed her eyes. The reindeer was frightened she was dying, and ran back into the forest, back toward his parents' home.
To her surprise, she found herself at Brad's family home when she woke up. Cattica lost some toes to frostbite, but she was otherwise unharmed.
Brad's mother had placed warm milk and little meat-like patties beside Cattica's bed, in case she woke up hungry in the night. The tofu and tempeh meat-simulators gave her gas, but she otherwise liked them. She realized reindeer were vegetarian, and so this was a big deal for them. She appreciated it.
Cattica's parents had come for her. They were overjoyed to know their daughter was still alive, and regretted arranging her marriage to the old owl. They promised she could choose her own mate in her own time, and that they really would like to keep the flying abilities in the family, but would understand if she chose a more ground-living species to mate with.
Her only regret was that she hadn't seen Brad since she offered to take the search party to the tundra. He was away, negotiating with Coach Rudolph to eventually leave Gamma Team. So far, it looked like Brad would continue to train for the coming season, but would be dropped from the roster on New Year's Day if he still wanted to leave.
Cattica was not unhappy because Brad had gone back to sled pulling, despite her efforts to help him out. She was unhappy because she wanted to tell her parents that she thought she found her life mate, and that he COULD fly! She wanted to be with him, and the thought of him being away from her on Christmas Eve was unbearable. But she didn't think she should say anything to them until she spoke to Brad.
Cattica and her family were in the Coaches' grandstand, invited personally by Rudolph and the other coaches. The teams paraded past the crowds before mounting the runway and, on signal, running to launch speed. It was common for teams to decorate themselves with banners and ribbons, and for family and friends to cheer their success.
Gamma Team went nearly last, being one of the best and largest of the sled teams. The strutted smartly and with precision past the cheering throngs who admired their precision and smart looks. Eschewing gaudy ribbons and banners, the team looked elegant in their spartanness.
Before going to the launch runway, they halted on signal in front of the Coaches' grandstand. Saluting smartly, they were given their signal to proceed. To everyone's surprise, a small furry thing leapt from the stand and landed on Brad, who only flinched slightly. Cattica kissed him on the ear, and held on tightly.
Everyone watched the team of twelve perfect reindeer and one small black kitty fly away into the Christmas sky.
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