Jack grumbled to himself as he walked into the stables. Yes, the stables; where the reindeer were. He had been given the task of taking care of them. The tasks ranged from cleaning the stalls (which Jack was not happy about), grooming, feeding, and making sure they got exercise. Oh yes, Jack's day was going to be wonderful!
"Man…I still don't understand why I got stuck doing this job…the reindeer hate me! Hell, one lunged at me!" Jack threw arms up angrily as he made his way inside the barn.
The six reindeer watched the young spirit from the stalls. Most of them snorted at him and pawed the ground, shaking their impressive antlers in a show of dislike at the boy. Jack crosses his arms and glares at the animals.
"Yeah, yeah. I don't like you either, but unfortunately, I've been given the job of taking care of you guys. Yay me…." Jack rolls his eyes and looks around at the six stalls. He notices gold nameplates across the top of each stall.
"Oh, you have names. Let's see here….Galia, Alik, Urho, Boza, Ryker, and…Petrov." Jack snorts in amusement. "Wow. You guys have some weird names." He walks up to each one and looks them over, being sure to keep a few feet of distance.
Galia was a light-brown, with a dusting of white and gray. He had a sturdy build and was about the height of a large draft horse. His antler's made him look taller and more intimidating, but he seemed to be the calmest out of the bunch. Instead of shaking his antler's at the winter spirit and pawing, Galia stood still. His dark eyes bore into Jack's icy-blues. Jack saw the look as the reindeer's way of saying, 'I don't like you, but I'll tolerate you.' He gave a nod to the creature and walked to the next one.
Alik throws his head as Jack stops a few feet away. He kicks at his stall door, daring Jack to take another step. The deer was slightly taller than Galia, but had the same build. He was a dark grey with piercing blue eyes that could rival Jack's. His legs were solid black, fading into the grey at the knees. Unlike Galia, Alik gave a look of 'This is my territory. Come any closer, there will be consequences' to the spirit and kicks his door again.
"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Jack glares at Alik and walks to the next reindeer. "You don't seem too bad."
Urho stands calmly and relaxed. He perks his ears and looks at Jack with curiosity. Urho was smallest the out of the six reindeer, but still had the stocky build of one. His antlers weren't as dangerous looking as the others, but they could definitely pack a powerful hit if needed. He was a solid white with dark, expressive eyes.
Jack deemed him safe and decided to take a few cautious steps towards the reindeer. He reached his hand out towards Urho, palm face-up and flat. Urho stretches his neck out and sniffs at the offered hand, softly tickling his muzzle against Jack's palm. Jack smiles and pats the deer's head gently.
"Aren't you a brave one. It seems I have one friend amongst you guys." Jack chuckles and pets Urho a few more times before walking off to the fourth reindeer.
Unlike the last three, Boza was, in lack of a better term, downright insane. He swings his head from side to side, hoping to land a hit on Jack with his massive antlers. He snorts, paws, lunges, and kicks, as if he was trying to break the walls down. Jack wouldn't be surprised if he did.
"I want to say that you are the one who lunged at me the first time I was here." Jack gave Boza a disdainful look, which seemed to rile him up more.
Boza was a mix of greys. Darks and lights highlighted muscles, making him look even sturdier than he was. His eyes were a light brown and expressed defiance. Boza was definitely a force to be reckoned with, and Jack knew he had to be extremely careful around him.
Jack took one more look at Boza, and left without another word. He approaches the two remaining reindeer.
They stood with an air of superiority and power, which told Jack that these two were the head reindeer. Both of them were black with shades of grey around their muzzles, eyes, and legs. They were well muscled and they were huge, standing much taller than Galia and Alik. The antlers of both animals put the others to shame.
"Ryker and Petrov, huh? You two seem alright…personality wise that is." Jack looked them up and down, and had to admit that the two creatures in front of him were beautiful. "Unlike Boza over there…" He snuck a glance at the ill-tempered reindeer. The latter pawed angrily.
Jack sneered and turned back to the two in front of him; Ryker to his left, Petrov to his right. Both of them watch Jack with dark, calculating eyes. They didn't like Jack, that much was obvious despite their calmness. Ryker snorts then retreats further into his stall. He wasn't interested anymore. Petrov stays still for a few more seconds before disappearing into his.
"This is going to be a loooong day…." Jack sighs.
Hey guys! This is Lara! While Sam has exams this week, and I don't, I decided to try and write a little story that I've been wanting to write for a while. And that is Jack interacting with North's reindeer. I though it would be funny and interesting. Writing without another person is hard for me because, alone, my writing just kind of sucks :/ So, I get really self-conscious about it. I'm lost without Sam!
Anyways, about the reindeer! I know in the movie, they pretty much all look the same. That's why I made them different colors, except for Ryker and Petrov. I will explain the names, because they do tie in with the personalities of the reindeer. I actually had to look these names up on a baby name website, haha! Also, the reindeer know what Jack is like and capable of. So the dislike comes from him being a trickster and annoying, to fear of knowing what he's capable of with the powers he has.
1. Galia means calm. That's why he's not making a fuss and instead, expressing his dislike towards Jack in his eyes.
2. Alik means defender. Aside from showing dislike towards Jack, he was also being territorial. Hence the way he was acting. The only ones who can get near Alik are North and the yetis.
3. Urho means brave. He is like Galia in that he's calm, but he is the only one who doesn't seem to hate Jack. All the others dislike and fear the winter spirit. Urho is the only one brave enough to trust Jack.
4. Boza means fighter or warrior. I think his personality might be a little self-explanatory. He cannot stand Jack and would do anything to fight him off.
5&6. Ryker and Petrov (yes, like North's horse in the books). I couldn't find any meaning to Ryker, but I thought it looked cool. I made these two the 'head reindeer'. They keep the others in line and on task.
Also, forgive me for I am not en expert on reindeer! So, the descriptions of them are little...eh, but it was the best that I could do. I really hope you guys enjoy this, because I'm looking forward to writing the next few chapters! Each of them are going to be about an individual reindeer and Jack.
Please review and let me know what you think! Please don't be harsh though, like I said before, I'm very self-conscious about my writing abilities.
