Y is for Yuletide
No one was exactly sure who had started the rumor, but over the years it became an entrenched part of Piston Peak kid lore that Chief Blade Ranger was in fact, Santa Claus. Some thought it was due to the helicopter's distinctive color scheme. Other thought it was because Cabbie always delivered their gifts from Santa. If you ever asked the helicopter directly about it, he would deny that he was the man in the red suit. But of course, he would, Santa would be completely overwhelmed with visitors if people knew where he lived.
The children of Piston Peak all swore to maintain Santa's secret. They worked hard to protect not only Santa but also his elves…I mean smokejumpers. Even when the local children were old enough to know that Blade was not in fact Santa, they happily continued to spin tales that only served to convince the younger vehicles that a living legend called Piston Peaks home.
Most of the time, kids did a very good job being discreet with their hero-worship, but every once in a while a particularly young child would approach seeking attention. Blade and his crew were sitting on the tarmac when one such child rolled up.
"Santa?" The kid whispered as they carefully approached Blade.
"Santa?" Lil' Dipper squawked back in confusion.
"The kids here know the secret that Blade is really Santa Claus." Cabbie whispered to Dipper with a conspiratorial wink. It took a moment for the jump plane's words to finally sink into the flying boat's brain, but when it did, she couldn't help but beam at the child.
"Ah…That is so sweet." Lil' Dipper practically gushed, she then turned her full focus and puppy dog eyes on Blade. "Well, Santa, you couldn't possibly disappoint a little kid, could you?"
Blade was pretty sure that he was capable of killing both of the planes on his team at that moment, but he just managed to keep a strained smile on his lips. After shooting an icy glare at his fellow aircraft he mechanical turned to give the small child his full attention.
"Santa?" The little one was looking up at him with eyes full of wonder.
"Shhh." Blade winked. "It is a secret. Can you help me keep that secret?"
The child's eyes got big as they nodded. Then the little vehicle carefully backed away and went looking for their family. For a few brief moments, Blade thought that he had made it through the situation unscathed…but then he saw the kid find their parents and start to happily bounce on their tires.
"Mommy! Daddy! I just meant Santa!"
Blade couldn't hide a wince as the child's squeal of excitement could practically be heard halfway across the park. Cabbie of course seemed to ignore the helicopter's pain and brushed everything off with a chuckle. This only encouraged the Chief to give the oldest member of his team yet another death glare.
"Well, Old Saint Nick." Cabbie clearly had a death wish as he gentle poked Blade with the tip of a wing. "Why don't we head back to the North Pole and see if we can get Elf Blackout to bake us all some cookies."
Blade only response was a faint growl.
Term – Yuletide – Yuletide is a term used to refer to the Christmas Season. Because of its Pagon origins, it often is used in reference to the secular or non-Judeo-Christian aspects of the winter holidays. Major holidays that occur during Yuletide include the winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Years.