Animal Crossing
The Jingle Express
(Laina, Mrs. Jingle, Joy, Noel, Jangle, Karangle, Bangle, Durangle, Narangle, Fandangle, the Tanuki lord and Tan-Xui, Shu-Lin, and Shu-Xui, are © me, but Laina's player is Animal Crossing. All other characters are © Nintendo. )
Fun Note: The 'ancient language' the Tanukies speak below is language I borrowed from Starfox Adventure's Dinosaur language. If you want a translation, find your StarFox Adventures instruction manual to decipher what they are saying. Have fun!
(And of course the Dinosaur language is © Starfox and Nintendo so such)
Chapter 2
Laina waved goodbye to her guest as they left to their homes. Quetzal and Valerie had stayed behind to help her clean up the mess.
"Jingle hates dirty houses." Valerie told her as they walked to the dump with bags of garbage.
Laina nodded, "I know. He said it was one of his pet peeves." She swung the bag around and threw it in the junk pile. Little Valerie just dragged the bags and placed them near the bottom.
They walked back to the house and sat on the front porch watching the snow fall gently from the sky.
Laina asked Valerie, "Have any idea of what you want Jingle to bring you?"
Valerie nodded, "I want a new dolly, a tea set, and the NES Wario's Woods game."
"Wario's Woods, huh? That's a fun game."
"Yeah, except the boys here say that Jingle only gives NES to boys. Is that true?"
"Of course not, Valerie. It's just that more girls your age would ask for a full doll playset or maybe one of those pink playhouse that comes with that cool battery-powered jeep, but your request might be a bit interesting to Jingle; he might find you more unique than other girls and he likes uniqueness."
"You know a lot about Jingle," Valerie smiled, "Almost like you've been best friends forever."
Laina shrugged with a grin, "You could say that."
"But if you do see him," she pulled out an envelope out her pocket decorated with crayon and marker with the words, 'To: Jingle, From: Valerie', on the front,
"Can you give him this letter? I was so excited about him coming and all that I forget to send my list."
Laina smiled and took the envelope with a nod, "Sure thing, hon." She looked up when she heard Wolfgang and his gruff voice calling for Valerie to come back to the house. She waved to her as she left, "Have a merry Christmas, Valerie, and remember Jingle likes good children who are asleep before midnight."
She smirked at the boys who heard her, who were nearby planning to cause more mischief, and hurried home to their relatives' house. She waited until Valerie safely entered her uncle's home before entering her own house.
Her eyes extended and mouth dropped at the mess around her living room/kitchen: napkins overflowed in the trashcan and onto the floor along with smudges from frosting and cream and stuffing and cranberry sauce, chairs were scooted out of place, glasses and juice cups were toppled over, its liquid contents making puddles on the tablecloth and dripping onto the floor, cookie crumbs and empty mugs were left on the coffee table and candy mints and candy canes underneath it, and there was clumps of fruitcake on the wall when the naughty nephews thought it was more fun to throw the cake than eat it.
"Whew…looks like I still have a long way to go." Laina sighed.
"Never fear, fair dear!" Quetzal appeared by the stack of dishes beside, standing with his legs apart and his balled wingtips on his hips, a pose a cartoon superhero would stand in, and wore a pink apron, "for the Elegant Eagle is here!"
Laina blinked, "Quetzal? I thought you went home," then she giggled, "And what are you doing in that apron?"
The gray eagle walked up to her and gave her a light kiss on the cheek, "I couldn't go home knowing you had all this cleaning to do. I couldn't leave you hanging, babe, I just couldn't. Oh, and as for the apron," he tugged it forward so she could get a good look at it, "My mom meant to send it to my sister, but she sent it to me by accident so I thought I would make good use of it."
"It's nice," Laina examined him and slowly shook her head, "But pink is not your color, hon." Quetzal stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed, "Alright. Let's get to work. This room isn't going to clean itself. Although, I wish it would one day."
Laina swept, vacuumed, shampooed, and mopped the floors and picked up trash and dragged bags of it to the dump while Quetzal washed dishes, wiped the counters and table, and washed the stained tablecloths. Quetzal purposely performed physical humor like running into the Christmas tree or slipping and falling on the wet floors to keep Laina perky when the look of doubt and boredom struck her face.
It wasn't quite dark yet when they did get finished with cleaning the house. Laina folded the last clean tablecloth, placed it on the top of the pile of clean laundry, and stored it away in the closet while Quetzal added more firewood to bring the dying fire in the fireplace back to life. The flames increased and it seemed to have a reflection on the shiny, clean floor; everything downstairs appeared to sparkle from cleanliness.
Quetzal sighed as he flopped on the couch and looked down at his wrinkled wingtips, "Now I can see what the big deal is about dishpan wings. My wings feel like prunes."
"They'll return to normal. And thanks for helping me clean up," Laina slumped beside him, "Now Jingle will have nothing to grumble about when he drops down my chimney."
"You talk about Jingle as if he were a real animal," Quetzal chuckled, "You don't actually think he's real, do you?"
Laina replied with an innocent smile, "Just call me a kid at heart. I'm like that around the holidays." She knew the real answer to his question, but she had promised to keep it secret.
Quetzal pulled her close, nuzzling her cheek softly, "That's what I love about you. You're unselfish and caring. You always give, give, and give more than you should."
"Speaking of giving," Laina giggled, blushing from her boyfriend's comments, "What do you want for Christmas?"
Quetzal thought for a moment, then answered, "I would like those new SilverWing Snow Boots. Those are popular around the winter season for eagles but they're so hard for anyone to get their paws…or hands on. So I'll just settle for you." He continued cuddling with his human girlfriend until he was able to take a glance at his wristwatch, "Oh wow, is it that time already? I still have to run to Nookington's to buy gifts, and then I have to finish those Christmas letters to family and friends."
"Can I help?" Laina asked, smiling sleepily.
"Aren't you tired, babe?" The eagle looked down at her worriedly, "You've been planning this party for weeks. Then you had to make so many lists that it made my head spin. Then you had to send out invitations, and then you had to buy the food and drinks and the Christmas tree and decorations for it and the house. Then you had to prepare the house for the party, then cook the food…and I'll just stop there. Just telling you what you had to do is making me tired."
Laina lied as she tried to fight back a yawn, "I'm not quite tired. I had a lot of sugar and I feel like I could help you with your gift shopping and letters, then run around the whole town to burn the weight I gained."
"Yeah, then you would fall flat on your face in the snow. Sugar gives you energy, but not a lot," Quetzal shifted to stand up the couch.
Laina began to fall over, not really awake enough to balance herself on her two feet. Quetzal quickly caught her and stared down at her, "That's it, babe. Bedtime for you. No ifs, ands, or buts." He lifted her off the couch in both arms of his arms and carried her upstairs.
She squirmed lightly in his hold, trying, but failing, to fight against him and her sleepiness. Her bedroom was the only area that was untouched during the party. It was dark as Quetzal walked from the top step and into the room. The only light provided was the orangish-red light rays from the evening sunset, the colorful lights from the four small Christmas trees in the four corners of her room, and the Jingle bedside lap that shone under the red and white-tipped shade.
"But who will walk you home?" Laina asked as her boyfriend laid her in bed and tucked her in, "I don't want anyone to jump on you."
Quetzal chuckled, "I doubt anyone would try to jump on a muscle-bound bird like me and I'll be on the look-out if anyone suspicious is stalking me," he stared in her worried eyes, "Don't worry about me. If it'll make you feel better, I'll have Chief walk with me, alright?"
"Alright." Laina nodded
The gray eagle tried to stand, but her arm was still wrapped around his neck, holding him down. He looked at her with and noticed that she was looking up above and then back at him with a sly smile repeatedly. He looked up and smirked when he saw she held mistletoe above her head with her free hand. He leaned forward and she sat up until their lips pursed together, lip locking into a passionate kiss.
They both reluctantly pulled back and smiled lovingly at each other. "Come by tomorrow and we'll open gifts together," Laina hugged Quetzal, "Goodnight, lovebird."
"Goodnight, babes." Quetzal kissed her on the forehead and left the room, not noticing as Laina playfully admired his tail feathers as he walked downstairs. She heard the fire sizzling as he poured water into the fireplace, the click of the light switch and the power button to the stereo as he turned them off, and the slow opening and closing and soft click of the front door as he left the house. She groggily untied her red hair ribbons from her hair and placed them on the bedside table before turning off the light and falling asleep.
It didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep. A smile began to curve on her face as she dreamt of a wedding for her and Quetzal. It was spring and cherry blossom petals blew every which way in the light breeze as Laina, dressed in a flowing, white wedding gown, walked up to the altar at the wish well. On her right sat her family, her mother in the front and her eyes filled with happy tears and on her left were friends from her old home town and the Anime 4 village.
Quetzal, dressed in a white tuxedo, was standing by the altar and watched her smiling as she came down the aisle. She smiled in return behind her veil as she stood next to him.
Mayor Tortimer began the wedding, reading from the book. After exchanging vows and rings, the mayor/preacher said the words the two have been waiting so long to hear, "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Laina's face veil came up and the two slowly neared each other's pursed lips until they came together. Although this was a dream, the kiss seemed so real; she could actually feel his lips, but strangely...instead of feathers, she felt fur.
She slowly opened her eyes and stared at a mysterious furry critter that she was in a lip-lock to. Out of fright, she screamed and jumped up. She frantically looked around the dark bedroom, clinging to the blankets. She shakily pulled on the light switch, brightening the room once again, and made her way toward the fireplace, reaching for the poker and holding it tightly in both hands, ready to strike at whatever leapt at her.
"Who's there?" She shakily cried out, "Come out slow and we won't have any problems." She thought she saw a shadow move and whirled around when she heard something skittering behind her, but saw nothing.
A loud knock from downstairs startled Laina, making her jump with a yelp. She made her way downstairs, wrapping her robe around herself, and slowly opened the front door still holding the poker in her other hand, "Hello?"
Quetzal immediately grabbed her in a tight embrace, "Laina, are you alright? I heard you screaming from next door." he asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Laina panted as she looked around shakily, "I thought I ki-...saw something weird."
The eagle walked inside, closing the door to keep the cold out, and gently rubbed her back, "You must've had a terrible dream, that's all." He nuzzled her soothingly and rubbed from her shoulders to her arms.
Laina wished she could tell Quetzal about the dream she had of them getting married, but she was still in shock and disturbed about what happened after she woke up so she just leaned her head on his chest, still searching around in the dark warily; she knew that wasn't part of her dream.
"Let's try to go back to sleep," he cooed into her ear while leading her upstairs, "I'll keep you safe."
She started to feel a bit better and smiled with a nod, "Okay."
Laina crawled back in bed while Quetzal lit the bedroom fireplace. The bed was too small for two people to lie in, but it didn't matter to him. He was able to scoot onto the edge and pulled her close to him. He gently stroked her hair again slowed to a stop when fell he asleep. Laina closed her eyes, but didn't fall asleep just in case. She suddenly felt a presence in the room and jolted her eyes open to see the furry creature again.
Before she could yell out, a green paw covered over her mouth. "Please let's not restart that again." It said, speaking in a male voice.
Laina quickly turned around to wake Quetzal up and was shocked to see another furry animal, this one pink, having its fingers in the eagle's ear holes. She turned back to the green animal and frowned, "Who are you? What do you want?" She followed it with her eyes as it walked in front of the dim light from the fireplace, showing that it was a green firefox.
"My name is Noel. And the pink firefox is my twin sister, Joy." Laina looked at the second firefox, able to separate the darkness from her eyes, to look at Joy. She waved to Laina with her tail since her paws were being used right now.
Noel continued, "Laina, we have an urgent message from Jingle. He needs your help."
It finally all made since to Laina now on who these creatures were and how they got into her house and she nodded, "But let's talk downstairs. I don't wanna freak Quetzal out."
The two red pandas nodded. Noel was the first to disappear downstairs. Joy's fingers made a popping sound when she pulled them out of the eagle's ears and he jolted awake. She hurried downstairs without making a sound.
"What now?" The bird looked around with sleepy eyes and saw Laina sitting up again, "Another bad dream?"
She shook her head, "I was…uh…just going downstairs for some peppermint tea. Want me to make you a cup?"
"Sure. Thanks, hon." He gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek before lying back down.
Laina tiptoed downstairs and saw the firefoxes sitting on one of the couch in the corner. Instead of turning on the light, she re-lit the fireplace, brightening up the room.
"Before we speak," Joy waved her feet from side to side, "Were you really gonna make something to eat? We came a long way, you see, and we're hungry."
Laina smiled as she served them a few leftovers from dinner and two mugs of quick-to-make hot cocoa. She sat on the couch opposite from them, "So, I'm guessing you guys our Jingle's toy builders."
"Yeah. We help Jingle make toys for the children every Christmas," then Joy's ears lowered, "Or, we used to."
"Used to?"
"Jingle's in trouble," Noel explained after sipping at his hot chocolate, "His older brother, Jangle, and his wife and kids have taken all the gifts and stolen Jingle's warmth from his heart."
Laina blinked, "Jangle? Jingle has a brother? I never knew he had siblings."
Joy nodded, "Jangle has never been mentioned. He's just so dark, he can't be mentioned. Jingle and Jangle are like yin and yang, kind of like me and my brother; even though we look the same, we do different things like while he eats just plain peanut butter and
jelly sandwiches, I like to add pickles and catsup to mine."
Noel looked at his sister in embarrassment while Laina giggled. "What my sister is trying to say is Jingle and Jangle are opposites; while Jingle is a symbol of joyfulness and brings happiness in everyone's heart, Jangle has anger and sadness and strikes fear to anyone that crosses his path."
"That's sounds awful," Laina replied, "Why is Jangle so dark?"
"No one knows. Not even Jingle himself, but I guess the green monster took over his mind," Noel slammed his fist on the couch arm, "Jangle used his magic and now he has Jingle shivering like a wet otter on top of a mountain and Jangle's gonna let his kids wreck all the toys that he stole so that no child gets a gift this year."
"And not only will all the toys be destroyed, but also all of the children's wishes, Jingle's reputation, and just Christmas period." Joy added sadly.
Laina's face darkened, "That's just cruel…no, that's lower than cruel. Stealing away children's happiness for his selfish greed and hate. He's gotta be stopped."
Noel smiled, "So you will accompany us on our journey to Jangle's Ice Castle, yes?"
"And do what?" Laina blinked, "I'm not exactly Super Girl or Wonder Woman here."
"But you must come with us," Joy grabbed her hand, "We'll think of something along the way. Mrs. Jingle wouldn't have told us to come to you if she knew she'd put your life in danger."
"Mrs. Jingle's here? Where is she?" Laina asked.
Noel quickly replied, "She's on the train with Jingle now."
"Train? But I didn't hear-" Laina was becoming a bit puzzled now.
"We'll explain everything on the way," Noel looked at her seriously, but pleadingly, "Now are you coming or not?"
Laina was silent for awhile, and then let out a deep sigh, "Alright, I'll come. We'll probably think of a plan. But what about Quetzal? I can't just leave him without saying anything."
"And you understand about keeping Jingle's presence a secret," Noel watched as the girl nodded, "So you cannot tell him where you are going and we certainly can't take him with us."
"Then what can I do?" Laina shrugged, "I'm very well known around here so if I went missing without a trace, he would have the whole town looking for me."
The three brainstormed until Joy jumped up with a gleeful shout. Without saying a word, she went out into the cold and came back moments later with a small pouch.
Noel stopped her, "Whoa, Joy! How'd you get that? You know better than to snoop around in Jingle's Bag-O-Tricks."
"He left his trick bag on the train. Remember he almost forgot it last year and promised himself this year that it would be the first thing he would load on the train. Besides, brother, we have no choice if we want her to come with us." Joy gave the bag to Laina, "This is Jingle's sleeping sand. He sprinkles this to keep from being spotted by children who are still awake, but it's useful on adults too."
Laina opened the bag and looked in it. The sand was shiny and silver like glitter, "How can I give it to him without revealing it? I'm not very good at acting unsuspicious."
Suddenly, Quetzal's voice came downstairs, scaring Noel and Joy behind the couch, "You okay down there with the tea, Laina?"
"Tea?" She had almost forgotten the excuse she made up to come downstairs. The tea kettle started to whistle and she sighed in relief, "I'll be up in the minute, Quetzal."
She poured the hot water in a mug and added the tea bag, "Can I mix the sleeping sand in liquid?"
"Sure. It's tasteless and it'll dissolve in the tea. It should kick in as soon as he drinks it. Allow me." Noel held the bag and took a measuring cup, inspecting it as he scooped up the magic sand little by little.
Joy mentioned to him, "Careful, Noel, if you put too little in his drink, he'll only be asleep for a few seconds. Try adding a little more."
"I know what I'm doing, sis," he snapped at her, "And this is too much. This could put him to sleep for 10 years or longer."
Laina laughed nervously and took the bag and cup, "Why not let me do it? I'm pretty good with measurements."
After finding the right amount of sleeping sand, she poured it in the mug and stirred it with the tea. She made her way upstairs with the tea and Noel and Joy sat halfway up the stairs so they could hear everything.
Quetzal smiled as she set the tea down next to him, "Everything went okay down there?"
"Yeah, I got a little frustrated looking for the tea bags." She sat down next to him, "Try some. I even added another ingredient to make it taste better."
"Really? Sweet! The mint is tasty, but its strong taste does a nasty number to my tongue." Quetzal took the mug in his wings and took a good drink of the tea.
Laina watched as he surprisingly drunk the whole thing, but he looked unaffected by the sleeping sand.
"Hmm...it tastes the same. Are you sure you put enough of the ingredient in the tea?" He asked, wiping his mouth with his arm.
She laughed nervously, remembering Noel and Joy's consequences adding too little or too much of the magic sand, "I'm sure of it."
He nodded and smiled, "Well, it taste the same, but better since you made it." But he suddenly felt extremely tired and he fell on Laina and he groaned sleepily.
Laina sighed quietly in relief when she saw the sleeping sand was taking effect. "I love you so much," he almost whispered as his eyelids drooped, "Do you know that?"
She smiled, "Of course, I know that because I love you just as much." She kissed him on his forehead and rubbed on his arm until she felt him slip into a deep sleep. She propped him into bed and tucked him in and kissed him one last.
Noel and Joy waited for Laina downstairs as she dressed. Even though darkness was approaching, they couldn't risk of being seen outside. Laina came down the steps dressed in a Jingle shirt, the only shirt that could be given by Jingle himself. Laina smiled, "I thought I'd dress for the occasion."
"Yeah, whatever. Let's just go now." Noel opened the door and they were greeted by a rush of cold air. Before stepping outside, Laina walked over to the stand next to the piano, picked up Valerie's envelope to Jingle, and slipped it in her inner shirt pocket.
As they walked toward the train station, Laina looked over her shoulder at her home, staring straight up at her bedroom window where Quetzal laid asleep, "I hope he'll be okay. I hope he doesn't wake up too soon and find out I'm gone."
"No worries," Joy waved a paw, "You put the right amount so he should be asleep all night or at least until you get back. You two sure love each other lots. You two should marry."
Laina smiled, "I've been thinking a lot about that."
"I do know this," Noel chuckled and blushed, "That eagle sure is lucky with a kisser like you."
"Let's just pretend that didn't happen." Laina replied as she blushed, more of embarrassment.
They walked up to the empty train station. Porter had retired down in his home under the train station for the long winter nap. Laina looked around, "So what are we waiting for?"
Joy glared at Noel, "We're waiting for my brother to find the remote to take the cloaking device off of Jingle's train."
Noel grumbled as he dug through his pockets and finally pulled out a green colored, two-button remote control. He pushed the red button and something big and red began to slowly appear in front of them.
Laina watched in amazement as the Jingle train developed before her eyes. She heard stories about it, but of course, never saw it in real life.
Noel pushed the next button and the door to the cabin opened, "All aboard. Next stop: Jangle's Ice Castle." Laina followed the two inside and looked around at the RV-like locomotive until she found herself staring into the bedroom.
She saw a female reindeer that wore the same clothes and having the same starry-eyed glint in her gaze just like Jingle, sitting next to the bed, looking at a covered lump in the bed, "Mrs. Jingle?" She walked into the room and noticed how incredibly warm it was in the room, almost boiling hot.
The reindeer looked up when her name was called and smiled gently, "Hello there. You must be Laina," she stood up and bowed politely, "It is nice to finally meet you. My husband has told me so much about you."
"It's nice to meet you too," Laina bowed back, "Jingle's told me about you and about your fabulous cooking," she laughed, then looked around, "Where is Jingle, by the way? Noel and Joy said that he-."
A loud sneeze startled her and noticed the blanketed lump moving. Mrs. Jingle motioned Laina to come by her side. Laina stood beside her and watched as Mrs. Jingle pulled the blankets back. Jingle was curled in a ball, shivering even violently since he was uncovered. He was looking blue in the fur from the cold and frost began to grow on his antlers, eyebrows and eyelashes, the tip of his nose, and upper and lower part of his lips.
Laina gasped, jumping back against the wall, and covered her mouth with both hands, "Th-that's Jingle?"
Mrs. Jingle unwillingly nodded, "Jangle has taken the warmth from his heart and, without it, my poor husband is becoming cold inside and out."
"Yeah, Noel told me about it, but I didn't think he would be this bad," Laina began to feel distressed and helpless just staring at him, "Can he hear well?"
Mrs. Jingle covered her husband back up, "Yes, he can. Would you like to say something to him?"
Laina nodded and moved over so that her mouth was right over Jingle's ear, "Jingle, don't worry everything's going to be alright."
"L-Laina? Is that you?" Jingle responded shakily, weakly opening his eyes, "Wh-what are y-y-you doing here?"
Laina smiled, "I'm here to help get the present and your heart back."
"What's the point?" Jingle curled up in a tighter ball, "It's too dangerous for you to confront Jangle, Laina. And even if you do win against my brother, it'll be too late: by that time, all the children will wake up to see no presents under their tree and I'll already be siding with my brother. You're just a silly little girl anyway. Why don't you just turn around and get off the train now?"
"Jingle!" Mrs. Jingle's mouth opened in shock, then turned to Laina, "Laina, Jingle doesn't really mean-"
"Silly little girl?" Laina arched an eyebrow, "You sure didn't think that when I helped you last year. Last year, you stopped into my town and you were confused because someone in my town had stolen your maps. We went through thick and thin to get all 10 maps back and even confronted the main culprit himself. Sure, I was scared and I was unconfident, but you believed in me. Your assurance in me gave me courage and we were able to get the maps back and put that last year bully on the naughty list permanently."
Mrs. Jingle smiled, seeing that this girl still had her bravery and confidence within her. Laina took Jingle's cold paw in her hand, his freezing, almost-frozen hoof didn't seem to affect her much, "You never gave up on me and now, I won't give up on you. I'm coming with you, we're going to get those gifts back, and we're going to get your heart back as well, do you understand? Jangle's not winning this battle or any other battle that he throws at you. You're stronger than him than you know. Just fight against the cold as long as you can and don't give up, do you hear me?"
Jingle didn't respond, still shuddering under the blankets. Laina and Mrs. Jingle feared that he had gotten even colder by the speech, but he responded by slowly wrapping his fingers around Laina's tightly and spoke softly, "I promise…to keep fighting for as long as I can."
Laina smiled and released his paw to let him slide it back under the warm covers. Mrs. Jingle almost teared up seeing so much self-assurance in Laina. Noel and Joy were watching with wide-eyes from the doorway.
"Wow, I guess I take all that back about you being an ordinary human," Noel said, rubbing the back of his head, "You're the first human I've seen in awhile with a good and strong heart."
Joy giggled, "I told you, big brother, now do you think we could get going now before someone sees us? We won't get to Jangle's castle anytime soon by staying here."
Noel glared at his sister and made his way to the train engine. Feeling sure that Jingle was alright and feeling too warm, Laina moved out of the bedroom and into the living room area.
Joy pointed over to the couch and television set that hung on the ceiling in front of it, "Now you just make yourself comfortable and we'll be on our way to save Christmas."
The train jerked forward as it began to move and Laina fell onto the couch because of the unexpected movement. She sat up and looked through the window as the town seemed to move out of her sight. The last thing she saw was her house, and her room window still dark, before they went through the tunnel.
The sun sat halfway over the horizon, leaving the sky a bluish-gray with white fluffy clouds, but the sky began to darken as Jangle and his family passed over. His dozen of loyal packs of shadow dogs barked and bellowed as they ran on both sides or behind him, excited that they were nearing their home.
Jangle's icy abode began to appear from over the snowy hills. Using his frost magic and the snow and ice around him, he created the castle for him and his wife and he added more rooms when his children were born.
It was a massive building surrounded by large solid blocks of white ice and it stood in the middle of a humongous, flat frozen podium of ice that stood in the middle of a freezing-cold ocean. Tall, icy barred fences were placed on the outskirts of the castle just in case someone with the flying ability could make it over or if an intruder was able to walk on the clear, iced drawbridge.
Jangle made his cloud descend until it hovered just a few inches off the ground and it flew over the lowered ice drawbridge and through the frozen gates. As Jangle helped his wife and children off the black caravan cloud, the drawbridge slowly rose up and the gate closed, keeping intruders from entering the premises.
As his shadow dogs carried the gifts inside to their ice tree, Bangle, Durangle, Fandangle, and Narangle danced around their father's feet.
Narangle squealed, "Oh daddy, this is gonna be the best Christmas we ever had!"
"This is gonna be the only Christmas we ever had…stupid Nara." Bangle griped.
Fandangle pushed Bangle down into the snow, "You leave Nara alone, Bang."
"Go jump off a bridge, Fandan." Durangle grabbed on his brother by his small antlers.
Before you knew it, the children were pouncing and tackling each other, arguing and clawing wildly.
"Children, children!" Karangle clapped her paws to break up the fight. When that didn't work, she grabbed two small arms in one paw and another two in her other, "You stop this fighting right now or I'll have your father dispose of these toys immediately!"
"Now, now, dear, where's your holiday spirit?" Jangle helped his wife off of her knees, "The children are just excited about tomorrow morning, that's all. Why don't you get them ready for bed?"
"Very well," Karangle sighed, "You heard your father: upstairs with all of you. Morning won't get here any faster if you're still up and about."
She shooed her children inside the house. The foyer/living room area (just like the rest of the house) was entirely made of (you guessed it) snow and ice that would never seem to melt or chip and it didn't seem to affect Jangle or his wife and children.
As she hurried them upstairs, she heard something rolling and it bumped against her hoof. She looked down and saw what looked to be a toy telescope, "What's this?" she asked as she picked it up, "Looks like one of them got to one of the presents a bit early."
Jangle looked over the telescope and noticed Jingle's insignia on the side of it, "This is a magic telescope that my brother used to check up on all those brats waiting for him," he snickered as he peered through the eyepiece, looking at all the eager children already heading inside for evening, taking off their snow clothes and sitting near the fireplace or space heater while sipping hot cocoa.
"They think their merry reindeer is going to come with their precious presents," Karangle chuckled darkly, "They'll all find out wrong when morning comes 'round." She turned to head into the bathroom, hearing a lot of splashing and arguing going on, but she turned back to face her husband when he gasped loudly in displeasure and shock, "What's the matter?"
Jangle growled through his teeth as he saw a red and white train pulling small sleigh cars making its way up and over the mountain area, "Jingle's train! I-it's in motion! And it's taking the tracks that'll lead it here!"
"But that's impossible!" Karangle snatched the telescope away and looked through the eyepiece herself, also seeing Jingle's train moving on the tracks, "You put Jingle out of commission. How could he be controlling the train?"
Jangle took the telescope back, looking through it again, and smirked, "He's not. If he was driving it-." He zoomed in on cabin of the locomotive, "Looks like two of his helpers are heading our way…I see my sister-in-law trying to comfort her husband…but who's that pink-haired human girl?"
Jangle zoomed in specifically on Laina, who was chatting with Joy on hair tips, so his wife could see. "Humans," Karangle shuddered, "Such questionable and mysterious beings. Bleh…I don't see how they can go around in their smooth and furless flesh-"
"Hold on. Jingle's heart," Jangle took out the ice case that held Jingle's warm heart and watched it glow brightly and felt it vibrate in his grasp, "It seems to be beating. Looks like all of them, including the human, are very important to him. They must be on their way to try to get this and the gifts back."
Karangle laughed, "What a joke. They're actually gonna try to go against us? A group made of an ordinary reindeer who barely knows magic, a human girl, and two helpless helpers going against the king of the coldest heart and his ice queen. They'll be no match for us."
"Still…ordinary people can do extraordinary things," Jangle rubbed his chin as he began to think.
"Then let's go and freeze up the tracks," Karangle followed him upstairs to their crystallized bedroom.
Jangle shook his head, "That would be too easy. Right now, I'm too exhausted to fly out now that I'm in the comfort and safety of our home. And I would rather wake to hear the world's animal children sobs and cries and not miss the excited and playful look on my children's faces as they do whatever they pleased with all their new toys. Maybe I'll send my shadow dogs out to do the dirty work for me and give those meddlers a challenge that they will never pass."
Karangle was combing her long white hair, the only part of her that made others think she was pure and innocent, "What do you have in mind, Jangle? A vicious snowstorm with high and speedy winds and never-ending, falling snow?"
"A snowstorm is child's play, my dear," Jangle replied as he peered out the window through the telescope, getting Jingle's train in his sights again, "One of the children could think of that. No, no, I plan to do worse than a snowstorm. Hm…it seems they're heading for a native village of some sort in the mountains. That place is a checkpoint for my brother while he's doing his delivery rounds."
"A native, mountain village? That has to be a Tanu Village," Karangle said as she tied her hair up in crystal clip bows that her husband made for her for their anniversary, "Tanukies live in Tanu Villages in the immense areas. Before we were married, I enjoyed blowing brutal hailstorms or rolling avalanches on their homes or causing ice to crack and collapse under their feet when they go ice fishing, but now that I have you and the kids to look after, I haven't had any spare time to do that anymore. I'd wish I could do that all over again."
Jangle watched through the telescope as they neared the village and smirked evilly, "Then how would you like it if I made your wish come true?" He put the telescope down and let out a sharp whistle that made his wife jump.
Two black clouds moved across the sky toward Jangle's window. Slowly, they formed into two smoky-like, pearl-eyed shadow dogs and galloped across the sky. They flew into their master's room and obediently sat down without being told to do so, looking up at Jangle and waiting for him to issue a command to them.
Jangle patted the both of them on the head, "My loyal pets, I want you to make my precious wife happy," he smirked as he strapped a small bag around one of their collars, "Cause an 'accidental' avalanche on the Tanu village and, by any means necessary…stop that train."
"Yay! We're here! We're here!" Joy excitedly leaped from the couch and skipped into the bedroom to tell Mrs. Jingle.
Her thrilled squeal made Laina jolt awake from her sleep, "We're here where?" The train wheels shrieked as Noel pulled on the brakes, making Laina once again fall onto the floor from the sudden stop.
The Tanukies, who looked liked half dog, half raccoon creatures, were huge creatures who tend to live the old-fashioned way like living in sturdy huts and holding outdoor ceremonies during the holidays to keep their tradition alive, but the Tanukies have been allies of Jingle since he first began his selfless giving during Christmas many years ago and helped him out during his journey whether it was to give him shelter from a blinding blizzard or a warm meal to keep his tummy happy so his train was no strange thing to them.
Seeing the red and white locomotive pull up just a few yards away from their village, the Tanuki cubs ran towards it, giggling happily and excitedly. Some of the too excited ones headed to the sleigh cars and wondered why it was empty. The children were joined by their parents and grandparents and waited eagerly for Jingle to step out.
The door creaked open slowly, but instead of the jolly ol' reindeer, a female reindeer stepped out dressed warmly in a red and white winter parka. The children were far from disappointed as they greeted Mrs. Jingle with hugs and questions asking what had happened to Jingle and how come the sleighs were empty.
"One at a time, one at a time, children." Mrs. Jingle laughed gleefully as she tried to hug the children all at once.
Joy and Noel were immediately greeted by tight hugs by the younger cubs. Joy giggled and hugged back while Noel gagged, feeling as if he was losing oxygen.
Laina stepped out in her Jingle jacket and all Tanukies eyes were on her. She looked around nervously as she stepped down onto the ground. The Tanukies stared at this new creature either stepping back in slight fear or staying in their places and gazing on in curiosity.
Mrs. Jingle looked around and saw the uncomfortable looks on the Tanukies' faces, "Don't worry. She is our friend."
"Yes, I come in peace." Laina raised her hands and smiled timidly.
Understanding her and Mrs. Jingle, the older Tanukies smiled back and bowed a hello to her. The Tanuki cubs were still shy and on their guard. One of them eyed her treat bag that stuck out of her pocket and licked her lips hungrily. Laina saw the cub's glance, pulled out a peppermint stick, and handed it to her. The Tanuki cub took it slowly and slyly and began gnawing on it. Laina smiled and the other cubs saw that the new being was harmless and especially nice.
"I must speak with your Tanuki lord," Mrs. Jingle said to one of the villagers, "It is very urgent."
The Tanukies nodded and lead Mrs. Jingle and company toward the huts hidden behind the trees. "What about Jingle?" Laina asked.
Noel replied, "He should be alright. He's not going anywhere right now in his condition and trains come down these tracks once every blue moon."
The cub, that Laina offered the candy to, tugged on her hand and led her with her family to their village which was protected by a tall bamboo fence. The villagers' huts were round with circular, wooden sturdy walls and hay and straw covered roofs with a trail of smoke coming out of the hole in the middle of them. Tanuki families were decorating their homes and the rest of the village with red, white, and green flowers attached to leafy green yards of garland.
They were escorted to the Tanuki lord's hut, the largest hut that sat right in the middle of the village and had a large fire bonfire going just a few feet in front of it. "They must be preparing for their ceremonial dance. They always do performances on holidays like Christmas to ensure a safe and happy holiday and a better one in the future." Mrs. Jingle explained to Laina and the twins.
Past the pelt-curtain door and into the warm hut, they stood in front of the Tanuki lord. His fur was a light gray with a white belly, paws, muzzle, and a black and white striped tail. He had a very plump belly; Laina was amazed of how he could stand up from his throne so easily. His crown was a silver headband with small diamonds embedded around the front and side and a large one right in middle in the front.
He supported himself on a tall and strong wooden cane, the curved tip supported a small netted bag holding a small sack, a glass bottle of water, and another bottle full of a mysterious blue contents. Laina guessed it as either being the Tanukies lord medicine or perhaps an herbal wine.
Mrs. Jingle signaled to Laina and Joy and Noel to follow her movements as they walked to stand in front of him. She bowed and the three did the same. "It is so nice to see again, Tanuki lord," Mrs. Jingle said, "It has been a very long time since we've seen each other."
The words that villagers' leader said shocked and confused Laina as he spoke, "Ak xuj. No nocsemo oei rusb, Madam Jingle, udt no nocsemo oeih wiockc uj nocc."
"Do these people speak French," Laina whispered to Mrs. Jingle, "Or was that Japanese? Or Swedish?"
Mrs. Jingle laughed softly, "The Tanukies speak in an ancient language so old that it's nearly forgotten. They have been speaking in this tongue for thousand and thousands of years, but they can understand both their own and our English language."
Laina nodded and turned her head, her eyes greeting the close-up, brown eyes of the Tanuki lord. She jumped back in surprise and fell on her rear on the earthen floor, blinking rapidly up at him.
The Tanuki lord chuckled, "Je Jingle aj den omfceoadw ximud xocfohj?"
Mrs. Jingle helped Laina to her feet, "This is Laina, one of Jingle's very good friends. And we have her here with us for a reason," her face turned from a normal to a solemn expression, "You might want to take a seat, my lord. It's quite a story."
The Tanuki lord took his seat back on his throne, listening closely and making facial expression as Mrs. Jingle told about Jangle, how he locked all of them in the workshop and stole all the gifts and Jingle's warm heart, why Laina was with them, and how they traveled so far.
Then Mrs. Jingle concluded, "My poor husband is on the train right now. We are doing our best to keep him warm, but he will not return to normal until we get his warm heart."
The Tanukies who were listening outside the hut spoke to each other with fear and panic in their voices. The Tanuki lord stroked his small beard with a serious look on his face, "Kxuk aj ud unvic udt kohharco fhotasumodk udtoot. Uckxeiwx oeih zeihdoo xuj edco rewoud, oei nacc xulo ucedw kxo nuo. A zijk suddek faskiho u Christmas nakxeik Jingle…udt A nacc dek uccen kxuk ke xuffod. Aj kxoho udonuo kxuk mo foefco udt sud xocf? Muoro edo ev mo nuhhajh sud ujjajk oei?"
"Thanks for your concern and offer to help us, my lord, but this is a journey we must go on alone," Mrs. Jingle replied, "We know your warriors are strong and determined in battle, but I do not know what I would do if one of them got seriously hurt. After all, you are all like family to us."
As Mrs. Jingle and the Tanuki lord continued their conversation, Joy looked up at Laina and saw her face stuck with a look of confusion added with an arched eyebrow. The pink firefox giggled, "What's wrong, Laina?"
"…I still don't get what he's saying. Mrs. Jingle can understand him as if he were speaking English." she whispered to Joy.
"Jingle and Mrs. Jingle have studied their languages since they first met the Tanuki villagers, specifically this one," Noel explained, his green and white ears twitching, "Although they have some difficulty speaking the Tanuki tongue, they can understand. Sometime after Christmas, when Jingle first met the Tanukies, he taught them the English language for weeks and weeks but, just like the couple, they can only translate it by ear, not speak it."
Mrs. Jingle got to her feet, "Well, we better get going. Thanks for your hospitality and kindness."
"Uk coujk jkuo vej kuo sohomedo," The village leader walked over to the door, pulling the curtain back and showing the villagers were putting more firewood in the rising bonfire and villagers dressed in costumes with long, red and white feathers and sewn-on beads and sequins, "No nacc olod fhojodk u tudsadw hakiuc ke eih Tanuki jfahakj ke fcouco kxom udt ke xocf oei udt wiato oei veh oeih zeihdoo."
Joy jumped up and down, clapping, "A dancing ceremony? Oh please, Mrs. Jingle, can we stay and watch? Just for a little while?"
"We do have to give the locomotive time to cool down. If it overheats, there could be dire consequences," Noel said, "Besides, it's still early, Jingle's not going anywhere, the heat's on all over the cabin, and we can tell if Jangle's coming. Who knows, we might need this dance and the Tanukies spirits later on our travel."
Mrs. Jingle smiled a bit, "Alright, but only for a short while."
Joy cheered as she ran out the hut and found a seat on one of the shaved logs, seats positioned around the large fire. Mrs. Jingle and Noel followed the Tanuki lord to his seat. Laina came out the hut last and leaned against the wall, standing in a contemplative pose.
Noel turned to her, seeing her thinking rather hard, and went up to her, "Are you alright, Laina?"
She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. I think I got their language all figured out. I remember playing a video game that used a made-up language and maybe if I use that, they can understand me."
"If you say so." Noel shrugged with a smile as he took a seat next to Mrs. Jingle.
As Laina tried to decipher the coded foreign language in her head, a young feminine voice made her turn in its direction, "U ximud? Xen jkhudwo…ook vujsadukadv."
A female Tanuki stood in front of her. She was a womanly, inverted version of the Tanuki lord; she was white-furred with light gray paws, belly, and a white and gray striped tail and she was skinny. She wore a sling on her shoulder that was attached to a bag that was close to her chest. She also wore the same banded crown as the Tanuki lord, but it only had one, medium-sized diamond in the front.
It didn't take long for Laina to realize that the Tanuki girl was the Tanuki lord's daughter and princess of the village. Tensely, she bowed to the Tanuki girl and attempted to speak in her language as best as she could, "Xa…uhm…quf kxo suk?"
The Tanuki princess blinked a few times and laughed aloud. "Would it be easier if I just spoke in English?" She asked.
"Was I that bad?" Laina winced.
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Well, at least you were honest."
"I apologize if I seem shy," the Tanuki girl bowed back, "You are the first human I have ever seen? What is your name?"
"Laina, and I come from the animal village of Anime to help Jingle."
The Tanuki girl ears lowered, "Yes, I have heard of what has happened to poor Jingle. It is very sad indeed. I hope you all succeed in getting the gifts and his heart back. And excuse my bad manners, my name is Tan-Xui."
"Nice to meet you, Tan-" Laina caught Tan-Xui's bag wriggling slightly and took a step back, "You have an attack dog in there or something?"
"It's just Shu-Xui." Tan-Xui giggled and opened the bag a little, showing her newborn cub. The dark-browned furred baby whimpered as he was exposed to the cold.
Laina's brown eyes lit up, "Aww! He's so cute! Who's the lucky father?"
"How about I talk to you more while we sit in a better seat to look at the dancing ritual?" Tan-Xui walked around to the back of her home.
Laina followed her, "What seat could be better than right in front of the event?" She stopped at a ladder and saw Tan-Xui climbing up toward the roof. She climbed up the ladder and crawled after her on the roof, amazed of how strong and sturdy the straw-covered roof was, until she was sitting next to her and looking down at the costumed Tanukies dancing around the fire, chanting their song of praise, protection, and good luck.
"Wow, this is a much better view," Laina sat at the edge, putting one leg over the other, "Are any of those male Tanukies your husband?"
Tan-Xui closed up the bag, but left a hole big enough for her child to get oxygen, and gently rocked the baby back to sleep, "Sadly, no. I have not seen my husband in almost two years now."
"What happened?" Laina looked up with worry, "If it's too personal, you don't have to tell me."
Tan-Xui looked up toward the light blue and orange sky, "My husband name is Shu-Lin. He was one of my father's greatest at the same age I once was and the sweetest and most loving Tanuki that I've ever met. Two years ago, he asked for my father for my hand in marriage and he accepted. We were wedded almost immediately. A few months after, I was pregnant Shu-Xui. A lot of terrible things were happening before our child was born; we had hailstorms so bad it shattered our rooftops and we had so many blizzards, we almost lost our men in a hunting trip and an avalanche engulfed our last village and we had to build a new one that took months to reconstruct. One day, our village telepath saw that the village was being attacked by an animal that have practiced frost magic and was using it against us to entertain her."
"Her? Frost magic?" Laina frowned, "Sounds like the work of Jangle's wife, Karangle."
Tan-Xui nodded, "Shu-Lin decided to hunt her alone to ensure the safety of not only Shu-Xui, but for the future of the whole village. He left for his hunt and I was only many days away from giving birth. He promised me he would return before Shu-Xui's birth…but he never returned. Some of the villagers try to dishearten me by saying that the awful snow queen froze him to death or that he was cowardly and living a hermit's life, too ashamed to return home. But I know neither of that has happened. He's out there…somewhere…I know because-"
"You feel it in your heart." Laina finished for her.
"That's right," Tan-Xui turned to her, "How'd you know I was going to say that?"
Laina smiled shyly and blushed, "Believe it or not, I have an animal boyfriend. He's a gray eagle named Quetzal and we've been on quite a few adventures. Anytime we were separated, like if I went out of town or if he goes on his month-long nature walks, we could tell right here," she put her folded hands over her vital area on her chest, "If one of us is alright or not and we'll rush right home to each other. So right now, I know how you feel. But don't let other people tell you what they think happened to him. If you feel in your heart that he's alright, then he's alright."
The Tanuki princess nodded, tearing up a bit, holding her chest like Laina, "And I just got the feeling that, wherever he is, he's missing me right now and wishing he could see his son right now."
Laina hugged her tightly, but carefully so as not to squish the baby, to comfort her as they continued to watch the dance down below.
Unaware to all of them, not too far away, two of Jangle's shadow dogs were creeping around the Jingle train, smelling the scents around it. The first shadow dog was sniffing the footprints in the snow. The scents told him that Mrs. Jingle, Laina, and Joy and Noel had left the train with a group of Tanuki and the missing odor of Jingle told him that he was still in the train.
The second shadow dog was peeking in the train cabin windows, looking and sneering at Jingle who was still shivering under the blankets in his bed. The first shadow dog tugged on his brother's tail, making him put all four paws on the snow, and reminded him that they had a job to do. He lay on the ground and used his forepaws to tug off the sack around his neck.
Four bluish-white crystal marbles and a black, hollow megaphone rolled out of the bag. The first shadow dog gave his brother the megaphone and he bellowed lowly, giving instructions as he stared at his brother, who held the megaphone in his muzzle, then up toward the mountain that hovered over the village.
The second shadow dog nodded and ran toward the mountain. The first shadow dog lapped up the crystal spheres in his mouth and they felt like ice cubes as he positioned them in his cheeks, then he galloped after his brother.
The second shadow dog gripped the megaphone handle tightly in his teeth as he leaped from ledge to ledge to the top of the mountain, carefully watching where he stepped. The first shadow dog stopped at the front of a tunnel that went right through the mountain's base. He took a deep breath and blew an icy mist on the tracks. The marbles in his mouth made his breath even colder, freezing up the train tracks as he blew on them and covering them in slippery ice.
He felt the marbles in his cheek 'melt', letting him know that the frost power in them was all gone. When he was satisfied at the ice-covered tracks, he leaped up the ledges to a lower point of the mountain where he could see his brother at the peak and the second shadow dog could see him down below and see his signal to blow the horn.
The dancing had stopped and the dancers were resting on the logs, sipping warm, honey-flavored tea. Laina and Tan-Xui had joined everyone not too long ago. It seemed the cubs had taken a liking to Laina since the cub who she offered the candy cane to bragged about it. Not able to stand the small cubs' cute and begging faces, she offered each one a candy treat.
"Where were you, Laina?" Joy slurped tea from her wooden mug, "You missed everything."
Laina smiled, looking towards Tan-Xui, "I wasn't too far away."
Tan-Xui smiled back. She turned to her father to tell about the newcomer when she noticed the solemn look on his face, then she became worried. The Tanuki lord started to get up, but Tan-Xui grabbed his paws and pushed them down, making him sit back in his place. "Father, uho oei jiho oei jxeict we?" Tan-Xui asked softly, "Oei udo dek uj oeidw uj oei ijot ke ro ke khufoc ke kxi jimmak."
"
"A nacc ro uchawxk, daughter," He nodded at her reassuringly, "A mijk khufoc ke kxo kef ke khub nakx kxo jfahakj ke odjiho kxo vikiho juvoko ev eih laccuwo…udt kxo hoseloho ev Jingle."
Tan-Xui stared at him for awhile, and then released his paws. Supporting himself on his cane, the Tanuki lord got to his feet and walked past the bonfire with his villagers watching him with worry and hope.
Laina leaned over to Tan-Xui, whispering, "Where is he going?" She followed her gaze to the mountain that was almost a walking distance ahead of them, "That mountain?"
"That's right," Tan-Xui said, gently petting Shu-Xui's head fur back, "It's the only way that my father or any Tanuki lord can speak to the late Tanukies in the heavens and ask them for their blessings."
"Maybe I should go with him," Laina stood up, "That's an awfully long climb."
"It will be no use. My father is stubborn when it comes to things like this," The Tanuki princess sighed, "We will just have to hope he does not come rolling down the mountain. He is really a good and wonderful man if you got to know him. Not only is he a great leader, but he is like a father or grandfather to everyone in the village. He has worked hard to raise me right since our mother left this world and been with me through the good times and the bad times. I've lost my husband…I don't think I would be able to forgive myself if something were to happen to him."
Noel dumped his and his sister's mug in a water basin that hung over a small fire, "Well, the performance was excellent, the tea was delicious, but now I'm afraid it's time we head on out now. It's getting dark."
Mrs. Jingle nodded and bowed to Tan-Xui, "Thanks again for your generosity. Tell your father that we'll be sure to come by and visit again."
The Tanukies walked with Mrs. Jingle and her group out of the village, wishing them good luck. Laina realized she couldn't take a step further, feeling something grab at the back ends of her jacket. She looked back and saw small paws from the Tanuki cubs clinging onto her, looking up at her with big sad eyes and whining softly.
She kneeled down to their eye level, petting one on the head, "Sorry guys, I have to go." The cubs tackled her before she could get up and hugged to her tightly, sobbing and begging for her to stay with them.
Laina sighed, "Looks like they're not gonna let me go," she mused to herself, "Not unless…I give them more candy." She was able to climb from their grasps and dug through her candy bag, "Let's see…there's twelve of them…and…one…two…four…eight…crap! I have exactly twelve candy canes left!"
Her sweet tooth was driving her crazy with greed and hunger, but looking at the cubs' faces, she sighed again, "Ah well…better to give than to receive anyway…" She gave up each candy cane to each cub and she received a small hug or a squeak of thanks in return. She began to feel a little better, chasing the green monster inside of her away.
"Aw, Laina, that was sweet of you," Mrs. Jingle was watching from the train cabin door, "It's not everyday that Tanuki children get candy."
Laina turned her treat bag upside down, watching crumbs fall out ad disappeared into the snow, then pocketed it in her coat pocket. "Well, I've done my good deed for the day," Laina said as she walked inside the cabin, "Except for saving Jingle, that is…"
Noel shoveled coal into the engine, pulled the brake lever, and pushed another lever forward, making the train move forward. He pulled on the whistle, making it scream a loud good-bye to the waving Tanukies beside the train tracks.
Laina had braced herself before the train jerked ahead and waved farewell to the Tanuki cubs. As the train began to pick up speed, she could see the Tanuki lord in the distance approaching the foot of the mountain.
Noel fed the engine fire a few more lumps of coal before looking up and seeing that there was a tunnel ahead. They were in the darkness of the rocky passageway for only a few minutes before appearing on the other side. Then the sound of something scratching across ice caught everyone's ears and the train slowed to a stop.
Laina looked around the room in wonder, "What's going on?"
"I don't know," Joy moved to sit next to her, feeling odd about the sudden stop, "But I don't like it."
Mrs. Jingle grabbed the speakerphone and spoke into it, "Noel, what is the matter? Is something wrong?"
Noel's ears twitched at Mrs. Jingle's voice coming from the speakerphone on his end and he picked up the microphone and responded, "I'm afraid we've stopped on some frozen tracks, Mrs. Jingle. I can recognize that scratching sound anywhere, but don't worry, I can fix the problem. Tell Joy and Laina to come out with buckets of hot water."
Joy ran into the bathroom at her brother's command and came up with two red buckets filled with hot water. She passed the other bucket to Laina who followed her outside in the snowy evening. Noel was already beside the train and bending over to look at the tracks. His lips made a thin line at the crystal clear ice coated on both tracks. He instructed to Joy and Laina to splash the tracks with the sizzling water until the ice was melted, "We won't be able to go anywhere unless these tracks are completely thawed out."
The girls went into a replicate sequence of filling the buckets up with warm water, rushing outside with the heavy pails, and then tossing the water out on the tracks, steam rising from them, then running back in the cabin and repeating it all over again.
"Is the ice almost melted, Noel?" Laina panted, "I'm getting really cold and breathing in the cold air makes it feel like I have needles in my lungs."
Noel shook his head, "You humans and yours weaknesses. Just a few more splashes of water oughta do it and then we'll be outta here."
Laina grumbled as she headed back into the bathroom, almost colliding with Joy who was coming out with a full bucket, and filled her bucket with warm water from the shower. She looked out the small window at the mountain not too far behind him, "I hope the Tanuki lord is alright…that's a long climb up…"
The Tanuki lord was using his walking stick to help him up the mountain side and grabbed onto ledges with his paws and feet as it got steeper. The shadow dog on top of the flat mountain top didn't notice the Tanuki leader coming up the flat peak, keeping his eyes on his brother below. The first shadow dog was having difficulty seeing as wind started to blow snow around at the high area he was in. He squinted his eyes and he started see a large red and white metal object and heard Noel commanding Joy and Laina to keep splattering the tracks with water. He smiled seeing that they had stopped right where he had blown the ice.
He turned to face the direction of where his brother was, sat on his haunches, and seemed to nod to him.
"Okay, we're all done," Noel smiled, "Now we can get this train-a-goin' again."
Laina let out a sigh of deep relief and dumped the water in her pail on the snow, watching steam rise from it. An eerie, distant howl sent a shiver through her whole body as she was about to climb into the cabin. She looked around, backing from the train, as she tried to find the location of the sound. She gazed up at the mountain when the howl returned to her ears for the second time and it was loud enough to get everyone's attention from everyone on the Jingle train to the villagers in the Tanuki village.
"What in the world is that?" Noel said as he tried to see the figure at the peak.
Laina climbed the ladder to the top the train cabin and shielded her eyes to get a better look. Her eyes widened when she recognized the black, cloudy canine figure holding a horn-like object and howling in it at the top of its lungs, "It's one of Jangle's shadow dogs!"
Noel growled through his teeth, climbing up next to Laina, "Well, we know that Jangle knows we're heading his way. I don't think he's anywhere near here; he would have more than two shadow dogs with him, but what are they trying to-"
Suddenly, the ground began to slightly shake under the train's wheels, making the locomotive shake slightly. All eyes were directed to the top of the mountain where they saw tons of snow beginning to roll down from the summit.
"Avalanche!" Joy screamed loudly in fright.
Mrs. Jingle looked out the window after Joy screamed and saw the waves of snow coming down, "Oh mercy! We are going to be buried alive!"
Noel didn't hesitate as he ran from the top of the cabin and into the locomotive, quickly preparing the train to move.
Laina still stood on top of the train. She was frightened, but time seemed to stand still as one thing popped in her mind and she gasped, "The Tanuki lord!"
She leaped from the train roof and landed on both feet on the snow, running as fast as she could through the tunnel to get to the other side of the mountain.
Joy peeked her head out an open window as she saw Laina running into the dark tunnel like a cat running away from a dog, "Laina? Where are you going?! Laina!"
"Joy, get back in here!" Mrs. Jingle pulled her back inside and rolled up the windows, "This is no time for horseplay. And Noel, I certainly hope you are not taking a coffee break in the engine." She yelled in the speakerphone.
"I'm setting it to go into reverse," he responded, "I'm working as fast as I can!"
Laina was so pumped from adrenaline and fear that she was running faster than normal and made it to the other end of the tunnel where the train as entered. The avalanche on the side of the Tanuki village seemed to be coming more slower than the one on the other side where the train was stuck.
She looked around frantically for the Tanuki lord, but saw him nowhere in sight. She screamed over the roaring of the charging snowslide, "Mr. Tanuki! Where are you?! Mr. Tanuki!" She quickly ran along the side of the mountain, keeping her eye on the white waves coming down.
Unfortunately her cries could not be heard from the Tanuki village as they were getting ready to brace for the avalanche. They had prepared themselves for Karangle's frost magic pranks or for any natural winter disasters after building their new village. Men were pulling huge, tall blocks of enclosed bamboo and support beams from the back of the village while woman and children retreated to their huts, praying to the spirits.
The Tanuki men pushed the bamboo blocks to stand up on their tall sides and used the support beams to keep them standing, forming a line that faced the roaring rolling snow with their backs facing the village.
"No! Wait!" Tan-Xui came running out, but one of the older women held her back, "My father's still out there! He won't be able to get in!"
They all heard her yell about her father and their leader, but looking at the fast coming snow, they heavily doubted that he survived it. Their focus on protecting the village was so strong that they didn't see Laina running along the mountainside and calling for the Tanuki lord, the avalanche rolling closer and closer to her position.
"I don't see him! Heaven forbid that he got farther up the mountain and is buried under all that!" Laina felt the rumbling under feet getting stronger and saw the waves of powder growing closer to her. She stepped back, her eyes widened in fear, but before she could turn to run, the ground under her foot disappeared, making her lose her balance and fall backwards. Next thing she knew, she was covered in darkness.
"Fhofuho oeihjocloj!" The 'second-in-command' Tanuki barked, "Ijo ucc oeih jkhodwkx udt fijx nakx ucc oeih mawxk!"
All the men nodded, bracing themselves against the joined bamboo blocks, an uncomfortable feeling waving around in their stomachs. With them standing side by side, the blocks made a long wall that would have almost matched the Great Wall of China.
The snowy waves rushed up and pushed against the walls with a strong force, making the support beams shake violently. Four of the beams weren't able to take shoving power of the never ending wave of snow and they fell to the ground and one began to splinter in the middle. The Tanuki men pushed themselves against the thick blocks, trying to keep them up. Another thrust from a powerful snow wave almost pushed the blocks onto the Tanuki men and sent some of the teenage boys rolling back, but they got back up, helping the men push blocks against the power of the thrusting snowslide. Not able to go through the makeshift avalanche fence, the waves of snow split in two, going left and right to the edge of the last blocks, still continuing to cover the forest, but avoid the village.
On the other side of the mountain, Joy and Mrs. Jingle watched horrified from the window as the avalanche came closer towards them.
"Hold on!" Noel screamed as he pulled back hard on the lever. The train wheels rapidly spun in reverse, jerking the train back and making his sister and Jingle's wife fall to their knees on the floor, and the train ran backwards into the tunnel just in time as the heavy snow wave fell on the tracks where the train was previously stuck and in front of the tunnel, sealing up the entrance. The train continued going into reverse until it came out the other end. Noel pulled on the brakes and the wheels immediately stopped rolling, creating sparks as they scraped against the tracks and slowed to the stop. Thankfully, falling snow from the avalanche didn't block the other end of the tunnel.
Noel deeply sighed in relief and leaped from the locomotive and into the cabin, "Is everyone alright?"
"I think so," Joy helped Mrs. Jingle to her feet, "Except where I'm bruised from head to toe."
Mrs. Jingle dusted herself and looked out the window, seeing them buried just below their last low limbs, "Oh no! The Tanukies village! The avalanche covered them up! Noel, get the shovels!"
"No need." Joy pointed to Tan-Xui and some Tanukies walking over the snow hill toward the train, "They looked shook up, but alright."
Mrs. Jingle exited the cabin and ran over to the villagers. Tan-Xui hugged her tightly, sobbing and shaking. She asked about the condition of the village and Tan-Xui replied that everyone and everything in the village was alright and explained about the emergency avalanche fences. "But my father's missing," Tan-Xui cried, "He was still heading up the mountain when the avalanche occurred."
Joy scratched her head, "It's still weird for an avalanche to happen randomly like that."
"It didn't happen randomly," Noel said, "Laina and I saw one of Jangle's shadow dogs on the top of the mountain and he blew a weird-lookin' bullhorn and-"
"Hold on a second," Mrs. Jingle looked around, noticing something, "…where's Laina?"
Laina stirred slowly and opened her eyes, blinking tears of pain. She slowly sat up and reached up to rub at the painful twinge at the back of her and felt something textured tied at that area and all the way around her head.
"It is alright now. We are now safe." A masculine voice startled her. She tried to see where the voice was coming from, but her vision was blurred.
"Wh-who are you?" She asked, still rubbing at the ache in her head. Her vision slowly cleared and she saw something furry and gray appearing in front of her, "T-Tanuki lord! You're alive!" She jolted up, but laid back down when the ache in her head got worse.
"Yes I am very much alive," The gray Tanuki walked over to where his cane laid against the wall. He reached in the small sack in his net bag and pulled out a small white paper wrap, then walked back toward her, "Stick your tongue out. This powder will take pain out of your head."
Laina was a little skeptical; for all she knew, he was giving her poison, but the headache was becoming annoying and any ally of Jingle couldn't be bad like that. Reluctantly, she stuck her tongue and watched as the Tanuki lord poured the white powder on her tongue. She cringed as she swallowed the bitter powder and drank the water from the bottle he gave to her.
As she handed the bottle back, she looked around and noticed they were in a wide cave. Lighted lanterns hung on both sides of the walls, driving away the darkness. She looked down and saw she laid in a hammock that was hung from the walls and a small narrow hole above it held a few books, making a makeshift bookshelf. "Where are we?" she asked, "And you speak English?"
"This is meditation lair," The Tanuki lord replied, "I come here to meditate after ceremonial dance to maybe contact and talk to ancestors' spirits. And yes, I speak English, but not well."
Laina started to feel the headache in her head fade away and lied back down in the hammock, beginning to feel relaxed, "How'd we get here?" Her memory came back to her and she gasped, sitting back up, "The avalanche! Th-the last thing I remembered I was looking for you, then I saw the avalanche coming at me. I was gonna run, but then I remember falling backwards and hitting my head on something. I thought I was buried under tons of snow."
"You came looking for me?" The Tanuki lord looked at her, "But why?"
"Your daughter…she-maybe I should start from the beginning," Laina laid back down, "Tan-Xui told me about the tough times she had after her husband's disappearance and said she would blame herself if something happened to you. That's why I came looking for you when the avalanche happened."
"For Tan-Xui, you came looking for me?"
Laina nodded, "Tan-Xui told me that you were the greatest leader and father and grandfather ever. When I saw that avalanche…it's weird, but, the first thing that came to my mind was you. I guess what Tan-Xui said came into my head and I thought how I would feel if I lost my father and grandfather."
"So you came to save me even when you knew dangers you would face from the avalanche?" The Tanuki lord walked to her, smiling, "In all my years, I have never seen someone, human or animal, with so much compassion."
Laina blushed, smiling shyly, "So how'd we end up here?"
The Tanuki lord reached under the hammock and pulled out a bowl of forest fruit and shared it with her, "On the way up mountain, I heard low, but loud noise. Snow on top of mountain very sensitive to sound and cause avalanche. When I heard strange sound, I saw snow beginning to fall and ducked into cave. I heard rumbling of coming avalanche and prayed to ancestors to keep my daughter and people safe. Then I heard voice of you calling me, but I thought my head was playing tricks with me. Then I heard loud thump and it became dark when snow covered entrance. I walked to entrance and saw you lying on the ground lifeless. I thought the snow had gotten you, but it turns out you hit head on hard ground so I wrapped your head and laid you in bed until you came to."
"So I planned to come save you, but you saved me instead," Laina laughed a bit, "Thanks, Tanuki lord."
The Tanuki lord nodded to her, "And thank to you, Laina, for coming to seek for me. For, as what you humans say, it is thought that counts."
Their heads tilted up when they heard loud thumping sound above them, making rubble break off from the ceiling and they heard Tan-Xui and Mrs. Jingle's voice.
"Are you sure it was right here that you heard your father's voice here, honey?" Mrs. Jingle's voice was muffled above them.
Tan-Xui answered, "I am sure. Or both my ears and mind are fooling me."
"No! We're here!" Laina shouted and flailed, "We're here! Just go down some! You'll see the hole!"
The Tanuki lord calmed her down, "Settle, Laina, settle. They will find us."
They heard shoveling sounds near the entrance and walked towards it. They saw a tip of a shovel, then it moved out the way, letting luminous rays from the full moon gleam down on them, then the brown eye of a Tanuki, "Kxoo uho tend oxho!"
More shovels dug into the specific area of the snow until the hole was uncovered. The men helped their leader and friend out of the deep cave as families clapped and rejoiced. Tan-Xui ran and hugged her father tightly and Laina was tackled by Joy and Noel.
Joy hugged her tightly around her neck, "Laina, are you alright? We thought we lost you."
"What were you thinking?! Running into an avalanche like that," Noel growled, "Did you have a death wish or something?"
"It was foolish, but took bravery," the Tanuki lord explained to everyone how Laina faced the rolling white snow waves to find him and ended up falling into his meditation cave.
Laina laughed, "So instead of me saving him, it's the other way around."
"But we are still very thankful. We would probably still be searching for him right now. He would have been in a strong meditative trance during and after the avalanche. In his trance, he would have been in peace with himself and would not have been able hear anything," Tan-Xui walked up to Laina and hugged her, "Thank you for your bravery."
The Tanukies walked with Mrs. Jingle and the others back to the Jingle train while more men with shovels hurried to the other side of the mountain to unblock the tunnel. The Tanuki children sat inside the train with their new heroine and older Tanukies sat in the bedroom with Mrs. Jingle worrying and praying over Jingle while Noel moved the train at a slow speed of five miles per hour with some of the adolescent Tanukies hanging onto the ladders and connectors of the train as it moved slowly or walked along side it.
They entered the tunnel again and it seemed darker than it was when they first entered it. Noel slowed it to a stop when he saw the men still shoveling snow out of the tunnel. It was all clear and they just had to shovel the piles of snow off the track.
The last mound of cold powder was off the train tracks and the men stood to the side. Noel moved the train all the way out of the dark tunnel before stopping to let everyone off. Every Tanuki made sure they got another good-bye hug from Mrs. Jingle and Laina and gave them more wishes of good luck.
Laina waved to them from the back window as the train moved forward again until it disappeared in the nighttime shadows of the forest trees.
Tan-Xui walked with her father behind the villagers as they headed back toward their home, "So she actually came to save you? She is different from any other human I've met."
The Tanuki lord saw something in the sky caught his eye and directed him to look up. He smiled at the Aurora lights that shimmered above like colorful crystal flags. That was a sign that his ancestors were pleased at what they saw, "Whether she know it or not, Laina has the same heart as Jingle's"