Mean Seasons 23 Snowdrift and Sunburn
It was a cold day at the Pole. Too cold for everyone except for a certain Winter Spirit and a handful of three-month-old bucks. Four of them had their nubs growing in already, odd, but they weren't normal reindeer. Snowdrift, as scrawny as he was at birth, did have his bumps as well. He now was trying, like the others, to butt heads and win.
Jack sat nearby, watching his little buck wobble his way to a bigger, redish buck whose nubs were pointy because his antlers were poking through already. The spirit saw the potential danger immediately.
"Uh uh Snowdrift!" Jack barked, breathing hard out of his nose, "He's out of your league. Away!" he slammed his staff down thrice, the signal for danger, and breathed out his nose again, hooing low. The little buck ran away at the signals his 'daddy' was sending, and chose to fight with a buck closer to his age.
Jack smiled and went to get the permaice teether he had made for the white bundle if joy. After he grabbed it, he was just about to refill Snowdrift's trough, when he heard the worst noise imaginable coming from his reindeer fawn. A hooting scream/bleet.
Dropping everything, the Winter King raced to the area and was horrified to find his little runt being chased away by the much taller red buck. Spattered over his baby's flank were drips of blood.
Overcome with rage and protective fury, Jack did something not expected, but totally appropriate. He ran to the red buck, grabbed him by the nubs and flipped him into the snow, all the while hooing and blowing out his nose. He then slammed his staff in front of the creature three times, hooing loudly. He then, in a Jack move, froze the buck's feet together, and repeated the staff stomping, giving one final 'huff' as he stalked away to retrieve the white fawn, who was huddled under the trough.
As he gathered the injured buck in his arms, the winter spirit conforted his baby by talking softly,
"Shhhh it's ok, Snowdrift, it's alright. Sunburn is just jealous of you that's all..."
North watched the two, and shook his head in amusement.
"Jack...you cannot baby him forever. He must grow like other reindeer. Other reindeer have pecking order. He is at bottom."
The winter spirit gave him a glare, then continued to bandage the wounds on the snowy flank. "I'm not going to let them kill him just because he's smaller and more fragile than they are, North. He's my fawn and I'm going to protect him like his own mother would. Like his father should, and like his brother outta. But mostly..."
Jack snuggled the head of the fawn against his chest
"Mostly because he's mine, and I will always be here to protect him."