There's a new Lunargyros page up from yesterday; read it here.

Been working a ton on art stuff, mostly boarding for the freelance thing and the reindeer story, and hoping I'm ready for the con this weekend. I'm thinking of getting my hair cut tomorrow...fresh haircut can do wonders for feeling good and all.

Anyways! I wrote and drew out another scene from the reindeer story, should be following off the first one. I'm not sure where to go next from here; I think I have to figure out the plot in a more solid manner. But I bought a copy of 'The Year Without A Santa Claus,' so yay more Rankin/Bass cartoon info. XD/ Hopefully dudes like this!


"Where did you find her again?"

"Look at that nose!"

"The whole thing is just quite strange..."



Rudolph heard voices, but they sounded distant and muddy in her ears. Everything was steeped in darkness...it felt like too much trouble to open her eyes. Still, something in her said she had to get up and move. She was in danger. Her limbs felt like lead, but she attempted to move them anyway, grunting in the process.

"Look, she's waking up!"

She forced her eyes open, but her vision remained blurry. All she could tell was that it was bright, and there were lots of people here. The place smelled strongly of holly and evergreen.



Finally her vision focused, and she saw that she was surrounded by deer. They came in many colors and sizes, but like the first one she'd encountered, they were all staring at her with that same confused concern. She also quickly noticed that she was no longer in the alley in New York...this place looked more like a massive indoor stable, all made out of wood and pitch.

Rudolph panicked. Everything about this was bizarre and frightening, and she just wanted to run back to someplace she recognized. She attempted to get to her feet, but her legs wobbled and she couldn't get far at all. The deer that chased her in the city galloped up and blocked her path. "Hold up!"



"Awww, the poor thing's scared half t' death," a short, fat deer said, her gaze sympathetic.

"Regardless, you have some explaining to do," another said. This one was the tallest and oldest-looking, with massive antlers and a piercing gaze. Rudolph whimpered and pressed herself against the back wall. How could she possibly explain any of this?

"Now now, don't crowd, all of you!" a new voice spoke up from behind the deer. "First things first...this little one's ill. We need to take care of that."

All of the deer instantly fell silent and parted, as if lining up for a general or the President. A man walked through their ranks...at last, another human. He was old, with a snow-white beard and a large belly. He was dressed in a thick red sweater, black pants, boots and gloves. His eyes held some mysterious light...Rudolph almost instantly felt better in his presence. The man carried a plate with sugar cookies and a mug of some hot drink.



He knelt down next to her, his smile as warm and inviting as the food on the plate. Despite feeling better, Rudolph remained curled against the wall...it was hard to undo a (very short) lifetime of instinct.

"No one's going to harm you. These will make you feel better," the man said.

Rudolph glanced back up at the deer, then back at the cheerful man, then back at the food. After a moment's hesitation, she reached out and grabbed the mug and a cookie, and took a sip of the hot drink. It was hot cider...and it was, without a doubt, the single best thing she'd ever tasted. Even just a few sips warmed her up right down to her fingertips and toes. She tried a bite of cookie and her eyes got even wider...it was warm and soft, perfectly sweet, very easily the best thing she'd eaten. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't eaten since that single bagel at breakfast, and that felt like years ago. She began scarfing down the cookie in massive bites, and downed as much cider as possible without completely burning her tongue and throat. The man let out a pleased chuckle. "Ho ho, that's better, isn't it?"



Rudolph finished off one cookie and immediately began downing the second. She mumbled a "thank you" around a mouthful of cookie before continuing on. The food warmed her up so much she felt like she was glowing.

Enough for the deer to notice, it seemed. "Look at that!" one of the brawnier ones whispered to a skinny one.

The bearded man ignored the comment and just remained kneeling. "Now. What's your name?"

"Rudolph." She managed to swallow another bite of cookie before speaking again. "...Where am I?"



"You are at my workshop at the North Pole. Dasher brought you here," he answered.

It took her a little bit to process that. Workshop? North Pole? Dasher? But that had to mean...

"You're Santa Claus?" she asked, eyes wide as saucers.

The man let out another deep, warm chuckle. "That's correct."

Rudolph stopped eating long enough to absorb this. She had no reason to disbelieve him, since in the short bit of life she did remember, no one ever told her that Santa wasn't real. Still, she was almost certain that Santa's reindeer didn't just up and bring random people to the North Pole. Had she done something extraordinarily bad? She couldn't remember ever doing such a thing. "But...why'd you bring me here?"

The reindeer exchanged glances again. The brawny one answered her question with another. "The question is, what were you doing down there in the human world?"



"I...live there?" she responded, cupping the hot mug as if for protection. What else would she be doing in the 'human world'?

"Now, you can't live there!" a graying reindeer added in. "You're not human."

It was a good thing Rudolph wasn't eating or drinking anything at that moment, as she likely would've choked on it. Now that didn't make any sense. What could she be if not human? And how would they know? "That...can't be right!"

"Let's not push things..." Santa tried to interject, but failed.

"What, can't you tell?" another reindeer said, leaning closer. "You're a reindeer, just like us!"

Rudolph couldn't think of any appropriate response, and was starting to wonder if this was really all just a bizarre dream. How could that even be possible? Unable to think of anything to say, she just shook her head in disbelief.



"Everyone here can see it!" a thin reindeer piped up. "You can, too. Just...stand normally."

She didn't move, and continued to shake her head. "That doesn't...I just can't!..."

Rudolph felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Santa smiling at her with that same feeling of warm reassurance. "Don't worry yourself. Just give it a try."

She wasn't sure what she was even supposed to be doing, but she tried anyway. Was she just supposed to...see herself differently? Change shape? Did anyone here understand it themselves? If this was all a dream, all she could do was play along anyway. She finally put down the mug, knelt over and placed her hands on the ground. Reindeer walked on four legs, so maybe that'd make her feel—

And suddenly, something seemed to switch on in her mind. She looked down to discover that she didn't have hands anymore, but hooves. She felt antlers and a tail; she could move her ears easily. She wasn't expecting anything to happen this fast, but it did, and she was instantly in another self. It was as if she'd been wearing shoes her entire life, only to just now take them off and see what her feet actually looked like.



Rudolph's first reaction was to panic. She let out a startled cry, attempted to jump away and ended up tumbling over her own legs. The brawny reindeer let out a laugh, but cut it short when the tallest one shot her a glare. Rudolph attempted to get back on her feet...all four of them now. But she could barely think straight with this sudden realization, let alone walk. "I-I'm..."

Santa was at her side again, gently helping her back onto her feet. She remained standing there for a moment, staring down at her hooves, afraid to move. "It's all right," he assured her. "Take your time."



Rudolph wanted to say that all of this was wrong, that she wanted to wake up from this dream and be back in the city. But she couldn't. Somehow, standing and looking like this felt right. It seemed more comfortable to be on four legs; like walking as a human was putting on too much makeup or wearing a coat a couple of sizes too big. However, this meant that...

"I...I am a reindeer," she said aloud, as if admitting it was a terrible but necessary task. What did you do upon finding out you were really an entirely different species? It didn't seem possible, and yet...she knew nothing about herself anyway. It just happened she knew far less than she'd originally thought.

"Yes, you are," the tallest reindeer said. "Now, again...why don't you explain why you were down there and just what you were doing?"



"But...but I don't know!" Rudolph replied. "I don't know anything...I can't remember anything from more than two months ago! I don't know how I got into the city or my past or anything..." her voice quivered at that last bit.

"Donner." Santa just gave him a look, and Donner backed off with a grunt, lowering his head. He turned back to Rudolph. "Do not worry about that now, Rudolph...I'm certain it will come in time. For the moment, know that you can make your home here. This is a safe place, especially for lost reindeer." Santa stood, still keeping closer in case she needed someone to lean on. "And I hope you may find this a place where you do belong. You know who I am. And I think you may know the rest of my team, too..."



The reindeer took this as an opportunity to introduce themselves. The first one spoke with a bit of a suave smile...it was the same reindeer she'd run into in New York. "Dasher."

"Dancer!" said another one, tall and leggy.

A graying reindeer with fluffier fur stepped forward. "I'm known as Prancer."

"I'm Vixen!" the short, fat reindeer spoke up.

The brawny reindeer tossed her antlers around with a bit of pride. "Comet."



A thin, smaller-looking reindeer offered her a smile. "My name's Cupid."

The tallest reindeer, old and gruff-looking, regarded her with that same intense stare. "Donner."

The last reindeer had a softer face, with long-curved antlers. "And I'm Blitzen."

She definitely knew all those names...and couldn't describe how strange it was to finally put real faces to names. "Rudolph," she replied, even if she was just repeating herself.

Cupid stepped forward, obviously curious about their new arrival. "Come on, I'll show you around the Pole! It's a much nicer place than any city street. You'll really like it here!"



"I think you all should," Santa said, obviously before Donner could interject with something else. "Show her around...and I'll be nearby, should you need me."

Rudolph glanced back to Santa, and nodded. She was still nervous, confused and a little overwhelmed...but just standing there being afraid wasn't going to help. If she was here, she may as well let these strange new friends show her this strange new world. Once she was certain she could walk this way, she followed the crowd of reindeer towards the stable exit.


Aaaand off to go draw some more...

Drawing: All this and even more boards; more 10HAD

Writing: Christmas cards and more