More Re:Coded commentary later tonight, but first, I've finished the next scene from the reindeer story! It's coming along slowly yet surely, since I have many other things to do in the meanwhile. Thoughts are always appreciated!


Two days later, Rudolph was starting to get used to the North Pole. She’d been on many tours throughout the factory and castle, but still hadn’t seen everything. Even just sleeping in the stables, it was the most warm and comfortable place she’d ever stayed. There was always food, always people around and always everything else she could want.

Of course, what she wanted most was to be accepted by the other reindeer. They were the first real people she felt she could possibly be friends with, but many of them still seemed a little...wary around her. She guessed it was her nose, but what could she do about it? Even she couldn’t explain that. A few of the reindeer intimidated her more than others...Donner, in particular.

So she was a little nervous when the oldest reindeer summoned her out to the castle courtyard. Upon arriving she found Donner already there, along with Blitzen and Comet. The courtyard was wide and open, lined with a few evergreen trees and strings of lights. Rudolph hesistated for a moment, then stepped out to meet them.



“You wanted to talk to me?” she asked.

Donner sighed heavily, sounding like he wasn’t completely on board for this. Still, he was determined not to make that too obvious. “Rudolph, after some consideration, we are willing to let you join our team in terms of our work with the humans.”

“Really?” her ears perked up a little.

“If, and only if, you understand our rules and duties completely, and abide by them,” Donner interjected. “We have these rules in place for a reason. They have kept us and our secrets safe throughout the centuries. We cannot afford to ignore them.” He he gave her a look as if accusing her of already doing so.

“Okay,” Rudolph nodded fervently.



“You’ll also need to learn some reindeer magic...in particular, flight,” Blitzen added.

She’d almost forgotten about that! Did this mean she could fly, too? She didn’t have time to dwell on it, either, as Donner immediately started in on his rules.

“One: reindeer cannot reveal their true natures to any human, no matter what the circumstances. Always keep up your disguise.” He began to circle around her, making her still more nervous. “Two: reindeer must use their human names while on earth at all times.”



“Human names?”

Comet laughed. “Don’t tell me you’ve been calling yourself ‘Rudolph’ down there the whole time!”

Rudolph hung her head low. She’d never had another name for herself. “W-well...”

Comet chuckled to herself, making Rudolph’s nose glow a little. Donner interrupted her with a cough, and stepped forward. “Using our real names around humans is foolish. Therefore, we have human names to accompany the disguise.” To demonstrate, Donner concentrate for a moment, and suddenly took on his human form...a tall, imposing man with graying hair and beard, dressed in a dark trenchcoat over business attire. “Like this, I am known as Samuel Donovan.”



Even though Rudolph was still recovering from the surprise of his sudden change, the other reindeer took that as their cue to also show off. Blitzen became an Arabic woman in a blue coat and headscarf. “I’m called Layla Rashid.”

And then Comet became a teenaged Inuit girl, dressed in sport shorts, a baseball hat and a yellow tank with the image of a comet on it. “My human name’s Miki Qaniit!”

The other reindeer paused, and she realized that they were also waiting for her to follow suit. Rudolph hadn’t put on her human “disguise” since she’s first arrived at the North Pole, even though she knew she could. It took her some concentration before she found herself on two legs again, back in the same thin jacket and scarf she’d been wearing before.

“So, you need a human name,” Donner said, stroking his beard in thought. “Something appropriate but not utterly strange.”



“Red-nose,” Comet snickered under her breath.

Before Rudolph could say anything, Blitzen interjected. “How about Ruby?”

“Ruby...” Donner closed his eyes, thinking it over. “...Fletcher. Ruby Fletcher.”

Well, she hadn’t gotten much say in it, but truthfully Rudolph didn’t have any ideas of her own. She didn’t know enough human names. And this one sounded nice to her. If Donner and Blitzen wanted it, then...

“I like it,” she said, nodding her head.

Donner seemed pleased to have settled this quickly, and Comet just shrugged. “Very well. We’ll have to do a few other...adjustments for your complete human identity, but at the very least, you need a name.”

“Okay!” Rudolph said, feeling a little better now. She unconsciously stuck her hands in her pockets.



“We’re not done yet,” Donner continued. “Three: reindeer may not use magic in the presence of any human. This obviously includes flight.” She wondered again about what went into flight, but Donner continued. “Four: establish business relations only. Do not present yourself as open to long-term friendships, romantic ties or anything else of that nature. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why. And five: reindeer may not take originals or anything else on earth. Copies of data, notes or photos only. The elves are excellent at reverse-engineering most anything you explain to them.”

Rudolph nodded along. Were there only five rules they had to follow? That didn’t seem too bad. But then, in practice all this might not be so easy...

“There’s one more thing...not so much a rule as a very strong suggestion.” Here, Donner reached into one of his coat pockets and pulled out...a Spider-Man nightlight. Rudolph just stared at it in confusion. “While on earth, it is best to bring protections. I suggest you find yourself a nightlight and a security blanket, particularly ones with sentimental value.”



Donner’s other rules made sense to Rudolph, but this one was something else. “Uhhh...why?”

The oldest reindeer’s face steeled. “There are other immortals in this world besides those at the Pole...nature immortals, and man-made ones. In particular, the Boogeyman and his minions have made attempts on us before.” All three reindeer paused as if remembering something else; Comet especially looked unnaturally somber. “However, his minions are warded off by crowds, light and security blankets. Carrying these with you will protect you.”

This was starting to sound a bit more dangerous than she’d originally thought. It wasn’t enough that they had to sneak around the humans...they had other things to watch out for, too? And there was one other thing confusing her. “What do you mean, ‘man-made immortals’?”



Whatever it was, Donner was not willing to discuss it now. He pocketed the nightlight, and with a sudden shake of his shoulders he was a reindeer again. In a couple of blinks, Blitzen and Comet followed his lead. “Another time,” he said curtly. Rudolph really wanted to know now, but didn’t want to make Donner mad by pressing it. She tried to change back to her reindeer form, but it took a little longer, and she stumbled on her thin legs as she did. She still really wasn’t used to this disguise business. “Do you understand everything?” Donner asked.

Well no, she didn’t, but she at least got why those rules were important. So she just nodded.

“Very well.” Donner turned and walked behind the other two reindeer. “We shall have to go over these again later. For now, I believe an introduction to flight would be beneficial.”

Here, Comet stepped forward, practically prancing. It was clear she was eager to show off a few moves. She stopped very close to her. “So, Rudolph! How do you think reindeer fly?”



Was this a quiz already? She averted her gaze, trying to figure out if this was a trick question. “Er...magic?”

“Well duh,” Comet declared, tossing her antlers about in exasperation. “We’re reindeer, of course it’s magic. The point is, we don’t have wings or long tails or any other sort of lift. So you can’t think of it how birds or bugs fly.”

“So...how do you do it?”

Comet trotted around to give herself some room. “It’s leaping. Leaping without gravity, across the whole world! You know how humans on the moon can jump really high? It’s similar, but we do it much farther, and a lot faster.” With that, Comet launched herself into the air as if jumping, but her arc took her incredibly high and she seemed to hang there for a while before touching down again. Rudolph looked on in complete awe. “Come on, it’s easy! Just try it.”



“Okay...” Rudolph gave herself plenty of room to jump, backing up nearly to the edge of the courtyard. She took off at a run, launched herself into the air...and didn’t jump very high or far at all. It certainly didn’t feel like flying.

“Geez, I said jumping without gravity, not just jumping!” Comet declared. “Didn’t you get that?!”

“Yeah, I just...I don’t know...” Rudolph attempted to respond. She wanted to learn it badly, but with this sort of pressure...



Here, Blitzen chose to intervene. “It’s all right. You’re trying to gain height with speed and power, but that’s not necessary.” The older reindeer came and stood beside her. “Treat flight as if you were dreaming. Imagine yourself free from gravity, free from yourself, and the magic will take hold. The jump is just to give you a little push.”

When she was living in the city, Rudolph had had dreams about flying...leaping across the tops of skyscrapers as if she were weightless. She tried to conjure up those same feelings now...that wonderful feeling of seeing the earth far below, even if only in dreams. This time, she only gave herself a small head start before leaping. Only this time, that feeling of weightlessness seemed to keep her in the air for longer than was possible, and she touched down softer. She grinned, looking towards the other reindeer for approval. Blitzen smiled back. “Yes, that’s the basic idea.”

“You gotta do it farther, though,” Comet interjected. To show off, she flew off into the air again, this time executing an easy 360 turn before landing.

Blitzen sighed at the younger reindeer’s boasting. “Just keep trying at it. You’ll improve with practice.”



Rudolph nodded, determined to prove her worth to all the reindeer present. She leapt again, still concentrating on that dreaming feeling. This time she went a little higher and hung a little longer. On her third try, the jump went still a little farther.

Donner gave Comet a cough and a nod, so she walked up again. Obviously she wasn’t doing a very good job of being teacher. “Okay, how about this...I’ll start off first, and you try to follow my jump. When we fly as a team you need to get used to following another jump anyway.”

Rudolph trotted around behind her, prepared to follow. The more she let go of her fears, the easier it became to fly. However, Comet wasted no time with simple jumps...she took off at a great leap for the nearest castle roof. Rudolph ran a little to catch up, and her arc was not as broad, but she still landed on the same roof, gasping for breath.



“Not bad,” Comet said with a smirk. “At least you learn fast. Let’s try for some real speed and distance!” With that, she took off from the edge of the roof with a great jump, and went soaring over the castle. This time, Rudolph followed without hesitation.

The flight felt endless, like gravity didn’t exist at all. From her position she could see all of the castle and factory, and the fields of fluffy snow beyond in all directions. She grinned wide, nearly laughing...in this moment she felt happier, more at home than she could ever remember.





Blitzen and Donner watched the two from the ground, at first in silence. As they sailed off to a distant landing spot, Blitzen turned to the oldest reindeer. “She seems very eager to do well. Does this settle your fears any?”

Donner took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Her performing poorly isn’t what worries me. It’s her appearance, and this eagerness to become part of our team.”



“Santa Claus doesn’t share your worries.”

“I know that...” Donner paused, and looked skywards again. “I may talk to him about her soon.”


Drawing: Finished this, board practice, need to work more on long-running commissions now

Writing: Nothing new