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Off days were recovery days from hard workouts. Rudolph cherished them, even if they sometimes made him feel miserable - even the pain was a sign that he was getting stronger, building himself a worthy body for the duties he could be called to take on at a moment's notice. Occasionally he would go in anyway for a meeting with his trainer and planning for the next stretch. And it was clear the famously glowing reindeer had something on his mind on this one.

"Something wrong, Rudy?"

The reindeer tapped the scale, looking a bit forlorn. "380. Again. Just like last time...just like every time for the past four months. I haven't gained any weight in so long...and it took me ages to get the last 20 of those. I work out as much or more than anyone else in sleigh service just to gain more extra weight, and it's not happening."

The polar bear leaned forward in his chair, pursing his hands under his chin. "Hm. You're concerned that you're reaching a peak?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not seeking to be the number-one biggest reindeer out there, but for the amount of work I've put in...I'm starting to get kinda discouraged."

"You shouldn't be discouraged. We're still getting more strength on you pretty steadily, and your shape looks very good. There's a lot of people out there who would love to have your physique, just without the amount of work put into it." On that Rudy could hardly disagree - his strength had been going up quite a bit despite the lack of weight added to him, and his muscle tone was something he had absolutely no issue with. He had a very well-rounded appearance to his muscle, great arms and legs, a rock-solid chest and abs, proportional without feeling top-heavy or overly-focused. Compared to the general public he was probably second-to-none...the problem was, that wasn't the comparison that had him bothered.

Because even if his biceps were thick and strong, the average sleigh service reindeer had them half again as large. His sturdy, toned chest was still dwarfed in width by more than half on any of the others. He stood a foot and a half shorter than the shortest of the muscled creatures he was supposed to join with. And while he looked plenty big walking down the street, compared to his boyfriend Zephyr, he looked positively like a twink.

"You know how it looks, Gant. I've put in all this work, but I still stand next to them and it doesn't look like I belong. I doubt they feel like I belong, and even I would have my doubts despite all my efforts. Can I really keep up with them if I can't at least look close to a match for them? Or will they even think I'm trying? They might look at me and decide I'm not taking it seriously or something. And it's frustrating because I don't even know why."

Gant nodded, frowning a bit. "Well...I don't know why either, but...I have a suspicion. I've done some looking into your, ah, condition...mainly to make sure I didn't do anything that might accidentally trigger something, kinda curiosity, and so forth."

Rudy shook his head. "Not that anyone would know. It's been, what, 70 years since the last case appeared? There's only been like six in the past half millennium. Believe me, I looked up as much as I could...never was able to learn all that much."

"Neither was I, but something did stick out to me. Every case that was talked about in the past, the subject was described as 'small and slight.' Even when their heritage should have suggested otherwise. Granted, it's a small number, so I can't draw many conclusions, but...your condition may naturally limit your growth. Bioluminescence takes energy, body growth takes energy...there's probably only so much the body can process at once. And as you grow more, you're making more cells that produce light, so more and more of that extra could get used up...it's just an idea that I'm throwing out there, but I don't have anything better to go on."

"So...you're suggesting...that whatever makes me glow is keeping me from bulking up? Because it's, uh...competing for resources, or something like that?"

With a sigh, Gant sat back and gave a reluctant shrug. "Like I said...it's the most sense-making thing I can come up with. I might be completely off-base. But...if we operate on that theory, then it might very well be that you HAVE peaked. You probably could still get stronger - seems like there's a ton of potential in what you have. Pound for pound, you might be a match, or even stronger than any of the current sleigh service crop. But, well...you're never gonna match that number of pounds."

Crestfallen, Rudy slumped back. "Great...that's...fantastic to hear..."

"Now hang on, Rudy. It's not all bad. Look, you're not a regular anyway, right? Sleigh service isn't your passion...you're more of a specialist when things get murky out there."

"Well...yeah. Wasn't like I was itching to do that, never thought it was something I'd even sniff. Not really sure what my passion IS, I guess I still gotta try stuff out, but...yeah."

Gant nodded. "Right. And when you're hooked up, you're not a replacement, you're an addition. A lead beacon. That glowing body of yours shines through the night and lets everyone see. So no one's counting on you to be throwing huge amounts of weight into it. Your goal is having the ability to get through and be all right afterwards. So not having huge size won't be your ruin."

"I guess..." Despite the non-committal answer, Rudy perked up a little; Gant was pretty on base with all of that. "So what does this mean?"

"It means, I think we need to adjust your training away from a heavy emphasis on muscle building and towards a boost in your stamina. The higher your endurance is, the better you'll be able to make it through the night and come out still standing on your own two legs. We'll want to maintain what you have for sure but only make perhaps incremental gains to keep you pushing yourself just enough, but I think our time will be better spent increasing the amount of cardio activities and distance-training exercises."

"That sounds right. I know I'm a lot better at that than I used to be but I doubt I've gone far enough to really last out a full night. Though, I might not be in bed for months at least."

"I doubt it, especially now that you've also trained on what to do properly. I know Nick was desperate, but throwing in a newbie with zero training and clearly not ready for the punishment was not a wise decision...we were lucky it was only for about half the actual time, if you'd had to go from the start you might've conked out out there and not come back."

That gave Rudy an uneasy shudder. "I try not to think about that."

"Don't blame ya. And hey, listen...you might want to think about seeing if you can put this light of yours to use for you, too, beyond just the glow. Light is energy, you know, and energy is a huge thing on these excursions...you could use that, give yourself a strength boost through some particularly nasty weather, or maybe an extra wind if you find yourself flagging. It's worth thinking about."

Rudy nodded; Zephyr had been nudging him about that, too, and he'd started kind of casually looking into it, while still not really sure how he'd even go about such a thing. "I'll, uh, certainly try to see what I can find. "Thanks, Gant...guess I'll have to be ready for a whole new regimen next time I'm in here?"

The polar bear gave him a grin that was almost predatory. "Oh, you just wait...I'll be alllll ready for you."

---

That evening saw Rudy back at his pad, mulling over what he'd heard that day. The likely truth about his condition - he couldn't really verify it but he had little doubt it was the truth anyway - was certainly wearing on him. And at first he wasn't entirely sure why, because he'd never been obsessed about being that big before - heck, before he'd been called on by Santa, he'd been perfectly content with being small and scrawny.

But the more he thought about it, the more he came to a particular conclusion: it wasn't so much that he wanted to be big, but that he didn't want to be pushed around. Being the size of, say, Blitzen would ensure that Blitzen couldn't shove him against a wall and smack him around, like he'd done a couple times in the past. Even at his much healthier size, he was no match for him. And the same went for the others, even if they were much less likely to be physical with him...he couldn't really do much to stand up for himself, they had so much height and weight on him that they could pretty much do what they wanted to him. It was that that bothered him - that he'd need to work with people who wouldn't respect him or even actively disliked him. That would be a very bad situation, and he didn't want it boiling over at a critical moment.

Perhaps he was a bit over-wary about this - since he'd started dating Zephyr, the bigger reindeer had insisted on getting him in on some social outings with the other sleigh service members. It wasn't always something he wanted to do, but he'd conceded on a few occasions and it had seemed to at least build him a rapport with a few of the others. He still felt like some of them didn't particularly like him, and he never went if he knew Blitzen was going to be there, but at least some of the others seemed to be warming to him. So maybe it wasn't really going to be that big an issue, but that didn't stop him from worrying about it now.

Another thing Zephyr had encouraged him to do was look into ways of harnessing the light his body produced. Just like Gant had suggested, as well...he had to admit he'd half-heartedly given it a bit of a look, but not much of one. The truth of the matter was, his condition was so rare, and its previous sufferers so trivial in the annals of history, that no one really knew that much about its effects or impacts. If it was possible to use that energy, he didn't know of anyone who had ever done so, and wouldn't know where to start. And maybe it was just them trying to suggest something to make him feel better about his condition, which...honestly would have been a bit annoying. He'd already gotten used to the fact that he was a weird one, people trying to get him to feel like it was a good thing or a blessing in disguise were sometimes worse than the ones who still looked at him strangely.

His fingers went unconsciously to the amulet he wore, which naturally held the light down a good bit. I mean, I'm glad they're not throwing around the words 'freak' or something but it still feels like pity...and I know what other people are gonna think when they see pity. Honestly I'd just rather they don't make any notice of it at all, that's about the closest to normal I'm ever going to get. Though, I guess one person has to, at least...

The ring of a phone broke him out of his thoughts. A very characteristic ring tone: "Must Be Santa." His heart started going double-time as he picked it up. "Nick?"

"Rudy!" Yes, that ever-familiar voice, deep and resonating in a way that always struck Rudy. It was always odd...the big guy looked different to everyone, though some magic means that no one really understood, but almost everyone HEARD him the exact same way. And they all agreed, he had an extraordinarily powerful voice...yet, one that could set almost anyone at ease. A very special person indeed. "How's it going? I've heard you've been training hard."

"Very...how's the weather looking for the next Christmas? Am I gonna be on call?"

"Well...you know these things can change, a couple years ago there were predictions of legendary fog and then it turned out to be a fairly clear night. But the forecasts are, for the moment, calling for some pretty heavy fog. We may need you out there."

"I'll be ready. I think I can handle it a lot better now than the first time." Nervous as he was saying that, he still felt it to be true - even though they hadn't really focused on endurance training, he had done a good bit of it, and his added strength certainly helped.

"I will be as well. My approach last time was...poor. I think we'll have you harnessed to a lead farther out, and focused a lot less on actual pulling...that should preserve your energy for the night ahead, and it shouldn't be an issue since we'll have just as many on pulling duty."

"That sounds fine to me...just hope that no one else thinks I'm slacking off."

"If anything, I think they'll feel better that they have something you don't...admittedly, I should have done more to prevent any hard feelings from arising. I just, well, really didn't know what to do...this isn't something I've ever had to deal with before. You can let me know if anyone gives you a hard time...they know I won't stand for that."

Much as it was appreciated, Rudy really didn't want to involve Nick in all of it...as much because that would probably get other grudges going against him. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you. Uh, is that...I'm guessing you probably called for some other reason, actually."

"Yes, indeed. You're familiar with the Fresh Start Policy, right?"

"Yeah. Every year the sleigh service team is supposed to clear up any incidents on their record, make restitution, and start off clean for next year. Wait, do I have something I'm not aware of on my record?"

"No, no, you're clean. However, a few others aren't...and we don't know who they are, so we haven't been able to address them. Not unusual, and usually I'd just let the investigators track things down...but, there's been a series of disturbing incidents that absolutely must get dealt with, and I need a sleigh service member to work with the investigators to try to find the culprit and bring them to justice. You're the only member that I can know for a fact isn't involved...if you were, everyone would know about it."

There were both benefits and drawbacks to being recognizable, Rudy supposed. "Okay...I can't say I know how much I'll be able to do, but I'm willing to do my best. I don't like the sound of what you're worried about, though..."

"Neither do I, Rudy...I'll let the investigator tell you more about it, though. I'll let him know and you can meet him tomorrow. Thank you...and I wish you all the best of luck."

"Thanks, Nick. Talk to you again soon." Rudy turned off the phone, frowning slightly. The idea of helping out the idol of Christmas himself in any way he could was definitely appealing, but getting involved in some potentially messy business sounded unnerving to him...especially if these incidents were as bad as Nick seemed to think. He hoped that it wasn't going to be that complicated...but things were rarely uncomplicated in his life.

---

It was hard to be incognito when you were a red-glowing reindeer. Thankfully, it was unlikely that anyone was going to be trying to listen in on anything that he was talking about with the investigator, so being in a public place like a café wasn't going to be a major issue. At least, probably...

"Over here!" His contact made his presence nice and clear - a snowshoe hare wearing a light collared shirt and semi-nice pants, who looked about as thin and lank as Rudolph had before his training had started. His choice of dress had the reindeer feeling a bit underdressed in his usual unbuttoned vest and shorts; he hoped that wouldn't make a bad first impression. Then again, with the hare going as ga-ga as he was, that might not have been possible.

"Man oh man oh man...can't believe I'm actually getting to meet you in the flesh!" The hare was almost breathless as they took their seats. "The famous Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! I grew up idolizing you, you know! Putting yourself through something so crazy at a moment's notice, that's so wild! Is it true you were sick for a year after that?"

"Ugh, darn close to it. I'm in way better shape now, though, so if I'm called on again I should be fine. But I think we're here to talk about something other than me..."

"Oh, yeah, definitely, sorry. The name's Joey Laplace. I'm a private investigator, do stuff all around Tannenbaum and occasionally outside, but I've been contracted by the big guy himself to help with checking into sleigh service stuff for a few years now. Some stuff's easier to figure out than others...we've got a few cases this year that haven't been resolved yet. One...well, one series, that's kinda, uh, nastier than the others."

Once again, Rudy couldn't help but feel nervous. "Let's...wade in a bit, I'm not used to this kind of stuff."

"Fair enough. I mean, that's the big one, but I wouldn't mind streamlining the others, either. We've got four items on our list. The first is an incident at the Frosted Tip a few months back. Apparently a reindeer got a bit rowdy and damage a bar and some stools...the owner doesn't want a huge thing to happen over it, just to be compensated by the guy who caused the damage. At least, he thinks it was a guy, but he didn't get a name or anything...I know, it's not a lot to go off of, but if you could ask around, see if anyone's heard anything-"

"No need," Rudy replied with a sigh. "I'd lay money that it was Dasher. He's, unfortunately, got a bit of a reputation of being rowdy when he goes drinking. It's gotten him into trouble before...he's usually good about taking care of that, but he probably simply doesn't remember it. I'll talk to him and make sure it gets squared away."

"Oh, good. I'd heard that about Dasher, some guys really just shouldn't drink. Let's see, incident two...hrm, yeah, this is a simple case of vandalism. Apparently someone sprayed a huge 'liars and cheats' in bold letters on the storefront of the Minus K...it's some upscale fashion place. There's an image from the security cameras, but I can't determine anything except that it's a reindeer, and big enough to be sleigh service." Joey handed Rudy the picture, which was so dark that his nose glowed a bit as if trying to light up the scene, almost unconsciously.

There was no question it was a reindeer, and Rudy had to agree that the size made it likely that it was one of theirs. But he couldn't tell who it could be...until he happened to glance up at the top. The culprit's left horn was illuminated fairly well...and the shape of the horn clicked immediately. "Oh, hey...that makes sense. It's Kaze. She's the only one who has a forward-facing Y-shape on her horn...I knew I heard her wailing about something, I'll bet it was this."

"She sounds pleasant."

"She's just high-strung. She's nice enough in general, but when something goes wrong she doesn't take it very well. I'll let her know she's caught, she'll probably be unhappy about it, but she's gotta own up, that's part of sleigh service."

Joey grinned. "You're pretty good at this! Maybe got a natural knack for investigation, you think?"

"No, just familiarity with the reindeer."

"Heh, maybe that's a factor. Anyway...third one. A reindeer has apparently been going around collecting for a charity called Feast of Plenty, they collect donations so they can feed those in need. Feast of Plenty says they haven't been getting any donations and haven't even been able to strike a deal with sleigh service. Talking to donors, it sounds like it's a reindeer going by the name Orion."

Rudy frowned. "We don't have an Orion."

"Oh...well, then, I guess we've got a fake name going here. How much do you know about the charity collection done by sleigh service?"

"Not much. I haven't really gotten involved, I've been too busy going through the training. I'll have to learn a bit more about it, I guess. You're sure it's a sleigh service reindeer?"

"Well, they introduce themselves as one, and they appear to operate just like legitimate collectors. It would be tough to go around and fool someone into thinking you were in the service, wouldn't it?"

"Maybe. I'll ask around." Rudy sighed and grimaced a bit. "Guess we're down to one...I'm not sure anything I brace myself for will be enough. Lay it on me."

Joey sighed, his face falling. "This has been eating at me for a while. It's been months of incidents with no clarity showing up, and it keeps me up at nights thinking I'm gonna get another call. It's...well, there's been reports of a reindeer, possibly a sleigh service reindeer, who's been drugging and having sex with random people."

Rudy was right, he wasn't ready. His jaw dropped, eyes widening. "Holy shit! Seriously? Date rape? How haven't we heard about this?"

"I've been keeping it incredibly quiet. I don't want there to be a lynch mob or anything, and I especially don't want the wrong guy getting attacked for it. It gets harder with each new victim, though. I mean, it's the same pattern every time, the victim wakes up in a room, usually a hotel or inn somewhere, reeking of sex and filled with plenty of seed...so definitely a male reindeer. There's no sign that they're otherwise harmed...it doesn't seem like we're dealing with a sadist or anything, but it's still date rape, and it still needs to be stopped."

"No kidding! But you don't know anything beyond it being a male reindeer?"

"I wish we did. The victims have very blurry memories of their activities from the previous evening until they wake up...some don't even remember arriving at the place where the event happened. The only reason we even have any inkling that it's sleigh service is that one person thought they overheard a victim talking to a reindeer that claimed to be sleigh service...it's possible that they were just saying it to get action or to put the victim at ease. But considering the crime, Nick's been taking it extremely seriously, taking it as if it is one of them until it can be proven otherwise."

"I can't say I blame him. We can't just go talking about it to anyone, it's gonna get around...I'm not sure how we're gonna address this yet. But you'd better believe I'll do all I can to find the guy, or confirm it's not one of ours. I really hope it's the latter, but..."

"You have suspicions?"

"No. Just a bad feeling. Because being in sleigh service should be an attractive quality - no need to put someone under. It's a lie I've heard other reindeer tell to get laid...and a truth I've seen some of the males and females use for the same purpose. Which makes me think that it's someone who doesn't WANT to be notable...because they have a reputation to protect."

Joey nodded solemnly. "Then I hope we catch them fast. Because this is gonna be a big black mark already, and it's only gonna get worse the longer it goes on."

"Yeah...okay. I'll be in touch with you as soon as I find out anything. And you let me know if you hear anything new as well."

---

Getting back to his place, Rudy was still a bit shaken. The other incidents were simple enough, nothing that would truly stick as a lingering thing...but date rape was another story entirely. He could hardly believe it had stayed under the radar, how none of the victims had gone super public about it...it felt like it shouldn't have been, that something should have been put out there to put the public on guard. But sleigh service was so important, due to what it meant for Christmas, that sometimes extra effort went to keeping things steady for it...and Rudy couldn't say that didn't bug him.

If it's one of ours, then we're going to have to answer for the cover-up. And even Nick is going to get some heat for it. They're going to see it as allowing it to go on, even if an investigation was going on.

On the other hand, it also would have meant a great opportunity to impugn someone else's character...the culprit could accuse an innocent reindeer of doing the deed, and then be allowed to continue while an upstanding member was blacklisted. The only advantage they had, in fact, was that the rapist didn't know anyone was on to them, and couldn't misdirect them. So...as ugly as it made him feel, the silence was their only asset.

As he opened his door, he was treated to a sight that momentarily blew all his thoughts away - Zephyr standing against the wall, dressed in nothing but a tight thong that hid very little. "Hey, Rudy babe. Been having a good day so far?"

One thing Rudy always hated about his condition was that it made him an open book - when he went red, he went REALLY red, his nose glowing especially bright. "Ah...not so nice until just now, Zeph."

"Hm, glad I could make it then. I've been eager to get that red rocket of yours blasting off...and my own, been too damn busy lately, can't even take time to wank. You wanna head upstairs and make some sparks fly?"

"I...guh..." Oh, did he want to, but...there was an unfortunate obstacle. "I...I'm sorry, Zeph, but...I can't."

It was painful seeing Zephyr's face fall like that. "What? Why not?"

Rudy sighed. "Look, it's...Nick's asked me to help him out with some...Fresh Start stuff. I'm supposed to help with a couple of cases they need, and...well, it's kind of a major conflict of interest if I'm hooking up with a sleigh service member while investigating the sleigh service."

"Seriously? You can't think I'm doing something wrong? You know me, Rude."

"Yes, I DO know you, and I don't suspect you." Which was true, though what Rudy didn't say was that he would have to look into Zephyr anyway - there was nothing to suggest that he was involved, but an unpleasant discovery could always be made. "But if someone thinks I'm showing favoritism, they could accuse me of covering for you, and say that I'm accusing someone else to hide your involvement. And I really, really don't want that to happen."

"Mmngh..." Zephyr covered his face with both hands. "Fuck...I hate that you're right about that. So now we're gonna have to be apart until this whole thing gets resolved..."

"I'm sorry, Zeph. I'd ask someone else to do it, but Nick asked me for a reason, and it's a good one."

"Fine. But once this is over, you're gonna have a very pent-up stud on your hands...and you'd best set aside a couple of days because I'm gonna make up for all the lost time." Zephyr walked out past him, without even a goodbye, clearly upset. Rudy didn't blame him...he'd been busy lately and had been looking forward to some of their quality time together.

I hope he doesn't hold it against me...I really didn't want to blow him off like that. There are so much more fun ways to blow. But I can't risk him getting put in the crosshairs if the rapist starts feeling the heat. He shut the doors and leaned against the wall, sighing deeply. I'll make sure you get plenty of time with me, Zeph...I'm gonna need it, too.

---

It was pretty easy to divide his role in things into three parts. And he wanted the easy part out of the way first.

Two days in, he found himself in Dasher's dormitory, the bigger reindeer leaning on his table solemnly and looking at the ground. Almost like he knew what Rudy was there for, even though Rudy hadn't said anything about what the meeting was for. Well, it was the time of year for the Fresh Start.

"So...have you been to the Frosted Tip lately?"

Dasher let out a groan. "What did I do?"

"From what I was told, damage to a bar and stools. Remember any of that?"

"No. Just like the last three times. Ugh, I keep telling myself not to overdo it...I think I just need to stop drinking period, or at least stop drinking with other people. It's like, I think I have things under control, and then before I know it I'm waking up at home with a killer hangover, sometimes bruises, and no idea what happened. And the other guys, even if I tell them to, don't stop me...or they can't. I don't even know."

"I think can't is more likely. I haven't been around you too many times in places where there's a lot of drinking, but enough to know that you...don't really pay attention to anyone when you get drunk. You just kinda start to pile it on at a point, and then we just hope that we can get you out of there before things get wild."

"Blugh. Yeah, okay...I gotta just, stop drinking around other people. Which I guess is gonna get me to stop almost completely since I like never drink alone anyway." Dasher let out a long sigh and slumped back in his chair. "What's my penance?"

"The bartender just wants payment for the damages. I don't know how much, but I can't imagine it's too extreme."

"Maybe not, but that's not gonna soothe my soul. I'll have to think of another way to make it up to him...maybe volunteer there for a few nights, dry. See if I can stop someone else from causing trouble, that'll be maybe a decent bit of karma my way."

"Yeah, it could be," agreed Rudy with a nod. "Or maybe you could help him replace or rebuild some stuff. I know you're a handy guy."

"Yeah...maybe that would be better. Something a little more constructive rather than destructive. Maybe he'll be able to come up with something."

"It sounds like a good idea. It's something more personal than just paying for it, makes it feel more meaningful. And that's the spirit of Fresh Start, right? You're trying to do something meaningful to go into the next year with a clean slate, new focus, a chance to excise old demons and become a better person with nothing holding you back."

"I think I'll do that...it's really time for me to make a change, I can't keep doing this sort of thing. No time like Fresh Start to make that change."

Rudy gave Dasher a satisfied smile. "Sounds good to me, and I know Nick'll approve, too. Well, I gotta go talk to some other people, so I guess I'll catch up with you later..."

"Er, hang on a sec, Rudy..." Dasher stood up, his full size on display; he was only slightly smaller than Zephyr, technically mid-sized as far as sleigh service went, but that was still pretty huge compared to Rudy. "Long as we're on the subject of clean slates and moving on and all...I wanted to kinda apologize for the way we've been towards you. You're a pretty cool guy, we kinda gave you a lot more shit than you deserved. I mean, you're trying to get yourself set up for us maybe needing you again, it's pretty dumb of us to give you a hard time for it."

Rudy felt his glow start to build again. "Oh...uh, thanks. I mean...you're pretty cool, too, you...well, there's been others that have given me a lot harder time than you..."

"Yeah, but I didn't really do anything to stop it, either. And I should be doing more, it's not right to let the others harass you either. So I'm gonna try to rein them in however I can, and make sure you feel more welcome around here. Maybe you're not the biggest guy, but you're the only one who can make the night sky shine like that...far as I'm concerned you're totally one of us."

"Wow...that...means a lot to me, Dasher. Thank you." Yep, he was definitely glowing bright right now, though it was also probably distracting Dasher from a bit of the ol' teary eyes. That wasn't something he heard very often, and it meant a lot that any of them accepted him so forthrightly. Maybe that was going to be his Fresh Start, too...and maybe that was one of the reasons Nick had him doing this, apart from the obvious ones.

---

Rudy had contemplated asking Dasher about the unknown cases, but in the end had decided against it. Although he didn't really suspect Dasher to be the culprit - his drinking issues were rowdiness and very obvious, and he didn't seem like the type - he couldn't eliminate anyone for sure without further information, and even if he could, the more people who knew the easier it could spread around. And again, that lack of publicity was the only thing he had going for him for the most serious case.

Instead, he dried his eyes, composed himself, and headed to the women's dormitories. After all, he had another known culprit to chat with...and he doubted Kaze would be quite as easygoing about it. It wasn't that she wasn't a reasonably nice person, she just was a bit prideful and high on herself, and didn't handle confrontation well. And this was going to be confrontation, even if Rudy hardly looked threatening.

And sure enough, she wasn't exactly thrilled to see him. "I'm busy, Red. What do you want?"

"To have a chat. Business from Nick." Technically true, even if not directly, but Rudy knew none of them would say no if it came from their boss. While, if he presented it as his own business, he'd get a door shut in his face in a hurry, here Kaze only rolled her eyes and reluctantly let him in.

"It'd better be good, I've got a big shindig to get to and I still haven't put together my outfit."

"I'll try to make it quick. Actually, I'm glad you mentioned outfits...it kinda has to do with that."

"What, you want fashion advice?" Kaze actually grinned a bit, looking like she was sizing him up. "You're a shrimp, but you got good muscle tone. Show more of it. Lose the vest, get something skimpier down south. If it's outfits you're after, go less fabric, more harness, and add a bit of leather if you have to. Collars and cuffs would do. Black, for sure."

"I'll keep that in mind." Actually, he intended to - Zephyr would probably be drooling all over that, he could use a treat for his wounded boyfriend. "But actually, it's about your outfit woes. I remember hearing about some troubles you were having with the Minus K?"

"Oh, THAT...gah, I did NOT need that reminder." Kaze's eyes narrowed. "NEVER shop there. Custom fitting my ass, I got fit for a piece and then when I went to pick it up it was completely wrong! And those dicks had the NERVE to say I'd grown a size since I was there last! As if I don't monitor that constantly, hello? I'm on sleigh service, I work out! I'd know if I'd grown! Wouldn't even give me my money back! Gah, they're awful!"

"That does sound unfair. Still, it doesn't excuse vandalism."

"What? Huh? Who said anything about vandalism?" Kaze had that tone of voice where she was clearly trying to sound surprised and couldn't hide the fact that she wasn't.

"They caught you on camera, Kaze. I recognized the horn split...you're the only reindeer that size with that shape." Seeing such a large amount of angry reindeer in front of him was definitely intimidating, but he tried to hold his ground. "I know you're angry, but that's not the way to go about things."

"What do you care? Are you gonna rat me out?"

"They already know. But that's why I'm here. Fresh Start."

Hearing those words defused Kaze's anger a bit; she huffed and thumped back into her chair. "God dammit. Shoulda known. Okay, fine. I was pissed off and I wanted to get back at them more publicly than just an angry blog post or something. Maybe I shouldn'ta done it, but come on, they were so unfair! I know, no refunds on custom works, but it was THEIR fuck-up!"

Rudy nodded. "It does sound like it, but when you do stuff like this, it makes YOU look like the bad guy, and others might not believe you then. They may think you're just making excuses for being unreasonable. I know you don't want to let them off the hook, but maybe some kind of arbitrator or something would be a better course of action if they're being troublesome."

"Yeah, yeah...guess I oughta do it the reasonable way. Ugh, it's just so frustrating."

Maturity usually is, thought Rudy, thinking better of actually saying it. "I'll let you decide how you want to go about fixing things. Just remember that Nick's gonna hear about it so you'll want to be honest about it. You know he'll find out if you're not."

"Yeah, I know. And you can't let Nick down. Okay, fine, is that all?"

"Ye...almost. One other question, not related to that. I'm, uh, trying to find out stuff about the charity drives...I heard this side of the dorms was a bit more involved in how all that works?"

Kaze shrugged. "Not me. You'll probably wanna talk to Vixen, she's the real center of it all. Just like she is with everything in HER mind."

"Oy...well, can't be helped. Thanks...and, uh, thanks for the fashion tips."

The female reindeer's grin returned. "Sure. Just remember who to talk to if you want to play dress-up before you go melt your boyfriend's brain. You know who the REAL fashion icon is around here."

Rudy chuckled a bit. "Wouldn't dream of going anywhere else."

---

Step two, better than he had expected. He didn't know if he would call it 'bonding' exactly but it seemed there was a way into Kaze's good graces, and that was deferring to her heavy interest in fashion. And Rudy had to admit, she had to be the most knowledgable about it...definitely more than him, he didn't really think about it all that much. Or, he hadn't until he'd started spending more time with Zephyr, and found himself paying a bit more attention to his appearance. Funny how spending time with people you liked and wanted to like you made you think more about yourself.

Vixen didn't need any help with that. She thought of herself plenty already.

Rudy sort of dreaded going to see her. Well, really, there was no 'sort of' about it. If there was any reindeer that intimidated him close to the level Blitzen did, it was her. Partly because she was the biggest - not just of the females, of EVERYONE, she even had a few inches and pounds on Blitzen. And partly because she was THE diva, the one who knew she was important, loved being important, and LIVED on being important. It was Vixen's world, everyone else was just living in it.

Rudy got the impression she didn't like him very much. Not that she seemed to like anyone very much, but he was especially disliked. And for once, he knew exactly why - he shone brighter than her in every way without even trying. Whenever the reindeer were out together, he stole her spotlight, partly by being a literal living spotlight. His reputation and glow were more talked about than she was, and that irritated her to no end. And there wasn't anything he could do about that, he couldn't control how people reacted to him or to her. This was one reindeer he had just resigned himself to never getting in their good graces.

So of course he would have to talk to her about all this.

Finding himself in Vixen's dorm made him feel small. She had the largest room, and it was built for someone larger than he was...he was pretty sure that was intentional, to make sure everyone knew who the biggest one around was. And of course, there was also the size of her ego to contend with. All told, he certainly wasn't comfortable, which no doubt she preferred. The sooner he got the info he needed, the better.

Vixen was grooming herself, taking her sweet time getting around to Rudy; no doubt she had something planned for the evening like Kaze did, only probably significantly more upscale. He didn't push her - there was no way he was getting any information except on her terms. So he sat there in a deep, luxurious chair, trying to consciously dim his glow and hide his nerves.

"You know what I find most irritating about you?" Her voice was deep and powerful, it had a prominence all its own that Rudy couldn't have competed with in a century. "What among all your qualities truly grates at me more than anything?"

"I...wouldn't try to guess what you're thinking," replied Rudy tentatively; he had absolutely no clue offhand, but was sure he would be told no matter what he said.

Vixen turned from her mirror to look down on him haughtily. "And that would be exactly what it is. That insufferable temperance, that reluctance to BASK in one's own glamor, is a trait of yours I simply CANNOT abide. An insult to the attention you receive and to all others who crave it."

"It's not like I ASKED for it..."

"Stardom is not simply a thing that happens to most. It is a trial of epic proportion, a gauntlet of daily struggle, clawing and fighting for every INCH of improvement of one's own beacon to shine just the tiniest bit brighter than the rest of the crowd, because it is a CROWD, darling, far more competitive than anything else in all the worlds. And the amount of time, effort, blood and tears and sweat I have POURED into reaching the pinnacle of stardom...a diva BASKS in the adulation, because they have well and truly EARNED such a luxury."

"You certainly do put a lot of work into it." What else could he say? To him, the words 'diva' and 'bitch' seemed almost synonymous, and he was sure he wasn't the only one. But it wasn't for him to question - this was clearly Vixen venting her frustrations at him, and if he wanted the info he wanted he had to endure it.

"Years. Years and years. Never a day goes by that I don't try to GRASP for one more beam of light to make my star brighter...and then along comes you. A runt of no name or reputation, tossed in over your head where you never belonged, and you steal the thunder of all of us without even trying. Your shine so powerful it takes FORM...and you shy from it like a roach. You don't take, you don't bask, and you don't have a shred of diva in you...and you have no idea how frustrating it is for a diva to see her attention swiped by someone who doesn't care for it."

"You...want me to be a diva?"

"Darling, I cannot DESTROY you if you are not even in the ring. To challenge a diva should mean to place yourself squarely in front of her, challenge her face to face...or in your case, face to bosom, since you could scarcely reach my face without a stool. And then, a bitter bout! Vitriol! Shaming! Insults crude and eloquent! A feud of such public prominence the paparazzi would feed for MONTHS! Until one emerges, bloody but victorious, while the other is consigned to the shadows! That is a true battle of the best! But...when one refuses to enter the fight, it is finished before it begins, and the aggressor is the loser instantly, hounded by accusations of jealousy and pettiness that will dog her for an age, if not a lifetime. And that is what you threaten me with, Rudolph. Not only can I not shine brighter, I haven't even the arena to snuff that star of yours out and retake my place."

Rudy was scowling himself now. "Listen, you can HAVE the spotlight for all I care. I spent eight months thinking I had engaged in an elaborate suicide ritual, I was just thankful to be out alive. I didn't ask for all this, and quite frankly, I don't need it. And I don't really feel like spending my time trying to build a following that I'm really not interested in, when I have plenty to deal with already."

Vixen turned back to the mirror, adjusting her long, flowing mane yet again. "You rail against the wind. At some point you will have to accept the truth. This is not a game you play, this is a game that plays you. You will never be invisible in the eyes of an adoring public, and those who want those eyes on them will never stop resenting you until they can ravage your image in a grotesque public display."

"And I'm sure you'll be first in line. Can we talk charities now?"

That got a huff from Vixen. "At least that is one venue where your attention may do some good. It is a simple thing. You go door-to-door, asking for donations to charity. Never pushing. You explain your charity, what its purpose is, and ask for a contribution. I should not think it would require much explanation."

"You're right, it seems simple enough. Except, there must be a million charities out there."

"And there are far fewer which meet muster. Nicholas approves all the charities that sleigh service may engage with, and that is only after I screen out the obvious nos. Openings are preciously rare - few want to separate from such a prominent organization, and most often it is only those caught in fresh shady dealings that are dismissed. Nicholas can find out quite a lot quite quickly, and those that have a history of stepping out of line could no more hope to be accepted than you could hope to stand as tall as I."

"I get it, I'm tiny. Apparently giving off light all over the place takes all the energy that I'd otherwise use to grow. So, do YOU know anything about these charities? Like, say, Feast of Plenty?"

Vixen scoffed. "Feast of Plenty? They have never slunk past myself. They funnel far too much of their donations into their own pockets for Nicholas to even consider them."

Rudy cocked his head. That might turn out to be important...a good way to run a scam if you're already known for collecting for charity. "Right...but what's stopping someone from going out and saying they're collecting for that anyway? Let's say one of the reindeer thought they were a useful charity despite what you and Nick say, whether they're right or wrong. Who's to say they don't go out collecting for them instead?"

"It would be utterly silly. Since Feast of Plenty would receive nothing anyway. All charity donations go directly to the organization at the time of deposit - the boxes are designed to automatically transfer to them. A very special design, a rather genius idea of my own, to ensure that nothing could get lost or stolen during collection. After all, if money is collected in one spot, ruffians take note, even if it is someone of our stature doing the collection."

Something was clicking with Rudy. "Does Nick know about that set-up?"

"Please...I cannot bother Nicholas with every detail. He only approves the charities, he leaves the true efforts to the star of his show."

"I see..." Rudy stood up suddenly. "That's very helpful. I think I'm going to take a look at the set-up. Thank you, Vixen."

Another huff from the robust reindeer femme. "A charity lesson for YOU, darling...a diva never thanks another, unless so dripping with sarcasm that it becomes poison. You will never be a worthy rival if you give yourself up so easily."

"Yeah, well, you never thanked me, and there's only one diva here. So I'll consider myself getting off easy." As he headed for the door, another thought struck him. "Oh, and don't forget...even someone who shines as bright as the sun can sometimes be blocked by the moon. It's not all about who's got the most light."

He didn't linger on that, but he could swear he saw Vixen's eyes get wider in the mirror a brief moment before he closed the door.

---

"Jack Laplace."

"Jack? It's Rudy." Rudy was a bit breathless as he left the sleigh service compound. "Gotta major tip. I'm almost certain Orion's not one of ours."

"Huh? You sure about that?"

"Positive. I've seen the set-up for charity collection, it's tamper-proof. Vixen's got it set up where their collection boxes deposit directly into a particular charity's coffers. And I took a look at them - they're all clearly labeled, impossible to miss, and there's magic on them to protect against any subterfuge. No one here stands to gain anything from that kind of scam - they can't profit from it when they don't actually have their hands on any money."

There was quiet on the other end of the phone for a moment. "Huh...I'm starting to see where you're going. Cui bono...no one on sleigh service stands to gain from it. Unless they were using a different box, switching it out for one of their own?"

"Can't happen. When you go out, you've got the box attached to a harness you wear. The harness can only be attached and detached on-site, and the boxes can't be removed from them. No one on sleigh service has the know-how to deal with this kind of thing in a way that would keep them under the radar."

"I see. I have to be thorough, you don't think that someone would go out completely on their own, make their own rig with their own box that doesn't have any special enchantment?"

"Theoretically, it's possible, but why? Aside from a pretty nice stipend, sleigh service has a jobs listing for anyone who wants to make extra money, and then there's also endorsements, appearances, and other opportunities. All of which pay more and are mostly easier, more reliable, and more above board than running a charity scam. There's literally no reason a reindeer on sleigh service would go to the trouble."

"Hm, that makes sense. But then we're kind of in a bind, because we have no leads if it's not a sleigh service member."

"Not no leads. Whoever this guy is, he's able to pass for a sleigh service reindeer. That means he's probably a pretty big reindeer in his own right, and he knows our typical script. And maybe our donors...that list you sent, they said they're pretty frequent donors, right?"

"Yes, they described themselves as such. Said they donate every time a sleigh service member comes around...though, a couple of them were put off by the thought of a fraud out there."

"Understandable. There aren't any ex-members of sleigh service living in Tannenbaum, so someone's probably shadowing us when we're out there and finding the people who seem more willing to donate and fleecing them in particular. Bet they give it a day or two in between, so that it doesn't seem as suspicious."

"All sounds plenty possible, so you think there's a way to trap him?"

"If he is shadowing us, he's probably following our publications. So I'm thinking, maybe it's a good idea to organize a surprise charity drive for the season of giving, in a new area where we don't have familiar donors. Making a show of it in two days time, bringing out several of the crew, go around collecting..."

"I get it," Jack cut in, sounding amused. "The lure of new pockets would have to attract our mystery man. I'll bring a few guys in case anything gets hairy, and we'll keep a lookout for unfamiliar characters."

"Even if we miss him there, he's sure to make his move pretty quickly. We'll give donors some cards telling them to call if they get a reindeer collecting within the next week."

"Perfect. We'll nail this guy yet. Thanks, Rudy, I really appreciate it."

---

A week later found Rudy in his apartment, frustrated. Everything was done except for one thing...but it was kind of the most important thing of all, and the thing that he was most concerned about. And what he had the fewest ideas on.

The charity scammer had turned out to be an easy catch - he didn't even really try to hide that he was shadowing the real sleigh service reindeer, counting on the fact that they were otherwise occupied to just stay in the background. He hadn't been counting on Rudy and Jack paying attention to HIM, though. It turned out to be someone who was certainly large enough to pass for a sleigh service reindeer, but hadn't ever been one, and he'd gone quietly once the jig was clearly up. One more issue off the radar, and not even one that sleigh service had to clean up in their own ranks.

But there was one more thing they did. And Rudy had no idea how to even start.

For a repeat offender, the information was shockingly sparse. Witness testimony was awful, they didn't remember much of anything - a side effect of the drug that was used on them, apparently something called Crystal Ice. Rudy had heard of the drug before, it wasn't exactly what one would call 'common' but as far as date rape went it was the drug of choice - it made the user's memories fuzzy during and before and after for a few hours, reduced their inhibitions, and made them especially horny. Some people used it themselves to make themselves the center of attention at orgies and such - not Rudy's thing, he liked to remember his good times. They hadn't been able to run tests to prove it was Crystal Ice, since it was out of the system by the time any victim was found, but the characteristics of the case strongly suggested that over the few viable alternatives.

The only reason they even knew it was a reindeer, and had any suspicion it was a sleigh service reindeer, was because of a couple overheard lines from other witnesses and the scent identification of reindeer musk at a couple of the scenes. It wasn't even a guarantee that it was a sleigh service reindeer, despite Rudy's very strong concern that it was. As they'd seen with 'Orion,' reindeer were apt to claim they were in sleigh service as a way of making themselves desirable...but, with such an easy in, why use a drug? Why wouldn't you WANT to be remembered? Adding to that, it wasn't like it was hard to get sex in Noel - it was a fairly carefree and uninhibited society, it wasn't like there was rutting in the streets but few people cared about the private time of others. It didn't make sense for anyone to go to that length, unless they had a thing for forcing their will on others...and unfortunately, there were a few personalities in sleigh service that might have been conducive to that.

But he couldn't accuse them. Not without any proof. And they didn't have any good evidence. He'd heard something about testing the fluids for DNA or something like that but they didn't have any samples in storage at the time, and no one wanted to wait around for another victim to get that chance. He wouldn't even know who to accuse, and certainly couldn't just pull a name out of a hat. And questioning would be even more trouble - he wasn't an actual officer and no one had to answer his questions, and the culprit would find out and probably be able to hide his involvement before anyone could catch him. It felt more and more like there wasn't anything he COULD do...but he also couldn't just wait around, as they were nearing the point where another incident was likely to occur. They had been happening roughly once a month and it was just about a month since the last one.

I can't just do nothing, but I can't approach them...it's like the only thing I could possibly do is watch them while they went about their days. Actively spying on them...and I'm not a great spy for obvious reasons, but even if I tried, I can't watch them all all the time. There's no way something like that would work.

It was an idea he had come back to several times, each time dismissed as impractical and impossible. There was only one of him and nine male sleigh service reindeer - numbers which never added up. He couldn't be on all of them all the time...except, this time, another thought struck him.

Or...could it? If it wasn't me on all of them.

Suddenly the answer was right there...in fact, so obvious he could have smacked himself. It was true, he didn't know who could be guilty...but he knew who COULDN'T be. And those ones that couldn't be could certainly help him out...he would have to break the silence, but he could break it only among the right people, minimizing the risk of the spread.

It's just a matter of getting their help...and something tells me they won't be all that hesitant.

---

Which was how, a day later, Rudy found himself once again in the women's dorms, surrounded by eight imposing reindeer who looked like they could snap him like a twig. Maybe that was the fantasy for some males...him, he would gladly stick with Zephyr. But he wasn't there for funny business anyway - this was dead serious, and it wasn't long before they all knew it.

"You're kidding me!" Comet was easily the most expressive of the group, and it was showing here. "Date rape? That's insane! And they think it's one of us?"

"That's the fear. They don't know for sure, but a couple of witnesses have said that it's a big reindeer that claimed to be in sleigh service. Which alone should have been enough, but...if he was making himself unpleasant..."

"I can't believe any one of us would do such a thing!" Another female reindeer named Sylphi seemed quite adamant in that position. "You couldn't get away with that and stay on sleigh service! Nick would totally know!"

"Nick doesn't actually know everything," remarked Dancer. "He's got really good connections and a fantastic network, but if no one knows the truth he's not gonna be able to pull it out like magic. Otherwise why would he need help for the Fresh Start program?"

"And if this had been going on before this year, they already would have investigated it for last year's Fresh Start, so it wouldn't be on their record coming in," observed Stella, with another named Luna nodding beside her - the two were almost inseparable, twins with that inexplicable twin connection.

Assorted more chatter reigned for a bit, with some of the reindeer insisting it couldn't be and others not so convinced. But it all ceased when Vixen spoke up, looking down at Rudy hard. "This is...a very serious accusation."

"Trust me, I know it. And that's why this has been such a challenge. I don't want to ruin anyone's life by accusing them wrongly. And that's why I need your help. Because the only thing that I can say for sure is that it's a MALE reindeer that's the culprit, and unless any one of you ladies is hiding something unexpected, I know who I can say didn't do it. And that gives me one option for figuring out who did."

"And it involves us."

"It does. Basically, we need all eyes on the males. The only way we can determine who's doing it - or prove that it's NOT one of ours - is to track their every move. And it's not good enough to just use receivers, those could be easily discovered and removed. We need real eyes, making sure they aren't involved. Basically, we have to watch every one of them until we catch them in the act, or the act happens when we are sure everyone's whereabouts are accounted for. And I'm only one set of eyes, but you are eight. I like those odds a lot better."

"That actually could work," Cupid replied. "Either we catch them or we find out they're not involved. But they're not gonna want to be tracked if they know they're doing something wrong...we're gonna have to do it without them knowing."

Rudy nodded. "Exactly. It's going to have to be totally covert, and the tough part is that we're going to have to really watch them like hawks. If we miss even one when the act happens, we can't rule them out. And these don't happen daily. So we want our answer ASAP."

"There is a problem," Vixen said. "There are nine of them, and eight of us."

"I make nine. And I know I'm not exactly the stealthiest of reindeer, but I can tamp down my light a lot if I really focus. That covers all of them. And I know I'm taking a chance by doing this, but I'm sure I can trust you, and I know you don't want to be hitched next to someone who's got THAT kind of record."

"Hell no," Kaze snapped. "No way I'm gonna let any of them get away with this!" There was a smattering of assent amongst the others, just as he had hoped and expected. Whatever their attitudes towards him or in general, he had trust in the female reindeer, they were generally upstanding people and wouldn't put up with that.

"Well...it has been decided then." Vixen spoke like she was the one making the decision. "Then, who will be tracking who?"

That was the question...one to which Rudy already know the only answer that mattered. "I don't think it matters much, you can decide amongst yourselves. But I already know the one that no one WANTS to track, so I'll make that easy. I'll follow Blitzen."

"You realize if he discovers you, it will be much worse than if anyone else finds out." It sounded almost like real concern, unexpectedly.

"All too well, Vixen. But it'll be bad no matter who he catches, and he already hates me. I don't want to create any rifts between the team this close to Christmas, especially if it turns out none of them is the guy. Everyone else, I think they'd understand once you explained it to them, but him..."

"So make damn well sure he doesn't find out," Dancer said, quietly but with a definite force to it. "If the weather's what it sounds like, we're going to need our guiding light out there. And we'll all do our best, too."

"Thanks, Dancer...that's all I ask. Good luck."

---

The plot was hatched, and the observation began. Rudy wasn't going to monitor them - that was liable to just get them annoyed. Until they heard about another case, there was no need to check on them - they knew what they were doing. Just like he did, for the most part.

Just because he knew didn't mean he was confident, though.

On the contrary, he was basically constantly terrified. Blitzen treated him like garbage when he WASN'T angry at him...if he was furious, Rudy knew he had no chance of getting away unscathed. And he wouldn't have anyone around to back him up...it could get extremely bad. So he was totally adamant about remaining hidden, out of sight and out of mind. Which was easily the best case scenario, he preferred when he was out of Blitzen's sight and mind.

That was tough to do while remaining eternally vigilant about Blitzen's whereabouts. Every second, he had to know where Blitzen was - waking up earlier and going to sleep later, tracking him throughout his entire schedule, making sure he kept up with him whenever he left for another event. His workout routine helped a bit, it was easy to keep track of Blitzen around that time, but afterwards was a crap shoot that required him to adapt on the fly.

All this for what he felt was unlikely to amount to anything. As much as Rudy didn't like Blitzen, it didn't make sense that he would be the one. He had an ego a mile wide, he loved being adored, loved getting laid on the strength of his reputation. Date rape just didn't seem like the kind of thing he would get into. But he still had to stay vigilant until he had actual evidence to support that. So for four days he kept at it, refusing to let up on his quarry and dodging a couple of close calls to keep himself clandestine.

And then came the fifth day.

Right from the start he knew he was going to have a rough time. Blitzen was in an absolutely foul mood, frighteningly angry and snapping at everyone, he looked like he was about to hurl a weight at one of the trainers. Something had happened the previous night, he hadn't gone into the bar with Blitzen but the reindeer had been in a right state when he'd left, and not the drunk sort. That he still hadn't cooled off was really getting Rudy nervous, if he was that mad without knowing he was being spied on being discovered would probably be the end of him.

It made following him all the trickier, because he was much more erratic than usual. Rudy kept with it, but at first it looked like he was going to get lucky as Blitzen went back to the dorms after the workout...just when he thought he could relax, though, the reindeer re-emerged and went bar-hopping. In and out, over and over, he didn't stay very long in any of them, only long enough for one beer maybe. Maybe looking for something to take him away from his anger, and not finding it at any place.

Then he went into the New Season Hotel.

Immediately Rudy was on guard. It was the kind of location where other victims would be found, places where there were rooms to spend the night. And this place had a bar, he'd been to it before with other reindeer at Zephyr's behest. Reasonably upscale for a bar, they didn't have people trashing things or going nuts, and he would have expected Blitzen in his state not to be welcome. But as he waited, and minutes ticked away past an hour, he rather doubted he was going to be kicked out.

Unless he already was and I missed him...

Swallowing, he emerged from his hiding spot and headed in. Blitzen would know if he saw him, for sure, but at least he could pass it off as a coincidence and leave quickly, hopefully not breaking his cover. And if he wasn't in there...well, that would mean trouble, because either he was gone and Rudy had lost him, or...

Dammit. I am going to be very unhappy if the one thing I'd give him the benefit of the doubt on, it turns out he can't even reach that.

Inside the bar, he looked around. His immediate impression was not good; Blitzen was a pretty significant presence wherever he was, and he didn't see anything resembling that presence. So he definitely wasn't in the bar at the moment...had he been there earlier? Cautiously he approached the bartender, trying to be as surreptitious as he could be. "Uh, hey...have you seen any reindeer come in here? Maybe a little bit soused already?"

The bartender shrugged. "You looking for someone in particular? I think there's been a couple."

Rudy hesitated, but decided to throw caution to the wind. "Anyone on sleigh service? I was asked to, uh, round them up, there's an important emergency meeting."

"Not that I was aware of. At least no one making a point of letting me know."

"Hm. Well, they might still have been...who did you see come through?"

The bartender paused for a moment, lost in thought. "Well, the last one that came in, I guess he was a bit out of it. Not sure I'd call him drunk, though, he was...acting weird in a different way. Anyway, I remember him leaving with an arctic fox girl a while ago, she looked pretty out of it too. Not sure what they were doing but they might have gotten a room, not my business."

"I see...uh, thanks..." Rudolph left the bar in a hurry, and made an instant beeline for the front desk. That was a bust - they allowed patrons at the bar to go to the rooms to sleep off the buzz rather than do something dangerous outside, and then pay after the fact. If Blitzen had gone to a room, they wouldn't know until afterwards...there was no choice for him but to try to check the rooms and see if he could find the reindeer. Which definitely meant risking the bigger reindeer's wrath.

I could be in very big trouble. Maybe I should call for backup...no, I don't have any. The reindeer are all occupied...and I don't have Jack at my beck and call, especially for something that could possibly be wrong. I have to do it myself...ugh.

And so he began to scour the hallways, trying to search for anything that might lead him to Blitzen. It was still entirely possible that the reindeer had left the building entirely, but if that was the case then he had no leads whatsoever. This was basically desperation, his last gasp attempt to salvage something out of the night...it was safe to say his hopes were mostly pinned on there not being any events that night and he could re-establish his monitoring of Blitzen tomorrow.

On the first floor, he noticed nothing, but as he traveled the hallways of the second his ears picked up on a loud thumping from one of the rooms he passed. His heart began to pound as he approached the door, trying to listen it on it...it certainly sounded someone was fucking in there, grunts and moans and cries of what seemed like pleasure, though he couldn't fully tell. And then a deep, all-too-familiar voice. "Yeah...moan for me, sing it, foxy...you like that, don't you?"

Well, I found Blitzen. And Blitzen was definitely drunk or something from the weird tone in his voice, and definitely doing SOMETHING sexual...but, even as anxious as he was that it was exactly what he feared, Rudy couldn't be sure it was actually rape. There had been no indication from anyone earlier that whoever Blitzen's partner was wasn't a willing participant in the actions...storming in with accusations now would just be a disaster. But, if it WAS rape, and he just let it happen when he could hear it...it was an awful quandary.

My best course of action is to call Jack. He can take over afterwards, we can say it was someone from the neighboring rooms who called, keep there from being any ruckus on the team, and if it's rape we've got the guy, and if it's not we can just say he was being too loud.

He fished his phone from his pocket and pulled up the number. Just as he was about to click it, though, he heard more talking from Blitzen that stopped him ice cold.??"Yeah...not so stuck up NOW, are you, bitch? Love that Crystal Ice, makes dry cunts all wet, in both ways. Show YOU for rejecting me...enjoy my scent never coming off you, whore."

SHIT! Fuck, fuck fuck fuck...of fucking course. Wounded ego. He met her yesterday, she rejected him, that's why he was such a pill. Fuck, that's probably been the story every time, how many times have I seen him pissy over a bad date? Now there was no doubt, and no question that he had to act. He stepped away from the door as the phone buzzed. His heart was pounding as he heard the other end pick up. "Jack Laplace."

"Jack, it's Rudy. New Season Hotel, second floor, room 216. Blitzen's our date rapist, and he's in the act right now. Get guys over here ASAP, your heaviest heavies, I think he's drunk or something and he's gonna be furious. I'm gonna try to intervene, so call for medical attention as well."

"Wait! Ru-" Rudy hung up the phone before Jack could say anything further. He stepped to the other side of the hallway and set his phone down, right against the wall to minimize the chance of anyone stepping on it. Turning, he faced down the door, brushed himself off, and charged. Leading with his shoulder, he slammed into it, breaking it open and partially damaging the door itself as the lock was torn away.

It was definitely not a sight he enjoyed seeing. Blitzen was balls deep in an arctic fox that was a lot smaller than he was, and the vacant expression on her face left no doubt that she'd been drugged. Blitzen's head turned towards him, with a furious expression that struck terror into him; his eyes were bloodshot and highly dilated, he wasn't just drunk but on some sort of drug, and Rudy knew that there wasn't going to be any restraint found here. "RUNT! THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" he bellowed loudly enough for probably the whole hotel to hear.

"Get off her, Blitzen!" Rudy yelled back.

"FUCK YOU! I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING WRONG!"

"You drugged her! I heard you say it! The cops are on their way to take you in! Get out of her and leave her alone!"

If he'd been angry before, now Blitzen was in a devastating fury. He yanked his cock out of the vixen roughly, carelessly letting her thump onto the floor as he rounded on Rudy. Before the smaller reindeer could do anything, a beefy had was closed around his neck. "FUCK YOU, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT! I'M NOT GONNA TAKE SHIT FROM A FUCKING RUNT!" On the last word, he threw Rudy hard into the wall. Pain erupted in his head and back as he slammed into the surface and slumped to the ground, stunned. Before he could get his sense back he was grabbed and flung onto the bed, ragdolling a bit as he hit.

"GONNA FUCKING PISS ALL OVER ME FOR DRUGGING HER? FINE! YOU AIN'T DRUGGED UP, YOU TAKE HER PLACE!"

Once again that hand came down on his neck, choking him a bit, and he felt a powerful hand rip away his shorts. He tried to kick out, but his leg was caught by that hand and yanked hard, making him yelp and exposing his rear. That grip on his throat tightened as he squirmed around, trying to keep the bigger reindeer from getting into him, his vision was starting to go black from the pain and lack of air...

And then suddenly it went from black to red. Totally red, a sudden complete flush that made him briefly think he'd gone blind. A moment later he heard an anguished howl above him, and the hand on his throat released him. "FUUUUCK! I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE!!!"

Neither could Rudy at first. The red faded, but he was left with an intense blur that persisted for a bit. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, rubbing them hard, and when he opened back up his vision was better, although still not back fully to normal. But he could see well enough to know that Blitzen was on the floor, writhing around, hands covering his eyes, repeatedly bellowing out his state of blindness. The frantic behavior had him terrified that anything he did to actually check on Blitzen would get him attacked again...but thankfully, it didn't come to that, as a sudden onslaught of people rushed into the room, hotel security ensuring that by the time Jack and his crew arrived, the big brute was no longer an active threat.

---

"I don't think I need to tell you how lucky you were."

"Trust me, I know."

Rudy had only been allowed to sleep under the supervision of the sleigh service's health department. They had a few specialists for reindeer health and injury, making them the first choice for all physicals and treatments. The red-nosed reindeer doubted this was the kind of thing they expected to be checking anyone out for, but if that was true, they didn't show it.

Dr. Angeles, a white-furred wolf, was examining him the morning after the ruckus. Rudy felt plenty sore, especially on his neck, but at least didn't feel like anything had broken. And it seemed that his initial impression was borne out after the doctor's examination. "You have some bruising on your back and neck, but your head checks out and there don't seem to be any broken bones. With an impact like the one you had, it could have been very bad. As it is, I'm putting you on a two-week workout moratorium. You shouldn't have to be bedridden but I would avoid putting any extra strain on you that you wouldn't normally encounter."

"That sounds fine to me, doc," agreed Rudy. A bit of a rest after that kind of craziness was definitely welcome. "How's the, uh...the woman?"

"Shaken and distraught, as one would expect, but unharmed. Fortunately it sounds like she was familiar with larger partners, so her body was able to handle Blitzen better than it could have."

"Probably why she was interested in Blitzen in the first place...I'm guessing that's why he was in such a bad mood the night before, she didn't like his personality and told him off, and he went to try again and brought the drug. I doubt she would have ever suspected he'd pull something like that...I hope she gets support after this, it's probably going to linger. Hell, I didn't even get entered and the sight of Blitzen bearing down on me like that is gonna haunt me."

Dr. Angeles nodded. "I've referred her to her GP and a support group. She doesn't remember that much of last night so it's at least not going to be very vivid, but the sense of violation in the aftermath will no doubt keep her up for a while. She sounded like she was glad to have met you in person, though, even if in really bad circumstances...maybe you should go visit her, you could give her an emotional boost that she could really use."

"Well, when you put it that way, I'd sound like kind of a cad if I didn't..."

The wolf chuckled behind her clipboard. "Cad? Sure, if you didn't visit her six decades ago."

"Some of those carols they sing haven't changed in hundreds of years, I'm fine with old words. I hesitate to ask since it's hard to even care, but what happened to Blitzen?"

Dr. Angeles took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. "His condition is...not as good. Physically he seems fine, but at the current moment in time, he's completely blind."

Rudy's eyes shot open. "Wait, what? Blind? He's...he actually did lose his sight? How?"

"Well, I can't make an official ruling, but...after reading the incident report that the investigators presented, based on your report and the damage Blitzen suffered, I do have an idea. I believe Blitzen's eyes were damaged by a concentrated coherent photoemission of ocular origin."

It took several seconds for Rudy's brain to process and translate the unnecessary science-speak, but when he did, he almost scowled. "Really, doc?"

"Again, I can't say for sure, but it's a hypothesis that fits the facts."

"You're saying I blinded Blitzen with fucking eye lasers?"

"You said that you had a sudden pure redness in your vision. An emission of light originating from your eyes would be consistent with that experience. Indeed, there's a rather significant abnormality in your retinal surface, I can't examine it as closely as I'd like but I'd venture it's possible they serve as high-power light energy capacitors. Your body's cells do store significant amounts of light in general so it's not that outrageous an idea that certain tissues may have different storage capacities, and you already know about the capacity for release. Tissues already designed as photoreceptors would likely be especially strong capacitors. And an emission like that could be well focused through the eyes, since there's a fairly directional emergence point. Finally, the damage we see on Blitzen is consistent with the kinds of damage seen in laser pointer injuries, though in considerably greater magnitude. It seems like an explanation that makes sense to me."

Dammit, it does make sense...doesn't stop it from sounding extremely ridiculous. "So, how long will it take to treat the damage?"

"The treatment will not take too terribly long, once it's started. However...Blitzen will not be receiving treatment for the blindness for some time. His cure will be contingent on his reparations and the turnaround of his behavior."

Rudy stared at the doctor. That sounded harsh...fair, yes, but harsh. "Really? I've never heard of that being done before."

"Nicholas decided it would be the best way to ensure the completion of the Fresh Start Policy. And there's really no one who needs one more. Blitzen has been in a serious state in the last couple years...his behavior has gotten more erratic, and his toxicology results have frequently turned up evidence of drug use. He's refused to get counseling but it's been widely evident that he's been needing it."

"Uh...are you supposed to be telling me this?"

"It's going to be brought out into the open very soon anyway. There's policy that the team has to be made aware of the source of the problems if a member is going to be forced out of active service for a period of time. And I am certain that the source of Blitzen's problems is personal insecurity. Grandiose behavior covering for true feelings of inadequacy and failure. I've unfortunately seen it before, more than a few times. Pushing others around to try to prove to themselves their own superiority, using chemicals to cover for an inability to feel good naturally, and severe response to anyone who validates their real feelings...it's not exactly hard to see it."

"Wow...I had no idea. Then again, I made a point to try to stay away from him as much as possible..."

"And he probably wanted that," replied Dr. Angeles with a rather grave tone. "I think his internal negativity might have been exacerbated by how he saw you...through no fault of your own, of course. You just happened to be everything he was trying desperately to avoid being because of his feelings. He tried to be as big as possible, as much of an alpha male as he could be...and he saw you, the smallest reindeer in sleigh service, deferential and cordial, and both happy and well-liked...you were the truth he didn't want to face, essentially, that it is something deeper inside him that's at the root of his problems with himself and other people, not just that he's not big enough or alpha enough."

That made enough sense to Rudy. "No wonder he wanted to bug me all the time...I joked a couple times that he didn't like me because I existed, maybe that was closer to the truth than I thought."

"Perhaps. But he'll have to get over that if he wants to get his sight back. And I don't expect that to happen right away...those are difficult shells to crack, it will take time and deep delving for that to happen. At least for this coming Christmas, I very much doubt he'll be pulling any sleighs. And you'd better follow directions or you could be putting your own availability in jeopardy, too."

"On my honor, doc, I swear you won't even see me in the gym for two weeks."

The wolf nodded. "Good. That's all I have for you, come back and see me after those two weeks are up for a follow-up just to make sure you've recovered. And...while professionally I think it was unnecessarily reckless, on a personal level, I appreciate what you did there."

Rudy smiled. "Thanks, doc...I wouldn't take back any of it."

---

"I'm not gonna lie. I honestly thought I was going to get there and see a body." Jack shook his head and took a sip of water. "You going against Blitzen, my money would have been on him every time. I was gonna tell you to wait, that we could be there in fifteen minutes..."

"Yeah, but that's fifteen more minutes she would have been under assault, so...yeah." Per orders, Rudy was taking it easy, though he had a suspicion that wouldn't be lasting long. Jack had come over and they had been breaking down the aftermath of the incident. The hare had shown up with a cadre not long after the security guards at the hotel had put Blitzen under, and gotten Rudy's full statement of what had happened, but he was only just now hearing about the indefinite blindness and how it came about. To call him impressed to hear about it would have been the understatement of the decade.

"Yeah, and then we wouldn't have found out about those sweet eye lasers," Jack agreed with a grin. "Freaking amazing. Too bad Blitzen's going to be out of commission...they're gonna have to update that song about you. Who're they gonna find to rhyme?"

"Guh..." Rudy groaned, rolling his eyes. "They're not even gonna notice the difference, I doubt they'll do anything. Like I needed a freaking song about me in the first place, as if I didn't have enough hard feelings..."

"I didn't know there were such hard feelings, really. Doesn't seem fair, you're doing a huge service to everyone, and that really was a super impressive feat!"

"Well, I think it's kind of been tempered over all this, but honestly, can you blame them? I don't even do the hard work, they have to feel like they're getting slighted over someone who's kind of just...there to be there."

"Then that's their problem. It's called sleigh service for a reason...you're in a service position, doing an important duty. It shouldn't be about any of them, it should be about the work that they're doing. The reason you're famous is that you were thrown in to save the day. And you're hardly trying to soak it in."

"So I've heard. Vixen's rather annoyed by that."

"That's because she wants a rival, and you're the only one with enough prominence to fit the bill. I mean, really, she'd be a diva no matter what line of work she was in, so, yeah." Jack set down his glass and stretched. "Well, I guess that wraps up THAT story...hope it's not gonna tear you up too much in the press, but I'll try to do my best to emphasize that all of sleigh service was trying to find the culprit."

"We'll take some heat, but it's deserved. You can't hide something like this and not expect some hard feelings and questions whether enough was being done. Nick's prepared for that, he always is..."

"Yeah, I know. But he's the example, and people follow it...and he's a very forgiving sort if people turn themselves around. Was there anything else that we didn't cover?"

Rudy shook his head. "I don't think so...but, I would like to ask a favor."

Of course, the hare's face lit up. "A favor for one of my idols? How could I refuse?"

"You might want to after hearing it. You've got a lot more investigative resources than I do...I was wondering if you could take a bit of whatever spare time you have to try to learn about the people who had my condition in the past, and see if you could find if any of them were still alive somewhere. Or if not, anyone who'd worked with them, especially on the, uh, projection of their light."

"Ah, I see. You want to learn how to use it?"

"No, I want to learn how to CONTROL it. I didn't really put much thought into it back when the most I thought I could do was just flash a bit brightly. But now that I know that I'm actually capable of doing real damage with it under the right circumstances?" Rudy let out a deep sigh. "I can't risk that happening again without my controlling it. It might not be someone innocent that gets caught next time."

"You think someone innocent is gonna be trying to plow you and choke you at the same time?"

"That's just the thing, we're assuming it's only going to happen in a situation like that. And I don't feel comfortable with that assumption."

After a moment, Jack nodded in understanding. "I guess you're right, we don't know enough about it to really say that safely. But there's got to be records of others somewhere, I know there aren't many cases but someone had to be working with them. I'll see what I can find, and if I can put you in touch with anyone. Don't get anxious if it doesn't happen right away, it'll probably be a bit before I can unearth something, but I'm sure it's out there to be found."

"I certainly hope so. Guess there's a point to learning about this control stuff after all. Not that I want to use it as a weapon, but if you've got one you can't put down, you want to know how to use it...while hoping you don't-"

A bang and slam on the door interrupted Rudy's thought and made Jack leap a foot in the air from his chair. Rudy barely had time to register the stomping hoofbeats before Zephyr was in his face, grabbing him bodily and engaging him in a very deep, almost desperate kiss. Which he returned without hesitation, as the scent of that familiar musk started to set him off as well - it had been over two weeks since he'd even seen his boyfriend, and that need had just been lying in wait to pull the triggers. Zephyr wanted him bad, it appeared he hadn't even dressed and already had a throbbing boner that drooled against his fur.

As Zephyr pulled away after what felt like a good minute, he rumbled out in thick, barely-contained desire. "Haven't even touched myself in two weeks...hope you're ready for a pent-up bull ride."

"Gods, more than," came the breathless reply.

"Good, because it's coming like a freight train, and that's what I'll be doing too." He hefted Rudy over his shoulder, throwing the reindeer for a loop. As he turned, he saw Jack staring at them, a mix of awe, shock, and clear arousal on his face. He gave the hare a harsh grin. "Hey, bunny, either beat it or get those clothes off and join in. I don't care which."

Jack hardly needed a second to choose.

---

As much as Rudy had taken issue with his size in the past, he had to admit there were certain advantages. Being able to find furniture which fit him without having to custom-order it. Not banging your head or antlers on doorways or ceilings all the time. And when a big dude was rubbing his hands all over you, you felt like EVERYTHING was being rubbed.

Of course, hands weren't the only big thing rubbing against him - he could feel Zephyr's tool hot-dogging him, a sausage way bigger than the bun it was trying to fit in. And he wanted nothing more than that thing to plow him silly.

"Mrrr...I'm sorry about being testy before," Zephyr growled a bit into his ear, after nipping it a few times to make Rudy shiver. "Was kinda selfish of me, you were doing some big things and I wanted to be the big thing doing you. I know you weren't happy about it, either. But that ain't gonna stop me from rutting you so hard you're gonna feel it for a month."

"It had better not," breathed Rudy, the lust dripping from his voice so thick one could almost see it.

"That's what I'm hoping to get out of it, too." As if the big mitts and spit of his boyfriend weren't enough, Rudy also had Jack working his cock over. It had rapidly become clear than the hare was more than familiar with oversized tools, the way his hands and tongue were stroking along his flesh. Rudy may not have been close to Zephyr but he was still a reindeer, towering over a very average-sized hare and hung quite a sight better...yet, that seemed to suit him just fine.

"Mmph, you're gonna want to wait for your taste, bunny boy," Zephyr grunted, making Rudy feel a nice bolt of wetness against his back. "Unless you want that muzzle of yours pounded flat."

"You make that sound pretty tempting, big guy. But I wouldn't want you to worry about having to hold back." Jack pulled away from Rudy and bounded onto the reindeer's bed, laying on his back and spreading his legs. "I can't wait to feel this...wonder if I'm gonna be glowing after how much I get filled here."

"Rudy's been dry as long as I have...haven't you, Rude?" Another nip on his ear as Rudy nodded, crying out a bit at the sudden enjoyable sensation. "Maybe he'll make you plump with a nice glow in your gut..."

"Gods, I sure hope so."

Rudy wasn't getting much say in all of this, but at this point he couldn't have cared less. Zephyr was carrying him to the bed, and soon he was pitched forward, strong arms bracing himself over Jack as he felt the immense weight bear down on him. The blunt end of his dick was pushed against Jack's tailhole, just as Zehpyr's was against his own...this was definitely going to be a first for him, getting both ends worked like this. A very exciting first, though he was fairly sure Zephyr would end up doing most of the work...which, he realized only a moment before it started, was probably entirely by design.

And then Zephyr thrust, and any extraneous thoughts were sent packing nice and quickly.

It had been a few weeks since Rudy had gotten any action, so he had a nice tension built up in his rear. Zephyr would make sure he got VERY relaxed, but the first rough entry was always a kick to him, making his glow shoot up. And this was rougher than most, that force didn't end when Rudy felt Zephyr's groin smack his, instead it pushed him further down, driving Rudy's own dick into Jack with just as much intensity. He heard the hare gasp and then let out a high-pitched moan of pure delight as his cock went deep inside.

Rudy wasn't in any state to gasp - to call himself overwhelmed would have been QUITE an understatement. It went from nothing to feeling a massive stretching and throbbing in his rear and a furious tightness and friction around his dick in an instant. The pressure was really making him light up...and that light suddenly doubled in the next instant, when Zephyr grabbed Rudy's amulet and yanked it off, tossing it over to the corner of the room. The red glow really came out now, no longer being held back, it seemed like his whole body had suddenly turned a brilliant vermillion. His mouth opened to say something, but got caught in a fierce moan as Zephyr's cock pulled back, rather quickly, dragging Rudy back a bit as well out of Jack. The moan became a cry when Zephyr slammed back in, again forcing the smaller reindeer to hilt in Jack. And from there, there were no more moments where Rudy could collect his thoughts enough to say one word about the sudden action.

The first couple thrusts had been a bit slower, but Zephyr's real power came out quickly enough. Suddenly the bigger reindeer was pounding with feral intensity, jerking out and slamming in without pause. Rudy's ass felt that burn continuously, forcing moans and cries to burst out of him over and over; even as he got adjusted to the stretch again, to the fierce pounding that he craved, it felt like more than ever, a new level that he wasn't aware Zephyr even had. And it felt fucking amazing, lighting up his nerves just as much as his natural glow, sending sparks through him with every violent thrust.

He was pulling up out of Jack on his own now, needing to do something to ensure that the hare kept getting his own treatment, but whenever Zephyr pounded in he forced Rudy to hilt in that tight tailhole, his sheer power carrying him all the way through. It was almost like Zephyr was fucking Jack through Rudy, not that Jack was liable to mind...and really, neither did Rudy, with the pleasure that it brought, getting shoved in faster and more forcefully than he would otherwise have been able to manage on his own sent his delight sky-high. So did feeling that furry body below him clinging to him, wrapping around him and using up whatever space Zephyr was giving them to fill with his presence.

It was like being in a hurricane, and Rudy would have loved to take up residence there. Such bliss, his mind had become quickly overwhelmed, leaving him a slave to the pleasure and only able to wordlessly beg for more. The rocking of Jack's body below him, the spearing of Zephyr's miraculous tool inside him, the constant buffeting of his body and mind by sensations of tightness and stretching, the dual brand of tension flooding his brain and keeping him in a state of chaotic euphoria...he couldn't keep up with it all, and let himself get pushed around by it without resistance, reveling in a sensation of freedom he'd long been without.

Even with their eyes closed, Jack and Zephyr's visions were being overcome by red. Rudy was glowing brighter than the lights of the room itself, the full magnitude of his condition now very clear. Yet, that too was a liberation...Rudy was noticing it clear as day, that radiant glow was making him feel looser and more energized, like a weight had come off of him. It had been a long time since the amulet had come off...he'd never noticed how much it had wound him up, it had been such a gradual thing, but now that it was gone everything that had been building up was unleashed far more rapidly. And for once he let it, allowing the glow to fly unfettered as he pushed himself back into Zephyr's fierce thrusts and got himself drilled deep into hare ass. His voice was equally uninhibited, heavenly cries of delight and desire rushing from him almost constantly, overpowering the deep and dominant grunts from Zephyr above him and the lighter, more airy cries of Jack below him.

Rudy had lost all sense of time, it felt like an age and an instant all at once. Despite being heavily pent-up for quite some time, his orgasm refused to rush things, almost as if it too was trying to make up for lost time by not letting this end too soon. He could feel it building slowly, bubbling to the surface in drawn-out fashion, compounding the euphoria from the fucking he was giving and getting. His body shook with wanton need, driving him to new crests with each thrust, readying himself for the coming explosion.

And even then he wasn't prepared. A yell burst from him as it suddenly snapped, and he was immediately awash with bliss. He was wracked by motion in every direction, clamping down and loosening up, rocking back and forth, head and upper body arcing up and down...everything coming at once as he shot a heavy, thick load of reindeer seed deep inside Jack's body. The rabbit was crying out louder as well as he was feeling that viscous fluid pumping deep inside him, flooding him much more quickly than even most of his prior hung partners. He tightened himself down, trying to milk Rudy of his prolific load and ensure that none of it came out, welcoming the glowing gift he was being given. Soon enough, his own climax was joining in, spraying a less plentiful but no less enjoyable whiteness between himself and Rudy, the sticky mess getting rubbed between their fur as they shifted against each other.? Just as Rudy started to feel the pleasure slacken a bit, he heard a boisterous bellow from above him, and his moaning redoubled as his insides were painted with their own thick load of reindeer spunk. Zephyr's load had always been large, but with the promise of two weeks worth of inaction...the feeling of being filled so fully, so completely, that it felt like his body was going to have to stretch even further to fit it all, was something that he hadn't yet experienced. The tension on his innards increased ever further, causing him to rock back and forth on that fat staff, working out yet more seed to fill him and plump him up. And Zephyr clung to him, short thrusts making sure he could provide exactly what his partner desired, the immense sensation of relief and release so welcome after such a long time.

The three were a panting, sweaty and sticky mess after the shots finally ceased. Rudy felt so incredibly full, not sure if it was showing but it felt like it could. Jack looked pretty similarly, though it was hard to tell if there was any visible glow with the overpowering light Rudy was still giving off. That probably wasn't going to go away any time soon...his light, at least, never seemed to get exhausted. "W-wow...that was...incredible..."

"Heh...looks like you've been needing this as much as I have," Zephyr mumbled a bit, one hand slipping between Rudy and Jack to feel the pressure inside his partner's gut, as well as the nice sticky jizz that Jack had given off. "Gonna have to work it ALL out of you, get you nice and emptied out...and filled up at the same time."

"Ah...that...can we...take a moment, first?"

"Come on, I'm sure you've got a couple more lined up and antsy to get out there..." Jack, incredibly, sounded barely worn out at all from what had just come, and was looking cheekily up at Rudy, squinting a bit from the brightness as he stroked the reindeer's cheek. "Sounds like it's been far too long, and you have more than just oodles of light stored up."

Rudy shook a bit at the touch. "Haah...I'm...you know...that I'm supposed to take it easy, right? Doctor's orders..."

"Oh, don't worry, the two of us can do all the heavy lifting," chuckled Zephyr, and Rudy felt his arm shift to wrap around him tightly rather than just rub. "We'll make good and sure you'll be relaxed after we're done..."

Well, maybe in some cases being caught up by a horny reindeer wasn't so bad. Rudy sank into his boyfriend's grip, yielding to him and the equally horny hare that was already starting to work him again. His balls WERE still awfully full, after all...and besides, he still needed to focus on endurance training.