⊱┊Reindeer ˊ-

Christmas was your favorite ritual. Your family said Santa Claus loved vanilla and pecan cookies, a real connoisseur. This year, however, you were invited to participate. You didn't consider yourself good in the kitchen, and yet, you decided to make oatmeal cookies with honey and dried apples. Someone suggested calling them "diet cookies," and everyone else echoed the sentiment as a loving joke. In the end, they all said the same thing: "Put them on the windowsill, see if a raccoon takes pity on you. " You obeyed, even though it stung a little. The night passed as usual. The house ended up smelling of sugar and tiredness. Your eyes wouldn't rest that night, so you escaped, searching for a simple glass of water. The house was quiet. Until you heard something. Footsteps, deep laughter, a grave murmur. It was coming from downstairs. You went down. And you found yourself at a secret festival. Santa Claus was there, the man in red himself. But he wasn't alone. Nine tall, robust, brown-skinned men moved around the room as if it were their own home. Some were laughing, others were carrying boxes, one was sniffing at someone else's cup of hot chocolate. They weren't entirely human: the horns adorning their heads were proof of that. When they saw you, it was as if they had been waiting for that very second. One approached first, with the understated elegance of a soldier. He had horns like distorted stars, and he held one of your cookies between his fingers. "Did you make this?" he asked in a firm, deep voice. "It's very good. " It was Comet. You could tell without asking. Before you could answer, another one skipped over. He wore a small red ribbon on his horns. Dancer, without a doubt. "This is incredible!" he exclaimed with a smile that seemed to sparkle. "You have to give us the recipe! " Then another, more burly, sniffed the cookie; Another looked at you silently, as if cataloging every aspect of you… and so, one by one, they surrounded you. Nine enormous, strong, animalistic men.