I sure hope so,thought Norris.
As he hesitated, he saw her shiver. The park had gotten very cold. He put his arms around her.
“It's kind of a long story,” he said. “Let’s go somewhere warmer. Want to come over to my place? We could order in, and then we wouldn’t have to dodge the holiday music.”
Annabeth leaned into him, nuzzling into his neck in a way that made him feel like he was either about to turn into a Dunkleosteus or spontaneously combust. “That sounds great.”
A light snow had fallen while they’d been at the lake. As they walked away, their shoes left crisp prints in the snow. The path was lined with pine trees, their green boughs sprinkled with snow, and birches, their slim trunks glimmering pale in the moonlight.
“Gorgeous,” said Norris, indicating the trees, then remembered his attempt to discourse on the beauty of the snow. He closed his jaws with a Dunkleosteus-like snap before he could add something like“Snowy! Snowish! Snowesque!”
“What’s that?” Annabeth pointed ahead of them. The white expanse of the path was marked with a pair of smooth parallel tracks, as if two poles had been dragged across the snow, and a number of hoof prints.
Refuge City had a few horse-drawn carriages in areas where no motor vehicles were allowed, but they were for tourists, not for actual transportation. The horses walked sedately around the square, pulling their carriages full of squealing kids or kissing couples. When the ride was over, the tourists got to pet the horses and feed them carrots. Norris couldn’t think what else the strange tracks in the snow could be, but...
"I didn’t know horse-drawn carriages were allowed in the park,” Annabeth said. “I’ve never seen one here.”
“I’m pretty sure they’re not.” Norris squatted to examine the tracks. Sje sank down beside him. “These parallel tracks weren’t made by wheels. Look how smooth they are. And how straight."
“You’re right. They’re from runners.” She glanced up at him, realization and suspicion dawning on her face. “Could it be a horse-drawn sleigh?”
“You’re right, it must be a sleigh. But horse-drawn?” He examined the hoof prints. “I don’t know that much about land animals, but shouldn’t horses have horse shoes?”
Annabeth also took a closer look at the hoof prints. “I don’t think they were made by horses at all. I used to ride when I was a teenager, and these look too flexible to be made by horses, even unshod ones. Let me try an animal print identification app.”
She took out her phone, downloaded an app, and photographed the prints. Norris peered over her shoulder as they waited for the app to make its identification. He watched in disbelief as the app displayed a photograph of an enormous, antlered...
POSITIVE PRINT IDENTIFICATION: REINDEER(RANGIFUR TARANDUS).
“No way!” Norris exclaimed. “I know it’s Christmas time, but...”
Annabeth glared at the app, outraged. “I can't believe the park would let that awful bored Santa ride in a reindeer-drawn sleigh when they don't even allow horse-drawn carriages in here!”
But Norris had spotted something further down the path. "Annabeth, come look at this."
The sleigh tracks and reindeer hoof prints continued down the path for a while. Then the marks of the sleigh runners became deeper toward the rear, and disappeared in the front. The reindeer tracks also stopped. There was nothing beyond them but an unbroken expanse of snow. It looked exactly as if...
“Oh, this is ridiculous!” Annabeth stabbed an accusing finger at the deepest part of the sleigh tracks. “It looks like the reindeer jumped into the air and flew away, taking the sleigh with them!"
“It does.” He scratched his head, trying to come up with some other scenario, but nothing came to mind.
“It gives me physical pain to even ask this question,” said Annabeth, and stopped to grind her teeth. Then, unclenching her jaw, she said in a small voice, “There really isn’t such a thing as Santa Claus... Is there?”
He hastened to reassure her. “Not as far as I know. I’m sure there’s a rational explanation for this. A non-Santa explanation.”
“The only real magic is shifters, right?”
“Um. Well. No. There's also magical animals – animals that are, you know, magical, but don't turn into people. Like flying kittens or dragonettes. The Defenders have some as pets.”
Her alarm at the idea of an actual Santa melted into delight. “Flying kittens, really?”
“Uh-huh. They’re really cute. You’ll love them.”
“Oh, I cannotwaitto tell the Defenders I know about shifters!” Then, with a mixture of relief and caution, she asked, “That’s it, right? People who turn into animals, and magical animals?”
“Nooooo,” he admitted. “There’s also people who can do magic. Like witches. And wizard-scientists.”
Annabeth stared. “Wizard-scientists? Like... wizards who are also scientists?”
