~~~
Santa, Josh and Qanik had managed to sneak around the outside wall of the complex to nearly one third the distance of the entire building. They’d passed the first roof-mounted fly doors and were about half way between them and the second, middle set which the Yeti in that part of the building were still experimenting with opening and closing. Apparently, despite the clunks and thuds they’d heard as they slunk low against the wall emanating from the pad area of the giant red sleigh, none of the little fuzzballs managed to get Santa’s chariot turned on.
Josh was just about to whisper to Qanik again his question about what it was he supposed to be able to help with, when Santa and then Qanik both stopped quickly before him. They were peering around a pile of supplies and crates and eyeing a pair of Yeti who seemed to be engaged in a tussle between themselves.
Sneaking a peak by crawling in tightly next to Qanik and Santa, Josh watched as one tiny-sized Yeti pointed at a wrapped present on the ground that appeared to have a slight tear in the wrapping. He mumbled and growled, apparently speaking in Yeti-ish to the other one, and then, POP! He blossomed to full size and waved its arms and howled at the second Yeti. Within a second or two it shrunk back down to miniature size and fussed over the package again, pointing and snarling some disapproval.
The second Yeti then took turns fussing. He flipped the edge of the torn paper and gestured back at the first Yeti and scowled. Then he too blossomed to full height, expressed some outrage and then shrunk back down.
This went back and forth about four or five times between them until they both grew large and appeared to lock arms on shoulders and head butted each other. They immediately shrunk down and as soon as their heads cleared started gesturing at the package again, grumbling and mumbling their way through their argument, apparently neither one quite ready to actually fight the other. Josh wasn’t sure if the super-sized glimmering was intentional or if it kept popping up as a natural defense or as perhaps a reflexive response.
“Freeze ‘em, Sprite!” Santa said, in a much-too-excited tone for what Josh still expected of the Jovial spokesman of Christmas.
Qanik raised her palms without question and in half a second both of the Yeti were encapsulated in ice, blinking at one another, scowls locked on their faces for the next little while until the ice melted. One of them was mid-stomp and so was off balance. As the group rushed by along the outskirts of the building it tipped over and made a tinkling sound like crystal. It rolled it’s eyes as far as it could watching the group go, obviously unhappy, and probably wondering who would be unfrozen first and get the prized present still lying between them.
As the small group moved, sometimes they had to stop and await a small pack or a straggler or two of Yeti moving past. In one of the quieter moments, Josh thought he’d take the opportunity to raise a question.
“Qanik,” he started. “Couldn’t you just freeze them all?”
The sprite, still wearing her Inuit clothing, shook her head. “No. I’m not really sure it’s a good idea to be freezing them. And even with all this water and ice around me I’m still limited on how far I can extend myself. Our plan will require much less energy of me, actually.”
They moved on a bit, creeping as they went.
“Why is it not a good idea to freeze them?”
Qanik leaned close to him to make sure no Yeti would catch their voices. Her breath was cool and crisp but not cold as he expected.
“Josh, most people don’t appreciate being frozen. Imagine if I put a human through that cold. There’s a good chance you might get frost bitten.”
The boy pondered the thought for a moment. “That makes sense, but they’re covered in fur. So…they’re okay, right?”
Qanik nodded, “They’re also faerie folk, so…I think it’s safe enough.”
Josh nodded in return and they moved on.
Once they came upon a much-too-small looking helicopter for Josh’s liking Santa held them up and observed the surroundings. At that moment, Josh was wondering again why he had to come, but he did realize why Hattie did not. She would have been tossing her cookies even before the helicopter lifted. It did not look like it could carry three people in his opinion.
“You know, there’s some question as to whether or not the Yeti are even faerie folk,” Santa pointed out again.
“Is that why you failed to inform the IPMA or any other duly appointed agency that you took them into your employ these past few years,” Qanik asked. It was still her calm, echo-y tone but Josh thought he caught just the beginnings of a smirk upon her lips.
“I…well, uh…” Santa stammered. “It’s really not any of their business. After all, no one has jurisdiction in the Arctic but me. That’s the way it’s been for hundreds of years and it’s going to keep going on that way.”
“Then why are agents Samuel and Bartholomew here?” she pressed.
Qanik looked to Josh and caught his eye just barely long enough to give him a wink and the smirk was exposed very briefly.
“I don’t know why I’ve got to answer to you, Miss…” but Santa was cut off.
Qanik grabbed both Santa and Josh’s coats and half dragged, half threw them at a run up into the Helicopter’s open doors. With astonishment growing in its eyes there was one Yeti sitting upon the pilot’s seat, wiggling the cyclic stick. As she hopped in immediately after the round man and the kid the Yeti was wrapped in ice, then picked up and tossed into a pile of blankets so the ice would not shatter, Qanik gruffed in an odd way with her echo-y sounding voice: “Because I’m the one that’s going to get your Yeti out of here.”
The blades started turning quickly as Santa punched a couple buttons. He apparently had to think through the process a little bit, and that made Josh even more uneasy about the flight.
Quickly Qanik frosted the front windows and put up a thin sheet of ice across the side openings of the copter. It was just in time as the Yeti within a couple hundred yards all turned to see which of them had gotten the helicopter to start and who was going to get a ride on it. A few clambered onto the skids just as the thing took flight, in hopes of “playing” with the Red Man’s toys.
Once in the air, Santa turned in the direction of the central aerial doors and Qanik withdrew the ice hiding their presence.
“Got to time this close it looks like!” Claus murmured to himself.
Waiting for the doors to complete a closure, Josh sat hoping and praying the Yeti controlling the doors didn’t suddenly think twice about opening them again, preventing them from exiting. Sure enough, after a couple seconds of being closed the doors started swinging upwards again.
Timing the width of the opening just right so he had plenty of time to get out before any Yeti would get the bright idea of closing the doors only half way through their process, the helicopter bolted straight up and out. The Yeti still brave enough to cling to the skids started dropping, like leaves from a tree, one at a time.