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The tiny, floating orb that provided heat for the chaser's cabin made the room warm and comfortable, but I couldn't stop shivering. Everyone else looked so cozy as they slept under piles of hand-sewn quilts, but I was rigid as a stone. I could have been outside in the arctic snow and feel just as comfortable as I did inside, on a turtle dove-plumage mattress and under a specially insulated red and white quilt.

I sighed. Why did I feel so heavy? Why did I feel like ice? Mika wasn't close to me. I had known her for a day. She was annoying and sarcastic; I should have been relieved she wasn't there, chatting up a storm.

It smells like reign deer turd in here!
I can't sleep with all this snoring!
I'm hungry, can we get a chicken?
I can't sleep, let's build a snowman
I'm not being loud, you are!

I went through the possibilities of what she would have said. Each was annoying, but I still didn't feel relieved. I felt sick and cold.

I could hear the snores from Jova in the bunk under me and the swaying of the storm outside.

She was gone! I kept telling myself it was okay, and we'd eventually get her. I shouldn't have felt attached to her in any way.

But my heart didn't pay attention to logic. It wanted her.

The battle between my heart and my head raged for several hours as I shivered in the dim, orange light. I was exhausted from the crazy day of fighting dragons and going to Utah, but I couldn't sleep. Sleeping was hard on good days; I wouldn't be surprised if I couldn't get a wink of sleep.

But eventually I did. Maybe I had collapsed from exhaustion. I don't know what happened; I just knew that I was able to wake up from something in the morning.

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My dreams at the time were getting extremely weird, and almost terrifying. But I never felt scared. I never felt hurt or confused, no matter how dangerous or strange the situation was. But as soon as I woke up, feelings such as anxiety and panic rose in me like Prancer in a windstorm. Then I felt relief that it was just a dream; not a physical memory.

But I was having a hard time telling what was real and what was imaginary. One time I had a dream that I went sledding with Reesha, but when I mentioned it in our conversation she had no idea what I was talking about. I thought we had gone sledding down the hill behind the reigndeer hangar a few weeks ago.

Each night I prayed that I would be able to tell the difference between dreams and reality.

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My paws felt like they were on fire, but my nose felt like it was frozen with nitrogen. I couldn't see anything but a small, red ribbon tied into a bow on a black background.

The black inked itself to an image; sort of like a magic-color picture where all you had to do was paint some clear, liquidy stuff over a page and colors would magically appear. The image was a close-up of Mika's silvery face. The ribbon had been tied by her ear, and her nose was touching mine. Her eyes were closed like she was enjoying the moment.

She pulled away and my whole body returned to a normal temperature. She opened her blue eyes and smiled. She had on some kind of weird animal dress that Mrs. Claus must have made. I would never admit it was beautiful, but it was pretty. Red thread was woven into delicate lace shaped like snowflakes and reindeers. I guessed it was some kind of throw or cover up. It covered her back and draped to the floor, while the sleeves fit nicely over Mika's shoulders.

I almost threw up when I glanced down at myself. I was wearing a black suit with a green bow tie. Probably also Mrs. Claus' fault.

We must have been at a dance, because there was music and we were in an enormous ball room. Other people and chasers danced under the soft yellow light, while couples and groups of friends dined at circular tables around the edges. A band made of elves played weird instruments at the front of the room. Grand windows that stretched to the high ceiling exposed a dark, wintry landscape. We must have been a couple hundred kilometers up a mountain or something. The windows looked like they were cold, but two people chatted close to them. They both looked happy and warm. Cherry-red curtains embellished the windows and ribbons of the same velvety shade wrapped around gigantic columns, tying off in a pretty bow at the bottom.

When I looked directly up, there was mistletoe.

So that's why she touched my nose . . . I thought. I didn't know you could be embarrassed in a dream, but I was.

The song came to a finale, then it ended. The humans clapped and the animals stomped on the ground with their dominant paw. Mika looked confused.

"Clap," I said, "they did a good job. Especially compared to what they usually do."

Mika giggled. Such a light and happy sound that made my gut roll over and my paws sigh with longing. "They probably don't have much time for practicing when they build toys all year." She said.

"Actually, the elves help deliver and make some of the old-school presents like tops and wooden cars, but Klookies make more technical stuff like tablets and flying helicopters." I said. There was soft chatter in the background and the clink of silver on fine, decorative platters.

"What's a klookie?" Mika asked.

"They don't want the paparazzi chasing them around in documentaries and stuff, so they've asked that we keep quiet. They only joined us about twenty years ago; we don't really know where they came from. They're nimble like elves, but they're much smarter and taller. We could go visit them tomorrow." I said.

"I thought they liked to stay secret." She said.

"Well, yeah, but you're part of the Christmas department now. And I'm sure you can keep a secret." I said.

Mika smiled. "I'd like that."

She rocked into my chest, and I held her for as long as I could remember.

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The morning was slightly less cold than the night, but I still didn't want to get up.

Why was the blanket cold and uninviting when I had to sleep, but so warm and cozy when I had to wake up?

I think I was awoken by the movements of a few other chasers getting out of bed and whispering to each other. They exchanged general news. I hated it when I was the last one to be ready, and I loved to get a head start on the day, so I had obtained an acute ability to wake up early or before most of the other chasers got up.

I sprang lightly from the top of the sturdy bunk bed. Thank goodness it was able to hold up all of my weight. I assumed it was made of iron pine-wood; normal wood would splinter after a few seconds of me sitting on it.

I yawned and pulled my green and white striped scarf from my personal drawer. Wrapping it around my neck once I adjusted my bed fur in the mirror quickly. Ready for the day. (Don't be jealous of me, it's not my fault you aren't a fabulous tiger and you can't wear the same scarf every day. And only that one scarf. Speaking of which, I should probably get that thing washed . . .)

Outside I met Dashie (the gray Siberian) and Strout (her brother, also gray). They acknowledged me with a nod.

Snow fell softly from the dark, navy-gray sky in flurries. A lighter blue dusted the horizon, hinting that there was a sun behind the clouds.

The North Pole was generally comfortable and happy; there was a lot of snow; it almost never stopped, but there were very few blizzards. If you left a footprint in the snow, it would look like a minor dent in a few minutes. The walk ways were heated, so they were warm to the touch and ice never formed on them.

The sparkling lights, colorful decorations and giant tree helped make the place look cozy as well. The lights and the tree were up all year; the tree grew naturally from the ground and the lights kept the fog away. But from October to January, the whole place was taken to another level. Bows, presents, snowmen, ornaments, and more lights could be seen from end to end. I think Santa was the best decorator in the world. (But one year I asked him if we could do at least a few cobwebs for Halloween, and he yelled at me.)

"Should we walk to the training center together?" Dashie asked.

Strout and I nodded. As we padded on the heated walkway to the only un-Christmassy building, (a big concrete square that we called the training center) we were quiet. It was early in the morning, I didn't know Strout and Dashie very well, and I wasn't very social anyways. I didn't mind; the silence helped me think to myself.

I almost fell asleep on the heated walkway about ten times. I was tired from the night and my joints were sore from the cold. I don't know how the walkways stayed warm, but I was drawn to them like a bug light.

The door to the training center had gotten ripped off somehow, and someone had put a large piece of scrap wood over the door frame. It wasn't hinged down or anything, but I assumed no one had any time to fix it.

Me and Strout swung the wood away from the door, pushing some snow to the side. Inside the training center was surprisingly warm; someone must have gotten up extra early and started a fire.

We were greeted by a small welcome mat with a paw print on it. (Seriously, just because it's the training center for animals doesn't mean we need the welcoming mat of a cat lady. Who put that there?) weapons and supplies had been shoved to a corner in a hasty attempt to clean up. The fire place needed some wood, but it provided enough warmth to keep the cold out. There was light and shattering sounds coming from downstairs.

Once Dashie was in, we closed the "door". She thanked us, then I went promptly downstairs to check out who was there.

The basement was in a similar condition to upstairs; weapons and orbs pushed to a corner.

Reesha was the only one there. She was throwing empty orbs towards the bullseye. With each throw her golden fur flared up against the breeze she created. I could see her muscles ripple with intensity under her short, speckled fur.

After she threw an orb and it shattered against the bullseye, I called out for her to stop. "Reesha! Chill it for a second!"

Right as Reesha was about to release another one, her blue eyes winked with registration. She tensed like she had hit a wall and she set down her orb.

"Yes?" She asked in her rolling, African accent. For how long she had been at the North Pole, I was supposed she hadn't picked up the slightly-Scandinavian accent we all had.

"Just wanted to say good morning." I said politely, walking down the remaining steps and towards her. I sat down.

"Kota, are you okay from last night?" She asked softly.

I almost cried.

Was I doing okay? I didn't feel okay. Having Mika taken away by evil dragons didn't make me feel okay.

But I suppose that with any similar situation, nobody would be okay. I could have felt a lot worse. I could have been screeching and bawling in anguish, but I wasn't.

"Y-Yeah, I think I'm good. I mean, um, I'm good. I'm okay." I stuttered, trying to keep my voice steady.

Reesha smiled slightly, making me feel worse, even though it was sweet.

"I'm glad." She said. "I hope we can get Mika back soon. I didn't know her for very long, but she would be a wonderful asset to our team."

I nodded.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Reesha said. "I was supposed to tell you earlier, but you were sleeping. Santa wanted to see you as soon as possible. From what I heard, he has some new trainees and he needs a mentor for them."