if they put two together up there. Getting a rhythm was important when pulling a sleigh, and if they were going to be among the chosen eight, they had to be able to fly in sync.
More toys and reindeer games were scattered about, including hoops to jump through and hoops for playing catch. Balls and even dolls filled the toy box.
The outside edges of the arena were tamped down by years of running with reindeer. “Let’s try some laps.” He changed into his running shoes and took up the lead rope. “You can’t fly faster than me, got it?”
Rudy gulped. This was his big day. If he couldn’t make it around the arena without crashing into a wall, his chances of making it to the North Pole were slim.
But Caleb didn’t have to tell him that. They started off at a walk, with Rudy keeping pace beside him, all four feet on the ground. When Caleb felt like he was warm enough to run without pulling a muscle, he gave the command, “On, Rudy,” and threw his arm forward, telling the reindeer to get off the ground.
Rudy tripped over his front feet as he worked to get into the air. The lead rope wouldn’t let him fly higher than Caleb’s elbow, but loft wasn’t their goal. They did two laps before Caleb broke a sweat. Rudy landed on shaking legs with eyes full of satisfaction.
“You did good.” Caleb patted his neck. “Let’s try some rings.”
Flying through rings took precision and concentration. When pulling Santa’s sleigh, a reindeer had to concentrate for hours at a time, dodging obstacles like snow, sleet, and even military airplanes.
“See those two rings?” He pointed at the ones in the middle of the arena. Rudy followed where he pointed and stared. “I want you to fly through one, go to the end of the dirt, turn around, and come back through the other.” This was a simple exercise. Normally, he’d have another reindeer demonstrate, but he didn’t have one today.
He took the lead rope off Rudy and stepped back. “Go on. Try it out.”
Rudy stumble-started again. Dang, they’d have to work on that. He shouldn’t be tripping over air. The reindeer kept looking down, like he was afraid he’d drop out of the sky at any moment. Losing his sight had taken away his confidence in his own amazing abilities.
Caleb rubbed his jaw, wondering if it would come back. The door squeaked open and Jack came in, lifting a gloved hand in greeting even as his eyes glued onto Rudy.
Rudy made his approach and got through the first loop. He trotted over to Caleb, his tongue hanging out. He’d gotten it half right and was darn proud of himself for that.
Caleb clapped, and Jack joined in. Positive encouragement mattered to a reindeer. Rudy dipped his head to acknowledge their praise.
Jack sidled up beside him. “You trying to get him to do the back-and-forth?”
“I only explained it once. He’d never done it before, so—”
“Don’t get all defensive.” Jack pounded Caleb’s back. “I was just trying to catch up.”
“Come on.” Caleb hurried to the stand where the hoops rose up out of the metal base. Rudy hovered over his shoulder. Caleb pointed to the hoop on the right. “One.” He then pointed to Jack, who had jogged to the end of the dirt, already knowing what he had planned. “Two.” Then he pointed to the second loop. “Three.” And finally, he pointed to himself. “Four. Got it?” He went through the numbers and pointing again.
“If he gets this, then he’s smarter than half the reindeer we’ve sent to Santa,” Jack called from the other end.
Rudy’s eyes sparked with challenge. He backed up and got into position to go through the first hoop.
“Ah, no. You gotta start on the ground.” Caleb pointed down.
Rudy rolled his eyes but lowered himself to the arena floor.
“Good.” Caleb jogged to the opposite end of the dirt. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, “On, Rudy!”
Rudy had his usual rough takeoff, but then he got through the hoop without incident.
“Come on, Rudy,” Jack called to encourage him to go all the way. Rudy loped down to Jack. “That’s two. Go three, boy.”
Rudy made it through the correct hoop.
“Down here!” Caleb waved his arm at the same time Jack yelled, “Four! Four!”
The reindeer loped to Caleb, circled above his head, and then landed with a grunt. Caleb threw his arms around his neck. “That was beautiful.”
Jack ran over, his boots kicking up sand