Many curious things happened on Earth, kijikaiaku themselves being among them. Long, elegant nature spirits of many colors and shapes and sizes, their Gaia-given purpose was to protect this world and everything in it. Even if it meant applying violence and underhanded tactics at times.
Vairsing, a red kiji with golden mane, teeth, and rainbow accents, was not one for underhanded tactics. He was too straightforward for that. So it was, when talk of a strange man in red and his horde of reindeer started circulating, Vairsing took interest. There was only room for one red man in this territory. “His” territory, of course, being shared by many other kiji of a variety of colors, some of them also red, but that was besides the point.
“Hey, hey you!” he called, catching the attention of the deer he’d been trailing after.
It froze in its tracks, and turned its head to look back. The whites of its eyes became visible upon it seeing Vairsing.
“Oh good, you didn’t run. What do you know about-”
The deer bolted into the trees.
“Hey! Hey! Get back here!” Vairsing yelled, and hurried after the deer. “I just wanna ask you something!”
The chase didn’t last very long. Vairsing was faster than the poor woodland creature, and when he pounced it, the collision sent them both toppling. Vairsing rolled like a donut, head-over-heels, and landed on his back, while the deer skidded on its side.
Huffing, the deer started to rise. “You have a rude manner of asking questions!” it quipped.
Vairsing wiggled and then hopped to all fours. “Yeah, well it was rude of you to run when I just wanted to talk!”
The deer snorted. “Fine. What do you want, spirit?”
Vairsing shook out his fluffy mane. “I heard talk of some fat red guy with a bag of stuff and his horde of rain-deer. What’s a rain-deer? What’s the red guy? What are they doing here?”
“For a protector of the forest, you don’t know much, do you?”
“Well, do you know?”
“A reindeer is another type of deer, much like myself, but bigger and lives in snowy areas. I don’t know anything about the ‘red man’ though…”
Vairsing’s lips twisted as he thought over the words. “Bigger deer… Do you think they’re dangerous?”
“Oh yes, very. All deer are dangerous,” the deer said, nodding sagely.
“Okay but do you think they’re gonna be a problem?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t met any of them. You might try searching further north, although, I have heard the red man and his reindeer are always on the move. You might not be able to find them easily.”
“Hmph.” Vairsing’s ear flicked. “We’ll see about that.” He turned to continue his search elsewhere. “Oh, sorry for tackling you by the way.”
The deer was finally back up on its hooves. “You’re forgiven, this time.”
Vairsing darted into the trees and brush, leaving the deer behind. North, was it? Where there was snow and ice and unpleasant coldness.