Free Nice and Naughty by Viola Grace

 
     
The Letters
     
     
    Dear Santa,
     
    Get Bent!
    For the last few centuries, we have done everything that you asked of us, and we let you shut us up with only the team for company.
    You suck!
    We go into heat. Every. Single. Year. Do you know what that does to a bunch of women who sprout horns when they get agitated? I have no good shirts left. They have all been shredded.
    Now, I am going to tell you what I want for Christmas, because that is the only thing you seem to understand.
    For this Christmas, I want a companion that I can keep all year, every year. I want to be with a man who makes me smile and can hold me in the early hours of the morning when I come in and collapse from work.
    My wish is to not be alone. To share my life, such as it is, and I wish for my team to have the same chance at companionship. Ru especially. Ru spends every year keeping our spirits up, distracting us during mating season and running interference with you. She needs a man who respects her for what she does, what she is and just for her.
     
    Love,
    Dasher
     
    * * * *
     
    Dear Santa,
     
    Every year, we haul you around and deliver gifts to the good children around the world.
    My Christmas wish is that I can meet them. I want to see the excitement building up to Christmas and watch the change in their faces and attitudes.
    Doing what we do, we miss that excitement and the anticipation. We never get to see the children that wake up on Christmas morning.
    I want to see them before they get the presents. Before Christmas Eve. I need to know who they are.
    Now, onto what else I want, I want a chance at love, at a man who can fend for himself so I don’t need to keep an eye on him. I want the same thing for Ru. She tries so hard to keep us all in line and make sure that we feel love and affection when we can’t get it anywhere else. She needs someone who puts her first.
     
    Love,
    Dancer
     
    * * * *
     
    Dear Santa,
     
    I want to drive one of the big machines that the humans have developed. I have seen them, and I want to drive one.
    Every year, I get into the harness and pull along with the others, but I want to be the one directing the path, making the path. I think it will give me a better understanding of everything that Ru does for us.
    I am also asking that Ru find someone to take care of her when she isn’t on duty. She works hard to keep us together as a team, and she needs someone to pamper her.
    As for my love life, it is a little frozen right now. I am not looking for a man, but if one ends up in my path, I wouldn’t say no.
     
    Love,
    Prancer
     
    * * * *
     
    Dear Santa,
     
    For Christmas, I want the stars. I want to study the stars and talk to other people who are interested in the sky.
    Every year, we run through the sky without being able to really look around. The aurora borealis becomes an obstacle instead of a wonder. It should always be a wonder.
    As for mating season, I wouldn’t mind someone I can count on, someone who is good at back rubs and who can do a foot massage in a pinch. He also needs to love the stars as much as I do.
    As for stars, I want to talk about Ru. You have no idea how hard she works for you each and every year. When we get tired, she pulls us; when we get lost, she leads us. She keeps our spirits up and you lock her up with us for three hundred and sixty-four days a year. She deserves better. We deserve better.
     
    Love,
    Vixen
     
    * * * *
     
    Dear Santa,
     
    I miss the middle ages, but I hear that the humans have created replicas of that time around the world. I want to go to one and make things.
    Every year, I run with the group and we streak through the sky, but I want to make something with my own hands and have something to show for my time. Sure, the children enjoy their presents, but we never get to see the faces.
    I want to feel metal under my hands and shape it to my will.
    We have nothing to show for our lives. We are creatures of myth and legend. I want someone, somewhere