((OOC This is set on Christmas Eve. Feel free to let me know if anything needs changing. Feel free to add to the narrative with other wrenches or details. Feel free to do pretty much anything! I can roll with it!))

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Donner and Cupid and Comet and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous Reindeer shifter of all? 

Rudolph, the red-nosed Reindeer shifter was a drunk. He was 5'9", over 250 lbs of fur and muscle and belly. He wore his beard and hair in a long shaggy mane, that he had grown out to hide the two pronged antlers peeking out of his scalp. It had worked for a while, but then they'd been shed, and regrown larger than before, and now no amount of hair would do to conceal the antlers. His large red nose glowed in a way that brought to mind that christmas carol about a reindeer of the same name, a fact he loathed, and even worse was that unholy fact that his parents, who had brought him into this world, had named him Rudolph, after his great grandfather. Unfortunately, his mutation had revealed itself at age ten, and he'd be ostracized and excised from the regular human world. He'd lost all his friends. He hated his name. Rudolph fled from humanity, like an animal fleeing a forest fire. From a young age, he learned that people would not treat him well. They would bully him and make fun of him for his mutation, and yes, they would not let him play in any of their damned games. He had heard that joke before, when he had complained about it, and no, it just wasn't funny after the 100th time. He hated his mutation. He hated his family. He hated the people that lived around him and he hated humanity. He despised the mutants he took up shop with while living on the streets, and all the bitterness and anger in his soul grew inflamed around the Christmas season, worst of all. The strangest thing about all of this hatred, though, was that other people could hate him but still hate alongside him. It was the weirdest thing. But somehow, all of his hatred helped form a gang.

The gang wasn't entirely mutant. Oh no. There were several mutants, many with very painful, very limiting, mutations. Mutations that either restricted who they dealt with or where they lived, or else inconvenienced them to the point of making them unable to live normal lives. They were as many monsters as there were normal-looking people with drawbacks like molten waste, or flesh that was black like tar and stuck to everything, drawbacks like poison exhalations that forced them to wear gas masks, and much weirder, and much worse. But alongside these mutants who hated mutants, there were humans. They hated their friends, too. Everyone was united by their hatred. It was really a beautiful thing... People can find common ground among the worst of humanity.

While their gang was more than 50, tonight only 15 of this group of mutants and humans had gathered. Their cause was unjust. Beautifully so. They had a wonderful plan to attack the sanctuary, masking it behind the act of caroling, and Rudolph was leading the assault. With his... yes, yes, nose. So. Bright. 

***

The green man sighed, rubbing the back of his head. He was tired, and cold, bundled up in his duster jacket with its ends that came nearly to his knees. His collar was turned up against the cold. There was a wrapped gift in the crook of his arm. It was a gift for the mutant girl he had been seeing at the sanctuary, the one with super hearing. Elliott really hoped she would like it. 

Snow was on the ground outside the sanctuary, piled high in drifts around several cars on the street. The street had not been plowed or swept by the city. Mutants had done what they could, but it was almost as if a snow mutant had taken it upon themselves to bury the street outside the sanctuary so that no one would be able to get out. It was a frigid hard task, plodding up the path to the big doors of the building. He kicked aside some snow, so the door could swing free enough to open enough for him to get in. 

Elliott glanced over his shoulder as he entered. The street was clear. He had no way to know of the large group of carolers walking towards the sanctuary at that moment. They were several blocks away, dressed in their finest, and the snow and the cold wind blowing was an inconvenient truth that was holding them up. He had no way to predict the future. He couldn't see that this anti-mutant hate group would soon abandon their plans, as they ran into a group of mutants a few blocks away, unaffiliated with the sanctuary. He had no way to know they would attack this group, and lights would up go up like a signal flare, drawing the eyes of the city to the scene. There was no way he could foresee the fight that would follow, or the sanctuary's response. Or even any law enforcement response, if it happened. He really had no power of seeing the future. Which was all for the better, because all of these things were just a potential future, anyways. Nothing was set. Everything could change. If someone reacted a different way, or saw a different path to take, anything could happen. The only thing set in stone was the anti-mutant gang heading their way, and trouble. Trouble followed like a dog following a man dropping snacks. And Rudolph lead the way. 

“Ms. Wilson, I’m sorry, but I can’t go completely altering the weather simply because the snow is inconvenient. If it was a dangerous blizzard or hurricane I would work on diminishing it or something…” Devon was explaining to Lisa as he stood near her desk. Christmas lights lined the hall and twinkled as someone had hung them with great care.

Lisa, for her part, was giving Devon a hard stare.

“-once things start to lessen I’ll gladly help clean up outside, but I’m not here to impose my will on the natural law of the Earth. I think we’ve had plenty of orange-faced baboons and other idiots trying to tell us how things should be and I actually know something about meteorology,” Devon chuckled.

A small corner of Lisa’s mouth turned up but she did not laugh. “Very well, Mr. Hadden. As it is, Mr. Thomas is here and you should speak with him,” she said, somehow omniscient, as she stood and gestured toward the large double doors where Elliott had just come in.

Cool blue eyes left the administrator’s face and went over to the green mu- alien man. “Ah Elliott, good afternoon, how are ya? Do we need to do some shoveling again out on the stoop?” Devon asked cheerfully. The sound of Frosty the Snowman, the animated special, could be heard coming from one of the rec rooms. His grin broadened, “Do you wanna build a snowman?”

Lisa’s eyes nearly rolled out of her head as it dipped into her raised hand, fingers clutching and rubbing at her temples.

---

Bam. A baseball bat when through a pile of snow, sending carrots and a hat flying, and knocked in a car window next. In they reached, pulling out a backpack, the stereo, someone’s phone. “Don’t leave your things in the car, kids,” someone laughed.

“Fix it up, Rewind,” the leader, Sights, called.

A young man with an old leather jacket two sizes too big for himself approached the window. His hand dipped forward, fingers flared open. As he pulled his hand back and clenched his fingers into a fist the glass rose and fixed itself, effectively repairing the window.

“Good luck explaining that robbery,” someone snickered.

“Yeah,” Rewind said reluctantly. “Good luck.” The group kept walking but he saw the sad eyes in the window on the second floor. Down his hand went and back up it came, the snow, carrot and hat returning to their positions. A few rocks that formed a mouth smiled back at Rewind and Rewind smiled back at the snowman.

“Hey, hurry up, there’s someone coming with like a red flashlight or something…” Sights said eagerly. He could see through the heavy flurries, his eyes like binoculars. “Oh shit, it’s his nose.”

Rudolph and his reindeer were on the way. Watch out misfit toys…

"I'm alright," Elliott said. "It's pretty bad out there, though. Probably ought to get a flamethrower mutant to torch the whole snow bank or something. Though then, you'd have ice to deal with. And we all know how bad ice can be." He shook his head, dismissing the thought. New York ice was terrible, if rumors were to be believed. He hadn't spent enough time in New York to really grasp it, to really get it, but he could imagine. He'd seen Home Alone 2. He laughed wryly. "And no. I don't want to build a snowman. Though maybe. If Wanda is around?"

It was the age-old refrain. He had called, and she had even answered, but women could be flighty birds, and even if they said they'd be somewhere, you didn't always have the fact to back you up until that moment when you saw their face. They could still be busy getting dressed, long after they had said they would need to leave. They could find something to do to keep them busy. They could simply be playing hard-to-get.

Devon was an okay guy. When he'd first met the man, Elliott had not trusted him. Really, what reason would he have had, when the man had been both helpful and kind, in a place he had heard was connected to an organization that was neither. The Sanctuary of old would have scared him if it were still like that. And maybe, that was a minor prejudice, simply because he had MET one of its most prominent members of old, when she had tried to shoot an old lady simply for the sake of it. Maybe. But the man had shown to be reasonable and not entirely insane, and he was working to make the Sanctuary a better place. Lots of members said as much. So Elliott trusted him now a lot more than he had.

---

The red nose lanced through the night.

Surprisingly, a fleet of toy soldiers marched around a corner into an alley to hide from the path of the beam. A homeless mutant whose power was Toy Manipulation, a power which practically gave a life and personality to each and every toy around him, ducked down in his cardboard box and pretended to be nonexistent, in his heavy winter jacket and grungy boots. He could see through the eyes of his toys, if he focused. A stretch armstrong doll from eras long passed sat half-buried, watching the procession of gang members carefully. This boy hid in his hood and did nothing. He wasn't going to mess with the gang.

Unlike the other gang, this one wasn't doing any violence yet. They were maintaining their facade of caroling. They even stopped occasionally at houses and sang. Some of them really got into it. There would be a reckoning, and soon, but not just yet. Soon.

((OOC: Love the NPCs you created. Keep up the good work, controlling folks!))

Devon grinned as Elliott broke down the present problem outside. Snow was a danger, yes it was true, though of course Devon felt warm and comfortable in the snow. It wasn’t merely his temperature resistance but the memories of family and friendly gatherings. That was years ago now, but Sanctuary was its own family and friends gathering on the regular.

>> "And no. I don't want to build a snowman. Though maybe. If Wanda is around?"

“Maybe,” Devon nodded, glancing upstairs. “If you do think it’s getting pretty bad out there I may want to check. I can see how things are progressing or moving anyway. If you’re waiting on someone…” he glanced upstairs again, “You can of course join me. A quick walk around the block to make sure the streets stay clear and the neighbors are good?”

Because, of course, they weren’t. Oh sure many were enjoying the actor dressed up as Rudolph and his merry men. They sang so- well, mostly – delightfully. Off off Broadway maybe?

“They’re going door to door, what ****ing losers,” Sights laughed.

“Charity group?” someone asked.

“No, no way some legit charity is going out in this storm,” Sights shook his head. “Gonna have check this out if we’re trying to watch out for people.”

Rewind glanced up and down the road, “Y’know Sanctuary is near here.”

Sights laughed, “I ain’t afraid. The Order’s gone and I never worried about them. They liked me.” He gestured for his boys to follow, “C’mon. Let’s check these guys out.”

A few dubious looked were exchanged amongst the gang. They highly doubted any member of the Order cared about Sights. They were the real deal. And besides, Sanctuary was pretty helpful now…

Rudolph cracked his neck as they trotted down the street. The idiot woman at the last apartment building had given them hot chocolate. Serious foolishness and false hope had risen in the hearts of these blind miserables. And who the hell were these little shits coming toward them?

“Hey, you carolers should head home. It’s getting cold out,” Sights shouted. He looked between a few of his bashers and then grinned back at Rudolph’s gang.

“Oh don’t worry, we’re warm with festive cheer,” Rudolph grinned. “And just how are you staying warm, hm? Lots of baseball practice?” He glared at the bat.

Sights nodded and one of his bashers suddenly surged to nearly nine feet in height, arms thickening with muscle. Another grinned revealing rows of shark-like teeth. The last merely chuckled, “Oh we’ve got hand warmers in our pockets, Rudy!”

Rudolph’s eyes widened as his nose suddenly brightened.

He supposed he could join the guy. Just to help make sure things were safe. It was a disgustingly nice and helpful thing, that was focused entirely on the greater good rather than personal gain, but... you know. It could be helpful. And it protected the people at Sanctuary. Elliott bobbed his head at Devon.

"I can join you. Just let me have a minute, so I can drop off this gift." He smiled briefly. "I don't want to have to juggle it around, if we wind up shoveling snow. Or building snow men. Snow people." He amended. Gotta be PC.

He ran upstairs quickly, only taking a minute, found Wanda, and gave her the gift. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and explained what he was going to do. As long as he came back, it was cool. Good on him for showing some concern for Sanctuary. Two minutes later, he rejoined Devon.

"Off we go," he gestured with one hand and a smile. "You lead the way."

---

One can judge hostility when one sees it. Especially when it involved growing mutant freaks and threatening postures. Rudolph's men didn't like that one bit. The humans sneered at the mutants. They didn't do anything yet. They were waiting on Rudolph's command, ready to follow his lead.

((OOC: I'm leaving it up to you how the gang clashes. I like how you're handling things. ))