"Easy, easy, sir beast. Easy."
Vulcan had his heart in his mouth as the reindeer did what was close to toppling down the path. To him he might fall at anytime, that was why he held unto the beast's horn as though they were his only means of salvation.
He occasionally looked at his back to figure out if he was being followed either by the stray man or his beasts.
He had been disappointed even till that moment. He quit looking. But a new thought sprouted.
How about if the reindeer was being noticed by one of the wild cats? What would he be able to do.
Run for his life or watch things pass.
Probably he could fight a tiger or mountain leopard like the Arabians. He quit nursing the thought. They weren't good for someone expecting a soothing change.
He wondered why the man had that quick change of mind to let him go in a twitch of the eyelids. He didn't expect it by the way.