Ruby's Tale

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Ruby's Tale

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It started off as any other ordinary day. I was just wandering the dense woodland looking for a human: yet, not just any human. I was looking for a human to call my own.

You see, I was not like the other wild animals of Jamaa. I am a part of my own group of foxes. We are unique, for we can see the auras of people and wild animals alike. We can tell what their personality is like with a simple look of the eye. How cool is that?

As I was saying, I was searching vigorously for a human of a new aura. I didn't want any common ones, such as the usual, pleasant yellow aura, symbolizing peace. No, those humans are too common and easy for me. I was searching for a brand new aura- something of a challenge.

Low and behold, here came my chance.

My crimson fur stood up on the back of my neck as I sensed an unknown presence. Listening intently, I waited until I heard the sound of- something hitting a source of water?

Peering through the thickets, I saw her.

A rather pale, seemingly young human was sitting in front of a lake. She was throwing rocks into the water with a blank expression, moving her long, wavy reddish hair away from her hazel eyes.

I knew this was strange, for this human did not even share the scent of her own kind- meaning only that she had no aura! I had never seen a sight such as that in my entire life...

I stood there, watching eagerly with my yellow narrowed eyes until I had felt as if I had been there for ages. Right before I could gain enough courage to walk up to the girl, however, she disappeared into the trees behind her.

Oh well,

I had thought.

I'll see if she comes back tomorrow.

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Once I had arrived home, I immediately rushed over to my sister. Stopping in front of her, I asked to borrow her copy of the Book of Auras (which was distributed and copied throughout our group), saying I found a human yet was unable to identify it at the very moment. She of course allowed me to have it, and within mere seconds the very book containing every aura ever discovered was placed at my paws.

Shuffling through the pages frantically and with my sister peering at me from behind my shoulder, I finally located what I was looking for. It was labeled "No Aura," yet contained no information at all.

I pointed to it with a paw, glaring at my sister curiously. "Do you know anything about them?" I had asked.

With a horrified expression plastered to her face, she shook her head repeatedly. "You must stay away from No Auras. They give off negative energy, which can and will kill."

I should have been trembling at her words, but I couldn't help thinking..

That human didn't seem harmful at all. She looked completely normal to me, so what was the big ruckus for?

"She looked okay to me... What's wrong with her?" I had asked.

"She can kill you." My sister urged.

"All humans have the power to kill, and so do we." I argued back.

"Enough of this." My sister snarled, letting out a cry that got all of the foxes in our group's attentions. "You are not going back to that No Aura."

I'll never know why I did what I did that day, but I can't change the past.

Without thinking, I had bolted from the den, running as fast as my legs would allow from home.

The last thing I hearing was my sister, calling my name into the starry sky above.

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It was dawn, and I was both shocked and pleased to see that the same girl from before was present back at the lakeside. With no hesitation this time, I plunged through the thicket, letting out a soft cry to alert the human of my presence.

She had turned to me, glaring and saying something in human language. I only understood one word- ugly.

The girl turned away from me, going back to throwing rocks into the lake with her blank expression.

Did she just call me ugly, herself ugly, or..?

I wondered.

It didn't matter, I couldn't figure it out anyways.

I padded to her side, taking a seat. She saw me out of the corner of her eye, yet turned her back once more, ignoring me.

I snorted, thinking of ways to connect with this girl, when it hit me.

Using my jaws to grab a stone at my paws, I hurled it with as much strength as I could muster, releasing my grip and watching as it plopped into the lake.

The girl had turned her attention to me in surprise, and I gave off a wag of my tail, signaling I wasn't going to harm her.

She raised an eyebrow at me, throwing another rock into the water. Shortly after, a rock of my own followed. We continued doing this for quite a while, until eventually I heard the girl make a new sound- she was laughing. I tried to mimic the sound, causing her to laugh a bit more.

Knowing she was more comfortable with me, I padded closer. Our eyes met, and I felt the connection link as she reached out with a hand. Slowly, I padded even closer to her, and her hand stroked the top of my head.

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As the days went by, I bonded more and more with this girl. She developed a name for me- Ruby. Every day was the same routine: wake up, meet the girl at the lake, eat some berries she had for me, play with her until she needed to go, find and have some more berries, and sleep until dawn.

It was like that for several weeks, and within the time I even saw that the girl was beginning to develop an aura of her own. However, I also began to realize that as time ed, I was growing weaker and weaker.

Then, that fateful day came. We were playing, the girl and I, until she suddenly stopped. I heard her make another new noise, which sounded like... Crying?

I was correct. I turned to face her and walked up beside her in order to see what was wrong, yet she ignored me. I cried out to her, but things were the same, and she continued to ignore me. She bolted right past me, and by the time I caught up to her I saw what was going on...

Right below the girl's trembling hands, I saw myself, blank and lifeless...

It was in that moment I had realized what I had done. I took her negative energy and gave her my own aura in return.

If I had not connected with this girl, I now understood, she would have died instead of me.

Yet, even knowing this, I felt at peace.

I had saved a life, and that's all I needed to know for me to be truly happy.

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story :copyright: me

AJ :copyright: National Geographic

characters :copyright: me

fox images used in this post :copyright: found on Google Images

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