Mystic Fox - Northern Lights

By Jon Lupus

• Chapter 4 – Shedding the Shackles of the City

It was a warmer morning; the wind wasn’t as strong as days past. The sun slowly started to rise up from the horizon. Aurora began to wake up slowly. While Jon and Marie were asleep, she got dressed. She then kneeled down over Jon while he was sleeping.

“Wake up Jon,” Aurora whispered softly. Jon’s ears twitched, as he slowly began to awaken. Aurora smiled as his eyes opened. Jon moved back, slightly startled.

“Oops, did I scare you?”

“Nah, I knew you were there. At least you weren’t in my dreams this time.” Jon replied as he got up, and put on his coat, “What about Marie?”

“Marie, wake up?” Aurora said softly, her voice has a strange soothing sound to it. Marie woke up slowly, yawned, and got up.

“You weren’t kidding when you said early.” Jon stretched. Aurora laughed.

“So, is everybody ready? Leave your things behind Jon; you won’t need them where we are going,” Aurora went outside, Jon and Marie followed behind her. The sky was getting lighter as the sun rose. Aurora turned and looked at Jon, she studied him carefully.

“Lesson One, Shedding the Shackles of the City.”

“Isn’t that a tad extreme?” Jon replied.

“You spent all your life in the town, living amongst the humans; you forgot what it means to be a fox. I bet you can’t even speak in feral tongues.” Aurora replied, looking at Jon, “Now, the first thing… is to remove that which binds you to the human world. Your coat, your shoes; take them off. Marie, take his clothing and put it in the den.”

Jon took off his coat and handed it to Marie, but was a bit more reluctant to take his shoes off. He sat down and removed them slowly.

“Don’t be such a tenderfoot!” Marie giggled as Jon took off his shoes, and passed them to her. Marie went and put Jon’s clothing back in the den.

“There, that wasn’t so hard,” Aurora replied, “You have such a nice figure and you hide it behind that coat.”

Jon blushed, “Well I understand about the coat, but do I really need to get rid of my shoes and walk barefoot everywhere?”

Aurora replied, “For now yes, we canines are blessed with thick fur, we don’t need clothing like the humans do. After we are finished you can go back to wearing whatever you want, who knows, you might like it.”

“So… what’s next?” Jon asked, slightly bashful about being nude. Marie returned, blushing as she looked at Jon.

“You look great, don’t worry. You’re with friends now.” Marie replied cheerfully.

“Yea, but its not like I’ve known either of you for very long,” Jon turned and looked away from Marie.

“Come, let us go to the lake” Aurora headed off through the trees, towards a clearing. There, there was a large lake, the water glistening from the sunlight. When they arrived, Aurora sat down near the waters edge, Jon and Marie following and sitting behind her.

“Close your eyes,” Aurora said in a calm, relaxing voice; Jon and Marie closed their eyes, “Breathe in slowly, and exhale. Our next lesson is to get us in tune with our surroundings. Open your ears and your nose. let your senses enhance your world.”

Jon sat still, in a relaxed, but attentive state, slowly he began to hear sounds near and far, the wind rustling on the trees in the distance, the birds flying by, the rabbits and squirrels drinking from the lake at the other end, and closer by the breathing of his friends, Marie and Aurora. He could almost see in his mind’s eye, everything around him, despite his eyes being closed.

‘I knew I could hear better than the average human, but not this good’

Jon then began to breathe thru his nose, picking up scents from all around, the cool, crisp fresh water, the pine trees, the berries in the bushes, the unique lavender-musk scent of Aurora, the apple-musk scent of Marie, he could smell the trail that lead us here, and suddenly things were beginning to make sense. Jon felt a sense of accomplishment, the kind one feels whence they solve a puzzle.

“So? How did you do?” Aurora asked Jon.

“It was incredible, it was like I could see everything, I knew where everything was, yet my eyes were closed. It was like I could see farther than I ever could before.” Jon replied excitedly.

“Its how I found you Jon, I could spot you a mile away, hehe” Marie laughed and sat closer to Jon.

“You have taken the first step in coming home,” Aurora replied, “soon you won’t need to meditate in order for your senses to be at their fullest, it will just happen. I still enjoy meditation though; it allows me to start each day with a clear mind, ready for the day’s new challenges.”

“Well, what’s next?” Jon replied, excitedly, his tail was wagging.

“Such an eager Fox,” Aurora replied, “Take it slow, out here, learn to enjoy life, every moment of it, around here, we aren’t always in a hurry to do something, we take time to enjoy ourselves. The lessons aren’t as structured like you would expect, just be ready to take them as they come.”

“I’m gunna take a bath in the lake, coming Jon?” Marie got up, and walked slowly towards the lake. Jon followed her slowly.

“Sure,” Jon replied, Marie tugged his arm and the two of them ran into the lake.

“Ack! The water is freezing!” Jon shivered.

“You get used to it,” Marie splashed Jon softly.

“Hey!” Jon splashed Marie back, and the two of them started splashing each other, laughing and enjoying it.

“This nature stuff is a lot of fun” Jon replied, smiling. Marie submerged herself, and came out quickly, shaking the excess water off her hair gently.

“Wait for me!” Aurora ran down towards the lake, and jumped in next to them, making a big splash. The three of them enjoyed splashing each other and swimming.