[See Profiles of A New Team for disclaimer]

Animal Spirits
By Mindy Mills

No one actually knew what was going on. Carlos seemed more and more distracted from the main focus of attention ever since Ruth came. Rumors said that they were in love with each other and were unaware of it. The first time that suspicion was in effect was a few days ago, when Carlos was showing Ruth a trick.

Carlos pulled up some broken bottles of 2 or 3 different colors and placed them in front of him. It was dark outside, and they were a few miles away from Angel Grove.

"It's creepy out here. Not that I'm scared or anything," Ruth said.

"Creepy," Carlos asked. "Are you kidding? This is the prettiest spot in the world. You're just looking at this place half empty. See these? These are polar ice caps." He gathered broken bottles of 2 or 3 colors.

Ruth almost laughed. "Carlos, those are broken bottles. And they're not half empty; they're all empty."

"The sun," Carlos continued, putting a flashlight on the grass behind him. The light was pointing at the broken bottles.

"Carlos?"

"Then, to the North…" He stepped out of the way of the light. The light shined through the broken bottles and were displaying a colored light on a steep hill nearby. Ruth looked at the colors on the hill and gasped. It was a beautiful sight.

"The Northern Lights! Oh, it's so pretty." She turned to him, but his face was very close. When she turned her head, their noses were touching. For a while, neither of them moved. Then Ruth cleared her throat and continued to admire the lights.

~*~

Now, Ruth couldn't even start the idea of getting Carlos out of her head. To try to press Carlos out of her mind, she went to the SimuDeck. She started the simulation that looked like a church. There was a guitar on the stage next to the podium, and there were no "people" there. She picked up the guitar and started playing, just as Carlos entered with being seen. She started to sing and play.

"Down the Via Dolorosa

In Jerusalem that day,

The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street.

But the crowd pressed in to see

The Man condemned to die on Calvary.

He was bleeding from a beating.

There were stripes upon His back,

And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head,

And He bore with every step

The scorn of those who cried out for His death.

Down the Via Dolorosa called the "Way of Suffering."

Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King.

But He chose to walk that road out of his love for you and me.

Down the Via Dolorosa all the way to Calvary.

Por la Via Dolorosa

Triste dia en Jerusalem

Los soldados le abrian paso a Jesus

Mas la gente se acercaba

Para ver al que llevaba aquella cruz.

Por la Via Dolorosa que es la via del dolor

Como oveja vino Christo, Rey Senor.

Y fue El quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mi

Por la Via Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir.

The blood that would cleanse

The souls of all men

Made its way to the heart

Of Jerusalem

Down the Via Dolorosa called the "Way of Suffering."

Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King.

But he chose to walk that road out of his love for you and me.

Down the Via Dolorosa all the way to Calvary.

Por la Via Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir."

Then, she looked up and saw Carlos. "Oh, Carlos! I didn't know you were here."

"I didn't know you could play the guitar or sing in Spanish," Carlos said, approaching her.

"It's one of my favorite songs. My dad taught me…" She stopped. Lost in her memories of her parents, she began to cry. Carlos hugged her. "It's over," she continued. "I have no family, no home, nobody to turn to… I might as well just go around and suffer."

"None of what you just said is true. All 38 of us are a family…"

"40. You forgot my pets."

"The Astro Megaship is your home now…"

"It is a place that I live, but not exactly home."

"And you have all of us to turn to. You especially have Jenny, Andros, C.K., T.J., Ashley, Earl, Cassie, and me."

"I guess you're right."

"Ruth, I've always wondered; how was it the you gypsies did all that magic stuff?"

"Well, every gypsy in Ancient France had an animal instinct. My mother's was the bear. Mine is the lioness. Many gypsies at that time didn't follow or understand their animal instincts. That's why my ancestors had the magical possessions instead of others. If you would have an animal instinct, it would probably be the wolf."

"The wolf?"

"Yeah, I bet you could even sound like the wolf."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. As I was saying, I guess you were right about the ship being home. I knew that for sure ever since we started on that camping trip, remember?"

"How could I forget? I got sick."

"I know. When you boys got sick during the trip, I was afraid you were going to die. For a while, I thought that the Lord had abandoned us."

"The Lord?"

Then, Ruth began to tell Carlos about the religion of Christianity. She spent hours telling him the stories and answering his many and confusing questions.

She started the stories with the creation, then went to Adam and Eve, Abel being murdered, Noah and the flood, and everything from Abraham going to the fall of Jericho while Joshua was leader. Then she went to the stories of the prophet Samuel, King Saul, and King David. She told about the kings that turned his nation away from God and towards worshipping idols. After that, she skipped to the New Testament. She told about Jesus' life. At the end of that story, she paused for a minute.

"Carlos, can I ask you something, personal like?"

"Shoot."

"Are you a Christian?"

"Well, no one's ever asked me anything like that before. Umm, no. I'm not. I never heard anything like you told me. I barely even knew what you were talking about when you said that you thought the Lord had abandoned us."

"Do you want to be a Christian?"

"I'll have to think about it, Ruth."

~*~

Later that day, there was a fight from one of Astronema's monsters that led Carlos and Ruth to be separated. Carlos fought with the other Rangers and some of the Spices, while Ruth was on the ship, helping Marvin.

Carlos and the others were attacking Darkonda and several Quantrons. No one succeeded in their attempt to stop Darkonda. He made them fall in unconsciousness and captured Carlos. Darkonda saw a boy standing at the edge of the area. Darkonda walked towards the boy, but the boy begged for mercy. Darkonda agreed to spare his life if the boy would follow his instructions…

When Ruth was done helping Marvin, she went on the planet surface with C.C. They were walking with happiness until a boy approached them.

"Do you know Magic Spice?" the boy asked.

"I am Magic Spice," Ruth said.

"I'm afraid I got some bad news. There was an orange monster attacking in a long distance from here. The Rangers and other Spices were attacking this monster. Most of them escaped, but the Black Ranger… The monster fighting there didn't intend to kill him, but…"

"What?!"

"I'm afraid it's true." He thought to himself, *The monster told me that I knew too much. How I wish I could tell you.*

Ruth was caught in grief for a few minutes. Then she saw the eyes of the boy. They looked like they were smiling. She gave him a cold stare and said, "You're lying. He's lying! Black Ranger is alive and he's coming home!" She didn't want to reveal Carlos' name to the boy. She teleported back to the ship.

The boy looked at C.C. and said, "She needs a little time."

~*~

That night, Ruth had a bag on her back. She was at the same place where Carlos had shown her his "Northern Lights." She had gathered firewood and started a fire. She turned on a flashlight and placed it on the ground.

"The sun," she whispered, sitting in front of it. She gathered broken bottles of many colors and positioned them in front of her. "Ice caps," she continued. She stepped out of the way, and the display was better than the one Carlos had shown her, probably because of the variety of colors on the steep hill. "Oh, Carlos," she said in her grief. She unrolled a sleeping bag and slept close to the fire she made.

~*~

Carlos woke up in the Dark Fortress. Hours passed since his battle with Darkonda. He was inside a room. The door was surprisingly unlocked, so he made a silent escape. Sometimes he battled with Quantrons, but there was not a loud enough commotion for Astronema or anyone to investigate. He escaped to the planet, knowing that the departure was too easy. He looked around, but saw noting familiar. It was about an hour before dawn.

He spent 20 minutes trying to find his way, but got lost deep in a forest. He was cold, because he was demorphed. He laid down and took a 15 minute nap. When he woke up, there was a white wolf standing in front of him. Carlos sat up in fear, but the wolf didn't attack. Instead it howled at him, and waited for a response from Carlos. Carlos turned his head away from the wolf, not understanding what the wolf wanted.

The wolf slowly walked away. Carlos thought for a minute. He remembered something Ruth told him the other day, "Many gypsies at that time didn't follow or understand their animal instincts. If you would have an animal instinct, it would probably be the wolf. I bet you could even sound like the wolf." He turned in the direction the wolf went off and started to howl for him. Indeed, he did sound like the wolf, and the white wolf returned. For a few more minutes, they howled.

Then, the wolf stared at Carlos, as if it wanted to say, *You don't need me anymore. Keep going. Let the wolf's instinct go with you, and you'll find the way back. When you know where you are, go to what seems familiar, and howl. Your friend will understand.* Then, the wolf ran his way.

Carlos did let the instinct help him, and he arrived not far from Angel Grove a few brief minutes before dawn arrived. It was still dark, and yet it was easy to see. He suddenly saw the "Northern Lights" displayed on a steep hill. He was happy, for he knew that Ruth could create those by herself. He knew where he was going, so he continued with the wolf's instructions. He howled a long howl in Ruth's direction.

Ruth was asleep. She woke up a few minutes before Carlos howled. She stared at the display she had created with Carlos' help. At the thought of her friend, she fell into despair and wept. Then, she heard the howl. "Carlos," she asked herself. She turned in the direction of the howl, like a lioness would have done. She saw a figure running towards her, howling. She screamed in her delight.

They ran for each other. They hugged. Carlos told her that he was proud for making the spectacular sight he had shown her. Ruth was happy that he was alive. He told her how he escaped, how hopeless he thought his journey was, and how the white wolf helped him.

"I knew that the wolf was your animal instinct. You have helped yourself by letting the wolf and the instincts help you. I'm so proud; I'm sure my parents would have been proud, too. You have no idea what torture I've been through. A boy told me you were dead, but I knew that you were alive. Everyone else was so disturbed at my hopes that I decided to sleep outside."

"Well, we're going to the others and show them that I'm alive!"

~*~

A few days later, a Sunday to be exact, Ruth was in the SimuDeck. There was the church simulation again, but she was standing in a pool and wearing a long robe. No one else was in there, but everyone knew what was going on. Carlos came, wearing another robe and he stepped in the pool.

"Carlos, do you believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and that he died and resurrected to forgive you of your sins," Ruth asked.

"Yes," Carlos replied humbly.

"Do you confess with your mouth that you sinned and ask from the bottom of your heart for God to forgive you?"

"Yes."

"Carlos, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Buried with him in baptism…" She placed Carlos in the water and helped him upward, and finished, "Praise the Lord."

Carlos became a Christian. In the days that passed, he learned more and more about God. He daily read a Bible that Ruth gave him. He became stronger and stronger now that he's in a particular religion. And best of all, he and Ruth could spend time together understanding what they mean when they say things. But that didn't mean that they turned away from his instincts.

~*~

Survey about Ruth

1.) What are your first impressions about Ruth?

2.) Ecliptor began to sweet talk Ruth into thinking that he likes her, even though he killed her parents while trying to find her. Why do you think that's true?

3.) What is about Ruth that you like the most? the least? Why?

4.) What do you think about the relationship between Ruth and Carlos?

5.) Ruth thought that she must be a loner because of the death of her parents and had no other family. What do you think?

6.) What do you think about Ruth's family and ancestors?

7.) In "A Discovery From The Past," Ashley said that they didn't have much excitement since Ruth joined them. In your opinion, why do you think that's true?

8.) Ruth was afraid that Carlos would die during the camping trip; she told him that herself. Do you think that is a sign that Ruth loved him? Why or why not?

~*~

"Oµ^