Chapter 2

I had never asked before because I had probably never thought of it or it just didn't seem to be important. But it was! It was the reason behind why he had been there. I had never asked Buck about his family…his parents, maybe siblings, or anything. But the day came when I would learn about that and why he had left them. It all happened a week before we were introduced, Buck included, to the neighbors of Manny, Ellie, Crash, Eddie, Sid, and Diego's old home, the home they lived at when they met Buck in the first place.

An old rhino gasped as he recognized Buck. "This is Buck…? Amelia and Jonathan's son?" He asked. Buck's eyes widened. "How…?" The rhino laughed. "You don't remember me, do you?" Buck shook his head. I watched with interest. The rhino chuckled. "It's me, Charlie, your dad's traveling buddy. I knew him since we were only children and I was there when you were born!"

Buck was blank for about five seconds before he something finally clicked. "Oh! Ya mean yer the rhino who I considered my uncle…inna way…" Charlie nodded. Buck smiled. "Well then…long time no see, eh?" Charlie nodded. "So where have you been all this time…your parents said you ran away shortly after–" Buck shook his head. Charlie stopped and cleared his throat. "Anyways, what happened?"

Buck told the story about going to the Dinosaur's World. Charlie didn't ask about his eye at all. And as Buck told the story, everyone listened with interest. The story finally ended about an hour later and it was late by then so most of the adults took their children home.

I walked up to Buck and entered his embrace. His fur was so wonderful and soft and his sapphire eyes shimmered like they always did. He was the perfect mate I could ever ask for. It wasn't just his looks that appealed to me, but also his personality and his affection, and that made me so happy to be with him.

"Oh! Who's the girl?" Charlie asked, walking up to us. I answered, "I'm Jade, sir." Charlie nodded. "You look like a ferret." I corrected, "I'm actually a mix of ferret and weasel. My father was the weasel and my mother was the ferret. So I'm a mix!" Charlie's eyes were suddenly full of worry. "Oh…" He then turned and walked away. I turned to Buck who shook his head. I didn't have the heart to ask what was wrong.

.~.~.~.~.

It happened. And it was probably the shock of my life. I woke up the morning a week later to find Buck on a rock nearby, looking extremely depressed. I got up and walked over. He looked up as I approached and turned fully to face me.

"My family is comin'…the full one…" He cringed. I frowned. "And that's bad?" He closed his eyes and nodded once angrily. "Ya don' know what my fam'ly is like…they are exac'ly opposite from myself and…" He trailed off. I walked over and sat down next to him. "Don't you worry…it'll be fine in the end." Though I wasn't exactly sure of this. I knew Buck was hiding something from me, but I wasn't going to push it now because I would soon find out anyway.

At around lunch the next day, they came. We were eating our usual meals when there was a loud scream. We all jumped and only moments later, there came a stampede of several furry creatures, almost one after another.

They stopped and searched the area. As they did so, Buck got up and tried to escape. But then, "BUUUUUUCK!" It was a shriek so loud, I had to cover my ears tightly. As the scream stopped, I looked up to see Buck running for his life away from the several over furry creatures, which I finally identified as his weasel family.

But finally, they cornered him and a female stepped forward. She looked very similar, with the same blue eyes and brown and light fur in the same places as him. She spoke clearly and to the point as she addressed Buck, "Oh Buck, sweetie! Where have you been and-and what happened to your eye!?" He stuttered and tried to pull away from the female's grasp, but she pulled him into an embrace by force. He was almost a half a head taller than her.

Buck struggled to get free. The female gasped as she realized this. "I cannot believe you, Buckminster! My own son won't even let his mother give him a hug! That's rude! Have your father and I taught you better!"

Buck swallowed. "I think ya got me…now can ya please let me go?" His mother huffed, but hugged him once more, and then let go. Buck sighed; he looked terrified to see his family. He eyed me through the crowd. I waved. I saw his lips twitch into a smile for a moment before they returned into their frowning position.

"So where 'ave ya been?" A male with almost the same, yet a lot deeper, voice asked. Buck was at a loss for words, so he pointed his finger down. Almost immediately, all of his family looked down at the ground. They didn't have a clue.

"He means underground!" I chimed in. They all turned and I suddenly felt very awkward. Another female walked over. "Who might you be, little ferret?" The girl was very pretty, but seemed also like the nasty type. Her fur was very well groomed and was long and curled on top of her head in a very pretty hairstyle. She had redder fur than Buck and, at the moment, was in an intimidating pose.

"I…" I began, but Buck spoke first and very fast. "Er-name-is-Jade-and-she's-my-mate-and-she's-not-jus-a-ferret-but-a-weasel-too-'cus-her-mum-was-a-ferret-but-her-dad-was-a-weasel-but-its-a-long-story-bout-wha-happen-to-them-and-I-don't-want-Jade-ta-get-upset-and-yeah-I-love-her-'n'-you-can'd-stop-that!"

He inhaled deeply and then started to pant. I don't know how, but I heard every word! Were they really going to be against our love like that, or what was that all about? I didn't know until the reddish female walked up to me and glared hard at me. "You…his mate? And you're a mix breed!"

All I could do was nod. She growled, slapping me in the face. Buck reacted quicker than anyone else. He jumped onto a rock and around everyone and before the reddish female could do anything else, he got in the way and grabbed her claw-like hand. "STOP!" He bellowed darkly. He used little force to knock the female to the ground.

She gasped and she hit the dusty, dirty earth. After about a moment of trying to figure out what happened, she turned to Buck who had helped me up and was now holding me close. He turned back to her, still holding me, and glared, "Don' you ever hurt her again! If ya try it, I will NOT hesitate ta bring you DOWN!"

And with that, he turned away with me still in his arms, clinging to him. No one moved. Buck whispered to me, "There's a reason why I didn' want them comin'…" He looked down at me and explained, "That girl is Angela…suppose ta be perfect…and she was chosen to be my mate by my parents when I was younger.

"They understood I was different an' thought I could be like them if I became Angela's mate. I can't though…an' that is why I ran away. The main reason." By now, he was carrying me, and he soon placed me in the usual bed we stayed in together.

He sighed. "They don' approve of anythin' but pure-blooded creatures like me. Anythin' that is a pure weasel is acceptable; no ferret blood either. Not a species in the middle. That's why I knew it would be difficult if they met ya…and I'm sorry I didn' explain before."

I waited until he was comfortable lying down next to me before I wrapped myself around him and let him do the same to me. He sighed, "I'm not 'bout ta give up in the fight against my family. I will always be differen' from them…and that's how I wan' ta be!" I nodded and closed my eyes. It wasn't long before I was asleep…

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