Talk:Aura/@comment-71.72.214.14-20130823204251/@comment-3146930-20130823205025

They do explain in the first episode that people used Dust as a way to fight the Grims. And as you said, Aura may be how people are able to trigger Dust. Pyrrha does say that anything with a soul has an Aura.

However Aura seems to be a type of magic that can operate independently from Dust, as shown with Yang, Lie, and Pyrrha. For example Weiss has been shown to use Dust without Aura (when Ruby explodes). Aura seems like more of a power to amplify a person's own skill. Lie when fighting the snakes was able to use his Aura to hit the snake so hard that it sent a shock wave powerful enough to explode its head. Yang also becomes much stronger and possibly faster.

Animals most like have their own Aura's, but they may not be able to use it. Jaune for example had to have his unlocked so others may have to train for years to use it to its full extent. I don't think animals have the required intelligence to learn how to use it.