Note: This story was written a long time ago. It was not, however, written in a galaxy far, far away.
Chapter One:
"Chaka! Give me a hand gathering wood, will you?"
Chaka moaned and trudged through the forest. "Yes, Ama," he sighed, "I'm coming."
"There you are," Ama growled, "Why can't you be more helpful?"
"And why can't you get off my back once in a while? Who do you think you are, my mother?"
Ama hissed. "Do not speak of our mother in that way!"
"Don't get your hackles raised. I didn't mean to be disrespectful to her."
"Ah!" Ama spat, "And you meant to dishonor me? Little brother, you are a thorn in my paw. Mother's dying words were for me to take care of you."
"Yeah, yeah, you've done a great job of that," Chaka muttered, bounding away, his voice fading into the forest, so that Ama could barely hear him. "I'm going to my room, and won't be out for a while, so don't look for me."
Ama flicked his ears in annoyance and continued hunting for wood dry enough to be used in the fire. "Come back and help me later," he called.
Chaka ignored him and pushed through the curtain of lichens that served as the door to his room, which was fashioned out of a hollow in a large tree. A red wood, as an elder in his sept had told him. They weren't native to this land, but had been planted in an effort to regrow the diminishing forests.
That was when the humans still lived. They had recently died out because of their own pollution and some experimentation on what was supposed to be a cure. The extinction of mankind frightened Chaka. No, he did not miss the strange, twolegged creatures like some cats did. But it made him wonder: if a species so successful could be wiped out in such a short amount of time, could it possibly happen to all of the Wits, as well?
"Chaka! Come back here!" Chaka rolled his eyes as he heard his brother calling in the distance. He waited a moment. The rapping of a paw against the tree trunk echoed inside his room. He peeked out of a tiny hole in the wall that was covered with a broken shard of glass.
"Aha!" he thought, "Just as I suspected!" Chaka slowly crept across the dirt floor and nudged away a stone on the far side of the room. Beneath it was a hole: small, but wide enough for him to squeeze through. He'd been working on it for months. He used his front paws to pull himself out the other side, then ran off, just as Ama entered the tree trunk.
Chaka didn't stop running until he'd reached a clearing where other specklebacks his age hung out. Ama didn't approve of him going there. It was like a club, and the members were always up to no good, pulling pranks and causing all kinds of trouble. Sometimes, to become a member, you had to brave the Marsh of Decay.
Ama most definately didn't approve of him going there.
But Chaka didn't care what his older brother said. "After all," he told himself, "I'm almost full grown. What does he think I am, a Witless?"
He slowed to a stop and entered the clearing, panting. He sat down on the dusty ground. Where was everybody? There were usually plenty of specklebacks here. Chaka glanced around.
No one was in sight. The air was still and quiet. Suddenly, a flock of ugly, black birds burst out of the trees, flying toward the west. Chaka stood up quickly. "Buzzard crows!" he hissed, "Something must be wrong!" As Chaka sniffed the air for signs of toxins, a female, barely full grown, ran into the clearing, tumbling into him.
The two rolled together like a tumbleweed for a moment, until they broke free. They were both dizzy, but the female leaped to her paws at once. "Tara!" she screamed, "Kanta!" Her calls became more frantic as she bounded back and forth and around the clearing. "Tara!" she screamed again, louder this time, "Kanta!"
"What's going on?" Chaka asked, worried, "Who are Tara and Kanta?"
The female ignored him and continued calling the names of her friends as she paced the ground and bounded through the trees in the surrounding area.
"Excuse me," Chaka said, "But can you please tell me what's going on here? Has there been an accident at the Marsh of Decay?"
The female sat down in front of him. She looked exhausted. "I'm Tiata," she said. Her voice was weak. There were beads of persperation rolling down her face, making her golden fur look glossy. "I'm looking for my sister Tara, and my friend Kanta. Tara's my age, and bronze in color. Kanta's only slightly older than you and has the brightest golden fur." She looked at Chaka, her forest green eyes glittering with hope. "You haven't seen them, have you?"
Chaka shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said, "I haven't seen them. But could you please tell me why they've gone missing? And the other specklebacks, too."
Tiata shut her eyes tight. "Arr," she growled, "Those thorns in my paw! I'll bet they've gone to the Marsh of Decay. I warned them, but they wanted so desperately to join the club of young Wits who gather here."
"Thank goodness," Chaka sighed, "I mean, it's not good that Tara and Kanta have gone missing, but it's not as bad as I guessed. For a moment I thought the Marsh was expanding!"
Tiata looked at him. Their eyes met, hers so full of pleading. "Please," she begged, "Help me find them."
Chaka nodded. "Of course. Let's go."
The two young cats flew throught the forest, their heavy paws barely hitting the ground. Their hearts beat hard in their chests until they thought their lungs would burst, but still they did not stop running.
A large expanse of wetland spread out before their eyes as the trees became more scarce. They stopped in an open field. "The Marsh of Decay," Tiata whispered. There it was, a few yards away from their paws.
And at the marsh's edge stood a fairly large group of young Wits. Most were specklebacks about Chaka's age; a few were slightly older, like Tiata. One was huge, the biggest Wit Chaka had ever seen. He was stone gray with eyes that were like yellow fire.
The giant cat stood facing two smaller ones; the female was bronze, the male a golden yellow color, with spiky fur on the top of his head.
Chaka guessed they were Tara and Kanta. But who was the big, gray Wit?
"Tara! Kanta!" Tiata cried with joy. She galloped over to them, and began to purr. "I thought something terrible had happened to you," she said.
"Enough!" spat the stone gray Wit, "If you want to join our club, you must pass our challenge."
"Forget it, Grovlen," Tiata hissed, "I won't let them endanger their own lives for the sake of joining your stupid gang of specklebacks!"
Grovlen's thick, gray tail swished back and forth. His eyes glowed bright yellow in anger. He was getting frustrated with the young female.
"You're only the leader of the club because they fear you," she continued, "You're so pathetic you have nothing better to do than scare little specklebacks half out of being Wits! It makes you feel big, doesn't it?" She glared at him. Their eyes met and neither backed down.
The crowd gasped. It was a challenge! Surely such a proud Wit as Grovlen would accept.
But Tiata didn't stop there with her insults. "Well, guess what?" she growled, "You're big enough already, boulder belly."
"Silence!" Grovlen roared. He leaped at her, but she rolled out of his way quickly, ducking and dodging. When she got her chance, she sliced open his nose with her sharp claws. The big cat wailed in pain, clutching his muzzle with his forepaws.
"You won't get away with that!" he hissed, slamming his body into hers. Tiata tumbled to the ground.
"No!" screamed Chaka. He had only just met her, but after seeing her stand up to Grovlen, he respected her and pulled for her during the battle. "Oh, where is she?" he thought in desperation. He tried to see over the many heads, but could only get a glimpse of her lying in the dust.
Tiata pulled herself up, wincing with pain. She was covered in bruises and dust. She glared up at him, her eyes filled with the most hate a heart could hold. She gnashed her teeth together and hissed, "You will pay. I am not so easily defeated."
"Oh yeah?" Grovlen chuckled, examining a claw. "Who will stop me? The specklebacks know I am a good leader for their silly little club."
The Wits who were watching the battle crept closer now, forming a circle around Grovlen. The circle grew tighter and tighter around him until there was no escape.
Tiata stood on top of a boulder and looked down at the pitiful animal, who had been so proud only a moment before. "I spare you," she mumbled to him. He let out a sigh of relief. Tiata flicked her tail. "Roll out, gang," she commanded. The huge mass of Wits followed their new leader back to the clearing.
Chapter Two:
"Wow!" Chaka said, once they'd returned to the clearing, "How did you do that?"
Tiata shrugged. "My parents always said I was a natural born leader," she said casually.
"What's the big deal with being club leader, anyway?" Chaka asked, "I mean, it's a great club and all, but everyone's taking it a little too seriously."
Tiata stared at him with wide eyes. "You mean you don't know?" Chaka shook his head. "It's like this," the young female explained, "Whoever is the leader of some kind of gang has a more likely chance at being Cheif of the Wits someday, because of their experience."
Chaka gasped with shock. "You mean... you mean, if you hadn't stood up to Grovlen today, he would have been making the rules several years from now?"
"Maybe," Tiata said, "Not necessarily, but there would've been a good chance. Anyway, it's all over now."
"No it isn't!" Chaka said, "You've got to get the support of more specklebacks! You could be the future Cheif of our sept!"
"Look, I don't plan on it, okay? I'm just an ordinary Wit." She began to walk away, then turned to look back at him. She had a thoughtful glimmer in her eyes. "I'll think about it."
Chaka grinned. His new friend would make one awesome leader. She wouldn't sit around and do nothing like Cheif Gnar. He frowned. What was their leader going to do about the Toxin Crisis, anyway?
Though the humans had disappeared, their pollution was far from gone. Poisons and chemicals seeped into the ground, mutating plants and even some animals. The poison was worst in a land they called the Marsh of Decay, which was growing nearly every day, forcing the Wits to migrate into unknown territories. All specklebacks were taught at a young age how to sniff out the toxic spores that filled the air, so they could get away in time if there was a disaster.
"Chaka!" Chaka recognized Ama's voice, and he sounded angry. "Chaka, you get back here this instant!"
The young cat scanned the crowd until he saw his older brother peering out above the heads. And Ama was staring straight back at him sternly.
Chaka ignored him and crept off to find Tara and Kanta. He wanted to meet them. He found the two talking and laughing with a group of other specklebacks, and he joined the bunch, sitting next to Kanta. "Hi," he said cheerfully, "I'm Chaka!"
"Hello. I'm-"
"Tiata already told me who you were," Chaka said, "I just wanted to come meet you for myself. So what was your challenge going to be, anyway?"
"Huh?" Tara said, puzzled, "Oh, yeah! Grovlen was going to send us into the Marsh of Decay after some flag he'd hidden. We would've done it too, if Tiata hadn't stopped us." She flicked her ear in annoyance.
"Of course, she was right," Kanta pointed out, "We could've died. Besides, we won't have to pass any stupid test to join the club now that Tiata's the leader."
Tara laughed. "I just hope she doesn't start bossing me around. We're still sisters, you know!" Chaka knew how that felt, that someone who was once a playmate was now giving you orders.
Chaka and Ama's mother was Fian, who died on a hunting trip, kicked by the strong hind legs of a large deer. She had raised the two alone, and neither knew their father. When Ama had dared Chaka to ask about him, Fian had swatted at her son. When Fian passed away, her parting words were for Ama to take care of his little brother. This had always disappointed Chaka. Even if it was about him, his mother's last words were to his older brother, the favorite!
But it didn't matter now. He missed his mother, but he would get along fine. It wouldn't be long before his spots faded and he would be out of Ama's shadow.
He was in the middle of laughing at one of Kanta's jokes when something gripped the back of his neck. "Ow!" he yowled, "Leggo!" He turned around and swiped his paw at his attacker. It was Ama. Chaka gulped.
"Come, little brother," Ama said, "We're going home."
Chaka got up without saying anything, and followed Ama back to the place where they had been gathering fire wood earlier. "Look," Ama said, pointing with his tail towards a pile of wet logs, "See what you've done? I told you to come back and help gather wood. You didn't, and it rained while you were gone. Now we will have no fire to keep warm by tonight, or to purify our water."
Chaka lowered his head in shame. When he said nothing, Ama continued. "As if that wasn't enough," he growled, "You had to run off and pay a visit to the Marsh of Decay! You know how dangerous it is!"
"I didn't get too close," Chaka muttered, looking away. Pure, strong anger burned in his eyes and heart, and his tail tip twitched. "Why don't you trust me with anything?"
Ama used a huge forepaw, claws bared, to turn Chaka's head to face him. "Because you act like the foolish speckleback you are!" he snarled, "Next time there will be severe consequences! If the Marsh of Decay doesn't do you in, I will."
Chaka jerked his head free from Ama, and his brother's claws left long scratches on his chin and neck. "Look what you've done!" he hissed, "Keep your claws sheathed next time!"
"Me?" Ama said, "It's not my fault! If you hadn't tried to jerk away, it wouldn't have hurt you so bad. Perhaps those scars will teach you a lesson."
"Perhaps they shall plague your heart with guilt like fleas in the fur of Gondor," Chaka spat, reffering to an old tyrant of the Wits.
Ama frowned. He had been a little rough. He watched as his little brother stalked off towards his room. "Arr," he growled to himself, "Why can't I do anything right?" He was barely older than Chaka, yet had to act as the troublemaker's gaurdian. He retired to his room for the night, but did not get much sleep. Dreams of his little brother and the Marsh of Decay swam in his head.
Chapter Three:
Chaka awoke in the middle of the night, the light of the full moon streaming through his curtain of lichens. Shadowy figures filed past his room, mostly silent, though a few were muttering. At first he sat up, then lied down again, trying to slow his breathing, pretending to be asleep. But he kept one eye open, studying the mysterious wits through the curtained doorway, and listened careful.
He couldn't hear anything of any importance, but was still curious, so he slipped out into the night and began to follow at a safe distance, stepping as lightly as he could, sticking to the shadows where he would not be seen.
It felt like hours before the mysterious group got to their destination, a strange cave of gray stone that Chaka had never seen before. He quickly darted to hide behind a pointed stone that jutted from the floor of the cave. The Wits shuffled in and sat in a circle around a huge tan male with the longest teeth he'd ever seen. That must be Gnar! Chaka had only seen the cheif of his sept from far away before, but he had heard plenty of stories about the legendary leader. It was said that he was descended directly from the saber toothed tigers of long ago, and from those fangs, Chaka believed it!
And that's as far as I got and probably ever will.