Kallybykk

My name is Kallybykk. Like most of my kind, I was born high in the trees, among the cities built into the worshyyr trees of Kashyyyk. Unlike most of my kind, however, I've never seen the appeal in gaining honor through slaying a beast, or known the value of succeeding in the arena. I spent most of my youth among the trees, swinging and climbing, or studying galactic history or learning from the Elders. Of course I went hunting, all wookiees had to do their part to provide for the village and their families, but I would much rather spend my time alone in the treetops, the sounds and sights and smells of the lush green forest filling my senses was the best feeling in the whole of the galaxy.

My opportunities to go do as I pleased were becoming slimmer and slimmer as I got older and my responsibilities became greater, so I seized every chance to escape to the trees I knew so well. This is one of them.

With practiced ease, I slid down a sloping branch with my knees bent and my right hand held in front of me for balance. I launched myself off of it as I came near a curve in the branch, sending me out of that tree and sailing towards the overhanging branch of another. I knew these trees well enough that I instinctively extended a hand to grab an overhanging limb to avoid falling to my death. Using my momentum to spin around with the tree limb as a center of rotation, I let go when my feet point straight up, throwing me about a meter above the limb. I spun backward flip and landed steadily on the living piece of wood, digging my claws into the bark to ensure I don't slip.

The bark was warm under my paw pads, and I could practically feel the massive tree pulsing and thrumming with life. I traversed through the trees on my usual path for another standard hour or so, but that day was different from all the others. I didn't finish my circle back to the village, but instead began a slow descent to the forest floor. My parents had always warned me to stay away from the Shadowlands, telling me about the dangers of large beasts and strange plants, and that only a fool would go alone. Great warriors would go to the Shadowlands to prove their might against the massive katarn beasts, and even then most would go in groups. Those who didn't rarely came back. For some reason, I wasn't frightened, only curious. I knew the trees and the forest better than I knew myself, and I had been climbing them for as long as I can remember, but the Shadowlands were a mystery. I wanted—no, needed—something new. Something exciting! I knew it was probably a foolish notion, that I shouldn't have even considered delving into the unknown, especially this particular unknown; if great and confident warriors went and didn't come back, what chance did I have?

Then again, I thought, I am more observant than the others, and quicker, too. Besides, it's not like I'm going hunting, just exploring. Mind set, I strayed from the path back to the village I had memorized and began my decent to the forest floor.

I soon saw why it was called the Shadowlands. The bright greens and light browns became dark and shadowy, sunlight no longer able to pierce the thick canopy above me. I eventually came to the closest point to the ground I could, approximately three meters above the ground, and drop down from my platform to hang by my fingers and drop to the ground landing in a low crouch. I start to think this may have been a bad idea. The forest feels... wrong. The ground beneath my feet is cold, as if untouched by life. The sounds of predators and prey are almost sadistic, and my sensitive nose no longer tasted the usual aroma of the trees as I did when I higher up. My brow furrows and I shiver lightly, the white and black fur on my body rippling briefly.

Regardless of my unease, I was not backing out like a coward, I was not going to climb back back up as soon as I touch down. No, I was going to do what I came to do; explore and gather knowledge of the land.

Very cautiously, I begin to move forward, my body tense and alert, ready to react to the slightest noise or movement. Like every other member of my village, I was required to compete in the arena to test my combat ability. Thanks to my awareness, speed and agility gained from having to be completely in tune with my surroundings, I came out on top almost every time. The constant physical and mental labor made me one of our fiercest, and I wasn't exactly not below average in size, either. But that was an arena, and I was still only a child. In fact, had I tried my hand against one of our scouts, I was sure every bone in my body would have been broken.

I wasn't trained or prepared to face the Shadowlands like many of our older wookiees, but I try to remain calm and aware, as well as somewhat secure in my ability to handle something unexpected. Eventually, after not running into any trouble, I calmed down enough to try and take in my surroundings. The feeling of unease remained, but I was still very intrigued by some of what I found—flowers and plants I'd never seen before, glowing grasses and fungi in darker, damper areas, timid creatures that scurried away at the sight of me. And something else I would have been quite content not to have encountered.

I squatted down by the roots of one of the trees and saw a strange, squirrel-looking creature gnawing on some kind of plant. Curiosity aroused, (damn it) I extended a hand toward it. It sniffed the tips of my fingers, sat bolt upright and then scurried away. Confused, I turned away and realized with wide eyes that it wasn't running from me, as I come face-to-fangs with a katarn.

I stood completely still, more out of shock than caution, and it snorted at me. Seconds later, I found myself leaping backwards at it tries to take a bite out of me. I tripped over a root, and instinctively turned it into a back handspring to keep from landing on my back and becoming winded. No sooner than I was back on my feet was it charging for me. Having no room or time to do anything else, I grabbed it by the fangs sticking up from it's jaw and and was pushed back two meters. Summoning all my strength, I dragged it to the side, amazed at the strength I was able to summon when I was terrified and fighting for my life, and threw it to the ground. Shit, that just made it mad. It roared in fury and rolled back to it's feet, thrashing wildly. There was no way I would be able to summon the strength to do that again, so as it ran at me the second time, I leaped over it and spun in the air as I did so to avoid having my back to it.

I'm going to die here, I thought, running low on energy and not daring running away and risking the possibility of being trampled by it. Damn it! What the hell was I thinking?!

I finally accepted that death was inevitable, and that I was foolish to come here to sate my curiosity, but I was not go down without a fight. With new conviction, I felt something. It was as if massive floodgates had been opened and were slamming me with a sudden rush of energy energy I never knew I had access to. Snarling, I threw out my arms to grapple the monster once more, but it never reached me.

I looked at the body of the katarn, whose back plates had been shattered upon making contact with one of the worshyyr trees, stunned. W-what... was that?

I looked down at my hands and saw nothing. I felt tired again. Then it clicked. Did I just... use the Force? Force sensitives among wookiees were very rare, and most of them were just shamans, not many could use the Force like a Jedi. Yet here I stood, before the body of a katarn I'd slain without touching.

I've got to get back, I thought to myself, Maybe I should take that with me to show them. There's no way I'm moving it by hand. Maybe... I held out my right hand scowl at the dead creature. It doesn't move. Damn... I shrugged and forgot about it

Invigorated, I turned to find tree with a low-hanging branch to grab onto. I spotted one, ran up the trunk with a little assistance from my bottom claws gripping the bark, and grabbed the limb of the worshyyr tree. With new determination, and mind ablaze with questions, I made my way back to my path and and to my village.