Disclaimer: I do not own Seekers I do however own Chahta.

Chapter 4

Toklo

Chahta's past.

Toklo woke the next morning. As he looked outside the sun was shining and the birds were singing. He looked at his friends and was shocked to discover that Lusa was gone. He sprang to his paws and was about to dash out before a paw rested on his shoulder. He turned and saw Ujurak looking at him. He pointed with his muzzle. Toklo looked and saw Lusa curled up with Chahta and their pelts were touching.

"Why is she over there?" he growled

"Toklo come on don't be cloud-brained. I know you are not blind and you can see just as well as me why she is." Ujurak said. Toklo sighed. He heard rustling and turned and saw Kallik waking up. She looked around and leapt to her paws. Toklo put a paw on her shoulder and pointed at Lusa. Kallik smiled and amusement made her eyes shine. The three bears moved to the cave mouth and looked out at the forest. Toklo heard paw steps and looked back. Lusa and Chahta were padding towards them, their pelt brushing.

"Hi!" Lusa said cheerfully. Toklo snorted and padded up and touched noses with her. Chahta walked away. He pointed north with his paw.

"If you guys head that way you should come to a path that leads through the mountains. It will take a while but when you get to the path follow the path and you will be out of these mountains. But, there are more so please be careful." He directed. Toklo nodded and they gathered up to leave. Toklo's throat tightened when he saw the look of regret Lusa gave Chahta and the sadness in Chahta's eyes. He knew that leaving the big bear would be hard for Lusa.

"Hey Toklo." Kallik whispered. "Do you see how sad Lusa and Chahta look." Toklo nodded.

"I don't want to make Lusa sad but we need to leave." He sighed

"I know. But, maybe Chahta could go with us?" Kallik asked.

"I think that would be a great idea." Ujurak said padding up to join in the conversation.

"Maybe, but only if Chahta agrees." They padded up to where Lusa and Chahta were talking.

"Goodbye." Chahta murmured.

"Goodbye." Lusa whispered sadness heavy in her voice. They pressed their head together.

"Lusa, Chahta." Toklo barked. They looked up at him. "We have been thinking and we were wondering if Chahta wanted to come along with us." Lusa looked up at Chahta with a delighted face. Chahta looked at Toklo in surprise.

"I...I don't know what to say Toklo. Are you guys all okay with this?" Kallik and Ujurak nodded along with Toklo. "Okay I'll go." Toklo smiled.

"Chahta!" Lusa shouted and leapt at him and she knocked him over. Chahta landed on his back and laughed. He touched his nose with Lusa's and she let him get up. The bears started off.

It wasn't long before they were hungry. Toklo looked back at the others. Kallik and Ujurak were padding next to each other and Lusa and Chahta were walking beside them. Toklo was suddenly aware of how small everyone looked next Chahta even Kallik when she was bigger the he was. He also wondered why little Lusa loved the big bear so much.

"Hey Chahta." Toklo barked. Chahta hurried to his side. "Do you know if there is any prey anywhere nearby?" Chahta sniffed the air. His eyes brightened.

"Ya, there is a creek nearby and usually there is a lot of food by it." Everyone followed Chahta to the stream he mentioned. Toklo quickly saw the he was right. He saw berry bushes everywhere and saw that salmon where in the river. Toklo padded up to the river along with Ujurak and Kallik to try and catch one. Toklo saw Chahta jumped across the river and Lusa followed him. He watched them until he saw what Chahta was going to do. On that side of the stream was an apple tree ripe with apples. Lusa looked at the apples with a delighted face. She raced up the tree fast as a squirrel and disappeared in the leaves. Chahta looked up at the tree when suddenly an apple fell at hit him on the head. He bellowed in surprise and Toklo heard Lusa laughing.

"Think that was funny do you?!" Chahta growled.

"Ya, I did." came Lusa's voice from the tree. Chahta smiled and rose onto his hind legs and press his forepaws against the tree. He pushed and tree shook and leaves floated down. He heard Lusa yelp and saw Chahta go back to all fours. He turned to the apple that hit him when suddenly Lusa dropped from the tree and landed on his back. Chahta yelped and his legs buckled. He and Lusa laughed. Toklo snorted happily and turned back to the stream. He waited until he saw a flash of silver and he drove his paw into the water. He was satisfied with the feel of flesh in between his claws. He lifted his out of the water and places it in the pile Kallik and Ujurak started. It wasn't long before the pile was big enough for Toklo be satisfied. Every bear came and grabbed a fish. Toklo and Ujurak ate together, Kallik ate by herself, Lusa and Chahta ate together. Lusa slowly ate her fish while Chahta grabbed the fish and swallowed it whole. Toklo thought about a question that had been bothering him since they met Chahta.

"Chahta, what kind of bear are you? You aren't a brown bear." He asked. Chahta looked up from his third fish. He bites it in half and ate it before he lifts his head.

"I'm a short-faced bear." He said. He turned back to his fish and ate the other half.

"A short-faced bear? I have never heard of them." Ujurak said.

"That's because we were are before black, white, and grizzlies. We get our name from our short muzzles. We are the most ancient kind of bears in this land." Suddenly his voice grew heavy with sadness. "But then, the flat-faces came. They hunted us, attack our dens, and stole our prey. All this happened before I was born, but when I was born my family was the last short-faced bears left. The other bears had died along. They lived along side a group of people we called the Choctaw. They respected them and never stole from or attacked us. We bears never attack them. But, it all changed when a group of different flat- faces came and attack both us and the Choctaw. The bears fought and killed a lot of them but they had many death sticks and we just couldn't fight them off. The flat-faces killed all the Choctaw and hunted us. When I was born we were almost gone and the flat-faces were still hunting us. My mother was the only other short-faced bear I have seen. She died the winter after I was born. Killed by a flat-face hunter." Chahta looked down at his paws. Toklo wasn't sure but he thought that Chahta was crying. He rose to his feet and walked off into the forest. Toklo looked at Lusa with a guilty look. Lusa got to her paws and padded after Chahta calling his name.