(Coal's POV)
Coal trudged near the end of the pack. He'd been dragged out against his will. Sure, he agreed, but at the time he thought Sprint would give everyone a meal. If it weren't for Sprint's constant bark, Coal probably would have eaten the grass by now. He asked, "How much further 'till we eat? My legs are giving out..."
"Alright Coal, we'll stop for a break. I think I see a river up there, anyways," Sprint barked. He felt the pack's relief in the air. They scented water not too far, and soon, with the Sun-Dog retreating to his den, they finally took a break. Coal stretched his legs lazily and prepared to sleep. A nose prodded him awake, and he saw Talon looking at him. "Sprint says we should hunt."
Great. More moving. Couldn't he catch a break? Coal grunted and got up, following Talon across the river. Then a loud splash turned his attention. While Talon continued walking, a small fluffy dog struggled in the water. Everest?! The Omega probably moved too close while trying to drink. All the others were figuring out how to save him without suffering as well. Flailing would send him deeper, wouldn't it? In a single, reckless leap, he splashed into the cool surface of the water. Droplets flung all around, but it quickly blackened. Coal couldn't see under the water. He moved his paws, propelling him forward. Or was it sideways? Maybe a second thought would have been great...
Then his paw found fur. Clenching it tightly in his jaws, Coal dragged the soaking mess of fluff above water, only to fall under again. The combined weight forced him under. On a second attempt, he lasted long enough to put Everest back. But the water flowed faster as he tried to get up, and soon he struggled once more. His packmates watched hopelessly. A sharp pain stung as his paw touched the ground, but he stopped moving ahead. Sand bit hard on his paw, trying to pull him back. Talon came back to drag him up, then Sprint helped, and soon he set paw on solid ground. Exhausted, Coal stayed still, the pack circling around him.
"I'll take over for you, Coal," Sprint declared, "you go get some rest."
He was grateful for Sprint's words, but at the same time, laying around lazily didn't seem right. "Thank you, but I still wish to help the pack."
"Are you sure? You were whining for a break like a pup earlier."
"W-well," he stammered, "I was just tired and all. But now I have a rush of energy."
Sprint gave a sly smile. "Of course."
Coal shook his fur, sending water on the dry dogs. They gave an unamused growl. He trotted to camp with the intent on improving shelter. A lot of his words were a lie, he just didn't like resting outdoors. Taking some nearby pine branches, he formed a small tent, settled down, and rested.
He had no idea how long it was before the smell of meat stirred him awake. Coal noticed Sprint with a fresh, bloody brown rabbit, and Talon had a squirrel. They set it down and took turns eating. Talon tore a small bit of her squirrel before abruptly stopping. "Hey, what's that?"
The group followed her eyesight, which led to a distant shadow. It resembled some sort of tree trunk, or at least to Coal's eyes. Everest, despite being soaked and shaking, bound a little closer and yipped with joy. "It's a loudcage! Maybe some Longpaws are there to save us!"
"Hey, hey, no," Sprint cut in, "we're not going to turn ourselves in to some Longpaws."
"Shouldn't we at least check if they're okay?" Everest whimpered. Sprint rolled his eyes. The small bundle of fur used to be a Leashed Dog before being separated. Now every time he sees one or their strange machines, the dog thinks it'll lead him to his owner. Coal knew that if Sprint didn't let him near, the poor dog will be sad all night, so he suggested, "What if we wait a bit and check it?"
"Good idea," Pine agreed. Her litter-brother seemed disapproving, but she went on, "When the Moon-Dog shows her first slivers of light we can check. If it's gone, then the loudcage was probably resting."
Satisfied, the rest of the pack ate their share, and Coal settled in his make-shift den, waiting for the night to arrive. Did he like Longpaws? No, but he was fascinated by workings.
"Okay pack, those of you who want to come on this uninteresting trip, come along. Let's make this quick," Sprint mumbled. Coal slowly got to the group, a measly four consisting of him, Sprint, Everest, and Pine. They set off shortly after, being sure to cross the river carefully. In the dark depths of the night, only a few bits of moonlight shone. It took such a long while for the first moonlight to appear that most of the pack fell asleep by then. When the group reached the shadow's resting place, they found the silvery loudcage in the same position, if not a little moved. Everest hopped on Pine's back to see in the window, where he fell back almost instantly. "There's a longpaw there!"
A bonk echoed inside the loudcage. Coal peeked inside, where he noticed a dog slightly smaller than the Farm-Dogs begging for attention. The smell of death reached his nose. He barked, "There's a dog trapped in there!"
Sprint went beside Coal, only to back away. "Anyone know what to do?"
Everest went on a curved shiny ring sticking out of it, then put his paw inside another curved piece of loudcage, and pushed back. It didn't budge. "Coal, you seem big! Can you open it?"
"I can try," Coal said. He repeated the movement, but this time there was a click, and a part of the loudcage swung open. Coal was sent flying back, but he got back fast. The tan-and-white dog hopped out. His black-lined tail wagged furiously.
"Thank you!" He yipped. "I've been trapped in there since the growl happened..."
"You're welcome, we are glad to help," Sprint said. The dog's bright eyes met his.
The dog asked, "If it isn't too much, could I join your pack?"
"Sure! We're looking for more dogs. As long as you don't mind the travelling, of course."
"Oh, I don't mind that. My Longpaw is..." he trailed off, only to change subject, "I'm Aqua by the way!"
On the way back the group talked, but by the time they returned, the pack was sound asleep. Coal settled down and fell asleep at roughly the same time.