Thanks to all those who have and continue to review!
Blizzard Dragonoid: I decided to research the subject, and found that coyotes will do both. I guess it just depends.
Emma183: Thanks! I'm glad you like it.
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Darkpaw dropped her moss in surprise. A coyote pack? she thought. But they never come this close to the ocean!
Shiningstar strode out of his den, blinking in the sunlight. Across the clearing, Hollyfrsot pricked up her ears. The black she cat and white tom trotted towards the patrol.
"Calm down, Nightstorm," Shiningstar mewed. He waited till the young tom breathed deeply until he spoke again. "Now tell me what happened."
"We were over by the southeast border when we heard what we thought were dogs. When we went over to investigate, we saw a whole pack of coyotes sniffing around! There had to be five or six of them-"
"There were five," Eaglefoot mewed, interrupting Nightstorm. "They didn't see us, but they were heading deeper into the territory."
Shiningstar nodded. "Very well," he called to the cats in the camp. "Cloudysky, Eaglefoot, Nightstorm, Hollyfrost, Freezewind and Leaffall will come with me. Runningstep will keep watch from camp, and Sunshine can alert us if they come here. Everyone else will guard, though it'll probably be unnecessary. Are there any more patrols out?"
"Actually, Freezewind is out with Pinebreath and Runningstep on a hunting patrol," said Hollyfrost.
Shiningstar frowned and said, "Sunshine, will you run and find them? I need them here."
"Of course, Shiningstar," mewed Sunshine. She darted away in a blur of gold.
While they waited for Sunshine to return with the others, Owlpaw scampered up to Darkpaw. "It's not fair! Why do we have to stay?" she grumbled when he slowed.
"Cause we're apprentices," he muttered. "And we don't have any powers."
"Hi guys!" Mothpaw bounded over.
"Where've you been?" asked Darkpaw.
"Eaglefoot said I should go on the patrol. I saw the coyotes!" she mewed excitedly.
"I want to!" whined Darkpaw. "I've never even seen a coyote!"
"I do to," Owlpaw said. "How're we supposed to learn about fighting if we can't do anything until we're warriors?"
Darkpaw was thinking. "You're right, Owlpaw," she mewed. "We should go. We'll miss out on a great learning opportunity if we don't."
The twins stared at her for a moment. Then a light flashed in Mothpaw's eyes. "Of course," she purred. "If only there was a cat who knew where the coyotes are." She grinned mischievously.
Owlpaw hesitated. "Fine," he said. "We'll go."
"Thanks, Owlpaw!" Darkpaw rubbed against him.
"Yay!" Mothpaw bounced up and down. "But I would've gone either way," she added.
"The warriors are leaving now," Owlpaw said. He was starting to look excited about breaking the rules.
"We'll follow them," Darkpaw mewed. "Let's go now, before anyone notices we're gone."
Mothpaw bounded ahead, slipping quietly out the side entrance. They crept through the brush, careful not to be spotted by the patrol. Nightstorm and Eaglefoot in the lead, they wound through the trees to the more open part of the woods.
They were heading to the place where the cliffs were at their highest. Scrubby woods and large rocks kept the cats hidden from view until they reached the top of one of the cliffs.
"Over there," Darkpaw heard Cloudysky growl as she looked through the eyes of one of the coyotes. The apprentices inched closer, on a lower part of the cliff, to see what the patrol saw.
There were five, all right. A pair of mates and three full grown pups. They growled and barked to each other as they trotted along.
Darkpaw shivered with excitement. They were like strange, dust-colored dogs.
"Come on," Shiningstar mewed. "We'll try and scare them off, only fight if we have to." The wind blew his voice down to where the three apprentices were crouched. That means they won't be able to smell us, thought Darkpaw gratefully.
The band of warriors moved down the steep, hilly cliff, preparing to confront the coyotes. Mothpaw, Owlpaw and Darkpaw followed after them.
Shiningstar halted at the base of the cliff. By this time the coyotes had seen them, and were walking forward cautiously, hoping for a cat dinner.
Narrowing his eyes, Shiningstar threw up a great gust of wind. It howled around the coyotes, ruffling their fur. It was such blast that the coyotes stopped and pinned back their ears. The mother snarled.
Beside Shiningstar, his deputy was ready. In front of the coyotes amazed eyes, she shuddered and grew into a sleek black wolf, blazing purple orbs for eyes. Hollyfrost snarled back, her white teeth standing out against her dark lips.
The rest began to demonstrate their amazing powers, and it was a sight to see. Leaffall leaped fifteen feet onto a ledge above their heads before springing upwards in a huge arc. Nightstorm went a sandy brown color, blending in with his surroundings till he was nearly invisible. Eaglefoot glanced carelessly at a chunk of rock jutting out above him, and with a loud crack it broke loose and crashed down beside him. Freezewind sat quietly, looking into the future to see the coyotes' reactions.
She didn't have to wait long. They had gathered together, whimpering and confused. At the sound of the breaking rock, which snapped like a gunshot, a male pup had lost it and lunged. His teeth had nearly bit into Freezewind when the Hollyfrost-wolf knocked him aside.
The mother coyote, seeing her baby in danger, jumped forward with a howl and snapped at the deputy. Hollyfrost shoved her aside.
This led all the other cats and coyotes to fall upon each other in a clamor of yowling and howling. Darkpaw watched with wide eyes as Leaffall soared over a coyote to spin around and slash at it.
What made her most nervous was how the big male coyote, the father and leader, attacked Hollyfrost. Reared up on their hind legs, the two tore at each other, making the most horrible sounds. Hollyfrost was clearly in her element in wolf form, but the male was nearly as large as her.
Mothpaw gasped beside her. A she-pup had pinned Cloudysky to the ground and was biting furiously at her, staining her white fur with red blood. Cloudysky's power didn't help her in battle, and she could never beat a coyote in a one-on-one fight.
"Cloudysky!" shouted Darkpaw. Without thinking, she darted from her hiding place and charged the coyote. Mothpaw and Owlpaw looked at each other and ran after her.
Launching herself at the snarling creature, Darkpaw felt terrified and furious at the same time. She bit into the back of its neck and clawed at its shoulder. Owlpaw and Mothpaw also attacked circling it and clawing at it. Cloudysky heaved herself to her feet and helped them.
The coyote yelped and fled, running for her mother. Panting, Darkpaw looked around. Shiningstar was facing off with the other male pup, and Darkpaw guessed he had hit it with a sphere of condensed air, for it flew backwards for seemingly no reason. The pup ran after its family, who fled for the border. They clearly weren't going to mess with ForeverClan anytime soon.
Cloudysky limped over to where the rest of the cats stood. Many were covered in bite wounds. Their eyes widened when they saw the three apprentices. Hollyfrost even slipped back into cat form.
"Darkpaw, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"We're sorry," Darkpaw said guiltily, staring at the floor. "We wanted to see the coyotes."
"I'd say you saw them," growled Cloudysky. "Saw too much of them. But you saved me from serious injury or worse, and I thank you for that."
"Thank StarClan you weren't hurt!" meowed Freezewind. She padded over and licked Mothpaw's head. "You two should know better," she scolded her kits. "Bringing little Darkpaw along too!"
"I'm not that little," muttered Darkpaw. "I'm nearly as old as them."
"I guess we are lucky," Shiningstar said. "You may have broken he rules, but even without powers you both fought like warriors. You all fought like warriors." He added, noticing the look on Darkpaw's face. "Your mentors and I will discuss your punishment when we get back."
At the word 'punishment' all three of their heads drooped.
"Anyone who's wounded will go straight to Rainsong," Shiningstar ordered. "Let's go."
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I would've added more, but I figured it was long enough.
So that was the first major action in the story. What do you think? Was the demonstration of all the powers cool or what? It was sure fun to write!