Username: harvestberry
Choose Your Clowder: Cityside
Previous Prompt Response: Prompts 1-3Prompt Response: Prompt #4Characters:
Pyla #F271,
Waxwing #F270, and
Asclepius #E13At the foreign noise, Pyla turned around, yowling in alarm. She staggered back, bumping into Waxwing, who had now noticed the threat as well. Asclepius gasped, backing up behind her new companions. The jaguar crept forward, muscles rippling beneath its spangled pelt as its jaws parted in a snarl. Pyla stepped back once more, pinning her ears and lifting a claw. They were so close, and their journey was just beginning; this couldn’t be the end. Suddenly, a metallic scent filled her nose. She placed her paw down, nose twitching.
A raindrop fell from the sky, leaving a dark splotch on the dirtied, weather-beaten asphalt. And then another. And soon it was raining, a steady thudding on the ground. The jaguar pricked its ears at the sky, looking up, and giving one last glance at the travelers before returning to the shadows, climbing up to higher ground. Pyla frowned, titling her head.
“Huh…? Why did it… leave? Without putting up any more of a fight? Was it something I s- Asclepius?” The kit was shaking, eyes wide at the sky. “Is something wrong?”
“
The monsoon…..” She whispered. Her claws dug into the small holes in the asphalt. “The monsoon! It’s not supposed to be here yet - Bucket said it wasn’t coming yet! And Lilypad confirmed it! T-they said we had more time…!“ She was practically wailing now, pressing closer to the ground. Waxwing and Pyla shared a confused look, titling their heads.
“The monsoon?”
“The monsoon! It’s a big rainstorm, and according to Lilypad it can wash away even the strongest cats! Ooooh, I don’t want to get washed away! I wanna go home!” The albino kitten was shaking like a leaf, and Waxwing frowned. He parted his jaws to speak, but was quickly silenced by the wind, blasting through the long-forgotten street with an otherworldly howl. He staggered, struggling to hold his ground against the gust, and released a heavy breath once it was over. And then the rain picked up.
It poured, battering the travelers with force that was almost painful and forming a screen of raindrops all around. Puddles that had been forming in the streets were already beginning to expand, claiming more and more of the street. Pyla bent down to grab Asclepius, just as another burst of wind went through the street. She closed her eyes as the wind sent raindrops at her, tiny bullets against her face. Waxwing growled to himself.
“We need to.. find.. shelter!” Pyla managed to open her eyes as the wind died down again, still remaining at a steady gust.
“We do… in high sheltered ground… because of the wind and flooding.” She pushed against the wind current, finding her way to a place where the wind was blocked by a large building that may have been apartments in the past. There were plenty ways down, but only way up; a rusted fire escape. She sighed through the scruff in her mouth, starting to climb up as carefully as she could. Trying to get up was taxing, to say the least. The wind had shifted, battering more raindrops, and it had started thundering. She only could hope that every other cat was okay, with how the river was most likely flooding.
She finally managed to get up, pushing herself through a broken window and putting Asclepius on the floor. Waxwing pushed his way through after her, and she caught her breath, sliding to the ground. With what little energy she had left after fighting the storm, she looked around; it seemed they’d managed to flop on the only concrete patch, judging from the broken hardwood flooring around them. Furniture decorated the rest of the room, but all the stuffing had rotted away from the things that could have been comfortable.
The ambience of the storm still echoed outside, and the wind had shifted yet again, blowing stray raindrops at them. She quietly hissed, grabbing Asclepius and padding to the main room, Waxwing following silently. She found a carpet that looked comfortable enough, and wasn’t rotted, and promptly laid down, Asclepius curling up against her. The kitten’s little body still shook, lingering terror from the experience she’d just gone through. Waxwing shook the droplets off his fur, flopping onto the carpet as well.
Silence filled the room, apart from the now gentle and steady thudding of rain and the occasional boom of thunder.
(733 Words)