Prompt
By: [Morning /p/9nyoob]
Owlpaw
Black, pregnant clouds formed overhead; threatening to let the rain within, plummet at any moment to drench the large group of cats beneath them. The warm wind's violent current whipped at their fur and tugged their tails. Until the group was forced to crouch as they walked, rather than be thrown around by the brutal force, that could easily lift one of them if they foolishly released their tight grips on the earth beneath them.
Treading through the tall grass; Owlpaw tried her best to maintain her balance as it threatened to trip her by snagging at her elbows and pulling at her paws. The weight of a large rabbit clamped firmly in her jaws made her neck ache as she worked hard to keep the feet from dragging on the ground. The grass tugged on the rabbits limp form as well, making it even harder to hold the rabbit. The tabby trailed behind the patrol as they made their way through the dense grass and fought their way through the brewing storm.
Owlpaw's brother, Minkpaw, who lumbered in front of the pale molly with his own mouthful of fresh-kill, gave a low hiss of pain as his tan brown and bush-like fur snagged on the grass, slowing the large tom into sluggish gate. The littermates soon began falling behind, the patrol continuing without them. They were unaware of the cats' struggle to keep up as they worry about their own pelt being thrown by the wind.
Looking ahead, the pale she-cat noticed the grass thin and grow shorter. Relief filled her belly as she realized they were nearing the camp and could soon shelter herself from the wind. The she-cat bounded forward, forgetting for just a split second of the rushing streams that pushed her back. Owlpaw squealed in horror, dropping the rabbit as she realized her feet have lifted off the ground, before she is immediately dropped again. Minkpaw looked back at her, "We should probably hurry up before this wind gets much stronger." Owlpaw simply nodded, before picking her rabbit back up, too stunned to say anything else.
The apprentices nearly reach the camp entrance when they saw their patrol standing just outside the entrance. Owlpaw continued towards them, noticed how their tails lashed and fur bristled. When the she-cat reaches the patrol she asked "what's wrong... " when she saw him. Berrystripe sat outside the entrance keeping watch. At first Owlpaw didn't notice anything abnormal about the usually dark grey colored cat. As she took a better look however, she could see that he wasn't breathing, and his body was rigid, unmoving. With a gasp Owlpaw realized, it isn't berrystripe, it is a rock that resembles the tom.
The molly's heart sunk as a thought hit her. Before saying anything, she rushed passed the frozen statue and plunged trough the entrance tunnel. When she reached the other side, a gasp flew through her lips. The patrol filed in after her and the molly scanned the clearing, searching for any signs of movement. The she cat let out a wail when she saw none. All of the cats in the clearing were frozen as if they just froze in time. They were each changed into various shades of grey and were unmoving, as still as a stone.
At finding their clan in this state, the clouds that have covered the sky, finally let the heavy rain fall onto the small group of cats, as they observe their clan, all transformed into frozen slabs of stone.
To be continued...