Warrior Cats One-Shots [COMPLETE]

Aftershock ≫ Scourge x Exiled! Female! Reader

Art: Ricepurrsa

⚠️ Warnings ⚠️
• Briefly mentioned murder
• Some angst

This was requested by Dewspirit.
I hope you like it!

****

You weren't sure where you belonged anymore, but you knew for a fact the forest wasn't an option. You had been a ThunderClan warrior living peacefully under Firestar's leadership, but when you killed a trespassing ShadowClan cat, all of that vanished.
When Firestar found out about your little confrontation, he exiled you with a firm warning to never return. You had heeded his warning, of course, and now you were wandering down a thunderpath surrounded by horrifyingly tall twoleg nests on all sides.
You had been walking all night, forcing your eyes to stay open until you were out of this unnerving place. It didn't seem to be ending, though; still all you could see in the dim light of early dawn were the same bleak twoleg dens and thunderpaths you had been seeing since you left the forest.
Your stomach growled, clenching up painfully and reminding you of the mouse you had eaten mere hours ago. You desperately wanted something to eat, but you knew finding prey here was a slim possibility.
Upon further inspection, the area you were currently in had no promise of fresh prey. The hard ground was wet and slimy beneath your paws, the air reeked of crowfood and StarClan-knows what else, and there wasn't even a single rat in sight. You sighed, turning back to the thunderpath to begin your journey again.
Starvation will kill me out here before anything else does.
Suddenly, a new scent drifted across the stench of rot, one that made your mouth water.
It smelled vaguely similar to a wild bird, but warmer and accompanied by several other scents you were unfamiliar with.
You began following the tantalizing smell towards a pile of shiny black clumps next to a silver thing made of mesh, nearly in tears over the thought of finally eating. You carefully sliced open one of the black things with a claw, sticking your muzzle into the hole and sinking your teeth into soft, warm flesh. With a grunt, you hauled the fresh carcass of some sort of bird out, not hesitating a single second before violently digging into it.
You were too busy savoring every mouthful of the strange meat to notice the shadow looming over you until it was too late. Sharp teeth suddenly snagged your scruff, ripping you away from your meal and tossing you harshly onto the cold ground. Your nose collided roughly with the ground, causing a sharp pain to shoot into the front of your skull.
You sprang to your paws with a snarl, whirling around with your hackles raised to face your assailant, and when your eyes landed on him for the first time, you couldn't stifle a fearful squeak.
He was a small black tom, and despite his size, his appearance was far from inviting.
His eyes were a cold ice-blue, shadowed with a strange darkness. His claws appeared to be tipped with what looked like the teeth of another animal, and a tattered red collar hung around his neck, the same jagged, yellow teeth jutting from it's fabric.
Suddenly no longer hungry, you swallowed hard and began backing away.
"I-I'm so sorry," You apologized, chuckling nervously. "I've been lost all night, a-and I was really hungry... I-I didn't mean to take y-your food. I promise I-I didn't know it was yours... Um..."
The fact that you were frightened of this tom felt strange to you. Back in ThunderClan, you had shown no fear of any cat, big or small, in battle. You were known all throughout the forest as one of the most fearless warriors to ever live, yet here you were, standing in a dingy, wet twolegplace, cowering before a tom barely larger than an apprentice.

"What are you doing on BloodClan territory?"
His voice was ice-cold, just like his eyes. It had an eerie softness to it, almost like a cat with a throat sickness, but less scratchy.
You flinched slightly, your jaw working as you tried to find the right words to say.
BloodClan? What in StarClan's name is he talking about?
For as long as you had been alive, you had never once heard of a clan in the twolegplace. It was a strange thing to discover.

"Once again, I-I didn't know this was your territory," You replied, swallowing thickly.
"I just left the forest. I-I got exiled from my clan, and I haven't stopped walking since. I w-was so hungry. I'm so sorry. Please don't hurt me..."
In any normal situation, you would've silently cursed yourself for sounding so pathetic, but you were too exhausted to worry about that.

The black tom — who's name you still weren't sure of — blinked, and for a moment, his icy demeanor melted as a strange expression shadowed his face. You began to wonder what he was thinking, but he spoke again before you could ask.
"I see. That's quite an... Unfortunate situation. What is your name, forest cat?"

"(Y/N)," You replied, slowly standing back up.
"It's an honor to meet you, uh..."

"You may call me Scourge." He meowed coldly, his iciness returning.
"Your old clan may not want you anymore, but I think you could be a very valuable asset in BloodClan, (Y/N). If you will have me, I'd like to offer you a place to sleep, food to eat, and the protection of a group only for the exchange of your undying loyalty. Do you accept?"
As frightened as you were of Scourge, you couldn't deny the fact that you had little to no knowledge of the twoleg place or anything within it. For all you knew, you could die the second you walked away from the black tom without the safety of a group. Food was another concern; you had gotten lucky with the bird carcass today, but without the help of other cats to scavenge with, when was going to be the next time you ate? Where would you sleep when it got cold?
All those factors crowded together in your mind, filling your chest with a hollow dread. You were suddenly aware of every noise within a mile of you.

"Okay," You meowed, straightening up and taking a deep breath.
"I accept your offer, Scourge. I am forever loyal to BloodClan."

A strange, unnerving smile stretched across Scourge's muzzle, and he turned away with a flick of his tail-tip.
"Very good, (Y/N). Welcome to BloodClan. Welcome home." He began stalking down the narrow thunderpath towards a dark cave-like space between two tall twoleg dens, pausing to see if you were following him.
Pushing your doubts aside, you picked up your pace to a light trot and began trailing after your new leader and into the unknown, silently praying that you had made the right choice.

****

I'm so sorry this took so long to post. Work has been pretty stressful this week xD I hope it was worth the wait!