Warrior Cats One-Shots [COMPLETE]

In His Heart There Is Still Light ≫ Scourge x Insecure! Female! Reader

Art: mokithewolf

⚠️ Warnings ⚠️
• Insecurity issues

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You stayed hidden in the shadows underneath a large cardboard box, watching the alley you called home come alive as the sun disappeared behind the rows of looming twoleg dens. You weren't fond of showing yourself around these cats, especially when BloodClan had plenty of beautiful, more well-built she-cats than you. They were flawless, and you looked like a rat that drowned in the smelly oily stuff that monsters sometimes left behind. Your fur was constantly plastered to your skin like a wet dog, you reeked of garbage, rotting meat, and stars knows what else, and your ribs and cheek bones stuck out of your frail pelt like a corpse. Both of your ears were shredded from countless fights, and a long, ugly scar ran from the top of the right side of your head down to your shoulder. You had gained it in a nasty fight with another stray over some meat a twoleg had discarded. You lost of course, and you had the missing eye and the inability to hold a conversation to prove it. Your name around the alley and further was Flea, even though the name you were given by your mother was (Y/N). The only reason you weren't laying in a ditch somewhere with rats eating your flesh was because a black tom with a red collar decorated with teeth had found you and allowed you to sleep in his alley and eat his food. You could only assume he had taken pity on you. Why else would someone give a hideous cripple like me a home? An itch started up behind your ear, and you took your back claws to it, tearing free clumps of bloody fur and fleas. You whimpered in misery, giving your head a rough shake. You were always itchy, sore, or sick. Why did life have to treat you like this?

A shadow passed over the sparsely-covered box, causing you to jump and scramble back as far as you could. Images of the vicious stray you had fought moons before leaked into your mind, sending you into a downward spiral. Was he finally back to finish you off? "(Y/N), come out. I'd like to have a word with you." You stopped trembling, blinking a few times to clear the goop from your eyes. You knew that voice— It was the first one that showed you anything other than disgust. "Now, (Y/N)." Hastily you scrambled to your paws, wincing as sharp pain shot up your gangly limbs.

"Y-yes, sir?" You meowed timidly as you came face-to-face with none other than the cat with the macabre collar. His icy-blue gaze travelled over you for a moment, as if trying to decide if whatever he was about to tell you was worth it, or if he would finally kick you out of BloodClan and let you die alone on the streets. Not that you could blame him.

"Follow me." He meowed coldly. This is it, You thought fearfully as you followed your leader across the stinking wet alley to the large scrapcan he slept under. He's going to kick me out. Either that or kill me. Maybe the latter would be better. But as you slipped under the only dry space in the alley, you knew neither of those things were going to happen. Not yet, anyway. As you sat down on some old scraps of material, the intimidating black tom turned to face you. "Are you happy in BloodClan, (Y/N)?"

"Y-yes, s-sir," You stammered, fighting the urge to turn and bolt for your box. "V-very happy..." He stared you down blankly, a strangely calculating look that you couldn't describe.

"My name is Scourge. Not sir."

"O-oh... Right, of course... Yes, Scourge." He nodded once, acknowledging your apology. You relaxed slightly, strangely comforted by his sudden lack of authority.

"There's nothing to be afraid of here, (Y/N). You're BloodClan. You're one of us. Do you know why I accepted you into my clan?" You swallowed hard, afraid to give the wrong answer. Scourge was never the friendly type, and you were worried the slightest mistake could change his whole demeanor. Still, you took a deep breath and sat up straight.

"I always thought it was because... Because you pitied me..." Scourge continued to stare at you unblinkingly. Then, much to your surprise, a small smile crossed his slender face. A cold, emotionless smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"If I pitied you, I would've just killed you on the spot. No, (Y/N)— I let you join BloodClan because we needed a cat like you." Your mouth fell agape slightly. Scourge thought he needed you? You couldn't help but to chuckle dryly. Out of all the cats that roamed these streets, he needed you? Your leader tipped his head slightly, raising an eyebrow. "Is something amusing?"

"Oh, just the fact that you think I'm needed anywhere," You purred with a new burst of confidence you hadn't felt in years. "A dead rat couldn't make use of me. Why do you think I'm needed in BloodClan?" Scourge sighed, and you noticed the slight sag in his shoulders.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself, (Y/N). You have to believe me when I tell you that you are needed. You hold an important role in BloodClan life. You search for food despite your misgivings, you defend our territory despite your trauma, and you show great respect to the cats who adopted you," He lowered his voice and leaned forward, as if making sure no one outside his shelter could hear him. "If I'm being honest, I feel like the only reason the others stick around is because they're either too frightened to try and leave, or  they'd die out there on their own. You've proven time and time again that you're a survivor, (Y/N). You lived on those streets for moons and lived through all sorts of horrific incidents. Do you see now? BloodClan needs you, (Y/N). I need you." You looked away, fighting back the tears that brimmed in your single eye. Scourge noticed this and sighed again, moving just a little closer to you. "Keep being you, (Y/N). Beautiful or not, you're a BloodClan warrior, and you always will be." You nodded, looking at your paws. Despite the darkness that had taken over long ago, Scourge still had light in his heart, and he was willing to open up and show it to you. You looked back up at him, a small smile forming on your scarred face. You were grateful for that.

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I'll be honest, I've never really liked Scourge that much. He's basically an edgy OC that somehow found his way into the books for a brief time xD No offense to all you Scourge lovers out there. It's just my opinion.

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