Requested by: Nobody (I hope, if someone did request this, sorry! I have a terrible memory)

Written by: AnimalisL_ver & meggycat2

Picture Artist:  NatameSecrea on DeviantArt

Drained - verb: deprive of strength or vitality

Warnings: The bully of a voice in your head, hurtful words that are directed towards the character-insert, not to you the readers.

Key:

(Y/R/N): Your Rouge Name

(Y/E/C): Your Eye Colour 

(Y/F/P): Your Favorite Prey

(Y/A/N): Your Apprentice Name

A/N:

Hey everybody! Sorry for not updating lately, we just procrastinate too much. This one-shot is a bit of a different one than we usually do. This one-shot depicts the beginning of a romantic relationship, if you guys would like for us to do a part 2, we would gladly do so. Sorry if this one-shot shows any signs of being rushed, we wanted to publish something soon. Also, any requests are welcome! You can either leave them in the comments or you can dm either meggycat2 or I. Good news though! We are starting to -once again- attempt to follow an uploading schedule. Anyway, onto the one-shot!

The earliest memory you had, was being curled up against your sister, at the foot of a huge tree. Your dad always tried so hard to care for you, but with a crippled leg, there was not much he could do. Your mother had recently died of greencough, and your father had lost a battle with some wolves, shortly thereafter. He had barely made it out alive. Now, with disease and famine breaking after your family, and infection creeping up his leg, hope was a word no one dared to mention.

Next to you, your sister muttered out a weak cough, shaking her entire body. You looked around for your father, but he was nowhere to be seen, probably trying to catch some prey. Not that he was ever successful. With your nose, you nudged some leaves onto your sister, in a futile attempt to warm her up. You felt her cough again, waking her up.

"(Y/R/N), I'm so hungry," she wailed softly.

"I know, I know," you meowed softly, licking her fur backwards as another attempt to keep her warm. "Once dad comes back, It'll be my turn to hunt. I'll be sure to catch a finch for you." She turned her head at you and smiled weakly at you. You noticed with despair that her nose was extremely pale.

Your father returned into the clearing, carrying a small rodent in his jaws. It was not much, but it was the most they've had in a while. You watched as your father and sister took turns eating, as you stood to the side. Multiple times, your father offered to share, but you would rather die than watch your only family in the world go hungry.

That night, after collecting a few of the herbs you knew how to use, you sadly prayed to the stars, for change.

The next morning, your sister wasn't with you anymore. You had cried your heart out, but realized you had to move on. Your father sunk deeper into that gaping hole in his heart everyday. And soon enough, you were alone.

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That leaf-bare passed with you barely scraping by, as always. From the tiny kit you once were, you grew to become a petit(e), lithe, agile, and beautiful cat. However, the other loners and rogues you ran into would always insult you, after all, you were the crippled's kit.

You always took the insults to heart, without meaning to. When you tried to show them how much their words had hurt you, they jeered at you and accused you of trying to get their pity and attention.

Cats who you thought were your friends always berated you for the silliest things, and you were stuck in between being seen as a pathetic, weak cat or emotionless and cold. Not knowing what to do, you just simply ran away from everyone and everything, like the coward you were.

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After a particularly long and hard chase for your dinner, you fell, exhausted, to the ground. Not ever bothering to check where you were, you passed out promptly on the ground.

Someone was delivering sharp jabs to your abdomen when you had awoken, lying on the soft, grassy soil. You could make out faint blurry shapes leaning above you, one of which was trying to feed you something.

"Mrgfh," you groaned, herbs being shoved into your mouth.

A bright, young voice chipped up from above your head. "OoOh is she awake? Who is she? Why is she so skinny?" With every question, you felt you head pound louder and louder.

"QUIET!" you hissed with as much force as possible. The cats around you backed away as you sprung up, ready to attack. Your vision spun, and you shook your head, finally clearing your vision. You looked around at the four cats who surrounded you. A large ginger tom stepped forward, obviously the leader of the group. The poor, young cat that you had screeched at was cowering behind a much older tom.

"Look," a friendly white cat said, flicking his tail. "We're here to help you, not hurt you."

You glanced around warily, "Well, when are you going to start insulting me, the crippled's kit. The ugly one. The disgraced one? That's what all the others said." you sneered, backing up slowly. You didn't recognise any of these faces, but why else would they come into your life.

'4 to one' you thought. If you were gonna make a run for it, it won't be easy. You looked up, your eyes wide, as you took in each of the cats.

You felt very vulnerable, but there was an extremely small chance of survival if you ran. The pounding in your head came back and you were forced to sit down. The long-haired tom that had fed you some herbs started up.

"Look, you just passed out, probably from hunger. If you keep going like this, you'll die soon enough. My name is Featherwhisker of Thunderclan."

"Thunderclan?" you hissed. "Never heard of you. Why are you here?"

The large, ginger tom padded next to where you were, and you suspiciously backed up on your haunches. As he got closer, you noticed a large nick behind his ear, 'an easy place to open, and will bring pain'.

You then glanced at the long-whiskered gray tom. They both shared the same eyes, brothers, perhaps. However, the tom looked as though he could be taken down by a few strikes. The she-cat would also be easy to take down. And then, there was the handsome white tom. 'Wait, handsome?' You shook your head, clearly not thinking straight.

'He's a nice-looking tom, although he'd never go for someone like you. I mean look at you! Ugly, matted fur. The dullest (Y/E/C) ever. Don't get me started on your personality. Such a control freak. Back when your family was still alive, whenever you caught something, you ate it yourself, never sharing with your father and sister. You let your mother die! If you had gone farther, tried harder, then she'd still be here. Your father wouldn't have had to waste all his energy hunting,  he'd still be here. Your sister would have food to eat and she'd still be here. Your precious, beautiful, innocent, sister. A much better of a cat in the few moons she lived than you'll ever be.'

You felt your hard-built wall slowly crumble, but you shook your head and forced away memories of your earlier days. It was the same thing every time, but you couldn't find a way to get past it. You hoped no one had noticed the faint shimmer of tears building up in your eyes.

The 'ugly' white tom would be harder to take down. As he walked, you noticed how muscles rippled beneath his thick-fur.

The ginger tom took another step forward, "That's what I could ask you, Thunderclan has been here for many seasons upon seasons before your own ancestors. So, what are you doing here?"

You took another step back, bristling your fur as you unsheathed your claws. "If you don't mind me, I'm going on my merry way!"

Darting forward, you shoved over the ginger tom as you raced forward. You heard yelps of, "Wait! Not towards the camp!"

You veered left, before stumbling upon a root. The ginger-tom was nearly on your tail. You hissed in annoyance, before suddenly turning right.

Looking behind you, you managed to get a slight glimpse of your pursuers.The gnawing hunger in your stomach and the weakness in your step was very observable. Turning once again, caught a flash of white fur, before you rammed straight into an oak tree, rendering you unconscious.

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You woke with a start, letting out a small groan. Your head pounded painfully, as if someone held a vise-like grip on it. You weakly shook your head, attempting to shake them off.

Your vision soon cleared, and you looked around. It was night, and the moonlight shone into the den, reflecting off of a small pool besides you. You could make the faint form of a figure sleeping right across the entrance, barricading it.

You cursed under your breath silently, before carefully standing up. Inspecting the walls closer, you realized you were in a large rock of some kind. That faint smell of herbs touched your nose, and you began looking around for the source. While tripping back and forth, you caught the attention of the peacefully sleeping tom, who woke up quietly.

"Hi... uh, I believe I've already been introduced."

Frightening you, you turned around and clawed him right on the muzzle, causing him to reconcile. The larger tom made no moves to reciprocate your attack, although he backed up a few steps.

"Ow." he said calmly, specks of his blood falling onto the grass.

Flustered, you quickly apologized, "Sorry!" you squeaked out, sheathing your claws. Recounting what had happened before, you recalled the thunk sound you made when you had crashed right into the oak tree.

"I'll just be going now?" you meowed hesitantly, shuffling your paws. You couldn't look the tom in the eye. His deep, amber eyes would just entrance you to stay here, with this group, or rather, clan of cats.

"You're not going anywhere," he said sternly. His gaze softened. "You could start by introducing yourself."

"Where am I?" you asked. You saw his eyebrows shifted and you rushedly amended yourself. "I mean, besides Thunderclan." The foreign word felt weird on your tongue, but you enjoyed the strong accent of the word. 'It must be nice to be part of a clan' you thought. 'To feel like you belong.'

"You tell me something, and I'll tell you something." he stated.

"Okkk." you agreed.

"What's your name?" he asked again.

"(Y/R/N)" you said bitterly. You hated it with all your heart. It was one of the many sentiments that reminded you of your family. "My name is (Y/R/N)"

"What a pretty name!" the tom said. Whitestorm, you recalled. You looked at him, a little surprised.

"Really?" you prodded, confused.

"Really." Whitestorm said, flicking his tail. "It reminds me of happy hunting days." He realized that that seemed to hit a soft spot. Quickly changing the subject, he replied to your former question. "We're in the medicine cat den. This is where the medicine cat stores herbs and heals cats." Such a concept was fascinating to you. How could all these cats live together in supposed harmony?

You two quizzed each other from moonhigh to sunrise, and you felt yourself growing closer to the white-furred tom.

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A kit had tumbled into the medicine cat den, desperately searching for a place to hide. You looked up, having been bored out of your mind from being stuck in the den.

A pale brown tabby kit with light blue eyes looked up at you.

"Hi! Can you hide me please? Darkpaw might find me soon!" he meowed, worry laced his tone.

You smiled, before lifting up your tail and fluffing out your fur.

"Come here then! I think I hear some pawsteps coming over here."

Longkit gladly bounded over, snuggling close to your stomach as you placed your tail over his small body. Your fur was fluffed out enough that nobody could see the small kit. Darkpaw padded gingerly into the med den. His yellow eyes scanning the den.

You looked up innocently, "Is there something you need?"

He glanced at you, his eyes narrowing as he saw your fluffed out fur. "Why, it's quite hot today, isn't it? And yes, have you seen Longkit? He's a pale brown tabby kit with light blue eyes."

You shook your head, "I would much rather be hot than cold, and the den catches a breeze easily," you countered, "and, I've never seen him, I've been stuck in this den for the past few days..." You looked the apprentice in the eye. Darkpaw seemed to take the hint, and scurried out of the den. You moved your tail aside, smoothing down your fur.

"Looks like we're going to have a winner!" you quietly sang, as Longkit bounced up and down happily. From the corner of your eye, you saw a white cat padding towards you, Whitestorm.

"Quick! Hide!" you murmured, fluffing out your fur again and moving your tail.

Longkit nodded, diving towards your now fluffy fur as you quickly covered him up again.

"Heyyyyy Whitestorm!" you meowed cheerily. Whitestorm looked taken aback by how cheerful you seemed.

"..Hi?" he asked, confusion showing in his expression. You snickered. This was going to be great.

"So, I heard the kits and apprentices are playing hide and seek today? Who do you think's going to win?" you asked, already knowing the answer.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was thinking the apprentices were going to win. After all, they have more experience."

"Then I think the kits are going to win, how about the loser has to bring the winner prey for the next quarter moon?" you declared, excited.

"I already do that, don't I?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"So?" You purred, laying your head on your paws. In the end, he agreed. And at the end of the day, you won. You were quietly cheering with Longkit when Whitestorm padded into the den, with a (Y/F/P) dangling from his mouth. His mouth dropped and the (Y/F/P) fell to the floor.

"This was your plan?" he asked, amusement in his voice.

"Our plan," you corrected, as Longkit nodded eagerly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The large ginger tom from earlier, Sunstar, had come to talk to you. He padded into the medicine cat den, soon after sunrise, where Featherwhisker was busily tending you in your daily check-up.

"Greetings, (Y/R/N), you've been here for a quarter of a moon now, and you seem to be fitting in," he was referring to the times when you had brought prey to the elders as you had seen the apprentices do. When you had time that was not spent healing, you were playing with the kits, telling them stories of your time as a rogue. Nothing too personal though, and the kits even seemed to know not to prod about your family.

"Would you like to join the clan?" Sunstar paused, " Take heed in considering this offer, for your whole life will change. Give me an answer by sundown. Think about it. " And with a flick of his tail, Sunstar exited the den.

You sat there, dumbfounded. You were analyzing the results of what may happen. In the short time you had spent here, this place already felt like your forever home.

Whitestorm came bounding into the medicine cat den, holding a vole he had just caught. When he saw the look on your face, he dropped the vole.

He recognised that look. You were either reminiscing in past memories or you were thinking very hard about something, usually not good.

"Well, what was that about?" Whitestorm tentatively asked, although he already knew the answer.

Shaking your head, you replied, "I love this place, but I might not be ready for commitment..." He interrupted you, a little frantic.

"You should stay! You have to stay?" You looked at his desperate face, in which he attempted to hide his emotions of urgency.

You realized that even if you did refuse, feelings put aside, you would have nowhere to go. You had no family, and everyone else you knew hated you. Leaving now would make it look like you were just taking advantage of the clan's hospitality.

Whitestorm, who was standing, perhaps blocking the medicine cat entrance, looked at you firmly. "Hey, you never told me about your family." He did this on purpose, to keep you talking. You flicked your tail, annoyed, because he knew that was somewhere to never prod. However, he deserved to know. Maybe telling him would make you feel better. He always supported you...

Beckoning him over with your tail, you gestured to a spot besides you. Gratefully walking over, he curled around you as you started your story. Tears formed in your eyes as you talked about your pitiful beginning and your parents.

All you remembered about your mother was the way she had groomed you to sleep, softly purring. You sang the slow song for him, and he laid his head around you, listening quietly. Sometimes he rushed you on, always looking outside, scared that the sun was moving too fast. You described your wrongful resentment toward your poor father, who always used up his energy to provide a better life.

And at last, you mentioned your sister. Tears immediately sprang up in your eyes and you looked away. He surprisedly met you in the eye, not knowing that you had siblings. Quickly, he asked where she was. You sighed a long sigh, thinking about her.

"She's with the stars now." You took him by surprise again, but he tried to mask it. "I'm sure she's having fun right now in Starclan."

You looked at him, before in a monotonous voice responding, "She didn't believe, none of my family did. He quickly took back his words.

"Yea, that's right. Umm... So what did you believe in?" He looked curiously at you, but you didn't notice, deep in thought.

You spoke up, choosing your words properly, "Well, I do believe that our ancestors and deceased loved ones go to the sky in their afterlife, but I'm scared that if I give the place an actual name," you paused, not knowing how to continue. Whitestorm gave you an encouraging nod. "Then my family may not have believed, and therefore... I would never see them again, even in the after life." Even thinking about it brought an melancholy feeling to your heart.

The fluffy white tom was looking intrigued at you, perhaps worried for your mental wellness (sorry if this doesn't apply to you, you lucky cat, we just had to add that). He looked away from you, to the sun, which was slowly setting over the trees.

"Better make your decision soon. Sunstar's heading over." As the golden tom made his way to the medicine cat den, Featherwhisker and Whitestorm silently excused themselves, leaving you alone with the clan's leader. He made his way inside and stood in front of you, face solemn.

"Which do you choose?" He asked, looking into your eyes. His clear yellow gaze pierced through you, reading you. Sighing shakily, you realized that the moment had come.

You checked to make sure you had everything measured, and you replied slowly and surely, "I'll be out by sunhigh."

Sunstar slightly frowned, because he knew this was out of his control. "The elders will miss you. So will the kits," he prodded, wanting you to stay. You were a capable hunter, and with some training a formidable warrior. This poke was all you needed.

You were already against leaving, but your fear of being abandoned by people you loved had overridden your reasonable thinking. You were afraid to get close to these cats. You may have only been with them a few months, but you were already just another part of Thunderclan. You preferred it this way.

Deftly changing your mind you say, stuttering, "I meant... I want to stay!" A short sentence was all Sunstar needed. He stood up, glad.

"Perfect! I knew you were going to say that all along." Whitestorm, who was about to rush in as soon as you spoke your previous answer, let out a long breath, relieved. Sunstar beckoned you to follow, and began to lead you to the Apprentices' Den, Whitestorm trailing behind.

"...As I was saying, you're a little younger than Whitestorm, which means you will fit in perfectly with the older apprentices, whose warrior assessments are about to come up."

You made your way into the den, pausing to look at the nests. Corner to the left, there was a perfect spot for a nest.

"And that's where you will be staying!" Sunstar proclaimed. "When the dawn patrol comes back, we will begin the naming ceremony. You prepare your nest. Whitestorm will help you." The tom stepped forward and smiled at you, pretending he didn't know that you were almost about to leave.

"We should start by gathering moss, next to the training clearing." As you two walked out of camp, you noticed that Whitestorm walked super close to you, as if afraid you would run away.

It seemed it took you forever to gather the moss and clean it. You dug a shallow plot, and placed the clean moss in.

The patrol arrived just in time to see Sunstar yowl from the highrock, "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here!"

Sunstar waited as all the capable cats gathered around him. He gestured to you to stay in the middle of the clearing and the cats knew to give you a wide berth. You felt the eyes of everyone trained on you, and you gulped in nervousness.

"Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what she is. By my authority as clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name. From this moment on (Y/R/N) will be known as (Y/A/N), for the loyalty and dedication she has shown in supporting this clan, in the short time we have known her."

"Now, " Sunstar continued, "this is quite a special case. (Y/A/N) will stay as an apprentice for as long as it takes for (A/N) to reach and pass their final assessment," he gestured to the similar-aged cats at the edge of the crowd. "Whitestorm will be your mentor for the last final moons, Whitestorm. You have received excellent training from Patchpelt, and although you are comparably young, you have shown yourself to be wise and loyal. You will be the mentor of (Y/A/N), and I expect you to pass on all you now to her."

Whitestorm stepped forward, and upon your practice a few minutes before, you knew to approach him and touch noses. The cats began to cheer your name, and you looked around proudly, at the faces of these cats who had welcomed you into their group as if you were their own.

"(Y/A/N), (Y/A/N), (Y/A/N)!" They chanted! Filled with the rush of the moment, you felt a tear roll down your cheek. Not from misery or sadness, like all the previous times, but from elation and excitedness.

Later that night, you lay in the den, looking up at the leafy ceiling. The soft snores of the other apprentices surrounded you. In that moment, you recounted what had happened, and your heart swelled with happiness. 'This is enough' you sighed contently. Falling asleep, you gladly thought about the full day ahead, training with Whitestorm.