Emma & Bandit

*This is a backstory for my OC and a friend's, the two are siblings. Keep in mind this will mostly be in Venomwing (Emma's) perspective since she is my oc and Slyfoot (Bandit) is not.*

~ Emma & Bandit ~

The kittens mewled quietly, feeding on their mother's milk until their bellies were full. Emma snuggled into her brother's thick fur, her eyes hadn't opened and her ears remained closed. Bandit purred softly, drinking in the scents of his mother and sister happily. He scented another cat, this one of an unfamiliar tomcat. The tom looked down on the small, day-old kittens, his gaze overtaking their dark brown pelts.

"Do you like them?" The shecat asked nervously. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at the large battle-scarred tom. Drake narrowed his eyes out of thoughtfulness.

"He better be a good forager." The tom said, nudging the tomkit with one of his paws. The kitten squeaked, annoyed that it was being touched.

"What do you mean?" Purred Ida, lapping at the kitten's heads in turn. She paid special attention to the shekit, it being much smaller then the tom.

"So are we going to get them training or what?" Drake growled lightly.

"They aren't even a quarter-moon old yet, Drake! What are you trying to do with my kittens?" She said, narrowing her eyes as she curled her tail tighter around the kits.

"Well, they will have to learn how to fend for themselves, Ida. Its best to start them young." He picked up the larger kitten by its scruff and set it on the ground in a gentle way. He did the same to the smaller shekit. He nudged the smaller one a bit roughly, she gave an "oof" before laying down and trying to snuggle into her brother's fur again. Drake shook his head exasperatedly before looking down on his children. He set them back next to their mother before leaving to hunt.

**↽ ✹ ⇁**

Bandit dragged Emma out of their barn playfully, making sure to be gentle as she laughed and rolled in the dirt.

"Is the sun hurting you?" He grinned and lunged at her, he tried to be gentle but ended up earning a loud cry from his sister.

"Sorry!" He meowed apologetically before nuzzling her.

"That hurt!" She shook it off, pain lancing through her flank. She then leapt at him with accuracy and hit him square in the chest, sending both of them tumbling.

"Ahhh!" He screeched overexaggeratedly, flopping over and pretending his front leg was broken.

"Mommmmm! Emma hurt me!" He winked at his sister before Ida came racing out of the barn.

"If anyone's hurt, its Emma! I saw you bolt into her! Drake has my babies training far too roughly." She said, sighing. She lapped at Emma's head and then Bandit's, though she was more reluctant with her son. A quiet cawing was heard overhead, and Ida looked up to see a hawk circling several hundred fox-lengths away. Her eyes widened as she attempted to nudge Emma and Bandit inside the safety of the barn.

"I forgot my bone!" Yowled Emma as she raced across the sandy clearing, kicking up dust with her paws. She spotted the small, gleaming bone that she thought of as her trophy. The bird screeched overhead, this time much, much closer.

"Emma! Hurry up!" Ida yelped just as the hawk swooped down, its eyes on Emma's chocolate pelt. Emma yelped as its claws tucked into her flesh and slashed her own claws at the bird's wing. She was only rewarded a few spare feathers that fluttered down as she was lifted. The shekit suddenly felt very small as she screamed, looking down to where her mother and brother stared up breathlessly. She saw her mother's eyes dull and her gaze turn into that of a cringe as she cried.

"Mama! Bandit!" Emma cried out as she was carried away from the only life she had ever known.

**↽ ✹ ⇁**

Bandit growled loudly as his father yelled at him. He lashed his tail, irritated.

"You don't know whats best for me!" He hissed to Drake.

"And you don't know how cruel the real world is, Bandit!" Drake retorted, hissing and spitting. He lunged at the large tomkit, Emma's abduction had struck a nerve that told him he needed to train his remaining child harder.

"Hit me, kitten! You need the practice!" He screeched. Bandit widened his eyes slightly before pouncing at his father's face. He slashed his paws at Drake's nose, drawing blood.

"Great job!" Drake rubbed his cut nose.

"Whatever." Bandit said before walking away, his head low.

**↽ ✹ ⇁**

Bandit woke, the nests next to him cold. He blinked several times to clear his blurry vision before standing and sniffing the nests.

"Mother? Father?" He yowled loudly. He whimpered as he looked outside the barn, noticing shallow pawprints in the dirt. They were originally deeper, but time had sent dirt and dust to fill them. He looked around his abandoned home and a sense of longing hit him like a brick.

"Oh, Emma. Where are you?" He yowled into the sky even though he knew he wouldn't be heard by his beloved sister.

**↽ ✹ ⇁**

Venom woke, glancing at the pale tawny shecat who had taken her in.

"Oh Ven, you've grown so big since I first saw ya!" Marigold purred, licking her head gently. She then smoothed down a ruffled tuft of fur on Venom's back with a few quick laps.

"Haven't I shown you how to properly wash yourself?" She meowed in a joking tone. She set her paw down gingerly next to Venom's, examining the size difference.

"You are turning into an adult before my eyes, Venom. It might be time for you to go out on your own." Marigold said with a hint of sadness. She brushed her own paw against the dark brown shecat's lightly before turning away. The havana brown shecat widened her eyes slightly, thinking she wasn't ready to live by herself.

"Y-you aren't gonna kick me out, are you?" Venom said in a slight whimper, her tail drooping.

"Of course not. But you need to leave when you are ready. I can't baby you forever, ya know." Marigold said with slight annoyance before padding out of the den.

**↽ ✹ ⇁**

Venom purred in her sleep, dreaming of catching a rabbit. She chased and darted around bushes to catch up to the critter. Soon she sunk her claws into its haunches and dragged it back to nip the back of its neck. She drifted into another short dream afterwards. Soon she opened an eye, yawning widely. Her eyes fell to her paw, which was soaked with blood. Venom widened her eyes, a short gasp exiting her maw.

"M-marigold?" She said quietly, looking around the dark den for the shecat. Soon her eyes fell on the familiar golden brown pelt that was now spattered with blood. She rose and shook off her bloody paw, trying not to step in the small pool as she made her way to Marigold.

"M-marigold!" She repeated as she nosed the cat gently with her nose, trying to see if she would stir. A sense of alarm grasped her as her nose touched the cold body. She looked at the scarlet pool to find a signature-like drawing of a jagged tooth. Her eyes widened again.

"The Pack of Jagged Teeth... Marigold told me about them." Her voice broke as she remembered the tales she was told of a murderous pack. Now she knew these tales weren't false as she thought they were, they were completely true.

"I guess I have nobody anymore..." She said desperately, nudging the shecat as if there was still a drop of life in the corpse. She stood, rubbing her cheek against Marigold's before walking out of the den.

**↽ ✹ ⇁**

Venom sank her teeth into the rabbit's neck, the warm rush of blood bathing her tongue. She picked it up and began to walk back to the abandoned set she had found. Leaves crunched as the young shecat stepped lightly, doing her best to survive. As she made it to the set she dropped the prey where she usually did and then sharpened her claws on her favorite tree. She leapt up into it and practiced climbing, only coming down to eat once she was tired. Her fur, slick with sweat, clung to her lithe frame and muscles bunched underneath her pelt as she climbed down. She slowly bit into the rabbit, savoring the flesh of it. When she was done eating she buried the bones near her tree, not wanting to attract any scavengers. She lapped at her pelt, smoothing down any impurities until she felt she was clean.

"It's so boring..." She sighed, dipping her head and shutting her eyes tight as her history repeated itself in her mind. She rose and looked at her makeshift camp before dashing away into the forest. The cat felt drawn to something, but she didn't know what. Her heart pulsed as she tore closer to what smelled like feline-filled territory, her paws crunching on autumn leaves. She stopped, out of breath, and scented the air.

"Cats!" She squealed, distinguishing at least 40 different felines. Suddenly her paws lifted again as she came closer to the scents, a deep purr in her throat. She stopped in front of what looked like a camp entrance and breathed deeply before stepping in quietly. She sat, a few inches inside the camp, and curled her tail around her paws, sitting up tall. She saw kittens peek out of a den that must have been a nursery, a queen shooing them back inside. Venom looked to see a large tuxedo shecat with alluring yellow eyes approaching her. She tensed slightly as the cat came closer.

"Who are you?" She asked in a motherly yet cold tone.

"I am Venom." Venom rose her head to look the shecat in the eyes, determined not to show any fear.

"Why are you here?" The tuxedo asked.

"I felt drawn to this place, and now it turns out that it is filled with felines." She said quietly. She looked behind the shecat to see a pair of apprentices playing in a patch of grass. The black and white shecat gazed at her questioningly.

"Would... you like to join us? We are ShadowClan." The tuxedo said in a cold yet curious tone.

"I can join?" Venom said, surprised.

"You seem fit to be a warrior. And you felt... drawn to us?" The bicolor cat said.

"Yes..."

"Clan meeting!" The black and white shecat yowled, surprising Venom. She watched as cats streamed out of dens to sit in front of two large stones. The chocolate cat was beckoned over by the tuxedo and she picked her way through the crowd. She made her way up to the rocks and sat atop them next to the bicolor.

"I have met a very determined shecat today, and in a matter of minutes she has given me reason to allow her to join our family. Do you accept Venom as a warrior of ShadowClan?" She yowled to the crowd, making eye contact with a large russian blue feline and a mottled black-and-ginger shecat. She turned her head to see a huge brown-striped tom with grass green eyes approaching with a high air. Venom looked down to see a few distrusting eyes, but many shone bright with hope. The tuxedo shecat flicked her tail, noticing the defiant few.

"Well, that settles it. I name you... Venomwing, for your courage entering our camp, not knowing what lie ahead." Venomwing glanced down to see a few annoyed cats turn away, but not before seeing a dark brown tom with pale amber eyes staring at her, a look of curiousity on his face. She made eye contact, and a shiver went up her spine as she noticed a familiar fire in his eyes.

*Could it be?*