Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 Yellowfang growled in defiance at the approaching pawsteps, but Firepaw could sense her panic. The she-cat struggled to her feet. "So long. Thanks for the meal." She tried to limp away on three legs and then winced in pain. "Nuh! This leg's stiffened up while I've been resting." Now it was too late for her to run. Silent shadows slipped out of the trees, and in a heartbeat the ThunderClan patrol had encircled Firepaw and Yellowfang. Firepaw recognized them: Tigerclaw, Darkstripe, Willowpelt, and Bluestar, all of them lean and hard-muscled. Firepaw smelled Yellowfang's fear at the sight of them. Graypaw followed close behind. He bounded out of the bushes and stood beside the warrior patrol. Firepaw mewed a hasty greeting to his Clan. But only Graypaw returned it. "Hi, Firepaw!" he called out. "Silence!" Tigerclaw growled. Firepaw glanced at Yellowfang and groaned inwardly; he could still smell the fear-scent on

第八章小黄牙冲着越来越近的脚步声挑衅地咆哮着，但火爪能感觉到她的惊慌。 母猫挣扎着站了起来。 “这么长时间。谢谢这顿饭。” 她试着用三条腿一瘸一拐地走，然后痛得缩了起来。 “Nuh !我休息的时候，这条腿僵硬了。” 现在她已经来不及跑了。 无声的影子从树丛中溜走，迅雷族的巡逻队一眨眼就包围了火爪和黄牙。 火爪认出了他们：虎爪、黑条、柳皮和蓝星，个个都很瘦，肌肉结实。 火爪闻到了黄牙看到他们时的恐惧。 灰爪紧跟在后面。 他从灌木丛中跳出来，站在战士巡逻队旁边。 火爪急促地喵喵叫着向他的族人问好。 但只有灰爪还了回去。 “嗨，火爪！”他喊道。 “安静!”Tigerclaw咆哮道。 火爪瞥了黄牙一眼，心里呻吟了一声；他还能闻到恐惧的气味

her, but instead of cowering in submission, the scruffy creature was glaring in defiance. "Firepaw?" Bluestar's question was cool and measured. "What have we here? An enemy warrior—and recently fed, by the smell of you both." Her eyes burned into him, and Firepaw dropped his head. "She was weak and hungry…" he began. "And what about you? Was your hunger so bad that you had to feed yourself before you had gathered prey for your Clan?" Bluestar went on. "I assume that you have a very good reason for breaking the warrior code?" Firepaw was not fooled by the leader's soft tone. Bluestar was furious—and rightly so. He crouched lower to the ground. Before he could speak there was a loud hiss from Tigerclaw. "Once a kittypet, always a kittypet!" Bluestar ignored Tigerclaw and looked instead at Yellowfang. Suddenly she looked surprised. "Well, well, Firepaw! It seems you have captured us a ShadowClan cat. And one I know well. You are ShadowClan's medicine cat, aren't you?" she

她，但这个邋遢的家伙没有屈服，而是蔑视地瞪着眼睛。 “Firepaw ?”蓝星的问题冷静而慎重。 “我们这儿有什么？”一个敌人的战士——刚刚被你们俩的气味喂饱了。” 她的目光灼灼地盯着他，火爪低下了头。 “她又弱又饿……”他开始说。 “那你呢？”你是不是太饿了，还没有为你的部落收集到猎物，你就不得不自己吃饭了？”蓝星继续说。 “我想你一定有一个很好的理由来破坏勇士守则吧？”火爪并没有被首领柔和的语气所愚弄。 蓝星非常愤怒——这是理所当然的。 他蹲得更低了。 他还没来得及说话，虎爪就发出一声响亮的嘶嘶声。 “一次是小猫，永远是小猫！”蓝星没有理睬虎爪，而是看着黄牙。 突然，她显得很惊讶。 “好啦，好啦，火爪！”看来你给我们抓了一只影子家族的猫。 而且我很了解。你是影族的药猫吧？

meowed to Yellowfang. "What are you doing so far into ThunderClan territory?" "I was the ShadowClan medicine cat. Now I choose to travel alone," hissed Yellowfang. Firepaw listened, astonished. Had he heard right? Yellowfang was a ShadowClan warrior? Her filthy condition must have masked her territorial scent. He might have enjoyed tackling her more if he'd known. "Yellowfang!" Tigerclaw meowed mockingly. "It looks like you have fallen on hard times if you can be beaten by an apprentice!" Now Darkstripe spoke. "This old cat is no use to us. Let's kill her now. As for this kittypet, he has broken the warrior code by feeding an enemy warrior. He should be punished." "Keep your claws in, Darkstripe," Bluestar purred calmly. "All the Clans speak of Yellowfang's bravery and wisdom. It may help us to hear what she has to say. Come; we'll take her back to camp. Then we'll decide what to do with her—and with Firepaw. Can you walk?" she asked Yellowfang. "Or do you need help?" "I've still got three good legs," the grizzled she

对着黄牙喵喵叫。“你跑到雷霆部落的地盘来干什么？”“我是影族的药猫。 现在我选择独自旅行。”黄牙嘶嘶地说。 火爪听着，大吃一惊。 他没听错吧？黄牙是影族战士？ 她肮脏的身体一定掩盖了她的领地气味。 如果他知道的话，他可能会更喜欢对付她。 “Yellowfang !”虎爪嘲弄地喵喵叫着。 “如果你能被一个学徒打败，那你看起来已经陷入了困境！”现在暗条纹说话了。 “这只老猫对我们没用。 我们现在就杀了她。至于这只小猫，它喂了一名敌方战士，打破了战士守则。 他应该受到惩罚。”“把爪子收起来，黑条纹。”蓝星平静地咕噜着。 “所有氏族都称赞黄牙的勇敢和智慧。 也许能帮我们听听她要说什么。 来;我们带她回营地。 然后我们再决定怎么处理她和火爪。 你会走路吗？”她问黄牙。 “还是你需要帮助？”“我还有三条好腿，”头发花白的她说

cat snapped back, limping forward. Firepaw saw that Yellowfang's eyes were glazed with pain, but she seemed determined not to show any weakness. He noticed a look of respect flicker across Bluestar's face before the ThunderClan leader turned and slowly led the way through the trees. The other warriors took up positions on either side of Yellowfang, and the patrol moved off, carefully keeping pace with their lame prisoner. Firepaw and Graypaw fell in step together at the back of the group. "Have you heard of Yellowfang?" Firepaw hissed to Graypaw. "A bit. Apparently she was a warrior before she became a medicine cat, which is unusual. I can't imagine her as a loner, though. She has lived her whole life in ShadowClan." "What's a loner?" Graypaw glanced at him. "A loner is a cat that isn't part of a Clan or cared for by Twolegs. Tigerclaw says they are untrustworthy and selfish. They often live around Twoleg dwellings, but belong to no one and catch their own food."

凯特厉声回答，一瘸一拐地向前走去。 火爪看到黄牙的眼睛因痛苦而呆呆的，但她似乎决心不示弱。 他注意到蓝星的脸上闪过一丝尊敬的表情，然后雷霆部落的首领转过身来，慢慢地带路穿过树林。 其他的战士在黄方两边各就各位，巡逻队小心翼翼地跟在跛脚的俘虏后面，离开了。 火爪和灰爪齐步走到队伍的后面。 “你听说过黄牙吗？”火爪嘶嘶地对灰爪说。 “有点。显然，她在成为一只药猫之前是一名战士，这很不寻常。 但我无法想象她是个独来独往的人。 她一生都生活在影族。” “什么是独行侠？”格雷paw瞥了他一眼。 “孤独的猫是一只不属于一个家族或由Twolegs照顾的猫。 虎爪说他们既不值得信任又自私。 他们经常住在特沃莱格人的住所附近，但不属于任何人，他们自己捕捉食物。”

"I might end up a loner once Bluestar has finished with me," Firepaw mewed. "Bluestar is very fair," Graypaw reassured him. "She won't throw you out. She certainly seems pleased to have such an important ShadowClan cat as a prisoner. I'm sure she's not going to make a fuss about your feeding the poor old mange- bag." "But they keep moaning about prey being scarce! Oh, why did I eat that rabbit?" Firepaw felt shame burn through his fur. "Well, yeah." Graypaw nudged his friend. "That was mouse-brained. You really broke the warrior code there, but no cat is perfect!" Firepaw didn't answer but trekked onward with a heavy heart. This was not the way he had hoped his first solo task would end. As the patrol passed the sentries who guarded the camp entrance, the rest of ThunderClan came running to welcome their warriors home. Queens, kits, and elders crowded on either side. They peered curiously at Yellowfang as she was led into the camp. Some of the elders

“一旦蓝星干掉了我，我可能会变成一个孤独的人。”火爪叫道。 “蓝星很漂亮。”格雷paw安慰他。 “她不会把你赶出去的。她似乎很高兴有这么一只重要的影子家族猫作为囚犯。 我相信她不会因为你喂了那个可怜的老马蹄铁而大惊小怪的。” “但他们一直抱怨猎物稀少！”哦，我为什么要吃那只兔子？”火爪感到羞愧难当。 “嗯,是的。”灰爪推了推他的朋友。 “这是鼠目寸光。你真的打破了勇士的准则，但是没有一只猫是完美的！”火爪没有回答，而是怀着沉重的心情继续往前走。 这并不是他所希望的第一次独自任务的结局。 当巡逻队经过守卫营地入口的哨兵时，其他的雷霆氏族成员跑过来欢迎他们的战士回家。 女王、幼崽和长辈挤在两边。 黄牙被带进营地时，他们好奇地打量着她。 一些长者

recognized the old she-cat. Word spread quickly through the Clan that this was ShadowClan's medicine cat, and a steady jeering hum rose up around them. Yellowfang seemed deaf to the taunts. Firepaw couldn't help admiring the way she limped with dignity through the corridor of stares and insults. He knew she was in a great deal of pain, and hungry in spite of the rabbit he had caught for her. When the patrol reached the Highrock, Bluestar nodded toward the dusty ground in front of it. Yellowfang followed the ThunderClan leader's silent command, sinking gratefully onto the earth. Still ignoring the hostile stares around her, she began licking her wounded leg. Firepaw noticed Spottedleaf emerge from her corner. She must have scented the presence of an injured cat in the camp. He watched the crowd part to let the young tortoiseshell through. Yellowfang glared at Spottedleaf and hissed, "I know how to take care of my own wounds. I don't need your help." Spottedleaf said nothing but nodded

认出了那只老母猫。 这是影子氏族的药猫的消息很快在氏族中传开了，一阵持续不断的嘲笑声在他们周围响起。 黄牙似乎对这些嘲讽充耳不闻。 火爪不禁佩服她一瘸一拐地体面地走过满是凝视和侮辱的走廊。 他知道她非常痛苦，尽管他给她抓了只兔子，她还是饿得很。 当巡逻队到达海岩旅馆时，蓝星朝前面尘土飞扬的地面点了点头。 黄牙听从了雷族首领无声的命令，感激地沉到地上。 她仍然无视周围敌意的目光，开始舔她受伤的腿。 火爪注意到点点树叶从她的角落里走了出来。 她一定是嗅到了营地里有一只受伤的猫。 他看着人群分开，让小玳瑁通过。 黄牙怒视着点点树叶，嘶嘶地说：“我知道怎么处理自己的伤口。 我不需要你的帮助。”斑点叶什么也没说，只是点了点头