Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 Cool grass swept against Brambleclaw's pelt as he prowled through the undergrowth. He could hear the scuttering of tiny creatures underneath the bushes, and his senses were flooded with the scent of prey. Before he could make a catch, he emerged into an open space. An almost-full moon hung in the clear sky, outlining every grass stem and leaf with pale silver rays. Just in front of him the ground fell away into a cleft, with rocks jutting from its steep sides. Brambleclaw stared in astonishment. This was the ravine leading down to the old ThunderClan camp. He lifted his head and sniffed cautiously. There was no harsh tang of Twoleg monsters in the air, no noise louder than the gentle rustle of the wind in the trees. Their home was safe! The destruction of the forest, the fear and hunger, the long journey through the mountains, had been nothing more than a dream. Brambleclaw pelted down the ravine to the

第14章 黑莓掌在灌丛中潜行，凉爽的青草扫过他的皮毛。 他能听见灌木丛下小生物窸窸跑动的声音，鼻尖全是猎物的气味。 他还没来得及扑猎，就走到了一片开阔的空地上。 清朗的夜空中挂着一轮快圆的月亮，淡银色月光勾勒出每根草茎和每片叶子的轮廓。 就在他面前，地面凹陷出一道裂口，陡峭的崖壁上凸出一块块岩石。 黑莓掌惊愕地注视着前方。 这里就是通往旧雷族营地的峡谷。 他抬起头，小心地嗅了嗅空气。 空气中没有两脚兽怪物刺鼻的气味，除了风吹过树林的轻柔沙沙声，听不到更响的噪音。 他们的家园安然无恙！ 森林被毁、恐惧饥饿、翻山越岭的漫长旅程，原来都只是一场梦。 黑莓掌沿着峡谷狂奔而下，冲向

gorse tunnel at the bottom, his heart nearly bursting with happiness. In a few heartbeats he would see all his Clanmates again: Graystripe would never have been captured by Twolegs; all Ferncloud's kits would still be alive; the elders would be in their den, querulously ordering the apprentices to get rid of their ticks. Trembling with excitement, Brambleclaw pushed his way through the gorse tunnel into the camp, his jaws parted to let out a yowl of greeting. Then he stopped dead. The clearing was completely empty, except for one cat sitting alone in the middle of the open space. The cat raised his head and gazed at Brambleclaw with scorching amber eyes. It was Tigerstar. Brambleclaw almost choked with shock and disbelief. Graystripe's capture, the death of Ferncloud's kits, the endless journey— all those things were real. This was the dream, and it had suddenly become a nightmare. Tigerstar kinked his tail and beckoned Brambleclaw to come closer. Brambleclaw stiffened, then padded slowly forward. As he

谷底的金雀花隧道，幸福几乎要撑炸他的心。 再过片刻他就能见到所有族猫了：灰条根本不会被两脚兽抓走； 蕨云的所有幼崽都还活着； 长老们待在自己的窝里，正唠唠叨叨催着学徒帮他们捉蜱虫。 黑莓掌激动得浑身发抖，挤过金雀花隧道走进营地，张开嘴就要发出问候的吼声。 紧接着他一下子停住了。 营地空地空无一人，只有一只猫独自坐在空地中央。 那只猫抬起头，用灼热的琥珀色眼睛望着黑莓掌。 是虎星。 黑莓掌又惊又疑，差点喘不过气来。 灰条被抓、蕨云幼崽的死、漫无尽头的旅程——所有这些都是真的。 眼前这一切才是梦，还突然变成了噩梦。 虎星弯了弯尾巴，招呼黑莓掌走近一些。 黑莓掌浑身绷紧，接着慢慢走了过去。 当他

drew closer he saw his father more clearly, his muscular shoulders and broad head, his burning amber eyes. "Welcome," Tigerstar rumbled. "I have waited for many moons to speak with you." Brambleclaw stopped a couple of tail-lengths away. He had no idea what to say. All he could think was that he was the image of his father— the breadth of his shoulders, the shape of his head, the exact shade of his eyes. He could have been staring at his reflection in a pool. "I have seen your courage and strength," Tigerstar went on. "I am proud to call you kin." "Th-thank you." Brambleclaw kneaded his forepaws on the ground. "Why have you come here? Did StarClan send you?" "I do not hunt with StarClan," spat Tigerstar. "There is more sky than Silverpelt, and there are hunting grounds that not even StarClan knows of." His gaze slid past Brambleclaw. "Welcome," he meowed. "I hoped you would come. I've looked forward to meeting you." Brambleclaw spun around to see Hawkfrost

走近后，他把父亲看得更清楚了：结实的肩膀，宽大的头颅，还有那双灼热的琥珀色眼睛。 “欢迎你，”虎星低声低吼。 “我等了好多个月，就想和你说说话。” 黑莓掌在离他几条尾巴长度的地方停了下来。 他完全不知道该说什么。 他满脑子都在想，自己和父亲简直一模一样——一样宽的肩膀，一样的头型，连眼睛的颜色都分毫不差。 他简直就是在盯着池塘里自己的倒影。 “我见识过你的勇气和力量，”虎星继续说。 “能认你做亲人，我很骄傲。” “谢、谢谢你。” 黑莓掌在地上揉搓着自己的前爪。 “你为什么会来这里？ 是星族派你来的吗？” “我才不跟星族一起捕猎，”虎星啐道。 “天空可比银带宽广多了，还有连星族都不知道的猎场。” 他的目光扫过了黑莓掌的身后。 “欢迎你，”他开口说。 “我就知道你会来。 我一直盼着见到你。” 黑莓掌猛地转过身，看见了鹰霜

emerging from the gorse tunnel. He watched in stunned silence as the RiverClan warrior padded across the clearing and sat beside him. The moonlight cast a pair of identical shadows on the hard-baked ground in front of them, and Brambleclaw realized that a half-blind kit would know at once that all three were kin. He told himself that he ought to feel something stronger than bewilderment and curiosity to find out more about his father and half brother. They came from three different Clans; beyond that, Tigerstar had murdered many cats and betrayed his own Clanmates to satisfy his hunger for power. Yet Brambleclaw could not shake off the feeling that he had waited a long time for this moment. For all the differences between them, the same blood ran in their veins. "Are you Tigerstar?" Hawkfrost asked, reminding Brambleclaw that Hawkfrost had arrived in the forest after his father was killed. "Are you my father?" Tigerstar nodded. "I am. So, how are your new territories?"

从金雀花隧道里走了出来。 他惊呆了，静静看着这位河族武士穿过空地，坐到虎星身边。 月光在他们身前干硬的地面上投下两个一模一样的影子，黑莓掌意识到，就算半瞎的幼崽也能一眼看出他们三个是亲人。 他告诉自己，见到父亲和同父异母的弟弟，他本该感受到比困惑和好奇更强烈的情绪。 他们分属三个不同的族群； 更何况，虎星为了满足权力欲，杀害过许多猫，还背叛了自己的族猫。 可黑莓掌还是忍不住觉得，他已经等这一刻很久了。 尽管他们有种种不同，可身体里流着同样的血脉。 “你是虎星吗？” 鹰霜开口问道，这提醒了黑莓掌，鹰霜是在他父亲死后才来到森林的。 “你是我的父亲吗？” 虎星点了点头。 “我是。 那么，你们的新领地怎么样？”

"It's hard being somewhere so different," Hawkfrost admitted. "We all miss the forest," Brambleclaw added. "Soon the land by the lake will seem like home to you," Tigerstar promised. "Establish your boundaries and guard them with tooth and claw, because territory is what binds a Clan together." "Yes!" Hawkfrost's eyes gleamed. "RiverClan has set its scent markers already. Yesterday Blackclaw and I drove out a badger that was living in our territory." "Good, good." Tigerstar's ears pricked, and he raised his head as if he heard a voice calling him. Above the trees, the sky was growing pale with the first light of dawn. "I must go now," the dark tabby meowed. "Good-bye, Brambleclaw, Hawkfrost. We will meet again as we walk the path of dreams; of that I'm sure." He rose to his paws. At that moment a cloud drifted over the face of the moon, plunging the clearing into darkness for a single heartbeat. When it cleared, Tigerstar was gone. "I must go too." Hawkfrost touched noses

“待在这么陌生的地方真不好受。”鹰霜承认道。 “我们都想念森林。”黑莓掌补充道。 “很快湖边这块地方就会让你们觉得像家了。”虎星许诺。 “划定你们的边界，拼尽全力守住它，因为领地才是把族群凝聚在一起的纽带。” “没错！” 鹰霜的眼睛亮了起来。 “河族已经做好气味标记了。 昨天我和黑爪赶走了一只住在我们领地上的獾。” “不错，不错。” 虎星猛地竖起耳朵，抬起头，好像听到有声音在叫他。 树林上方的天空已经泛出黎明的鱼肚白。 “我得走了。”这只深色虎斑猫轻声说。 “再见了，黑莓掌，鹰霜。 我们一定会在追梦路上再次相见的，我对此很肯定。” 他站起身来。 就在这时，一片云飘到月亮面前，整座空地瞬间陷入黑暗，只持续了心跳一下的功夫。 云散开后，虎星已经不见了。 “我也该走了。” 鹰霜和黑莓掌碰了碰鼻子

with Brambleclaw and began padding back to the camp entrance. "No— wait. Don't go!" Brambleclaw called. "I have to go; I'm on the dawn patrol. What are you talking about, Brambleclaw?" Brambleclaw blinked and sat up. Cloudtail was looking at him with a puzzled expression as he groomed scraps of moss out of his pelt. "Is there something wrong?" he asked. "Do you want me to tell Brackenfur I can't go on the patrol?" Brambleclaw shook his head, dazed. "No, no, I'm fine." He lay down again and closed his eyes tightly, as if he could force out the thorn-sharp grief that tore at his belly. The dream had faded, and he was in the stone hollow again. Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, and the old ThunderClan camp were gone. Brambleclaw slept dreamlessly for a while, and awoke feeling less confused and wretched. He padded out of the ferns and arched his back in a stretch. The sky was brighter now, outlining the bare branches at the top of the rock wall. A pulse of excitement ran through him as he

，接着往营地入口慢慢走去。 “别——等一下。 别走！” 黑莓掌大喊道。 “我得走了，我要参加黎明巡逻。 你在说什么呀，黑莓掌？” 黑莓掌眨了眨眼，坐直了身子。 云尾正一脸疑惑地看着他，一边梳理沾在毛上的苔藓碎渣。 “出什么事了吗？” 他问道。 “要我告诉蕨毛我不去巡逻了吗？” 黑莓掌晕乎乎地摇了摇头。 “没事，没事，我挺好的。” 他又躺下来，紧紧闭上眼睛，好像这样就能把揪着他心口的尖锐悲痛赶走。 梦境已经褪去，他又回到了石谷里。 虎星、鹰霜还有旧雷族营地都不见了。 黑莓掌无梦地睡了一会儿，醒来后已经没那么困惑难受了。 他走出蕨草丛，拱起背伸了个懒腰。 天色更亮了，清楚勾勒出岩壁顶端光秃树枝的轮廓。 一股兴奋的暖流涌过全身，他