Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 In the days following the Gathering, Leafpaw searched desperately for anything that could be interpreted as a sign from StarClan. She roamed through the woods, finding places by the stream where burdock and marigold grew, and thick clumps of chervil closer to the camp. But even though it was useful to find new stocks of healing herbs, they didn't lead her to a place where the Clans could meet with their warrior ancestors. What would happen if the half moon came and StarClan hadn't sent a sign? Would the Clans really have to think about leaving their new homes, and finding somewhere else? Two days before the half moon, Leafpaw returned from an herb-gathering expedition with a bunch of strong-scented yarrow. Her eyes were watering, but she recognized Brackenfur coming out of the tunnel through the thorns. He bounded up to Sorreltail, who was on guard. "Hi, there," he meowed, touching noses with the tortoiseshell warrior. "Do you want to come

第十七章 集会结束后的几天里，叶爪拼命寻找任何能算得上星族征兆的线索 她在树林里四处游荡，找到了溪边长着牛蒡和金盏花的地方，营地附近还长着一大丛茂密的雪维菜 可就算找到新的药草储备很有用，它们也没能帮叶爪找到族群能和武士先祖会面的地方 要是半月来了星族还没送征兆，会发生什么呢？ 难道各族真的要考虑离开新家，另找地方安身吗？ 半月到来前两天，叶爪采完药，带着一把气味浓烈的欧蓍草回来了 她眼睛被刺得直流泪，还是认出了从荆棘通道走出来的蕨毛 他蹦跳着跑到正在放哨的栗尾身边 “嗨，你好，”他喵了一声，碰了碰这只玳瑁武士的鼻子 “你要不要

hunting later—just you and me?" Sorreltail let out a purr. "Sure. I'm off duty at sunhigh." "Great! I'll see you then." Brackenfur gave her ears a quick lick and pushed his way back through the tunnel. Leafpaw padded up to her friend and put down the yarrow stalks. "So that's how the prey's running, is it?" Sorreltail spun around to face her. "I don't know what you mean!" she protested. Leafpaw's tail curled up with amusement. "Just because I'm a medicine cat doesn't mean I can't tell Brackenfur likes you." "Well..." Sorreltail's white forepaws kneaded the ground. "He's great, isn't he?" she mewed, her eyes shining with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. "He certainly is." Leafpaw pressed her muzzle to her friend's side. "I'm really happy for you." She wished Sorreltail good hunting, then picked up her yarrow and ducked under the thorns that guarded the entrance to the hollow. "There you are!" Cinderpelt meowed, limping

待会儿一起去打猎吗——就我们俩？” 栗尾发出满足的呼噜声 “当然好呀 太阳当顶我就换班了。” “太棒了！ 那到时候见。” 蕨毛快速舔了舔她的耳朵，转身钻回了通道 叶爪走到朋友身边，放下手里的欧蓍草茎 “原来你是这么‘找猎物’的呀，对不对？” 栗尾猛地转过身看向她 “我听不懂你在说什么！” 她抗议道 叶爪的尾巴乐得卷了起来 “我虽然是巫医，可不代表我看不出蕨毛喜欢你呀” “唔……”栗尾的白色前爪在地上扒了扒 “他很棒对不对？” 她小声说，眼睛闪着光，混杂着骄傲和羞涩 “他确实很棒” 叶爪把鼻子贴在朋友的侧腰上 “我真为你高兴” 她祝栗尾打猎顺利，然后拿起欧蓍草，低头钻进了挡住凹地入口的荆棘丛 “你可来了！” 炭毛叫着，一瘸一拐

across the clearing to meet her. "Come and look at this." Leafpaw followed her over to the tallest part of the cliff. Brambles had rooted themselves in a crack a few tail-lengths up the rock, their long tendrils hanging down in a curtain. "The brambles here were really thorny," Cinderpelt explained. "Far too thick for shelter, so this morning I asked Rainwhisker and Sootfur to shift them. And look what they found." She slipped behind the prickly curtain, beckoning with her tail. Leafpaw peered carefully around the tendrils and stopped dead in amazement. A deep cleft yawned in front of her, stretching far enough back that the corners were lost in shadow. At one side water dripped down to form a tiny pool. The rest of the floor was covered with broken rock, but in between there were patches of sand that would be cool and dry to lie on. Cinderpelt's eyes gleamed in the semidarkness. "A perfect medicine cat's den!" she announced. "What do you think?" Leafpaw gazed around. This was much better

穿过空地来迎她 “过来看看这个” 叶爪跟着她走到悬崖的最高处 荆棘在岩壁上方几尾身长的裂缝里扎了根，长长的卷须垂下来，像一道帘子 “这儿的荆棘原来特别扎人，”炭毛解释说 “太密了没法当窝，所以今天早上我让雨须和煤须把它们移走 看看他们找到了什么” 她溜到这道扎手的帘子后面，摇尾巴招呼叶爪过去 叶爪小心地从卷须旁探出头张望，一下子惊得停住了脚 一道深深的裂缝出现在她面前，往后延伸得很远，边缘都隐没在阴影里 一侧有水滴下来，积成了一个小水洼 洞底其余地方都是碎石，可缝隙里有几片沙地，躺上去又凉爽又干燥 炭毛的眼睛在半明半暗里闪着光 “完美的巫医巢穴！” 她宣布道 “你觉得怎么样？” 叶爪环顾四周 这里要好得多

than the spot under the overhang where she and Cinderpelt had been sleeping until now. The little pool meant sick cats could drink easily, and there were plenty of cracks in the rock where they could store herbs. She could sleep just outside in the shelter of the remaining brambles, so Cinderpelt had some privacy at night. "It's great!" she mewed excitedly. "I'll clear out the broken rocks and bring some moss for a nest." Cinderpelt called Firestar to see her discovery, and the Clan leader summoned Cloudtail and Brightheart to help clear out the den. By the time daylight faded everything was ready, with comfortable nests of moss and bracken for both the medicine cats. Leafpaw curled up in her new nest and tucked her nose under her tail. She was warm and sheltered beneath the tangle of brambles, and the cleft was barely a tail-length away, so she could be with a sick cat in less than two heartbeats if they called out during the night. Worn out from moving rocks all afternoon, she shut her eyes.

比起我和炭毛之前一直住的悬岩下那块地方 小水洼方便病猫喝水，岩壁上还有好多裂缝可以存放药草 她可以睡在外面剩下的荆棘遮出来的地方，这样炭毛晚上就能有隐私了 “太棒了！” 她兴奋地喵道 “我来清理碎石，再拿些苔藓做窝” 炭毛叫来火星来看她的发现，族长召集云尾和亮心帮忙清理巢穴 等到太阳落山，一切都收拾好了，两位巫医都有了用苔藓和蕨草铺成的舒服窝 叶爪蜷在自己的新窝里，把鼻子埋进尾巴底下 她躲在荆棘丛里，又暖和又安全，裂缝离得只有一尾身长，晚上要是有病猫呼叫，她不到两下心跳就能赶到 搬了一下午石头累坏了，她闭上了眼睛

Almost at once she found herself padding along the shore of the lake with starlight washing around her paws. A few tail-lengths ahead, a lean, gray-black shape was standing on a rock, gazing down into the glittering water. It was Crowfeather. "Feathertail?" Leafpaw heard him murmur as she approached. "Feathertail, where are you?" Leafpaw jumped onto the rock beside him, gently brushing her fur against his. When he turned to look at her, his eyes were brimming with sorrow. "Feathertail is here, among the stars," she told him gently. "She's always with you, Crowfeather, watching over you." "Why did she have to die?" he whispered. His eyes burned into hers, and Leafpaw felt as if a thorn had pierced her heart. "I don't know," she admitted. A beautiful sweet scent swept over her, and she looked back to see Spottedleaf waiting for her. "I must go," she mewed, turning away from the gray warrior.

没一会儿，她就不知不觉走在湖岸边，星光轻轻裹着她的爪子。 往前几尾远的地方，一只精瘦的黑灰色猫儿站在岩石上，低头望着波光闪闪的湖水。 那是鸦羽。 “羽尾？” 叶爪走近的时候，听见他低声呢喃。 “羽尾，你在哪儿？” 叶爪跳上他旁边的岩石，用自己的毛轻轻蹭了蹭他。 他转头看向她的时候，眼睛里满是悲伤。 “羽尾就在这儿，在星星中间呀，”她轻声对他说。 “她永远陪着你，鸦羽，一直在守护你呀。” “为什么她一定要死去呢？”他低声问。 他深深凝视着她，叶爪只觉得像有一根刺扎进了她的心里。 “我也不知道，”她坦白说。 一阵好闻的甜香飘过来，她回头一看，斑叶正在那儿等她。 “我该走了，”她轻叫一声，转身离开了这只灰色武士。

Crowfeather didn't reply. He was staring down at the water again, as if he could find the one star among all of them that was Feathertail's endlessly shining spirit. Leafpaw bounded along the shore toward the medicine cat. "Spottedleaf!" she cried. She stopped, sending pebbles rolling away from her paws, and gazed at Spottedleaf until she felt lost in the medicine cat's shining eyes. "I was afraid I'd never see you again." "I am here now," Spottedleaf murmured. She ran her muzzle, soft as cobweb, over Leafpaw's ears. Leafpaw closed her eyes and drank in the familiar scent. Then she stepped back and took a deep, steadying breath. "Why has StarClan been silent?" she asked, struggling with unfamiliar feelings of anger that Spottedleaf had let her go on worrying for so long. "We have searched and searched for another Moonstone, but we haven't found one. What will we do if we don't have somewhere to share tongues with StarClan? Will we have to leave?" "Peace, little one," Spottedleaf mewed. "Don't

鸦羽没有回应。 他又低头望着湖水，好像能在满天星辰里，找到那一颗属于羽尾、永远闪亮的灵魂。 叶爪沿着岸边，快步跑向这名巫医。 “斑叶！” 她大声喊道。 她猛地停下，爪子带得小石子滚出去，她定定望着斑叶，不知不觉沉醉在她闪亮的眼眸里。 “我还怕我再也见不到你了。” “我现在就在这儿呀，”斑叶轻声说。 她用蛛网般柔软的鼻头，蹭了蹭叶爪的耳朵。 叶爪闭上眼睛，吸着这熟悉的味道。 接着她往后退一步，稳稳吸了一大口气。 “为什么星族一直沉默着呢？” 她问道，心里升起一股陌生的怒气——斑叶居然让她担心了这么久。 “我们找了又找，想找另一块月亮石，可一直没找到。 要是我们连一个能和星族交流的地方都没有，该怎么办啊？ 我们是不是非得离开这里呀？” “别着急，小家伙，”斑叶轻声说。 不要