Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 When the rain started, Leafpool crept into a sheltered spot under the thorns at the top of the hollow. Far above her head, the branches of the trees thrashed together against the stormy sky, but down here everything was quiet, the only sound the patter of raindrops, broken by rolls of thunder coming from the hills. Cloudtail had posted sentries around the hollow as soon as the other cats left with Firestar. Leafpool had volunteered to come up here and give an early warning if she heard invaders. All medicine cats were trained as warriors too, and she would use every fighting skill she possessed to defend her new home. So far there had been nothing to disturb the forest apart from the breaking storm, but it felt as if the whole night were tense with waiting. She would have given anything to know what was happening at the WindClan camp. Were Hawkfrost and Mudclaw really plotting to overthrow Onewhisker?

第二十二章 下雨的时候，叶池悄悄钻进山谷顶端荆棘丛下的隐蔽角落。 她头顶上方，树枝在暴风雨的天空下相互扭打摇晃，可这里安静无比，只有雨滴淅淅沥沥的落声，夹杂着远山滚来的隆隆雷声。 其他猫跟着火星离开后，云毛立刻就在山谷四周安排了岗哨。 叶池主动来这儿值守，如果听到入侵者的动静就提前发出预警。 所有巫医都受过武士训练，她会拼尽所有格斗本领，保卫自己的新家园。 到目前为止，除了这场突如其来的暴风雨，森林没有受到任何惊扰，可整个夜晚都浸在紧张等待的气氛里。 她拼了命也想知道风族营地现在出了什么事。 鹰霜和泥掌真的在密谋推翻一根须吗？

Leafpool let her mind drift back to the discovery of the Moonpool, reliving the moment when she had first looked into it and seen her warrior ancestors reflected there. She felt how amazing it was to be a medicine cat, and didn't know how she could bear to wait for the next half moon, when they would meet again. Her fur tingled with anticipation of the future serving her Clan that seemed to stretch in front of her like a stream filled with starlight. Suddenly she realized that she could hear cats approaching rapidly through the trees. For a heartbeat she thought it was the ThunderClan patrol on its way back. Then a gust of ShadowClan scent was carried to her on the wind. She sprang up, jaws parted to yowl a warning to the Clan in the hollow below. But before she could utter a sound, two shapes broke out of the undergrowth and hurtled straight at her. Barging into her, they shoved her backward until she crashed into the bushes at the edge of the cliff. Scrabbling with her hindpaws, she felt the thorns give way under her weight. "No!" she gasped.

叶池忍不住回想起发现月亮池的经过，一遍遍重温第一次看向池中、看见武士祖先倒影的那一刻。 她由衷觉得成为巫医是件太奇妙的事，都不知道该怎么熬到下一个半月，才能再和祖先们会面。 想到未来要为族群效力，前路像洒满星光的溪流在她眼前铺展，她的皮毛都因为期待微微发麻。 突然，她听见有猫正飞快穿过树林朝这边走来。 一瞬间她以为是雷族的巡逻队回来了。 紧接着，一阵风把影族的气味送到了她鼻尖。 她猛地蹦起来，张开嘴就要给下方山谷里的族群发出警报。 可她还没发出声音，两个黑影就冲出灌丛，直冲冲朝她扑来。 它们猛地撞上她，把她往后推，直到她撞到悬崖边的灌木丛上。 她用后爪拼命扒抓，感觉到荆棘撑不住她的重量裂开了。 "不！"她倒抽一口冷气。

Her warning was too late. Terrified yowls split the air as the two intruders crashed past her and fell all the way into the camp. Leafpool thrashed wildly with her claws and managed to clutch the edge of the rock. But she couldn't get a grip with her hind paws to thrust herself back to safety. There was a noise above her, and she looked up, terrified that she would see another ShadowClan warrior coming to finish her off. Crowfeather gazed down at her, his eyes wide with horror. "Crowfeather," Leafpool hissed through gritted teeth, in case the movement sent her plummeting down after the two ShadowClan cats. "Crowfeather, help me!" The WindClan warrior didn't move. The rock where Leafpool clung was wet from the rain, and she felt her claws begin to slip. "Crowfeather!" she begged. "I'm going to fall!" Crowfeather stood as if frozen. A hoarse whisper came from him, but his gaze was blank, and Leafpool realized that he wasn't talking to her at all. "Feathertail, I'm so sorry! It was all my fault. I shouldn't have let you fall."

她的警报还是发得太晚了。 两名入侵者撞开她，一头掉进下方营地，惊恐的嚎叫瞬间划破了天空。 叶池拼命扭动身体，爪子好不容易勾住了岩石边缘。 可她的后爪找不到支撑点，没法把自己拉回安全地带。 上方传来响动，她抬头看去，满心恐惧，以为会看到另一名影族武士过来结果她。 鸦羽低头望着她，眼睛圆睁，满是惊惧。 "鸦羽，"叶池咬着牙低喊，生怕一动就会跟着那两只影族猫掉下去。 "鸦羽，救我！" 这名风族武士一动不动。 叶池抓着的岩石被雨水打湿，她感觉到爪子开始打滑了。 "鸦羽！" 她哀求道。 "我要掉下去了！" 鸦羽站在原地，像是冻僵了一般。 他发出一声沙哑的低语，可眼神空洞，叶池才反应过来他根本不是在跟自己说话。 "羽尾，我太对不起了！" 全都是我的错。 我不该让你掉下去的。"

Leafpool realized he was remembering the cave in the mountains where Feathertail had died. "It wasn't your fault," she mewed. "Help me, Crowfeather, please." She felt her claws slip again and tried to dig them in deeper, but there was nothing to grip on the slick surface of the rock. Slowly Crowfeather took a pace forward and leaned over. Leafpool gasped as she felt her claws give way, but in the same heartbeat his teeth met in her scruff. For a moment they both teetered on the edge of the cliff, and she felt his weight slide toward her. Then Crowfeather heaved backward, his hind paws scrabbling in the earth, and hauled Leafpool up over the edge. Both cats collapsed, panting. Leafpool let her cheek rest against the solid ground, knowing she had been a whisker away from falling to her death. Crowfeather lay beside her, his flanks heaving. Their eyes met, and Leafpool found she could not look away. "Thank you," she mewed. "I did it," Crowfeather whispered. "I saved you." The air between them seemed to crackle like

叶池才明白，他想起了羽尾死去的那座山中洞穴。 "这不是你的错，"她喵呜着说。 "救我，鸦羽，求求你。" 她感觉到爪子又滑了一下，努力想抓得更深，可湿滑的岩面上根本没有地方可以下爪。 鸦羽慢慢向前挪了一步，探出了身子。 叶池感觉到爪子完全脱开，吓得倒抽冷气，可就在同一瞬间，鸦羽的牙咬住了她的后颈。 那一瞬间，他俩都在悬崖边摇摇欲坠，叶池感觉到他的重量也朝着自己滑过来。 接着鸦羽猛地向后一挣，后爪在泥土里拼命扒抓，把叶池拖回了悬崖上方。 两只猫都瘫倒在地，大口喘着气。 叶池把脸颊贴在坚实的地面上，她清楚自己刚刚只差毫厘就会摔下去丧命。 鸦羽躺在她身边，胁腹剧烈起伏着。 他们的目光交汇，叶池发现自己根本移不开视线。 "谢谢你，"她喵呜道。 "我做到了，"鸦羽低声说。 "我救了你。" 他们之间的空气仿佛噼啪作响，如同

lightning. Trying to lighten the atmosphere, Leafpool commented, "I must be the last cat you would want to save." "Is that what you think?" Crowfeather's gaze burned into her. "Don't you know how I feel about you? And how much I hate myself for feeling that way about another cat so soon after Feathertail's death? I loved her, I really did! How can I love you too?" "Me? But—" "You walk in my dreams, Leafpool," Crowfeather whispered. "No..." Leafpool breathed. "You can't love me. I'm a medicine cat." And I can't love you, she thought desperately. But she knew that she did, more than she had ever thought possible. To hear that Crowfeather loved her too was what she wanted more than anything else. "Leafpool! Are you there, Leafpool?" Two cats were running up the edge of the hollow, and a moment later Cloudtail and Brightheart thrust their way among the thorns. Leafpool and Crowfeather scrambled to their paws. "I'm over here!" Leafpool called.

闪电。 为了缓和气氛，叶池开口说道：“我肯定是你最不想救的猫了吧。” “你真这么想？” 鸦羽的目光滚烫地落在她身上。 “难道你不知道我对你的心意吗？ 羽尾刚走没多久，我就对另一只猫动心，我有多恨我自己你知道吗？ 我爱过她，我真的爱过她！ 我怎么会又爱上你呢？” “我？ 可是——” “你走进了我的每一个梦，叶池。”鸦羽轻声说。 “不……”叶池倒吸一口气。 “你不可能爱上我的。 我是一名巫医呀。” 而且我也不能爱上你，她绝望地想。 可她清楚自己就是爱上了他，爱得比她想象中还要深。 能听到鸦羽也爱着自己，是她最期盼的事了。 “叶池！ 你在吗，叶池？” 两只猫沿着凹地边缘跑来，不一会儿云尾和亮心就从荆棘丛里挤了出来。 叶池和鸦羽连忙站起身来。 “我在这儿！” 叶池喊道。

Cloudtail rushed over to her, his tail fluffed out. "Are you okay?" he demanded. "Is this cat on our side or theirs?" He flicked his tail at Crowfeather. Crowfeather began to bristle. "I'm fine," Leafpool meowed hastily. "And Crowfeather's a friend. He was chasing those two ShadowClan warriors. Don't claw him, Cloudtail, please. He saved me from falling over the edge." The white warrior's eyes narrowed. "Good." "What happened to the ShadowClan cats?" Crowfeather asked. "They're dead." Brightheart ducked under a branch to join her Clanmates. "They broke their necks." Leafpool shivered, knowing how easily that could have been her neck, snapped in the plunge from the top of the rocks. Crowfeather gave her another searching look, then dipped his head to Cloudtail. "I'll go, then. When I left our camp, the fight was breaking up. Onewhisker is still leader of WindClan." "What about—" Cloudtail began, but Crowfeather had already vanished among the

云尾冲到她身边，尾巴炸得蓬蓬的。 “你没事吧？”他急忙问道。 “这只猫是咱们这边的还是敌方的？” 他冲鸦羽甩了甩尾巴。 鸦羽一下子炸起了毛。 “我没事，”叶池连忙开口。 “鸦羽是我的朋友。 他刚才在追那两个影族武士。 别挠他，云尾，求你了。 我差点掉下去，是他救了我。” 这只白色武士眯起了眼睛。 “那就好。” “影族的猫怎么样了？” 鸦羽问道。 “都死了。” 亮心低头钻过一根树枝，来到族群伙伴身边。 “他们摔断脖子死了。” 叶池打了个寒颤，她清楚自己刚才差点也落得这个下场，从岩石顶端掉下去摔断脖子。 鸦羽又探究地看了她一眼，接着向云尾低了低头。 “那我走了。 我离开营地的时候，打斗刚开始。 风族的首领还是一步须。” “你要说——”云尾刚开口，鸦羽就已经消失在了