Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 Mistyfoot led the patrol across the marshy shore at a steady trot. Brambleclaw breathed deeply, tasting the prey-scented air and basking in the warmth of the pale leaf-bare sun on his fur. His paws itched to bound ahead, but he forced himself to keep to the pace Mistyfoot had set, knowing they had a long way to go. "This is no good," Squirrelflight grumbled as she slipped into yet another boggy hollow. She stopped and flicked water from her hind paw with a disgusted expression on her face. "We'll all end up with webbed feet if we live here." "It might not be so bad for RiverClan," Mistyfoot replied. "But there won't be much prey on ground like this, so it wouldn't be much use." "We don't have to use all the territory around the lake," Tawnypelt pointed out. "There's plenty of space, so it doesn't matter if no cat wants this bit." "As long as there's something better up ahead," Crowfeather added.

第三章 雾脚带着巡逻队稳步小跑穿过沼泽岸边。 棘爪深深呼吸，空气中满是猎物的气息，枯叶季柔和的阳光晒得他浑身暖融融的。 他爪子发痒，早就想往前冲，但还是逼着自己跟上雾脚的步伐，他知道前路还很长。 “这糟透了，”松鼠飞滑进又一个沼泽洼坑时抱怨道。 她停下脚步，抖掉后爪上的水，满脸都是厌恶的表情。 “要是我们住这儿，最后全员都得长出蹼脚来。” “这对河族来说倒不算坏事，”雾脚回应道。 “但是这种地方没多少猎物，所以也没什么用。” “我们不需要占下湖周边所有的领地，”纹尾指出。 “地方多的是，就算没猫想要这块地方也没关系。” “只要前头有更好的地方就行，”鸦羽补充道。

Brambleclaw paused to scan the land around them. On one side the land rose steeply to a ridge of hills. The Twoleg fence and the horses were behind them now, and beyond that the grassland sloped up until it vanished beneath a thick growth of gorse and other bushes. Ahead, the swampy ground stretched along the lakeshore. In the distance Brambleclaw could see a wooded spur of ground jutting out into the lake, and more trees right ahead. "It looks as if we'll be out of the marshes soon," he meowed. "Can't we climb the hill, Brambleclaw?" Squirrelflight asked. "Please. I'm sick of wet feet." "There'll be prey up there, too," Tawnypelt mewed longingly. "What do you say, Brambleclaw? We need to hunt." "We're supposed to be patrolling the lake," Brambleclaw replied. "And the territory around it," Crowfeather reminded him. "I suppose we could make a few forays away from the lake," Brambleclaw meowed thoughtfully. "We won't learn much if we stick

棘爪停下脚步，环视周围的土地。 一侧的地势急剧抬升，形成一道山丘山脊。 两脚兽的栅栏和马已经被抛在身后，再往前草地向上倾斜，一直延伸到茂密的荆豆和其他灌木丛底下。 前方，沼泽地沿着湖岸一直延伸。 远处，棘爪能看到一片带树林的陆地突入湖中，正前方也有不少树木。 “看来我们很快就能走出沼泽了，”他喵呜说。 “我们不能爬上山吗，棘爪？” 松鼠飞问道。 “求你了。 我受够爪子一直湿乎乎的了。” “山上也会有猎物的，”纹尾渴望地说道。 “你觉得呢，棘爪？ 我们需要打猎。” “我们本来就是来巡逻湖区的，”棘爪回答。 “还有湖区周边的领地，”鸦羽提醒他。 “我觉得我们可以离开湖岸探查几片地方，”棘爪若有所思地说。 “如果我们一直贴着

to the shore the whole time. Let's start by heading up to the ridge. We'll hunt on the way, and—" A quiet cough interrupted him, and Brambleclaw felt his fur prickle as he met Mistyfoot's level stare. "S-sorry, Mistyfoot," he stammered. "I mean, if that's okay with you." Amusement glimmered in the RiverClan deputy's eyes. "Look, Brambleclaw, maybe it's best if you lead. These cats are obviously used to taking orders from you." "I wouldn't say that." Brambleclaw felt even more embarrassed. "We discussed things, mostly, when we were on our journey." "He means we argued," Tawnypelt meowed dryly. "At least, some of us argued." She gave a hard look at Squirrelflight and Crowfeather. "What, us?" Squirrelflight's eyes opened wide and her tail curled up. "Never!" Stifling a mrrow of laughter, Brambleclaw led the way up the slope to the drier ground. He thanked StarClan that Mistyfoot understood that they had fallen into a habit of organizing themselves on their journey, without the typical

湖岸走，我们了解不了多少东西。 我们先往山脊出发吧。 我们边走边打猎，然后——”一声轻咳打断了他，棘爪对上雾脚平静的目光，不由得浑身毛发一紧。 “对、对不起，雾脚，”他结结巴巴地说。 “我是说，如果你同意的话。” 这位河族副族长的眼中闪过一丝笑意。 “听着，棘爪，还是你来带队比较好。 这些猫显然都习惯听你的指挥了。” “哪有这回事。” 棘爪变得更加尴尬了。 “我们旅途中大多都是一起商量事情的。” “他意思是我们吵了一路，”纹尾干巴巴地喵呜道。 “至少，我们当中有些人一直在吵。” 她狠狠瞥了松鼠飞和鸦羽一眼。 “什么，说我们吗？” 松鼠飞睁大了眼睛，尾巴也翘了起来。 “我们才没有！” 棘爪憋着笑，带头朝坡上干燥的地方走去。 他感谢星族，雾脚能够理解，他们在旅途中已经习惯了自己安排，不像平常

Clan hierarchy of leaders and deputies and senior warriors. It felt good to be traveling with his friends again, though he felt Stormfur's absence like a thorn pricking his flank. He wondered what it would be like when the Clans separated and he lost his easy friendship with Crowfeather and Tawnypelt. Would the empty place inside him go on growing forever? There was prey among the bushes farther up the slope, and it did not take long for all five cats to hunt successfully and settle down to a good meal. "Mmm..." Squirrelflight murmured, lying on her side and splaying out her paws in a luxurious stretch. "That was the tastiest mouse I've eaten in moons. Now I could do with a good, long sleep." "Oh, no, you don't!" Brambleclaw prodded her with his paw. "We've got a long way to go, and we need to get as far around the lake as we can in daylight." "All right, keep your fur on." Squirrelflight scrambled up, her green eyes teasing. "You're such a bossy old furball. Don't forget I'm a warrior now!" She whisked around him, flicking

族群那样有首领、副族长和资深武士的等级制度。 和朋友们一起赶路的感觉真好，不过暴毛不在，就像一根刺扎在他腰侧，让他隐隐难受。 他忍不住想，等族群分开后，他和鸦羽、纹尾不再这么亲密，那会是什么样子。 他心里这块空落落的地方会一直变大吗？ 斜坡上方的灌木丛里就有猎物，没过多久，五只猫都捕猎成功，坐下来饱餐了一顿。 “嗯……” 松鼠飞侧躺着，舒展爪子，满足地伸了个懒腰，轻声嘟囔着。 “这是我好几个月来吃过的最鲜美的老鼠了。 现在我就想好好睡一大觉。” “哦，不行，你不能睡！” 棘爪用爪子推了推她。 “我们还有很长的路要走，得趁着天亮尽量多绕湖走一段。” “好了好了，别生气啦。” 松鼠飞爬起来，绿眼睛带着笑意调侃他。 “你可真是个爱管事儿的老毛球。 别忘了我现在也是武士了！” 她快速绕他转了一圈，甩了甩

him with her tail. "You don't give me the chance to forget," Brambleclaw retorted, though he couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice. How long had it been, he asked himself, since any of them had had the time or the strength to play? He gathered the others together—Mistyfoot watched him give the order without saying anything, the expression in her blue eyes impossible to read—and they set off once more, taking a slanting route down to the lake. As he looked back toward the temporary camp, Brambleclaw saw that the spur of land he had spotted earlier was actually an island; three tiny, fuzzy shapes were standing on the shore looking out at it. "There's Leafpaw!" Squirrelflight meowed. Brambleclaw didn't ask how she could recognize her sister from so far away; he knew there was some sort of special connection between them, so that each of them always had a good idea where the other one was and how she was feeling. A flicker of jealousy stirred within him, but he pushed it away.

用尾巴缠住了他。 “你根本不给我忘记的机会，”棘爪反驳道，可他的声音里藏不住笑意。 他暗自纳闷，他们这群人到底有多久没空闲、没力气玩耍了？ 他把大伙召集到一起——雾脚一言不发地看着他发号施令，她蓝眼睛里的神情让人捉摸不透——随后他们再次出发，斜着走向湖边。 棘爪回头望向临时营地时，发现之前瞧见的那块突出陆地其实是一座小岛； 三个小小的、毛茸茸的身影正站在岸边望着小岛。 “那是叶爪！” 松鼠飞叫了一声。 棘爪没问她隔着这么远怎么认出自己的妹妹； 他知道姐妹俩之间有种特殊的联结，总能清楚知道对方在哪、心情如何。 他心里泛起一丝嫉妒，但很快就把这情绪推开了。

They headed down from the ridge toward a point on the lakeshore farther along from the island. To Brambleclaw's relief, the marshy places and small reed-fringed pools thinned out; instead the ground was covered with long grass that felt cool and comfortable under his pads. "This is more like it!" muttered Crowfeather. WindClan cats were the least used to wet ground, coming from the well-drained sandy moorland above the woods where the other Clans had lived. Sunhigh came and went as the five cats traveled along the edge of the lake. A stretch of smooth round pebbles ran down to the water, reminding Brambleclaw of the banks of the river in the forest. A little way from the shore, he spotted the spreading ripples where a fish had just risen. "Plenty of prey for RiverClan," he pointed out to Mistyfoot. She nodded. "Mind you," she meowed, "we might need to work out new ways of fishing. We're used to standing on the bank or on stepping stones and scooping them out with our

他们走下山脊，朝着离小岛更远的一处湖岸前进。 让棘爪松了口气的是，沼泽地和芦苇环绕的小水洼越来越少； 地面取而代之长满了长草，爪子踩上去又凉爽又舒服。 “这才像话嘛！”鸦羽低声说道。 风族猫最不习惯潮湿地面，他们原本住在其他族群领地森林上方、排水通畅的沙质荒原。 五只猫沿着湖边赶路，正午悄悄过去了。 一片光滑的圆卵石一直延伸到水边，让棘爪想起了旧森林里的河岸。 离岸边不远的地方，他看到一条鱼刚刚浮上水面，漾开圈圈涟漪。 “河族这儿可不缺猎物，”他对雾脚说。 她点了点头。 “话说回来，”她喵喵说道，“我们说不定得想出新的钓鱼办法。 我们早就习惯站在岸上或是踏石上，用我们的