Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 Squirrelflight used her claws to tear moss from the roots of an oak tree and began patting it into a ball to take back to camp. A quarter moon had passed since the battle with Mudclaw and his followers, and the Clan was beginning to recover. Wounds were healing and the memory of Mudclaw's rebellion was fading. Brambleclaw had started his training sessions, and Sandstorm had insisted that every warrior take a turn with the apprentice duties. Squirrelflight would rather be hunting or exploring than fetching fresh bedding for the elders, but the job wasn't too boring when you had a friend to share it with. Casting a mischievous glance at Ashfur, who was gathering moss from another tree nearby, she hooked up her ball with the claws of one paw and hurled it at him. It landed accurately in the middle of his back and disintegrated, covering his pelt with scraps of moss. Ashfur spun around to face her. "Hey!" His eyes gleaming with laughter, the gray

第四章 松鼠飞用爪子从一棵橡树根上扯下苔藓，动手把它拍成团，准备带回营地。 和泥爪及其追随者的战斗已经过去半个月，族群正渐渐恢复元气。 伤口在慢慢愈合，泥爪叛乱的记忆也渐渐淡去。 黑莓爪已经开始了训练课程，沙风要求每个武士都轮流承担学徒的任务。 松鼠飞宁可去打猎或是探险，也不想给长老们找新垫草，不过有朋友一起干活，这份差事也没那么无聊。 她朝在不远处另一棵树上采苔藓的阿什毛调皮地瞥了一眼，接着用一只爪子勾住自己的苔藓球，朝他扔了过去。 苔藓正好落在他背中央，一下散开来，碎苔藓沾了他一身皮毛。 阿什毛猛地转过身面向她。 "喂！" 他眼里闪着笑意，这只灰

warrior scooped up his own moss and flung it at Squirrelflight. She dodged behind the tree to avoid it, and crashed straight into Brambleclaw. "What's going on?" the tabby tomcat demanded. "What are you doing?" "Collecting moss for the elders" bedding," Squirrelflight replied. Regret for their lost friendship pierced her like a thorn, along with fury that he had to appear at the exact moment she'd stopped working. Ashfur hurtled around the tree with more moss in his jaws and skidded to a halt when he saw Brambleclaw. "Collecting bedding? So I see." Brambleclaw used his tail to flick a scrap of moss from Ashfur's shoulder. "Carrying it back on your pelt, are you?" Ashfur put the moss down. "We were only having a bit of fun." "Fun?" Brambleclaw snapped. "Wasting time is what I'd call it. Don't you realize how much there is to do?" "Okay, okay." Squirrelflight felt her neck fur bristle. "There's no need to treat us like lazy

武士抓起自己的苔藓，朝松鼠飞扔了过来。 她闪身躲到树后，正好一头撞到了黑莓爪身上。 "这是在干什么？" 这只虎斑公猫问道。 "你们在搞什么？" "给长老们采垫草用的苔藓，"松鼠飞回答。 对逝去友谊的懊悔像尖刺一样扎进她心里，同时她又十分气恼，他偏偏在她停下干活的时候出现。 阿什毛叼着更多苔藓绕着树冲过来，看到黑莓爪后猛地刹住了脚。 "采垫草？ 原来是这样。" 黑莓爪用尾巴从阿什毛肩上弹掉一块碎苔藓。 "打算用你自己的皮毛把苔藓驮回去，是吧？" 阿什毛把苔藓放了下来。 "我们就是随便玩一会儿而已。" "玩？"黑莓爪厉声喝道。 "要我说这就是浪费时间。 难道你不知道还有多少活儿要干吗？" "好了好了。" 松鼠飞感觉自己脖子上的毛都炸了起来。 没必要把我们当成懒

apprentices." "Stop behaving like lazy apprentices, then," Brambleclaw flashed back at her, a glint of anger in his amber eyes. "Being a warrior means putting the Clan first." Squirrelflight's fury rose like a wave. "Do you think we don't know that?" she spat. "Who died and made you deputy?" As soon as the words were out she knew she had said something unbelievably stupid. She wanted to snatch it back, but it was too late. Brambleclaw's eyes blazed, but when he spoke his voice was icy calm. "No cat knows whether Graystripe is dead or alive. Do you have any idea what Firestar must be suffering?" "Of course I do!" Deep inside, Squirrelflight wanted to say she was sorry, but she couldn't back down when Brambleclaw was being so unfair. "Firestar is my father, for StarClan's sake! Don't talk to me like I don't care." "Steady." Ashfur stepped forward and pressed his muzzle against Squirrelflight's shoulder. Squirrelflight struggled to control her anger. "I'd give anything to have Graystripe back."

学徒。" "那你们就别表现得像懒学徒一样，"黑莓爪回怼她，琥珀色的眼睛里闪着怒火。 "身为武士，就要把族群放在第一位。" 松鼠飞的怒火像浪涛一样翻涌起来。 "你以为我们不知道吗？"她恶狠狠地说。 "谁死了轮得到你当副族长？" 话一出口她就知道自己说了一句蠢得离谱的话。 她想把话收回来，可已经来不及了。 黑莓爪双眼冒火，开口时声音却冰冷平静。 "没有猫知道灰条到底是死是活。 你知道火星现在有多煎熬吗？" "我当然知道！" 松鼠飞心底其实想道歉，可黑莓爪这么不公平，她没法低头认输。 "火星是我父亲，看在星族的份上！ 别一副我不在乎的样子对我说话。" "冷静点。" 阿什毛走上前，把鼻子贴在了松鼠飞的肩膀上。 松鼠飞努力压下了自己的怒火。 "我愿意付出一切换灰条回来。"

"Yes, we know," Ashfur reassured her. His breath felt warm against her pelt. "Look, Brambleclaw," he went on, straightening up, "we'll get the moss, okay? You don't need to hassle Squirrelflight." Brambleclaw twitched his ears. "Okay, but be as quick as you can. And when you've done that, make sure the elders have had some fresh-kill." Without waiting for a reply he turned and stalked off toward the camp. "Feed the elders yourself!" Squirrelflight yowled after him. There was no need for Brambleclaw to behave like this—not unless he was punishing her for being suspicious about Hawkfrost. If Brambleclaw heard her, he didn't show it. He just carried on walking until soft green ferns hid him from sight. "Take it easy," Ashfur meowed. "He's just trying to make sure everything gets done. We're all under pressure, with only one apprentice." "He should do more himself then, instead of striding around giving orders," Squirrelflight grumbled. "If he thinks I'm collecting moss for

"对，我们知道，"阿什毛安慰她。 他的呼吸暖乎乎地喷在她的皮毛上。 "你看，黑莓爪，"他直起身继续说，"我们会把苔藓采好的，行吗？ 你没必要找松鼠飞的麻烦。" 黑莓爪动了动耳朵。 "行吧，不过动作一定要快。 采完之后，记得确认长老们吃过新鲜猎物了。" 他没等回应，转身大步朝营地走去。 "你自己去给长老喂饭啊！" 松鼠飞在他身后吼道。 黑莓爪根本没必要这样——除非他是在惩罚我之前怀疑鹰霜。 就算黑莓爪听到了，他也没做出任何反应。 他一直往前走，直到柔软的绿色蕨类把他挡住，看不见了。 "别生气了，"阿什毛轻声说。 "他只是想确保所有活儿都干完而已。 我们现在压力都大，只有一个学徒可用。" "那他该自己多干点，别到处晃悠发号施令，"松鼠飞嘟囔道。 要是他觉得我会给他采

him, he can think again! I'm going hunting." She spun around and raced into the trees. Behind her she heard Ashfur call her name, but she was too furious to slow down. Part of her wanted to launch herself at Brambleclaw and wipe that look of scorn from his face, while part of her was torn apart with guilt for implying that Graystripe was dead. Every time she and Brambleclaw spoke to each other they seemed to plunge deeper into a pit of anger and mistrust. Squirrelflight wondered if anything could put things right between them. With these troubled thoughts churning in her head she hardly noticed where her flying paws were taking her. Too late she saw a bramble thicket looming up in front of her; she tried to skid to a halt and stumbled headlong into the prickly tendrils. "Mouse dung!" she spat. Thorns tugged at the fur on her back as she struggled to wrench herself free; she couldn't bear the indignity of Brambleclaw or Ashfur coming up to find her stuck. Digging her claws into the ground, she managed to drag herself out

这下，他又能重新思考了！ 我要去打猎。” 她转过身，飞奔冲进了树林里。 她听见身后蜡毛喊她的名字，可她怒不可遏，根本不愿放慢脚步。 她一半想扑向黑莓掌，把他脸上那轻蔑的表情狠狠抹掉，另一半却因为暗示灰条已经死了，愧疚得痛苦不堪。 每次她和黑莓掌说话，两人都好像陷进愤怒和不信任的深坑，越陷越深。 松鼠飞不知道还有没有办法修复他们俩的关系。 脑子里乱糟糟的念头翻来搅去，她根本没注意自己飞跑的爪子把她带到了哪里。 等她看见一丛荆棘赫然挡在面前，已经来不及了； 她想急刹停脚，却一头栽进了扎人的棘刺藤里。 “老鼠屎！” 她啐了一口。 她挣扎着想要脱身，荆棘扯住了她背上的毛； 她可受不了让黑莓掌或者蜡毛过来撞见自己被卡住的糗样。 爪子抠进泥土里，她终于把自己拽了出来

of the thicket, leaving scraps of ginger fur on the bramble thorns. Scrambling up, she saw that the trees around her were unfamiliar—huge gray trunks hung with moss and ivy, packed closer together than in the woods around the camp. "Squirrelflight! Watch out!" Ashfur's gasp of alarm came from close behind her. She spun around, her pelt standing on end. Just beyond the bramble thicket was a clearing where the ground was thick with dead leaves. Squirrelflight's heart started to pound as she spotted a russet-brown, wedge-shaped face peering out at her from a clump of thorns on the far side of the clearing. She watched in horror as the fox stepped delicately out, its jaws parted in a snarl and its eyes gleaming with hunger. "Back away slowly." Ashfur's quiet meow came from close by. Squirrelflight's legs felt as if they had turned to stone, but she forced herself to take one step back. At once the fox leapt. Squirrelflight raised her claws to defend herself, but in the same instant a gray streak flashed between the fox and

离开了荆棘丛，好几撮姜黄色的猫毛留在了荆棘刺上。 她爬起身，发现周围的树木十分陌生——粗大的灰色树干上挂着苔藓和常春藤，比营地附近的树林挤得更紧密。 “松鼠飞！ 小心！” 蜡毛惊慌的喘息声从她身后不远处传来。 她猛地转身，浑身的毛都炸了起来。 荆棘丛的另一边就是一片空地，地上铺满了厚厚的枯叶。 松鼠飞看见空地另一头的荆棘丛里，露出一张赤褐色的楔形脸正盯着自己，心脏立刻砰砰狂跳起来。 她惊恐地看着狐狸轻步走出来，它咧开嘴低吼着，眼睛闪着饥饿的寒光。 “慢慢往后退。” 蜡毛压低的声音从身旁传来。 松鼠飞的腿僵得像变成了石头，可她还是强迫自己往后退了一步。 狐狸立刻扑了上来。 松鼠飞抬起爪子准备自卫，可就在同一瞬，一道灰影闪到了狐狸和