Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 Squirrelflight paused beside a clump of bracken, drawing in the scent of the fresh green fronds. Sunlit dew sparkled on every blade of grass, and the whole forest seemed to be waking up after the long sleep of leaf-bare. Another deep breath brought the scent of cat. Not ThunderClan, and not ShadowClan either, though she was near their border. Squirrelflight froze, glancing from side to side. A bracken frond waved, and she caught a glimpse of a strange tabby cat creeping along with its belly fur brushing the ground. Squirrelflight thought at first that a rogue had wandered into their territory; a heartbeat later she realized it must be one of the kittypets she and Brambleclaw had fought with when they first explored the land around the lake. Their Twoleg nest was in ShadowClan's territory, but this crow-food-eating tabby wouldn't give a mouse tail for Clan boundaries. Dropping into the hunter's crouch, Squirrelflight started to creep up on it, but she

第七章 松鼠飞停在一丛蕨类旁，呼吸着新鲜绿叶的清香。 阳光下的露水在每片草叶上闪闪发光，整座森林正从秃叶季的漫长沉睡中缓缓苏醒。 再深吸一口气，她闻到了猫的气味。 不是雷族，也不是影族，尽管她此刻已经靠近影族边界了。 松鼠飞僵住身子，警惕地左右张望。 一片蕨叶晃了晃，她瞥见一只陌生虎斑猫正肚皮贴地悄悄前进。 松鼠飞一开始以为是流浪猫闯来了领地； 紧接着她反应过来，这肯定是她和黑莓掌第一次探索湖边领地时交手过的宠物猫之一。 他们的两脚兽巢穴在影族领地，可这吃腐食的虎斑猫才不在乎族群边界呢。 松鼠飞摆出捕猎的蹲伏姿势，悄悄朝它逼近，可她

hadn't taken more than a couple of pawsteps when she heard the rest of her patrol approaching: Thornclaw, Ashfur, and Sootfur. Mouse-brains! she thought. Clumping around like horses! She warned them to keep back with a flick of her tail, but the tabby had already heard them. Squirrelflight saw the brown shape streak out of the middle of the bracken, and she sprang forward in pursuit. Behind her, she heard Ashfur yowl, "Hey, Squirrelflight, stop!" but she ignored him. She dashed after the intruder, determined to give it a well-clawed ear to teach it not to come back, but the kittypet had too good a start. "Mouse dung!" she spat when she lost it in a patch of thick undergrowth. She turned back to join the rest of the patrol. To her surprise they were standing bunched together, staring at her with worried looks on their faces. "Squirrelflight, you mouse-brain!" Sootfur called out. Before she reached the others, Brambleclaw shouldered his way through the undergrowth,

才踏出没几步，就听见巡逻队的同伴赶来了：荆毛、灰毛和煤毛。 鼠脑袋！ 她暗自想道。 走路重得像马一样咚咚响！ 她甩了甩尾巴警告他们躲远些，可那只虎斑猫早就听见动静了。 松鼠飞看见那个棕色身影冲出蕨丛，立刻扑上去追赶。 她身后传来灰毛的吼声：“喂，松鼠飞，停下！” 可她根本没理他。 她拼命追着入侵者，打定主意要给它一爪子好好教训一顿，让它不敢再来，可这只宠物猫早就跑出去老远了。 “鼠屎！” 她在茂密灌丛里跟丢目标，忍不住啐了一句。 她转身回去找巡逻队的同伴。 让她惊讶的是，大伙都挤站在一起，满脸担忧地盯着她。 “松鼠飞，你这个鼠脑袋！” 煤毛大声喊道。 她还没走到同伴身边，黑莓掌就从灌丛里挤了出来，

with Sandstorm just behind him. "Just what do you think you're doing?" he demanded. "I spotted one of those kittypets from ShadowClan territory." Squirrelflight was puzzled and angry at how hostile he sounded. What was he accusing her of now? "We're supposed to chase trespassers on a border patrol, right?" "Right," meowed Brambleclaw. "What you're not allowed to do is cross the border into another Clan's territory. Suppose a ShadowClan patrol had seen you?" "But I didn't..." Squirrelflight's voice trailed off. Suddenly she spotted the dead tree that was one of the boundary markers. She must have chased the kittypet straight past it. "I didn't notice any scent marks," she argued, padding forward until she was on the right side of the border again. "The markings are really faint." Ashfur had been over to sniff at the roots of the dead tree. "Leave her alone, Brambleclaw. Any cat could have made the same mistake."

沙风紧跟在他身后。 “你说说你到底在干什么？” 他质问道。 “我发现了一只从影族领地跑出来的宠物猫。” 黑莓掌语气这么凶狠，松鼠飞又困惑又生气。 他这次又要指责她什么呢？ “边界巡逻本来就要赶走入侵者，不对吗？” “没错，”黑莓掌说道。 “但你不可以越界闯进其他族群的领地。 要是被影族巡逻队撞见了怎么办？” “可是我没有……” 松鼠飞的声音慢慢小了下去。 她突然看见了那棵作为边界标记的枯树。 她追那只宠物猫的时候，肯定直接闯过去了。 “我没闻到气味标记呀，”她争辩道，一边往前走，退回边界这一侧。 “标记真的淡得几乎看不见了。” 灰毛已经走过去嗅了嗅枯树的树根。 “别骂她了，黑莓掌。 换作任何猫都可能犯这个错。”

Sandstorm gave Ashfur a look from narrowed green eyes. "Squirrelflight can answer for herself," she mewed. "She's not usually lost for words." Squirrelflight blinked gratefully at Ashfur. She didn't need him or any cat to spring to her defense, but it was good of him to support her. "I'm sorry. I really didn't notice." "The markings are faint," Thornclaw agreed. "I don't think ShadowClan has renewed them for days." "What's the matter with them?" Sandstorm wondered. "ShadowClan is usually the first to make sure that no cat crosses their borders." Squirrelflight shrugged. "If they can't be bothered to set their markers, they can't object if some cat crosses the boundary by mistake." "I suppose you're right," Brambleclaw sighed. "But for StarClan's sake, be a bit more careful next time." "She will be." Ashfur sprang to Squirrelflight's defense again, unaware of the furious look she gave him this time. She was even angrier when she noticed a surprised glance from Sandstorm, as if her mother couldn't believe she was depending

沙风眯起绿色的眼睛，瞥了灰毛一眼。 “松鼠飞能自己回答，”她说道。 “她又不是说不出话。” 松鼠飞感激地朝灰毛眨了眨眼。 她不需要他或者任何猫替自己辩解，但他愿意站出来支持自己还是挺暖心的。 “我很抱歉。 我真的没注意到。” “标记确实很淡，”荆毛附和道。 “我觉得影族已经好多天没更新标记了。” “他们这是怎么了？” 沙风纳闷地说。 “影族平时可是最看重边界，绝不让任何猫越界的。” 松鼠飞耸了耸肩。 “要是他们懒得更新标记，那也怪不得别的猫不小心越界呀。” “算你说得对，”黑莓掌叹了口气。 “但是看在星族的份上，下次稍微小心点。” “她会小心的。” 灰毛又一次站出来帮松鼠飞说话，没注意到松鼠飞这次愤怒地瞪了他一眼。 更让她生气的是，她看到沙风惊讶地扫了自己一眼，那眼神仿佛她妈妈不敢相信她居然要靠别人

on Ashfur for protection. "Anyway, Brambleclaw," the gray tomcat went on, "it's not your place to tell her what to do." "It's any cat's place," Brambleclaw retorted, his neck fur starting to bristle. "Do you want trouble with ShadowClan?" Ashfur unsheathed his claws. "That's not the point!" "Hang on!" Squirrelflight protested. "I don't want—" "That's enough." Sandstorm stalked over and confronted the three quarreling cats. "Let's get back to camp before ShadowClan cats do turn up and find us ruffling each other's fur." She stalked off in the direction of the camp. Sootfur and Thornclaw followed, but Brambleclaw and Ashfur hesitated, still giving each other an angry stare. Squirrelflight felt thoroughly exasperated with both of them. "You go on ahead," she snapped to Ashfur. Ashfur looked startled. "Oh—okay. I'll see you back at camp." With a frustrated lash of his tail he padded off after the others. "You can't blame him for wanting to take care

去找灰毛寻求保护。 “好了，黑莓掌，”这只灰公猫继续说道，“轮不到你来对她指手画脚。” “哪只猫都管得着！”黑莓掌反驳道，颈背的毛都竖了起来。 “你想找影族的麻烦吗？” 灰毛亮出了他的爪子。 “这根本不是重点！” “等等！” 松鼠飞连忙出声制止。 “我不想——” “够了。” 沙风大步走过来，拦住了三只吵架的猫。 “咱们赶紧回营地，免得影族猫真的过来，撞见我们内讧打架。” 说完她就大步朝着营地的方向走去了。 烟足和棘毛跟了上去，可黑莓掌和灰毛犹豫着没动，仍旧怒视着对方。 松鼠飞被他俩彻底惹恼了。 “你先走一步。”她厉声对灰毛说。 灰毛一脸惊讶。 “噢——好吧。 营地见。” 他气恼地甩了甩尾巴，迈着步子追其他猫去了。 “你不能怪他想要照顾

of you." Brambleclaw's words could have been approving, but his tone was critical as if he were remembering all the times on their journey when Squirrelflight had been furious with him for trying to protect her. "At least there's one cat I know I can trust with my life!" she hissed. Brambleclaw's eyes widened. "Only one, Squirrelflight?" "Yes!" she spat back. She felt so far away from him now it was impossible to remember she had once looked at him with warmth. "At least Ashfur doesn't keep going off with a cat from another Clan—a cat who can't be trusted!" The hurt in Brambleclaw's eyes faded, to be replaced by rage. "That's what you want, is it? A loyal warrior to pad after you and smooth all the thorns out of your path? I never used to think you were like that. I believed better of you." "Believe what you like!" Brambleclaw drew his lips back in the beginnings of a snarl. Before he could speak, the undergrowth behind Squirrelflight rustled. She whirled around to see that Ashfur had come

你呀。” 黑莓掌这话听着像是赞同，语气里却满是不满，仿佛还记得旅途里，松鼠飞次次都因为他要保护自己而大发脾气。 “至少还有一只猫，我敢放心把命交给他！” 她嘶声说道。 黑莓掌猛地睁大了眼睛。 “只有一只吗，松鼠飞？” “没错！” 她厉声回怼道。 她现在觉得和他疏远极了，根本记不起自己曾经对他满怀温情。 “至少灰毛不会总跟别族的猫混在一起——那只猫根本不值得信任！” 黑莓掌眼中的受伤褪去，取而代之的是熊熊怒火。 “这就是你想要的，对不对？ 要一个忠诚的武士跟在你身后，帮你把路上的刺全都清理干净？ 我以前真没想到你是这种猫。 我原来还高看你了。” “你爱怎么想就怎么想！” 黑莓掌咧开嘴唇，已经露出了嘶吼的凶相。 他还没开口，松鼠飞身后的灌木丛突然沙沙作响。 她猛地转身，看见灰毛已经