Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 The sky above Brambleclaw's head was dark, but the sickly glow of fungus guided his paws along the path. Shadowy ferns brushed his fur with damp, sticky fronds. Every hair on his pelt prickled as he bounded toward the meeting place. The pain from his wounded shoulder had vanished, and he felt stronger and more powerful with every heartbeat. Soon the path grew wider and opened up into a clearing. Though no moon shone, a pale wash of light revealed Brambleclaw's half brother Hawkfrost crouched beside a rock, where a massive tabby tom was sitting. As Brambleclaw emerged from the trees Hawkfrost sprang to his paws and raced toward him. "Brambleclaw!" he exclaimed. "Where have you been?" It was his first really restful night since the badger attack. When he closed his eyes, he had found himself back in the dark forest, as hungry as ever to find out what Tigerstar had to teach him. Brambleclaw tried to ignore the guilt that

第6章 黑莓掌头顶的天空一片昏暗，霉菌散发出的诡异微光，指引着他沿路前行。 暗影里的蕨草，湿漉漉黏糊糊的叶片扫过他的皮毛。 他朝会面地点狂奔，身上每一根毛发都紧绷发僵。 肩膀伤口的疼痛已经消失，每一次心跳，都让他觉得自己愈发强壮有力。 很快小路变得开阔，前方现出一片林中空地。 虽然没有月光，淡淡的光晕还是显出黑莓掌的异母弟弟鹰霜蹲在岩石旁，岩石上坐着一只魁梧的虎斑公猫。 黑莓掌从树林里走出来时，鹰霜立刻站起身，朝他奔了过来。 “黑莓掌！”他惊呼道。 “你去哪里了？” 这是獾群袭击以来，他第一个真正安稳的夜晚。 他闭上眼，就发现自己重回这片黑暗森林，依旧迫切地想知道虎星要教他什么。 黑莓掌试着不去理会那愧疚，它

pricked at him like a stubborn thorn; there was no way he could tell Squirrelflight about walking these paths of dream and meeting Tigerstar. She would never understand that he could be loyal to his Clan and still see his father. "Badgers attacked our camp," he explained to Hawkfrost as they padded across the clearing side by side. "Badgers!" Hawkfrost's neck fur bristled. He knew how dangerous they were. "How many?" "Enough," Brambleclaw replied grimly. "And you're wounded." Hawkfrost's ice-blue gaze softened into concern as he noticed the long scar on Brambleclaw's shoulder. "It's nothing." Reaching the rock, Brambleclaw dipped his head to his father. "Greetings, Tigerstar." "Greetings." Tigerstar's amber gaze pinned Brambleclaw like an eagle's talon. "You have not been here for nearly a quarter moon. If you want power you must commit yourself totally—every hair, every claw, every drop of blood. Anything less is weakness." "I am committed!" Brambleclaw protested.

就像一根顽固的尖刺扎着他； 他绝不可能告诉松鼠飞，自己会在梦境里走到这里、还见到虎星的事。 她绝不会理解，他既可以忠于自己的部族，同时也可以见自己的父亲。 “獾群袭击了我们的营地，”他们并肩走过空地时，黑莓掌对鹰霜解释道。 “獾群！” 鹰霜颈后的毛发全都竖了起来。 他很清楚獾有多危险。 “来了多少只？” “够多了，”黑莓掌冷冷地答道。 “你受伤了。” 鹰霜注意到黑莓掌肩膀上的长伤疤，冰蓝色的目光里泛起了关切。 “一点小伤罢了。” 走到岩石边，黑莓掌向自己的父亲低下头。 “您好，虎星。” “你好。” 虎星琥珀色的目光像鹰爪一样牢牢锁住了黑莓掌。 “你已经快半个月没来这里了。 如果你想要获得力量，就必须全身心投入——每一根毛、每一根爪、每一滴血都属于这里。 稍有保留就是软弱。” “我已经全身心投入了！” 黑莓掌抗议道。

He began to describe the badger attack, though he kept in mind that Hawkfrost was listening; he was not about to reveal to a warrior from a rival Clan exactly how devastating the attack had been, nor how shattered ThunderClan was still. "I've hardly slept since," he finished. "There's been too much to do, repairing the damage." "You fought with courage," Tigerstar praised him. "I'm proud you were prepared to risk your life to save your Clan." Brambleclaw twitched his ears uneasily. He hadn't told his father what he had done during the attack, yet Tigerstar seemed to know already. He must have been watching me all the time. That taunt about weakness must have been a test. "You need to make sure Firestar remembers how bravely you fought and how hard you have worked for your Clan since the attack," Tigerstar went on. "That will serve you well when he comes to choose a deputy." Brambleclaw stared at his father. He had fought to help his Clanmates, not because it had been one more step toward power! Yet he couldn't help feeling a twinge of satisfaction.

他开始讲述獾群袭击的事，尽管他一直记着鹰霜在旁听着； 他不打算把袭击的破坏力、雷族至今支离破碎的模样，全都告诉敌对部族的武士。 “从那之后我几乎没合过眼，”他说完道。 “有太多事要做，修补营地的损坏。” “你战斗得很勇敢，”虎星称赞他。 “我很骄傲你愿意冒着生命危险保护自己的部族。” 黑莓掌不安地抽动了一下耳朵。 他还没告诉父亲袭击时自己做了什么，虎星却好像已经全都知道了。 他一定一直都在看着我。 刚才说我软弱一定是一场考验。 “你要让火星记住，你战斗得多勇敢，袭击后为部族付出了多少努力，”虎星继续说道。 “等他选副族长的时候，这会给你很大帮助。” 黑莓掌吃惊地盯着自己的父亲。 他战斗是为了帮助族伴，不是为了一步步夺权！ 可他还是忍不住心头泛起一阵满足感。

Firestar trusted him with important duties; the Clan leader must feel he would be a good choice of deputy. "I still haven't had an apprentice," he reminded Tigerstar. "And Firestar won't choose another deputy until he's sure Graystripe is dead." "Then you need to delay his decision for as long as possible, so that you have time to be given an apprentice," Tigerstar meowed. "How are you going to do that? Hawkfrost, what do you think?" "Encourage him to think Graystripe is alive," Hawkfrost suggested. "It can't be true, of course, but it's what Firestar wants to believe, so it shouldn't be too hard to convince him." Brambleclaw didn't like the idea of manipulating his Clan leader like that, not when he knew how much Graystripe meant to Firestar. But he couldn't deny the sense of Hawkfrost's advice. The longer Firestar clung to the belief that Graystripe would return, the better Brambleclaw's chances of getting an apprentice before Firestar finally appointed a new deputy.

火星愿意把重要的任务交给黑莓掌； 这位雷族族长一定觉得，他会是副族长的绝佳人选。 “我还从来没有过自己的学徒，”他提醒虎星。 “而且火星没确定灰条死了，就不会选新的副族长。” “那你就要尽量拖慢他做决定的速度，好让你有时间拿到属于自己的学徒，”虎星说道。 “你打算怎么做呢， 鹰霜，你怎么看？” “让他觉得灰条还活着就好了，”鹰霜建议道。 “当然这不是真的，但这正是火星愿意相信的事，所以说服他应该不难。” 黑莓掌不喜欢这样操纵族长的主意，他清楚灰条对火星有多重要。 可他没法否认，鹰霜的建议确实很有道理。 火星越抱着灰条会回来的信念等待，黑莓掌在新副族长任命前获得学徒的机会就越大。

Tigerstar gave Hawkfrost an approving nod; then his gaze swiveled once more to Brambleclaw. "What else?" "Er... make sure I take care of the deputy duties," Brambleclaw meowed. "That'll make a good impression on Firestar, and at the same time make him feel it's not urgent to choose a new deputy yet." "And?" Brambleclaw cast about wildly in his mind. It was like trying to pin down a piece of prey without the help of sound or scent. "Make friends with those kits of Daisy's," Hawkfrost mewed, giving Brambleclaw a flick with his tail. "They'll be the next apprentices, won't they? If one of them asks for you as his mentor, you're all set." "Sure," Brambleclaw meowed. "I can do that. They're good kits, even if their mother isn't Clanborn." I'd like to mentor Berrykit, he decided. He could see the makings of a good warrior in the sturdy, adventurous little tom. But what would Tigerstar think of a kit that wasn't Clanborn?

虎星赞赏地点点头，接着目光再次转向黑莓掌。 "还有呢？" "呃……保证我会做好副族长的工作，"黑莓掌喵声道。 "这样既能给火星留下好印象，还能让他觉得不用急着推选新副族长。" "还有呢？" 黑莓掌在脑子里拼命地思索着。 这就好比既听不到动静、也闻不到气味，还要抓住猎物一样难。 "去和黛西的那些幼崽交朋友呀，"鹰霜说着，用尾巴轻扫了黑莓掌一下。 "他们很快就要当学徒了，不是吗？ 要是其中一个指名要你做他的导师，你就万事大吉啦。" "没问题，"黑莓掌喵声道。 "这点事我能做到。 他们都是好幼崽，哪怕他们的母亲不是族生的。" 他暗暗决定，我想当莓崽的导师。 这只结实好动的小公猫，在他看来已经具备了优秀武士的潜质。 可虎星会怎么看待这只不是族生的幼崽呢？

"Do you think it matters that their mother came from the horseplace?" Brambleclaw ventured. He remembered tales of how Tigerstar had ordered the murder of half-Clan cats when he had taken control of RiverClan and ShadowClan. Were the stories not true, or had his father changed his mind since then? "Their mother should go back where she came from," Tigerstar growled. "She'll never be any use to the Clan. But the kits may do well enough, if they're properly trained." Hawkfrost's whiskers twitched. "Don't forget that my mother wasn't Clanborn, either. RiverClan won't forget it, that's for sure, but it doesn't make me weak or stupid." Tigerstar gave his son a curt nod. "Your mother was a rogue, but dedicate yourself to the warrior code, and you will be as good as any of those who despise you. I became leader of a Clan where I did not belong by birth. And Daisy's kits are too young to remember anything but being part of ThunderClan." He paused, then added, "Being Clanborn is important, but we all work with what we're given on the path toward

"你觉得他们的母亲来自马场，这有什么关系吗？" 黑莓掌试探着问道。 他还记得当年虎星掌控河族与影族时，下令杀害半族猫的传闻。 这些传闻是假的吗，还是父亲如今改了主意？ "他们的母亲该回她来的地方去，"虎星低吼道。 "她对族群永远不会有半点用处。 不过只要训练得当，这些幼崽还是能成材的。" 鹰霜的胡须抽动了一下。 "别忘了，我母亲也不是族生的。 河族肯定不会忘了这件事，但这不代表我就软弱又愚蠢。" 虎星对着儿子简短地点了点头。 "你母亲确实是只流浪猫，但只要你坚守武士守则，你就不会比任何瞧不起你的猫差。 我生来并不属于那个族群，照样当上了族长。 而黛西的幼崽年纪太小，记事起就只知道自己是雷族的一员了。" 他顿了顿，补充道："生为族猫固然重要，但在通往