Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 All day, anxiety had nagged at Leafpool like a thorn snagging her fur. She couldn't forget how exhausted Brambleclaw had looked when he came to her for cobwebs to put on his wound. Had he been walking in dreams with Tigerstar again? When her duties were done and she settled down in her den to sleep, she tried to send her dreaming paws along Tigerstar's dark paths. The shadowy forest, with its pale light that didn't come from moon or stars, terrified her, but she owed it to her Clan to discover what Brambleclaw was doing there. It wasn't just for the sake of her sister; this must be part of her duty as a medicine cat. She opened her eyes to find that tall, leafless trees loomed around her. Whispering shadows flickered between their trunks, and a path lay in front of her, winding between thick clumps of ferns. Her paws falling as lightly as if she were stalking a mouse, she began to follow the path. She had not gone far before she scented more

第七章 一整天，焦虑都像挂住皮毛的尖刺一样折磨着叶池。 她没法忘记，黑莓掌来找她要蛛网敷伤口的时候，看上去有多疲惫。 他是不是又和虎星一起在梦境里行走了？ 忙完所有事务，窝在自己巢穴准备睡觉时，她试着循着梦中踪迹，踏上虎星走的黑暗之路。 这片暗影森林的光线昏暗朦胧，既不来自月亮也不来自星星，让她满心恐惧，但为了族群，她必须查清黑莓掌在这里做什么。 这不只是为了她的姐姐，这本就是她身为巫医职责的一部分。 她睁开眼睛，光秃秃的高树赫然耸立在她四周。 低语般的阴影在树干间摇曳，一条小径铺在她面前，蜿蜒穿过茂密的蕨丛。 她放轻脚步，就像悄悄追踪老鼠那样，沿路往前走。 没走多远，她就闻到了更多

cats ahead. Cautiously she slid into the shelter of the ferns and crept forward, her pelt prickling with fear that Tigerstar might discover her spying on him. Heartbeats later she halted, bewildered. Three cats stood on the path, but they were not Tigerstar and his sons. Starshine sparkled at their paws and in their fur. One of them turned her head and Leafpool recognized Bluestar, who had been leader of ThunderClan before Firestar. She had died before Leafpool was born, but the medicine cat had met her sometimes in dreams. "Come out, Leafpool," she meowed. "We have been waiting for you." Leafpool padded out of the ferns to stand in front of the blue-gray she-cat. "You took your time," one of the other StarClan cats rasped; it was Yellowfang, a former ThunderClan medicine cat who had been Cinderpelt's mentor. Her yellow eyes were narrowed in her broad, pale gray face, and she twitched her thick tail with annoyance. Leafpool didn't recognize the third cat, a magnificent golden tabby. He dipped his head to

猫咪的气味了。 她小心翼翼溜进蕨丛掩护悄悄前进，浑身皮毛都绷了起来，害怕虎星发现她在偷偷窥探。 没走多久她就停下脚步，满心困惑。 三只猫站在小径上，但他们不是虎星和他的儿子们。 星光在他们的爪边和皮毛上闪闪发亮。 其中一只转过头，叶池认出了蓝星，她是火星之前的雷族族长。 蓝星在叶池出生前就已经去世，但这位巫医也曾在梦里和她见过几次。 "出来吧，叶池，"她轻声说道。 "我们一直在等你。" 叶池走出蕨丛，站在这只蓝灰色母猫面前。 "你可太慢了，"另一位星族猫哑着嗓子说； 那是黄牙，前任雷族巫医，也是炭毛的导师。 她泛黄的眼睛眯在宽大的浅灰色脸庞上，粗尾巴气恼地甩了一下。 叶池没认出第三只猫，那是一只英气逼人的金虎斑公猫。 他低下头对

her and introduced himself. "Greetings, Leafpool. My name is Lionheart. I was with Bluestar when your father first came to the forest." "I'm honored to meet you," Leafpool replied. "But where am I? Why have you brought me here?" It wasn't anywhere she had visited before in dreams, yet it obviously wasn't the place where Tigerstar walked, because cats from StarClan were here. None of the cats replied. Bluestar just mewed, "Come," and led the way farther into the forest. Soon the path reached a clearing lit by a wash of moonlight. Overhead the moon floated in a clear sky. The forest that had seemed so ominous now looked beautiful, the shadowy places beneath the trees filled with mystery instead of danger. Just above the topmost branches of the trees, Leafpool spotted three tiny stars shining close together. Puzzled, she tried to remember if she had ever seen them before. As she gazed, they seemed to pulse brighter and brighter, until they threatened to rival the moon. "Bluestar, what's that?" she asked.

她打招呼，做了自我介绍。 "你好，叶池。 我的名字叫狮心。 你父亲刚来到森林的时候，我就和蓝星在一起了。" "很荣幸见到你，"叶池回答。 "可是我在什么地方？ 你们为什么把我带到这里来？" 这里不是她从前在梦里到访过的地方，但显然也不是虎星常去的地方，因为这里有星族猫咪。 没有一只猫回答她的问题。 蓝星只是轻声说："来吧，"然后带头往森林深处走去。 很快小径就走到了一块空地，整片空地都浸润在月光里。 一轮明月浮在头顶澄澈的夜空中。 刚才还阴森可怖的森林此刻变得格外美丽，树下的阴影里充满了神秘感，而非危险。 在最高的树梢上方，叶池发现三颗小小的星星紧紧挨在一起发光。 她满心疑惑，努力回想自己从前有没有见过它们。 她盯着星星看的时候，它们好像变得越来越亮，亮得几乎要比得上月亮了。 "蓝星，那是什么？" 她问道。

Bluestar didn't answer. Instead, she led the way into the center of the clearing and gestured with her tail for Leafpool to sit. The three StarClan warriors gathered around her. Leafpool cast a final glance over her shoulder, but now she couldn't make out the three new stars at all. I must be imagining things, she decided. "Do you have a sign for me?" she asked, giving all her attention to the three StarClan warriors. "Not exactly," meowed Bluestar. "But we wanted to tell you that the path of your life will twist in ways yet hidden to you." "Yes." Yellowfang's voice was dry, with an edge to it that made Leafpool almost certain the old medicine cat knew something she wasn't telling. "You will tread a path that few medicine cats have walked before you." Fear stabbed at Leafpool; she dug her claws into the ground to keep herself steady. "What do you mean?" "There are cats you have yet to meet," Bluestar told her. "Yet their paws will shape your future." That's no answer! Leafpool wanted to protest,

蓝星没有回答。 相反，她带头走到空地中央，甩尾巴示意叶池坐下。 三位星族武士围在了她身边。 叶池最后回头望了一眼，可她完全看不到那三颗新出现的星星了。 肯定是我看错了，她这么想道。 "你们是要给我预兆吗？" 她问道，将全部注意力都放在三位星族武士身上。 "算不上，"蓝星开口说。 "但我们想告诉你，你的人生之路会出现你还想不到的转折。" "没错。" 黄牙的声音干巴巴的，带着一丝异样，叶池几乎能肯定这位老巫医知道一些没有说出口的事。 "你将要踏上的路，几乎没有巫医曾走过。" 恐惧刺痛了叶池，她把爪子深深抠进地里，好让自己站稳。 "你是什么意思？" "还有一些你尚未遇见的猫，"蓝星告诉她。 "但他们的爪步会塑造你的未来。" 这根本不是回答！ 叶池想要抗议，

but her respect for the StarClan cats kept her silent. Lionheart rested his tail on her shoulder and his scent drifted around her, brave and reassuring. "We have come to give you strength," he meowed. "Whatever happens, remember that we are always with you," Bluestar promised. Gazing at the compassion in her blue eyes, Leafpool tried to understand what Bluestar was saying. But it didn't make sense. She knew where her life would lead from now on. She was ThunderClan's medicine cat, nothing else, and would be until StarClan called her to walk with them in Silverpelt. She had given up all her dreams of life with Crowfeather. "I don't understand," she protested. "Can't you tell me more?" Bluestar shook her head. "Even StarClan can't see everything that will happen. The path ahead of you vanishes into shadow—but we will walk with you every pawstep of the way, I promise." Her words disturbed Leafpool, but they comforted her at the same time. She knew she

但她对星族猫的敬重让她保持了沉默。 狮心把尾巴搭在她肩头，气息将她环绕，勇敢又令人安心。 "我们来给你力量，"他喵声道。 "无论发生什么，记住我们永远和你在一起，"蓝星许诺道。 望着蓝星蓝眸里的善意，叶池试着读懂她的话。 可她还是摸不着头脑。 她清楚自己今后的人生方向。 她是雷族的巫医，仅此而已，直到星族召她前往银毛丛与它们同行。 她早已放弃了和鸦羽一同生活的所有梦想。 "我不明白，"她反驳道。 "你就不能再多告诉我一些吗？" 蓝星摇了摇头。 "哪怕是星族，也无法预知所有将要发生的事。 你面前的前路没入暗影——但我保证，每一步爪印我们都会陪你走过。" 这番话让叶池心神不安，却又同时给了她慰藉。 她知道自己

was not alone. StarClan had not abandoned her, as she had feared when she was struggling with her love for Crowfeather. Perhaps that was why she couldn't walk in Tigerstar's dark forest anymore—by following her heart, she had come back to StarClan. "Rest," Lionheart purred, bending his head to give her a lick between the ears. "Rest and grow strong for what lies ahead." "Rest so you can keep that Clan of yours in order," Yellowfang added. The scent of the three cats wreathed around Leafpool. Her limbs felt heavy, and with a sigh she curled up in the lush grass of the clearing. A faint breeze ruffled her fur. Through the tangle of branches, she could see the three new stars shining even brighter than before. "Thank you," she murmured, and closed her eyes. Less than a heartbeat later it seemed, Leafpool's eyes opened again. Sunlight was streaming through the cleft in the rock. Outside she could see Birchpaw sitting up in his nest near the mouth of her den.

并不孤单。 星族并没有抛弃她，不像她深陷对鸦羽的爱恋痛苦挣扎时曾担心的那样。 或许这就是她再也无法进入虎星黑暗森林的原因——遵从内心后，她回到了星族的怀抱。 "好好休息吧，"狮心呼噜着低下头，在她双耳间舔了一下。 "好好休息，养好精神应对前路的挑战。" "好好歇着，才能管好你的族群，"黄牙补充道。 三只猫的气息将叶池层层环绕。 她四肢沉重，一声叹后蜷在了空地柔软的青草里。 一阵微风吹拂着她的皮毛。 透过交错的枝桠，她看见三颗新星比之前更加明亮。 "谢谢你们，"她轻声呢喃，闭上了双眼。 仿佛才过了一瞬，叶池就再次睁开了眼睛。 阳光从岩石裂缝中洒了进来。 在巢穴外面，她看见桦爪正坐直身子，待在洞口旁自己的窝里。