Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 Silverpelt glittered overhead as Jaypaw followed the narrow valley upward. He glanced up at the jagged rocks that lined his path, sharp as fox teeth. Ahead, a stream danced down the mountainside, sparkling in the moonlight. A cold breeze whisked down from the gray peaks and set his fur rippling like water. It felt as though he had been following this stony path for days, and still he had to follow the stream upward, into the mountains. A paw jabbed his side, catching him painfully between the ribs. Jaypaw flinched. He blinked open his eyes and saw only darkness. He had been dreaming. The paw jabbed him again. "Watch out!" he complained. "Sorry!" Lionpaw apologized. "Why are you so fidgety this morning?" Jaypaw lifted his muzzle. He could smell dew on the leaves and guessed that it was hardly dawn. Only Lionpaw and Berrypaw were stirring. "We're going on border patrol with Ashfur and

第九章 银河在头顶闪闪发亮，杰爪沿着狭窄山谷向上走 他抬眼看向路边锯齿状的岩石，锋利得像狐狸的牙齿 前方一道溪流顺着山坡流下，在月光下闪着光 冷风从灰蒙蒙的山峰吹下，吹得他的皮毛像水波一样起伏 他感觉好像已经沿着这条石路走了好几天，却仍要顺着溪流往上，走进深山里 一只爪子戳在他侧身，正好撞在肋骨之间，疼得厉害 杰爪缩了一下 他眨眨眼睁开眼睛，眼前只有一片漆黑 原来他刚才一直在做梦 那只爪子又戳了他一下 "小心点！" 他不满地抱怨道 "对不起！" 狮爪连忙道歉 "你今天早上怎么这么坐立不安呀？" 杰爪抬起脑袋 他闻到树叶上露水的气息，猜到天刚破晓，还早得很 只有狮爪和莓爪醒过来在活动了 "我们要和烬毛

Brambleclaw," Lionpaw explained excitedly. "Big deal," Jaypaw muttered. "Brambleclaw's only taking you because nothing happens on the borders these days." "What about ShadowClan and WindClan leaving extra scent markers?" "Are you scared of smells?" Jaypaw snapped back. Lionpaw flinched away from him. "I'm sorry," Jaypaw murmured. "I'm sure it'll be great." "Yeah," Lionpaw agreed quietly. "I'll see you later." Without another word he padded out of the den, followed by Berrypaw. Jaypaw wriggled deeper into his nest, cold now Lionpaw had gone. He tried to go back to his dream but sleep would not come again. The fresh scent of dawn was filtering slowly into the den when Mousepaw and Hazelpaw began to yawn and stretch. Hazelpaw nudged Jaypaw. "Stop pretending to be asleep," she mewed. Jaypaw lifted his head reluctantly. "Has Berrypaw gone already?" she asked him.

黑莓掌一起去边境巡逻，”狮爪兴奋地解释道 "有什么了不起的。"杰爪嘟囔着 "黑莓掌带你去，只是因为最近边境没什么事发生" "那影族和风族额外留气味标记算什么事？" "你该不会怕这些气味吧？" 杰爪厉声反驳道 狮爪吓得从他身边缩开 "对不起,"杰爪小声说道 "我相信肯定会很有意思的" "嗯,"狮爪轻声应道 "回头见啦" 他没再多说，轻步走出巢穴，莓爪跟在他身后 杰爪往窝里挪得更深了些，狮爪走后窝里一下子变冷了 他想接着做刚才的梦，却再也睡不着了 当鼠爪和榛爪开始打哈欠伸懒腰时，清新的黎明气息慢慢飘进了巢穴 榛爪用身子碰了碰杰爪 "别装睡啦,"她喵呜说道 杰爪不情愿地抬起了头 "莓爪已经走了吗？" 她问杰爪道

"Yes." "Oh, well." Hazelpaw sounded disappointed at missing her brother. "I'll see him at battle training later." "Hazelpaw!" Dustpelt's deep growl sounded through the den entrance. "The fresh-kill pile is empty. Bring Mousepaw. We're going hunting." Hazelpaw's tail fluffed up. "Great," she mewed. "I thought I was going to have to spend the morning cleaning out the elders" den!" Why would they ask you to do that when they've got me? Jaypaw thought as she disappeared from the den with Mousepaw. Daisy's kits have more important duties than me, and they're not even Clanborn! "Hi, Jaypaw!" Poppypaw called. "How was your first night in the apprentices" den?" "Fine," Jaypaw mewed halfheartedly. Cinderpaw was stirring too. "What are you doing today?" she asked. "Well, I'm not patrolling and I'm not hunting," Jaypaw informed her. "Perhaps Brightheart has planned battle training for you," Poppypaw suggested.

"对。" "哦，好吧。" 没见到哥哥，榛爪的语气听起来满是失望 "晚点格斗训练我就能见到他了" "榛爪！" 尘皮低沉的声音从巢穴入口传了进来 "猎物堆已经空了 带上鼠爪 我们去打猎。" 榛爪开心得尾巴都蓬了起来 "太棒了,"她说道 "我还以为我一早上都得清理长老的巢穴呢！" 他们有我在，干嘛还要叫你做这种活？ 看着她和鼠爪走出巢穴，杰爪暗自想到 黛西的幼崽都比我任务重要，他们甚至都不是族群出身！ "嗨，杰爪！" 罂粟爪招呼道 "你住学徒巢穴的第一晚过得怎么样？""挺好的。"杰爪提不起劲地说 炭爪也醒过来活动了 "你今天要做什么？" 她问道 "哼，我既不用巡逻也不用打猎，"杰爪对她说 "说不定亮心给你安排了格斗训练哦，"罂粟爪提议道

"I hope so!" Cinderpaw put in. "We're training in the clearing this morning. It'd be great if you could come too." Jaypaw did not answer. "I hope we see you there," Poppypaw called over her shoulder as she headed out of the den. And rabbits might fly, Jaypaw muttered to himself. Only Honeypaw remained in the den, and she was fast asleep. Jaypaw wasn't going to wait for her to wake up and start chirping like a fledgling about what duties she was looking forward to. Instead he crept from his nest and ducked out of the den. The frosty ground beneath his paws told him that the skies were clear today. The camp was already busy, even though the sun had not yet begun to warm the hollow. Firestar stood with Brackenfur and Spiderleg, organizing hunting parties and border patrols. Leafpool was heading for the nursery, and Squirrelflight was sharing tongues with Stormfur and Brook. There was no sign of Brightheart. She had probably forgotten Jaypaw and gone on the dawn

"希望是这样！" 炭爪插嘴说道 "我们今天早上在空地上训练 如果你也能来那就太好了。" 杰爪没有回答 "我们盼着在那儿见到你哦，"罂粟爪走出巢穴时回头喊道 除非兔子能飞上天，杰爪暗自嘀咕 巢穴里只剩下蜜爪，她睡得正香 杰爪可不想等她醒过来，像小雏鸟一样叽叽喳喳说自己多期待今天的任务 于是他悄悄爬出窝，溜出了巢穴 爪子下结霜的地面告诉他，今天天气格外晴朗 哪怕太阳还没把营地山谷晒暖，营地已经忙作一团了 火星和蕨毛、蜘蛛足站在一起，安排打猎队和边境巡逻 叶池正往育婴室走去，松鼠飞正和暴毛、溪儿互相舔毛整理 完全找不到亮心的影子 她多半早就忘了杰爪，已经一早去了

patrol without him. Resentment rose like bile in his throat. I'll show her I'm not useless! He hurried across the clearing to the tunnel leading to where the cats made dirt. As he emerged, he scented Sandstorm heading into the camp. There was no time to go back. Instead he dived forward and plunged behind a clump of bracken. Sandstorm's paw steps halted, and Jaypaw could hear her sniffing the air. He held his breath, praying to StarClan she wouldn't see him. She paused a moment more and then carried on back through the tunnel and into the camp. Jaypaw let out a sigh of relief and scrambled out of the bracken, shaking a scrap of dried leaf from his ear. He quickly found the path that he and Brightheart had taken yesterday. If Brightheart wasn't going to show him the whole of ThunderClan territory, he would explore it by himself. He would start by going farther toward the lake. He had never been that far, and the fresh scents of wind and water excited him. It was easy enough climbing the slope and following the ridge again, and when he came to the end of it, he was prepared this time for the

少了他的巡逻。 怨恨像苦水一样在他喉咙里翻涌。 我要让她看看，我才不是没用的猫！ 他快步穿过空地，冲向猫咪们如厕的隧道。 他刚出来，就闻到沙风回营地的气味。 没时间往回走了。 于是他往前一扑，躲进了一丛蕨菜后面。 沙风的脚步停了下来，松鸦爪能听见她在嗅空气中的气味。 他屏住呼吸，向星族祈祷别发现他。 她又停了一会儿，接着继续走，穿过隧道回了营地。 松鸦爪松了口气，连忙从蕨丛里钻出来，抖掉耳朵上沾的一片干树叶。 他很快找到了昨天他和亮心走过的小路。 既然亮心不肯带他逛完整个雷族领地，那他就自己去探险。 他打算先往湖边走得更远些。 他从来没去过那么远，风和水的清新气味让他兴奋极了。 爬上山坡再沿着山脊走一点都不难，当他走到山脊尽头时，这一回他已经做好准备应对

steepness of the slope. He scrabbled down it, using his claws to slow his descent, and when he reached the heather bush that had stopped him last time he headed away from the Thunderpath, in the opposite direction from the one they had taken yesterday. Jaypaw followed the side of the ridge down through the trees. Weaving his way through the undergrowth was easy; he just followed his whiskers, padding confidently over the leaf-strewn forest floor. But gradually the trees and undergrowth began to thin out and the slope flattened. The ground became soft, no longer covered with leaves, but springy with moss. Heather brushed his pelt. He tasted the air, wondering how far from the lake he was. Yesterday the wind had flowed in over the water, and he had smelled it quite clearly. But today the wind blew from ThunderClan territory, giving no clue about the land ahead. He listened for the slapping of water on the shore, but it sounded very distant, and it was hard to tell where it was coming from. Suddenly his forepaw slipped into a dip in the

陡峭的山坡。 他抓着坡往下爬，用爪子减慢下滑速度，走到上次拦住他的那丛石楠后，就朝着远离雷鬼路的方向走，和昨天他们走的方向正好相反。 松鸦爪沿着山脊侧边往下走，穿过一片片树林。 在低矮灌丛里穿行一点都不难； 他只需要跟着胡须感知，自信地走在落满树叶的森林地面上。 可渐渐地，树木和灌丛越来越稀疏，山坡也变得平缓了。 地面变得松软，不再铺满落叶，而是长着弹软的苔藓。 石楠枝蹭过他的皮毛。 他嗅了嗅空气，想知道自己离湖还有多远。 昨天风从湖面吹过来，他清清楚楚闻到了湖水的气息。 可今天风从雷族领地吹来，完全没给前方地形的一点线索。 他仔细听湖水拍岸的声音，可那声音太遥远了，根本听不清来自哪里。 突然，他的前爪滑进了一处