Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Jaypaw dawdled over his meal, taking minuscule bites from the mouse he had plucked from the fresh-kill pile. Brook padded past with Stormfur. "No appetite today?" "Not much," Jaypaw muttered. He went back to nibbling at his meal as the two warriors took fresh-kill from the pile and settled at the edge of the clearing. He was in no hurry to begin his apprentice duties. Still confined to camp—days after Crowfeather had brought him home—he was bored with clearing out dens and running errands. This morning he was supposed to clean out Graystripe and Millie's den. The new arrivals had recovered enough to eat in the clearing with the rest of the Clan. "Nice catch, Dustpelt!" Graystripe called out from below Highledge, where he was sharing a rabbit with Millie. "Thanks," Dustpelt meowed back. Jaypaw liked Graystripe. He was easygoing and

第十三章 松鸦爪慢悠悠地吃着饭，对着刚从新鲜猎物堆里挑来的老鼠，一口只咬一丁点 溪儿和石毛一起缓步走了过去 "今天没胃口呀？" "没什么胃口。"松鸦爪嘟囔道 那两名武士取了新鲜猎物，到空地边安顿下来，松鸦爪又回头啃起自己的饭 他才不急着开始自己的学徒任务 自从鸦羽把他带回来后，他就一直只能待在营地里，清理巢穴、跑腿打杂早就把他闷坏了 今天早上他得去打扫灰条和米莉的巢穴 这两个新来的已经养好伤，能和族群其他猫一起在空地上吃饭了 "抓得好，尘毛！" 灰条在高岩下喊着，他正和米莉分吃一只兔子 "谢谢。"尘毛应声回应 松鸦爪挺喜欢灰条的 他性格随和，

good-humored, though still guarded when there were lots of cats around. Millie was all right too, for a kittypet. Still, he wasn't looking forward to clearing the soiled moss from their den while they went out on their first patrol. It wasn't fair; they would be out exploring the forest while he would be scrabbling through their stinky bedding. He took another tiny bite from his mouse. He could sense Brightheart watching him from where she sat by the halfrock. She was sharing tongues with Dustpelt, but her gaze kept flicking back to him. He could feel her frustration like thorns in his pelt. What did she expect of him? Was he supposed to be happy about cleaning out dens instead of learning how to hunt and fight? Even though he was confined to camp, there was enough space in the clearing for her to teach him some battle moves. But she seemed interested only in making him run around looking after his Clanmates. Was that all she thought he was good for? "Hurry up, Jaypaw," Brightheart called. "Once you finish Graystripe's den, I promised Ferncloud that you'd play with her kits while she went

脾气温和，只是猫多的时候他仍会有所防备 米莉也很不错，哪怕她原来是只宠物猫 不过，他可不盼着等他俩第一次出去巡逻时，去清理他们巢穴里脏掉的苔藓 这一点都不公平； 他们都去森林探险了，他却得扒拉他们臭烘烘的窝 他又对着老鼠咬了小小一口 他能感觉到亮心坐在半石那边盯着他 她正和尘毛舔毛梳理，可目光一直不停往他这边瞟 他能感觉到她的不满，就像扎进毛里的刺 她到底对他有什么指望？ 不让他学捕猎打架，只让他打扫巢穴，他还得开开心心的吗？ 哪怕他只能待在营地，空地也够大，够她教自己一些格斗招式 可她好像就只想着让他跑来跑去照顾族里的同伴 她就觉得他只能干这个吗？ "快点啊，松鸦爪，"亮心喊道 等你打扫完灰条的巢穴，我答应了蕨云，她去

hunting. She hasn't been out of the camp for two moons." Jaypaw lashed his tail. "And when am I going to get to hunt?" "Once you've learned to serve your Clan without complaining," Brightheart told him mildly. Jaypaw heard an amused purr rumble in Dustpelt's throat. "You'll have to take him out eventually, Brightheart," he meowed. "Before he drives us all crazy." "It was Firestar who confined him to camp," Brightheart pointed out. "I'm sure you could persuade Firestar that Jaypaw needs to be out training," Dustpelt argued. Jaypaw's heart skipped with hope. "There's more to being a warrior than hunting and fighting," Brightheart replied. The thorn barrier rattled. The dawn patrol had returned. Whitewing, Ashfur, Lionpaw, Spiderleg, and Mousepaw carried the scent of the forest temptingly into the clearing. And yet Jaypaw could sense anxiety among them; Ashfur was lashing his tail while Whitewing padded in

捕猎。 "她已经两个月亮没出过营地了。" 松鸦爪猛地甩了甩尾巴 "那我什么时候才能去捕猎？" "等你学会毫无怨言地为族群服务再说，"亮心语气温和地说 松鸦爪听见尘毛喉咙里传出一声带笑意的呼噜 "你迟早都得带他出去，亮心，"他说道 "不然他都要把我们逼疯了。" "把他禁足在营地是火星的决定，"亮心指出 "你肯定能说服火星，松鸦爪需要出去训练，"尘毛争辩道 松鸦爪的心猛地一跳，燃起了希望 "做武士可不只有捕猎和打架，"亮心回答道 荆棘栅栏晃了晃 黎明巡逻队回来了 白翅、蜡毛、狮爪、蜘蛛腿和鼠爪把森林的气息诱人地带进了空地 可松鸦爪还是能感觉到他们当中弥漫着焦虑； 蜡毛正甩着尾巴，白翅缓步走进

agitated circles. Brambleclaw swished out through the entrance of the warriors" den, followed by Squirrelflight. "Anything to report?" "ShadowClan is marking every tree along the border," Ashfur replied, his mew sharp with anger. Jaypaw felt an explosion of energy as Graystripe leaped to his paws. "Is ShadowClan up to their old tricks already?" the warrior spat. "If any of them set paw on ThunderClan territory while I'm on patrol, I'll claw their ears off." "They haven't crossed the new border yet," Brambleclaw informed him. "So we've decided to ignore them." Graystripe snorted. "Ignore ShadowClan? You may as well try to ignore the wind and the rain—it won't stop you from getting cold and wet!" "That may be how it was in the forest," Brambleclaw meowed. "But it's not necessarily the best thing to do here." "Things are different since the Great Journey," Squirrelflight added. "Not so different that we should trust

焦躁地转着圈。 黑莓掌从武士巢穴走出来，松鼠飞跟在他身后 "有什么情况要报告吗？" "影族正在边境每一棵树上做气味标记，"蜡毛回答，声音因愤怒而尖锐 松鸦爪感觉到一股劲儿猛地炸开，灰条一下子跳了起来 "影族这是又要耍他们的老把戏了吗？" 这名武士啐道 "要是我巡逻时，有影族猫敢踏雷族领土，我就撕了他们的耳朵。" "他们还没跨过新边境，"黑莓掌告诉他 "所以我们决定暂时不理他们。" 灰条哼了一声 "不理影族？" "你还不如试着不去管刮风下雨——那也没法不让你淋湿变冷啊！" "当初在森林里确实是这样，"黑莓掌说道 "但在这里，这么做不一定是最好的选择。" "大迁徙之后，一切都不一样了，"松鼠飞补充道 "就算不一样，也不至于我们要信任

ShadowClan!" Ashfur growled. "Some cats will always try to take what another cat has." Jaypaw sensed his mother flinch, as though stung. What did Ashfur mean, exactly? "ShadowClan will always push for more than is rightfully theirs!" Dustpelt agreed. Jaypaw's whiskers quivered. He knew there had been dark mutterings about Firestar's decision to give up territory to ShadowClan, but now the warriors were openly agreeing with Graystripe. Shouldn't they be loyal to their leader first? "Firestar has decided to ignore ShadowClan for now." Brambleclaw kept his voice steady, but Jaypaw could tell he was watching and listening for the slightest sign of rebellion among his Clanmates. Pebbles clattered from Highledge as Firestar leaped down into the clearing. "What's going on?" he asked. "Graystripe feels that we shouldn't ignore ShadowClan," Brambleclaw replied. "I think Graystripe's right," Firestar meowed. Jaypaw waited for his father to object, but Brambleclaw remained silent.

“影族！” 蜡毛低吼道。 “有些猫总想着抢走别的猫拥有的东西。” 松鸦羽感觉到母亲缩了一下，像是被蛰了一下。 蜡毛这话到底是什么意思呢？ “影族永远都觊觎不属于他们的东西！” 尘毛附和道。 松鸦羽的胡须轻轻抖着。 他早就知道族里一直私下不满火星割让领地给影族的决定，现在武士们居然公开支持灰条了。 他们难道不该首先忠于自己的族长吗？ “火星已经决定，现在暂时先不理会影族。” 黑莓掌语气平稳，但松鸦羽明白，他正时刻留意族猫里任何一丝反叛的迹象。 火星纵身跃入营地时，卵石从高岩上哗啦啦滚落。 “出什么事了？”他问道。 “灰条觉得我们不该放任影族不管，”黑莓掌回答。 “我觉得灰条说得对，”火星说道。 松鸦羽等着父亲反对，可黑莓掌始终一言不发。

"Graystripe may not have been in our new home for long," Firestar went on. "But he knows ShadowClan of old. I agree with him— ShadowClan will keep pressing on our borders unless we make a stand." "That's not what you said before the Gathering," Brambleclaw meowed quietly. "But at the Gathering, ShadowClan was obviously looking for trouble," Firestar reminded him. "I didn't want to overreact before, but now I think we need to do something to show them we are ready to defend our borders." Why didn't you tell me this before? Jaypaw felt the question burning in his father's mind. "Are we going to fight them?" Ashfur asked. "Not unless we have to," Firestar replied. "But we must increase patrols along the border," Dustpelt put in. Firestar nodded. "And we'll start matching ShadowClan's markers, tree for tree. If they think they can intimidate us into giving up more territory, they are wrong." "Very well, Firestar," Brambleclaw meowed. "Stormfur and Brook can mark the trees along the

“灰条回到我们新家没多久，”火星继续说道。 “可他向来知道影族的老德行。 我同意他的看法——如果我们不站出来，影族会一直侵扰我们的边界。” “集会之前你可不是这么说的，”黑莓掌轻声说。 “可集会上影族明摆着就是来找麻烦的，”火星提醒他。 “我之前不想反应过度，可现在我们得做点什么，让他们知道我们做好了保卫边界的准备。” 你之前为什么不告诉我这些？ 松鸦羽能感觉到这个问题在父亲脑海里灼烧。 “我们要和他们开战吗？” 蜡毛问道。 “不到万不得已不会开战，”火星回答。 “但我们必须增加边界巡逻的次数，”尘毛插话道。 火星点了点头。 “我们要挨个对边界标记，一树对一树。 如果他们觉得能吓我们让出更多领地，那他们就错了。” “好的，火星，”黑莓掌说道。 “暴风毛和溪儿可以前去标记沿着