Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather below Highledge!" Lionpaw jerked up his head. Firestar's call had woken him from his warm nest. It was dawn, and he could feel Berrypaw stirring beside him. Jaypaw was already stretching, curling his tail back till the tip brushed his spine. "What does Firestar want so early?" he yawned. "Clan meeting!" Lionpaw leaped to his paws. He hurried to be first out of the den, squeezing ahead of his denmates. "Stop pushing," Berrypaw complained. "The fastest hunter catches the most mice," Lionpaw mewed cheerfully. The air outside the den hit him like the lash of a birch sapling. Frost glittered on the bushes around the edge of the camp, and the icy ground made Lionpaw's pads ache. Breath billowing, he trotted into the clearing, where the cats were already gathering, huddling close for warmth. Firestar sat on Highledge flanked by

第十四章 “所有能独立捕猎的猫，到高岩下集合！” 狮爪猛地抬起了头。 火星的呼唤把他从温暖的窝里唤醒了。 天刚蒙蒙亮，他感觉到莓爪在自己身边动弹。 杰爪已经在伸懒腰了，他把尾巴向后弯，尾尖都碰到了脊背。 “这么早，火星找我们有什么事呀？”他打着哈欠说。 “部族集合！” 狮爪一下子蹦了起来。 他挤过同窝的伙伴，急急忙忙第一个冲出窝。 “别推我呀，”莓爪抱怨道。 “跑得最快的猎手才能抓到最多老鼠，”狮爪乐呵呵地说。 洞外的冷空气扑面而来，就像桦树枝抽打在身上一样。 营地边缘的灌木丛结着亮晶晶的霜，冰冷的地面冻得狮爪的爪垫发疼。 他呼着白气，小跑着来到空地，猫儿们已经在这里集合，挤在一起取暖。 火星坐在高岩上，两侧分别坐着

Brambleclaw and Graystripe. Brambleclaw's pelt shone, the muscles beneath it taut. Graystripe's pelt was well-groomed, the knots and tangles smoothed at last, but it was dull and his ribs still showed beneath. "He must have decided who the deputy should be," Hollypaw mewed, hurrying over from the medicine den and sitting down next to Lionpaw. She wriggled closer to him, shivering. Jaypaw padded to join them, sitting beside Hollypaw. "Graystripe and Brambleclaw are on Highledge with Firestar," Hollypaw told him. "I know," Jaypaw answered sleepily. Lionpaw wondered why he looked so worn-out when he had not been outside the hollow in days. Firestar's pelt glowed like fire in the cold dawn light as he gazed over the Clan. Millie settled beside Ferncloud, her eyes round with curiosity. Sorreltail, Whitewing, and Cloudtail sat in front of her, Brackenfur and Thornclaw behind. The gray kittypet no longer seemed intimidated by the warriors hemming her in and stared calmly up at Firestar.

黑莓掌和灰条。 黑莓掌的皮毛油光发亮，皮下的肌肉紧绷着。 灰条的皮毛被梳得整整齐齐，缠结终于都被梳开了，可毛色还是发暗，肋骨依旧清晰地露在外面。 “他肯定已经选好副族长是谁了，”冬青爪说着，从药洞匆匆跑过来，坐在狮爪身边。 她往狮爪身边挪了挪，冻得浑身发抖。 杰爪慢腾腾走过来加入他们，坐在冬青爪身旁。 “灰条和黑莓掌和火星一起在高岩上呢，”冬青爪告诉他。 “我知道，”杰爪睡眼惺忪地回答。 狮爪很纳闷，他都好几天没出过山谷了，怎么看起来这么疲惫。 清冷的晨光里，火星低头望向整个部族，皮毛像火焰一样闪闪发亮。 米莉坐到蕨荫身边，圆溜溜的眼睛里满是好奇。 樱尾、白翅和云尾坐在她前面，桦落和棘爪坐在她身后。 这只灰毛宠物猫再也不害怕围在身边的武士了，平静地抬眼望着火星。

"I know you've all been wondering what will happen now that our previous deputy has returned," the Clan leader began. Graystripe wrapped his bushy tail tighter over his front paws. One of Brambleclaw's ears twitched. "When we left the forest, I thought I would never see Graystripe again," Firestar confessed. "There were many nights when I stared up at Silverpelt and tried to imagine him among our ancestors." Lionpaw glanced at Hollypaw and wondered what it would be like to lose her. He didn't like the feeling that stabbed at his belly. The ThunderClan leader went on. "Graystripe was my deputy and my friend. I trained with him and fought with him. I trusted him more than any cat. Having him back is like having one of my own lives restored." "He's going to make Graystripe deputy again!" Hollypaw hissed under her breath. "Wait," Jaypaw warned. Lionpaw shot his brother a look. Why did he sound so certain?

“我知道大家都很好奇，之前的副族长回来了，接下来会是什么安排，”族长开口说道。 灰条把蓬松的大尾巴更紧地裹住了自己的前爪。 黑莓掌的一只耳朵轻轻动了一下。 “当初我们离开森林的时候，我以为再也见不到灰条了，”火星坦诚地说。 “无数个夜晚，我抬头望着星空，都以为他已经去和我们的祖先做伴了。” 狮爪瞥了冬青爪一眼，忍不住心想，如果失去冬青爪会是什么样子。 他很不喜欢这种心口揪痛的感觉。 这位雷族族长继续说道。 “灰条曾经是我的副族长，也是我的好朋友。” “我和他一起训练，一起并肩作战。” “我对他的信任超过任何一只猫。” “他能回来，就像是我自己多捡回了一条命一样。” “他肯定要让灰条再当副族长啦！” 冬青爪压低声音嘶声说。 “再等等看，”杰爪提醒道。 狮爪猛地看向自己的弟弟。 他怎么听起来这么肯定呢？

"But Brambleclaw has helped me lead the Clan through some of its most terrifying challenges. I've never seen him waver in his loyalty to his Clanmates. The last thing ThunderClan needs now is more change." He paused and glanced at the two warriors. "So I've decided that Brambleclaw should remain deputy." "But—" The gasp escaped Brackenfur before he could stop it. Sorreltail echoed it, and mews of surprise rippled around the Clan. Lionpaw searched Graystripe's face for some sign of regret, but he couldn't read the gray warrior's expression. Squirrelflight raised her voice happily. "Brambleclaw!" "Brambleclaw! Brambleclaw!" Ashfur quickly joined in. Squirrelflight whipped her head around and stared at him. Why does she look surprised? Lionpaw wondered. Dustpelt and Thornclaw started calling Brambleclaw's name too. Graystripe got to his paws and joined in, and Brambleclaw dipped his head respectfully to the former ThunderClan

“不过黑莓掌帮我带领部族，熬过了不少最凶险的难关。 我从来没见过他对部族伙伴的忠诚有过半分动摇。 “雷族现在最不需要的，就是更多变动了。” 他顿了顿，看向身边这两名武士。 “所以我决定，黑莓掌继续担任副族长。” “可——”桦落忍不住惊得倒抽一口气，话脱口而出。 樱尾也跟着发出惊呼，惊讶的议论声传遍了整个部族。 狮爪盯着灰条的脸，想找出一点难过的痕迹，可他读不懂这只灰毛武士的表情。 松鼠飞开心地抬高嗓子喊起来。 “黑莓掌！” “黑莓掌！黑莓掌！” 蜡毛立刻跟着喊了起来。 松鼠飞猛地转过头，盯着他。 她为什么看起来这么惊讶？ 狮爪暗暗纳闷。 尘毛和棘爪也开始喊起黑莓掌的名字。 灰条站起身跟着一起喊，黑莓掌恭恭敬敬地向这位前任雷族

deputy. "Told you so," Jaypaw murmured. Lionpaw glanced suspiciously at his brother. "How did you know?" Jaypaw shrugged. "It was the wisest choice." "Do you think Graystripe minds?" Hollypaw whispered. "Does it matter?" Jaypaw asked. "He must know the Clan has changed a lot," Lionpaw replied. "But what about when he's fully recovered?" Hollypaw persisted. "Will he be happy just being a warrior?" "I think Firestar made the right decision." The meow made Lionpaw jump. He glanced up and saw Ashfur padding toward them. "And you must be pleased that your father's still deputy," the warrior purred. "Brambleclaw should be deputy," Lionpaw told him firmly. "Graystripe doesn't even know the territory yet. He'd be as lost as a WindClan kit in a ShadowClan nursery." "True." Ashfur nodded. "And Graystripe is going to take another moon

副族长低下了头。 “我说对了吧，”杰爪小声嘟囔道。 狮爪满是疑惑地看向弟弟。 “你怎么会知道？” 杰爪耸了耸肩。 “这是最明智的选择呀。” “你觉得灰条会介意吗？” 冬青爪小声问道。 “这重要吗？” 杰爪反问。 “他肯定清楚部族已经变了很多了，”狮爪回答。 “可是等他完全养好伤之后呢？” 冬青爪依旧追问道。 “只当一名普通武士，他会开心吗？” “我觉得火星的决定是对的。” 这句话吓了狮爪一跳。 他抬头一看，蜡毛正朝他们走过来。 “你肯定很高兴你父亲还是副族长吧，”这位武士慢悠悠地说。 “黑莓掌本来就该当副族长，”狮爪坚定地对他说。 “灰条连领地都还不认识呢。 他准会迷得像风族幼崽掉进影族育婴室，找不着北。 “说得对。” 蜡毛点了点头。 而且灰条还要再花一个月

to recover," Jaypaw put in. "He still smells of crow-food." "He'll be strong soon," Hollypaw mewed defensively. "Soon isn't good enough," Lionpaw argued. "We need a strong deputy now. Leaf-bare's clearly not finished with us, and ShadowClan is never going to make our life easy. We can't afford to wait for Graystripe to recover." "But he was deputy first!" Hollypaw protested. "Has everyone forgotten? When Mistyfoot was taken by Twolegs, Hawkfrost replaced her only until she returned. Because according to the warrior code she never stopped being the deputy!" "Your sister has a point," Ashfur commented. "I know, but"—Lionpaw was surprised at Hollypaw's fierceness—"Firestar has to be practical." "If we start ignoring the warrior code, then we are no longer warriors!" Hollypaw declared. The fur along her spine was bristling, and her eyes glittered with anxiety. "What if StarClan told Firestar to choose Brambleclaw?" Jaypaw asked softly.

“好让他康复，”松鸦爪插话道。 “他身上还飘着死乌鸦肉的味儿呢。” “他很快就会有力气的，”冬青爪连忙维护道。 “快点可不够，”狮爪反驳道。 “我们现在就需要一个强壮的副族长。 秃叶季显然还没放过我们，影族也从来不会让我们好过。 我们等不起灰条康复了。” “可他本来就是副族长啊！” 冬青爪抗议道。 “大家都忘了吗？ 当初雾足被两脚兽抓走，鹰霜只是暂代她的位置，等她回来就归还了。 因为按照武士守则，她从来就没被免去副族长的位置啊！” “你妹妹说得有道理，”灰毛点评道。 “我知道，可是——”狮爪没想到冬青爪这么激动，“火星必须得务实啊。” “如果我们开始无视武士守则，那我们就不再是武士了！” 冬青爪郑重说道。 她脊背上的毛都竖了起来，眼睛里闪着焦虑的光。 “要是星族让火星选黑莓掌呢？” 松鸦爪轻声问道。