Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 Hollypaw stared at her brother in astonishment. Jaypaw had always been so sure that he wanted to be a warrior, ever since he had been old enough to pounce on a scrap of moss. Firestar looked at Hollypaw. "Did you know anything about this?" "No!" Hollypaw gasped. Firestar sounded as if he suspected they had planned it together. Jaypaw looked over his shoulder at her, his blue eyes round with anxiety. "Hollypaw, I'm sorry." "It's all right." Leafpool padded over to Jaypaw and brushed his ear with her muzzle. "Hollypaw has already told Firestar that she wants to train as a warrior apprentice instead." Jaypaw blinked. "Really?" Hollypaw nodded. A tingle of hope pricked her paws. Perhaps this was the perfect solution! After all, Jaypaw had always known the herbs better than she did. But would Firestar agree? Firestar looked at Leafpool. "Are you ready to

第十八章 冬青爪惊讶地盯着她的哥哥。 从能扑住苔藓块的年纪起，松鸦爪就一直笃定自己想当武士。 火星看向冬青爪。 “你知道这件事吗？” “不！” 冬青爪倒吸一口凉气。 火星的语气听起来像是怀疑他俩早就商量好了。 松鸦爪转过头看向她，蓝眼睛圆溜溜的满是不安。 “冬青爪，对不起。” “没关系。” 叶池轻步走到松鸦爪身边，用口鼻蹭了蹭他的耳朵。 “冬青爪已经告诉火星，她想改当武士学徒训练。” 松鸦爪眨了眨眼。 “真的吗？” 冬青爪点了点头。 一丝希望涌上了她的爪尖。 说不定这就是最完美的解决办法！ 毕竟，松鸦爪向来比她更懂药草。 可火星会同意吗？ 火星看向叶池。 你准备好

take on another apprentice so soon?" Leafpool sat down and wrapped her tail over her paws. "I would be honored to be Jaypaw's mentor." She dipped her head. "I think the Clan would be lucky to have him as its medicine cat." Hollypaw stared at Leafpool. Why does she look like she's hiding something? "What about his blindness?" Firestar queried. Hollypaw bristled. Surely Jaypaw wouldn't let Firestar get away with that? "He knows the herbs far better than me," she mewed quickly. "His sense of smell is incredible," Leafpool agreed. "He can already tell an infected wound from a clean one a tail-length away." Hollypaw waited for Jaypaw to point out that blindness had nothing to do with it, but he only murmured, "I will try as hard as I can. Leafpool will soon see whether I can manage or not." "Very well." Firestar nodded, looking a little dazed. "Leafpool will be your new mentor." Jaypaw dipped his head. "But first," Firestar went on, "we must tell Brightheart." Jaypaw's ears twitched. "She'll be hurt."

这么快就再收一名学徒吗？” 叶池坐下，把尾巴绕在爪爪上。 “我很荣幸能当松鸦爪的导师。” 她低下了头。 “我觉得族群能有他当巫医，是件幸运的事。” 冬青爪盯着叶池。 为什么她看起来像是在藏什么事呢？ “那他失明的事怎么办？” 火星问道。 冬青爪一下子炸起了毛。 松鸦爪肯定不会任由火星这么说的，对不对？ “他认识药草比我熟多了”，她连忙说道。 “他的嗅觉特别灵敏”，叶池附和道。 “他隔着一条尾巴的距离就能分清干净伤口和感染伤口了。” 冬青爪等着松鸦爪说失明根本不影响这事，可他只轻声说：“我会尽全力做好。 叶池很快就能知道我能不能胜任了。” “好吧。” 火星点了点头，看起来有点发懵。 “叶池就是你的新导师了。” 松鸦爪低下了头。 “不过，”火星接着说，“我们得告诉亮心一声。” 松鸦爪的耳朵抖了抖。 “她会伤心的。”

Hollypaw could hear anxiety in his mew. Her brother had never gotten on particularly well with his mentor, but he was clearly worried about her feelings. "Maybe Brightheart could be my mentor," she suggested. Firestar shook his head. "Her skills were perfect for training Jaypaw, but not for you." He shifted his paws. "She will be a mentor again very soon; don't worry." "What if she doesn't understand my decision?" Jaypaw mewed. "It's up to you to make her understand," Firestar answered. "I may be able to tell the Clan what to do, but I can't tell them how to feel." "I'll make sure that she knows my decision has nothing to do with her," Jaypaw promised. "This is something I have to do." His mew was oddly flat. Hollypaw felt a ripple of unease stir her pelt. It was almost as if being Leafpool's apprentice wasn't Jaypaw's choice at all, but something that had been forced upon him. Leafpool glanced at Firestar and Sandstorm, the sort of meaningful glance that told Hollypaw

冬青爪听出了他声音里的不安。 她哥哥和这位导师向来处得不算亲近，可他显然很在意亮心的感受。 “说不定亮心可以当我的导师呀”，她提议道。 火星摇了摇头。 “她的经验很适合训练松鸦爪，但不适合你。” 他挪了挪爪爪。 “她很快就能再当导师了，别担心。” “要是她不理解我的决定怎么办？” 松鸦爪问道。 “得靠你自己让她理解”，火星回答道。 “我能命令族群做事，但我没法左右大家的感受。” “我会让她清楚，我的决定和她一点关系都没有”，松鸦爪保证道。 “这是我必须要做的事。” 他的声音奇怪地平板没有起伏。 冬青爪的皮毛下泛起一阵不安。 这感觉几乎就像是，当叶池的学徒根本不是松鸦爪自己选的，而是被逼的。 叶池扫了火星和沙风一眼，那意味深长的眼神让冬青爪明白

that they wanted to exchange words in private. Taking the hint, she bowed her head. "Shall I fetch Brightheart?" Firestar nodded. "Yes, please." "She's in the warriors" den," Jaypaw told them. Hollypaw's whiskers twitched. It was weird that Jaypaw was always totally aware of what was going on in the camp. She bounded down into the clearing and padded over to the warriors" den. Sticking her head through the entrance, she called Brightheart's name. Brightheart was sitting up in her nest, washing, her warm breath billowing in the gloom. "Firestar would like to see you in his den," Hollypaw told her. Brightheart stopped, her tongue still half out, and stared at Hollypaw. She looked as if she was about to ask why. Hollypaw ducked out of the den. She did not want to give Brightheart time to speak. She knew she would not be able to hide the truth, but she also knew that it was Jaypaw's duty to break his news to his mentor. She slipped into the apprentices" den before Brightheart emerged. It

他们想私下聊几句。 她看懂了暗示，低下头。 “我去把亮心叫来吗？” 火星点了点头。 “好的，麻烦你了。” “她在武士窝里”，松鸦爪告诉他们。 冬青爪的胡须抖了抖。 松鸦爪总能清楚知道营里发生的一切，这太奇怪了。 她蹦进营地空地，朝武士窝走去。 她把头伸进入口，喊了亮心的名字。 亮心正坐在窝里整理毛发，暖暖的呼气在昏暗中飘着。 “火星叫你去他的巢穴一趟”，冬青爪告诉她。 亮心停了下来，舌头还露在外面，直盯着冬青爪。 她看起来正想问为什么。 冬青爪连忙退出了武士窝。 她不想给亮心说话的机会。 她知道自己瞒不住真相，可也明白，该由松鸦爪亲自把消息告诉他的导师。 她赶在亮心出来之前溜进了学徒窝。 这

seemed a good time to visit her new home. The scent of the yew was strange, and the nests were all empty. Jaypaw's nest would be hers now, she guessed. She sniffed it out and gazed around the shelter, happy at the thought of sleeping among her Clanmates. After the nursery, her nest in the medicine den had seemed cold and lonely. She wished some of the apprentices were here to welcome her. Everyone must be out training. The thought brought a prickle of excitement. Before long, she would be out with them. When Hollypaw slipped out of the den, she saw Brightheart scrambling up the rockfall to Firestar's cave. Thornclaw lay by the halfrock, sharing tongues with Whitewing. Spiderleg was dozing in the early morning sunshine below Highledge. Foxkit and Icekit burst from the nursery entrance in a flurry of fur and whiskers. "Don't stray into the clearing," Ferncloud's voice called from inside the den. "I don't want you getting under anyone's paws!" "We won't," Icekit replied. Icekit flicked her brother's russet-colored

现在正是去参观她新家的好时候。 紫杉的气味很陌生，所有巢穴都空空的。 她猜，杰爪的窝现在就是她的了。 她嗅了嗅窝，环顾了一圈营地，一想到能和族亲一起睡觉就开心。 离开育婴室后，她之前在巫医巢穴的窝显得又冷又孤单。 她真希望有几个学徒能来欢迎她。 大家肯定都出去训练了。 想到这儿，她心里一阵激动。 用不了多久，她就能和他们一起出去了。 冬青爪走出巢穴时，看见亮心正爬过落石去往火星的洞穴。 棘爪躺在半石边上，和白翅互相舔毛。 蜘蛛足正躺在高岩下的清晨阳光里打盹。 小狐和小冰炸着毛，从育婴室门口冲了出来。 “别跑到空地上乱跑哦，”蕨云的声音从巢穴里传出来。 “我可不想你们挡大家的路！” “我们不会的，”小冰回答道。 小冰用尾巴甩了一下哥哥红棕色的

muzzle with her tail. Foxkit retaliated with a lunge that sent her tumbling toward Hollypaw. Hollypaw steadied the snow-white kit with her paw. "Hi, Hollypaw!" Icekit glanced up at her, then spun and leaped at her brother. She tumbled him over, grasped him with a paw behind each cheek, and began to pummel him enthusiastically with her hind paws. "Tuck your head in, Foxkit, and give her a good nip!" Hollypaw called. Icekit squeaked and let go of her brother. "That's not fair," she wailed. "You're helping him." "It doesn't look like you need any help!" Hollypaw mewed. Foxkit hurled himself at his sister. "Duck!" Hollypaw warned the snowy kit. Icekit rolled out of the way just in time, and Foxkit skidded past her into the frosty grass outside the apprentices" den. He turned and, crouching low, prowled back toward Icekit. "Not so fast," Hollypaw advised. Icekit was waiting with her chest pressed to the ground and

口鼻。 小狐猛地扑上来反击，把小冰撞得滚向冬青爪。 冬青爪伸出爪子稳住了这只雪白的小幼崽。 “嗨，冬青爪！” 小冰抬头看了她一眼，接着转身扑向哥哥。 她把哥哥摔倒在地，一只爪子按在他两颊，后爪兴奋地使劲挠他。 “快缩头呀小狐，给她好好咬一口！” 冬青爪喊道。 小冰吱叫一声，松开了哥哥。 “这不公平，”她哭喊道。 “你帮他呀。” “看样子你根本不需要帮忙呀！” 冬青爪喵声道。 小狐猛地扑向自己的妹妹。 “快躲开！” 冬青爪提醒这只雪白的幼崽。 小冰刚好及时滚到一边，小狐扑空滑了出去，一头扎进学徒巢穴外结霜的草地里。 他转过身，弓着身子，慢慢朝小冰走回来。 “别那么急呀，”冬青爪提醒道。 小冰已经准备好了，她把胸口贴在地面，