Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 Rain pattered on Jaypaw's pelt as he crossed the clearing. He held a bundle of watermint and juniper berries in his jaws and their pungent scent filled his nose. Millie trotted beside him. "I told him not to eat another sparrow!" She stopped beneath Highledge where Graystripe was groaning. "How was I supposed to resist?" Graystripe gasped. He let out another low moan. "It's been moons since there's been so much prey." Jaypaw dropped his bundle of herbs. He rested a paw on Graystripe's round belly as he lay fidgeting with pain. "Keep still." Jaypaw felt the hardness beneath Graystripe's flank. "You've just given yourself gas." "I told you so," Millie meowed. Jaypaw rolled the juniper berries toward Graystripe's muzzle. "These will help," he mewed. "Then eat the watermint." "I thought a warrior would know that you have

第十四章 雨点啪嗒啪嗒打在松鸦爪的皮毛上，他正穿过营地空地。 他叼着一束水薄荷和杜松浆果，浓烈的气味填满了他的鼻腔。 米莉小步跑在他身旁。 "我都说了叫他别再吃麻雀了!" 她停在高岩下方，灰条正在那儿呻吟。 "我怎么忍得住啊?" 灰条喘着气说。 他又发出一声低低的呻吟。 "都好几个月没这么多猎物了。" 松鸦爪放下了那捆草药。 灰条疼得不停扭动，松鸦爪把一只爪子搭在他圆滚滚的肚子上。 "别动。" 松鸦爪摸到灰条肋下硬邦邦的一块。 "你就是吃多了胀气。" "我都跟你说了吧，"米莉喵声道。 松鸦爪把杜松浆果滚到灰条的嘴跟前。 "这些会帮你舒服点的，"他喵道。 "然后把水薄荷吃了。" 我还以为武士都知道

to start slowly after leaf-bare," Millie went on. "All those moons on an empty belly. You can't just stuff yourself as soon as the prey starts to run. You have to get used to it." "Don't go on," Graystripe pleaded. Millie's tongue lapped Graystripe's pelt. Jaypaw felt her affection for her mate like warm air around him. His whiskers twitched with amusement. It was funny to hear a warrior being lectured by a kittypet. But she's a warrior now, he reminded himself quickly. Paw steps hurried into the camp. Jaypaw tasted the air. Mousepaw and Poppypaw. From the mossy scent on their pelts, he could tell they had been in the training hollow. "Have you seen Hollypaw?" Poppypaw called as she bounded toward Highledge. Jaypaw felt Poppypaw's anxious gaze burning his pelt. It darted away, awkwardness pricking from the apprentice. "I didn't mean see," she corrected herself quickly. "I meant hear or scent—" "She means, do you know where she is?" Mousepaw's impatient mew chipped in.

刚熬过枯叶季，得慢慢来，"米莉接着说。 "好多个月都饿着肚子呢。 猎物一多你不能一下子猛吃一通。 你得慢慢适应才行。" "别念叨了，"灰条恳求道。 米莉舔了舔灰条的皮毛。 松鸦爪能感觉到她对伴侣的爱意，像暖风一样裹着他。 他的胡须乐得轻轻抖了抖。 听着一名武士被宠物猫说教，可太有意思了。 可她现在也是武士了，他连忙提醒自己。 脚步声匆匆跑进了营地。 松鸦爪嗅了嗅空气中的气味。 是鼠爪和罂粟爪。 从他们皮毛上沾的苔藓味，他就知道他们刚从训练空地回来。 "你们看见冬青爪了吗?" 罂粟爪一边喊，一边蹦蹦跳跳朝高岩跑来。 松鸦爪能感觉到罂粟爪焦急的目光落在自己身上。 那目光一下子移开，这名学徒身上透出一阵局促不安。 "我不是说看见，"她连忙纠正自己。 "我是说听见或是闻到——" "她的意思是，你知道她在哪儿吗?" 鼠爪不耐烦地插嘴说道。

Jaypaw's pads tingled. He hadn't seen Hollypaw since this morning. He let his awareness spread around the camp, feeling for her presence in the same way he would grope for poppy seeds among the herb store. Nothing. No sense of Hollypaw in the camp or near it. He shook his head. Graystripe scrambled to his paws. "How long has she been missing?" he demanded. "She was supposed to be training with us, but she didn't turn up," Poppypaw mewed. "Brackenfur figured she'd been kept in camp for some reason," Mousepaw added. "So we just did the training without her. We thought she'd be here when we got back." "But she's not!" Poppypaw's shrill mew rang around the camp. Brackenfur came bounding from the thorn tunnel. "She's not here?" Spiderleg and Ashfur were on his heels. "Her scent is in the tunnel, but it's stale," Ashfur reported. "She must have left camp when I told her to," Brackenfur guessed.

松鸦爪的爪垫微微刺痒起来。 从今天早上起，他就没见过冬青爪了。 他放开感知在营地里搜寻，就像在药草堆里摸找罂粟籽一样感受她的存在。 什么都没有。 营地和营地附近都感觉不到冬青爪的气息。 他摇了摇头。 灰条慌忙爬起身。 "她失踪多久了?"他追问道。 "她本来该和我们一起训练，可她没来，"罂粟爪说道。 "蕨毛以为她有事留在营地了，"鼠爪补充道。 "所以我们就自己训练了。 我们以为回来的时候她肯定在这儿呢。" "可她根本不在!" 罂粟爪尖尖的叫声在营地里回荡。 蕨毛从荆藤隧道奔了出来。 "她不在这儿?" 蜘蛛腿和蜡毛跟在他身后。 "隧道里有她的气味，但已经变淡了，"蜡毛汇报道。 "她肯定是我吩咐完就出营地了，"蕨毛猜测道。

"But she didn't make it to the training hollow," Spiderleg concluded. Jaypaw felt the interest of their Clanmates pricking around the clearing. Brightheart hurried over. "Perhaps she's hurt!" "Who's hurt?" Sorreltail called. "No one's hurt!" Graystripe explained. "But Hollypaw seems to be missing." Jaypaw was starting to get squashed by the warriors pressing around him. Thornclaw and Whitewing had joined them. "Perhaps WindClan has captured her!" Thornclaw declared. Alarm flashed from the warriors and apprentices. Cloudtail pushed his way to the front. "Why would they do that?" Jaypaw smelled Brook's mountain scent. "Has WindClan ever taken hostages before?" she asked. "No, but they've never hunted squirrels before either!" Dustpelt pointed out. Sorreltail gasped. "I hope they don't hurt her!" Jaypaw felt torn between alarm and irritation. Everyone was panicking far too quickly. But what

"可她根本没到训练空地，"蜘蛛腿总结道。 松鸦爪能感觉到族猫们的好奇围着空地散开。 亮心连忙跑了过来。 "说不定她受伤了!" "谁受伤了?" 褐尾喊道。 "没人受伤!" 灰条解释道。 "但冬青爪好像失踪了。" 围过来的武士挤得松鸦爪快喘不过气了。 刺爪和白翅也加入了人群。 "说不定风族把她抓走了!" 刺爪大声说道。 武士和学徒们一下子惊慌起来。 云尾挤到了最前面。 "他们为什么要这么做?" 松鸦爪闻到了溪儿的山地气味。 "风族以前抓过人质吗?" 她问道。 "是没抓过，但他们以前也没进森林抓松鼠啊!" 尘毛指出。 褐尾倒吸一口凉气。 "我希望他们别伤害她!" 松鸦爪的心情在惊慌和烦躁之间拉扯。 大家慌得也太快了。 可万一

if Hollypaw had been captured? Only Brook remained calm. "It wouldn't make sense for WindClan to give themselves an extra mouth to feed." "But they have extra prey now that they hunt in the forest," Brightheart meowed. "They might think it's worth it." Sorreltail's voice was taut with worry. "We should send a patrol to rescue her!" Thornclaw announced. Brambleclaw joined his Clanmates. "Rescue who?" Jaypaw felt relief wash his pelt as he sensed Squirrelflight at his father's side. She licked him between the ears. "What's going on, Jaypaw?" "Hollypaw's missing." Squirrelflight stiffened. "Since when?" "I spoke to her at midday," Brackenfur explained. "She was supposed to come to the training hollow, but she never arrived." "WindClan must have captured her!" Brightheart meowed. "Do we know that for sure?" Brambleclaw asked.

冬青爪真被抓走了呢？ 只有溪儿保持着冷静。 "风族平白多养一张嘴，根本说不通啊。" "可他们现在进森林捕猎，猎物变多了呀，"亮心说道。 "他们说不定觉得抓她很划算呢。" 褐尾的声音绷得紧紧的，满是担忧。 "我们该派巡逻队去救她!" 刺爪大声宣布。 黑莓掌走过来加入了族猫。 "救谁?" 松鸦爪察觉到松鼠飞站在黑莓掌身边，顿时松了口气。 松鼠飞舔了舔他的耳间。 "出什么事了，松鸦爪?" "冬青爪失踪了。" 松鼠飞一下子绷紧了身体。 "从什么时候开始的？" "我中午还跟她说过话，"蕨毛解释道。 "她本来该去训练空地，可一直没到。" "肯定是风族把她抓走了!" 亮心喵声道。 "这事能确定吗?" 黑莓掌问道。

No one replied. "Well, in that case, let's not assume the worst," the ThunderClan deputy urged. "Knowing Hollypaw, she's just gone off by herself," Squirrelflight meowed. Jaypaw nodded. Hollypaw had wandered off more than once when she needed time to think. "But would she deliberately miss training?" Sorreltail fretted. "She's never missed it before." Firestar's mew sounded above them. He was on Highledge. The cats shuffled backward to look up at their leader. Jaypaw was relieved to have some space but he could feel guilt and anxiety flooding from Firestar. What did he have to feel guilty about? "We can't assume that WindClan has taken her," the ThunderClan leader went on. "But we know they want to attack us," Thornclaw called. "This might be their way of provoking a battle." Worried mews rippled around the Clan. "We don't know for sure they want to attack," Firestar reasoned. "And as Squirrelflight pointed out, Hollypaw is perfectly capable of going off by

没人应声。 “好吧，既然这样，我们先别往最坏的地方想，”雷族副族长劝道。 “了解冬青爪，她肯定只是自己走开了，”松鼠飞喵声道。 松鸦爪点了点头。 冬青爪需要时间思考的时候，已经不止一次独自走开了。 “可她会故意错过训练吗？” 纹尾烦躁地说道。 “她以前从来没缺过训练啊。” 火星的声音从他们上方传来。 他在高岩上。 族猫们纷纷后退，抬头看向他们的族长。 松鸦爪有了空间松了口气，但他能感受到火星满溢的愧疚与焦虑。 他有什么好愧疚的呢？ “我们不能认定是风族抓走了她，”这位雷族族长继续说道。 “可我们都知道他们想要进攻我们，”棘爪喊道。 “这说不定就是他们挑起战争的手段。” 担忧的喵声在族群里传开。 “我们不能确定他们一定要进攻，”火星解释道。 “而且就像松鼠飞说的，冬青爪完全有能力独自——