Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 "I name you Lionclaw, warrior of DarkClan!" Lionpaw flexed his claws as Heatherpaw called down to him from the highest ledge in the cave. Moonlight, streaming through the gap in the roof, fell silver on her pelt. She leaped down and touched her nose to his. "Congratulations." Lionpaw's fur tingled. "But first"—Heatherpaw's blue eyes flashed in the half-light—"you have to prove yourself a warrior by outrunning me." "That's not fair!" Lionpaw flicked his tail. "WindClan cats are really fast; everyone knows that." "If you want to be a DarkClan warrior, you've got to be as fast as me." "In that case"—Lionpaw launched himself at her, stretching his paws around her to soften her fall, but pinning her to the ground—"you've got to prove you're as strong as me!" "Hey! That's cheating! You didn't warn me!"

第8章 “我赐你名狮爪，暗夜族的武士！” 当石楠爪从洞穴最高的岩架朝他喊话时，狮爪活动了一下自己的爪子。 月光从洞顶的缺口洒下，在她的皮毛上铺了一层银光。 她纵身跳下，用鼻尖碰了碰他的鼻尖。 “恭喜你。” 狮爪的皮毛兴奋得发麻。 “不过呢”——半明半暗中，石楠爪的蓝眼睛亮闪闪的——“你得跑得比我快，才能证明自己是武士哦。” “这不公平！” 狮爪甩了甩尾巴。 “风族猫本来就跑得飞快，所有人都知道呀。” “你要是想当暗夜族的武士，就得跑得和我一样快。” “既然这样”——狮爪猛地扑向她，伸出爪子圈住她缓冲，却还是把她按在了地上——“那你得证明你和我一样强壮！” “喂！ 你耍赖！ 都不提前跟我打招呼！”

she mewed. "The leader of DarkClan must be prepared for anything." "Like this?" She slithered from his grasp, darted behind him as fast as a blink, and grabbed his tail gently but firmly between her teeth. "Hey!" he yelped, trying to reach around and swipe her away. She dodged and he found himself swiping at thin air, his tail still held firm. He twisted the other way, trying to reach her, but she dodged again. He could hear a rumbling in her throat and her whiskers were twitching. She let go. "You looked so funny flapping your paws around! Like a fledgling just out of the nest!" Lionpaw stared at her, happiness welling in his chest. Just the sight of her blue eyes and soft fur made warmth surge beneath his pelt. "I wish you were in ThunderClan." She shuddered. "Under all those trees and closed in by stone walls? No, thanks! Besides," she went on, "we don't need to live in the same Clan when we've got this cave all to ourselves." She reached out a paw and batted something from the fur behind his ear. "Just a burr." She flicked it

她轻声叫道。 “暗夜族的首领得随时做好准备，应对任何情况呀。” “这样呢？” 她从他的掌控下滑出来，快得一眨眼就窜到他身后，轻轻却牢牢地把他的尾巴叼在了嘴里。 “喂！”他疼得叫出声，想转身把她挥开。 她躲开了，他只挥到了空气，尾巴还被牢牢叼着。 他转向另一边想去够她，可她又躲开了。 他能听见她喉咙里的咕噜声，她的胡须也在轻轻颤动。 她松开了嘴。 “你挥着爪子乱扑的样子好好笑哦， 就像刚飞出窝的小雏鸟！” 狮爪盯着她，幸福感在他胸口一点点涌出来。 只要看见她的蓝眼睛和柔软的皮毛，暖意就会在他的皮毛下翻涌。 “真希望你也在雷族呀。” 她打了个哆嗦。 “住在那么多树中间，还被石墙围起来？ 不了，谢谢！ 再说了，”她接着说道，“咱们有这个专属于咱俩的洞穴，根本不需要住在同一个族群呀。” 她伸出爪子，扫掉他耳朵后面沾着的东西。 “就是个刺果啦。” 她把它弹

onto the ground. "Thanks." Heatherpaw was right about the cave. Lionpaw knew he wouldn't want to live on the moorland any more than she'd want to live in the forest. This cave was the perfect solution. They'd been meeting here for half a moon now, and none of his Clanmates suspected a thing. Not even his nosy sister. "I wonder where some of these other tunnels lead?" Heatherpaw leaped over the river and began to sniff at one of the openings. Lionpaw jumped after her. Dank, stale air seeped from the tunnel and he shivered. "Do you think one leads into ShadowClan territory?" Heatherpaw wondered. The fur along Lionpaw's spine lifted. "I hope not." "We could explore." Lionpaw backed away. "There's no hurry. We have enough fun here." He glanced around the cave. Getting here still made his paws quiver. There was something spooky about the tunnels and he was always relieved to find Heatherpaw

到了地上。 “谢谢你。” 石楠爪说的关于这个洞穴的话没错。 狮爪明白，他不想住在荒原上，就像石楠爪不想住在森林里一样。 这个洞穴就是最完美的去处。 他们已经在这里见面半个月了，他的族友们一点都没起疑心。 就连他爱打听闲事的妹妹也没发现。 “真想知道这些别的隧道都通向哪里呀？” 石楠爪跳过小河，开始嗅其中一个洞口。 狮爪跟着跳了过去。 潮乎乎的腐旧空气从隧道飘出来，狮爪打了个哆嗦。 “你说会不会有一条通向影族的领地呀？” 石楠爪好奇地问道。 狮爪后背上的毛都竖了起来。 “最好别通那里。” “咱们可以进去探探呀。” 狮爪往后退了退。 “不用着急呀， 咱们在这里就玩得很开心了。” 他环顾了一圈洞穴。 哪怕只是走到这里，他的爪子都还会发颤。 这些隧道总有点怪怪的，每次看到石楠爪都

waiting for him in the moonlit cave. Heatherpaw's eyes sparkled. "There might be all sorts of terrible creatures down there with big teeth and sharp claws—" Lionpaw nudged her. "Shut up!" She darted away. "Come on!" she called. "You still have to prove you're a warrior!" She crossed the river with a graceful leap. Lionpaw dived after her. As he landed, his hind paws slipped backward into the dark water. The splash echoed around the cave. Lionpaw's heart lurched as he felt the strong tug of the current and he scrambled forward, shaking droplets from his paws. "Careful," Heatherpaw warned. "I don't want to lose you." Lionpaw gulped at the thought of being dragged away into the tunnels by the river. Seeking comfort in Silverpelt, he glanced up at the gap in the roof. The sky outside was lightening. "We have to go." Heatherpaw sighed. "Tomorrow night?" Lionpaw mewed hopefully.

在洒满月光的洞穴里等着他，他就松了一口气。 石楠爪的眼睛亮晶晶的。 “那底下指不定藏着各种可怕的怪物，长着大尖牙和利爪——”狮爪用肩膀碰了碰她。 “别说啦！” 她一下子窜了开。 “快来呀！” 她喊道。 “你还没证明你是合格的暗夜族武士呢！” 她身姿轻盈地一跃跳过了河。 狮爪跟着扑了过去。 他落地的时候，后爪一滑，掉进了漆黑的河水里。 溅水声在洞穴里阵阵回响。 狮爪的心猛地一沉，他感觉到水流在使劲拉扯他，连忙往前爬，抖掉爪子上的水珠。 “小心点，”石楠爪提醒他， “我可不想失去你。” 一想到会被河水冲进隧道冲走，狮爪就吓得咽了口唾沫。 他想向星空求个安心，抬头望向洞顶的缺口。 外面的天已经渐渐亮起来了。 “咱们该走了。” 石楠爪叹了口气。 “明晚还来吗？” 狮爪满怀希望地轻声问道。

"Can't." Heatherpaw wove around him, brushing her light tabby pelt against his. "I have a training assessment the day after. I don't want to be too tired." "Okay." Lionpaw shrugged; he understood. She had to put her Clan first. But he would still miss her. "Bye." They hurried away, each to their separate tunnel. Lionpaw was relieved that he knew the path well enough now to be able to run all the way. Jaypaw would be surprised to know how fast his brother could race through the blackness, using only his whiskers to guide him. He burst from the entrance, relieved to smell fresh air once more. This is my part of the forest! He wriggled happily under the brambles and pulled himself out the other side. The older warriors acted like they had created ThunderClan territory because they had brought the Clans to the lake, but Lionpaw knew that they hadn't explored every paw step of it yet. The fact that he knew about the cave proved that there were still places left to

“不行。” 海瑟爪绕着他绕圈，浅虎斑的皮毛轻轻擦过他的身子 “我后天要进行训练评估， 我可不想太累。” “好吧。” 狮爪耸耸肩，表示他理解 她必须把自己的族群放在第一位 可他还是会想念她 “再见。” 他们匆匆道别分开，各自走向不同的隧道 狮爪松了口气，如今他对这条路十分熟悉，能一口气跑完全程 松鸦爪要是知道自己弟弟仅靠胡须引路，就能在黑暗中跑这么快，肯定会大吃一惊 他冲出洞口，再次闻到新鲜空气，不由得松了口气 这是森林里属于我的地盘！ 他开心地在荆棘丛里扭了扭身子，钻到了另一头 年长的武士总觉得雷族领地是他们开创的，因为是他们把族群带到了湖边，可狮爪知道他们还没有踏遍这里的每一寸土地 他发现这个洞穴这件事就证明，这里仍还有地方等待着去

find. It would be the young cats who would do that, who would make this land their own. Through the leaves he could see that the star- studded sky was growing pale. He began to race through the forest. He had to get home before the camp woke. "Greetings, Lionpaw." A deep mew sounded in his ear and fur brushed his flank. Lionpaw bristled with alarm. He glanced sideways and saw the faint outline of a cat keeping pace with him. Am I dreaming? "We have been watching you." The outline shimmered beside him—a huge tabby tom with amber eyes that shone in the half-light. The tom's massive shoulders seemed strangely familiar. Something brushed his other flank. Lionpaw turned, his heart pounding. Another shadowy cat was running beside him—a second tabby tom with ice-blue eyes, but the same massive shoulders. "W-who are you?" he stammered. "We are kin," answered the amber-eyed tom. Lionpaw glanced anxiously from one to the other. "Are you from StarClan?" "We were warriors once," the blue-eyed tom

探索 这件事要由年轻猫来完成，将这片土地变成真正属于他们的家 透过树叶，他看见缀满繁星的天空渐渐泛白 他开始在森林中狂奔 他得在营地醒来前赶回去 “你好啊，狮爪。” 低沉的喵声响在耳边，有皮毛擦过他的侧腹 狮爪警觉地炸起了毛 他侧目瞥去，看见一个模糊的猫影正和他并肩奔跑 我在做梦吗？ “我们一直在注视你。” 那个身影在他身旁闪了闪——是一只大块头虎斑公猫，琥珀色双眼在朦胧天光中发亮 这只公猫宽厚的肩背莫名让他觉得熟悉 有什么东西擦过他另一侧的侧腹 狮爪转过身，心脏怦怦狂跳 又一个影影绰绰的猫跑在他身侧——另一只虎斑公猫，长着冰蓝色眼睛，却有着同样宽厚的肩背 “你、你们是谁？”他结结巴巴地问 “我们是你的亲人，”琥珀眼公猫答道 狮爪不安地来回看着两只猫 “你们是从星族来的吗？” “我们曾经也是武士，”蓝眼睛公猫