Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 "Jaypaw! Hey, Jaypaw!" Jaypaw felt a sharp nudge in his side; Hollypaw's scent drifted over him, tinged with exasperation. He lurched on his paws, confused at the sudden return to blindness and the scents and sounds of the stone hollow. Every hair on his pelt still quivered with the feelings of grief and anger and betrayal he had felt in the cave. Brook! he thought. I was feeling what she felt! And it wasn't a dream; I've been awake all the time. Could I have found a way into her memories? He drew in his breath sharply, full of excitement at the thought of a new and different power, but there was no time to explore it now. "Jaypaw, I don't know how you can daydream at a time like this," Lionpaw mewed. "We need to listen to find out why these strange cats have come here." Jaypaw realized that while he felt as if he had spent several days with the Tribe, here in the

第九章 “松鸦爪！ 嘿，松鸦爪！” 松鸦爪感觉腰侧被猛地推了一下，冬青爪的气味飘了过来，还带着一丝恼怒。 他一个趔趄站稳脚步，突如其来回到失明状态，被石谷的气味和声音包围，满脑子困惑。 他身上每一根毛都还在颤抖，还带着刚才在山洞里感受到的悲痛、愤怒与背叛感。 溪儿！ 他心想。 我刚刚感受到了她的感受！ 这不是梦，我自始至终都是醒着的。 难道我找到了进入她记忆的方法？ 他猛地吸了一口气，一想到自己可能拥有全新的特殊能力就兴奋不已，但现在没时间深究了。 “松鸦爪，我真不懂你怎么能在这种时候开小差，”狮爪说道。 “我们得好好听着，弄清楚这些陌生猫咪来这儿的目的。” 松鸦爪这才反应过来，虽然他感觉自己已经和部落待了好几天，但在这边

clearing only a few heartbeats had passed. The newcomers were still crouched beside the fresh- kill pile, along with Stormfur, Brook, and Firestar. "I think I know why," he murmured. "And I don't think Stormfur and Brook will be too pleased to see them." "What do you mean?" Hollypaw asked curiously. "Why wouldn't they want to see their Tribemates?" Before Jaypaw could explain—telling the story of his experience would have taken until moonhigh—he heard the harsh voice of Talon. "Firestar, we have come to ask Stormfur and Brook to return to the mountains. The Tribe of Rushing Water needs them." Jaypaw felt his pelt prickling with excitement. The Tribe's rejection of Brook and Stormfur still rang in his ears. But from the ThunderClan cats he picked up nothing but a cautious interest. "What?" Stormfur's voice was a low snarl of outrage. "How dare you come here and ask that? As far as the Tribe is concerned, Brook and I are dead!" Jaypaw heard gasps of astonishment from the

空地上其实只过去了几个心跳的功夫。 新来的猫咪还蹲在猎物堆旁，暴毛、溪儿和火星都在他们身边。 “我大概知道原因了，”他低声说。 “而且我觉得暴毛和溪儿不会乐意见到他们。” “你这话是什么意思？” 冬青爪好奇地问道。 “他们为什么不想见自己的部落同伴呢？” 松鸦爪还没来得及解释——讲完这段经历可要讲到月上中天——他就听见了锐掌粗哑的声音。 “火星，我们来这儿是想请暴毛和溪儿跟我们回山区。” “急水部落需要他们。” 松鸦爪兴奋得浑身毛发都竖了起来。 当初部落排斥溪儿和暴毛的话语还响在他耳边。 但他从雷族猫身上只感受到了谨慎的好奇。 “什么？”暴毛的声音是充满愤怒的低沉咆哮。 “你们怎么敢来这儿提这种要求？ “在部落看来，我和溪儿早就已经死了！” 松鸦爪听到了满是惊讶的抽气声，来自

ThunderClan cats. "Told you," he muttered to his littermates with a shrug. "Stormfur, I think you'd better explain." Firestar's voice was calm, but Jaypaw could tell he was concerned for the two cats who had come to make their lives with ThunderClan. Stormfur began to tell the story of the invading cats, but Jaypaw didn't bother to listen. He had lived through it all, and he was far more interested in finding out how he had done it. I must have been inside Brook's memories. He tried do it again, but the tabby she-cat was concentrating on what her mate was saying and on the reactions of the other cats. Her memories were a blank. Stormfur stopped at the sound of cats pushing their way through the thorn tunnel. "Firestar!" Brambleclaw called out. "We scented intruders!" "The intruders are here," Firestar replied. Jaypaw realized that Sandstorm and Squirrelflight were with Brambleclaw. "Talon! Night!" Squirrelflight meowed. "I thought I recognized Tribe scent." "It's strange to think that our mother and

雷族的猫咪们。 “我都说了吧，”他对着同窝手足耸耸肩，低声说道。 “暴毛，你最好跟大家解释清楚。” 火星的语气很平静，但松鸦爪能看出他很担心这两位来雷族定居的猫咪。 暴毛开始讲入侵猫咪的故事，但松鸦爪根本没心思听。 他已经亲身经历过这一切了，满脑子都在想刚才自己是怎么做到那件事的。 我一定是进到溪儿的记忆里了。 他试着再做一次，但这只花斑母猫正全神贯注听伴侣说话，留意着其他猫的反应。 她的记忆一片空白。 暴毛停了下来，因为他听到有猫挤过荆藤隧道的声音。 “火星！” 黑莓掌喊道。 “我们闻到入侵者的气味了！” “入侵者已经在这儿了，”火星回答道。 松鸦爪发现沙风和松鼠飞都和黑莓掌在一起。 “锐掌！夜！” 松鼠飞说道。 “我就说我闻出了部落的气味。” “真想不到，我们的妈妈和

father spent so much time with the Tribe," Lionpaw murmured. "Well, we're not the only ones who can have adventures," Hollypaw purred. "It's great to see you both again," Squirrelflight went on. "Why are you here?" She paused, then added, "And why is every cat looking as if the sky has fallen in?" "I think you'd better hear what Stormfur has to tell us," Firestar mewed. The gray warrior began to speak again. Having seen him in Brook's memories, Jaypaw could picture him now, strong and sleek-furred with anger smoldering in his amber eyes. "Not long after the Clans left on the Great Journey," Stormfur meowed, "another group of strange cats came to the mountains." "We thought at first they were only passing through," Brook explained. "We would have welcomed them as guests for a while..." "But they made it clear they wanted to settle," Stormfur went on. "They took prey from the Tribe, even hunting close to the cave behind the waterfall."

爸爸当年曾在部落待那么久，”狮爪低声说道。 “哎呀，又不是只有我们能经历冒险，”冬青爪轻声呼噜道。 “真高兴又见到你们俩了，”松鼠飞继续说道。 “你们为什么来这儿呀？” 她顿了顿，又补充道：“还有，为什么每只猫都看起来天要塌下来似的？” “我想你最好听听暴毛要说的事，”火星说道。 这只灰色武士又开口讲了起来。 松鸦爪已经在溪儿的记忆里见过他了，此刻他能想象出他的样子：强壮健壮，皮毛光滑，琥珀色的眼睛里燃着怒火。 “族群大迁徙离开后没过多久，”暴毛说道，“又一群陌生猫咪来到了山区。” “我们一开始以为他们只是路过，”溪儿解释道。 “我们本来欢迎他们做客住一阵……” “但他们摆明了就是要留下来，”暴毛接着说道。 “他们抢部落的猎物，甚至还到瀑布后面的洞穴附近打猎。”

"Flea-bitten thieves," Talon growled. "We'd never had to share our territory before," Brook meowed. "We drove out loners now and then, but we didn't know what to do about such a large group of cats." Stormfur took up the story again. "I thought we needed a show of strength to defend our territory. And I led the Tribe cats into battle to make sure the strangers would know not to bother us or steal our prey." "They tore us to pieces," Night mewed angrily. "Tribe cats aren't trained to fight like Clan warriors," Stormfur explained. "We lost the battle and several cats died." He hesitated, and when he spoke again his voice was filled with sorrow. "Jag was one of them." "Jag dead?" Squirrelflight exclaimed. "Oh, no —he helped us when we were stuck in the snow on the Great Journey." "We'll all miss him," Brambleclaw added. "Every cat who knew him." "Stoneteller blamed me for the deaths." Stormfur's voice sounded bitter as deathberries. "He banished me from the Tribe. Brook insisted

“一群浑身跳蚤的贼！”利爪低吼道。 “我们以前从来不需要分享领地，”溪儿喵声道。 “我们偶尔会赶走独行猫，可从来没遇到过这么大一群猫，根本不知道该怎么办。” 暴毛接着把故事讲下去。 “我觉得我们得展示力量，保卫我们的领地。 我带着部落猫出战，就是要让那些入侵者明白，别来烦我们，也别偷我们的猎物。” “他们把我们打得惨败，”暗夜愤怒地喵道。 “部落猫没有像族群武士那样训练过格斗，”暴毛解释道。 “我们输了战斗，还死了好几只猫。” 他顿了顿，再次开口时声音里满是悲伤。 “锯齿就是其中一个。” “锯齿死了？” 松鼠飞惊叫道。 “哦，不——我们大迁徙时被困在雪地里，他还帮过我们呢。” “我们都会想念他的，”黑莓掌补充道。 “每一只认识他的猫都会。” “石歌把所有猫的死都怪在我头上。” 暴毛的声音苦得就像死莓。 “他把我逐出了部落。 溪儿坚持

on coming with me." "What else could I do?" Brook murmured, as if her words were meant for Stormfur alone. Jaypaw remembered seeing them together in the cave, their pelts brushing as they defied the leader of the Tribe. "And what else could Stoneteller do?" Talon countered. "Cats were dead; something had to be done." "He told us we were dead!" Brook's voice, so gentle a heartbeat ago, became a furious hiss. "I can't believe those Tribe cats dared to come here," Hollypaw whispered into Jaypaw's ear. "Not after what they did!" "I'm so sorry, Stormfur." Brambleclaw's meow rumbled deep in his chest. "You should have told us before." "What good would it have done?" Stormfur demanded. "You made us welcome. We're ThunderClan cats now." Jaypaw picked up a murmur from Brook, too low for him to make out what she said. She's not a ThunderClan cat, he thought. She's a Tribe cat and always will be. She's never felt at home here.

跟我一起走。” “我还能怎么办呢？” 溪儿轻声低语，仿佛这些话只说给暴毛一个人听。 松鸦爪记得之前在洞穴里见过他俩，他们皮毛相擦，公然违抗部落首领。 “那石歌又能怎么办呢？” 利爪反驳道。 “有猫死了，总得做些什么。” “他干脆说我们早就死了！” 溪儿刚才还语调轻柔，这会儿一下子变成了愤怒的嘶嘶声。 “我真不敢相信这些部落猫居然敢来这儿，”冬青爪凑到松鸦爪耳边轻声说。 “他们都做出那种事了，还敢来！” “我真难过，暴毛。” 黑莓掌的低鸣声从胸腔深处传出。 “你早该告诉我们的。” “说了又有什么用？” 暴毛质问道。 “你们接纳了我们。 我们现在是雷族猫了。” 松鸦爪捕捉到溪儿一声低语，声音太低，他听不清内容。 她不是雷族猫，他想。 她是部落猫，永远都是。 她在这儿从来没有过家的感觉。