Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 Jaypaw shivered in the dawn chill. The sharp scent of the traveling herbs wreathed around him, almost masking the scent of Leafpool as she worked beside him in the medicine cat's den. Stifling a yawn, he thought back to his dreams of the night before, full of strange scents, jagged rocks, and unfamiliar cats, and the screech of warriors meeting in battle. He had lost count of the number of times he had jerked awake, his heart pounding until he realized that he was curled up in his own nest of ferns. Nothing in the dreams made any sense to him, and he flicked his tail impatiently. What's the point of dreaming if I don't learn anything? Soft sounds filtered through the bramble screen as the cats in the clearing began to wake up. Jaypaw couldn't remember the hollow ever being so full, with the WindClan and ShadowClan cats as well as the visitors from the Tribe. It was just as well the night had been warm enough for some of them to sleep in the open; the WindClan

第十三章 松鸦爪在黎明的寒意中打着哆嗦。 行进草药的刺鼻香气环绕在他四周，几乎盖过了在他身旁巫医洞里忙碌的叶池的气味。 他忍住哈欠，回想起昨夜的梦，梦里满是陌生气味、尖利岩石和素不相识的猫，还有武士对战的嘶吼。 他记不清自己惊醒过多少次，心脏狂跳不止，好久才反应过来自己正蜷在自己的蕨草窝里。 梦里的一切都让他摸不着头脑，他不耐烦地甩了甩尾巴。 做这种学不到任何东西的梦到底有什么意义？ 空地上的猫们陆续醒来，轻柔的声响透过荆棘屏障传了进来。 加上风族、影族的猫，还有来自部落的访客，松鸦爪都不记得这个山谷曾经挤过这么多猫。 还好夜里足够暖和，有些猫可以睡在露天； 风族

cats especially were used to that. Jaypaw's claws slid out as he remembered his dismay when he discovered that Breezepaw had come along with his father. I can't stand that arrogant, mange-ridden excuse for a cat! He would never forget how useless Breezepaw had been when they were trapped underground. It was no wonder that the tunnels had been sealed up, so Jaypaw couldn't reach Rock and Fallen Leaves anymore. What could you expect when Breezepaw hadn't shown any sense or respect? "Jaypaw, what are you daydreaming about?" Leafpool's voice broke into Jaypaw's thoughts. "You can start taking these herbs out to the cats who are leaving." "Don't you want to do that?" Jaypaw was surprised; the Tribe cats would probably want a medicine cat to explain to them what they were eating. "No." Leafpool sounded agitated. "I've got to check these herbs one more time." Rubbish! Jaypaw thought. It doesn't take all this fuss to make up a few traveling herbs. But he

猫尤其习惯这么睡。 想起发现荆爪跟着父亲同来时自己有多惊愕，松鸦爪不由自主伸出了爪子。 我真受不了这只傲慢又满是疥癣的废物猫！ 他永远忘不了他们被困地下时，荆爪有多没用。 难怪隧道被封了起来，松鸦爪再也没法联系到岩石和落叶了。 荆爪既没脑子又不懂规矩，你还能指望什么呢？ “松鸦爪，你在发什么呆呀？” 叶池的声音打断了松鸦爪的思绪。 “你可以把这些草药送去给要出发的猫了。” “你不想自己去送吗？” 松鸦爪有些惊讶； 部落猫多半会想要巫医给他们解释吃的是什么呀。 “不用。” 叶池的声音听起来有些焦躁。 “我得再检查一遍这些草药。” 胡说！ 松鸦爪心想。 配几包行进草药，哪用得着这么大费周章。 但他

just picked up the first portion of herbs and padded out into the clearing. The scent of the herbs in his jaws made it harder to locate the cats, but after a couple of heartbeats he pinpointed a group of them just outside the warriors" den: Crowfeather, Breezepaw, Squirrelflight, and Tawnypelt. Jaypaw padded up to them and dropped the herbs at Crowfeather's paws. "Traveling herbs," he mewed. "Thank you." There was a tension about Crowfeather that Jaypaw didn't understand; it felt like more than the natural anticipation of the journey. Who knows what goes on in the minds of those weird WindClan cats? Returning to his den, he was tempted by the thought of sneaking something disgusting into Breezepaw's traveling herbs. A few yarrow leaves, maybe. The first part of their journey would be around the lake on WindClan territory; if Breezepaw started being sick, they would have to leave him behind. Or maybe he'd just delay the rest of us. Jaypaw considered the punishment he'd receive if

还是拿起第一份草药，缓步走到了空地上。 嘴里草药的气味让他很难定位猫的位置，但没过多久他就锁定了武士巢穴外的一群猫：鸦羽、荆爪、松鼠飞和褐皮。 松鸦爪走到他们身旁，把草药放在鸦爪脚边。 “行进草药。”他轻声叫道。 “谢谢你。” 鸦羽身上有种松鸦爪读不懂的紧张感； 这不像是旅程开启前自然而然的期待感。 谁知道这些古怪的风族猫脑子里都在想什么？ 回到巫医洞后，他忍不住想要偷偷往荆爪的行进草药里加些恶心的东西。 说不定加几片欧蓍草叶呢。 他们旅程的第一段要沿着风族领地绕湖行走； 如果荆爪开始闹肚子，他们就不得不把他抛下了。 就算不抛下，他也会拖我们其他人的后腿。 松鸦爪盘算起如果

any cat found out what he'd done. He'd be made to stay at home, for sure. The risk wasn't worth it. He went on dividing up the herbs. Soon the Tribe cats appeared with Stormfur and Brook and joined the others by the warriors" den. "What's this?" Talon queried when Jaypaw put down his share of the herbs. "Traveling herbs," Jaypaw replied. "They'll make you stronger, and you won't feel so hungry." "Are you sure?" Jaypaw pictured the cave- guard prodding the herbs suspiciously with one paw. "I've never heard of anything like that." "Stoneteller never heard of them, either," Night agreed. Jaypaw heard her sniffing at the little pile of leaves. "For StarClan's sake!" he snapped. "Just eat them. We're not trying to poison you." "They're okay," Stormfur meowed. Jaypaw felt the gray warrior's tail flick lightly across his muzzle. "They'll make the journey a lot easier." "If you're sure..." Talon's voice was still dubious, but he licked up the herbs. "They taste bitter," he complained. Stifling a sigh, Jaypaw carried on until he'd

有任何猫发现他的所作所为，他会受到什么样的惩罚。 他肯定会被留在家里，不准跟着去。 这点风险不值得冒。 他继续分配草药。 没过多久，部落猫跟着暴毛和溪儿来了，和其他猫一起聚在武士巢穴旁。 “这是什么？” 松鸦爪放下他们那份草药时，鹰爪开口问道。 “行进草药。”松鸦爪回答。 “吃了能让你更有力气，也不会那么快觉得饿。” “你确定管用吗？” 松鸦爪仿佛看见这位洞穴守卫正用一只爪子狐疑地拨弄着草药。 “我从来没听说过这种东西。” “石歌也从没听说过这东西。”夜附和道。 松鸦爪听见她嗅了嗅那一小堆叶子。 “星族在上！” 他厉声喝道。 “赶紧吃了。 我们又没打算毒你。” “这东西没问题的。”暴毛说道。 松鸦爪感觉到这只灰色武士的尾巴轻轻扫过他的口鼻。 “吃了会让旅程好走很多。” “要是你这么说的话……”鹰爪的声音还是犹疑不定，但他还是舔起了草药。 “吃着好苦。”他抱怨道。 松鸦爪忍住叹气，继续分草药，直到把所有

taken herbs to every cat except his father. "Where's Brambleclaw?" he asked Squirrelflight, mumbling around his mouthful of leaves. "I think he went to talk to Firestar," Squirrelflight replied. "I'll take those up to him, if you like." "No, I'll do it." Jaypaw's fur bristled as he bounded across the camp. I can climb up to the Highledge without falling! He scrambled up the tumbled stones, making sure that his pelt brushed the cliff wall at every paw step. As he reached the Highledge, he heard Firestar's voice from inside the den. "You'll be away for at least a moon, Brambleclaw. We need to decide who should be deputy while you're gone." Jaypaw halted outside the den, drawing close against the rock wall so that the cats inside wouldn't see him. "Graystripe is the obvious cat to choose," Brambleclaw answered. "He knows the deputy's duties, after all." Jaypaw's whiskers twitched in dismay. His

除了爸爸，他给每只猫都分好了药草。 “荆棘爪在哪里？” 他嘴里叼着叶子，含糊地问松鼠飞。 “我想他去找火星谈话了，”松鼠飞回答。 “如果你愿意，我帮你把药送过去给他。” “不用，我自己去。” 杰伊爪炸着毛，一跃穿过营地。 我肯定能爬上高岩，才不会摔下去！ 他抓着凹凸的石块往上爬，每一步都让皮毛蹭着岩壁走。 刚到高岩台上，他就听见洞里传出火星的声音。 “你这一去至少要一个月，荆棘爪。 我们得定好你离开后谁来当副族长。” 杰伊爪在洞外停住脚步，紧紧贴住岩壁，不让洞里的猫看见他。 “选灰条肯定最合适，”荆棘爪回答。 “毕竟他熟悉副族长的所有工作呀。” 杰伊爪的胡须惊愕地抽动了一下。 他的

father had only become Clan deputy because every cat thought that Graystripe was dead. After the gray warrior's unexpected return, some cats had thought that Brambleclaw would step down. Graystripe hadn't wanted that; he said he didn't have enough experience of the Clan's new home, and he was tired after his journey. But none of that was true anymore. If Graystripe took over as deputy now, what would happen when Brambleclaw came home? Jaypaw gritted his teeth. Couldn't his father see that he might be giving up his position in the Clan? "Fine, if you're happy with that." Firestar sounded relieved. "I'll tell him." There was movement inside the den as if the cats were rising to their paws. Quickly Jaypaw found a loose pebble and flicked it with his paw so they would think he had just arrived. Stepping into the mouth of the den he meowed, "Firestar?" "Come in," his leader responded. "Are those my traveling herbs?" Brambleclaw asked. "Thanks, Jaypaw. Is every cat ready?" "Nearly," Jaypaw replied. "I'd better find Leafpool and see if she wants me to do anything

爸爸当初能当上副族长，全因为所有猫都以为灰条已经死了。 自从这只灰毛武士意外归来，不少猫都觉得荆棘爪会主动让位。 灰条当初并不想接手； 他说自己不熟悉族群的新家园，长途跋涉后也十分疲惫。 可这些情况早就不一样了。 如果灰条现在接手副族长，等荆棘爪回来该怎么办呢？ 杰伊爪咬了咬牙。 爸爸难道看不出，他这说不定就要把自己在族群的位置拱手让人吗？ “行吧，要是你觉得这样没问题。” 火星听起来松了一口气。 “我去告诉他。” 洞里传来动静，好像两只猫正站起身来。 杰伊爪赶紧拨出一块松动的石子，用爪子弹开，好让他们以为自己刚到这里。 他走到洞口开口问道：“火星？” “进来吧，”族长回应道。 “这是给我的出行草药吗？” 荆棘爪问道。 “谢谢你，杰伊爪。 所有猫都准备好了吗？” “差不多了，”杰伊爪回答。 “我得去找叶池，看看她还有没有什么要我做的