Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 Jaypaw tried to sink his claws into the bare rock. The wind buffeted him, threatening to hurl him off the narrow ridge of stone where he clung, terrified. Above his head were the stars, cold and glittering; around his paws nothing but shadows, blotting out everything but a few tail-lengths of rock, sharp as a cat's spine. Somewhere in front of him the shadows parted and a cat paced toward him. Jaypaw recognized the lumpy, hairless body and sightless eyes of Rock. The ancient cat drew closer, balancing as easily on the thin claw of stone as if the forest stretched all around him. "I'm here, just like you said." Jaypaw tried not to let his voice quiver. "You told me to come to the mountains, remember?" Rock shook his head. "There should be three of you." "There are three of us," Jaypaw protested, glancing back over his shoulder to see if he could spot Lionpaw and Hollypaw. "I must have left

第十八章 杰爪试着把爪子扎进光秃秃的岩石里。 狂风拍打着他，差点把他从紧扒着的窄石脊上刮下去。 他的头顶就是星星，冰冷又闪着光； 爪子边只剩浓浓黑影，除了几尾长短的岩石什么都看不见，岩石锋利得像猫的脊梁。 前方黑影分开，一只猫正朝他走来。 杰爪认出了岩石那凹凸不平、无毛的身体和看不见东西的眼睛。 这只古老的猫咪越走越近，在窄细石脊上走得稳稳当当，就像四周就是熟悉的森林一样自在。 "我来了，就像你说的那样。" 杰爪努力不让自己的声音发颤。 "你让我来山里，还记得吗？" 岩石摇了摇头。 "你们应该来三只才对。" "我们已经来了三只呀，"杰爪反驳道，一边扭头张望寻找狮爪和冬青爪。 我肯定把

them behind on the climb. They can't—" His last word rose into a terrified yowl as his paws slipped on the rocky ridge. He clawed frantically, but he couldn't get a grip on the smooth stone. He felt himself plunging into the shadows, down and down... "Wake up!" Jaypaw felt a paw jabbing him in the ribs. It was Lionpaw. "For StarClan's sake, you're thrashing around like a dying fish." Relief flooded over him. He was safe in his makeshift nest at the edge of the forest, and Lionpaw was with him. Tasting the air, he picked up Hollypaw's scent nearby and relaxed even more, shaking off the last clinging cobwebs of the dream. He struggled to his paws and arched his back in a long stretch. The chill of dawn crept into his pelt, and he could hear the other cats stirring around him. "Brambleclaw says we can hunt," Lionpaw mewed, "but we have to be quick. There's a long way to go if we're going to reach the mountains by nightfall." Jaypaw was crouched on the dewy grass devouring a vole when he heard Tawnypelt's paw

他们落在爬山的半路上了。 "他们不可能——"话音未落，爪子一滑，最后半句话变成了惊恐的嚎叫。 他拼命乱抓，可就是抓不住光滑的石块。 他感觉自己直直掉进黑影里，一直往下掉、往下掉…… "快醒醒！" 杰爪感觉到一只爪子戳了戳他的肋骨。 是狮爪。 "星族在上，你乱扭得像条快死的鱼。" 强烈的释然感涌遍杰爪全身。 他正安全待在森林边缘临时搭的窝里，狮爪就在他身边。 他嗅了嗅空气，闻到冬青爪就在附近，这下更放松了，抖掉了梦里残留的朦胧。 他挣扎着站起来，拱起背长长伸了个懒腰。 黎明的寒气钻进他的毛发，他能听到周围其他猫咪都醒过来动了。 "黑莓掌说我们可以去捕猎，"狮爪喵道，"不过我们得快点。 要是想天黑前赶到山里，我们还有好长一段路要走呢。" 杰爪蹲在沾着露水的草地上啃吃田鼠，这时他听到了褐皮的爪子

steps. "It's time to leave," she announced. He gulped down the last couple of mouthfuls and padded over to join the other cats. "Purdy, it's been great traveling with you again," Brambleclaw was meowing. "And we're especially grateful to you for rescuing those mouse-brained apprentices. But we can't ask you to go any farther from your home." Calling out last good-byes to Purdy, the cats set off through the trees. Lionpaw and Hollypaw came to pad along beside Jaypaw, their pelts brushing his on either side. In contrast to the days before, they padded on in tense silence as the sun climbed above the trees. Suddenly Hollypaw's tail on his shoulder brought Jaypaw to a halt. He could feel the sun warmer on his pelt and a whisper of breeze stirring his whiskers. They must have reached the other side of the forest. "It's amazing!" Hollypaw whispered. "What?" Irritation pricked at Jaypaw's pelt, annoyance that he couldn't see whatever it was Hollypaw was mewing about. "The mountains." It was Lionpaw who replied,

的脚步声。 "该出发了，"她宣布道。 他吞下最后几口食物，走过去加入其他猫咪。 "普尔迪，再次和你同行真是太愉快了，"黑莓掌说道。 "我们特别感谢你救了那几个鼠脑袋的学徒。 但我们不能让你离自己的家走得更远了。" 和普尔迪道别后，猫咪们出发穿过树林。 狮爪和冬青爪走过来挨在杰爪身边，他俩的皮毛蹭着杰爪身体两侧。 和前几天不同，太阳爬上树梢，他们只顾闷头赶路，气氛紧绷沉默。 突然，冬青爪的尾巴搭上杰爪的肩膀，让杰爪停了下来。 杰爪能感觉到阳光晒在毛发上更暖和，还有微风轻拂着他的胡须。 他们肯定已经走到森林的另一头了。 "太神奇了！" 冬青爪低声说。 "什么？"杰爪心头一阵烦躁，他看不见冬青爪说的景色，不由得恼了起来。 "是群山呀。" 是狮爪开口回答的，

his voice awestruck. "They're vast!" "It's this huge wall of stone," Hollypaw explained. "All gray and steep and bare, apart from a few cracks with grass growing in them. Jaypaw, I wish you could see. It goes up forever!" "I can't even see the top," Lionpaw added. "It's hidden in the clouds." "Home." Brook's whisper came from just in front of Jaypaw. He sensed her mingled longing and fear; the same tension came from the other Tribe cats. They must be scared of what lay ahead, facing intruders in the place they had always thought of as theirs and theirs alone. "Tribe of Endless Hunting." The low murmur came from Night. "Watch over us and guide our paw steps." Jaypaw shivered. Can StarClan still see us here? Even though he knew that one day he would have more power than StarClan, he felt exposed and vulnerable under an indifferent sky. "We've made good time," Talon meowed. "We can climb up to our cave before dark." "Are you sure?" Squirrelflight's voice was doubtful. "Remember the apprentices aren't

声音里满是敬畏。 "群山好广阔呀！" "这是一堵巨大的石墙，"冬青爪解释道。 "全是灰色，又陡又光秃秃的，只有几条石缝里长着草。 杰爪，真希望你能亲眼看看。 它一直往上伸，好像没有尽头！" "我都看不到山顶，"狮爪补充道。 "山顶藏在云里呢。" "家。" 溪儿的低语从杰爪前方飘了过来。 杰爪感觉到她心里交织着渴望和恐惧，其他部落猫也同样紧张。 他们肯定也害怕前方的一切，要回到这片自己世代拥有的家园，面对入侵者。 "无尽狩猎之部落。" 低低的低语来自暗夜。 "守护我们，指引我们前行。" 杰爪打了个寒颤。 星族还能在这里看到我们吗？ 哪怕他知道自己有一天会拥有比星族更强大的力量，在这片冷漠的天空下，他仍觉得孤立无援，脆弱不堪。 "我们走得挺快的，"利爪说道。 "我们可以在天黑前爬回洞穴。" "你确定吗？" 松鼠飞的声音带着怀疑。 "别忘了学徒们还没

experienced climbers. We don't want to be stuck out on the mountain overnight." "Are we going to be held up by the apprentices again?" Talon retorted. Jaypaw bristled at the anger in his tone, especially as he knew it was justified. What had Lionpaw and Hollypaw been thinking of, going into the barn like that and risking everything? "The apprentices will be fine," Stormfur stated calmly. "We can help them. What do you think, Brambleclaw?" There was a pause before Brambleclaw replied. "Okay, let's go." Jaypaw bounded beside his littermates as they crossed an open space. Gradually the ground began to slope upward; the grass beneath his paws grew thinner, and there were patches of loose soil mixed with grit that caught between his claws. Soon the slope was so steep that his paws started to slip. "Mouse dung!" he muttered, clawing for a grip. "Here." Squirrelflight's scent wreathed around him and he felt her tail guiding him to one side. His paws met solid rock.

经验丰富的登山者。 “我们可不想被困在山上过夜。” “我们该不会又被学徒们耽误行程吧？” 泰伦反驳道。 松鸦爪听到他语气里的怒火浑身炸毛，何况他也清楚这话并没说错。 狮爪和冬青爪到底在想什么？竟然闯进谷仓，拿一切去冒险？ “学徒们不会有事的，”暴毛平静地说道。 “我们可以去帮他们。 你怎么看，黑莓掌？” 黑莓掌停顿片刻才开口回答。 “好吧，我们出发。” 松鸦爪跟在同窝手足身旁，跑过一片开阔地带。 地面渐渐开始向上倾斜； 爪下的草变得越来越稀疏，混着沙砾的散土嵌进了他的趾缝。 很快斜坡就陡得让他的爪子开始打滑。 “鼠粪！” 他低声咕哝着，拼命扒抓寻找落脚点。 “这儿来。” 松鼠飞的气息裹住了他，他感觉到她的尾巴把自己引向一侧。 他的爪子踩到了结实的岩石。

"There's a path we can follow," his mother mewed. "There's a drop on this side, so make sure your pelt keeps brushing the rock on the other." Jaypaw padded behind Tawnypelt with Squirrelflight just behind him. He could scent his littermates a short way ahead. He began to feel more confident; this was a bit like climbing to the Highledge or making the journey to the Moonpool. I can do those without any trouble. I'll be fine here. But as the path twisted higher into the mountains his confidence began to ebb. He kept picturing the long drop his mother had warned him about, and knew that a single misstep would send him plummeting into the depths. Cold wind buffeted him, threatening to carry him off his paws. The rock was hard, and he couldn't see to avoid the sharp stones that cut his pads. A harsh screech sounded from somewhere above. Startled, Jaypaw stumbled and only Squirrelflight's shoulder, pushing up against his side, kept him on his paws. "What was that?" he gasped.

“这儿有一条小路可以走，”他的妈妈轻声说道。 “这边是悬崖，你要一直贴着另一侧的岩石走。” 松鸦爪走在褐皮身后，松鼠飞就跟在他背后。 他能闻到前方不远处就是同窝手足的气味。 他渐渐变得自信起来； 这有点像攀爬高岩，或是赶往月池的路程。 那些路我走起来都毫无问题。 在这里我肯定也没问题。 可当小路弯弯曲曲伸向山的更高处，他的信心开始慢慢消退。 他不停想起妈妈提醒过的悬崖，清楚只要一步踩错，就会直直坠入深渊。 冷风狠狠拍打着他，快要把他从路上吹下去。 岩石很硬，他看不见，没法躲开尖利的石头，石头割破了他的爪垫。 刺耳的嘶鸣从上方某处传来。 松鸦爪吓了一跳，脚下一绊，多亏松鼠飞用肩膀顶住他的身侧，才让他站稳。 “那是什么东西？”他喘着气问道。