Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 Lionpaw followed Talon as he picked his way down the trail to the rocks below. The cats who had killed the eagle were waiting for them, their eyes guarded and their tails twitching. A pale gray tom stepped forward to touch noses with Talon. "It's good to see you again," he mewed. There was warmth in his voice. "And you, Night," he added, as the black she-cat padded up to join them. "Thank you, Gray," Talon replied. Lionpaw eyed the Tribe cats doubtfully. They were smaller and skinnier than most Clan cats, and their gray-brown pelts were smeared with mud so that they almost faded into the rocky background. Their eyes glowed strangely, reflecting the red light of the setting sun. As one of them turned to look at him, he took a step toward Squirrelflight. She bent her head and licked his ear, and for a heartbeat he felt ashamed. I'm not a kit anymore. Besides, he told himself, they were there to

第20章 狮爪跟在塔伦身后，沿着小径小心翼翼地走向下方的岩石区 杀死老鹰的那群猫正在等他们，个个眼神戒备，尾巴不停抽动 一只浅灰色公猫走上前，和塔伦碰了碰鼻子 "很高兴再次见到你，"他喵声说道 他的声音里透着暖意 "还有你，夜，"那只黑色母猫走过来加入他们时，他补充道 "谢谢你，灰，"塔伦回答道 狮爪满腹疑虑地打量着这群部落猫 他们比大多数族群猫都更小更瘦，灰褐色皮毛沾满污泥，几乎和岩石背景融在了一起 他们的眼睛闪着奇异的光，映照着落日的红光 当其中一只猫转头看向他时，他向松鼠飞身边挪了一步 她低下头舔了舔他的耳朵，那一瞬，他感到一阵羞愧 我已经不是幼崽了 而且，他告诉自己，他们是来

help these cats. The cat Talon had called Gray was staring at the other cats who had descended the trail behind Night. "Stormfur!" he exclaimed, his eyes stretched wide. "Brook! What are you doing here? You're... you're supposed to be dead." The Tribe cats edged closer together, their fur bristling. Lionpaw felt a flash of irritation. Just because Stoneteller had said Stormfur and Brook were dead to the Tribe didn't mean they were actually dead. Did these cats believe everything their leader told them? Stormfur looked at Brook, and there was weariness in his expression. "No, we're not dead," he meowed, turning back to the Tribe cats. "We were outcasts for a while, that's all." The cats stepped forward, stretching their necks to sniff at Stormfur's pelt. Their questions came slowly at first, then faster, like rain in greenleaf. "Are you okay?" "Where did you go?" "Why have you come back?" "Talon and Night came to fetch us." Brook

帮助这些猫 被塔伦称作灰的猫正盯着跟在夜身后走下小径的其他猫 "暴风尾！"他惊呼，眼睛瞪得大大的 "溪儿！ 你们怎么会在这里？ 你本来… 大家都以为你已经死了。" 部落猫们紧紧挤在一起，毛发根根竖起 狮爪感到一阵烦躁 只不过是部落先知说暴风尾和溪儿不再是部落的猫，可不代表他们真的死了啊 这些猫难道首领说什么都信吗 暴风尾看向溪儿，脸上满是疲惫 "不，我们没死，"他转回身对部落猫们说道 "我们只是流浪了一段时间，仅此而已。" 猫们纷纷上前，伸长脖子嗅暴风尾的皮毛 一开始问题问得很慢，接着越来越快，就像绿季的大雨 "你还好吗？" "你去了哪里？" "你为什么回来？" "是塔伦和夜来接我们的。" 溪儿

spoke for the first time. "They said you needed us." The Tribe cats exchanged uncertain glances. Lionpaw waited for them to say, Yes, thank you, we hoped you'd come back to help. But they didn't. Instead, they turned their attention to the Clan cats. Gray stepped forward to give Brambleclaw a cautious sniff. "Hey, I've met you before. You're one of those cats who traveled through here a few seasons ago." "That's right." Brambleclaw dipped his head. "And I remember you... you're Gray Sky Before Dawn, right?" "Right!" Gray looked surprised that Brambleclaw had remembered his name. "Did... did you find the home you were looking for?" "We did, thanks," Brambleclaw replied. "A good place, by a lake." Gray put his head on one side. "Then why are you here now? And what have you done with all the others?" "We came because—" Tawnypelt began to speak, then fell silent as Brook shot her a warning

第一次开口说话 "他们说你们需要我们帮助。" 部落猫们不确定地对视了一眼 狮爪等着他们说，没错，谢谢你们，我们盼着你们回来帮忙 可他们什么都没说 反而把注意力转到了族群猫身上 灰走上前，小心翼翼地嗅了嗅黑莓掌 "嘿，我以前见过你 你就是几个季节前路过这儿的猫之一。" "没错。" 黑莓掌低下头 "我还记得你… 你是黎明前的灰天，对不对？" "没错！" 灰没想到黑莓掌还记得自己的名字，十分惊讶 "你… 你们找到当初要找的家了吗？" "找到了，谢谢，"黑莓掌回答道 "是个好地方，靠着一片大湖。" 灰歪着脑袋 "那你们现在为什么来这儿？ 其他的猫都怎么样了？" "我们是来——"褐皮刚开口，溪儿就对她递了个警告的

glance. Her tail-tip twitched irritably. "They're just passing through," Brook explained. Lionpaw bristled; Hollypaw leaned closer to him and murmured in his ear, "She doesn't want to offend the Tribe cats by telling them they need help from outsiders. It's enough of a shock that she and Stormfur have come back from the dead, by the look of it." But they obviously need our help! These cats were so skinny he could count their ribs. They were no match for the trespassers. Lionpaw's fur felt hot with anger as he remembered the mocking looks of Stripes and Flick and the insolent way they'd spoken. They think they can do what they want, and no cat will stop them! By now the red sunset light was beginning to fade, leaving the mountains wrapped in twilight. Talon waved his tail as a signal for the journeying cats to move off again. "See you later in the cave, Gray," he meowed. His tone was decisive, making it clear that he wasn't going to answer any more questions now.

眼神 她的尾尖烦躁地抽动着 "他们只是路过这里，"溪儿解释道 狮爪气得毛发倒竖； 冬青爪凑到他身边，低声说："她不想告诉部落猫他们需要外人帮忙，免得冒犯他们 看样子，她和暴风尾死而复生就已经够让他们震惊了。" 可他们明明就需要我们的帮助啊！ 这些猫瘦得连肋骨都能数清楚 他们根本打不过入侵者 狮爪想起条纹和弗利克嘲弄的神情和无礼的话语，气得浑身发热 他们觉得自己想干什么就干什么，没人能阻止他们！ 此刻落日的红光渐渐退去，群山笼罩在了暮色之中 塔伦摆了摆尾巴，示意赶路的猫继续出发 "我们洞穴见，灰，"他说道 他语气斩钉截铁，摆明了现在不想再回答任何问题

The Tribe cats went back to their prey and began dragging it across the rocks. The eagle's feathers made a soft rustling sound on the stone. Lionpaw skirted the bird at a safe distance as he passed. Even though it was dead, he didn't like the look of the sharp, crooked talons or the bright beady eye that seemed to stare at him. As he padded across the rocky plateau beside his littermates, Lionpaw heard a noise like thunder. He looked up, but the sky was clear, with stars beginning to shine above the peaks. The roaring noise grew louder and the air grew damp until beads of moisture hung on Lionpaw's fur. They were close to the edge of the plateau. Hollypaw ran forward to peer over the edge. "Come and look at this!" she called. Lionpaw bounded over to join her. He stopped with a jerk and looked back to check that Jaypaw wasn't too close to the edge. Just in front of his paws, the rocks fell away into a narrow, winding valley, leading steeply downward. A stream foamed along the bottom, throwing up spray where it dashed against rocks and swirling around the roots of straggling bushes that clung to the

部落猫回到猎物旁，开始拖着它穿过岩石。 老鹰的羽毛在石头上发出轻轻的沙沙声。 狮爪经过时，在安全距离外绕开了这只大鸟。 哪怕它已经死了，狮爪还是讨厌那锋利弯曲的利爪，还有那颗亮溜溜圆滚滚、好像盯着他看的眼睛。 狮爪跟着同窝手足走在岩石高地上时，听到一阵雷鸣般的声响。 他抬头望去，可天空晴朗，山峰上空已经开始闪出星星了。 轰隆声越来越大，空气也变得潮湿，水珠都凝在了狮爪的毛发上。 他们已经走到高地的边缘了。 冬青爪跑上前探着身子往下看。 "快过来看看！" 她喊道。 狮爪蹦过去和她一起看。 他猛地停住脚步，回头确认松鸦爪没有太靠近边缘。 就在他的爪子前方，岩石陡落，形成一条狭窄蜿蜒的山谷，一路向下倾斜。 谷底有一条溪流翻着白浪，撞上岩石溅起水花，又打着旋儿绕过紧紧依附在

banks. The thundering noise came from farther down the valley, where the stream vanished over a lip of rock. "That's the waterfall." Squirrelflight raised her voice and pointed with her tail. "We're almost there." Still in the lead, Talon picked his way down the rocks to the stream. There was a tiny path, narrow as a bramble, clinging to the edge of the water. "Watch where you're putting your paws," he called. "Do you remember when we first came here?" Squirrelflight asked Brambleclaw. The tabby tom's whiskers twitched. "Will I ever forget it?" "It was on the way back from the sun-drownplace," Squirrelflight explained to the apprentices. "It had been raining hard and a surge of floodwater swept us into the stream. We went right over the waterfall and ended up in the pool below." "I thought I'd joined StarClan for sure," Stormfur added, pausing to gaze down at the stream before setting his paws cautiously on the

河岸上。 轰隆声来自山谷更深处，溪流从一道岩坎上方倾泻而下，消失不见。 "那就是瀑布。" 松鼠飞抬高嗓门，用尾巴指了指方向。 "我们快到了。" 利爪依旧走在最前面，顺着岩石往下走向溪流。 有一条窄窄的小径，细得像荆棘枝，紧贴着溪边。 "看好你们爪子踩的地方，"他喊道。 "你还记得我们第一次来这儿的时候吗？" 松鼠飞问黑莓掌。 这只虎斑公猫的胡须轻轻动了动。 "Will I ever forget it?" "那是我们从太阳沉没之地返回的路上，"松鼠飞给学徒们解释道。 "当时下了好大的雨，一股洪水把我们冲进了溪里。" 我们直接从瀑布冲了下去，掉到了下面的水潭里。" "我当时还以为自己肯定要去星族了，"暴毛补充道，他停下来低头看了看溪流，才小心翼翼把爪子落在