Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 Jaypaw heard his brother's sigh and felt disappointment rolling off him like the waves on the lakeshore. He had picked up the same feeling from Hollypaw before she fell asleep, but he couldn't share it. They had made it as far as the mountains, which was the main thing that mattered to him. His only worry was that he would be forced to go home before he had learned the secrets that awaited him here. He lay quietly in the warm nest, trying to build up a picture of the cave. He could locate the waterfall from the sound it made and identify where the cats were from their scent. There was a difference between cave-guards and prey-hunters, he discovered, just as there was between Clan and Tribe. Beneath their scents, he felt battered by the Tribe's emotions, their sense of fear and vulnerability in a situation they could not control. And in addition, a desperate weariness, as if they were ready to give up their claim to live in the

第22章 松鸦爪听到哥哥的叹息，感受到他浑身散出的失望，就像湖岸翻涌的浪涛。 冬青爪睡着前，松鸦爪也从她身上感受到了同样的情绪，可他并无同感。 他们已经一路走到了群山，这对他来说才是最重要的事。 他唯一的担忧是，还没摸清这里等着他的秘密，就会被迫回家。 他静静躺在温暖的窝巢里，试着在脑海里勾勒出这个洞穴的样子。 他能靠水声定位瀑布，靠气味分辨出猫咪们所在的位置。 他发现洞穴守卫和猎食猫之间存在区别，就像族群和部落之间一样。 在他们的气味之下，松鸦爪被部落的情绪冲击，他们身陷失控的处境，满是恐惧与脆弱。 除此之外，还有一股绝望的疲惫，仿佛他们就要放弃在这里居住的

mountains. Where are their ancestors? Jaypaw wondered. Why isn't the Tribe of Endless Hunting doing something to help? The image of Stoneteller rose in his mind, the grizzled tabby he had seen when he shared Brook's memory of the battle and Stormfur's banishment. The roaring of the waterfall grew louder, pulsing in his ears, until suddenly his eyes flicked open. He was standing on the exposed rocky outcrop where he had confronted Rock before. Stars glittered frostily above his head and an icy wind ruffled his fur. Stoneteller stood barely a tail-length away, with his back to him. Jaypaw darted into the shadow of a rock and peered out. Along the spine of stone another cat was approaching, a slender tabby like most of the Tribe cats, but with the shimmer of stars in his fur. Jaypaw pressed himself farther into the shadows. This must be one of the Tribe's ancestors, from the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Curiously he wondered why Rock had brought him here in his earlier dream, if it was a place sacred to the Tribe.

群山。 他们的先祖在哪里呢？ 松鸦爪心中好奇。 为什么无尽狩猎部落不做点什么来帮助他们呢？ 尖石巫师的模样浮现在他脑海，这只花白虎斑猫，是他之前共享溪儿关于战斗与暴毛被放逐的记忆时见过的。 瀑布的轰鸣声越来越大，在他耳边砰砰作响，直到他突然睁开了眼睛。 他正站在一块裸露的岩石岬上，就是从前他和岩石对峙的地方。 星星在他头顶冰冷地闪烁，寒风拂动着他的皮毛。 尖石巫师站在离他不到一根尾巴远的地方，背对着他。 松鸦爪一下子窜到岩石的阴影里，偷偷向外张望。 沿着石脊走来了另一只猫，它像大多数部落猫一样是苗条的虎斑，皮毛里却闪着星星的微光。 松鸦爪把身子往阴影里缩得更紧了。 这一定是部落的先祖，来自无尽狩猎部落。 他好奇地想，如果这里是部落的圣地，为什么岩石早先会把他带到这儿来呢。

Stoneteller waited until the ancestor stood a fox-length away from him, then dipped his head. "Greetings," he meowed. "What guidance have you come to give me?" For a moment the ancestor did not reply. Jaypaw thought there was an air of defeat about him, as if even the Tribe of Endless Hunting was sick of the fighting and ready to give up. "I have no guidance," the ancestor replied at last. "Never in the Tribe's history have we tried to fight an endless battle. Until now, the mountains have been protection enough." His sigh was like the whisper of wind over the rock. "We can see no end to it." "There must be an end!" Stoneteller protested. "My Tribe is dying. There must be something we can do." The ancestor shook his head. "Not this time," he mewed sadly. "We thought this was a place of safety, but it is not." He turned and began to pace away, fading into the shadows. "Wait!" Stoneteller took a step forward, lashing his tail, then halted, his head lowered in defeat. As if he was too exhausted to stay on his paws, he

尖石巫师一直等到先祖走到离他一狐身长的位置，才低下了头。 "你好，"他喵道。 "你这次来，要给我什么指引？" 好一会儿，先祖都没有回答。 松鸦爪觉得他周身满是挫败感，仿佛连无尽狩猎部落都厌倦了争斗，准备放弃了。 "我没有任何指引，"先祖终于开口回答。 "部落有史以来，我们从来不曾打过一场永无止境的战争。 "在这之前，群山一直足够保护我们了。" 他的叹息就像风吹过岩石的轻语。 "我们看不到这场战争的尽头。" "一定会有尽头的！" 尖石巫师反驳道。 "我的部落正在消亡。 "我们一定还有办法可想。" 先祖摇了摇头。 "这次不行了，"他悲伤地说道。 "我们本以为这里是安全之地，可它不是。" 他转过身慢慢走开，身影渐渐融入了阴影。 "等等！" 尖石巫师向前迈了一步，甩了甩尾巴，随后停住，沮丧地低下了头。 仿佛他累得连爪子都站不稳了，他

staggered to the shelter of a rocky overhang, flopped down, and closed his eyes. Instantly Jaypaw sprang out of hiding and raced along the stony ridge, ignoring the precipices on either side. After a few pounding heartbeats, the shape of the ancestor reappeared from the shadows, still pacing slowly away. "Wait for me!" Jaypaw called. The ancestor halted and glanced back over his shoulder. When his gaze fell on Jaypaw his ears flicked up and his eyes widened in shock. "You have come," he whispered. Jaypaw stared at him. What did he mean? How could a cat from the Tribe of Endless Hunting recognize a Clan cat who had never set paw in the mountains until now? Before he could say anything, the cat spoke again. "Follow." Jaypaw gulped. This wasn't what he had imagined. But he was here now—and there were so many questions he wanted answers to. His paws carried him on almost against his will, as the ancestor crossed the last few fox-lengths of the ridge and set paw on a trail that led down into

摇摇晃晃走到岩石悬垂下的遮蔽处，扑通卧倒，闭上了眼睛。 松鸦爪立刻从藏身处窜出，沿着石脊狂奔，顾不上两侧就是悬崖。 心跳咚咚跳了几下后，先祖的身影重新从阴影里出现，依旧慢悠悠地走向远处。 "等等我！" 松鸦爪喊道。 先祖停下脚步，回头越过肩膀望过来。 当目光落到松鸦爪身上时，他猛地竖起耳朵，震惊地瞪大了眼睛。 "你来了，"他轻声说。 松鸦爪盯着他。 他这话是什么意思？ 一只无尽狩猎部落的猫，怎么会认得一个此前从未踏足过群山的族群猫呢？ 松鸦爪还没来得及开口，这只猫又说话了。 "跟我来。" 松鸦爪咽了口唾沫。 这完全不是他想象的样子。 可他既然已经来了——还有那么多问题等着找到答案。 他的爪子几乎不受控制地往前走，先祖走完山脊最后几狐身长的距离，踏上了一条向下通往

thick shadow. The narrow path, faint against the surface of the rocks, zigzagged across the face of a cliff. In the dim starshine Jaypaw couldn't see the bottom. But at least I can see. This couldn't be as bad as that awful journey yesterday, and it wouldn't end in the humiliation of being carried like a kit. He pressed himself close to the rock face and tried not to think of how far he might have to fall. The ancestor padded on steadily, his pace never varying; now and again he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Jaypaw was still following. Eventually he halted, beckoned Jaypaw with his tail, then leaped off the cliff and disappeared. Jaypaw's claws scraped the stony surface of the ledge. Was he expected to launch himself into the shadows? If he didn't kill himself, it would still break his dream, and he couldn't bear to wake up until he'd had a chance to talk to the ancestor. But when he peered over the edge he saw the ground was only a couple of tail-lengths below. He jumped down easily and looked around. The ancestor had brought him to the bottom

浓重的阴影。 狭窄的小路在岩壁上若隐若现，沿着悬崖表面蜿蜒向前。 朦胧星光下，松鸦爪看不到崖底。 但至少我还能看得见。 这总不会比昨天那趟糟糕的旅程更糟，也不会落得像幼崽一样被叼着走的耻辱下场。 他紧紧贴住岩壁，努力不去想如果掉下去会摔得多远。 那位祖先稳稳迈步向前，步伐始终没变； 他时不时回头瞥一眼，确认松鸦爪还跟在身后。 终于他停了下来，用尾巴示意松鸦爪过来，接着跃下悬崖不见了踪影。 松鸦爪的爪子刮擦着崖边平台的石面。 难道要他自己跳进这团阴影里吗？ 就算他没摔死，也会从梦里醒来，可他还没和祖先对上话，根本舍不得醒过来。 可当他探头往下看，才发现崖底离他不过两个尾巴的长度。 他轻松跳了下去，环顾四周。 祖先把他带到了崖底

of a stone hollow, a little like the ThunderClan camp, except that the sides were sheer and much, much taller. The only way up or down seemed to be by the trail that they had followed. In the center of the hollow, almost filling it, was a pool. Starlight shimmered on its surface. It reminded Jaypaw of the Moonpool, except it was much bigger, and instead of the constant plashing of the waterfall, the water was still and the hollow was utterly silent. Jaypaw blinked. What he had thought was the reflection of starshine in the pool was a light that came from the ranks of starry cats sitting around it —or had they only just shown themselves? He shivered as he gazed around. He was used to StarClan now, but he had never imagined that one day he would confront ancestors who were not his own. Some of the cat shapes were barely visible, as if the spirits were so old that they had almost faded away. Others shone more strongly, and some still bore the wounds of battle, seeping blood, as if they had only just come to join the Tribe of Endless Hunting.

一座石谷的谷底，这里有点像雷族营地，只不过谷壁更陡峭，也高得多得多。 上下唯一的通路，似乎就是他们刚才走过的那条小径。 石谷正中央有一汪水池，几乎占满了整个谷底。 星光在水面上微微闪烁。 这让松鸦爪想起了月池，只不过这个水池大得多，这里没有瀑布不停的溅水声，水面平静，整个石谷万籁俱寂。 松鸦爪眨了眨眼睛。 他原先以为是池面的星光倒影，其实是围坐在池边的群星猫咪身上散出的光——还是说，他们刚刚才现出身影？ 他环顾四周，忍不住打了个寒颤。 他现在已经习惯星族了，可他从没想过，有一天会面对不是自己族群的祖先。 有些猫的身形几乎看不清，仿佛这些灵魂太过古老，已经快消散殆尽了。 另一些猫的光芒更亮，有些还带着战伤，血仍在慢慢渗出来，仿佛他们才刚刚加入无尽狩猎之族。