Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 Jaypaw stiffened at the sound of screeching from the entrance to the camp. He paused with one paw raised, a stem of watermint still snagged in his claws. "What's that?" he meowed. Leafpool didn't reply. Thornclaw had come to see her, complaining about bellyache, and Jaypaw guessed she wouldn't notice a whole herd of badgers trampling through the stone hollow until she had finished treating her patient. "Jaypaw, where's that watermint?" she called. "Here." Jaypaw grabbed up more of the stems and thrust them at his mentor as he darted past the bramble screen and into the main clearing. He could hear the rustling of leaves as warriors came out of their den and the swift pattering of paws as apprentices bounded up to see what was going on. Whispers of alarm came from every corner of the clearing, and from beneath the Highledge, Jaypaw detected powerful fear-scent from Hollypaw and Honeypaw. Graystripe was speaking, his voice raised in a

第八章 营地入口传来尖啸，松鸦爪瞬间僵住了。 他抬着一只爪子停住动作，脚爪上还勾着一枝留兰香的茎。 “那是什么声音？”他喵声问道。 叶池没有回答他。 棘爪来找她看肚子疼，松鸦爪猜测，她不给病人看完病，就算整群獾踏过石谷，她都不会察觉。 “松鸦爪，那枝留兰香呢？” 她喊道。 “这儿。” 松鸦爪抓起更多留兰香茎递给自己的导师，随即冲过荆棘屏障，跑进了主空地。 他听见武士出窝时树叶沙沙作响，还有学徒跑来探情况时轻快的爪步声。 空地各个角落都响起惊慌的低语，高岩下方，松鸦爪闻到了冬青爪和蜜爪身上浓烈的恐惧气味。 灰条开口说话，他的声音满含

fierce growl. "Not another paw step, until you tell us what you're doing on our territory." Jaypaw's fur began to bristle as he picked up the scent of two strange cats. It seemed as if Graystripe and his patrol had caught a couple of rogues trespassing on ThunderClan territory. Jaypaw tasted the air carefully. The scent was strong, but with a bitter tinge that seemed familiar, though he couldn't remember where he had smelled it before. Concentrating fiercely, Jaypaw tried to pull the newcomers" feelings into himself as if he was drawing in their scent. He could sense fear, suspicion, and an overwhelming desperation. It had been difficult for them to come here, yet they'd had no choice. They need something from ThunderClan! Before any cat spoke, there was the sound of more cats approaching through the tunnel. It was Stormfur and Brook, with fresh-kill in their jaws. "Talon! Night!" Brook exclaimed, dropping the vole. "What are you doing here?" Cloudtail spoke first, his voice sharp with suspicion. "You mean you know these cats?"

凶狠的低吼。 “在说清你到我们领地来做什么之前，不许再迈一步。” 松鸦爪闻到两只陌生猫的气味，浑身毛发都炸了起来。 看起来灰条和他的巡逻队抓到了两只私闯雷族领地的泼皮猫。 松鸦爪仔细分辨着空气中的气味。 这气味很浓烈，带着一丝熟悉的苦味，可他想不起之前在哪闻过。 松鸦爪全神贯注，想像吸进气味那样，感知这些新来者的情绪。 他能感受到恐惧、猜疑，还有一股难以抵挡的绝望。 他们来这里非常不容易，却又别无选择。 他们有求于雷族！ 还没等任何猫开口，隧道里又传来更多猫走近的声音。 是暴毛和溪儿，嘴里都叼着刚猎到的猎物。 “利爪！暗夜！” 溪儿惊呼出声，叼着的田鼠掉在了地上。 “你们怎么会在这里？” 云尾率先开口，声音尖锐，满是猜疑。 “你的意思是你认识这些猫？”

"Firestar, these are the cats we scented near the WindClan border," Hollypaw broke in, before either of the strangers could reply. "Brambleclaw sent us to warn you about intruders." "They're not intruders." Leafpool spoke calmly as she emerged from her den, her pelt brushing Jaypaw's. "They come from the Tribe of Rushing Water." Firestar bounded down the rocks that led to his den. "Of course! It's Talon of Swooping Eagle, isn't it, and Night of No Stars?" "That's right," a quiet, accented voice replied. Jaypaw sensed the tension in the clearing begin to relax. He could make out a few murmurs of recognition coming from the older ThunderClan cats, the ones who had made the Great Journey and stayed with the Tribe of Rushing Water in the mountains. "I knew I'd seen that black she-cat somewhere before," Dustpelt muttered. "I wonder what they want?" Sorreltail asked; she sounded puzzled rather than hostile. "I suppose we'll soon find out," Brackenfur replied. "It must be important, for them to come

“火星，这就是我们在风族边界闻到的那群猫，”两个陌生人还没答话，冬青爪就抢先开口。 “黑莓掌派我们来提醒你有入侵者。” “他们不是入侵者。” 叶池平静地说着，从自己的巢穴走出来，皮毛轻轻擦过松鸦爪。 “他们来自急水部落。” 火星跳下通往他巢穴的岩石。 “当然了！ 你是飞鹰利爪，这位是无星暗夜，对不对？” “没错，”一个口音浓重的声音轻声答道。 松鸦爪感觉到空地里的紧张气氛开始松缓下来。 他能听到年长雷族猫认出对方的低喃，这些猫都参加过大迁徙，曾在山区和急水部落共处。 “我就说我之前在哪见过这只黑色母猫，”尘毛低声嘟囔。 “真想知道他们来做什么？” 纹脸问道，她的语气更多是困惑，而非敌意。 “我想我们很快就知道了，”蜡毛答道。 “他们远道而来，这事肯定

all this way." "Stormfur, Brook." Firestar spoke again. "Bring your prey over to the fresh-kill pile. You must want to catch up with old friends." "It doesn't look much like it," Hollypaw whispered into Jaypaw's ear; she had bounded up to him while he was concentrating on the voices. "Brook seems really upset, and Stormfur looks as if he's got a bit of crow-food under his nose." "He just gave Brook a nudge," Lionpaw added, padding up in his turn. "She doesn't want to go near them." Jaypaw could tell from his littermate's paw steps that he was still stiff from his wounds from the fight with Ashfur. Yet he sensed pride coming from Lionpaw, too, as if he knew he had fought well. "They're touching noses now," Hollypaw reported softly. "But they still look as if—" Jaypaw didn't hear the rest of what she said. Suddenly the ground lurched beneath his paws and he felt blood pounding in his ears. The stench of blood was in his nose. Scarlet light washed over him and he realized that he could see.

大老远跑这一趟。” “暴毛，溪儿。” 火星再次开口说道。 “把你们的猎物放到猎物堆去吧。 你们肯定想和老朋友叙叙旧。” “看起来可不太像叙旧哦，”冬青爪凑到松鸦爪耳边轻声说； 趁松鸦爪专心听说话的时候，她已经跳到了他身边。 “溪儿看起来特别难过，暴毛的脸臭得就像鼻子底下沾了腐肉似的。” “他刚才只是碰了碰溪儿，”狮爪跟着走过来补充道。 “她不想靠近那些猫。” 松鸦爪从同窝兄弟的脚步声听出，他和暗毛打斗留下的伤口还僵硬没好。 但他也感受到狮爪身上散发的骄傲，好像狮爪也清楚自己打得很不错。 “他们现在碰鼻子打招呼了，”冬青爪轻声汇报道。 “可他们看起来还是——”后面的话松鸦爪没听见。 突然脚下的地面猛地一晃，松鸦爪感觉血液在耳朵里砰砰狂跳。 他的鼻子里全是刺鼻的血腥味。 猩红的光笼罩了他，他这才意识到，自己居然能看见了。

On every side he was jostled by fighting cats. He could hear their screeching and the slash of claws through fur. Blood spattered against his pelt, hot and sticky. Underpaw the ground was hard stone; Jaypaw's claws scrabbled on it as he tried to keep his balance. His paws were splayed across a tilted boulder, sliding slowly downward. He scrambled across a narrow crevice, barely saving himself from being trapped, then caught a glimpse of a sheer drop beneath him and nothing ahead but the open sky, stained bloodred as the sun went down. Dizzy from the height and the fierceness of the battle, Jaypaw felt as though his paws were frozen to the rock. Where was he? This was no dream, and yet the clearing by the lake had vanished as if it had never been. He bit back a yowl of terror as the scene flickered; darkness returned, but not the unbroken night of his blindness. He was in a cave, where the noise of falling water echoed from the rocks. Moonlight shone through a glittering screen of water that covered the entrance. Cats were sitting all around him, talking to one

四周全是打架的猫，不停挤撞着他 他能听见它们的嘶吼，还有爪子划开皮毛的声响 鲜血溅在他的皮毛上，又热又黏 脚下是坚硬的石块，松鸦爪扒着石头努力稳住身体 他张开爪子扒住倾斜的巨石，身子慢慢往下滑 他爬过狭窄的岩缝，好不容易才没被困住，接着瞥见身下是陡峭悬崖，前方只有落日染得血红的空旷天空 高度加上激烈的打斗让他头晕，松鸦爪觉得爪子像冻在石头上动弹不得 他这是在哪儿？ 这不是梦，可湖边的空地已经消失了，就像从未存在过 场景开始闪烁，他硬生生憋住了恐惧的嚎叫 黑暗再次降临，却不是他失明后那种永恒不变的黑夜 他身在山洞里，落水声在岩壁间来回回荡 月光透过遮住洞口的闪闪水幕照了进来 好多猫围坐在他身边，正互相

another in quiet, serious voices. Jaypaw could pick up their scents and recognized those that belonged to the intruders who had just arrived at the camp. They were sitting opposite him: a huge tabby tom and a smaller black she-cat. Movement at the far side of the cave caught his eye, and he spotted a muscular gray warrior rising to his paws. Scent told him that he was looking at Stormfur. So the tabby she-cat with him must be Brook. Stormfur addressed a brown tabby cat who sat on a boulder at the head of a cave. "It's no use expecting these cats to leave," he meowed. "They want to settle here, and they don't care how much trouble they're giving us. We have to show them that they must respect our territory." "And how do we do that?" another cat asked. "Hang on, we don't want any other cats living near us." It was the tabby tom who spoke. "The mountains are ours." "Not anymore, Talon," Stormfur mewed regretfully. "We'll just have to get used to it," Brook added. Stormfur dipped his head in agreement. "I

交谈，声音轻而严肃 松鸦爪认出了这些气味，它们就是刚抵达营地的入侵者 它们坐在他对面：一只大块头虎斑公猫，和一只娇小些的黑色母猫 山洞另一头的动静吸引了他的注意，他看见一只健壮的灰色武士站起身 气味告诉他，面前的这只猫是石毛 那和他同行的虎斑母猫一定就是溪儿 石毛对着坐在洞穴尽头巨石上的棕虎斑猫开口说话 “想让这些猫自己离开，根本没用，”他说道 “他们想在这里定居，根本不在乎给我们添多少麻烦 我们必须让他们明白，必须尊重我们的领地。” “那我们要怎么做呢？” 另一只猫问道 “不行，我们绝不允许别的猫住在我们边上。” 说这话的是那只虎斑公猫 “这座山是我们的。” “早就不是了，利爪，”石毛遗憾地说道 “我们只能慢慢接受这件事，”溪儿补充道 石毛低下头，表示同意 “我