Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 "Why don't you two go to sleep?" Lionpaw grumbled, circling in his nest yet again. Icepaw and Foxpaw had been whispering in the dark ever since Whitewing had sent them to their nests. With only five apprentices left in the den, the noise seemed louder than usual. Hollypaw was asleep with her tail covering her ears, and Cinderpaw snored gently beside her. Didn't Icepaw and Foxpaw need rest, too? Lionpaw tried to make himself comfortable, but his moss felt lumpy. "What are you whispering about, anyway?" he hissed at the two young apprentices. "Nothing important," Foxpaw mewed. Lionpaw wriggled, feeling a pebble deep in his nest. Perhaps that was what was making him so uncomfortable. He rooted down through the moss, feeling for the stone and wishing he were asleep. The whispering started again. "Shut up!" Lionpaw hissed.

第十二章 "你们俩怎么还不去睡呀？" 狮爪嘟囔着，又一次在自己窝里转起圈来。 自从白翅送冰爪和狐爪回窝，他俩就在黑暗里窃窃私语个不停。 巢穴里只剩五名学徒，这点动静听起来比往常更吵。 冬青爪已经睡着了，尾巴盖住耳朵，炭爪在她身旁轻轻打呼。 难道冰爪和狐爪就不需要休息吗？ 狮爪试着调整姿势让自己舒服些，可苔藓窝摸起来坑坑洼洼。 "话说你们到底在嘀咕什么呀？" 他对着两个年轻学徒生气地小声问。 "没什么要紧事"，狐爪轻声回应。 狮爪扭了扭身子，摸到窝底藏着一块小石子。 或许就是这块石子让他这么不舒服。 他扒开苔藓往下找石子，心里只盼着自己能快点睡着。 窃窃私语又开始了。 "闭嘴！" 狮爪低吼道。

"It wasn't us!" Icepaw retorted indignantly. Lionpaw tensed. Who was it then? He sat up in his nest. Something was moving outside. A faint shadow flickered over the branches of the den. Lionpaw tasted the air. A musky tang filled his mouth. Not ThunderClan. He froze. WindClan! Had they come to ask for help? But why now, under cover of darkness? He crept to the entrance of the den. "Where are you going?" Foxpaw whispered. "Shh!" Peering out, Lionpaw saw thin shadows streaming through the thorn tunnel. The light- footed shapes were filling the clearing, hardly visible under the moonless sky. He blinked in disbelief. An invasion? "Attack!" Lionpaw screeched the alarm and shot from the den. He slammed into a WindClan cat, surprised that the wraithlike warrior felt so real. Noise exploded around him as, snarling and hissing, the WindClan invaders turned on him. He lashed out at the barrage of paws, keeping his

"不是我们！" 冰爪气冲冲地反驳道。 狮爪瞬间绷紧了身体。 那会是谁？ 他在窝里坐直了身子。 巢穴外面有东西在动。 一道淡影在巢穴的枝桠上晃过。 狮爪嗅了嗅空气中的气味。 一股刺鼻的麝香味漫进鼻腔。 不是雷族的气味。 他僵住了。 是风族！ 他们是来求助的吗？ 可为什么要选现在，趁着夜色偷偷过来？ 他悄悄爬向巢穴入口。 "你要去哪儿？" 狐爪小声问道。 "嘘！" 狮爪朝外探去，看见一道道瘦影正穿过荆藤隧道。 这些脚步轻盈的身影占满了空地，无月的夜空里几乎看不清他们。 他不敢相信地眨了眨眼。 是入侵？ "有敌人进攻！" 狮爪高声发出警报，猛地冲出巢穴。 他狠狠撞上一只风族猫，没想到这些幽灵般的武士摸起来居然这么真实。 风族入侵者纷纷转向他，咆哮嘶吼声瞬间在他四周炸开。 他对着扑面而来的一堆爪子挥打，牢牢把

hind paws firmly planted against the onslaught. Then he dropped and crouched, letting the attackers fall in upon themselves, and wriggled out of the melee. ThunderClan warriors were streaming from their den, pelts bristling, eyes wide with shock. Hollypaw raced into the clearing with Cinderpaw, Icepaw, and Foxpaw at her heels. "Why are they attacking us?" This was no time for questions. "Circle the clearing and pick off the outsiders!" Lionpaw ordered. He ducked as a WindClan warrior leaped for him, then arched his back. His attacker rolled clumsily over him, landing wrong-footed as Lionpaw spun and leaped for his throat. Only just in time, he re-aimed his attack, biting the WindClan warrior sharply behind the ear and rolling him to the ground. I nearly killed you! Lionpaw realized how close he'd come to tearing this warrior's throat out. "Get out of my camp!" he hissed, hooking the warrior with his forepaws and raking his belly with his hind. Or I will kill you!

后爪踩稳地面抵挡这阵猛攻。 接着他伏低身子，让攻击者互相冲撞，自己则扭着身子钻出了混战。 雷族武士纷纷冲出巢穴，毛发倒竖，满眼都是震惊。 冬青爪冲进空地，炭爪、冰爪和狐爪紧跟在她身后。 "他们为什么要攻打我们？" 现在可不是问问题的时候。 "把空地围起来，逐个击退外来者！" 狮爪下令道。 一名风族武士朝他扑来，他低头躲开，随即弓起脊背。 攻击者笨拙地从他身上滚过，脚步不稳摔在地上，狮爪趁机转身扑向对方喉咙。 好在他及时改变攻击方向，狠狠咬在风族武士的耳后，把他按倒在地。 我差点杀了你！ 狮爪才反应过来，他差点就咬断这名武士的喉咙。 "滚出我的营地！" 他低吼着，前爪扣住对方，后爪狠狠挠向对方的肚子。 不然我真的杀了你！

The WindClan warrior wriggled from his grasp but didn't flee, only disappeared into the throng of cats fighting in the clearing. Lionpaw tried to follow him, but the WindClan warrior's pelt disappeared into the gray, writhing mass. A flash of white! Cloudtail was shouldering his way through the crowd. Sandstorm's pelt glowed at the far side of the battle; close by, Lionpaw could make out the white-patched pelts of Sorreltail and Brightheart. Whitewing was outside the elders" den, slashing side by side with her apprentice, Icepaw, at an advancing line of WindClan warriors. Graystripe reared up at the entrance to the nursery, battering a WindClan cat with such force that it scrambled backward, hissing, into the crowd. Brightheart rolled past him, grappling with a spitting WindClan tom. Graystripe grabbed the tom, hooking him away from his Clanmate and tossing him aside like fresh-kill. "Get inside the nursery!" he yowled. While Brightheart slid inside the nursery to defend the queens and kits, Graystripe planted his paws at the entrance, his glittering eyes daring any

那名风族武士从他爪下挣脱，没有逃跑，只是消失在空地混战的猫群里。 狮爪想要追上他，可对方的毛皮已经融入灰扑扑、不停扭动的猫群，没了踪影。 一道白光闪过！ 云尾正用肩膀挤着穿过猫群。 沙风的毛皮在战场另一端亮着微光; 近处，狮爪认出了带白色斑块的栗尾和亮心。 白翅守在长老巢穴外，和自己的学徒冰爪并肩，对着冲上来的风族武士挥爪猛击。 灰条在育婴室门口站起身，狠狠揍向一只风族猫，力道大得那只猫嘶叫着挤回猫群里。 亮心从他身侧滚过，和一只咆哮的风族公猫扭打在一起。 灰条抓住那只公猫，把他从亮心身边拉开，像扔新鲜猎物一样把他扔到一边。 "快进育婴室里去！" 他高声吼道。 亮心溜进育婴室保护猫后和幼崽，灰条则四爪稳稳守在入口，发亮的眼睛挑衅着任何

cat to come close. "Lionpaw!" Ashfur's yowl sounded from the elders" den. "Get over here!" Lionpaw scooted around the edge of the battle, ducking past flailing paws. Whitewing and Icepaw were still fighting the oncoming WindClan warriors, their fur darkened with blood. "We've got to get Longtail and Mousefur onto Highledge," Ashfur growled. "I'll help Whitewing and Icepaw hold this lot off." He rolled onto his back and shoved a WindClan warrior away with his hind paws. "You guide Longtail and Mousefur up the rocks to the ledge." Lionpaw glanced at Icepaw, grappling with a young WindClan tom. Her eyes shone with fury as she battered his ears with blow after blow. "Get on with it!" Ashfur screeched. Lionpaw darted into the elders" den. Longtail and Mousefur were crouching at the back of the honeysuckle cave, fur bristling, claws unsheathed. "You need to follow me to Highledge." "We should be fighting," Mousefur spat. "You may have to," Lionpaw told her. "But for now, it'll be easier to chase WindClan off if we

猫咪靠了过来。 “狮爪！” 长老巢穴里传来蜡毛的吼叫。 “快过来！” 狮爪贴着战场边缘挪行，低头躲开挥来的爪子。 白翅和冰爪仍在迎战冲来的风族武士，毛发被鲜血浸成了深色。 “我们得把长尾和鼠毛送到高岩台上去，”蜡毛低吼道。 “我来帮白翅和冰爪挡住这帮家伙。” 他翻过身仰卧，用后爪把一名风族武士推开。 “你带长尾和鼠毛爬岩石上高台。” 狮爪瞥了眼冰爪，她正和一只年轻的风族公猫扭打。 她眼里闪着怒火，一下接一下拍打着对方的耳朵。 “快点动手！” 蜡毛厉声叫道。 狮爪冲进了长老巢穴。 长尾和鼠毛缩在忍冬洞穴深处，毛发倒竖，利爪出鞘。 “你们得跟我去高岩台。” “我们该去战斗，”鼠毛恨恨地说。 “说不定之后确实要打，”狮爪对她说。 不过眼下，要是我们

don't have to worry about you." He knew it was blunt, but there was no time for tact. All their lives were at stake. He checked the den entrance. Ashfur and Whitewing were pushing WindClan back. Icepaw, her muzzle glistening with fresh blood, had fought off the tom. She narrowed her eyes, then lunged at the hind legs of the WindClan warrior battering Whitewing. They'd created a gap in front of the den big enough to guide the elders through. Lionpaw turned and nudged Mousefur out, then Longtail. He slid alongside them, shielding them from lashing tails and thrashing paws as they made their way to the tumble of rocks leading to Highledge. Hurry up! He willed Mousefur on. Longtail was already climbing the rocks, but Mousefur was hobbling as though each step was a struggle. Leaning against her, Lionpaw took her weight and guided her upward. "Stop!" Firestar stood on the ledge above them, eyes blazing with rage. His yowl rang like thunder around the walls of the hollow. Lionpaw halted and the cats grew still, all eyes turning to the ThunderClan leader.

不用为你们担心。” 他知道这话太直白，可没时间拐弯抹角。 所有猫的性命都危在旦夕。 他查看了巢穴门口的情况。 蜡毛和白翅正把风族往后击退。 冰爪的口鼻沾着新鲜血迹，已经打退了那只公猫。 她眯起眼睛，猛地扑向攻击白翅的风族武士的后腿。 他们在巢穴前留出了一道足够长老通过的缺口。 狮爪转身拱着鼠毛出来，接着是长尾。 他挨着他们走，帮他们挡住挥来的尾巴和乱舞的爪子，一路走向通往高岩台的乱石堆。 快点！ 他在心里催鼠毛快走。 长尾已经在爬岩石了，可鼠毛一瘸一拐，每一步都走得很吃力。 狮爪靠在她身上，撑着她的重量，带她往上爬。 “停下！” 火星站在他们上方的高台上，眼里燃着怒火。 他的吼叫如雷鸣，在山谷岩壁间回荡。 狮爪停住脚步，所有猫都静了下来，齐齐转头望向雷族族长。