Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 Lionpaw lunged at the last RiverClan warrior. The other three had fled wailing into the forest already, but this one was cornered, backed up against a bramble so tangled that even a ThunderClan cat would think twice about trying to escape through it. Mosspelt. Lionpaw recognized the blue-eyed tortoiseshell from Gatherings. But this wasn't a Gathering, and he was going to make her sorry she'd ever set paw on his land. She crouched, trembling, in front of him as he padded toward her, rage darkening his vision until all he could see was her round, frightened eyes. "Lionpaw!" Firestar's sharp mew made him freeze. Mosspelt darted past him and disappeared into the trees. "Now look what you've done!" Lionpaw turned on his leader. "I could have finished her off." Wariness glittered in Firestar's eyes. "I think

第十五章 狮爪扑向最后一名河族武士。 另外三只已经哀号着逃进了森林，可这只被堵住去路，退到了一丛乱得离谱的荆棘旁，哪怕是雷族猫，也得好好掂量能不能从这儿穿出去逃跑。 苔藓毛。 狮爪认出这只蓝眼玳瑁猫，曾在森林大会上见过。 可这不是森林大会，他要让她后悔踏上了自己的领地。 她缩着身子在他面前发抖，狮爪一步步朝她走近，怒火模糊了他的视线，眼里只剩下她圆溜溜惊恐的眼睛。 "狮爪！" 火星尖利的叫声让他瞬间僵住。 苔藓毛从他身边窜过，消失在了树林里。 "看看你都做了什么！" 狮爪转向自己的族长。 "我本可以干掉她的。" 火星的眸子里闪过一丝警惕。 "我觉得

she knew she was beaten." Lionpaw glanced down at his fur, clumped with blood, some fresh, some drying. What had he done? In the heat of battle he wasn't always sure how he fought. He simply smelled blood and felt flesh tear beneath his claws. "What about WindClan?" Lionpaw wondered if the rest of the invaders had been beaten yet. "We've just seen the last one back over the border," Firestar told him. Ashfur and Berrynose slid from the undergrowth, Spiderleg and Poppyfrost beside them. Ashfur was sticky with blood. One of Berrynose's ears was shredded at the tip. Spiderleg was limping badly, and Poppyfrost, ruffled and bleeding, was round eyed with shock. "What about the other patrols?" Lionpaw insisted. "We should go help them now that we've finished here." Firestar flicked his tail. "Spiderleg's got a bad belly wound. We need to get him back to camp before we check the rest of the territory." Spiderleg was lying down, flanks heaving and blood oozing onto the forest floor. Ashfur dug his

她清楚自己输了。" 狮爪低头看向自己沾着血结块的皮毛，血有的新鲜，有的已经干了。 他刚才到底做了什么？ 激战正酣的时候，他总是记不清自己是怎么打斗的。 他只闻到血腥味，只感觉到爪子下撕裂的血肉。 "风族那边怎么样了？" 狮爪想知道剩下的入侵者是不是已经被打退了。 "我们刚看着最后一只入侵者退回边界了，"火星告诉他。 蜡毛和莓鼻从灌木丛里走出来，蛛足和罂粟霜跟在他们身后。 蜡毛浑身沾满血，黏糊糊的。 莓鼻的一只耳朵耳尖被撕裂了。 蛛足瘸得厉害，罂粟霜毛发凌乱，身上流着血，震惊得圆睁着双眼。 "其他巡逻队怎么样了？" 狮爪追问道。 "我们这边解决了，应该过去帮他们。" 火星甩了甩尾巴。 "蛛足肚子上的伤很重。 我们得先把他送回营地，再去查看领地其他地方。" 蛛足已经躺倒在地，胁腹剧烈起伏，血渗出来流到了林间地上。 蜡毛把他的

nose under his denmate's shoulder and pushed him to his paws. "Come on," he encouraged. "We'll get you back to Leafpool." Berrynose pressed against Spiderleg's other flank, and, between them, the two warriors began to half guide, half carry their injured Clanmate back toward the hollow. "I'll go see if I can help the other patrols while you take Spiderleg back." Lionpaw wasn't ready to return home. He could hear the other battles raging in the distance. He ought to be there, fighting. "I can't let you go into the forest alone," Firestar told him. Was that fear in his eyes? Frustrated, Lionpaw joined his Clanmates as they headed for home. He tried to hurry them on by padding ahead, but Firestar kept calling him back. Spiderleg was panting, groaning with each step. Hurry up! At last they headed down the slope toward the thorn barrier. Lionpaw halted at the entrance to let Ashfur and Berrynose help Spiderleg through. Firestar followed them in, but Lionpaw hesitated. He could hear rustling in the bushes behind him.

鼻子拱到同窝伙伴的肩膀底下，把他撑了起来。 "走吧，"他鼓励道。 "我们送你回叶池那儿去。" 莓鼻靠在蛛足另一侧，两只武士半扶半架，带着受伤的族猫往营地山谷走。 "你们送蛛足回去，我去看看能不能帮其他巡逻队。" 狮爪还不想回营地。 他能听到远处还有战斗在激烈进行。 他本该去那里战斗的。 "我不能让你独自进森林，"火星对他说。 他眼睛里那是恐惧吗？ 狮爪满心沮丧，只好跟着族猫往回走。 他走在前面想催大家快点，可火星一直把他叫回来。 蛛足喘着粗气，每走一步都发出呻吟。 快点啊！ 他们终于走下斜坡，来到营地的荆障前。 狮爪在门口停下，让蜡毛和莓鼻扶蛛足先过去。 火星跟着进去了，狮爪却犹豫着停下脚步。 他听到身后的灌木丛里传来沙沙声。

He stared in surprise. "Jaypaw?" His brother was trotting out of the trees with Mousewhisker. "Are you okay?" Jaypaw called. His nose was twitching. "I can smell blood." Lionpaw shrugged. "It's not mine." Mousewhisker's eye was closed and swollen to the size of an apple. "Is he okay?" Lionpaw asked. "The cut just needs cleaning," Jaypaw told him. "Apart from a few scratches, it's my only injury," Mousewhisker meowed proudly. Jaypaw guided the injured warrior into camp, and Lionpaw trailed after them. His claws itched to be fighting again. "RiverClan has come to help WindClan," Jaypaw was reporting to Firestar. "But Blackstar has sent some cats to help us." Surprise lit Firestar's eyes. "Blackstar's helping us?" "He sent a whole patrol." Firestar drew in a deep breath. "Then all four Clans are fighting on our territory." Jaypaw nodded.

他惊讶地定睛看去。 "松鸦爪？" 他弟弟和鼠须一起从小树林里小跑出来。 "你没事吧？" 松鸦爪喊道。 他的鼻子轻轻抽动着。 "我闻到血腥味了。" 狮爪耸了耸肩。 "不是我的血。" 鼠须的一只眼睛肿得合了起来，肿得像苹果那么大。 "他没事吧？" 狮爪问道。 "伤口只是需要清理一下，"松鸦爪告诉他。 除了几道抓痕，就只有这一处伤了，"鼠须骄傲地说。 松鸦爪领着受伤的武士进了营地，狮爪跟在他们身后。 他的爪子痒痒的，还想回去继续战斗。 "河族来帮风族了，"松鸦爪向火星报告说。 不过黑星派了一些猫来帮我们。" 火星的眼里闪过一丝惊讶。 "黑星要帮我们？" "他派了一整个巡逻队过来。" 火星深吸了一口气。 "那就是四个族群都在我们领地上开战了。" 松鸦爪点了点头。

"You'd better help Leafpool treat the injured." Leafpool was already crouching over Spiderleg, pressing leaves to his belly to stanch the bleeding. Firestar turned back to the entrance, signaling to his patrol with his tail. At last! Lionpaw flexed his claws and followed his leader through the barrier, refusing to step aside when he felt Ashfur pressing on his heels. His mentor slid past him as they emerged from the tunnel. "You should clean yourself up," he meowed, glancing at Lionpaw's sticky pelt. "There'll be plenty of time for that after the battle," Lionpaw replied. Ashfur veered away from the patrol, shadowing its flank, his dark pelt rippling as he slid through the undergrowth. The sun was up now, rising above the trees into a pale, empty sky. Ashfur paused, pricking his ears, and Firestar signaled for the rest of the patrol to halt. "Cats approaching from WindClan's direction," Ashfur hissed. Lionpaw tasted the air. WindClan. A whole patrol.

“你最好帮叶池救治受伤的猫。” 叶池已经蹲在蜘蛛腿身边，把药草按在他腹部止血。 火星转身走向入口，甩尾巴招呼他的巡逻队跟上。 终于来了！ 狮爪绷紧爪子，跟着首领穿过屏障，感觉到灰毛紧跟在身后，也不肯让路。 他们钻出地道时，他的导师侧身从他身旁滑过。 “你该去清理一下身子，”他喵呜叫着，扫过狮爪黏糊糊的皮毛。 “打完仗有的是时间清理，”狮爪回答。 灰毛脱离大部队，走在巡逻队侧翼跟随，深色皮毛穿过灌木时轻轻晃动。 太阳已经升起来了，爬到树林上方，悬在淡蒙蒙空荡的天上。 灰毛停下脚步，竖起耳朵，火星示意其余巡逻队成员停下。 “有风族猫从风族领地方向过来了，”灰毛嘶声说。 狮爪嗅了嗅空气中的气味。 风族。 整整一支巡逻队。

He stiffened, tasting the air again to be sure. Heatherpaw! He bolted toward the approaching patrol, ignoring Firestar's cry for him to stop. As he darted like a bird through the undergrowth, his paws skimmed the ground. The sunlight glittered golden through the trees, making it easy to spot the WindClan patrol slinking like weasels through the forest. They were heading for the lake, hoping to finish off Dustpelt's patrol, no doubt. Lionpaw could hear his Clanmates" paws thrumming after him. They exploded from the bushes around him as he reached the WindClan cats. The enemy patrol scattered in panic, but not quickly enough. Ashfur knocked a brown tabby warrior to the ground, while Firestar flung himself at a black tom. Lionpaw charged through two WindClan apprentices, shoving them aside. Behind them Heatherpaw reared up on her hind legs, her blue eyes wide with shock. Lionpaw lunged at her and grasped her scruff between his teeth. She struggled, wailing, as he dragged her through a wall of ferns and flung her to the

他浑身绷紧，又嗅了一次空气确认。 是石楠爪！ 他朝迎面来的巡逻队猛冲过去，完全不理会火星喊他停下的声音。 他像小鸟一样窜过灌丛，爪子轻擦着地面往前飞跑。 阳光透过树林洒下金光，很容易就看见风族巡逻队像鼬鼠一样悄悄溜进森林。 他们正往湖边去，肯定是想一举打垮尘毛的巡逻队。 狮爪能听见身后族猫的爪子咚咚追着他跑。 他冲到风族猫面前时，族猫们也从四周的灌木里冲了出来。 敌方巡逻队慌得四散奔逃，可还是没能跑掉。 灰毛把一只棕虎斑武士按倒在地，火星扑向了一只黑色公猫。 狮爪从两个风族学徒中间冲过去，一把将他们撞开。 他俩身后的石楠爪后爪直立站起，蓝色的眼睛睁得大大的，满是震惊。 狮爪朝她扑过去，一口叼住她的后颈。 她一边挣扎一边哀叫，被他拖着穿过一堵蕨墙，扔到了