Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 Jaypaw touched his nose to Tawnypelt's pad. It felt hot and fat. "Swollen," he pronounced. "The skin's grazed but not bleeding. But you already know that." He could hear Hollypaw's and Lionpaw's faint mews as they headed away to find prey. Were they talking about the prophecy? Tawnypelt pulled her paw from under his muzzle. "I knew I couldn't taste blood, but I wasn't sure if a stone had worked its way in." She licked it. "My pads have grown so hard from the mountains, I can't tell calluses from cuts anymore." "No stones," Jaypaw reassured her. He nodded toward the sound of water babbling over rocks nearby. "That stream doesn't sound too deep. Go stand in it. The water should ease the swelling." He padded after her and heard the splash as she leaped into the water. She gasped. "It's cold!" "Good," he mewed. "It'll take down the swelling quicker." He pricked his ears. Hollypaw's

第二章 杰爪用鼻子碰了碰褐皮的肉垫。 它摸起来又热又肿。 “肿起来了，”他断定说。 “皮擦破了，但没流血。 这你其实早就知道了呀。” 他能听到冬青爪和狮爪走远去找猎物时，发出轻轻的叫声。 他们是在说那个预言吗？ 褐皮把爪子从他的口鼻下抽了回去。 “我就知道我尝不到血味，但我不确定是不是有石头扎进去了。” 她舔了舔爪子。 在山里走多了，我的肉垫都变厚了，现在都分不清老茧和伤口了。” “没有石头，”杰爪安抚她说。 他朝着附近溪水漫过石头叮咚响的方向点了点头。 “这条溪听起来不深。 你站进去吧。 水能帮你消消肿。” 他跟在她身后走，听到她跳进水里时溅起水花的声音。 她倒吸了一口冷气。 “好冷啊！” “那就对了，”他喵声道。 “这样消肿消得更快。” 他竖起耳朵仔细听。 冬青爪的

and Lionpaw's voices had faded into the distance. At last he had shared with them the secret he had kept to himself for so long. Telling it had felt like walking through unknown territory, each word falling like a paw step on uncertain ground. Lionpaw had accepted it as though something that had been confusing him had finally been explained. Hollypaw's reaction had been more frustrating: She only seemed concerned about how they could use their powers to help ThunderClan, and kept fretting about the warrior code. Didn't she understand that the prophecy meant more than that? They had been given a power that stretched far beyond the boundaries set by ordinary cats. Tawnypelt's mew interrupted his thoughts. "This water's very cold." "It's mountain water." "I can tell," Tawnypelt meowed urgently. "My paws have gone numb!" "Well, get out then." With a gasp of relief, she landed beside him and began shaking the water from her paws, scattering icy drops on his fur.

和狮爪的声音已经渐渐消失在远处了。 他终于把藏了很久的秘密告诉了他们。 说出秘密的感觉就像走在陌生的地方，每一个字都像踩在未知土地上的爪印。 狮爪接受了这个秘密，就像一直困扰他的谜题终于解开了一样。 冬青爪的反应却让人更郁闷：她只关心怎么用他们的能力帮助雷族，还一直担心武士守则的问题。 难道她不明白这个预言不止这点意义吗？ 他们得到的力量，远远超出了普通猫划定的边界呀。 褐皮的叫声打断了他的思绪。 “这水好冷啊。” “这是山泉水呀。” “我当然看得出来，”褐皮急切地喵道。 “我的爪子都麻了！” “那你快点出来呀。” 她舒了口气，跳上岸落在他身边，开始抖爪子上的水，冰凉的水珠溅了他一身。

Jaypaw shivered and moved away; mountain winds and cold water were a bad mix. "Does your paw still hurt?" "I can't feel it at all," Tawnypelt replied. She paused. "Actually, I can't feel any of my paws." Squirrelflight was padding toward them. "Any better?" "I think so," Tawnypelt meowed. Jaypaw felt his mother's tongue lap his ear. "Are you okay, little one?" she asked gently. He ducked away, scowling. "Why shouldn't I be?" "It's okay to be tired." Squirrelflight sat down. "It's been a hard journey." "I'm fine," Jaypaw snapped. His mother's tail was twitching, brushing against the gritty rock. He waited for her to make some comment about how much harder the journey must have been for him, being blind and all, and then add some mouse- brained comment about how well he had coped with the unfamiliar territory. "All three of you have been quiet since the battle," she ventured. She's worried about all of us! Jaypaw's anger

杰爪打了个寒颤，往后退了退；山风加冷水，可太难受了。 “你的爪子还疼吗？” “我完全没感觉了，”褐皮回答。 她顿了顿。 “说实话，我四只爪子都没感觉了。” 松鼠飞正朝着他们走过来。 “好点了吗？” “我觉得好多了，”褐皮喵道。 杰爪感觉到妈妈的舌头舔了舔他的耳朵。 “你还好吗，小宝贝？” 她温柔地问道。 他皱着眉躲开了。 “我能有什么事？” “累了也没关系呀。” 松鼠飞坐了下来。 “这一路太辛苦了。” “我没事，”杰爪没好气地说。 他妈妈的尾巴正轻轻抖着，扫过粗糙的石头。 他等着她说，这一路对瞎眼的他来说有多难，再傻乎乎地夸一句他在陌生地方走得已经很棒了。 “从战斗结束后，你们三个就一直安安静静的，”她试探着说。 她是在担心我们三个啊！ 杰爪的怒火

melted. He wished he could put her mind at rest, but there was no way he could tell her the huge secret that was occupying their thoughts. "I guess we just want to get home," he offered. "We all do." Squirrelflight rested her chin on top of Jaypaw's head, and he pressed against her, suddenly feeling like a kit again, grateful for her warmth. "They're back!" At Tawnypelt's call, Squirrelflight jerked away. Jaypaw lifted his nose and smelled Hollypaw and Lionpaw. He heard claws scrabbling over rock as Breezepaw arrived. The hunters had returned. "Let's see what they've caught!" Tawnypelt hurried to greet the apprentices. Jaypaw already knew what they'd caught. His belly rumbled as he padded after her, the mouthwatering smells of squirrel, rabbit, and pigeon filling his nose. If only it weren't going to be given to the Tribe. Crowfeather and Brambleclaw were already clustered around the makeshift fresh-kill pile. Stormfur and Brook hung back as though embarrassed by the gift.

一下子消了。 他想让她安心，但没办法把那个压在他们心头的大秘密告诉她。 “我想我们只是想回家了，”他说道。 “我们都想回家。” 松鼠飞把下巴抵在杰爪的头顶，杰爪往她身上靠了靠，忽然觉得自己又变回了小奶猫，很贪恋她的温暖。 “他们回来了！” 听到褐皮的叫声，松鼠飞猛地走开了。 杰爪抬起鼻子，闻到了冬青爪和狮爪的味道。 他听到风爪爬过石头时爪子抓挠的声音，也到了。 猎人们回来了。 “快来看看他们捕到了什么！” 褐皮赶紧跑过去迎接学徒们。 杰爪早就知道他们捕到了什么。 他跟在后面走，肚子咕咕叫了起来，松鼠、兔子和鸽子的香味钻进了他的鼻子，太诱人了。 可惜这些都要给急水部落呀。 鸦羽和黑莓掌已经围在临时搭的鲜食堆旁了。 暴风和布鲁往后退着，好像因为这份礼物有点不好意思。

"This rabbit's so fat it'll feed all the to-bes," Squirrelflight mewed admiringly. "Well caught, Breezepaw," Tawnypelt purred. Jaypaw waited for the WindClan apprentice's pelt to flash with pride, but instead he sensed anxiety claw at Breezepaw. He's waiting for his father to praise him. "Nice pigeon," Crowfeather mewed to Lionpaw. Breezepaw stiffened with anger. "And look at the squirrel I caught!" Hollypaw chipped in. "Did you ever see such a juicy one?" "Come see!" Tawnypelt called to Stormfur and Brook. The two warriors padded over. "This will be very welcome," Stormfur meowed formally. "The Tribe thanks you." Brook's mew was taut. Jaypaw understood their unease. By accepting fresh-kill, they were openly admitting their weakness. Hunting was poor in the mountains now that two groups of cats were sharing the territory. And yet Jaypaw could feel fierce pride pulsing from Stormfur. The mountain breeze stirs

“这只兔子这么肥，够喂饱所有要吃饭的猫了，”松鼠飞赞赏地轻声说道。 “干得好，奔爪，”褐皮咕噜着说。 松鸦爪等着这名风族学徒露出骄傲的神色，可他反倒察觉到焦虑正啃噬着奔爪的心。 他在等他父亲表扬他。 “这鸽子不错，”鸦羽对狮爪说。 奔爪气得浑身僵硬。 “快看我抓到的松鼠！” 冬青爪连忙插话道。 “你们见过这么汁多肉厚的松鼠吗？快来看呀！” 褐皮喊暴毛和溪儿过来。 两名武士缓步走了过来。 “这些猎物真太及时了，”暴毛郑重地说。 “部落谢谢你们。” 溪儿的声音绷得紧紧的。 松鸦爪明白他们的不安。 收下这份鲜猎物，就等于公开承认了他们的窘境。 现在两群猫共享领地，山里的猎物越来越少了。 可松鸦爪依旧能感受到暴毛身上涌动着强烈的骄傲。 山风轻轻吹动

his heart as well as his pelt. There was a core of strength within him, a resolve that Jaypaw had not sensed before, as though he were more rooted in the crags and ravines than he ever had been beside the lake. He truly believes that this is his destiny. The Tribe was Stormfur's Clan now. He had been born RiverClan, and lived with ThunderClan, but now it seemed that he had found his true home. Jaypaw shivered. The wind had been sharpened by a late-afternoon chill. A howl echoed from the slopes far above. Brook bristled. "Wolves." "We'll get this prey home safely," Stormfur reassured her. "The wolves are too clumsy to follow our mountain paths." "But there's a lot of open territory before you reach them," Brambleclaw urged. "You should go." "We should all head home," Crowfeather advised. "The smell of this fresh-kill will be attracting all the prey-eaters around here." Alarm flashed from every pelt as Jaypaw detected a strange tang on the breeze. It was the

既吹动了他的皮毛，也拨动了他的心弦。 他内心藏着一股坚实的力量，还有松鸦爪从未察觉的决心，仿佛他比在湖边的时候，更深地扎根在这些悬崖峡谷之间。 他真心相信这里就是他的宿命。 急水部落现在就是暴毛的族群了。 他生为河族猫，也曾在雷族生活，可如今他终于找到了真正的家。 松鸦爪打了个寒颤。 傍晚的寒意让风变得刺骨起来。 一声嚎叫从远方的山坡上传来。 溪儿瞬间炸起了毛。 “是狼。” “我们会把猎物安全送回去的，”暴毛安慰她道。 “狼笨得很，跟不上咱们的山路。” 可你们回去的路上还有一大片开阔地，”黑莓掌催促道。 “你们该动身了。” “我们全都该回家了，”鸦羽提议道。 “鲜猎物的气味会把这附近所有食肉动物都引来的。” 每只猫都警觉起来，松鸦爪也闻到风中飘着一股陌生的异味。 那是