Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 Scent tickled Jaypaw's nose. Mouse! His belly growled, and his eyes flew open to see that dusk had fallen. Dove's Wing's pale gray shape stood on the edge of the den, peering down at him. A mouse dangled from her jaws. "You're awake!" she exclaimed, dropping the mouse at her paws. "Are you feeling better?" "I'm fine," Jaypaw meowed, hauling himself out from underneath the tree roots. "Hey, Jay's Wing!" A young brown tabby tom was standing just behind Dove's Wing, his amber eyes alight with curiosity. "What was it like, down in the tunnels?" "Quiet, Fish Leap!" A white she-cat padded up on Dove's Wing's other side. "Don't pester Jay's Wing. He must be worn out already, without you asking questions." "And don't tell me what to do, Half Moon," Fish Leap retorted. "You want to know everything as much as I do." The white cat brushed her pelt against Jaypaw's. Her green eyes shone up at him. "Of

第十六章 一股气味挠得松鸦爪鼻尖发痒。 老鼠！ 他肚子咕噜作响，猛地睁开眼睛，发现黄昏已经降临。 鸽飞浅灰色的身影站在巢穴边缘，低头望着他。 一只老鼠挂在她嘴边晃悠。 “你醒啦！” 她惊呼着，把老鼠放到自己爪边。 “你感觉好点了吗？” “我没事，”松鸦爪喵呜叫着，从树根底下爬了出来。 “嘿，松鸦羽！” 一只年轻的棕色虎斑公猫站在鸽飞身后，琥珀色眼睛满是好奇，亮晶晶的。 “地道里是什么感觉呀？” “安静点，鱼跃！” 一只白色母猫走到鸽飞的另一侧。 “别烦松鸦羽了。 你不问这么多问题，他都已经够累了。” “还轮不到你管我，半月，”鱼跃反驳道。 “你不比我更想知道嘛。” 这只白猫用皮毛蹭了蹭松鸦爪的身子。 她碧绿的眼睛亮闪闪地抬眸望着他。 “当

course I do," she purred. "But I can wait while he eats." The scent of the mouse was making Jaypaw's mouth water. "Thanks," he meowed to Dove's Wing, and took a bite. He was aware of Fish Leap tearing impatiently at the grass beside him. "I don't know why Furled Bracken is making us wait to go into the tunnels," he grumbled. "We're all ready to become sharpclaws. I want to get on with my challenge." "Furled Bracken will let us go when he thinks we're ready," Dove's Wing meowed. So they're all apprentices, Jaypaw figured as he gulped down the mouse. If they call them apprentices here. It sounds as if Furled Bracken is their leader. But how can he have nine lives if they don't know about StarClan? "Well, come on." Fish Leap sounded irritated. "Tell us." "I can't," Jaypaw mumbled around a mouthful of mouse, glad that he had an excuse for being mysterious. "You know sharpclaws can't talk about what happens in the tunnels." Fish Leap grunted. "You think you're better

然我就是想知道，”她轻声咕噜道。 “不过我可以等他吃完再说。” 老鼠的香味馋得松鸦爪直流口水。 “谢谢，”他对着鸽飞喵了一声，咬了一口。 他察觉到鱼跃正在一旁不耐烦地抓着草。 “我不懂卷蕨为什么不让我们进地道，”他嘟囔道。 “我们都准备好成为锐爪了。 我想快点完成我的挑战。” “卷蕨觉得我们准备好了，自然会让我们去的，”鸽飞说道。 原来他们都是学徒呀，松鸦爪一边吞下老鼠，一边心里这么想。 就算这里对学徒的叫法不一样。 听起来卷蕨就是他们的族长。 可是他们连星族都不知道，卷蕨怎么会有九条命呢？ “好了，快说呀。” 鱼跃听上去十分不耐烦。 “告诉我们嘛。” “我不能说，”松鸦爪嘴里塞满老鼠，含糊地说道，他还挺开心有这个理由保持神秘。 “你知道的，锐爪不能谈论地道里发生的事。” 鱼跃哼了一声。 你觉得当了锐爪就

than us now you're a sharpclaw." "He does not!" Half Moon exclaimed indignantly. Jaypaw wasn't sure how to defend himself. He didn't know enough about what a sharpclaw was supposed to do. He guessed they were like warriors, but if he was wrong he might be in trouble again. To his relief, Dove's Wing nudged Fish Leap away. "Leave him alone," she meowed. "He's still tired; he needs to rest some more. We'll all find out about the tunnels soon enough. I'm just glad Jay's Wing got out safely." Half Moon's green eyes clouded. "Not like Fallen Leaves," she murmured. Fish Leap and Dove's Wing exchanged a sorrowful glance. Jaypaw felt hollow in his heart when he thought about how long Fallen Leaves was destined to wander through the tunnels, trying to find the way out. He wished there was a way to let these cats know that their friend was dead, drowned in a flood, and they would never see him again. It was clear that the waiting had already driven Broken Shadow mad.

比我们强了是吗。” “他才没有！” 半月气愤地叫道。 松鸦爪不知道该怎么为自己辩解。 他都不太清楚锐爪到底该做些什么。 他猜锐爪就和武士差不多，可要是猜错了，说不定又要惹麻烦。 让他松了口气的是，鸽飞把鱼跃推开了。 “别打扰他，”她说道。 “他还累着呢，需要多休息， 我们很快都能去地道探个究竟了。 我只要松鸦羽能平安出来就够开心了。” 半月碧绿的眼睛蒙上了一层阴云。 “不像落叶了，”她轻声低语。 鱼跃和鸽飞交换了一个悲伤的眼神。 一想到落叶注定要永远在地道里徘徊找出口，松鸦爪的心就空落落的。 他希望能想办法告诉这群猫，他们的朋友已经死了，在洪水里淹死了，他们永远都见不到他了。 很明显，这么久的等待已经把碎影逼疯了。

Finishing the mouse, Jaypaw wriggled back into his den. He was falling back to sleep when he heard Fish Leap's voice, raised in protest. "One lost cat doesn't mean that all the rest of us have to leave!" "It's not just one, as you well know," Half Moon retorted. "How many cats have to die before we look for somewhere else to live? There must be other places with prey and shelter for all of us." Jaypaw pricked his ears, keeping his eyes shut so it would look as if he was asleep. These cats were debating whether to stay here by the lake, or to find a new home. Is that why we didn't find any cats here when the Clans came to the lake? Fish Leap padded away, still muttering, with Half Moon arguing more and more heatedly. When he could no longer hear what they were saying, Jaypaw let the blackness of exhaustion fill his mind. During the night he woke briefly to find Dove's Wing curled up close beside him. He hadn't slept so near another cat since he became Leafpool's apprentice; her warmth was

吃完老鼠，松鸦爪扭身钻回了巢穴。 他刚要重新睡着，就听见鱼跃提高声音抗议。 “一只猫丢了，不代表我们所有人都要离开这里啊！” “才不止一只，你明明清楚，”半月反驳道。 “得死多少只猫，我们才会去找新住处？ 肯定还有别的地方，够我们住，还有足够的猎物。” 松鸦爪竖起耳朵，闭着眼睛装睡。 这群猫正在争论，是留在湖边，还是去找新家。 是不是因为这个，族群搬到湖边的时候，才没有在这里找到任何猫？ 鱼跃边嘟囔边走开，半月也越吵越激动，跟了上去。 再也听不到他们的说话声后，疲惫的黑暗笼罩了松鸦爪。 夜里他醒了一小会儿，发现鸽飞蜷着身子睡在他身边。 自从他成为叶池的学徒后，从来没靠这么近跟另一只猫睡过；她的温暖

comforting, and her scent was already becoming familiar. He let out a faint purr as sleep washed over him again. Gray light was filtering through the ivy tendrils when Jaypaw next opened his eyes. Dove's Wing had disappeared, but two other cats were gazing down at him. One of them was Fish Leap; the other was an older tortoiseshell she-cat that Jaypaw remembered seeing when he came out of the tunnel the day before. Her amber eyes were the exact same shade as Fish Leap's; Jaypaw guessed that she was his mother. "Hey, Jay's Wing! Come hunting!" Fish Leap exclaimed when he saw that Jaypaw was awake. That seemed like a good chance to explore their—ThunderClan's—territory. Jaypaw scrambled out of his nest and stretched. "Are we going on a patrol?" he asked. To his dismay, Fish Leap and the tortoiseshell exchanged a baffled glance. "What's a patrol?" the tortoiseshell meowed. Mouse dung! They don't have patrols, either. "Dawn River, I think Jay's Wing banged his head when he was down in the tunnels." Fish

这里让人安心，她的气味也已经慢慢变得熟悉起来。 他轻轻发出呼噜声，再次沉入了梦乡。 杰伊爪再次睁开眼时，灰蒙的光线正透过常春藤卷须渗进来。 鸽翼已经不见了，另外两只猫正低头望着他。 其中一只是鱼跃； 另一只是年纪稍大的玳瑁母猫，杰伊爪记得昨天从隧道出来时见过她。 她琥珀色的眼睛和鱼跃的色度一模一样，杰伊爪猜她是鱼跃的妈妈。 “嘿，杰翼！来打猎啦！” 鱼跃看到杰伊爪醒了，大声招呼道。 这可是个探查他们——也就是雷族——领地的好机会。 杰伊爪爬出窝，伸了个懒腰。 “我们要去巡逻吗？”他问道。 让他意外的是，鱼跃和玳瑁猫交换了一个困惑的眼神。 “巡逻是什么？” 玳瑁猫喵声问道。 老鼠屎！ 原来他们这里也没有巡逻队啊。 “曙河，我觉得杰翼在隧道里的时候撞到脑袋了。” 鱼

Leap shrugged. "He keeps talking nonsense." Jaypaw hid his awkwardness by licking a tufty piece of fur on his chest. "Never mind," he mumbled. "Let's go," Dawn River urged. "Remember to watch out for badgers." She took the lead as the three cats set off into the woods. Jaypaw shivered from ears to tail-tip when he saw how different the forest was from the territory he knew in the time of the Clans. It wasn't just that the trees were smaller and there was so little undergrowth. The biggest difference was that now he could see. "Watch it!" Fish Leap warned him. The exclamation came just too late. Jaypaw was so busy gazing around at the trees, their leaves taking on colors of scarlet and gold at the beginning of leaf-fall, that he hadn't noticed the rabbit hole right in front of his paws. He stumbled into it, paws flailing. "Fox dung!" he spat. He heard Fish Leap let out a mrrow of laughter, and felt the tabby tom's teeth sink into his scruff as he hauled him out.

跃耸耸肩。 “他净说些莫名其妙的话。” 杰伊爪舔了舔胸口一撮乱毛，掩饰自己的尴尬。 “没事，”他小声嘟囔。 “我们走吧，”曙河催促道。 “记住要小心獾哦。” 她走在最前面，三只猫出发走进了树林。 杰伊爪看清这片森林和他原本熟悉的族群领地差别多大时，从耳朵抖到了尾巴尖。 不只是树木更小，林下的灌木丛也少得可怜。 最大的区别是，现在他能看见了。 “小心！” 鱼跃提醒他道。 可这句提醒来得太晚了。 杰伊爪只顾着四处看树——入秋之初树叶已经染上金红色——完全没看到爪子跟前有个兔子洞。 他一头栽进去，爪子胡乱扑腾。 狐狸屎！ 他啐了一声。 他听到鱼跃发出开心的呼噜笑，接着感觉到这只虎斑公猫咬住他的后颈，把他拖了出来。