Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21 Jaypaw delivered more tansy to the flat rock outside the Twoleg nest, then picked up Lionblaze's scent and followed it to the mouth of the tunnel. Not many heartbeats had passed before he heard scrabbling sounds from inside, where the ThunderClan cats had built the thorn barrier. Lionblaze's scent grew stronger, mingled with the smell of catmint. "You found it!" Jaypaw exclaimed as his brother emerged into the open. "Did any WindClan cats spot you?" Lionblaze hesitated; Jaypaw was aware of mingled fear and anger coming from him. "Would I be here if they had?" he demanded. "Can you smell any wounds on me?" Jaypaw shrugged. He didn't have time to figure out why Lionblaze sounded as if he had ants in his fur. "You'd better fix that barrier," he mewed. "We don't want any cat guessing what we did." Lionblaze retreated into the tunnel without a word, while Jaypaw picked up the bundle of

第二十一章 松鸦爪把更多艾菊送到两脚兽巢穴外的平石上，接着嗅到狮焰的气味，便跟着它走到隧道入口。 没过多久，他就听见隧道里头传来抓挠声，雷族猫刚在那儿修好了荆棘屏障。 狮焰的气味越来越浓，还混着猫薄荷的味道。 “你找到它了！” 哥哥钻出隧道走到开阔处，松鸦爪惊呼出声。 “有风族猫看见你吗？” 狮焰犹豫了一下，松鸦爪感觉到他身上混杂着恐惧与愤怒。 “要是被发现我还能回这儿吗？”他质问道。 “你闻得到我身上有伤口吗？” 松鸦爪耸了耸肩。 他没空琢磨为什么狮焰听起来坐立不安。 “你最好去把屏障修好。”他说道。 “我们可不想让别的猫猜到我们做了什么。” 狮焰一言不发退回隧道，松鸦爪则叼起那捆

catmint and headed for the Twoleg nest. "Where did you get that?" Jaypaw stiffened as he heard Leafpool's voice. He hadn't decided what story to tell her, and he'd hoped for time to treat the sick cats before she found out. "Catmint!" There was joy in Leafpool's voice as she padded up to him and buried her nose in the leafy stems. "And so fresh and well grown too! It can't come from the old Twoleg nest." "No," Jaypaw mumbled around the stems. "It came from way up there." He waved his tail vaguely toward the deepest parts of the territory. "Thank StarClan!" Leafpool whispered. "They must have shown you where to look." "Er... yes, they did." It was true, Jaypaw realized. He would never have found the catmint if Brightspirit hadn't guided him to WindClan. "This is all there is," he added. "No point in looking for any more." "This should be more than enough." Jaypaw could sense that Leafpool was too relieved to ask more searching questions. "Come on, let's give it to the sick cats right now."

猫薄荷，朝两脚兽巢穴走去。 “你从哪儿弄来这个的？” 听见叶池的声音，松鸦爪一下子僵住了。 他还没想好该怎么说，本想赶在叶池发现前，先给生病的猫用药。 “是猫薄荷！” 叶池的声音满是欣喜，她快步走到松鸦爪身边，把鼻子埋进鲜嫩的茎叶里。 “而且还这么新鲜，长得这么好！ 这不可能来自旧两脚兽巢穴。” “不是。”松鸦爪叼着茎叶，含糊地说道。 “我从很远的地方找到的。” 他含糊地朝着领地深处摆了摆尾巴。 “感谢星族！” 叶池轻声说道。 “一定是他们指引你找到的。” “呃……对，是他们指引我的。” 松鸦爪忽然反应过来，这话其实没错。 要是亮灵没指引他去风族，他根本找不到这些猫薄荷。 “就只有这些。”他补充道。 “没必要再去找了。” “这些应该已经够了。” 松鸦爪能感觉到，叶池太欣慰了，没有再追问细节。 “走吧，我们现在就把它送给生病的猫。”

As they crossed the scent markers around the Twoleg nest, she paused. "Tonight is the half-moon," she meowed. "I think both of us can go to the Moonpool this time." Jaypaw nodded, his mouth too full of catmint to reply. He wondered if the StarClan cats would be waiting for him, to thank him for saving ShadowClan. He was tempted to walk in Littlecloud's dreams, to see what explanation he gave to his Clan's warrior ancestors for rejecting them in favor of Sol. But most of all, he wanted to walk in the paw prints on the path leading down to the Moonpool, and feel part of the ancient cats once more. Though Jaypaw couldn't see the moon, he could imagine its silvery light washing over his fur as his paws slipped into the paw-shaped hollows on the spiral path. Did I come here before, when I was Jay's Wing? Are any of these paw prints mine? He could feel deep satisfaction coming from all his fellow medicine cats, because Littlecloud had joined them again. Mothwing had made the journey with Willowshine this time, too. Well, I

他们跨过两脚兽巢穴周围的气味标记时，叶池停了下来。 “今天是半月。”她说道。 “我觉得这次我们两个都可以去月池。” 松鸦爪点了点头，他嘴里塞满猫薄荷，没法开口回答。 他好奇星族猫会不会在那儿等他，感谢他救了影族。 他有点想走进小云的梦里，看看小云拒绝星族选择索尔后，会怎么对自己族的祖先解释。 可他最想做的，是踏上通往月池小路上的爪印，再一次感受成为远古猫一员的滋味。 虽然松鸦爪看不见月亮，可他能想象银色月光铺满皮毛，爪子落进螺旋小径上爪形凹坑的模样。 “我当杰翅的时候，来过这儿吗？ 这些爪印里有我的吗？” 他能感觉到所有巫医伙伴都满心欣慰，因为小云已经重新回归了。 这次蛾翅也跟着柳荫一起来了。 好吧，我

suppose cats would start asking questions if she missed every time. He padded forward to the edge of the pool, and heard the other cats take their places around him. But as he was stretching forward to lap a few drops of the icy water, Leafpool meowed, "Wait." Surprised, Jaypaw sat up, aware of his mentor's barely contained excitement. "Before we share tongues with StarClan," Leafpool continued, her voice coming from the other side of the pool near the waterfall, "I have a task to do. StarClan has shown me that it is time I gave Jaypaw his full name." Jaypaw couldn't hide his astonishment. Leafpool must be referring to the catmint that he had found. For a heartbeat he felt ashamed that he had used Kestrelpaw and Lionblaze to get the herbs, and then lied to Leafpool about where he had found them. But ThunderClan will survive, he reminded himself. He didn't care what he had done to achieve that. Warmth spread through him from ears to tail-tip as he remembered the joy and

想如果她次次都不来，族猫肯定会起疑心的。 他缓步走到月池边，听见其他猫在他周围各自站定。 可就在他探身要喝几滴冰爽的池水时，叶池开口道：“等一下。” 松鸦爪吃了一惊，坐直身子，感觉到导师按捺不住的兴奋。 “在我们和星族交流之前，”叶池继续说道，声音从池对岸瀑布旁传来，“我有一件事要做。 星族告诉我，现在是时候给松鸦爪授予全名了。” 松鸦爪难掩自己的惊讶。 叶池一定是因为他找到猫薄荷，才想起这件事。 有一瞬间，他十分羞愧——他利用了雀爪和狮焰拿到草药，还对叶池撒谎隐瞒了猫薄荷的来源。 可雷族一定会活下去的，他提醒自己。 为了做到这件事，他不在乎自己用了什么手段。 暖意从耳朵传遍了尾尖，他想起那股喜悦和——

relief of the sick cats when he and Leafpool had delivered the precious herbs. They were already sleeping more restfully, and there was plenty of catmint left to go on treating them. "Well, Jaypaw?" Leafpool's voice was full of amused affection. "Badger got your tongue?" "I... no... thank you!" he stammered. "Then come here to me." Jaypaw padded around the edge of the pool, setting his paws down carefully on the slippery surface. He didn't want to begin his naming ceremony by falling into the Moonpool. As he passed Barkface, the old medicine cat grunted, "Well done," and Kestrelpaw rested his tail lightly on Jaypaw's shoulder. At last Jaypaw stood in front of his mentor, startled by the depth of the love and pride that flooded out of her. It was even stronger than the emotion he had felt coming from Half Moon. Did he really mean so much to Leafpool? "I, Leafpool, medicine cat of ThunderClan," she began, "call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat,

他和叶池送来珍贵药草后，生病的猫咪们都舒缓了病痛。 他们已经睡得安稳多了，剩下的荆芥也足够继续治疗了。 “怎么样，松鸦爪？” 叶池的声音里满是带笑意的宠溺。 “怎么不说话啦？” “我…没…谢谢你！” 他结结巴巴地说道。 “那到我这边来。” 松鸦爪沿着月亮池边慢慢走去，爪子小心翼翼踩在滑溜溜的地面上。 他可不想在命名仪式开始前就掉进月亮池里。 当他经过橡毛身边时，这位老巫医瓮声说道“干得好”，红隼爪把尾巴轻轻搭在了松鸦爪的肩膀上。 终于松鸦爪站在了导师面前，叶池涌出的浓浓爱意与自豪感让他吃了一惊。 这份情感比他从半月那里感受到的还要更加强烈。 他真的对叶池这么重要吗？ “我，雷族的巫医叶池，”她开口道，“请求我的武士祖先们注视着这名学徒。 他努力修习，早已通晓巫医的行事之道，

and with your help he will serve his Clan for many moons." Every hair on Jaypaw's pelt pricked as he listened. He forgot about the watching cats; it was as if he stood in a high, remote place with no cat but Leafpool, and the endless voice of the falling water. "Jaypaw," Leafpool continued, "do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan, and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?" "I do." Jaypaw spoke the words clearly and confidently. For a moment, he caught a trace of movement behind him, a lingering scent that wasn't quite Clan but carried hints of ThunderClan's territory. Half Moon! Had she come to watch him become a full medicine cat? Jaypaw hoped she understood what this meant, how he could never have belonged to her in the way she had wanted. In the way they might both have wanted, if things had been different... "Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat."

有了你们的帮助，他会为自己的族群效力许多个岁月。” 松鸦爪听着这话，浑身每一根毛发都绷紧了。 他忘记了还有其他猫咪在一旁看着； 仿佛天地间只剩他和叶池，站在高远僻静之处，只有水流不停歇的声响。 “松鸦爪，”叶池继续说道，“你是否承诺坚守巫医的准则，远离族群间的纷争，平等保护每一只猫咪，哪怕要付出你的生命？” “我承诺。” 松鸦爪说得清晰又笃定。 一瞬间，他察觉到身后一丝动静，一缕若有若无的气味，不是族群猫咪的味道，却带着雷族领地的气息。 是半月！ 她是来观看他正式成为巫医的吗？ 松鸦爪希望她明白这一切的意义，明白他永远不可能成为她想要的那种归属。 如果当初一切都不同，说不定他们两个都会想要那样…… “那么，以星族的力量，我赐予你正式的巫医名号。”