Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 Jaypaw slid into the nursery with a bunch of catmint clamped in his jaws. The sharp scent of the herbs didn't disguise the warm, milky scent of the nursing queens, or the underlying sourness that made Jaypaw's fur prickle uneasily. Daisy's sleepy voice greeted him. "Hi, Jaypaw." "Hi, Daisy," Jaypaw mumbled around the mouthful of herbs. "Hey, Millie." Millie's only reply was a cough. Jaypaw padded over to her, across the thick layer of moss and bracken that covered the nursery floor, and dropped the herbs beside her. "Leafpool sent you those." "Thanks, Jaypaw." Millie's voice was hoarse. "Will you take a look at Briarkit? Her pelt feels really hot." Jaypaw nuzzled among the kits, who were sleeping pressed up close to their mother's belly, until he identified Briarkit by her scent. The little kit was restless, letting out faint mews in her sleep and shifting about in the moss as if she

第二章 松鸦爪叼着一大捆猫薄荷，溜进了育婴室。 药草的刺鼻气味盖不住哺乳猫后身上温暖的奶香味，那股藏在底下的酸臭味，让松鸦爪的毛发都不安地竖了起来。 黛西睡眼惺忪地和他打招呼。 “嗨，松鸦爪。” “嗨，黛西。”松鸦爪嘴里叼着药草，含糊地打着招呼。 “嗨，米莉。” 米莉只回了他一声咳嗽。 松鸦爪踩着育婴室地板上厚厚的苔藓和蕨叶，走到她身边，把药草放在了她身旁。 “叶池叫我把这个送来给你。” “谢谢你，松鸦爪。” 米莉的声音沙哑极了。 “你能帮忙看看小荆吗？ “她的皮毛摸起来烫得吓人。” 幼崽们都挤着贴在妈妈肚子旁边睡觉，松鸦爪在它们中间蹭啊蹭，靠气味辨认出了小荆。 这只小幼崽睡得很不安稳，睡梦里时不时发出细细的叫声，在苔藓里翻来覆去，好像她

couldn't get comfortable. Jaypaw sniffed her all over, catching a whiff of the same sour scent that came from Millie. Her pelt was hot, just as Millie said, and her nose was dry. Briarkit might have caught her mother's cough! he thought worriedly. Aloud he said, "I'll get Leafpool to send her some borage leaves for the fever. I'm sure she'll be fine." I hope I sound more confident than I feel, he added to himself. As he listened to Millie chewing up the catmint, Jaypaw wondered whether it would be better to move her and Briarkit out of the nursery, so that the infection wouldn't spread any further. It would be easier to look after them in Leafpool's den. But then Millie wouldn't be able to feed Blossomkit and Bumblekit. He could sense sharp pangs of anxiety coming from Daisy, the fear that Rosekit and Toadkit would start coughing, too. There was nothing Jaypaw could say to reassure her. His claws worked impatiently in the mossy bedding. If I've got the power of the stars in my paws, why can't I cure a cough?

怎么都躺不舒服。 松鸦爪把她全身上下闻了一遍，闻到了和米莉身上一样的酸臭味。 就像米莉说的，她的皮毛滚烫，鼻子也干干的。 小荆肯定是染上她妈妈的咳嗽了！ 他担忧地想。 接着他开口说道：“我去叫叶池送些琉璃苣叶子来给她退烧， 我保证她肯定会好起来的。” 他在心里暗自补充道：希望我听起来比我实际感受更有信心。 听着米莉咀嚼猫薄荷的声音，松鸦爪忍不住想，是不是该把她和小荆移出育婴室，这样传染病就不会再扩散了。 把她们安置在叶池的巢穴里，照顾起来也更方便。 可是这样一来，米莉就没法喂奶给小花和小蜂了。 他能感觉到黛西满心焦灼，担心小玫瑰和小蟾也染上咳嗽。 松鸦爪说不出任何能安慰她的话。 他的爪子不耐烦地在苔藓垫上抓挠着。 要是我的爪子握有星族的力量，为什么我连一场咳嗽都治不好？

The nursery felt hot and stifling, cramped with all five kits and the two mothers in there. Jaypaw was eager to be out in the open again, but he needed to wait and see if the catmint had helped Millie at all. He heard a scuffling from Daisy's direction, and Toadkit's voice. "I'm a WindClan warrior, and I'm coming to get you!" "I'll get you first!" Rosekit mewed back. The two kits started to wrestle; one flailing paw hit Jaypaw on the shoulder. "That's enough!" Daisy scolded. "If you want to play, go outside." The two kits bundled past Jaypaw and he heard their excited mews dying away as they dashed out into the clearing. The long-furred she-cat sighed. "Sometimes I can't wait for them to be apprenticed." "It won't be long now," Jaypaw meowed. "They're strong kits." Daisy sighed again; Jaypaw could still sense that she was worrying, but she didn't try to put her fears into words. "My throat feels better now," Millie

育婴室里又热又闷，挤了五只幼崽和两位猫后，格外局促。 松鸦爪巴不得赶紧去到开阔的外面，可他得留下来等着，看看猫薄荷能不能让米莉舒服一些。 他听到黛西那边传来响动，接着是小蟾的声音。 “我是风族武士，我来抓你啦！” “我先抓到你！” 小玫瑰出声回敬。 两只小幼崽滚打起来，一只乱挥的爪子拍到了松鸦爪的肩膀上。 “够了啊！” 黛西呵斥道。 “你们想玩就到外面玩去。” 两只小幼崽挤过松鸦爪身边，他听着它们兴奋的叫声越来越远，冲进外面的空地去了。 这只长毛母猫叹了口气。 “有时候我真巴不得它们赶紧当上学徒。” “不会太久啦，”松鸦爪说道。 “它们都是壮实的好孩子。” 黛西又叹了一口气； 松鸦爪仍能感觉到她满心担忧，只是她没把这份恐惧说出口。 “我的喉咙好多了，”米莉

announced, swallowing the last of the herbs. "Thanks, Jaypaw." Another loud bout of coughing interrupted her. Jaypaw flinched as a ball of sticky spit caught him on the ear. "I'll go and talk to Leafpool," he mewed hurriedly, backing toward the entrance to the den. On his way out he clawed up a pawful of moss and rolled over on it to clean his ear. I wonder what happens if a medicine cat gets sick. Who looks after the Clan then? Shrugging, he headed across the clearing toward the den he shared with Leafpool. As he brushed past the bramble screen, Jaypaw picked up the scents of other cats as well as Leafpool; sniffing, he distinguished Birchfall and Hazeltail. There was a tang of blood in the air. "Who's hurt?" he demanded, his neck fur rising at the thought of another battle. "Birchfall has a wounded shoulder," Leafpool explained. "Picking a fight with ShadowClan cats, by the sound of it." "They picked a fight with us," Birchfall

宣布道，咽下了最后一口药草。 “谢谢你，松鸦爪。” 又一阵剧烈的咳嗽打断了她的话。 一团黏糊糊的口水溅到松鸦爪的耳朵上，他猛地缩了一下。 “我这就去找叶池，”他急急忙忙地说，朝着巢穴入口退去。 出去的时候他抓了一大团苔藓，滚了蹭干净自己的耳朵。 我真好奇要是巫医生病了该怎么办。 那到时候谁来照顾整个族群呢？ 他耸耸肩，穿过空地朝他和叶池同住的巢穴走去。 他擦过挡着入口的荆棘帘子时，除了叶池的气味，松鸦爪还闻到了其他猫的气味； 他嗅了嗅，分辨出那是桦落和榛尾的气味。 空气中还带着一股明显的血腥味。 “谁受伤了？” 他大声问道，一想到又要爆发战斗，颈后的毛都竖了起来。 “桦落的肩膀受伤了，”叶池解释道。 “听说是和影族猫挑起的争斗。” “是他们先挑的事，”桦落

protested. "And whose claws came out first?" the ThunderClan medicine cat retorted. "Brambleclaw told me all about it. You're lucky it's no worse. That cobweb should stop the bleeding," she went on, "but come back if it starts again. And I want to see you tomorrow in any case, to make sure the gash is healing well." "Okay." Birchfall sounded disgruntled, then added, "Thanks, Leafpool." "You too, Hazeltail," Leafpool continued. "If the dizziness comes back, I want you in here straightaway. Now both of you take these poppy seeds and go and have a good sleep in the warriors" den. No more duties until tomorrow." Hazeltail and Birchfall brushed past Jaypaw on their way out of the den. As their scents faded, Leafpool asked, "How's Millie?" "She says her throat feels better," Jaypaw replied, "but she's still coughing. And Briarkit is feverish. I think she might have caught the cough too." "Oh, no!" Jaypaw picked up Leafpool's sudden spurt of anxiety. "I'll go over there and

抗议道。 “那是谁先伸出爪子的？” 雷族巫医反驳道。 “黑莓掌把一切都告诉了我。 没伤得更重你已经够幸运了。 蜘蛛网应该能帮你止住血，”她继续说，“如果再流血就再过来。 不管怎样明天我都要再看看你，确认伤口愈合得不错。” “好的。” 桦落满肚子不高兴，接着补充道：“谢谢你，叶池。” “榛尾，该你了，”叶池继续说。 如果再头晕，你得立刻过来我这里。 现在你们俩都吃点罂粟籽，回武士巢穴好好睡一觉。 明天之前都不用出任务了。” 榛尾和桦落走出巢穴的时候擦过松鸦爪身旁。 等她们的气味散开，叶池问道：“米莉怎么样了？” “她说她喉咙好多了，”松鸦爪回答，“但她还是咳嗽。 还有小荆棘在发烧。 我觉得她可能也被传染咳嗽了。” “哦，天哪！” 松鸦爪感觉到叶池突然涌上一阵焦虑。 “我这就过去看看

take a look," she meowed. "And then I'll have to go into the forest—we're low on borage leaves for fevers. Can you check the elders?" Jaypaw stifled a groan. "Sure." He would much rather go out into the forest; he could find borage by scent just as well as Leafpool could by sight. "I'm worried Mousefur might still be stiff after scrambling up to the Highledge during the battle," Leafpool went on. "And they'll both need checking for ticks." That's an apprentice job, Jaypaw thought resentfully as his mentor padded past him on her way to the nursery. He answered himself: So? That's what you are, an apprentice. Get on with it. He had been proud of his littermates when Firestar had made them warriors, but Jaypaw had no idea when Leafpool would give him his name as a full medicine cat, and he would walk in her shadow until she died. He didn't want her to die, and yet... Can't I have anything for myself? How long before the prophecy is fulfilled? Trying to banish the thoughts clawing at his

看一看，”她说道。 “之后我得去森林一趟——我们治发烧的琉璃苣草快没了。 你能去看看长老们吗？” 松鸦爪把一声呻吟憋了回去。 “好的。” 他其实更想去森林； 他靠气味找琉璃苣，可不比叶池靠眼睛找差。 “我担心战斗之后鼠毛爬去高岩台之后身体还会僵硬，”叶池继续说。 “而且得给它们俩都看看有没有蜱虫。” 这明明是学徒干的活，松鸦爪愤愤地想，这时候他的导师擦过他身旁，往育婴室走去了。 他反问自己：那又怎样？ 你现在不就是学徒吗。 赶紧干活吧。 火星把他同窝的手足封为武士的时候，他其实很骄傲，可松鸦爪不知道叶池什么时候才会给他正式巫医的名号，在那之前他只能一直活在她的影子里，直到她去世。 他不想她死，可是…… 我就不能有一点属于自己的东西吗？ 预言还要多久才能实现呢？ 他努力压下这些揪着他