Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 Lionblaze forgot to breathe as he stared across the vast gray water. Sharp, cold wind buffeted his fur; he felt as though it could sweep him off his paws at any moment and hurl him down the cliffs to the rocks far below. "This way," Brambleclaw ordered. He led the patrol along the edge of the cliff to a narrow gully lined with scrubby grass. Lionblaze gasped in relief as he stepped out of the wind. "Midnight the badger lives near here," Brambleclaw went on, once the patrol was clustered around him at the bottom of the gully. "How did you know where to find her?" Hollyleaf asked curiously. "We didn't," the Clan deputy admitted. "We didn't even know we were looking for a badger." He twitched his tail-tip. "I found Midnight's den by falling into it." Hazeltail's eyes stretched wide. "Were you hurt?" "Weren't you scared of Midnight?" Birchfall

第八章 狮焰盯着眼前广袤的灰水，连呼吸都忘了 尖利的冷风抽打着他的皮毛； 他觉得风随时会把他掀离爪子，扔下悬崖，摔到下方老远的岩石上。 “这边走。”黑莓掌命令道。 他领着巡逻队沿着悬崖边缘，走到一条长着矮草的窄沟前。 狮踏出风区，松了一大口气。 “獾午夜就住在这附近。”等巡逻队都在沟底聚到他身边，黑莓掌才继续开口。 “你怎么知道去哪儿找她？” 冬青叶好奇地问道。 “我们本来不知道。”族群副族长承认道。 “我们之前甚至都不知道要找一只獾。” 他轻轻晃了晃尾尖。 “我是掉进来才找到午夜的窝的。” 榛尾一下子瞪圆了眼睛。 “你受伤了吗？” “你不怕午夜吗？” 桦落

added. Brambleclaw flicked one ear as if he were trying to get rid of a fly. "This isn't the time for stories. We have to keep going." He led his patrol through the gully, every so often climbing the slope to pop his head out and see how far along the cliff they were. Lionblaze and the others stayed crouching in the dip, listening to the blast of wind overhead. At last Brambleclaw beckoned them with his tail to join him at the top. "We're almost there," he told them. "Follow me closely." Lionblaze and the rest of the patrol flattened their bellies to the short, bristly grass as they padded after Brambleclaw toward the edge of the cliff. Is he going to jump over? Lionblaze wondered, as each paw step took them closer to the sheer drop. But just before the land vanished from under their paws, Brambleclaw jumped down into a much deeper, narrower gully, sloping steeply through a dip in the cliffs. Brackenfur and the other cats followed him, with Lionblaze bringing

补充道。 黑莓掌抖了抖一只耳朵，就像想赶走一只苍蝇似的。 “现在不是讲故事的时候。 我们得继续赶路。” 他领着巡逻队穿过冲沟，时不时爬上山坡探出头，看他们沿悬崖走了多远。 狮焰和其他猫蹲在沟洼里，听着头顶狂风呼啸。 最后黑莓掌甩尾巴招呼他们到山顶和他汇合。 “我们快到了，”他对大家说。 “跟紧我。” 狮焰和其他巡逻队成员把肚皮贴在短硬的草上，跟在黑莓掌身后往悬崖边缘走去。 他要跳过去吗？ 狮焰暗自琢磨，每一步都让他们离陡崖更近一分。 可就在脚下的土地快要消失的时候，黑莓掌跳进了一道更深更窄的冲沟，它顺着悬崖凹地陡直向下延伸。 蕨毛和其他猫跟上他，由狮焰

up the rear. The sharp stones that covered the bottom of the gully dug into his pads or skidded from under him, nearly carrying him off his paws. Birchfall slipped, crashing into Hazeltail, and Brackenfur had to block the two younger cats before they hurtled down any farther. "Thanks!" Birchfall gasped. "Just watch where you're putting your paws," Brackenfur mewed. The gully led down to a rocky shore, the sand almost completely covered with pebbles. Lionblaze had seen waves on the lake when the wind blew hard, but these waves were much bigger, crashing onto the rocks with spurts of foam. Hazeltail stared at them, wide-eyed, so scared that she could scarcely put one paw in front of another. "I hate this," Hollyleaf muttered, backing away toward the cliff face. "My fur's getting all wet and sticky." She turned her head to give her shoulder a lick. "Yuck!" Lionblaze felt the same stickiness in his pelt; his nose wrinkled at the unfamiliar tang in the air. This is no place for cats, he told himself.

断后。 沟底满是尖利的石头，硌得他爪垫生疼，还不停打滑，差点让他站不稳摔下去。 桦落脚滑撞到了榛尾，蕨毛不得不拦住这两只年轻猫，才没让他们滚得更远。 “谢谢！” 桦落喘着气说。 “看好你脚踩的地方。”蕨毛说道。 冲沟一直通向岩岸，沙滩几乎完全被卵石覆盖了。 狮焰见过大风天湖里的浪，但这儿的浪大得多，狠狠撞在岩石上，溅起片片白沫。 榛尾瞪着眼睛看着海浪，吓得几乎迈不开步子。 “我讨厌这儿。”冬青叶咕哝着，往后退靠向崖壁。 “我的毛都湿乎乎粘成一团了。” 她转过头舔了舔自己的肩膀。 “恶心！” 狮焰也感觉自己的皮毛粘乎乎的； 空气中陌生的腥气让他皱起了鼻子。 这儿根本不是猫该待的地方，他暗自想道。

With a wave of his tail, Brambleclaw jumped onto a rocky outcrop and instantly disappeared under the edge of the cliff. "Where did he go?" Birchfall asked, bewildered. Lionblaze spotted the deputy's amber eyes glowing from the shadows at the bottom of the cliff. "Come on!" Brambleclaw called. Reluctantly the rest of the patrol followed him beneath the jagged, teethlike rocks and into a low-roofed cave. Lionblaze gazed around at the pale sandy walls and the floor strewn with large, smooth stones. High above them, gray light slanted down from a small hole in the roof. "Is that where you fell?" Lionblaze guessed, remembering how Brambleclaw had said he first found Midnight. Brambleclaw nodded. "The cave was full of water, and I nearly drowned. Your mother saved my life." A cold pang swept through Lionblaze, harsh as the booming water outside. She's not my mother. The words almost forced themselves out of his

黑莓掌甩了一下尾巴，跳上一块露出来的岩石，一下子就消失在悬崖边缘下方。 “他去哪了？” 桦落困惑地问道。 狮焰看见副族长琥珀色的眼睛在悬崖底的阴影里发亮。 “快过来！” 黑莓掌喊道。 其他巡逻队成员不情不愿地跟着他，穿过犬牙一样交错嶙峋的岩石，走进了一个低矮的洞穴。 狮焰环顾四周，洞穴墙壁是浅沙土色的，地上散落着大块光滑的石头。 在他们头顶很高处，一道灰光从洞顶的小洞口斜射下来。 “你就是从那儿掉下来的？” 狮焰猜到，想起黑莓掌说过他当初是怎么找到午夜的。 黑莓掌点了点头。 “那时候洞穴全灌满了水，我差点淹死， 你母亲救了我的命。” 一阵寒意涌上狮焰心头，像外面轰鸣的潮水一样刺骨。 她不是我母亲。 这句话几乎要从他

jaws, but he bit them back. If Brambleclaw didn't know, this wasn't the place to tell him. Hollyleaf hadn't heard the exchange between Lionblaze and Brambleclaw. She was sniffing curiously around the cave, padding over to where the floor sloped upward at the back, turning soft and sandy. Some branches were tucked in it at the top. "What are those doing there?" Hollyleaf asked. "This is Midnight's den," Brambleclaw explained. For the first time Lionblaze noticed the scent of badger underlying the smell of the water. His neck fur bristled, but he made himself relax. The scent was stale, and besides, Brambleclaw had told them that Midnight was friendly to cats. "Will she come and find us?" Hazeltail mewed nervously. "I hope she does," Hollyleaf replied. "Jayfeather told us all about her. She knows so much." Her green eyes flashed at Lionblaze from the shadows. Is that what she really wants? he wondered. Does she think Midnight can tell us

话到了嘴边，他还是咽了回去。 如果棘爪不知道，这里也不是告诉他的时候。 冬青叶没有听见狮焰和棘爪的对话。 她好奇地在洞穴里四处嗅闻，慢慢走到洞穴后方上坡处，那里的地面变得松软多沙。 洞顶的缝隙里塞着几根树枝。 “那些树枝放在这里干什么？” 冬青叶问道。 “这里是午夜的窝。”棘爪解释说。 狮焰这才第一次闻到，水味底下透着獾的气味。 他后颈的毛都竖起来了，但还是强迫自己放松。 气味已经很淡了，而且棘爪之前说过，午夜对猫很友好。 “她会过来见我们吗？” 榛尾紧张地喵喵问道。 “我希望她来。”冬青叶回答。 “松鸦羽跟我们讲过她的事， 她懂得可多了。” 她碧绿的眼睛在阴影里望向狮焰，闪着光。 这真的是冬青叶想要的吗？ 狮焰心里暗暗琢磨。 难道她觉得午夜能告诉我们

who our parents are? "Midnight isn't here." Brambleclaw sounded disappointed. "And her scent is stale, so there's no point in waiting for her. She's been gone for several days. We'd better get back." When they emerged from the cave, the water had risen even farther up the shore. A wave crashed onto the rocks and licked over the pebbles; Lionblaze jumped back as water swirled around his paws before retreating with a rattling hiss. "Back to the gully, quickly," Brambleclaw ordered. He took the lead as the patrol scrambled back across the rocks. Lionblaze staggered as water foamed around him as high as his belly fur, but he managed to stay on his paws and drag himself to safety, up the steep slope of the gully where Brambleclaw and Hazeltail had already taken refuge. Hollyleaf dragged herself after him, her black pelt soaked and flattened to her sides from the spray. "I hate this place!" she spat as she tried to shake herself dry. "Midnight must be mouse

我们的亲生父母是谁吗？ “午夜不在这里。” 棘爪的声音透着失望。 “而且她的气味已经淡了，等她也没用。 她已经离开好几天了。 我们最好赶紧回去。” 他们走出洞穴的时候，水位已经又往岸上涨了好多。 一个浪头拍在岩石上，漫过了鹅卵石； 漩涡卷过狮焰的爪子，他赶紧往后跳开，潮水带着哗哗的声响退了回去。 “快回冲沟去！”棘爪下令道。 他走在最前面，巡逻队急匆匆爬过岩石往回赶。 翻涌的水涨到了狮焰肚子的高度，他脚步踉跄，但还是稳住身子，挣扎着爬到冲沟陡坡的安全地带，棘爪和榛尾已经在这里躲好了。 冬青叶跟在他后面爬上来，溅湿的黑毛紧紧贴在了身子两侧。 “我讨厌这个地方！” 她恶狠狠地说，一边试着抖掉身上的水。 “午夜肯定是鼠