Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 Fireheart stared in horror. Ahead of him, Tigerclaw had reached the limp body and stood looking down at it, his massive shoulders rigid with shock. Fireheart forced himself nearer. Tentatively he stretched his head forward and sniffed Cinderpaw's flank. She smelled of Thunderpath. One of her hind legs was twisted and glistening with blood. Fireheart was trembling so much he could hardly stand. Then he saw her side moving. She was still breathing! Speechless with relief, he looked up at Tigerclaw. "She's alive," the deputy growled. He fixed his amber stare on Fireheart. "What was she doing here?" "She came to find you," Fireheart whispered. "You mean you sent her here?" Fireheart's eyes widened with surprise. Did Tigerclaw think he would be so stupid? "I told her to stay in camp!" he protested. "She came by herself." Because I couldn't make her listen to me! he realized with dismay. Tigerclaw snorted. "We must get her home." He bent down with his mouth open, reaching for

第十七章火心吓得目瞪口呆。 在他前面，虎爪已经摸到了那具软绵绵的尸体，站在那里低头看着它，他那粗壮的肩膀吓得僵住了。 火心逼着自己走近一些。 他试探性地把头伸过去，嗅了嗅灰姑娘爪子的侧翼。 她身上有雷道的味道。 她的一条后腿扭曲着，鲜血闪闪发光。 火心抖得几乎站不住了。 然后他看到她的侧身在动。 她还在呼吸！他如释重负，说不出话来，抬头看着虎爪。 “她还活着，”副警长咆哮道。 他用琥珀色的目光盯着火心。 “她在这里做什么？”“她是来找你的。” “你是说你把她送到这儿来了？”火心惊讶地睁大了眼睛。 虎爪觉得自己会这么蠢吗？ “我叫她待在营地里！”他抗议道。 “她自己来的。”因为我没法让她听我的！他惊愕地意识到。 Tigerclaw哼了一声。“我们必须带她回家。” 他弯下腰，张着嘴，伸手去拿

the small, crumpled body, but Fireheart dipped his head and picked up the apprentice by the scruff of her neck before Tigerclaw could touch her. He began to drag Cinderpaw into the woods as gently as he could, her body hanging limply between his front paws. Darkstripe came bounding up to them. "I've checked Snakerocks again, Tigerclaw. There's no sign of Shadow–" He broke off when he saw Cinderpaw dangling from Fireheart's mouth. "What's happened?" Fireheart didn't wait to hear Tigerclaw's answer. He stumbled away through the trees with his precious burden. He could have prevented this accident! If only he'd made Cinderpaw listen to him, if he'd been a better mentor. Now her body was damaged and bleeding and she made no sound as she dangled from his jaws. Her hind paws scored a shallow trail through the leaves as, carefully, Fireheart carried her home. Yellowfang was not in her clearing. The two kits with whitecough were curled together in their shelter, fast asleep. Fireheart laid Cinderpaw on

那瘦小、皱巴巴的身体，但火心低下头，在虎爪还没来得及碰她之前，就抓住了她的颈背。 他开始尽可能轻轻地把灰姑娘的爪子拖进树林，她的身体瘫软地挂在他的前爪之间。 黑条纹跳着向他们走来。 “我又检查了蛇岩，虎爪。 没有影子的影子——”当他看到火心嘴里挂着一只灰爪时，他停了下来。 “发生了什么事?”火心没有等着听虎爪的回答。 他带着宝贵的包袱，跌跌撞撞地穿过树林。 他本可以避免这场事故的！要是他能让Cinderpaw听他的话，要是他能做个更好的导师就好了。 现在她的身体受伤了，流血了，当她从他的嘴里晃来晃去时，她没有发出任何声音。 火心小心翼翼地把她抱回家，她的后爪在树叶上留下了一条浅浅的痕迹。 黄牙不在她的空地上。 那两只戴着白牙的小山羊蜷在一起，睡得很熟。 火心把灰姑娘爪放在身上

the cold ground, then made a nest for her in the bracken by circling around and around. When he had finished, he grasped Cinderpaw's scruff and gently pulled her inside. "Fireheart?" Yellowfang meowed from the clearing. Tigerclaw must have told her about Cinderpaw. Fireheart hopped out of the nest. "She's in here," he croaked, feeling weak with relief at seeing the medicine cat. "Let me look," Yellowfang ordered. She brushed past Fireheart and climbed into the bracken to examine Cinderpaw. Fireheart sat down and waited. At last Yellowfang jumped out. "She's hurt very badly," she meowed, her eyes dark with concern. "But I think I might be able to save her." It was a tiny hope, like a single sparkling dewdrop clinging to his pelt. Fireheart felt it glisten for a moment before Yellowfang went on: "I can't promise anything." She looked deep into Fireheart's eyes and murmured, "Bluestar is very sick and I can do no more for her. StarClan must decide her fate now." Fireheart felt his eyes cloud with emotion; he

寒冷的地面，便在蕨菜上绕了一圈又一圈为她做了一个窝。 吃完后，他抓住灰姑娘的颈毛，轻轻地把她拉了进去。 “Fireheart ?”黄牙在空地上喵喵叫着。 虎爪一定跟她说了灰姑娘爪子的事。 火心跳出了巢。 “她在这里。”他嘶哑着嗓子说，看到那只药猫，他松了一口气，感到很虚弱。 “让我看看。”黄牙命令道。 她从火心身边擦过，爬进蕨菜里去检查灰姑娘的爪子。 火心坐下来等着。 最后黄牙跳出来了。 “她伤得很重，”她喵喵地叫着，眼睛里充满了担忧。 “但我想我也许能救她。” 这是一个小小的希望，就像一颗闪闪发光的露珠粘在他的毛皮上。 火心觉得它闪了一会儿，黄牙接着说：“我不能保证什么。” 她凝视着火心的眼睛，喃喃道：“蓝星病得很重，我也无能为力了。 StarClan现在必须决定她的命运。” 火心感到他的眼睛充满了感情；他

could hardly see Yellowfang's face, but he heard her speak to him again, her voice gentle. "Go and sit with Bluestar," she meowed. "She was asking for you earlier. I will take care of Cinderpaw." Fireheart nodded blindly and turned away. Bluestar had been his mentor, and more than that, there had been a bond between them since their first meeting. But he felt torn. He should be with Cinderpaw, too. A shadow loomed at the far end of the fern tunnel. Tigerclaw was sitting at the entrance to Yellowfang's den, his head held high as usual. Fireheart's shoulders stiffened with anger. Why couldn't the great warrior show some sign of sorrow? After all, Cinderpaw had come looking for him. And for what? There hadn't been any evidence of ShadowClan fresh-kill that Fireheart had noticed! He walked past Tigerclaw without a word, and headed across the clearing toward Bluestar's den. Longtail was sitting on guard outside. He glanced sideways but didn't try to stop Fireheart as the young warrior pushed through the lichen. Goldenflower, one of the queens, was inside.

他几乎看不见黄牙的脸，但他听到她又对他说话了，声音温柔。 “去和蓝星坐在一起，”她喵喵地叫道。 “她之前找过你。 我会照顾灰姑娘的。” 火心盲目地点了点头，转身走开了。 蓝星一直是他的导师，更重要的是，自从他们第一次见面以来，他们之间就有了一种联系。 但他感到很痛苦。他也应该和灰姑娘在一起。 蕨类植物隧道的尽头隐约出现了一个影子。 虎爪坐在黄牙窝的门口，像往常一样昂着头。 火心气得两肩直竖。 为什么这位伟大的战士不能表现出一些悲伤的迹象呢？ 毕竟，Cinderpaw是来找他的。 为了什么？火心没有注意到任何暗影氏族新杀的证据！他一言不发地从虎爪身边走过，穿过空地朝蓝星的巢穴走去。 长尾巴在外面站岗。 他瞥了一眼旁边，但没有试图阻止年轻的战士穿过地衣。 金花，皇后之一，在里面。

Fireheart could see her eyes shining in the gloom, and the pale fur of Bluestar lying curled in her nest. Goldenflower leaned forward and gently licked Bluestar's head to cool it, like a mother nursing her kit. Fireheart's heart ached as he thought of Cinderpaw. Would Frostfur be at her daughter's side by now? "Yellowfang has given her catnip and feverfew," Goldenflower murmured to Fireheart. "We can only watch and wait now." She got to her paws and touched Fireheart's nose with her muzzle. "Will you be okay to sit with her?" she asked gently. Fireheart nodded and Goldenflower padded softly out of the den. Fireheart lowered himself onto his belly, stretching his forepaws in front of him so that they just touched his leader's face. He lay very still, his eyes fixed on Bluestar's limp body. She didn't even have the strength to cough now. Fireheart could hear her breathing in the darkness, shallow and rasping, and he listened to the faltering rhythm as the night slowly passed. Her breathing stopped just before dawn. Fireheart had almost dozed off when he realized

火心可以看到她的眼睛在黑暗中闪闪发光，蓝星苍白的皮毛蜷曲在她的窝里。 金花俯下身，轻轻地舔了舔蓝星的头，让它冷静下来，就像一个母亲在照顾她的小宝贝。 火心一想到灰姑娘，心就痛了。 弗罗斯特弗现在会在她女儿身边吗？ “黄牙给了她猫薄荷和小白菊。”金花低声对火心说。 “我们现在只能观望和等待。” 她伸出爪子，用嘴巴碰了碰火心的鼻子。 “你愿意和她坐在一起吗？”她温柔地问。 火心点点头，金花轻轻地走出了洞穴。 火心俯下身，把前爪伸到身前，正好碰到了首领的脸。 他一动不动地躺着，眼睛盯着蓝星软弱无力的身体。 她现在连咳嗽的力气都没有了。 火心听得见她在黑暗中微弱而刺耳的呼吸声，他倾听着那断断续续的节奏，夜色慢慢过去。 她的呼吸在黎明前停止了。 火心意识到这一点时，几乎已经睡着了

the cave was silent. There was no noise from the camp outside either, just a deathly hush, as if the whole Clan were holding its breath. Bluestar was completely still. Fireheart knew she was with StarClan, preparing for her remaining life. He had watched Bluestar lose a life before. He felt his fur prickle at the eerie peace that seemed to enfold her body, but there was nothing he could do, so he waited. Suddenly Bluestar gasped. "Fireheart, is that you?" she meowed in a croaky voice. "Yes, Bluestar," Fireheart murmured. "I'm here." "I have lost another life." Bluestar's voice was weak, but the relief made Fireheart want to reach forward and lick her between the ears, as Goldenflower had done. "When I lose this one, I will not be able to return." Fireheart swallowed hard. The thought of the Clan losing its great leader pained him, but the thought of losing his mentor and friend hurt even more. "How do you feel? Shall I fetch Yellowfang?" Bluestar shook her head slowly. "The fever has

山洞里静悄悄的。外面的营地也没有声音，只有死一般的寂静，仿佛整个氏族都屏住了呼吸。 蓝星一动不动。 火心知道她和星族在一起，为她的余生做准备。 他曾目睹蓝星失去了一条生命。 一种诡异的平静似乎笼罩着她的身体，他觉得自己的毛都刺痛了，但他无能为力，只能等着。 突然，蓝星倒吸了一口气。“火心，是你吗？”她嘶哑地叫道。 “是的，蓝星。”火心喃喃道。 “我在这里。”“我又失去了一条生命。” 蓝星的声音很微弱，但如释重负的心情让火心想要像金花那样，伸手去舔她的耳际。 “当我失去了这个，我就不能回来了。” 火心使劲咽了口气。氏族失去伟大领袖的想法使他痛苦，但失去他的导师和朋友的想法更让他伤心。 “你感觉怎么样？”要我把黄牙叫来吗？”蓝星慢慢摇了摇头。 “发烧已经