Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 Tigerclaw turned to his warriors, his pale eyes flashing with frustration. "We'll have to wait," he snarled. The patrol turned and began to trudge home. Fireheart sent up a wordless prayer of thanks to StarClan, but there was a bitter taste in his throat. Now he would never know if he could have gone through with the raid. It wasn't only Graystripe he didn't trust; he didn't even trust himself. Fireheart kept silent all the way home. Every now and then he saw Tigerclaw flash a glance at him over his massive brown shoulder. It was a slow journey. The light of the short leaf-bare day was fading when they finally reached the top of the ravine. Fireheart waited for the other warriors to pick their way down first. By the time he padded through the gorse tunnel, Tigerclaw was already explaining to the disappointed Clan that the river had thawed. Fireheart skirted the edge of the clearing, looking for Graystripe. He needed to know if his friend had slipped out of the camp. Instinctively he headed for the nursery. As he approached the

第二十章虎爪转向他的战士们，苍白的眼睛里闪烁着沮丧的光芒。 “我们得等等。”他咆哮道。 巡逻队转过身来，开始艰难地回家。 火心向星族送上了无言的感谢，但他的喉咙里却有一种苦涩的味道。 现在他永远不会知道他是否能完成这次突袭。 他不仅不信任格雷斯特；他甚至不相信自己。 火心在回家的路上一直保持沉默。 他不时看见虎爪从他那粗壮的棕色肩膀上瞟了他一眼。 这是一次缓慢的旅行。当他们终于到达峡谷顶部时，光秃秃的白天的光线正在减弱。 火心等着其他战士先下手为强。 当他蹑手蹑脚地穿过金雀花隧道时，虎爪已经向失望的氏族解释说河水已经解冻了。 火心沿着空地的边缘，寻找灰条。 他需要知道他的朋友是否已经溜出了营地。 他本能地朝育儿室走去。 当他走近

tangled mass of brambles, he heard a familiar meow. "Fireheart!" Fireheart felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps Graystripe was actually grateful he had offered to take the final place in the raiding party? He followed his friend's voice into the shadows behind the nursery. Fireheart mewed quietly into the gloom, but he couldn't see Graystripe anywhere. Suddenly something crashed into his side with a mighty thump. Fireheart spun around, all his senses alert. He saw Graystripe with his hackles raised, silhouetted in the dimness. Graystripe lunged again. Fireheart ducked just in time as Graystripe swung a wide gray paw at his ear. "What are you doing?" Fireheart spluttered. Graystripe flattened his ears and hissed, "You didn't trust me! You thought I would betray ThunderClan!" He aimed another swipe. This one caught the tip of Fireheart's ear. Pain and fury shot through him. "I just wanted to save you from having to make a choice!" he spat. "Although it's true that I'm not sure where

乱成一团的荆棘，他听到一声熟悉的喵喵声。 “Fireheart !”火心感到了一丝希望。 也许格雷斯特真的很感激他主动提出在突袭队中占据最后的位置？ 他跟着朋友的声音走进育儿室后面的阴影里。 火心在黑暗中悄声叫着，但他哪儿也看不见灰条纹。 突然，什么东西重重地撞到了他的身体。 火心转过身来，所有的感官都警觉起来。 他看见灰色条纹竖起鬃毛，在黑暗中显露出轮廓。 灰条又猛扑过去。火心及时闪身躲开，灰条纹用一只灰色的大爪子朝他的耳朵一挥。 “你在干什么？”Fireheart激动。 灰条竖起耳朵，嘶嘶地说：“你不相信我！你以为我会背叛雷霆家族！”他瞄准了另一击。 这句话正中火心的下怀。 痛苦和愤怒席卷了他的全身。 “我只是想让你不必做出选择！”他啐了一口。 “虽然我确实不确定在哪里

your loyalties lie right now." Graystripe flew at him and knocked him backward. The two cats tussled, claws unsheathed. "I make my own choices," Graystripe snarled. Fireheart struggled free and leaped onto Graystripe's back. "I was trying to protect you." "I don't need protecting!" Blinded by anger, Fireheart dug his claws into Graystripe's pelt, but Graystripe flipped Fireheart over and together they rolled out from behind the nursery. The cats in the clearing sprang out of the way as the two young warriors bundled into them. Fireheart yowled with rage as Graystripe bit his foreleg. He thrust upward with a claw and raked Graystripe above his eye. Graystripe retaliated by lunging downward and sinking his teeth into Fireheart's hind leg. "Stop this at once!" Bluestar's stern yowl made Fireheart and Graystripe freeze. Fireheart released his grip on Graystripe and shuffled painfully sideways. Graystripe backed away, his fur bristling. Out of the corner of his eye, Fireheart

你的忠诚在于现在。” 灰条纹朝他扑过去，把他打了个趔趄。 两只猫扭打在一起，爪子伸出来。 “我自己做决定。”格雷斯特咆哮道。 火心挣扎着挣脱，跳到了灰条纹的背上。 “我是想保护你。” “我不需要保护！”火心气得睁不开眼睛，把爪子伸进灰条纹的毛皮里，但灰条纹把火心翻过来，他们一起滚出了育儿室。 当这两个年轻的战士冲向空地上的猫时，空地上的猫都跳开了。 灰条纹咬了火心的前腿，火心愤怒地嚎叫。 他向上伸出一只爪子，在灰条纹眼睛上方扫了一下。 作为报复，灰条猛扑下去，咬住了火心的后腿。 “马上住手！”蓝星严厉的嚎叫把火心和灰条吓呆了。 火心松开了抓着灰条纹的手，痛苦地向旁边挪动。 灰条往后退，他的毛竖了起来。 从他的眼角看出来的，火心

saw Tigerclaw sneering with barely suppressed delight, curling his lip back to reveal his teeth. "Fireheart, I want to see you in my den—now!" Bluestar growled, her blue eyes flashing fire. "Graystripe, go to your nest and stay there!" The rest of the Clan melted away into the shadows. Fireheart limped after Bluestar to her den. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground, feeling worn out and confused. Bluestar sat down on the sandy floor and stared at Fireheart in disbelief for a moment. Then she meowed angrily, "What was that all about?" Fireheart shook his head. As furious as he was, he could not reveal his friend's secret. Bluestar closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I realize feelings are running high in the camp right now, but I never expected to see you and Graystripe fighting. Are you hurt?" Fireheart could feel his ear and hind leg stinging, but he shrugged and murmured, "No." "Are you going to tell me what this is about?" Fireheart met her gaze as steadily as she could. "Bluestar, I'm sorry. I can't explain." At least that much is true, he thought.

只见虎爪带着难以抑制的喜悦冷笑着，把嘴唇向后一卷，露出了牙齿。 “火心，我要你到我的窝里来——现在就来！”蓝星咆哮着，她的蓝眼睛闪烁着火焰。 “灰条，回你的窝去，待在那儿！”氏族的其他成员消失在阴影中。 火心一瘸一拐地跟着蓝星回到她的窝里。 他目不转睛地盯着地面，感到疲惫和困惑。 蓝星坐在沙质地板上，难以置信地盯着火心看了一会儿。 然后她生气地叫道：“这是怎么回事？”火心摇了摇头。 尽管他很生气，但他不能泄露他朋友的秘密。 蓝星闭上眼睛，深吸了一口气。 “我知道现在营地里的情绪很激动，但我从没想过会看到你和灰条纹打架。 你受伤了吗？”火心感到耳朵和后腿刺痛，但他耸耸肩，喃喃道：“不。” “你要告诉我这是怎么回事吗？”火心尽可能坚定地注视着她的目光。 “蓝星，对不起。我无法解释。” 至少这是真的，他想。

"Very well," meowed Bluestar at last. "You two can sort it out on your own. The Clan is facing a difficult time, and I won't tolerate this sort of infighting. Do you understand?" "Yes, Bluestar," Fireheart answered. "May I go?" Bluestar nodded and Fireheart turned and slunk out of her den. He knew he had let his old mentor down. But there was no way he could confide in her. Last time he'd done that, about Ravenpaw's accusation against Tigerclaw, she hadn't believed him. And if she believed him this time, he would be betraying his best friend. Feeling sick with worry, Fireheart crept across the clearing and slipped inside the warriors' den. He settled into his nest beside Graystripe and curled himself into a tight ball. He lay there, unmoving, aware of Graystripe's tense body beside his, until sleep finally overcame him. Fireheart awoke early the next morning. The sun hadn't risen yet and the clearing was empty as he padded across to Yellowfang's den. He wanted to see Cinderpaw.

“很好，”蓝星终于喵喵叫道。 “你们两个可以自己解决。 氏族正面临困难时期，我不能容忍这种内斗。 你明白吗？”“是的，蓝星。”火心回答。 “我可以去吗？”蓝星点了点头，火心转身从窝里溜了出来。 他知道他让他的老导师失望了。 但他无法向她吐露心声。 上次他这么说的时候，关于拉文爪对虎爪的指控，她没有相信他。 如果她这次相信了他，他就是在背叛他最好的朋友。 火心担心得难受，蹑手蹑脚地穿过空地，溜进了战士们的洞穴。 他在灰条纹旁边的窝里安顿下来，蜷缩成一个紧紧的球。 他一动不动地躺在那里，意识到格雷斯特里特紧张的身体就在他身边，直到他终于睡着了。 火心第二天一大早就醒了。 太阳还没有升起，空地上空荡荡的，他蹑手蹑脚地走向黄牙的巢穴。 他想看灰姑娘。

Yellowfang was asleep, curled up beside Brindleface's sick kits. They squirmed quietly in their nest, their eyes closed. Yellowfang was snoring loudly. Fireheart didn't want to wake her, so he crept over to Cinderpaw's nest and peered in. The little gray cat was asleep too. The blood had been washed from her fur. Fireheart wondered whether she had cleaned it herself or whether Yellowfang had washed it off. Fireheart crouched beside Cinderpaw and watched her breathe. There was something calming about the way her sides rose and fell. She seemed much more peaceful than when he last visited. He stayed with her until the dawn light filtered through the ferns and he heard the Clan begin to stir. Fireheart got to his paws. He leaned into Cinderpaw's nest and touched her side softly with his nose. As he turned to leave, Yellowfang stretched and opened her eyes. "Fireheart?" "I came to see Cinderpaw," he whispered. "She's doing well," meowed Yellowfang, pushing herself up.

黄牙睡着了，蜷缩在布林德尔脸的急救箱旁边。 它们闭着眼睛，在窝里静静地蠕动着。 黄牙在大声打鼾。 火心不想吵醒她，所以他蹑手蹑脚地走到灰姑娘爪的窝里往里看。 小灰猫也睡着了。 她身上的血已经洗干净了。 火心不知道是她自己洗的，还是黄牙洗掉的。 火心蹲在灰姑娘爪子旁边，看着她呼吸。 她身体上下起伏的样子给人一种平静的感觉。 她似乎比他上次来看她时平静多了。 他和她呆在一起，直到黎明的光线透过蕨类植物，他听到氏族开始骚动。 火心抓住他的爪子。 他靠进了灰姑娘的窝里，用鼻子轻轻地碰了碰她的身体。 当他转身离开时，黄牙伸了伸懒腰，睁开了眼睛。 “Fireheart ?”“我是来看灰姑娘爪子的，”他低声说。 “她做得很好。”黄牙喵喵地叫着，把自己推了起来。