Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21 "Quick! This way!" Cloudpaw's urgent mew made Fireheart jump. He saw a white shape tear out of the doorway and flee across the lawn, yowling loudly. The Twoleg turned, distracted, and in that moment Fireheart felt Sandstorm and Ravenpaw shoot away from his side. He chased after them, following Cloudpaw across the grass. Behind them the Twoleg called into the night, the dog yapping at its side, but Fireheart kept running, through the hedge and out into the field beyond, tracking the scents that Cloudpaw, Sandstorm, and Ravenpaw had left until he caught up with them, huddled in a clump of nettles. Sandstorm pressed herself against him, her whole body trembling. Fireheart looked over her head and saw Cloudpaw staring at him, his blue eyes wide. Fireheart's relief at finding his apprentice was suddenly tempered by all his old doubts about Cloudpaw's place in ThunderClan, and he didn't know what to say. Cloudpaw looked down at his paws. "Thanks for coming."

第二十一章“快！这种方式!”云爪的紧急消息吓得火心跳了起来。 他看见一个白色的身影从门口冲出，穿过草坪，大声嚎叫着。 特沃莱格转过身来，心烦意乱，就在这时，火心感到沙暴和拉文爪从他身边射开了。 他追着他们，跟着云爪穿过草地。 在他们身后，特沃列格在黑夜里叫着，狗在它身边汪汪叫着，但火心一直在跑，穿过树篱，跑到远处的田野里，追踪着云爪、沙暴和拉文爪留下的气味，直到他追上了他们，蜷缩在一丛荨麻里。 沙暴紧紧抱住他，全身颤抖。 火心扭头一看，只见云爪瞪着他，蓝眼睛睁得大大的。 火心找到徒弟后如释重负的心情突然被他对云爪在雷霆氏族中的地位的旧疑虑冲淡了，他不知道该说什么。 云爪低头看着自己的爪子。 “谢谢你能来。”

"Well? Do you want to come back to the Clan?" Confusion made Fireheart blunt. He had assured himself that Cloudpaw was safe; now the interests of the Clan began to crowd into his mind. The young cat lifted his chin, his eyes clouded. "Of course! I know I should never have gone near Twolegs," he admitted. "I've learned my lesson. I promise I'll never do it again." "Why should we believe you?" asked Sandstorm. Fireheart glanced at her, but her tone was mild, not challenging. Ravenpaw stayed silent, sitting with his tail curled neatly over his front paws, his amber eyes missing nothing. "You came to find me," Cloudpaw mewed uncertainly. "You must want me back." "I need to be able to trust you." Fireheart wanted Cloudpaw to understand that there were more cats to consider than just him. "I need to know you understand the warrior code, and that you can learn to follow it." "You can trust me!" Cloudpaw insisted. "Even if you can convince me, do you think the rest of the Clan will believe you?" meowed

“嗯?你想回到氏族吗？”困惑使火心变得迟钝。 他确信云爪是安全的；现在，氏族的利益开始涌入他的脑海。 那只小猫抬起下巴，两眼蒙上了阴影。 “当然!我知道我不应该走近特立格，”他承认道。 “我已经吸取了教训。我保证再也不会这么做了。” “我们为什么要相信你？”沙暴问道。 火心瞥了她一眼，但她的语气温和，没有挑衅的意味。 拉文爪静静地坐着，尾巴整齐地卷在前爪上，琥珀色的眼睛什么也没漏掉。 “你是来找我的。”云爪不确定地叫道。 “你一定想让我回去。”“我需要能够信任你。” 火心想让云爪明白，除了他自己，还有更多的猫需要考虑。 “我需要知道你理解战士的法则，而且你能学会遵循它。” “你可以相信我！”Cloudpaw坚持道。 “就算你能说服我，你觉得氏族的其他人会相信你吗？

Fireheart gravely. "All they will see is that you left with Twolegs. What makes you think they'll trust a cat who chose kittypet life over the Clan?" "But I didn't choose it!" objected Cloudpaw. "I belong with the Clan. I didn't want to go with the Twolegs!" "Don't be too tough on him," murmured Sandstorm. Fireheart was taken aback by her unexpected sympathy for the young apprentice. Perhaps she had been convinced by the seriousness that darkened Cloudpaw's eyes. He hoped the rest of the Clan would be, too. Fireheart couldn't keep his anger burning any longer. He leaned forward and gave Cloudpaw a rough lick on the head. "Just make sure you listen to me in the future!" he warned, speaking close to the apprentice's ear so that he could be heard over the rumbling purr that rose from the young cat's chest. "The moon is rising," Ravenpaw meowed quietly from the shadows. "If you want to be back by sunhigh, we don't have much time." Fireheart nodded and turned to Sandstorm. "Are you ready?"

Fireheart严重。“他们只会看到你带着特立格离开了。 你凭什么认为他们会相信一只选择小猫生活而不选择部落的猫？”“但这不是我选择的！”云爪反对道。 “我属于氏族。我可不想跟特立格兄弟一起去！”“别对他太严厉了。”沙暴喃喃地说。 火心出乎意料地同情这个年轻的学徒，这让她大吃一惊。 也许她是被云爪的严肃蒙蔽了双眼。 他希望氏族的其他成员也能这样。 火心的怒火再也燃烧不下去了。 他倾身向前，粗暴地舔了舔云爪的头。 “以后你一定要听我的话！”他警告说，说得离学徒的耳朵很近，这样他就能在小猫胸部发出的隆隆声中听到他的话了。 “月亮升起来了。”拉文爪在阴影里轻声叫道。 “如果你想在太阳出来之前回来，我们没有多少时间了。” 火心点点头，转向沙暴。 “你准备好了吗？”

"Yes," Sandstorm answered, stretching her forelegs in front of her. "Good," meowed Fireheart. "Then we'd better get going." Ravenpaw led the Clan cats as far as the uplands and left them at the bottom of the dew- covered slope that led to WindClan's territory. Dawn was not far off, but it was the height of greenleaf and the sun rose early. They had made good progress. "Thanks, Ravenpaw," Fireheart meowed, touching the black cat's nose with his own. "You did the right thing, coming to get me. I know it must have been hard, coming back to the forest." Ravenpaw dipped his head. "Even if we aren't Clanmates anymore, you will always have my friendship and loyalty." Fireheart blinked away the emotion that clouded his eyes. "Be careful," he warned the black cat. "Tigerclaw may not know where you live, but we have learned not to underestimate him. Be on your guard." Ravenpaw nodded soberly and turned away.

“是的。”沙暴回答，把前腿伸到身前。 “很好。”火心叫道。“那我们最好还是走吧。” 拉文爪带着氏族的猫来到高地，把它们留在了通向风氏族领地的露水覆盖的斜坡底部。 黎明已经不远了，但这是绿叶的高度，太阳升起得很早。 他们取得了很大的进步。 “谢谢你，拉文爪。”火心叫道，用自己的鼻子碰了碰黑猫的鼻子。 “你来找我是对的。 我知道回到森林里一定很不容易。” 拉文爪低下了头。“即使我们不再是部落成员，我也会永远对你忠诚。” 火心眨了眨眼睛，驱散了迷蒙的情绪。 “小心，”他警告黑猫。 “虎爪也许不知道你住在哪里，但我们已经学会了不要低估它。 你们要当心。”拉文爪严肃地点了点头，转过身去。

Fireheart watched his old denmate trot across the sparkling grass and disappear into the copse. "If we hurry, we can get to Fourtrees before the WindClan dawn patrol sets out," he meowed. He set off up the slope, flanked by Cloudpaw and Sandstorm. It was a relief to travel through the uplands before the sun had risen. As they reached the highest part of the uplands, where deserted badger sets lay, the sun lifted its head above the horizon and sent a wave of golden light across the heather. Fireheart saw Cloudpaw watching it in wonder, his blue eyes wide. Hope rose in his heart that the young cat would keep his promise and stay in the forest. "I smell home," murmured the white apprentice. "Really?" meowed Sandstorm doubtfully. "All I smell is old badger dirt!" "And I smell ThunderClan intruders!" The three ThunderClan cats spun around, their fur bristling. Deadfoot, the WindClan deputy, stepped out of the heather and jumped on top of the sandy badger set. He was small and skinny, and he moved with the distinctive

火心看着他的老伙伴小跑着穿过闪闪发光的草地，消失在小树林里。 “如果我们快点，就能在风族黎明巡逻队出发前赶到四树树。”他喵喵地叫道。 他在云爪和沙暴的夹击下爬上山坡。 在太阳升起之前穿过高地是一种解脱。 当他们到达高地的最高处时，那里有一群废弃的獾群，太阳从地平线上抬起头来，在石南丛上投下一缕金色的光。 火心看见云爪睁大蓝眼睛，惊奇地注视着它。 他心中升起了希望，希望这只小猫会遵守诺言，留在森林里。 “我闻到了家的味道。”白衣学徒喃喃地说。 “真的吗？”沙暴满腹狐疑地叫道。 “我只闻到老獾的泥土味！”“我闻到了雷霆军团入侵者的味道！”三只雷家猫转过身来，毛都竖起来了。 风氏族的代表死脚从石南丛中走了出来，跳到沙獾群的顶上。 他又小又瘦，动作很有特色

lopsided gait that gave him his name, but Fireheart knew that, like the rest of WindClan, his size concealed an agility and speed that other Clans found hard to match. There was a rustle and Mudclaw stalked from the heather. Fireheart eyed him tensely as the brown warrior circled the group and stopped behind them. "Webpaw!" called Mudclaw. The tabby apprentice who had been with Mudclaw before padded out into the open. Fireheart waited, his heart pounding, to see if there were any more warriors with this patrol. "You seem to be making WindClan territory your second home," hissed Deadfoot. Fireheart sniffed the air before answering. No more WindClan cats. They were evenly matched. "There's no other way from the forest to the lands beyond," he answered, keeping his voice calm. He didn't want to provoke a fight, but he couldn't forget the way he and Bluestar had been treated by Mudclaw before. "Are you trying to travel to Highstones again?" Deadfoot narrowed his eyes. "Where's Bluestar? Is

不平衡的步态使他得名，但火心知道，就像风氏族的其他成员一样，他的体型隐藏着其他氏族难以匹敌的敏捷和速度。 一阵沙沙声，泥爪从石南丛中蹑手蹑脚地走了出来。 火心紧张地盯着他，棕色的勇士围着他们转，停在他们身后。 “蹼爪！”泥爪叫道。之前和泥爪在一起的虎斑猫学徒蹑手蹑脚地走到空地上。 火心等着，心怦怦直跳，想看看这支巡逻队里是否还有战士。 “你似乎把风氏族的领地当成了你的第二个家。”死脚嘶嘶地说。 火心嗅了嗅空气，然后回答。 不再有风氏族的猫了。他们势均力敌。 “从森林到那边的土地没有别的路可走。”他回答，保持着平静的声音。 他不想挑起一场争斗，但他无法忘记Mudclaw以前对待他和蓝星的方式。 “你又想去海斯通吗？”死脚眯起眼睛。 “蓝星在哪里?是