Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 "Fireheart?" Bluestar looked up as he pushed his way through the lichen. She was still huddled in her nest, her fur ruffled and her eyes anxious. Fireheart couldn't help wondering if she'd moved at all since he'd seen her last. "Cloudpaw is back," he announced. He had no idea how Bluestar would react to any news nowadays, so he might as well tell her straight out. "He was in the Twoleg territory beyond the uplands." "And he found his way back from there?" asked Bluestar in surprise. Fireheart shook his head. "Ravenpaw saw him and came to tell me where he was." "Ravenpaw?" Confusion flickered in the old cat's eyes. "Er…Tigerclaw's old apprentice," Fireheart reminded her awkwardly. "I know who Ravenpaw is!" snapped Bluestar. "What was he doing in ThunderClan territory?" "He came to tell me about Cloudpaw," Fireheart repeated. "Cloudpaw," echoed Bluestar, tipping her head

第二十二章“火心？”蓝星抬起头，穿过地衣。 她仍然蜷缩在她的窝里，她的毛被弄皱了，她的眼睛焦急。 火心忍不住想，自从他上次见到她以来，她有没有动过。 “云爪回来了。”他宣布。 他不知道现在蓝星会对任何消息作何反应，所以他不妨直接告诉她。 “他在高地那边的特沃莱格人的地盘上。” “他从那里找到了回来的路？”蓝星惊讶地问。 火心摇了摇头。“拉文爪看见了他，过来告诉我他在哪儿。” “Ravenpaw ?”那只老猫的眼睛里闪烁着困惑。 “嗯……虎爪的老徒弟。”火心尴尬地提醒她。 “我知道拉文爪是谁！”蓝星厉声说。 “他在雷霆部落的地盘上干什么？”“他是来告诉我云爪的事的。” “云爪。”蓝星点点头，应声说

slightly to one side. "He's back? Why did he come back?" "He wanted to rejoin the Clan. The Twolegs took him against his will." "So StarClan led him home," murmured Bluestar. "Ravenpaw helped," Fireheart added. Bluestar stared at the sandy floor of the den. "I thought StarClan wanted Cloudpaw to find a life outside the Clan." Her voice was thoughtful. "Perhaps I was wrong." She turned to Fireheart. "Ravenpaw helped you?" "Yes. He led us to where Cloudpaw was shut in. He even saved us from dogs." "What did Ravenpaw say when you told him about Tigerclaw's treachery?" Bluestar demanded suddenly. Fireheart was caught off guard by the question. "Well, he…he was shocked, of course," he stammered. "But he tried to warn us about him, didn't he?" Bluestar's voice sounded full of regret. "I remember now. Why didn't I listen to him?" Fireheart struggled to find a way to comfort his

稍微偏向一边。“他回来了? 他为什么回来？”“他想重新加入氏族。 特立格人违背他的意愿带走了他。” “所以StarClan把他带回家了。”蓝星喃喃地说。 “乌鸦爪帮了忙。”火心补充道。 蓝星盯着书房的沙质地板。 “我以为StarClan想让Cloudpaw在Clan之外找到生活。” 她的声音若有所思。“也许我错了。” 她转向火心。“拉文爪帮了你？”“是的。 他带我们去了关云爪的地方。 他甚至把我们从狗手里救了出来。” “你把虎爪的背叛告诉拉文爪的时候，拉文爪说了什么？”蓝星突然问道。 火心被这个问题打了个措手不及。 “嗯，他……他当然很震惊。”他结结巴巴地说。 “但是他试图警告我们要小心他，不是吗？”蓝星的声音里充满了遗憾。 “我现在想起来了。我为什么不听他的话呢？”火心努力想找个办法安慰他

leader. "Ravenpaw was just an apprentice then. Every cat admired Tigerclaw. He hid his treachery well." Bluestar sighed. "I misjudged Tigerclaw and I misjudged Ravenpaw. I owe him an apology." She looked up at Fireheart with heavy eyes. "Should I invite him back into the Clan?" Fireheart shook his head. "Ravenpaw wouldn't want to come back, Bluestar. We left him in Twoleg territory, where Barley lives," he explained. "He's happy there. You were right when you told me he would find a life that suited him better outside the Clan." "But I was wrong about Cloudpaw," Bluestar fretted. Fireheart felt as if the conversation were getting out of control. "I think Clan life will suit him in the end," he meowed, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "But only you can decide whether we should take him back." "Why shouldn't we?" "Darkstripe thinks Cloudpaw will be drawn back to his kittypet roots," Fireheart admitted. "And what do you think?"

领袖。“那时候拉文爪还只是个学徒。 每只猫都崇拜虎爪。 他把自己的背信弃义隐藏得很好。” 蓝星叹了口气。“我误判了虎爪，也误判了拉文爪。 我应该向他道歉。”她抬头用沉重的目光看着火心。 “我应该邀请他回到氏族吗？”火心摇了摇头。 “拉文爪不会想回来的，蓝星。 我们把他留在了巴利住的特沃雷格领地，”他解释道。 “他在那里很开心。你说得对，他会在氏族之外找到更适合他的生活。” “但是我看错了云爪，”蓝星苦恼地说。 火心觉得谈话似乎要失去控制了。 “我想部落的生活最终会适合他的。”他喵喵地说，希望自己听起来比实际更自信。 “但只有你能决定我们是否应该把他带回去。” “我们为什么不能呢？”“暗条纹认为云爪会被吸引回他的小猫血统，”火心承认。 “你觉得怎么样？”

Fireheart took a deep breath. "I think Cloudpaw's time with the Twolegs has taught him that his heart lies in the forest, just as mine does." He was relieved to see Bluestar's eyes brighten. "Very well. He can stay," she agreed. "Thanks, Bluestar." Fireheart knew he should feel more joyful that Cloudpaw had been accepted back into ThunderClan, but his relief was still tinged with doubt. Cloudpaw had fought well against the WindClan patrol, and seemed genuinely pleased to be back in the camp, but how long would this last? Until he got bored with training? Or fed up with catching his own food? Bluestar went on thoughtfully, "And we should also tell the Clan that if they see Ravenpaw in our territory, they should welcome him as they would a denmate." Fireheart dipped his head gratefully. Ravenpaw had made few friends as an apprentice, mainly due to his paralyzing fear of Tigerclaw, but there was no cause for any cat in ThunderClan to hold a grudge against him. "When will you make the announcement about Cloudpaw?" he asked. It

火心深吸了一口气。 “我想，云爪和特立格兄弟在一起的那段时间，让它明白了自己的心是在森林里的，就像我一样。” 看到蓝星的眼睛亮了起来，他松了一口气。 “很好。他可以留下来，”她同意了。 “谢谢,蓝星。”火心知道他应该为云爪被接纳回雷霆氏族而感到更高兴，但他的欣慰中仍然带着一丝怀疑。 云爪在与风氏族巡逻队的战斗中表现出色，似乎真的很高兴能回到营地，但这种情况能持续多久呢？ 直到他厌倦了训练？ 还是厌倦了自己抓食物？ 蓝星若有所思地接着说：“我们也应该告诉氏族，如果他们看到拉文爪出现在我们的领土上，他们应该像欢迎朋友一样欢迎他。” 火心感激地低下了头。 拉文爪当学徒时几乎没有朋友，主要是因为他对虎爪的恐惧，但雷霆家族的任何一只猫都没有理由对他怀恨。 “你什么时候宣布云爪的事？”他问。 它

would be good for the Clan to see their leader on the Highrock once more. "You tell them," Bluestar ordered. A thorn of disappointment pricked at him. Had Bluestar reached the point where she felt unable to address her own Clan? And even though he itched to tell the other cats that Cloudpaw could stay, Fireheart needed the Clan to be certain it was Bluestar's decision. She had kept to her den for so long and left so much of the daily running of the camp to Fireheart, how could the cats be sure that she had ordered this? If she made the announcement herself, not even Darkstripe could complain. Fireheart stood in silence, his mind whirling. "Is something wrong?" Bluestar narrowed her eyes quizzically. "Perhaps Darkstripe should tell the others," Fireheart ventured slowly. "After all, he was the one to object." The breath caught in Fireheart's throat as a glimmer of suspicion momentarily clouded Bluestar's gaze. "You're becoming shrewd, Fireheart. You're right. Darkstripe should be the one to spread the news. Send him to me."

氏族再一次看到他们的领袖登上海岩是件好事。 “你告诉他们，”蓝星命令道。 失望的刺痛了他。 蓝星是否已经到了无法向自己的部落讲话的地步？ 尽管他很想告诉其他猫，云爪可以留下来，但火心需要氏族确定这是蓝星的决定。 她在窝里待了那么久，把营地的日常事务都交给了火心，猫们怎么能肯定这是她的命令呢？ 如果是她自己宣布的，就连“暗条纹”也不会抱怨。 火心静静地站着，脑子里旋转着。 “出什么事了吗？”蓝星疑惑地眯起眼睛。 “也许黑条应该告诉其他人。”火心慢慢地大胆地说。 “毕竟，反对的是他。” 一丝怀疑的目光瞬间模糊了蓝星的视线，火心顿时屏住了呼吸。 “你越来越精明了，火心。 你是对的。暗条应该去传播这个消息。 把他送到我这里来。”

Fireheart searched her expression, wondering if Bluestar had been unnerved by his cunning or the thought of seeing Darkstripe. But her eyes betrayed nothing as he meowed his farewell and backed out of the den. Darkstripe had not moved. He sat, waiting for Bluestar's judgment, while the other cats carried on with their duties as usual. The few who remained around the clearing looked up inquisitively as Fireheart walked away from the Highrock. Fireheart stared into Darkstripe's amber eyes, trying not to betray his sense of triumph, and nodded toward Bluestar's den, signaling with a flick of his tail that the ThunderClan leader wanted to see him. As the striped warrior strode past him, Fireheart padded to the pile of fresh-kill, which was already well stocked even though the sun was still climbing in the sky. The patrols were hunting well, he thought with satisfaction. Tired and hungry, he picked up a squirrel in his jaws. If there was a storm coming, Fireheart thought, he hoped it would break soon. On the way to the nettle clump, Fireheart

火心审视着她的表情，不知道蓝星是被他的狡猾吓到了，还是因为想到要见到暗条纹。 但当他喵喵叫着告别并退下洞穴时，她的眼睛并没有流露出什么。 “暗条纹”没有动。他坐着，等待蓝星的判断，而其他的猫像往常一样继续它们的职责。 留在空地上的少数几个人好奇地抬头看着火心离开海岩酒店。 火心凝视着暗条纹琥珀色的眼睛，努力不让自己流露出胜利的喜悦。他朝蓝星的巢穴点了点头，甩了甩尾巴，示意雷霆氏族首领要见他。 当条纹战士大步走过他身边时，火心蹑手蹑脚地走到一堆新鲜的猎物跟前，尽管太阳还在天空中冉冉升起，但那里已经堆满了猎物。 他满意地想，巡逻队猎得很好。 他又累又饿，嘴里叼起一只松鼠。 火心心想，如果风暴要来了，他希望它能快点停下来。 在去荨麻丛的路上，火心