Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28 With a tender lick, Fireheart closed the medicine cat's eyes for the last time. Then he lowered his head onto her shoulder and felt the warmth fade from her body. He didn't know how long he lay there, listening to his heart beating alone in the shadowy cavern. He thought for a moment he caught the familiar scent of Spottedleaf, drifting into the den on the rain-chilled breeze. Had she come to guide Yellowfang to StarClan? Fireheart let the soothing thought flow through him and felt sleep swell like clouds at the edges of his mind. "She will be safe with us." Spottedleaf's gentle mew ruffled his ear fur, and Fireheart lifted his head and looked around. "Fireheart?" Graystripe called from the entrance. Fireheart struggled to sit up. "I've buried Halftail," the gray warrior meowed. "Yellowfang's dead," Fireheart whispered. His hollow mew echoed off the stone walls. "She was alive when I found her, but she died." "Did she say anything?"

第二十八章火心轻轻地舔了一下，最后一次合上了药猫的眼睛。 然后，他把头靠在她的肩膀上，感觉到温暖从她身上消失了。 他不知道自己躺在那里多久了，在阴暗的洞穴里独自听着自己的心跳。 他想了一会儿，他闻到了点点树叶熟悉的气味，在被雨吹凉的微风中飘进了洞穴。 她是来把黄方带到星族的吗？ 火心让这个安慰的想法流过他的全身，感到睡眠像云一样在他的脑海边缘膨胀。 “她和我们在一起会很安全。” 点点树叶温柔的新羽毛弄皱了它的耳毛，火心抬起头四处张望。 “Fireheart ?”“灰条”从入口喊道。 火心挣扎着坐起来。 “我把半尾巴埋了。”灰衣武士叫道。 “黄牙死了。”火心悄声说。 他那空洞的声音在石墙上回响。 “我发现她的时候她还活着，但她死了。” “她说什么了吗？”

Fireheart closed his eyes. He would never share Yellowfang's tragic secret with any cat, not even his oldest friend. "Just that…she was thankful Bluestar let her live in ThunderClan." Graystripe padded into the cave and bent his head to lick the old medicine cat's cheek. "When I left, I never thought I wouldn't speak to her again," he murmured, his voice thick with sorrow. "Shall we bury her?" "No," Fireheart meowed firmly, his mind suddenly clear. Spottedleaf's words echoed in his mind: She'll be safe with us. "She was a warrior as well as a medicine cat. She will have her vigil and we can bury her at dawn." "But we must get back to the RiverClan camp and tell the others what has happened," Graystripe reminded him. "Then I'll come back tonight and sit vigil with her," Fireheart replied. The two friends trekked back through the devastated forest in silence. The gray afternoon light was fading by the time they padded into the RiverClan camp. Groups of cats lay at the edge of

火心闭上了眼睛。 他永远不会把黄牙的悲惨秘密告诉任何一只猫，即使是他的老朋友。 “只是……她很感激蓝星让她住在霹雳战队。” 灰条走进山洞，低下头去舔那只老药猫的脸颊。 “当我离开的时候，我从没想过我不会再和她说话了，”他喃喃地说，他的声音里充满了悲伤。 “我们把她埋了好吗？”“不。”火心坚定地叫着，他的头脑突然清醒了。 点点树叶的话在他脑海里回响：她和我们在一起会很安全的。 “她是一名战士，也是一只药猫。 她会守夜的，我们可以在黎明的时候埋葬她。” “但我们必须回到河族营地，把发生的事情告诉其他人。”格雷斯特提醒他。 “那我今晚就回来守着她。”火心回答。 两个朋友默默地穿过被毁坏的森林跋涉回来。 当他们蹑手蹑脚地走进河族营地时，午后灰蒙蒙的天色已渐暗。 一群群的猫躺在河边

the clearing, sharing tongues after their evening meal. The ThunderClan cats crouched in an isolated huddle at one side. As soon as Fireheart and Graystripe appeared, Cinderpelt struggled to her paws and limped toward them. Bluestar rose too from where she lay beside Whitestorm. She brushed past Cinderpelt and reached the returning warriors first, her eyes filled with desperate hope. "Did you find Yellowfang and Halftail?" Fireheart saw Cinderpelt hanging back, her ears pricked, as desperate for news as her Clan leader. "They're both dead," he told them. Fresh pain filled his heart when he saw Cinderpelt sway on her paws. The little cat backed away unsteadily, her eyes clouded. Fireheart wanted to go to her but Bluestar stood in his way. The ThunderClan leader's blue eyes showed no pain. Instead they grew hard and cold, and a shiver ran down Fireheart's spine. "Spottedleaf told me that fire would save the Clan!" she hissed. "But it has destroyed us." "No," Fireheart began, but he could not find the words to comfort his leader. His gaze followed

晚餐后的清理，交流语言。 雷霆家族的猫们在一旁蜷缩成一团。 火心和灰条一出现，灰姑娘就挣扎着抓起爪子，一瘸一拐地朝他们走去。 蓝星也从她躺在白风暴旁边的地方升起。 她从灰姑娘身边擦过，先走到归来的战士们身边，眼里充满了绝望的希望。 “你找到黄牙和半尾巴了吗？”火心看到灰姑娘缩在后面，耳朵被扎了起来，和她的氏族首领一样渴望得到消息。 “他们俩都死了，”他告诉他们。 当他看到灰姑娘在她的爪子上摇摆时，新的痛苦充满了他的心。 小猫摇摇晃晃地退了回去，她的眼睛蒙上了一层阴影。 火心想去找她，但蓝星挡住了他的去路。 雷霆氏族首领的蓝眼睛里没有痛苦的表情。 相反，它们变得又硬又冷，火心的脊背打了个寒颤。 “斑点叶告诉我，火可以拯救氏族！”她嘶嘶地说。 “但它毁了我们。” “不。”火心开口了，但他找不到合适的话来安慰他的首领。 他的目光跟着

Cinderpelt as she stumbled back to the others. To Fireheart's relief, Sandstorm hurried forward to meet her, pressing her flank against Cinderpelt to support the medicine cat's thin gray body. He looked back at Bluestar, his heart sinking at her stony expression. "ThunderClan will return home tonight," she decided in a voice like ice. "But the woods are empty. The camp is ruined!" protested Graystripe. "It doesn't matter. We are strangers here. We should be back in our own territory," spat Bluestar. "Then I'll escort you," Graystripe offered. Fireheart glanced at his friend and suddenly understood the longing in his eyes. Graystripe wanted to go home. The realization flooded Fireheart's mind like a shooting star illuminating the night sky. Fireheart looked expectantly at Bluestar. Surely she could see Graystripe's desire to return to ThunderClan? "Why would we need an escort?" demanded Bluestar, her eyes narrowing. "Well, perhaps I could help you rebuild the

灰姑娘跌跌撞撞地回到其他人身边。 令火心松了一口气的是，沙暴急忙上前迎接她，用她的侧身抵住灰姑娘，以支撑药猫瘦弱的灰色身体。 他回头看了看蓝星，看到她冷漠的表情，他的心往下沉。 “雷霆家族今晚就会回家。”她用冰冷的声音决定道。 “但是树林里是空的。营地被毁了！”格雷条纹抗议道。 “没关系。我们在这里是陌生人。 我们应该回到自己的领土上，”蓝星说。 “那我来护送你。” 火心瞥了他的朋友一眼，突然明白了他眼中的渴望。 灰条纹想回家。 这一领悟像一颗流星照亮了夜空一样涌上了火心的心头。 火心满怀期待地看着蓝星。 她肯定能看出灰条纹想要回到雷霆氏族的欲望吧？ “我们为什么需要护送？”蓝星眯起眼睛问道。 “嗯，也许我可以帮你重建

camp," Graystripe suggested uncertainly. "Maybe stay for a while…" He faltered as Bluestar's eyes flashed angrily. "Are you trying to say that you want to come back to ThunderClan?" she spat. "Well, you can't!" Fireheart stared at her in stunned silence. "You chose to be loyal to your kits rather than your Clan," the leader snarled. "Now you must live with your decision." Graystripe flinched. Fireheart gazed at the old leader in disbelief as she turned and called to her Clan, "Get ready to leave. We are returning home!" The ThunderClan cats leaped to their paws at once, but Fireheart felt nothing but disappointment and anger as he watched Bluestar gather her Clan around her. The leader's gaze was fixed on a point beyond the cats at the edge of the clearing. Mistyfoot and Stonefur stood there, watching the ThunderClan cats. Fireheart saw sorrow pass through Bluestar's eyes as she stared at her grown kits. Bluestar knew better than any cat what it was like to be torn

营地，”灰条纹不确定地暗示道。 “也许再待一会儿……”他结结巴巴地说，蓝星的眼睛里闪着愤怒的光芒。 “你是想说你想回到ThunderClan吗？”她啐了一口。 “嗯，你不能！”火心呆呆地望着她。 “你选择忠于你的装备，而不是你的部落。”首领咆哮道。 “现在你必须为你的决定承担后果。” Graystripe退缩。火心难以置信地看着老首领，转身对族人喊道：“准备离开。 我们要回家了！”迅雷氏族的猫们立刻跳了起来，但看着蓝星把氏族聚集在自己身边，火心只感到失望和愤怒。 首领的目光凝视着空地边缘猫群之外的一点。 雾脚和石头毛站在那里，看着雷族的猫。 火心看到蓝星盯着自己长大的孩子时，悲伤从她的眼睛里掠过。 蓝星比任何一只猫都清楚被撕裂是什么感觉

between Clan and kin. She had once chosen to be loyal to her Clan rather than her kits, and it had caused her more pain than she would have wished on an enemy. With a flash of insight, Fireheart thought he understood her reaction to Graystripe's request. It was not the gray warrior she was angry at, but herself. She still regretted leaving her kits all those years ago. Part of her was trying to make sure that Graystripe didn't make the same mistake. The ThunderClan cats circled impatiently in the growing darkness, and Bluestar padded toward Crookedstar. Fireheart turned and licked Graystripe's shoulder. "Bluestar has her reasons for saying those things," he murmured. "She's suffering at the moment, but she'll recover. And maybe then you can come home." Graystripe lifted his eyes and stared hopefully at Fireheart. "You think so?" "Yes," answered Fireheart, praying to StarClan that it was true. He hurried after Bluestar and caught up in time to hear the ThunderClan leader thank

宗族和亲属之间的关系。她曾经选择效忠于她的氏族，而不是她的工具包，这给她带来了比她所希望的敌人更多的痛苦。 火心灵光一闪，以为自己明白了她对格雷条纹请求的反应。 让她生气的不是灰衣武士，而是她自己。 她仍然后悔多年前离开她的工具包。 她的一部分是想确保格雷stripe不会犯同样的错误。 雷族的猫在越来越暗的暮色中不耐烦地绕着圈子，蓝星向弯曲星走去。 火心转过身，舔了舔灰条纹的肩膀。 “蓝星说这些话是有她的理由的，”他喃喃地说。 “她现在很痛苦，但她会康复的。 也许到那时你就可以回家了。” 灰条抬起眼睛，满怀希望地望着火心。 “你这么认为？”“是的。”火心回答，向星族祈祷这是真的。 他急忙追赶蓝星，赶上时听到了雷霆族首领的感谢