Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 Fireheart saw a ripple of pale amber fur and looked up to see Goldenflower slip out of the nursery behind the dark tabby kit. A pale ginger kit dangled from her jaws, and she placed it gently on the ground next to Bramblekit. Fireheart knew at once that Goldenflower had seen his reaction, for the pale ginger queen wrapped her tail protectively around her kits and lifted her chin, as if she were challenging Fireheart to say something. Fireheart felt a rush of guilt. What was he thinking of? He was the Clan deputy, for StarClan's sake! He knew he had to reassure Goldenflower that these kits would be cared for and respected like any other member's of ThunderClan. "Your…your kits look healthy," he stammered, but his fur prickled as the dark tabby kit stared up at him with unblinking amber eyes, the image of Tigerclaw's menacing glare. Fireheart tried to push away the fear and anger that made him instinctively unsheathe his claws and press them against the hard ground. It was Tigerclaw who betrayed ThunderClan, he told himself. Not this tiny kit.

第二章火心看到一层淡琥珀色的绒毛，抬头一看，只见“金花”从保育室里溜了出来，跟在深色虎斑猫的后面。 一个淡黄色的工具箱从她的嘴里晃来晃去，她轻轻地把它放在布兰布利特旁边的地上。 火心立刻知道，金花已经看到了他的反应，因为淡姜色的母猫用尾巴保护着自己的幼崽，扬起下巴，好像在挑衅火心说什么。 火心感到一阵内疚。 他在想什么呢？看在星族的份上，他是氏族的代表！他知道他必须让金花放心，这些套件会像其他成员一样受到照顾和尊重。 “你的……你的小工具箱看起来很健康。”他结结巴巴地说，但当那只深色虎斑猫用琥珀色的眼睛盯着他时，他的毛刺痛了，那双眼睛一眨不眨，就像虎爪凶狠地瞪着他。 火心试图驱走恐惧和愤怒，这种恐惧和愤怒使他本能地伸出爪子，把它们压在坚硬的地面上。 是虎爪背叛了雷霆家族，他对自己说。 不是这个小工具箱。

"It's Tawnykit's first time out of the nursery," Goldenflower told him. She glanced anxiously down at the little kit. "They've grown quickly," Fireheart murmured. Goldenflower leaned down and licked each kit on the head, then padded toward Fireheart. "I understand how you feel," she mewed quietly. "Your eyes have always betrayed your heart. But these are my kits and I will die to protect them if I have to." She looked up into Fireheart's eyes and he saw the intensity of her feeling in their yellow depths. "I'm afraid for them, Fireheart," she went on. "The Clan will never forgive Tigerclaw—nor should they. But Bramblekit and Tawnykit have done nothing wrong, and I will not let them be punished because of Tigerclaw. I'm not even going to tell them who their father was, just that he was a brave and powerful warrior." Fireheart felt a pang of sympathy for the troubled queen. "They will be safe here," he promised, but the amber eyes of Bramblekit still made his paws prickle with unease as Goldenflower turned away.

“这是陶妮吉第一次离开苗圃。”金花告诉他。 她焦急地低头看了看小工具箱。 “他们长得很快。”火心喃喃地说。 金花俯下身来，舔了舔每一个工具包的头，然后朝火心走去。 “我理解你的感受，”她轻声叫道。 “你的眼睛总是背叛你的心。 但这些是我的孩子，如果有必要，我愿意为保护他们而死。” 她抬头望着火心的眼睛，他从那双黄色的眼睛深处看到了她强烈的感情。 “我为他们担心，火心。”她接着说。 “氏族永远不会原谅虎爪——他们也不应该原谅。 但是布兰布吉和汤尼吉没有做错任何事，我不会让他们因为虎爪而受到惩罚。 我甚至不会告诉他们他们的父亲是谁，只会告诉他们他是一个勇敢而强大的战士。” 火心对陷入困境的王后深表同情。 “他们在这里会很安全的。”他保证道，但当金花转身离开时，布兰布利特琥珀色的眼睛仍然让他的爪子不安地刺痛。

Behind them Whitestorm squeezed out of the nursery. "Brindleface thinks her two remaining kits are ready to begin their training," he told Fireheart. "Does Bluestar know?" Fireheart asked. Whitestorm shook his head. "Brindleface wanted to share the news with Bluestar herself, but she hasn't visited the nursery in days." Fireheart frowned. The Clan leader usually took an interest in every aspect of Clan life, especially the nursery. Every cat knew how important it was for ThunderClan to have fine, healthy kits. "I suppose it's not surprising," Whitestorm continued. "She's still recovering from her wounds after the battle with the rogue cats." "Shall I go and tell her now?" Fireheart offered. "Yes. Some good news might cheer her up," Whitestorm remarked. With a jolt, Fireheart realized that Whitestorm was as worried as he was about their leader. "I'm sure it will," he agreed. "ThunderClan hasn't had this many apprentices in moons." "That reminds me," meowed Whitestorm, his

在他们身后，“白风暴”从育儿室里挤了出来。 “Brindleface认为她剩下的两个套件已经准备好开始训练了，”他告诉火心网。 “蓝星知道吗？”Fireheart问道。 怀特斯托姆摇了摇头。 “Brindleface想亲自和蓝星分享这个消息，但她已经好几天没去托儿所了。” Fireheart皱起了眉头。氏族首领通常对氏族生活的各个方面都很感兴趣，尤其是托儿所。 每只猫都知道拥有健康的幼猫对ThunderClan来说有多重要。 “我想这并不奇怪，”怀特斯托姆继续说道。 “在与流浪猫的战斗之后，她的伤口还在恢复中。” “我现在就去告诉她好吗？”Fireheart提供。 “是的。一些好消息可能会让她高兴起来，”怀特斯托姆说。 火心猛然意识到，白风暴和他一样担心他们的领袖。 “我肯定会的，”他同意道。 “霹雳氏族好久没有这么多学徒了。” “这倒提醒了我，”他的儿子怀特斯托姆叫道

eyes suddenly brightening. "Where's Cloudpaw? I thought he was fetching prey for the elders." Fireheart glanced away awkwardly. "Er, yes, he is. I don't know what's taking him so long." Whitestorm lifted a massive paw and gave it a lick. "The woods are not as safe as they once were," he murmured, as if he could read Fireheart's uneasy thoughts. "Don't forget WindClan and ShadowClan are still angry with us for sheltering Brokentail. They don't know yet that Brokentail is dead, and they might attack us again." Brokentail had once been the leader of ShadowClan. He had nearly destroyed the other Clans in the forest with his greed for more territory. ThunderClan had helped to drive Brokentail out of his troubled Clan, but had later given him sanctuary as a blind and helpless prisoner—a merciful decision that had not been welcomed by his former enemies. Fireheart knew that Whitestorm was warning him as carefully as possible—the warrior hadn't even mentioned the possibility that Tigerclaw might still be around—but his guilt at letting

眼睛突然亮了起来。 “Cloudpaw在哪?我以为他是在为长老们猎取猎物呢。” 火心尴尬地把目光移开。 “嗯，是的，他是。我不知道他怎么花了这么长时间。” 白风暴抬起一只巨大的爪子，舔了舔它。 “森林不像以前那么安全了。”他喃喃地说，仿佛他能读懂火心不安的心思。 “别忘了，WindClan和ShadowClan还在为我们庇护Brokentail而生气。 他们还不知道布罗肯泰尔已经死了，他们可能会再次袭击我们。” 布罗肯泰尔曾经是影子氏族的首领。 他对更多领土的贪婪几乎摧毁了森林里的其他氏族。 雷霆氏族帮助把布罗肯泰尔赶出了麻烦不断的氏族，但后来又给了他避难所，让他成为一个盲人和无助的囚犯——这是一个仁慈的决定，但他以前的敌人并不欢迎。 火心知道，白风暴已经尽可能小心翼翼地警告过他了——勇士甚至没有提到虎爪可能还在附近——但他对让

Cloudpaw go off alone made him defensive. "You let Brightpaw hunt alone this morning," he retorted. "Yes. I told her to stay in the ravine and to be back by sunhigh." Whitestorm's tone was mild, but he stopped washing his paw and looked at Fireheart with concern in his eyes. "I hope Cloudpaw won't go too far from the camp." Fireheart looked away and muttered, "I should go and tell Bluestar the kits are ready." "Good idea," answered Whitestorm. "I can take Brightpaw out for some training. She hunts well, but her fighting skills need some work." Silently cursing Cloudpaw, Fireheart padded away toward the Highrock. Outside Bluestar's den, he gave his ears a quick wash and put Cloudpaw out of his mind before calling a greeting through the lichen that draped the entrance. A soft "Enter" sounded from inside, and Fireheart pushed his way slowly in. It was cool in the small cave, hollowed out of the base of the Highrock by an ancient stream. The sunlight that filtered through the lichen made the walls glow warmly. Bluestar sat hunched in

云爪独自离开让他很有戒心。 “今天早上你让亮爪一个人打猎。”他反驳道。 “是的。我叫她待在峡谷里，太阳出来之前回来。” 白风暴语气温和，但他不再洗爪子，而是用关切的目光看着火心。 “我希望云爪不要离营地太远。” 火心望向别处，喃喃地说：“我应该去告诉蓝星，套件已经准备好了。” “好主意，”怀特斯托姆回答。 “我可以带亮爪出去训练一下。 她猎得很好，但她的格斗技巧还有待提高。” 火心默默地咒骂着云爪，蹑手蹑脚地朝海岩走去。 在蓝星的窝外，他迅速地洗了洗耳朵，把云爪抛在脑后，隔着铺满入口的地衣打了个招呼。 屋里传来一声轻柔的“请进”，火心慢慢地挤了进去。 这个小洞是一条古老的小溪从海岩山脚挖出来的，里面很凉爽。 透过地衣的阳光使墙壁发出温暖的光芒。 蓝星弓着腰坐在那里

her nest like a brooding duck. Her long gray fur was dirty and matted. Perhaps her wounds are still too sore to wash properly, Fireheart thought. His mind shied away from considering the other possibility—that his leader no longer wished to look after herself. But the worry he had seen in Whitestorm's eyes pricked at him. Fireheart couldn't help noticing how thin Bluestar looked, and he remembered the half-eaten bird she'd abandoned last night, returning alone to her den instead of staying to share tongues with her senior warriors, as she'd used to. The Clan leader raised her eyes as Fireheart entered, and he was relieved to see a faint spark of interest when she saw him. "Fireheart," she greeted him, sitting up and lifting her chin. She held her broad gray head with the same dignity Fireheart had admired when he first met her in the woods near his old Twoleg home. It was Bluestar who had invited him to join the Clan, and her faith in him had quickly established a special bond between them. "Bluestar," he began, respectfully dipping his

她的窝像一只孵蛋的鸭子。 她长长的灰色皮毛又脏又乱。 也许她的伤口还太痛，洗不干净，火心心想。 他的思想回避了考虑另一种可能性——他的领袖不再希望照顾自己。 但他在白风暴眼中看到的担忧刺痛了他。 火心不禁注意到蓝星看起来有多瘦，他想起了昨晚被她抛弃的那只吃了一半的鸟，她独自回到了巢穴，而不是像以前那样留下来和年长的战士们分享舌头。 火心进来时，氏族首领抬起了眼睛，当她看到他时，他看到了一丝微弱的兴趣，这让他松了一口气。 “火心。”她招呼他，坐直身子，扬起下巴。 她带着他第一次在托格莱格老家附近的树林里见到她时所钦佩的那种威严，抬起她那宽阔的白发。 是蓝星邀请他加入氏族的，她对他的信任很快在他们之间建立了一种特殊的纽带。 “蓝星，”他开始说，恭恭敬敬地蘸了蘸他的