Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 As her Clan stared at her in horror, Bluestar spun around and stalked away to her den. Fireheart took a pace after her, but without turning her head she snapped, "Leave me alone!" There was so much venom in her voice that Fireheart stopped in his tracks. What am I supposed to do now? he asked himself. He could see that the Clan was on the edge of panic. The shock of the hawk's attack, and Bluestar's interpretation of it, was turning them into frightened kits. His own legs were shaking, but he pushed his fears away and sprang onto the Highrock. "Listen!" he called. "Gather 'round, all of you." Gradually the cats obeyed him, creeping into a huddle at the base of the rock. Several of them glanced fearfully up at the sky, as if they expected the hawk to return. Fireheart noticed Fernpaw pressing close to Dustpelt, and Longtail crouched on the ground as if he thought StarClan were going to start raining fire on them there and then. And then Fireheart spotted Cloudpaw. The apprentice was gazing around in bewilderment.

当她的家人惊恐地盯着她时，蓝星转过身，大步走回了她的巢穴。 火心追了她一步，但她头也不回，厉声说道：“放开我！”她的声音里充满了恶毒，火心停了下来。 我现在该怎么办？ 他问自己。他看得出，氏族已经处于恐慌的边缘。 老鹰袭击的震惊，以及蓝星对它的解释，把他们变成了受惊的工具包。 他自己的腿也在颤抖，但他把恐惧抛在脑后，跳上了海岩。 “听！”他喊道。“你们都围过来。” 猫们慢慢地听从了他的命令，在岩石底部挤成一团。 有几个人惊恐地抬头望着天空，似乎在期待着老鹰回来。 火心注意到Fernpaw正在向Dustpelt靠近，而长尾蹲在地上，好像他认为星际军团会随时随地向他们开火。 然后火心发现了云爪。 学徒迷惑地环顾四周。

"What's all the fuss about?" he meowed to Brightpaw. "Every cat knows StarClan is just a tale for kits. They can't really do anything to us." Brightpaw faced him with shock in her eyes. "Cloudpaw, that's not true!" she exclaimed. "Come on!" Cloudpaw gave her an affectionate flick with his tail. "You don't really believe that load of thistledown, do you?" He showed his indifference by sitting down and giving his paws a thorough wash. Fireheart stared down at his apprentice with cold dread chilling the blood in his veins. He had known for a long time that Cloudpaw had no respect for the warrior code, but he had not realized that his apprentice did not believe in StarClan at all. On the other side of the clearing, Cinderpelt and Brindleface were gently guiding Speckletail in the direction of Cinderpelt's den. Cinderpelt stopped, mewed something rapidly to Brindleface, and came limping back toward the rock. "I think you might need me, Fireheart," she mewed. "But make it quick. I have to take care of Speckletail."

“有什么好大惊小怪的？”他喵喵地对亮爪说。 “每只猫都知道《星际战队》只是一个关于套件的故事。 他们真的不能对我们做什么。” 亮爪带着震惊的眼神面对着他。 “云爪，这不是真的！” “来吧!”云爪用尾巴亲热地轻拍了她一下。 “你不会真的相信那堆蓟花吧？”他坐下来，把爪子彻底洗了一遍，以示不在乎。 火心凝视着他的徒弟，心中充满了恐惧。 他早就知道云爪不尊重武士的准则，但他没有意识到他的徒弟根本不相信星族。 在空地的另一边，灰姑娘和斑脸正轻轻地引导着小斑点尾巴朝灰姑娘的窝的方向走去。 灰姑娘停了下来，迅速地对斑脸说了些什么，然后一瘸一拐地向岩石走去。 “我想你可能需要我，火心。”她叫道。 “但是要快点。我得照顾小雀斑尾巴。”

Fireheart nodded. "Cats of ThunderClan," he began, raising his voice, "we've just seen something terrible. No cat can deny that. But we have to be careful about what meaning we give to this tragedy. Cinderpelt, is Bluestar right? Does this mean that StarClan have abandoned us?" Cinderpelt spoke up clearly from where she sat at the base of the rock. "No," she meowed. "StarClan haven't shown me anything to suggest this. The camp is more exposed since the fire, so it's not surprising that the hawk could see its prey." "So it was just an accident that we lost Snowkit?" Fireheart prompted. "Just an accident," Cinderpelt repeated. "Nothing to do with StarClan." Fireheart saw the Clan begin to relax and realized that Cinderpelt's certainty had reassured them. The cats still looked shocked and grief- stricken that Snowkit had been snatched away, but the wild stares of panic were fading. But along with his relief came the worry that once the Clan had recovered from their shock, they would start asking themselves why Bluestar

Fireheart点点头。“雷霆家族的猫们，”他开始说，提高了声音，“我们刚刚看到了可怕的事情。 没有人能否认这一点。但我们必须谨慎对待我们赋予这场悲剧的意义。 灰姑娘，蓝星是对的吗？ 这是否意味着StarClan已经抛弃了我们？”灰姑娘从她坐在岩石底部的地方清晰地说话。 “不，”她叫道。“《StarClan》并未向我展示任何相关内容。 自从火灾以来，营地更加暴露，所以老鹰能看到猎物也就不足为奇了。” “所以我们失去Snowkit只是一场意外？”Fireheart提示。 “只是一场意外。”灰姑娘重复道。 “与《星际战队》无关。” 火心看到氏族们开始放松下来，意识到灰姑娘的肯定让他们放心了。 雪宝被人抢走了，猫们仍然显得震惊和悲伤，但惊恐的眼神已经消失了。 但随着他的解脱，他也开始担心，一旦部落从震惊中恢复过来，他们会开始问自己为什么要选择蓝星

had gone so far as to declare war on their warrior ancestors in StarClan. "Thank you, Cinderpelt," Fireheart meowed. Cinderpelt flicked her tail and limped quickly toward her den. Fireheart took a step forward on top of the rock and gazed down at the upturned faces. "There's something else I need to tell you," he began. He wasn't at all sure he should be saying this, since Bluestar insisted that WindClan was responsible for the dead rabbits, but with the safety of the Clan at stake he couldn't keep silent. "We think there's a loose dog on ThunderClan territory. We haven't seen it, but we've scented it at Snakerocks and near Fourtrees." An anxious murmur rose from the cats, and Sandstorm called out, "What about the dogs at the farm beyond WindClan territory? Maybe it's one of those." "Maybe," Fireheart agreed, remembering how the savage creatures had chased him and Sandstorm while they were searching for Cloudpaw. "Until it goes away again," he went on, "we all have to be especially careful. Apprentices

甚至向他们在《星际部落》中的战士祖先宣战。 “谢谢你，灰姑娘。”火心喵喵地说。 灰姑娘甩了甩尾巴，一瘸一拐地朝她的窝走去。 火心在岩石顶上向前迈了一步，凝视着下面那些仰起的脸。 “还有一件事我要告诉你，”他开始说。 他不确定自己是否应该说出这些话，因为蓝星坚持认为风氏族对死兔子负有责任，但考虑到氏族的安全，他不能保持沉默。 “我们认为在ThunderClan的地盘上有一只失控的狗。 我们没有看到它，但我们在蛇岩和四树附近闻到了它的气味。” 猫们焦虑地嘀咕起来，沙暴喊道：“风氏族领地外农场的狗怎么办？ 也许是其中之一。”“也许吧。”火心同意了，他想起了自己和沙暴在寻找云爪时，那些野蛮生物是如何追赶他们的。 “在它再次消失之前，”他接着说，“我们都必须特别小心。 学徒

mustn't go out without a warrior. And all cats who leave camp have an extra duty. Look for traces of this dog—scent, pawmarks, scattered scraps of prey…." "And dung," Mousefur put in. "The filthy creatures never think of burying it." "Right," meowed Fireheart. "If you come across anything like that, report it to me right away. We need to find out where the dog has made its den." As he gave his orders he did his best to hide his growing sense of dread. He could not stifle the feeling that the forest was watching him, concealing a deadly enemy somewhere among the trees. At least the threat from Tigerstar was a straightforward fear of attack from a known enemy. This hidden dog was another matter, unseen and unpredictable. Dismissing the Clan, Fireheart leaped down from the Highrock and made his way toward Cinderpelt's den. On the way, he spotted Brackenfur limping back into the camp with Swiftpaw just behind him. The ginger warrior's fur was torn where he had forced his way through

没有勇士不能出去。 所有离开营地的猫都有额外的任务。 寻找狗的气味，爪印，猎物散落的碎片....” “还有粪便，”小老鼠插嘴说。 “那些肮脏的家伙从来没想过要把它埋掉。” “好的。”火心叫道。 “如果你遇到这样的事情，马上向我报告。 我们得找出这只狗的窝在哪里。” 当他下达命令时，他尽量掩饰他日益增长的恐惧感。 他无法抑制一种感觉，那就是整个森林都在监视着他，在树林的某个地方隐藏着一个致命的敌人。 至少虎星的威胁是对已知敌人攻击的直接恐惧。 这条隐藏的狗是另一回事，看不见，也无法预测。 火心离开了氏族，从高岩石上跳下来，朝灰姑娘的巢穴走去。 在路上，他看见布莱肯弗一瘸一拐地回到营地，雨爪跟在他后面。 姜黄色战士的皮毛被他强行穿过的地方撕破了

briers and undergrowth in his pursuit of the hawk. One look at his lowered head and dejected expression told Fireheart all he needed to know, but he waited for Brackenfur to come up and make his report. "I'm sorry, Fireheart. We tried to keep up, but we lost it." "You did your best," Fireheart replied, pressing his head against the younger warrior's shoulder. "There was never much hope." "A waste of time and effort right from the start," Swiftpaw growled, though his eyes betrayed his frustration at their failure to save the kit. "Where's Speckletail?" asked Brackenfur. "With Cinderpelt. I'm just going to check on her. You two help yourself to fresh-kill and then get some rest." He waited to see that the two cats obeyed his order before continuing to Cinderpelt's den. Sandstorm fell into step beside him. When they reached the clearing outside the medicine cat's den, they found Speckletail lying there with Brindleface crouched beside her, licking her

荆棘和灌木丛在他追捕鹰的过程中。 只要看一眼他低下的头和沮丧的表情，火心就知道了他需要知道的一切，但他还在等布莱肯弗上前汇报。 “对不起，火心。我们试图跟上，但我们失去了它。” “你已经尽力了。”火心答道，把头靠在年轻战士的肩上。 “从来就没有多少希望。” “从一开始就是浪费时间和精力。”Swiftpaw咆哮道，但他的眼神流露出对他们没能保住工具箱的失望。 “小斑点尾巴在哪儿？”布莱肯弗问。 Cinderpelt。我只是去看看她。 你们两个随便吃点新鲜的，然后休息一下。” 他等着看两只猫服从了他的命令，然后继续向灰姑娘的洞穴走去。 沙暴降临在他身边。 当他们来到药猫窝外面的空地上时，他们发现斑点尾巴躺在那里，斑脸蹲在她身边，舔着她