Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 Fireheart padded swiftly out of the camp, hoping no other cats would see him and ask him where he was going. The warrior code said that a Clan leader's orders should be obeyed without question. Until now, Fireheart had always accepted that. He had never imagined that he would ever disobey Bluestar, and yet the time had come when he must challenge her orders or watch the destruction of his Clan. The only way he could see of avoiding the battle was for Tallstar and Bluestar to meet together and talk about the evidence of prey-theft in both their territories. Once Bluestar understood that WindClan was suffering in just the same way as ThunderClan, Fireheart was sure she would call off the attack. He did not know what Bluestar would do to him afterward, if she realized that he had gone to see Tallstar without her permission. He just hoped she would eventually understand it was for the good of her Clan. At the entrance to the gorse tunnel Fireheart took a last look around at the camp. For a moment he watched Brightpaw, practicing the

第十二章火心快步走出营地，希望没有别的猫看见它，问它要去哪儿。 武士守则说部落首领的命令应该毫无疑问地服从。 直到现在，火心一直接受这一点。 他从没想过自己会违抗蓝星的命令，但时机已经到来，他必须挑战她的命令，否则就只能眼睁睁地看着自己的氏族灭亡。 他能想到的避免这场战争的唯一方法就是让高星和蓝星聚在一起，讨论他们各自领土上的猎物盗窃行为。 一旦蓝星明白了风氏族和雷霆氏族所遭受的痛苦，火心确信她会取消进攻。 他不知道如果蓝星知道他未经允许就去见了塔尔斯特，之后会对他做什么。 他只希望她最终能明白这是为了她的家族好。 在金雀花隧道的入口处，火心最后环视了一下营地。 有一会儿，他看着亮爪在练习

hunting crouch all by herself outside the apprentice's den. She crept lightly up on a dead leaf and pounced on it, trapping it with outstretched paws. "Well done!" Fireheart called. Brightpaw looked up, her eyes glowing. "Thank you, Fireheart!" Fireheart nodded to her, then turned and headed through the gorse tunnel. The short meeting had strengthened his resolve, for the eager young apprentice represented all that was important within the Clan. Fireheart knew that he could not let that be destroyed. By sunhigh, Fireheart was approaching the stream that lay on the route to Fourtrees. He stopped for a moment to rest. In his confusion and anxiety he had not taken time to eat before he left the camp, and a rustle in the undergrowth reminded him of how hungry he was. He dropped into the hunter's crouch, only to realize a couple of heartbeats later that the sounds were not made by prey. He caught a glimpse of a familiar dark pelt, and breathed in the scent of ThunderClan cats.

在学徒窝外独自狩猎克劳奇。 她轻轻地爬上一片枯叶，扑向它，伸出爪子把它困住。 “做得好!”Fireheart调用。 亮爪抬起头，眼睛闪闪发光。 “谢谢你，火心！”火心朝她点了点头，然后转身穿过金雀花隧道。 这次短暂的会面坚定了他的决心，因为这个热心的年轻学徒代表了氏族中最重要的东西。 火心知道他不能让它被摧毁。 太阳出来的时候，火心已经接近了通往四树树的那条小溪。 他停下来休息了一会儿。 在慌乱和焦虑中，他没有来得及吃点东西就离开了营地，灌木丛里的沙沙声提醒他自己有多饿。 他蹲进了猎人的窝里，几下心跳后才意识到那些声音不是猎物发出的。 他瞥了一眼熟悉的黑色皮毛，吸入了雷霆家族猫的气味。

Puzzled, Fireheart pressed himself to the ground behind a clump of fern. He hadn't ordered a patrol in this direction, so why were his Clan cats here now? Then the undergrowth parted and Darkstripe emerged, mewing sharply over his shoulder, "Follow me. Try to keep up, can't you?" Two small shapes appeared out of the bracken. Fireheart's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized Goldenflower's two kits. Bramblekit bounced into the open, batting at a fallen leaf, while Tawnykit followed more slowly. "I'm tired. My paws ache," the little tabby kit complained. "What, a strong kit like you?" Darkstripe meowed. "Don't be silly. It's not far now." What isn't far? Fireheart wondered in alarm. What are you doing out here, and where are you taking these kits? He expected to see Goldenflower with them—surely her kits had never been this far from the nursery before?—but she did not appear. Bramblekit scampered over to his sister and gave her a nudge. "Come on—it'll be worth it!" he urged.

火心困惑地趴在一丛蕨类植物后面。 他没有下令在这个方向巡逻，那为什么他的猫家族现在在这里呢？ 然后灌木丛分开了，黑条出现了，在他身后尖锐地叫着：“跟我来。 试着跟上，行吗？”从蕨菜中出现了两个小身影。 火心惊讶地睁大了眼睛，认出了金花的两套衣服。 布兰布吉蹦蹦跳跳地跑到空地上，打着一片落叶，唐妮吉跟着跑得更慢。 “我累了。我的爪子疼，”小虎斑猫抱怨道。 “什么，像你这样强壮的装备吗？”Darkstripe呜呜呜。 “别傻了。现在已经不远了。” 不远的是什么？火心惊慌地纳闷。 你在这里做什么，你要把这些工具带去哪里？ 他期待着看到“金花”和他们在一起——她的孩子们肯定从来没有离开过育儿室这么远吧？但她没有出现。 布兰布吉蹦蹦跳跳地跑到妹妹身边，用胳膊肘推了她一下。 “来吧，这是值得的！”他催促道。

Both kits hurried after Darkstripe to a shallow place where they crossed the stream, squealing in fear and excitement as the water swirled around their paws. On the far side of the stream, Darkstripe veered away from the route that led to Fourtrees, and headed instead along a much narrower path that twisted away under the trees. A burst of outrage shook Fireheart. He knew exactly where that path led. Darkstripe was taking the kits toward the border with ShadowClan. Fireheart had to wait for them to climb the slope beyond the stream before he dared to emerge from the ferns and follow. By the time he caught up they were approaching the border. The strong reek of ShadowClan reached Fireheart, and he saw the kits stop and start sniffing the air. "Yuck, what's that?" Tawnykit squealed. "Is it a fox?" asked Bramblekit. "No, it's ShadowClan scent," Darkstripe replied. "Come on, we're nearly there." He led the kits across the border, Tawnykit complaining that she was getting the horrid scent all over her paws. Growing angrier still, Fireheart slid into the shelter of a hawthorn bush just on the

两只幼崽都跟着“暗条纹”跑到一个浅水处，在那里它们渡过了小溪，水在它们的爪子周围打转，它们又害怕又兴奋地尖叫着。 在小溪的另一边，“暗条纹”偏离了通往四棵树的路线，转而沿着一条在树下蜿蜒的窄得多的小路前进。 火心怒火中烧。 他很清楚那条路通向何方。 Darkstripe带着装备和ShadowClan一起走向边界。 火心等他们爬上小溪那边的山坡，才敢从蕨类植物丛中钻出来，跟在他们后面。 当他赶上来时，他们已经接近边境了。 暗影氏族强烈的恶臭传到了火心，他看到套件们停下来，开始嗅着空气。 “哎呀，那是什么？”Tawnykit叫苦不迭。 “是狐狸吗？” “不，这是暗影氏族的气味。” “快点，我们就快到了。” 他领着两只幼崽穿过边境，托妮基特抱怨说，她的爪子上到处都是可怕的气味。 火心更加生气了，他溜进了山楂树丛的掩蔽处

ThunderClan side, where he could watch without being seen. Close by, Darkstripe had come to a halt. The kits flopped down on the grass, exhausted, only to spring to their paws again a moment later when a clump of bracken rustled and another cat stepped into the open. The newcomer was Tigerstar. Fireheart froze, though he was hardly surprised. He had guessed that Darkstripe had been hoping to curry favor with Tigerstar by bringing his kits to see him, but the ShadowClan leader's prompt appearance suggested that this meeting had been arranged all along. Fireheart wondered if Goldenflower knew about this. She was not here with her kits, so perhaps she didn't even know that Darkstripe had taken them away. She might just think they had gone missing. She must be frantic, Fireheart thought. He tensed his muscles, ready to leap out and confront Darkstripe, but he stayed in his hiding place and made himself concentrate on what was happening in front of him. Tigerstar padded forward, the muscles rippling

在那边，他可以在不被发现的情况下观看。 在不远处，“暗条纹”停了下来。 小猫们扑倒在草地上，筋疲力尽，过了一会儿，当一丛蕨菜沙沙作响，另一只猫走到空地上时，它们又跳了起来。 新来的是虎星。 火心僵住了，不过他并不感到意外。 他猜到暗条纹带着装备去见虎星是想讨好他，但影族首领的迅速出现表明这次会面一直都是安排好的。 火心不知道金花是否知道这件事。 她没有带着她的装备来，所以也许她根本不知道暗条纹把它们拿走了。 她可能以为他们失踪了。 她一定是疯了，火心心想。 他绷紧了肌肉，准备跳出来和“黑条纹”正面对抗，但他还是呆在自己的藏身之处，让自己集中精力关注眼前发生的事情。 虎星大步向前，肌肉起伏

under his dark tabby pelt, until he stood in front of his two kits. For a moment he inspected them, and then bent his head to touch noses, first with Bramblekit and then with Tawnykit. Even though they could never have seen such a massive cat before, both kits stood bravely before him and met his gaze without flinching. "Do you know who I am?" meowed Tigerstar. "Darkstripe said he would take us to meet our father," replied Bramblekit. "Are you our father?" Tawnykit added. "You smell a bit like us." Tigerstar nodded. "I am." The kits exchanged a wondering glance as Darkstripe mewed, "This is Tigerstar, the leader of ShadowClan." Their eyes grew huge, and Bramblekit breathed, "Wow! You're really a Clan leader?" When Tigerstar dipped his head in agreement, Tawnykit mewed excitedly, "Why can't we come and live with you in your Clan? You must have a really nice den." Tigerstar shook his head. "Your place is with your mother for now," he told them. "But that

在他的深色虎斑皮毛下，直到他站在他的两个孩子面前。 他看了一会儿他们，然后低下头去摸他们的鼻子，先是摸了摸布兰布吉，然后又摸了摸托妮吉。 尽管它们以前从未见过这么大的猫，但两只幼崽都勇敢地站在他面前，毫不退缩地直视着他的目光。 “你知道我是谁吗？”虎星叫道。 “黑条说他要带我们去见我们的父亲。” “你是我们的父亲吗？”Tawnykit补充道。 “你闻起来有点像我们。” Tigerstar点点头。“我是。”当暗条纹叫道：“这是虎星，暗影氏族的首领。” 他们的眼睛变大了，布莱布莱奇喘着气说：“哇！你真的是部落首领？”当虎星低下头表示同意时，唐妮吉兴奋地叫道：“我们为什么不能和你一起住在你的部落里呢？” 你的窝一定很漂亮。” 虎星摇了摇头。“你们现在应该和你们的母亲在一起，”他告诉他们。 “但这