Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 Fireheart sprang to his paws. "Tell me what happened." "When I saw her earlier this morning, I took her poppy seeds to calm her down," Cinderpelt explained. "But when I went to her den just now, she wasn't there, and she hadn't eaten the poppy seeds. I tried the elders' den and the nursery, but she isn't there either. She isn't anywhere in camp, Fireheart." "Did anyone see her leave?" "I haven't asked yet. I came to tell you first." "Then I'll get the apprentices to search, and find out if—" "Bluestar's not a kit, you know." The interruption came from Whitestorm, who had padded into the warriors' den in time to hear Cinderpelt's news. "She might have gone on patrol. For all you know, other cats are with her." He spoke calmly as he bared his teeth in a yawn and settled into his nest. Fireheart nodded uncertainly. What Whitestorm said was sensible, but he would have liked to be sure. After the state Bluestar had been

第十五章火心跳了起来。 “告诉我发生了什么事。”“今天早上我看到她的时候，我给她吃了罂粟籽，让她冷静下来，”灰姑娘解释说。 “可是刚才我到她窝里去的时候，她不在那儿，她也没有吃罂粟籽。 我找了长辈的书房和育儿室，但她也不在。 她不在营地里，火心。” “有人看见她离开吗？”“我还没问呢。 我是先来告诉你的。” “那我就让徒弟们去搜一搜，看看是不是——”“你知道，蓝星不是一个工具包。” 打断他的话的是“白风暴”，他及时溜进了战士们的洞穴，听到了灰姑娘的消息。 “她可能去巡逻了。 据你所知，其他的猫和她在一起。” 他平静地说着，打着呵欠，露出牙齿，钻进了他的窝里。 火心不确定地点点头。 怀特斯托姆的话很有道理，但他还是想确定一下。 在蓝星成为州后

in that morning, she could be anywhere in the forest. She might even have gone to RiverClan in search of her kits. "There's probably no need to worry," Fireheart reassured Cinderpelt, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. "But we'll look anyway, and find out if any cat has seen her." Leaving the den, he spotted Fernpaw and Ashpaw sharing tongues near the blackened remains of the tree stump outside the apprentices' den. Quickly Fireheart explained that he had a message for Bluestar, but he wasn't sure where she was. The two apprentices dashed off willingly to look for her. "You go and ask if any cat has seen her," he suggested to Cinderpelt, who had followed him out of the den. "I'll go up the ravine and see if I can pick up her scent. I might be able to track her." Privately he didn't have much hope. While he had slept, clouds had covered the sky and a thin rain was drizzling down. It was not good weather for following scent. Before he could leave, Fireheart noticed that Sandstorm was just

那天早上，她可能在森林里的任何地方。 她甚至可能去河族找她的工具箱了。 “也许没必要担心。”火心安慰灰姑娘，希望他的话听起来比实际更有信心。 “不过我们还是要去看看，看看有没有猫见过她。” 离开洞穴时，他看见Fernpaw和Ashpaw在学徒洞穴外被烧焦的树桩旁说着话。 火心很快解释说，他有个口信给蓝星，但他不确定她在哪里。 两个徒弟心甘情愿地跑去找她。 “你去问问有没有猫见过她，”他向跟着他走出洞穴的灰姑娘建议。 “我要到峡谷上去，看看能不能闻到她的气味。 我也许能追踪到她。” 私下里，他不抱太大希望。 他睡着的时候，天空乌云密布，下着细雨。 这不是追踪气味的好天气。 在他离开之前，火心注意到沙暴只是

returning to camp, along with Cloudpaw and Brindleface. All three of them carried fresh-kill, which they went over to drop on the pile. Fireheart raced up to them, with Cinderpelt limping behind. "Sandstorm," he meowed, "have you seen Bluestar?" Sandstorm swiped her tongue around her mouth to remove the prey juices. "No. Why?" "She isn't here," mewed Cinderpelt. Sandstorm's eyes widened. "Are you surprised? After what happened this morning? She must feel like she's losing control of her Clan." That was so close to the truth that Fireheart didn't know how to answer. "We're going out again," meowed Cloudpaw. "We'll keep a lookout for her." "Okay, thanks." Fireheart blinked gratefully at his apprentice. The young white tom raced off again, with the two warriors following more slowly. Brindleface paused to meow, "I'm sure she'll be fine, Fireheart," as she left, but Sandstorm didn't look back. Fireheart's problems were about to overwhelm

和云爪和斑脸一起返回营地。 他们三个人都带着新鲜的猎物，走过去把它们扔在那堆东西上。 火心向他们跑来，灰姑娘一瘸一拐地跟在后面。 “沙暴，”他叫道，“你看到蓝星了吗？”沙暴用舌头舔了舔嘴巴，把猎物的汁液吸走。 “没有。为什么?”“她不在这里，”灰姑娘叫道。 沙暴的眼睛睁大了。“你感到惊讶吗？” 在今天早上发生的事之后？ 她一定觉得自己正在失去对氏族的控制。” 这太接近事实了，火心不知道该怎么回答。 “我们又要出去了。”云爪叫道。 “我们会留意她的。” “好的,谢谢。”火心感激地朝他的徒弟眨了眨眼。 年轻的白汤姆又跑开了，两个勇士跟在后面，跑得更慢了。 斑脸停下来喵喵地说：“我相信她会没事的，火心。”说完就离开了，但沙暴没有回头。 火心的问题马上就要压倒他了

him, but then he felt Cinderpelt's breath soft against his ear. "Don't worry, Fireheart," she murmured. "Sandstorm's still your friend. You need to accept that she doesn't always see things the way you do." "You don't either." Fireheart sighed. Cinderpelt let out an affectionate purr. "I'm still your friend too," she told him. "And I know you've done what you believe to be right. Now, let's see what we can do to find Bluestar." By the time the sun set, Bluestar was still missing. Fireheart had tracked her as far as the top of the ravine, but after that, with the rain coming down more heavily, the scent was lost among the tang of charred branches and the musty smell of fallen leaves. Too anxious to sleep, Fireheart put himself on watch. The night was far gone, and the moon was setting when he spotted movement by the camp entrance. The last rays of moonlight picked out a silver-gray coat as Bluestar limped back into the camp. Her fur was soaked, plastered to her body, and her head was low. She looked old, exhausted,

但是他感到灰姑娘的呼吸轻轻地贴在他的耳朵上。 “别担心，火心。” “沙暴还是你的朋友。 你需要接受她并不总是和你看问题的方式一样。” “你也不知道。”Fireheart叹了口气。 灰姑娘发出一声深情的咕噜声。 “我还是你的朋友，”她告诉他。 “我知道你做了你认为正确的事。 现在，让我们看看我们能做些什么来找到蓝星。” 太阳落山的时候，蓝星仍然不见踪影。 火心跟踪她一直追到峡谷顶端，但之后，随着雨下得越来越大，她的气味被烧焦树枝的刺鼻和落叶的霉味淹没了。 火心急得睡不着，便派人看守。 夜色已深，当他看到营地入口有动静时，月亮已经落山了。 当蓝星一瘸一拐地回到营地时，最后的月光照出了他银灰色的外套。 她的皮毛湿透了，粘在身上，低着头。 她看上去又老又累，

defeated. Fireheart hurried across to her. "Bluestar, where have you been?" The Clan leader raised her head and looked at him. A jolt ran through Fireheart; her eyes, faintly glowing in the dim light, were clear and bright in spite of her exhaustion. "You sound like a queen scolding her kit," she rasped, an edge of humor in her voice. She jerked her head in the direction of her den. "Come with me." Fireheart obeyed, pausing only to snatch a vole from the pile of fresh-kill. Bluestar needed to eat, wherever she had been. When he reached Bluestar's den, his leader was seated in her mossy nest, washing herself with long, careful strokes. Fireheart would have liked to sit beside her and share tongues with her, but after their last encounter he did not dare. Instead he dropped the vole in front of her and respectfully dipped his head. "What happened, Bluestar?" he asked. Bluestar stretched her neck to sniff the vole, half turned away from it, and then began to gulp it down as if she had suddenly realized how hungry she was. She did not answer until she had

打败了。火心急忙向她走来。 “蓝星，你去哪儿了？”氏族首领抬起头看着他。 火心一阵震动；她的眼睛在昏暗的光线中微微发光，尽管她很疲惫，但仍然清澈明亮。 “你听起来像个女王在骂她的孩子。”她粗声粗气地说，声音里带着一丝幽默。 她朝她的窝的方向猛一摇头。 “跟我来。”火心听从了命令，只在从一堆刚宰杀的猎物中抓了一只田鼠时停下来。 蓝星需要吃东西，不管她在哪里。 当他到达蓝星的巢穴时，他的领袖正坐在她长满青苔的巢里，用长时间仔细的抚摸着自己。 火心本想坐在她身边和她说几句话，但在他们最后一次见面后，他不敢了。 相反，他把田鼠放在她面前，恭恭敬敬地低下头。 “发生什么事了，蓝星？”他问道。 蓝星伸出脖子嗅了嗅田鼠，半转过身去，然后开始狼吞虎咽，好像突然意识到自己有多饿。 她没有回答，直到她说完

finished it. "I went to speak with StarClan," she announced, flicking the last traces of vole from her whiskers. Fireheart stared. "To Highstones? On your own?" "Of course. Which of this pack of traitors could I ask to escort me?" Fireheart swallowed. Gently he meowed, "Your Clan are loyal, Bluestar. All of us." Bluestar shook her head stubbornly. "I went to Highstones, and I spoke with StarClan." "But why?" Fireheart was feeling more and more confused. "I thought you no longer wanted to share tongues with StarClan." The old cat drew herself up. "I do not. I went to challenge them. I wanted to ask how they could justify what they have done to me, when I have served them all my life and tried to do their will. And to demand an explanation for the things that are happening in the forest." Fireheart gazed at her in disbelief, amazed that his leader had dared to challenge the spirits of their warrior ancestors.

完成了。“我去找星族了。”她宣布道，拂去胡须上最后一丝田鼠的痕迹。 Fireheart盯着。“Highstones吗? 一个人吗？”“当然。我可以请这群叛徒中的哪一个来护送我呢？”Fireheart吞下。 他温柔地喵喵叫道：“蓝星，你的家族是忠诚的。 我们所有人。”蓝星固执地摇了摇头。 “我去了Highstones，并与StarClan进行了交谈。” “但为什么?”火心感到越来越困惑。 “我以为你不想再和StarClan说舌语了。” 那只老猫挺直了身子。 “我不知道。我去挑战他们。 我想问他们，当我一生都在为他们服务，并试图按照他们的意愿行事时，他们怎么能证明他们对我所做的事情是正当的呢？ 并要求对森林里发生的事情做出解释。” 火心难以置信地看着她，惊讶于他的领袖竟然敢于挑战他们战士祖先的灵魂。