Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22 A full moon crossed the sky behind thin wisps of cloud as Bluestar led her warriors to the Gathering. Fireheart was already uneasy. In spite of her declaration of war against StarClan, Bluestar had insisted on going. "How can I trust you to lead the Clan?" she had spat at her deputy when he had asked her which warriors he should take. Fireheart had simply bowed his head in obedience, but he could still feel the pain of knowing that his leader was convinced he was a traitor. He also had his doubts about including Graystripe, but his friend had begged desperately to be allowed to come. "Please, Fireheart! I'll be able to get news of Featherkit and Stormkit," he had meowed. Fireheart knew that Graystripe was inviting hostility from RiverClan by appearing so soon after the battle at Sunningrocks, and had half hoped that Bluestar would refuse. But the ThunderClan leader had merely flicked her tail dismissively. "Let him come. You're all traitors, so what does it matter?" Now Fireheart bunched together with the

第二十二章蓝星带领她的战士们前往集会，一轮满月穿过薄云后的天空。 火心已经很不安了。 尽管她向星族宣战，蓝星还是坚持要去。 “我怎么能信任你来领导氏族呢？”当她的副手问她应该带哪些战士时，她对他啐了一口。 火心只是顺从地低下了头，但当他知道他的领袖确信他是叛徒时，他仍然感到痛苦。 他也怀疑是否要邀请格雷斯特，但他的朋友拼命地请求允许他参加。 “请,Fireheart !我就能得到羽毛kit和风暴kit的消息了。” 火心知道灰条纹在桑宁岩战役结束后这么快就出现，会招来河族的敌意，所以他有一半希望蓝星会拒绝。 但是雷霆氏族的首领只是轻蔑地摇了摇尾巴。 “让他来吧。你们都是叛徒，这有什么关系？”现在火心聚在一起

other ThunderClan warriors to follow Bluestar down the slope. As they emerged into the hollow, the first thing he saw was Tigerstar and Leopardstar sitting side by side, watching approvingly as a group of their apprentices scuffled playfully with eachother. Fireheart's fur crawled as he saw those two together. He still had no evidence that Tigerstar was plotting revenge on his former Clan, but Leopardstar would certainly be feeling hostile after her Clan's defeat at Sunningrocks. "You've done a good job there," meowed Leopardstar to her companion. "Those are strong young cats, and they've learned their fighting moves well." A purr rumbled in Tigerstar's chest. "We've made some progress," he agreed. "But there's a long way to go yet." A pair of tumbling apprentices rolled right up to their leaders' paws and Leopardstar shifted backwards to give them more room. The young ShadowClan cats were certainly muscular and well fed, Fireheart thought; he could hardly believe they were the same scrawny creatures who

其他雷霆族战士跟随蓝星下山。 当他们进入山谷时，他首先看到的是虎星和豹星并排坐在一起，赞许地看着他们的一群学徒互相打闹。 火心看到他俩在一起，吓得浑身发抖。 他仍然没有证据表明虎星在密谋报复他以前的部落，但豹星在她的部落在桑宁岩城的失败后肯定会感到敌意。 “你做得很好，”豹星对她的同伴喵喵叫道。 “这些都是强壮的小猫，它们的打斗动作学得很好。” 老虎星的胸口发出咕噜声。 “我们已经取得了一些进展，”他表示赞同。 “但还有很长的路要走。” 一对翻滚的学徒滚到他们的领导者的爪子，豹星向后移动，给他们更多的空间。 火心心想，暗影家族的小猫肯定肌肉发达，吃得也很好；他简直不敢相信他们就是那些骨瘦如柴的家伙

had almost died when the sickness swept through their Clan. He exchanged an uneasy glance with Graystripe; sooner or later, he was sure, ThunderClan would have to meet these skilled fighters in battle. At a word from Tigerstar the apprentices stopped their playful skirmish and sat up, licking their ruffled fur. The two leaders began to make their way toward the Great Rock. Fireheart spotted Bluestar already waiting at its base, but he couldn't see Tallstar, the WindClan leader. As the ThunderClan cats dispersed to meet with warriors in other Clans, he noticed Graystripe hurrying up to a plump bracken- colored she-cat, and caught the scent of RiverClan from her. Fireheart felt a pang of anxiety as he watched his friend. He trusted Graystripe absolutely, even though he would always have one paw in RiverClan while his kits were there. But several ThunderClan warriors would doubt his loyalty if they saw him so eager to talk to a RiverClan cat. "Mosspelt, how are you?" Graystripe greeted the she-cat. "How are Featherkit and Stormkit?"

当疾病席卷整个家族时，他们差点死掉。 他不安地瞥了格雷斯特里克一眼；他确信，雷霆氏族迟早会在战斗中遇到这些熟练的战士。 虎星说了句话，学徒们停止了嬉闹，坐了起来，舔着皱巴巴的皮毛。 两位领袖开始向大岩石走去。 火心发现蓝星已经在基地待命，但他看不见风族首领高星。 当雷霆氏族的猫散去与其他氏族的战士会合时，他注意到灰条匆匆走向一只胖乎乎的蕨菜色母猫，并从她身上闻到了河流氏族的气味。 火心看着他的朋友，感到一阵焦虑。 他绝对信任Graystripe，尽管当他的装备在RiverClan时，他总是一只爪子在那里。 但如果雷霆族的战士看到他如此渴望与河族的猫交谈，他们会怀疑他的忠诚。 “莫斯佩尔特，你好吗？”灰条向母猫打招呼。 “羽毛宝和风暴宝怎么样了？”

"Featherpaw and Stormpaw now," replied Mosspelt proudly. "They've just been apprenticed." "That's great!" Graystripe's yellow eyes were glowing as he turned to Fireheart. "Did you hear what Mosspelt said? My kits are apprentices now." He glanced around. "They're not here, are they?" Mosspelt shook her head. "They're too newly apprenticed for that. Maybe next time. I'll tell them you were asking after them, Graystripe." "Thanks." Graystripe's excitement faded and was replaced by anxiety. "What did they think when I didn't come back from the battle?" "Once they knew you weren't dead, they coped well," replied Mosspelt. "Come on, Graystripe; it wasn't much of a shock. Every cat in RiverClan knew you would go back eventually." Graystripe blinked in surprise. "Really?" "Really. All the time you used to spend mooning around on the border or looking across the river. All the stories you told those kits about what you and Fireheart used to get up to when you were apprentices…It wasn't hard to see that your heart had never left ThunderClan."

“现在是羽爪和暴风爪了。”莫斯斯佩尔特自豪地回答。 “他们刚当过学徒。” “太好了!”灰条转向火心，黄眼睛闪闪发光。 “你听到莫斯斯佩尔特说的话了吗？” 我的孩子现在都是学徒了。” 他环顾四周。“他们不在这儿，是吗？”莫斯斯佩尔特摇了摇头。 “他们刚当学徒，做不到这一点。 也许下次吧。我会告诉他们你在问候他们，格雷斯特。” “谢谢。”灰条纹的兴奋消失了，取而代之的是焦虑。 “我没有从战场上回来，他们是怎么想的？”“一旦他们知道你没有死，他们就会处理得很好，”莫斯斯佩尔特回答说。 “来吧，灰条；这并没有太大的震惊。 河族的每只猫都知道你最终会回去的。” 灰条惊讶地眨了眨眼。 “真的吗?”“真的。你过去常常在边境闲逛或者眺望河对岸。 你给那些工具包讲的那些你和火心当学徒时的故事……不难看出你的心一直没有离开雷霆氏族。”

Graystripe blinked again. "I'm sorry, Mosspelt." "Nothing to be sorry for," retorted Mosspelt briskly. "And you can be sure that your kits will be well cared for. I'll keep an eye on them, and Mistyfoot and Stonefur are mentoring them." "They are?" Graystripe's eyes lit up again. "That's great!" Fireheart felt a pang of misgiving. Mistyfoot and Stonefur were both fine warriors, but he wondered why they had agreed to mentor Graystripe's kits. Mistyfoot had been a good friend to their mother, Silverstream, and so she might be expected to take an interest. But she and her brother had reacted with such hostility when he told them that Bluestar was their mother that Fireheart was surprised they wanted anything to do with kits who were half ThunderClan. Or was it possible that they wanted to teach the kits to be especially hostile toward their father's Clan? "You'll tell them how proud I am, won't you?" Graystripe meowed urgently to Mosspelt. "And remind them to do what their mentors tell them?" "Of course I will." Mosspelt let out a reassuring

“灰条”又眨了眨眼。“对不起，莫斯佩尔特。” “没什么好抱歉的，”莫斯斯佩尔特轻快地反驳道。 “你可以确信你的幼崽会得到很好的照顾。 我会盯着他们，雾脚和斯通弗在指导他们。” “他们是谁?”灰条的眼睛又亮了起来。 “太好了!”火心感到一阵不安。 雾脚和石弗都是优秀的战士，但他不明白为什么他们同意指导格雷斯特里特的工具包。 雾脚是他们的母亲银溪的好朋友，所以她应该会感兴趣。 但是当他告诉他们蓝星是他们的母亲时，她和她的哥哥表现出了如此的敌意，以至于火心很惊讶他们想和半个雷霆氏族的工具包有任何关系。 还是说他们想教小套件对他们父亲的氏族特别有敌意？ “你会告诉他们我有多骄傲，好吗？”“灰条”急切地叫着莫斯佩尔特。 “并提醒他们按照导师的话去做？”“我当然会的。” 莫斯斯佩尔特发出一声安慰

purr. "And I know Mistyfoot will help you keep in touch with them. Leopardstar might not like it, but…well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her." Fireheart had his doubts; after her rejection of Bluestar, Mistyfoot might not want anything more to do with ThunderClan. He suspected she would feel more loyal than ever to RiverClan and Graypool, the cat she had always loved as her mother. "Thanks, Mosspelt," mewed Graystripe. "I won't forget all you've done." He looked around as yowling sounded from the top of the Great Rock to signal the start of the meeting. Turning, Fireheart saw that all four leaders were now assembled, their pelts shining in the moonlight as they stood looking down at the cats below. He paid little attention as the leaders formally opened the meeting. Instead, he wondered whether Bluestar would mention the terrible assault on Swiftpaw and Brightpaw, and whether any of the other leaders had similar news. Fireheart almost hoped that they had, because that would prove that the dark force in the forest

咕噜声。“我知道雾水怪会帮你和他们保持联系的。 豹星可能不喜欢，但是……嗯，她不知道的事情不会伤害她。” 火心有他的疑虑；在她拒绝了蓝星之后，Mistyfoot可能不想再和ThunderClan有任何关系了。 他怀疑她会比以往任何时候都更忠诚于河族和格雷浦，这只她一直爱得像母亲一样的猫。 “谢谢你，莫斯佩尔特。”灰条纹轻声说。 “我不会忘记你所做的一切。” 他环顾四周，大岩石顶上传来嚎啕大哭的声音，表示会议开始了。 火心转过身来，只见四个头目都已集合，他们站在那里俯视着下面的猫，皮毛在月光下闪闪发光。 当领导人正式宣布会议开幕时，他几乎没有注意到。 相反，他想知道蓝星是否会提到对Swiftpaw和Brightpaw的可怕袭击，以及其他领导人是否有类似的消息。 火心几乎希望他们找到了，因为那将证明森林里的黑暗力量