Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 Twilight was thickening the shadows under the trees by the time Firestar and Cinderpelt slipped down the ravine toward the camp entrance. They had slept in the barn with Barley and Ravenpaw until the sun was well above the horizon, and feasted again on plump mice before they set off for their own territory. Though Firestar was tired, some of the horror of his dream was fading, and he was looking forward to seeing his Clan mates again. At first the new leader emerged unnoticed from the gorse tunnel with Cinderpelt. Whitestorm and Brackenfur were sitting together near the nettle patch, finishing off some fresh-kill, while three of the apprentices wrestled playfully outside their den. Firestar picked out the dark tabby pelt of his own apprentice, Bramblepaw, and reminded himself to get him back onto a strict training schedule as soon as he could. There was no reason why leadership duties should prevent him from mentoring the young cat—after all, Bluestar had been a diligent mentor to him. He was padding over to Whitestorm when he

第六章黄昏把树下的阴影映得更浓了，这时火星和灰姑娘顺着峡谷朝营地的入口溜去。 他们和大麦、拉文爪在谷仓里一直睡到太阳高出地平线，然后又吃了一顿肥老鼠，然后动身回自己的地盘去了。 虽然火星很累，但他梦中的恐惧正在消退，他期待着再次见到他的部落成员。 起初，这位新领导人带着灰姑娘从金雀花隧道里悄悄出现。 白风暴和布莱肯弗一起坐在荨麻地附近，正在宰杀一些新鲜的猎物，而三个学徒则在他们的穴外嬉戏地摔跤。 火星拿出了他的徒弟蓝爪的黑虎斑皮毛，提醒自己尽快让它回到严格的训练计划中。 他的领导职责没有理由阻止他去指导这只小猫——毕竟，蓝星一直是他勤勉的导师。 他在去怀特风暴的途中

heard his name yowled loudly, and turned to see Ashpaw racing across the clearing from the elders' den. The apprentice's gray fur was bristling with excitement. "Fireheart—no, Firestar! You're back!" His noisy greeting alerted the rest of the Clan and soon they were pressing around Firestar, calling him by his new name and welcoming him home. Firestar wanted to give himself up to the uncomplicated enjoyment of their warm fur pressed against his, but he could not ignore the awe in their eyes as they gazed at him. He felt a sharp pang in his heart as he was reminded yet again of the new distance between himself and the rest of his Clan. "Did you really see StarClan?" asked Fernpaw, her eyes wide. "I really did," Firestar replied. "But I'm not allowed to say anything about the ceremony." Fernpaw didn't look disappointed. Her eyes brimming with admiration, she turned to Dustpelt and meowed, "I bet he's going to be a great leader!" "He'd better be," replied Dustpelt; his love for

听到有人大声喊着他的名字，转过身来，看见阿什paw从长老们的洞穴里跑过空地。 学徒的灰色皮毛因兴奋而竖起。 “Fireheart-no, Firestar !你回来了!”他那喧闹的问候惊动了氏族的其他成员，很快他们就围在火星周围，喊着他的新名字，欢迎他回家。 火星想全身心地享受它们温暖的皮毛贴在自己身上的那种简单的享受，但他无法忽视它们凝视他时眼中的敬畏。 当他再次想起自己和其他氏族之间的新距离时，他感到内心一阵剧痛。 “你真的看到《星族》了吗？”芬帕问，眼睛睁得大大的。 “真的，”Firestar回答道。 “但是我不能说任何关于婚礼的事。” Fernpaw看起来并不失望。 她的眼睛里充满了钦佩，她转向尘土飞扬，喵喵叫道：“我打赌他会成为一个伟大的领袖！”“最好是这样，”达斯特尔回答。他对

Fernpaw wouldn't let him argue with her, even though Firestar was well aware that he had never been Dustpelt's favorite cat. But the brown- coated warrior gave him a nod of respect, and Firestar knew that Dustpelt's loyalty to the warrior code would ensure his support. "It's good to see you back," meowed Graystripe, shouldering through the warriors to reach Firestar's side. At least he seemed to have recovered from the awe he'd felt when Bluestar had named Firestar leader as she lay dying. Now his yellow eyes were filled with friendship and sympathy. "You look like a fox that's been dead for a moon. Was it tough?" "It was," Firestar murmured, just for Graystripe's ears, but Cloudtail caught what he had said. "It's only your belief in ancient traditions that makes you think you can't be leader without dragging all the way up to Highstones and back. As far as I'm concerned, you've already proved yourself to be the true leader of this Clan, Firestar." Firestar gave his kin a hard stare; he was

Fernpaw不让他和她争论，尽管Firestar很清楚他从来都不是Dustpelt最喜欢的猫。 但是棕色外套的战士对他点头表示敬意，火星知道达斯特佩尔对战士守则的忠诚会确保他的支持。 “很高兴看到你回来了。”灰条纹喵喵地叫着，肩膀穿过战士，来到火星身边。 至少他似乎已经从蓝星在临死前任命火星为队长时的那种敬畏中恢复过来了。 现在他的黄眼睛里充满了友谊和同情。 “你看起来像一只死了一个月的狐狸。 很艰难吗？”“是啊。”火星喃喃地说，只对着灰条纹的耳朵，但云尾巴听到了他的话。 “只是因为你对古老传统的信仰，才让你认为，如果不把自己一路拖到海斯通去，再拖回来，你就不可能成为领袖。 在我看来，你已经证明了自己是这个氏族真正的领袖，火星。” 火星狠狠地瞪了他的亲戚一眼；他是

grateful for Cloudtail's loyalty and respect, but felt as frustrated as ever that the younger cat did not share his beliefs. He wished he could tell the white warrior exactly what he had experienced, if only to shock him into respect for StarClan, but he knew that was impossible. "Shh! The ancient traditions still matter." The quiet rebuke came from Lostface, who had come to join Cloudtail. She licked his ear and added, "StarClan watch over us all." Cloudtail returned the lick, his tongue passing gently over the injured side of Lostface's face. Firestar's annoyance faded. He couldn't help admiring Cloudtail's unwavering devotion to Lostface in spite of her terrible injuries. His kin might be difficult and hotheaded, with little respect for the warrior code, but he had brought this young cat back from the brink of death and given her a reason to live. As the welcoming cats began to disperse, Firestar caught the eye of Whitestorm, who had greeted him and then backed off a pace or two, waiting to speak. "How are things in camp?" Firestar asked.

他很感激云尾巴的忠诚和尊重，但却因为这只年轻的猫没有分享他的信仰而感到沮丧。 他希望能把自己的经历原原本本地告诉那个白人战士，哪怕只是为了让他对星际战队产生敬意，但他知道这是不可能的。 “嘘!古老的传统仍然很重要。” 无声的责备来自于来加入云尾巴的失脸。 她舔了舔他的耳朵，补充道：“星族守护着我们所有人。” 云尾巴也舔了他一下，他的舌头轻轻地舔了舔失智脸受伤的一侧。 火星的烦恼消失了。 他不禁钦佩云尾巴对失脸的坚定忠诚，尽管她受了重伤。 他的亲戚可能很难相处，脾气暴躁，不尊重战士的准则，但他把这只年轻的猫从死亡边缘救了回来，给了她活下去的理由。 当欢迎的猫开始散去时，火星引起了白风暴的注意，白风暴向火星打招呼，然后退了一两步，等着说话。 “营地里的情况怎么样？”Firestar问道。

"Was there any trouble while I was away?" "Not a thing," the senior warrior reported. "We've patrolled the whole territory, and there's no sign of dogs or of ShadowClan." "Good," Firestar mewed. Glancing at the well- stocked fresh-kill pile, he added, "I see some cats have been hunting." "Sandstorm took a patrol out, and Mousefur and Brackenfur put the apprentices to work," replied Whitestorm. "Bramblepaw is a skillful hunter. I lost count of how much prey he brought in." "Good," Firestar repeated. His plea sure in hearing his apprentice praised was tempered by the uneasiness he always felt when Tigerstar's son was mentioned. Tigerstar had been a good hunter too, but that had not stopped him from becoming a murderer and a traitor. Cinderpelt came up to him again. "I'm off to my den," she meowed. "Call me if you want anything. Have you remembered that you need to appoint a deputy before moonhigh?" Firestar nodded. Other duties had been more urgent, but now he needed to give this decision

“我不在的时候有什么麻烦吗？”“什么也没有。”年长的战士说。 “我们已经巡视了整个地区，没有狗和影子氏族的踪迹。” “很好，”火星叫道。他看了一眼堆满新鲜猎物的那堆，又说：“我看到一些猫一直在打猎。” “沙暴带了一支巡逻队出去，鼠弗和布莱肯弗让学徒们干活。”白风暴回答。 “蓝爪是个熟练的猎手。 我数不清他带来了多少猎物。” “很好。” 他听到自己的徒弟受到表扬时的恳求，由于一提到虎星的儿子，他就感到不安，这使他的恳求有所缓和。 虎星也曾是一个好猎手，但这并没有阻止他成为一个杀人犯和叛徒。 灰姑娘又走到他跟前。 “我要回窝里去了，”她喵喵地叫道。 “如果你需要什么就打电话给我。 你记不记得在月高之前你需要任命一个副手？”Firestar点点头。 还有其他更紧急的任务，但现在他需要做出这个决定

serious thought. Because she had been so shocked by Tigerstar's treachery and exile, Bluestar had made Firestar's own appointment a day late, without the proper ceremony. The Clan had been terrified that StarClan would be angry, and that had made things very difficult for Firestar. He was determined not to make the same mistake with his own deputy. Watching Cinderpelt limping across the clearing to her den, Firestar realized that so far two cats had not come to greet him. One was Darkstripe; that did not surprise him. The other was Sandstorm, and that disturbed him. Had he done something to make her angry? Then Firestar spotted her a few tail-lengths away, watching him with an uncharacteristically diffident air. Her green eyes flickered toward him and away again as he padded over to her. "Sandstorm," he mewed. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine, Firestar." She didn't meet his gaze, but looked down at her paws. "It's good to have you back." Now Firestar was certain something was wrong. He had been looking forward all the long

严肃的思考。由于蓝星对虎星的背叛和流放感到震惊，她把火星自己的约会推迟了一天，没有举行适当的仪式。 氏族一直害怕StarClan会生气，这让Firestar的处境变得非常艰难。 他决心不让自己的副手犯同样的错误。 看着灰姑娘一瘸一拐地穿过空地回到她的窝里，火星意识到到目前为止还没有两只猫来迎接他。 一个是Darkstripe；这并不令他感到意外。 另一个是沙暴，这让他很不安。 他做了什么让她生气的事吗？ 这时，火星在几尾远的地方发现了她，她正带着一种不同寻常的羞怯神情看着他。 当他慢慢向她走来时，她那双绿色的眼睛忽而转向他，忽而又转向别处。 “沙尘暴。”他叫道。“你还好吗？”“我很好，火星。” 她没有直视他的目光，而是低头看着自己的爪子。 “你回来真是太好了。” 现在，火星确定出了问题。 他一直在期待着