Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 Stormfur crouched on a jutting spur of rock and looked down into the valley a couple of tail- lengths below. The sun was going down on the fourth day since he and his friends had come to the cave of the Tribe cats. Although the thought of what was happening in the forest hung over their heads like a swollen rain cloud, they had been unable to move on. Tawnypelt's shoulder was healing again, thanks to the herbs Stoneteller had given her, but it was still too stiff for her to walk. Meanwhile, Stormfur was beginning to think he had gotten the hang of the Tribe cats" way of hunting. It depended much more on keeping still and silent than on stalking prey, for among the rocks there was not as much cover as in the forest or even by the river where he used to fish. His ears pricked as he caught the faint sound of fluttering wings, and he peered down into the shadows. A bird had landed just below him and was pecking at the ground. Bunching his muscles, Stormfur sprang. His claws met feathers, and the

第12章 石毛蹲在一块突出的岩石上，低头望着身下几条尾巴长度远的山谷。 自从他和朋友们来到部落猫的洞穴，这已经是第四天，太阳正缓缓下山。 森林里发生的事像一团厚重的雨云压在他们心头，可他们没办法继续赶路。 多亏了石歌给的草药，褐皮的肩膀正在愈合，可还是僵硬得没法走路。 这段时间，石毛渐渐觉得自己摸透了部落猫的捕猎方法。 部落捕猎更讲究一动不动、保持安静，而非悄悄追踪猎物，因为岩石地带的掩护，比森林甚至他以前钓鱼的河边都少得多。 他听到一阵细微的振翅声，立刻竖起耳朵，低头往阴影里仔细看。 一只鸟儿落在他正下方，正啄着地上的食物。 石毛绷紧肌肉，猛地扑了出去。 他的爪子抓住了羽毛，那只

bird's frantic alarm call was cut off as he killed it with one blow of his paw. Stormfur stood up, his prey in his jaws, and saw the dim shape of one of the mud-covered cave-guards approaching up the valley. The fresh- kill in his mouth masked the scent, and he did not recognize Crag until the cat spoke. "Good catch! You'll make a great prey- hunter." Stormfur nodded his thanks, but Crag's words made him slightly anxious; did he really mean "you will make a good prey-hunter," or had he meant to say "you would"? The cave-guard sometimes seemed to assume that Stormfur intended to stay with the Tribe for good. But there was no opportunity to ask him what he meant; Brook and the rest of the prey-hunters had just appeared, and the whole patrol set off back to the cave, collecting the prey they had caught earlier on their way. When they reached the pool, Stormfur set down his load for a brief rest before climbing the rocks and negotiating the ledge behind the waterfall. The sun had set and the peak was

鸟儿惊慌的惊叫还没传开，就被他一爪子结果了性命。 石毛叼着猎物站起身，看见一个浑身沾泥的洞穴守卫，正沿着山谷朝这边走来。 嘴里新鲜猎物的气味盖住了对方的味道，直到这只猫开口，石毛才认出他是攀崖。 "好猎物！" "你肯定能成为很棒的猎手。" 石毛点头道谢，可攀崖的话让他有点不安； 他真的是说"你肯定能成为好猎手"，还是想说"你本该成为"呢？ 这位洞穴守卫有时候好像默认石毛打算一直留在部落里。 可他没机会问清楚攀崖到底是什么意思； 小溪和其他猎手刚好过来了，整支小队动身返回洞穴，路上还收走了之前捕到的猎物。 走到水潭边后，石毛放下猎物稍作休息，接下来还要爬岩石、穿过瀑布后的岩架。 太阳已经落山，山峰

outlined against a sky the color of blood. Stormfur shivered, trying not to picture blood being shed back home in the forest. However happy he felt to be hunting with the Tribe, they had to move on as soon as they could. Brook padded up beside him, her eyes shining in the evening light. "A good day's hunting," she purred. "You have learned our ways well, Stormfur." A warm glow spread through him from ears to tail-tip. Even more than before, he knew how much he would miss her when he had to leave. In these last few days she had become a friend; even her strange accent had begun to sound familiar. He guessed she felt the same; at least, she always asked him to go hunting with her, while the rest of the forest cats, if they hunted at all, went with other groups. Stormfur wondered what Brook really thought of him. Would she miss him when he had to go? He opened his jaws and picked up a strong rank scent. It was like nothing he had ever smelled before: a bit like a cat's, but harsher and tinged with carrion. He felt his neck fur rise with

在血红色的天空下勾出了清晰的轮廓。 石毛打了个哆嗦，拼命不去想象森林老家正在流血牺牲。 哪怕他跟着部落捕猎过得很开心，他们也得尽早继续赶路。 小溪轻步走到他身边，眼睛在暮色里闪闪发亮。 "今天捕猎收获真不错，"她轻轻叫着说。 "你把我们的方法学得很好了，石毛。" 一股暖意从耳朵尖一直传到了他的尾巴尖。 他比之前更清楚，等他要离开的时候，会有多想念她。 这几天过去，她已经成了他的朋友； 连她奇怪的口音，他都慢慢听习惯了。 他猜她也有同样的感觉； 至少，她每次捕猎都会叫上他，而其他森林来的猫，要是出去捕猎，都是各自组队。 石毛忍不住想，小溪到底是怎么看他的。 等他走了，她会想念他吗？ 他张开嘴，闻到一股浓烈刺鼻的气味。 这味道他从来没闻过：有点像猫的气味，但更粗劣，还带着腐肉的腥气。 他后颈的毛发一下子竖了起来，预感到

a premonition of danger. "What's that?" Brook's eyes stretched wide with fear, but she did not reply. Already the rest of the hunting patrol were gathering up their prey, hurrying for the safety of the cave. Crag bounded over and almost pushed Stormfur up the rocks. Glancing up, Stormfur thought he spotted a shadowy movement near the top of the waterfall, but he wasn't sure. Then he had to concentrate on keeping his footing on the slick, wet stones of the ledge, struggling to see around the half-grown falcon in his jaws. No cat tried to explain the reason for the sudden panic, and Stormfur had learned by now that there would be no point in asking. In the cave, he carried his prey over to the fresh-kill pile and went to find his friends. Spotting them near their sleeping hollows, he headed toward them, dodging around a couple of to-bes who were training with one of the cave- guards. They were using unfamiliar fighting moves; Stormfur's pelt itched to join in and learn, and teach the Tribe cats a few RiverClan tricks

危险正在逼近。 "那是什么？" 小溪吓得睁大了眼睛，却没有回答。 其他捕猎队的猫早就赶紧收好猎物，急急忙忙往安全的洞穴赶。 攀崖奔过来，几乎是把石毛推上了岩石。 石毛抬头瞥了一眼，好像看见瀑布顶附近有黑影在动，可他不敢确定。 接着他就得集中精神，在湿滑的岩架上站稳脚，嘴里叼着半大的游隼挡住了视线，走得十分费劲。 没有猫解释为什么突然这么慌乱，石毛也早知道，问了也没用。 进了洞穴，他把猎物放到鲜猎物堆上，就去找朋友们了。 看见他们在睡觉的凹洞附近，他就往那边走，侧身躲开两个跟着洞穴守卫训练的准猎手。 他们正在练陌生的格斗招式； 石毛心痒得不行，好想过去一起学习，也教部落猫几招河族的本事

too. Maybe later, he promised himself. The other Clan cats were all gathered around Tawnypelt, who was on her paws, twisting her head to examine her shoulder. Feathertail's tongue rasped busily over her fur. "It's much better," she meowed. "There's no swelling at all, and the wound's healing cleanly. How does it feel, Tawnypelt?" The ShadowClan warrior flexed the injured shoulder, then dropped into the hunter's crouch and crept a few tail-lengths along the cave floor. "Stoneteller certainly knows his stuff," she reported. "I don't know the herbs he used, but they're just as good as burdock root. The shoulder's a bit stiff, that's all," she added, springing up again. "It'll be fine if I keep exercising it. I just wish I could get my claws on that rat!" "Then it's time we were leaving," Brambleclaw mewed. "I'll have a word with Stoneteller, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow." "Right!" Crowpaw's eyes flashed. "And they'd better not try to keep us here."

也好。 他跟自己保证，待会儿再说吧。 其他族群猫都围在褐皮身边，褐皮站起身，扭着头查看自己的肩膀。 羽尾正忙着舔舐她的毛，舌头蹭得沙沙响。 “好多啦，”她喵呜说道。 “一点都不肿了，伤口愈合得干干净净。 你感觉怎么样呀，褐皮？” 这位影族武士活动了一下受伤的肩膀，然后伏成捕猎蹲姿，沿着洞底爬了几条尾巴远。 “青石果然很有本事，”她说道。 “我不知道他用了什么草药，效果不比牛蒡根差。 就是肩膀有点僵，仅此而已，”她说着又跳了起来。 “我多活动活动就没事了。 我真希望能抓到那只坏老鼠！” “那我们也该出发了，”棘爪喵呜说道。 “我去跟青石说一声，我们明天一早就动身。” “好！” 鸦爪的眼睛亮了起来。 “他们可别想把我们留在这里。”

"They won't." Feathertail pressed her muzzle against his side. "I'm sure you're worrying about nothing. The Tribe cats have been nothing but kind to us ever since we got here." "They'll probably be glad to see the back of us," Squirrelpaw agreed cheerfully. "They're bound to be short of prey when leaf-bare comes." "It's nearly here," mewed Feathertail. "The rocks were white with frost this morning." "Right." Squirrelpaw waved her tail. "So they won't want us sitting here stuffing ourselves." Stormfur could see from the look Brambleclaw gave his Clanmate that he was still worried, but he said nothing. Instead, it was Crowpaw who spoke, noticing for the first time that Stormfur had padded up to join them. "There you are!" he exclaimed, his lip curling unpleasantly. "Decided to join us, have you? Getting bored with your new friends in the Tribe?" "Don't," Feathertail murmured, flicking him with her tail. Stung, Stormfur stalked up to the young WindClan apprentice. "If he's got something to

“他们不会的。” 羽尾把鼻子贴在了他的腰侧。 “你肯定是在瞎担心。 我们来了之后，部落猫对我们一直都很好呀。” “说不定他们还巴不得我们走呢，”松鼠爪高高兴兴地附和道。 “叶枯季一来，他们的猎物肯定不够吃。” “叶枯季都快到啦，”羽尾喵呜说道。 “今天早上岩石都结霜变白了。” “对呀。” 松鼠爪摆了摆尾巴。 “所以他们肯定不想我们留在这里蹭吃的呀。” 暴毛从棘爪看族伴的眼神能看出，棘爪还在担心，但他什么也没说。 反而是鸦爪先开了口，他这才发现暴毛走过来加入了他们。 “你可来了！” 他大声喊道，嘴角不高兴地撇着。 “终于打算过来跟我们一起了？ 跟部落的新朋友玩腻啦？” “别这样，”羽尾低声说道，用尾巴拍了他一下。 暴毛被戳到痛处，大步走到这位年轻风族学徒面前。 “他要是有什么话要