Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21 Sorreltail glared up at Hawkfrost. Twisting under his paw, she raked her claws over his leg, but days of hunger had taken the edge off her fighting skills. The warrior didn't flinch as he cuffed her over the ear with his other forepaw. "You're coming with me to Leopardstar," he snarled. "Let her decide what to do. ThunderClan have no right to ignore our borders." "Let her go!" Leafpaw meowed. "She's only a couple of tail-lengths inside your border." Hawkfrost gave her an unfriendly stare. "Oh, it's you again." "Yes, me again." Leafpaw drew herself up and met Hawkfrost's icy blue eyes, summoning all her courage. "You were glad enough that I was there when Reedpaw had his accident." Persuasively, she added, "You owe ThunderClan a favor. Let Sorreltail go." Hawkfrost's lip curled in a sneer. "Clans do not owe each other favors. The warrior code says we should respect boundaries, which she"—he gave Sorreltail a contemptuous flick with his tail

第二十一章 荨麻尾怒视着鹰霜。 她扭身躲开他的爪子，利爪划过大腿，可多日的饥饿早已削弱了她的战斗技巧。 这位武士丝毫没退缩，另一只前爪一掌拍在她的耳朵上。 “你跟我去见豹星，”他低吼道。 “让她来决定怎么处置你。 雷族无权无视我们的边界。” “放她走！” 叶爪喊道。 “她只不过越界了几个尾巴的距离而已。” 鹰霜不友善地瞪着她。 “哦，又是你啊。” “对，又是我。” 叶爪挺直身体，鼓起全身勇气迎上鹰霜冰蓝色的眼睛。 “芦苇爪出意外的时候，你可巴不得我在那儿帮忙呢。” 她柔声劝道：“你欠雷族一个人情， 放了荨麻尾吧。” 鹰霜撇起嘴，露出一抹嗤笑。 “族群之间不欠人情， 武士守则说我们得尊重边界，而她”——他轻蔑地用尾巴甩了荨麻尾一下

—"clearly does not." Leafpaw felt her fur bristle and her muscles tense, as if her body were telling her to fight with Hawkfrost. Together she and Sorreltail had a chance of beating him.... But she forced herself to stay calm and not move from where she stood on the border. She could just imagine what Firestar would say if he found out she had attacked a cat from another Clan on his own territory. It was hard to beg such an obnoxious cat, but she had to make one more effort. "Please—it's not as if she was doing any harm." Hawkfrost's blue eyes were chips of ice. "She was stealing prey." "She was not!" Leafpaw's eyes flew wide. "That was a ThunderClan squirrel." Sorreltail, who had been lying limp under Hawkfrost's paw, suddenly heaved herself upward. Hawkfrost let out a screech as her teeth met in his leg. For a moment they writhed together on the ground, but for all her bravery Sorreltail was no match for Hawkfrost's size and strength. Soon she lay panting under his paws

“根本不把边界当回事。” 叶爪只觉得毛发倒竖，肌肉紧绷，身体仿佛在催促她和鹰霜开战。 她和荨麻尾联手，说不定能打赢他…… 可她强迫自己冷静下来，站在原地一动不动。 她太清楚了，如果火星知道她擅自袭击其他族群的猫，会有多生气。 向这么讨人厌的猫求情很难堪，但她必须再试一次。 “求你了——她又没做什么坏事。” 鹰霜的蓝眼睛冷得像冰块。 “她在偷猎物。” “她才没有！” 叶爪一下子瞪大了眼睛。 “那本来就是我们雷族的松鼠。” 原本瘫软在鹰霜爪下的荨麻尾，突然猛地向上一挣。 鹰霜发出一声惨叫，荨麻尾的牙齿咬在了他的腿上。 两只猫在地上扭打了片刻，可荨麻尾再勇敢，也敌不过鹰霜的体型和力气。 很快她就喘着气，被重新压在了他的爪下

again. "Okay, take me to Leopardstar," she spat. "But I'll fight you every step of the way." Hawkfrost looked bored. "Fine. You do that." Desperately Leafpaw looked around; why wasn't Firestar or Cinderpelt here? They might be able to persuade Hawkfrost. There were no cats at all on her own side of the border, but she caught sight of a flash of gold in the reeds on the other side of the river, and a heartbeat later saw Mothwing running across the Twoleg bridge. The RiverClan apprentice bounded up the slope and halted beside her brother. "What's going on?" "You can see for yourself." Hawkfrost tapped Sorreltail with his tail. "I've caught a trespasser. I'm going to take her to Leopardstar." "She didn't mean it," Leafpaw pleaded, feeling more hopeful now that Mothwing had turned up. "She was chasing a squirrel—one of ours—and she didn't realize that she'd crossed the border." Mothwing looked from her brother to Leafpaw and back again. "Let her go," she

又一次。 “行吧，带我去见豹星，”她咬着牙说。 “但我一路上都会跟你拼到底。” 鹰霜一脸无所谓的样子。 “随便啊， 你尽管拼。” 叶爪绝望地环顾四周；为什么火星和炭毛都不在这儿？ 他们说不定能说服鹰霜。 自己这边的边界连一只猫都没有，她却瞥见河对岸芦苇丛里闪过一抹金色，一转眼就看见蛾霜跑过两脚兽的桥。 这位河族学徒蹦上坡，停在她哥哥身边。 “出什么事了？” “你自己看不就知道了。” 鹰霜用尾巴碰了碰荨麻尾。 “我抓了一个闯入者， 我要带她去见豹星。” “她不是故意的，”看到蛾霜来了，叶爪燃起了新的希望，连忙恳求道。 她在追松鼠——那是我们的松鼠——她没发现自己越界了。 蛾霜看看哥哥，又看看叶爪，来回打量了一番。 “放她走吧， 她

meowed. "It's not important. She didn't catch anything. If you take her to Leopardstar you could start a war between our Clans." Hawkfrost fixed his cold blue stare on his sister. "And why is that such a bad thing? Every cat knows that ThunderClan is in trouble. This could be our chance to move in and take their territory." Leafpaw gasped. Was that what Hawkfrost really wanted? Mothwing returned her brother's stare. "Don't be mouse-brained," she mewed frostily. "Remember what Leopardstar owes Firestar. He gave the Clan back to her when Tigerstar tried to take over. She'll never go to war against him." "She will for a good enough reason," Hawkfrost argued. "This isn't about old favors; it's about the warrior code. The borders between the Clans have to count for something!" His voice was becoming high-pitched with desperation, and he took a deep breath before growling, "And you watch your tongue, Mothwing. Remember you could be talking to the next Clan deputy." "What?" Leafpaw blurted out. "What about

说道。 “这又不是什么大事， 她什么都没抓到， 你要是带她去见豹星，会挑起我们两族之间的战争。” 鹰霜用冰冷的蓝眼睛盯住了妹妹。 “那有什么不好的， 谁都知道雷族现在麻烦缠身， 这可是我们拿下他们领地的好机会。” 叶爪倒吸了一口凉气。 鹰霜真的是这么盘算的吗？ 蛾霜回瞪着哥哥。 “别犯傻了，”她冷冷地说道。 “别忘了豹星欠火星人情， 虎星夺权的时候，是火星把族群还给了她。 她绝对不会对他开战的。” “只要理由足够充分，她会的，”鹰霜反驳道。 “这和旧人情没关系，这是武士守则的事， 族群之间的边界必须得到尊重！” 他的声音因激动变得尖利，深吸一口气后低吼道：“还有你管好你的嘴，蛾霜， 别忘了，你说话的对象可是下一任副族长。” “什么？”叶爪脱口而出， 那关于

Mistyfoot?" "Mistyfoot is a coward," Hawkfrost snarled. "She couldn't face what's happening in the forest, so she ran away." "No cat has seen her for a whole day," Mothwing explained to Leafpaw, her eyes wide and anxious. "Not since she went to patrol the border near Fourtrees. We don't know what has happened to her." "Even if she comes back, she won't be deputy anymore," Hawkfrost growled. "Clan deputies can't just go wandering off when they feel like it." Leafpaw's head spun. She couldn't believe it. Mistyfoot was no coward; besides, she had assumed that RiverClan wasn't affected by what was happening to the other three Clans, because their territory was the only one the Twolegs hadn't touched. But now Mistyfoot had disappeared. How many more had gone? Had all the Clans lost cats? A chill crept bone-deep into Leafpaw; these disappearances couldn't be related to the prophecy from StarClan. Even if the first cats had failed, StarClan wouldn't send out more and

“雾脚？ “雾脚就是个胆小鬼，”鹰霜怒吼道。 “她不敢面对森林里发生的事，所以逃跑了。” “整整一天都没有猫见过她了，”蛾翅圆睁着双眼，焦急地对叶爪解释道。 “从她去四树附近巡逻边界之后就没人见过她了。 我们根本不知道她出了什么事。” “就算她回来，也不配再当副族长了，”鹰霜低吼道。 “族群副族长哪能想走就走，四处闲逛。” 叶爪脑子嗡嗡直转。 她根本不敢相信这话。 雾脚才不是胆小鬼； 再说，她本来以为河族没有受到其他三族遭遇的麻烦影响，只有河族领地没被两脚兽碰过。 可现在雾脚居然失踪了。 还有多少猫不见了？ 所有族群都丢猫了吗？ 一股寒意深深钻进叶爪的骨头里； 这些失踪案不可能和星族的预言有关系。 就算第一批猫失败了，星族也不会再送出更多

more to a nameless fate. Somehow the Twolegs and their monsters must be responsible. She said nothing of this to Mothwing and Hawkfrost, and to her relief Sorreltail did not tell them about the disappearance of Cloudtail and Brightheart. The less RiverClan knew about ThunderClan's affairs the better, especially if Hawkfrost was spoiling for a fight because he thought ThunderClan was weak. Instead, it was Mothwing who broke the silence. "You know, you're a fool, Hawkfrost," she mewed. Her brother bristled. "What do you mean?" "If you want to bring down ThunderClan, you're going about it the wrong way." "And you know the right way, do you?" Hawkfrost sneered. "Yes, I do." Mothwing's tone was cold. Leafpaw could hardly believe what she was hearing; she suddenly felt as if she didn't know this cat at all. "Go on, then, enlighten me." Mothwing turned her head to give her shoulder a couple of quick licks. "Be kind to

猫咪落得无名的厄运。 这一切肯定是两脚兽和他们的怪物干的好事。 叶爪没把这些想法告诉蛾翅和鹰霜，让她安心的是，栗尾也没提云尾和亮心失踪的事。 河族越少知道雷族的事越好，尤其是鹰霜现在正等着挑事，就等着抓雷族虚弱的借口开战。 结果反而是蛾翅打破了沉默。 “你知道吗，你真傻，鹰霜，”她开口说。 她哥哥立刻炸毛了。 “你这话什么意思？” “你要是想打垮雷族，用错方法了。” “那你说你知道正确方法，是吗？” 鹰霜嗤笑道。 “对，我知道。” 蛾翅的语气冷冰冰的。 叶爪几乎不敢相信自己听到的话； 她突然觉得自己根本就不认识这只猫。 “那你接着说，给我讲明白。” 蛾翅转过头，快速舔了两下自己的肩膀。 “友善对待