Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 Clouds obscured the night sky as Leafpaw padded down the hard stone slope. A mild breeze promised that there would be no frost tonight, and she could smell rain. Most of the Clan was sleeping; ShadowClan was huddled near the edge of Sunningrocks, as far from the ThunderClan cats as they could be. Exhaustion dragged at Leafpaw's limbs, but her mind teemed with thoughts, memories of the day's horrors mingled with uncertainties about the journey to come. Knowing she would not be able to sleep, she headed for the forest. Even in leaf-bare, its musty odor and the feeling of the earth beneath her paws soothed her. As she neared the trees she heard Cody's voice calling to her. "Leafpaw!" The kittypet was sheltering among some brittle fronds of bracken. "Cody? What are you doing out here?" "There's something I need to tell you." Cody scraped at the ground with her paw. Leafpaw stared at her. "What?" "I'm leaving," Cody mewed simply. "I'm going

第16章 阴云遮住夜空，叶爪沿着坚硬的石坡慢慢往前走 柔和的微风预示今晚不会下霜，她还闻到了雨水的气息 族群里大部分猫都已经睡着了； 影族挤在太阳石边缘，尽可能离雷族猫远远的 疲惫拖得叶爪四肢发酸，可她脑子里乱糟糟的，白天的可怕经历和对未来旅程的不安缠在一起 叶爪知道自己睡不着，便朝着森林走去 哪怕是秃叶季，森林里的霉味和爪子下泥土的触感都能安抚她的情绪 她快走到树林边时，听到科迪在喊她 “叶爪！” 这只宠物猫正躲在干枯的蕨叶丛里 “科迪？ 你怎么会在这里？” “我有件事要告诉你。” 科迪用爪子扒了扒地面 叶爪盯着她 “什么事？” “我要走了。”科迪平静地说 “我要回

home." Leafpaw fought back the urge to cry, No! Please stay! She stepped forward and touched her nose to Cody's ear-tip. "This is no life for me, all this death and blood and uncertainty," Cody went on. "I am happy with my housefolk, and they'll be missing me. I never meant to stay this long, but Birchkit needed me and I began to—" "You began to enjoy the freedom," Leafpaw interrupted, suddenly desperate to remind her new friend what she would be giving up if she went back to her Twolegs. "I guess I did," Cody admitted. "But today I saw just how fragile your freedom is. You have to fight for everything—for your food, even somewhere to shelter." She shook her head apologetically. "I like to know where I will be sleeping every night, and that there will always be food when my belly grows empty. And I like my housefolk. Not all Twolegs are as bad as the ones destroying your home." "Would you like me to show you the way through the forest?" Leafpaw offered. "Firestar

家了。” 叶爪忍住想哭的冲动，不要！ 求求你留下！ 她上前一步，用鼻子碰了碰科迪的耳尖 “这样的生活不适合我，到处都是死亡、鲜血和不安”科迪继续说道 “我在我的主人那里过得很开心，他们肯定在找我了 我从没打算留这么久，但是桦爪需要我，我也开始了——”“你开始喜欢上这份自由了对不对”叶爪打断她，急切地想提醒这位新朋友，回到两脚兽身边她会失去什么 “我想我确实是”科迪承认道 “可今天我才看清，你们的自由有多脆弱 你们什么都要抢——抢食物，甚至抢一个能遮风挡雨的地方” 她满是歉意地摇了摇头 “我喜欢每天都知道自己睡在哪里，肚子饿的时候永远都有食物吃 而且我喜欢我的主人 不是所有两脚兽都像那些毁了你们家的两脚兽那么坏” “要不要我带你穿过森林？” 叶爪主动问道 火星

promised you an escort." Cody shook her head. "The woods seem quiet enough," she mewed. "There won't be any monsters about at night. Anyway, you'll need to rest for your journey." She glanced back toward Sunningrocks. "Thank Firestar for me." Leafpaw pressed her nose sadly against her new friend's cheek. Cody closed her eyes and sighed. Then she straightened up. "I've said good- bye to Birchkit. Ferncloud is eating properly again, and he'll be fine with her now." "Thanks for taking care of me when we were in the Twoleg nest," Leafpaw whispered. "I'll miss you." "I'll miss you, too. And I'll keep an eye out for Graystripe," Cody promised. "If I see him, I'll tell him where you've gone and that his Clan is waiting for him." Leafpaw felt a warm tongue rasp her ear. "Bye, Leafpaw," Cody murmured. "Good luck." "Good-bye, Cody." With an aching heart, and half wishing she could have convinced Cody to stay, Leafpaw watched her friend vanish into the shadows of the forest.

答应会送你了。” 科迪摇了摇头 “森林现在看起来很安静呀”她说道 “晚上不会有怪兽出来 再说了，你还要为旅程养足精神呢” 她回头望了一眼太阳石的方向 “帮我谢谢火星” 叶爪难过地把鼻子贴在新朋友的脸颊上 科迪闭上眼睛叹了口气 接着她挺直了身子 “我已经和桦爪道别了 云毛已经能正常吃饭了，现在桦爪跟着她肯定没事” “谢谢你在两脚兽巢穴的时候照顾我”叶爪轻声说 “我会想你的” “我也会想你的， 我还会帮你留意灰条”科迪保证道 “如果我见到他，我会告诉他你们去了哪里，说你的族群在等他” 叶爪感觉到一个温暖的舌头蹭了蹭她的耳朵 “再见了，叶爪”科迪轻声说 “祝你好运” “再见了，科迪” 叶爪心头闷闷的，其实她特别想说服科迪留下，她看着朋友消失在森林的阴影里

A rustle in the bracken made her jump, and Sorreltail slipped out from the trees. "Has Cody gone home?" "She said her Twolegs would be missing her," Leafpaw explained. "I heard." Sorreltail nodded. "Are you okay?" "Of course." She braced herself for Sorreltail to make a sharp comment about how kittypets didn't belong in the wild, but instead Sorreltail just blinked sympathetically. "Let's sleep out here tonight," she suggested. "It is our last night in the forest, after all." The thought of never spending another night under these trees took Leafpaw's breath away, and for a moment she wanted to lie down and bury her face in the leaf-mold and forget that all this was happening. How could they leave if they didn't know where they were going? But she followed Sorreltail into the bracken, and together they flattened a patch into a nest big enough for the two of them. As she settled down, Leafpaw felt Sorreltail's soft tail brush her nose. "Your Clan is still here," Sorreltail murmured. "I know." Leafpaw tried not to think of Cody

蕨丛里一阵窸窣声吓了她一跳，粟尾从树林里走了出来 “科迪回家了吗？” “她说她的主人会想念她的”叶爪解释道 “我听到了” 粟尾点了点头 “你没事吧？” “我没事” 叶爪本来做好准备，等着粟尾说宠物猫不该待在野外这类刻薄话，可粟尾只是同情地眨了眨眼睛 “我们今晚就在这里睡吧”她提议道 “毕竟这是我们在森林里的最后一夜了” 一想到以后再也不能在这些树下过夜，叶爪就喘不上气，有一瞬间她好想躺进落叶堆里，忘掉眼前发生的一切 他们连要去哪里都不知道，怎么能说走就走呢？ 但她还是跟着粟尾走进了蕨丛，一起压出一块空地，做成了一个够两只猫躺的窝 叶爪躺下来时，感觉到粟尾柔软的尾巴扫过她的鼻子 “你的族群还在这里”粟尾轻声说 “我知道” 叶爪努力不去想科迪

hurrying home through the forest alone. Before she closed her eyes, she looked up at the branches and gave thanks to StarClan for the shelter they had given ThunderClan in past moons. If only she could be sure there was a home as safe as this had once been waiting for them at the end of their journey. Cold rain woke Leafpaw, spattering on her fur, and she opened her eyes to a watery, gray dawn. She stretched and shook the raindrops from her pelt. Her movement awoke Sorreltail. "Brrr," the tortoiseshell complained, hauling herself to her paws. "What a day for a journey!" She didn't suggest that Firestar might delay leaving until the rain stopped. Leafpaw realized bleakly that all of the cats knew they could not stay in the forest a moment longer. They left their sodden nest and padded to the bottom of Sunningrocks, where the two Clans were beginning to gather. Tawnypelt was sharing tongues with a ShadowClan apprentice, stopping now and then to shake the rain from her ears. "I wonder what it's like for Tawnypelt, being back with ThunderClan?" Sorreltail whispered,

独自穿过森林匆匆往家赶。 闭眼之前，她抬头望着树枝，感谢星族过去这些月给雷族提供了容身之处。 真希望她能确定，旅途终点有个和这里曾经一样安全的家在等着他们。 冷雨打在叶爪的皮毛上，吵醒了她，她睁开眼，看见一个湿漉漉、灰蒙蒙的黎明。 她伸了个懒腰，抖掉皮毛上的雨滴。 她的动作吵醒了栗尾。 “呼啊，”这只玳瑁猫抱怨着，费力站起身。 “这天气出远门可太糟了！” 她没提议火星能不能等雨停了再出发。 叶爪凄凉地意识到，所有猫都清楚他们不能再在森林里多待一刻了。 他们离开湿漉漉的窝，缓步走到太阳石山脚，两个族群已经开始在那里集合。 褐皮正和一只影族学徒互相舔毛，时不时停下来抖掉耳朵上的雨水。 “不知道褐皮回到雷族，心里是什么感觉呀？” 栗尾低声说，

following Leafpaw's gaze. "Strange, I guess," she murmured. "It's going to be very wet underpaw." Ashfur's worried mew rose from the ThunderClan warriors and apprentices. The other cats looked anxiously at Brambleclaw, and Leafpaw knew it was not just the rain that was making their pelts bristle. The whole Clan was nervous about the journey ahead. "Mud or no mud, we will leave as soon as RiverClan comes," Firestar insisted. "Can't you hear the Twoleg monsters?" Leafpaw listened, and sure enough, through the drumming of the rain, she heard monsters rumbling behind the trees. She had never heard them this close to Sunningrocks before, and the thought of them bearing down on their final refuge filled her with alarm. "I want all warriors and apprentices to catch whatever they can before the journey," Firestar meowed. "We'll share whatever we find with ShadowClan." "ShadowClan will organize its own hunting patrols!" Blackstar called across the rock.

一边顺着叶爪的目光望去。 “我猜，应该挺奇怪的吧，”她轻声说。 “爪下肯定会湿乎乎的。” 灰烬毛担忧的叫声从雷族的武士和学徒群里传了出来。 其他猫都不安地望着黑莓掌，叶爪明白，让他们毛发倒竖的不只是这场雨。 整个族群都对接下来的旅途感到不安。 “不管有没有泥，河族一来我们就出发，”火星坚定地说。 “你们没听见两脚兽的怪物声音吗？” 叶爪仔细听，果然，透过淅淅沥沥的雨声，她听到树林后传来怪物的隆隆声。 她从没听过怪物离太阳石这么近，一想到它们就要逼近这最后的避难所，叶爪就满心惊慌。 “出发前，我要求所有武士和学徒尽所能捕猎，”火星说。 “我们捕到的猎物会和影族一起分享。” “影族会自己组织狩猎巡逻队！” 黑星隔着岩石大声喊道。