CHAPTER14
Fireheart’s hackles bristled1 with horrorHowcould Graystripe be so stupid? He was breaking every part of the warrior2 code by meeting this cat from another Clan3.
The two cats spun5 around to face him. Silverstream’s ears flattened6 angrily. Graystripe just stared at him, startled. “You followed me!”
Silverstream lifted her chin. “Actually, I do. My father is Crookedstar, the leader of RiverClan.”
Graystripe met Fireheart’s eyes for an instant, then turned to Silverstream. “I’d better go,” he mewed.
Silverstream blinked slowly and stretched her head forward to touch his cheek. They closed their eyes and remained still for a moment. Fireheart watched, his paws prickling with alarm. Silverstream whispered something into Graystripe’s ear and the two cats stepped apart. The RiverClan she-cat raised her head and stared challengingly into Fireheart’s eyes before slipping back into the river.
Graystripe bounded over to Fireheart’s side. The two friends didn’t speak as they raced out of RiverClan territory and back past Sunningrocks. As they approached the camp, Graystripe slowed his pace.
Fireheart slowed too. “You must stop seeing her,” he panted. His panic had lessened11 now they were well away from the RiverClan border, but he was still angry.
“I don’t understand,” Fireheart meowed. “RiverClan is completely hostile to ThunderClan at the moment. You heard Leopardfur after Whiteclaw died.” Fireheart winced13, knowing that the reminder14 would be painful for his friend, but he couldn’t stop now. “How do you even know you can trust this RiverClan cat?”
“You don’t know Silverstream,” Graystripe spat back. He stopped and sat down. His eyes glazed15 with pain. “And there’s no need to remind me about Whiteclaw. Do you think it’s easy knowing I’m responsible for the death of one of Silverstream’s Clan mates?” Fireheart snorted impatiently—Whiteclaw was an enemy warrior, not a Clanmate! But Graystripe went on. “Silverstream understands it was an accident. The gorge17 was no place for a battle. Any cat could have fallen there!”
Fireheart paced around him as Graystripe began to lick the scent18 of Silverstream from his fur. “It doesn’t matter what Silverstream thinks! What about your loyalty19 to ThunderClan?” he demanded. “You’re breaking the Clan code by seeing her!”
Graystripe stopped washing. “You think I don’t know that?” he hissed. “Do you doubt my loyalty to ThunderClan?”
“What else can I think? You can’t see her without lying to the Clan. And what if we have a battle with RiverClan? Have you thought about that?”
“You worry too much,” Graystripe snapped. “It won’t come to that. Now that Brokenstar’s gone and WindClan is back, the Clans20 will be at peace.”
“RiverClan doesn’t seem to be acting21 very peacefully,” Fireheart pointed22 out. “You know they’ve been hunting on Sunningrocks, in our territory.”
“They’ve been hunting on Sunningrocks since before I was kitted,” scoffed24 Graystripe, twisting to wash the base of his tail.
Fireheart carried on pacing. Graystripe just didn’t seem to understand what he was doing. “Okay. What if a RiverClan patrol catches you?”
“Silverstream won’t let that happen,” answered Graystripe between long licks along his bushy tail.
“For StarClan’s sake, aren’t you even a bit worried?” Fireheart burst out, exasperated25.
Graystripe stopped washing and looked up at his friend. “You don’t get it, do you? StarClan must have planned this. Look, Silverstream wants to see me—even after what happened to Whiteclaw. We share the same thoughts; it’s as if we were born into the same Clan.”
Fireheart realized it was pointless to argue anymore. “Come on,” he meowed heavily. “We’d better get back before you’re missed again.”
Graystripe got to his paws. Side by side, he and Fireheart walked to the top of the ravine and looked down at the camp. Over and over, one thought echoed in Fireheart’s mind—how could Graystripe love Crookedstar’s daughter, but remain loyal to ThunderClan?
He glanced at Graystripe, and they began to climb down the steep slope home. They crept back into the camp the same way Graystripe had left it. Fireheart held his breath as he squeezed through the boundary wall, angry with Graystripe for making him sneak26 around like this. His heart sank as they rounded the nursery to find Whitestorm approaching them.
“Graystripe, you should be resting, not hanging around here. That cough of yours has already begun to spread. We don’t want it getting into the nursery!” warned the warrior. Graystripe nodded and padded back toward the warriors27’ den16. “And you”—Fireheart’s ears flicked28 nervously29 as Whitestorm turned to him—“shouldn’t you be training your apprentices30?”
“Well, go and get it then,” replied Whitestorm. “And once you have, you can make yourself useful and find some fresh-kill. It’s leaf-bare—we can’t have young warriors hanging around the camp doing nothing!”
“Yes, Whitestorm,” meowed Fireheart. He turned away, relieved to escape any more questions, and ran toward Yellowfang’s den.
Yellowfang was busy mixing herbs. There were several heaps of leaves gathered in front of her. Fireheart stood and watched her for a moment without speaking. He felt sad, drained after the row with Graystripe. He couldn’t help wishing it were Spottedleaf here mixing herbs instead of Yellowfang.
Yellowfang glanced up at him. “My supplies are running low. I might need help to restock.”
Fireheart didn’t reply. He was just wondering if he should confide32 his worries about Graystripe when she interrupted his thoughts.
“It looks like there’s whitecough in the camp,” she growled, prodding33 impatiently at a dried leaf. “Two cases this morning.”
“Swiftpaw?” asked Fireheart.
The old medicine cat shook her head. “Swiftpaw’s just got a cold. It’s Speckletail’s kit23. And Patchpelt. Not serious at the moment, but we need to concentrate on getting the Clan strong. Leaf-bare always brings the threat of greencough.” Fireheart understood her concern. Greencough was a killer34. Yellowfang looked up again. “What do you want?”
“Oh, nothing, just a bellyache, but it doesn’t matter if you’re busy.”
“Bad?” she meowed.
“No,” Fireheart admitted, unable to meet her gaze.
“Then come back when it is.” The medicine cat went back to her mixing. Fireheart turned to leave, but Yellowfang called him back. “Make sure Graystripe stays in his den, will you? He’s a strong young warrior. If he were resting, his cough would be better by now.”
Fireheart’s tail twitched35 nervously. Had she guessed that Graystripe had been slipping out of the camp? He waited, his heart thudding, in case she was going to say more, but Yellowfang was frowning at the herbs again, so he padded quietly away.
It was getting dark, and Fireheart knew he had only a short time left for hunting. He quickly caught a shrew, a chaffinch, and a mouse, but hesitated before returning to camp. His fears for Graystripe felt more important than anything Whitestorm might say if he didn’t add something to the fresh-kill pile in time. Fireheart came to a decision—if Graystripe wouldn’t listen to reason, maybe Silverstream would.
He stashed36 his catch beneath a tree root and covered it with leaves. For the second time that day, he turned toward Sunningrocks. The rain that had been threatening all day finally began to fall. It was drumming steadily37 on the bracken by the time Fireheart crept down the shadowy slope toward the river.
Even in the rain, Silverstream’s scent was easy to find. Fireheart followed the trail to the place where he had found Graystripe and Silverstream together. Hyper-alert, he padded onto the shore. The dark water rushed past relentlessly38, sending a shiver down Fireheart’s spine39. He had no desire to swim across. His fur did not have the oily protection from the water that that of the RiverClan cats had, and leaf-bare was no season to get a soaking.
Suddenly Fireheart froze. He smelled RiverClan warriors!
He dropped to a crouch40 and looked across the river to see Silverstream pushing her way through the trailing branches of a willow41. Behind her came two of her Clan, one of them a warrior with massive shoulders and battle-torn ears. The warrior sniffed42 the air suspiciously and peered around.
Fireheart heard the blood roaring in his ears. Had the warrior picked up his scent?
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1
bristled
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| adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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3
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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4
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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5
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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6
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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7
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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8
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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9
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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10
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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11
lessened
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| 减少的，减弱的 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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13
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
reminder
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| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
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15
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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16
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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17
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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18
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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19
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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clans
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| 宗族( clan的名词复数 )； 氏族； 庞大的家族； 宗派 | |
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21
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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22
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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23
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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24
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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26
sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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27
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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28
flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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29
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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30
apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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31
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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33
prodding
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| v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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34
killer
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| n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者 | |
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35
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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36
stashed
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| v.贮藏( stash的过去式和过去分词 )；隐藏；藏匿；藏起 | |
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37
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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38
relentlessly
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| adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断 | |
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39
spine
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| n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊 | |
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40
crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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41
willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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42
sniffed
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| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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