CHAPTER 6
“StarClan grants us safe passage,” Bluestarrepeated stubbornly.
Fireheart’s paws tingled3 as he sized up their opponents. Three strong cats against him and the unfit ThunderClan leader. They would not escape a fight without serious injury, and there was no way he could risk Bluestar’s losing a life—not when he knew that she was on the last of her nine lives, which were granted by StarClan to all Clan1 leaders.
“We should go home,” Fireheart hissed4 at Bluestar. The she-cat swung her head around and stared at him in disbelief. “We’re too far from safety and this isn’t a battle we can fight,” he urged her.
“But I must speak with StarClan!” meowed Bluestar.
“Another time,” Fireheart insisted. Bluestar’s eyes clouded with indecision and he added, “We’d not win this battle.”
He twitched5 with relief as Bluestar retracted6 her claws and let the fur on her shoulders relax. The ThunderClan leader turned back to Mudclaw and meowed, “Very well, we’ll go home. But we will return. You cannot cut us off from StarClan forever!”
Fireheart growled8 at Mudclaw. “Did you hear what Bluestar said?” Mudclaw narrowed his eyes threateningly, but Fireheart went on: “We will leave this time, but you will never again stop us from traveling to the Moonstone.”
Mudclaw turned away. “We’ll escort you back to Fourtrees.”
Fireheart tensed, afraid of how Bluestar would react to the suggestion that the WindClan warrior9 did not trust the ThunderClan cats to leave his territory. But she simply padded forward, brushing past the WindClan cats as she headed back the way they had come.
Fireheart walked after her, followed at a distance by the WindClan cats. He was aware of them rustling10 through the heather behind him, and when he looked over his shoulder he caught glimpses of their lithe11, brown shapes among the purple flowers. Frustration12 pricked13 at his paws with every step. He would not let WindClan block their way again.
They reached Fourtrees and began to climb back down the rocky slope, leaving the WindClan warriors14 at the top watching them with hostile, narrowed eyes. Bluestar was starting to look very tired. With each leap she landed heavily and grunted15. Fireheart was frightened the she-cat would slip, but she kept her footing until they reached the grass at the bottom. Fireheart looked back up the hill to see the three WindClan cats silhouetted16 against the wide, glaring sky before they turned and vanished back into their own territory.
As the ThunderClan cats passed the Great Rock, Bluestar let out a long moan. “Are you all right?” Fireheart asked, stopping.
Bluestar shook her head impatiently. “StarClan does not want to share dreams with me,” she muttered. “Why are they so angry with my Clan?”
“WindClan stood in our way, not StarClan,” Fireheart reminded her. But he couldn’t help feeling that StarClan could have brought them better luck. Smallear’s words echoed through his mind: Fireheart’s naming broke with Clan ritual for the first time since before I was born.
Fireheart felt his head spin with alarm. Were the warrior ancestors really angry with Thunderclan?
From the surprised murmurs17 that greeted their news when Fireheart and Bluestar padded back into camp, Fireheart guessed that the Clan shared his fears. Never before had a leader been turned back on a journey to the Moonstone.
Bluestar padded unsteadily to her den18, her eyes fixed19 on the dusty ground as she crossed the clearing. Fireheart watched her with a heavy heart. Suddenly the sun felt too hot to bear beneath his thick coat. He headed for the shade at the edge of the clearing, and noticed Dustpelt padding toward him from the gorse tunnel, Ashpaw at his heels.
“You’re back early,” meowed the tabby warrior. He circled Fireheart as Ashpaw stood wide-eyed and looked up at the two warriors.
“WindClan wouldn’t let us pass,” Fireheart explained.
“Didn’t you tell them you were going to Highstones?” asked Dustpelt, sitting down beside his apprentice20.
“Of course,” snapped Fireheart.
He saw Dustpelt’s eyes flick21 toward the gorse tunnel and turned to see Darkstripe and Fernpaw enter the camp. Fernpaw looked exhausted22 as she ran to keep up with her mentor23, her fur clumped24 and dusty.
“What are you doing back?” Darkstripe asked, narrowing his eyes at Fireheart.
“WindClan wouldn’t let them pass,” Dustpelt announced. Fernpaw looked up at Dustpelt, her pretty green eyes round with surprise.
“I don’t know why Fireheart let them boss him around,” commented Dustpelt.
“I didn’t have much choice,” Fireheart growled. “Would youhave risked your leader’s safety?”
Runningwind’s meow sounded across the clearing. “Fireheart!” The lean warrior was trotting26 toward him, looking agitated27. Darkstripe and Dustpelt glanced at each other and led their apprentices28 away. Runningwind reached Fireheart and asked, “Have you seen Cloudpaw anywhere?”
“I told him to wait till I’d washed.” Runningwind seemed more angry than worried. “But when I’d finished, Brightpaw told me he’d gone hunting by himself.”
“I’m sorry,” Fireheart apologized, sighing inwardly. The last thing he needed right now was Cloudpaw’s disobedience. “I’ll speak to him when he gets back.”
Runningwind’s eyes glittered with annoyance30 and he looked unconvinced by Fireheart’s promise. Fireheart was about to apologize again when he saw Runningwind’s expression turn to disbelief as Cloudpaw scampered31 into the camp, a squirrel grasped in his jaws32. The apprentice’s eyes shone with pride at the catch, which was almost as big as he was. Runningwind snorted with exasperation33.
“I’ll sort it out,” Fireheart meowed quickly. He sensed Runningwind had plenty more to say about Cloudpaw, but the warrior just nodded and padded away.
Fireheart watched the white cat carry his squirrel to the fresh-kill pile. Cloudpaw dropped it and wandered toward the apprentices’ den without taking any food for himself, even though there was plenty of prey34. With a sinking feeling, Fireheart guessed that Cloudpaw had already eaten while out hunting. How many times could Cloudpaw break the warrior code in a single day?he wondered irritably35.
“Cloudpaw!” called Fireheart.
Cloudpaw looked up. “What?” he mewed.
“I want to talk to you.”
As Cloudpaw padded slowly toward him, Fireheart was uncomfortably aware of Runningwind watching from outside the warriors’ den.
“Did you eat while out hunting?” he demanded as soon as Cloudpaw neared.
“What does the warrior code tell us about eating before the Clan is fed?”
Cloudpaw looked at the treetops. “If it’s anything like the rest of the code, it’ll tell me I can’t,” he muttered.
Fireheart pushed away his rising exasperation. “Did you fetch that pigeon?”
“I couldn’t. It was gone.”
With a shock Fireheart realized he didn’t know if he believed Cloudpaw or not. He decided37 there was no point pursuing it. “Why didn’t you go hunting with Runningwind?” he asked instead.
“He was taking too long to get ready. Anyway, I prefer hunting alone!”
“You’re still just an apprentice,” Fireheart reminded him sternly. “You’ll learn better if you hunt with a warrior.”
Cloudpaw sighed and nodded. “Yes, Fireheart.”
Fireheart had no idea if Cloudpaw had really listened or not. “You’ll never be given your warrior name if you carry on like this! How do you think you’ll feel watching Ashpaw’s and Fernpaw’s naming ceremonies when you’re still an apprentice?”
“That’ll never happen,” Cloudpaw argued.
“Well, one thing’s for certain,” Fireheart told him. “You’llbe staying at camp while theygo to the next Gathering38.”
Finally Fireheart seemed to have Cloudpaw’s attention. The white-haired apprentice stared up at him in disbelief. “But—” he began.
“When I report this to Bluestar, I think she’ll agree with me,” Fireheart interrupted him fiercely. “Now, go away!”
Tail down, Cloudpaw padded off toward the other apprentices, who were watching from outside their den. Fireheart didn’t even bother looking to see if Runningwind had witnessed the scene. Right now he didn’t care what the Clan thought of his apprentice. The opinions of the other cats seemed to pale into insignificance39 next to his growing fear that Cloudpaw would never become a true warrior.
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1
clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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2
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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3
tingled
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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
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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6
retracted
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| v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回 | |
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7
flattened
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| [医]（水）平扁的，弄平的 | |
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8
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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9
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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11
lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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13
pricked
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| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
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14
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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15
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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16
silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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17
murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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flick
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| n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动 | |
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22
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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23
mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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24
clumped
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| adj.[医]成群的v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的过去式和过去分词 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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trotting
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| 小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走 | |
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agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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29
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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31
scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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exasperation
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| n.愤慨 | |
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34
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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35
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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36
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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37
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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38
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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39
insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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