CHAPTER 12
“Help! Don’t let them take me!”Fireheart heard Cloudpaw’s desperate yowling above the noise of the roaring monster.
The Twoleg took no notice. It clambered into the monster with Cloudpaw and slammed the door shut. In a cloud of choking fumes3, the monster pulled away and headed up the Thunderpath.
“No! Wait!”
Fireheart ignored Sandstorm’s cry as he dashed out of the passageway and pelted4 after the monster. The rough stone path tore at his pads, but as fast as he ran, the monster went faster, until it rounded a corner and disappeared from view.
Fireheart skidded5 to a halt, his paws stinging and his heart pounding. Sandstorm called to him again. “Fireheart! Come back!”
Fireheart glanced in despair at the empty Thunderpath where the monster had stood just moments before and then hurried back to Sandstorm. Numb6 with shock, he blindly followed Sandstorm as she led him along the passageway, past the nest, through the garden, and over the fence into the safety of the woods.
Fireheart couldn’t answer. He stared at the blank fence, trying to take in what he had just seen. The Twolegs had stolen Cloudpaw! Fireheart couldn’t block out the look of fear on the young cat’s face. Where were they taking him? Wherever it was, Cloudpaw hadn’t wanted to go.
“Your pads are bleeding,” murmured Sandstorm.
Fireheart lifted a foreleg and turned over his paw to look. He gazed blankly at the oozing9 blood until Sandstorm leaned forward and began to lick the grit10 from his wounds. It stung, but Fireheart didn’t protest. The rhythmic11 licks comforted him, stirring long-distant memories of kithood. Gradually the panic that had frozen his mind began to melt away. “He’s gone,” he meowed dismally13. His heart felt like a hollow log, ringing with sorrow at every beat.
“He’ll find his way home,” Sandstorm told him. Fireheart looked at her calm green eyes and felt a flicker14 of hope.
“If he wants to,” she added. Her words pierced him like thorns, but her eyes were full of sympathy, and Fireheart knew she was only speaking the truth. “Cloudpaw might be happier where he’s going,” she meowed. “You want him to be happy, don’t you?”
Fireheart nodded slowly.
“Come on then; let’s get back to camp.” Sandstorm’s mew became brisk, and Fireheart felt a surge of frustration15.
“It’s easy for you!” he argued. “You share Clan16 blood with the rest of them. Cloudpaw was my only kin2. Now there’s noone in the Clan that’s close to me.”
Sandstorm flinched17 as if he had struck her. “How can you say that? You have me!” she spat18. “I’ve done nothing but try to help you. Doesn’t that mean anything? I thought that our friendship was important to you, but clearly I was wrong!” She spun19 around, flicking20 Fireheart’s legs with her tail before racing21 away into the trees.
He watched her disappear, bewildered by her response. His paws stung, and he felt more wretched than he could ever remember. He began to wander slowly through the woods, steering22 clear of Princess’s fence. He couldn’t even imagine how he would tell her what had happened to her kit12.
With every step, the thorn-sharp worry about what Fireheart was going to say to the rest of the Clan added to his misery23. He imagined how Darkstripe would gloat when he discovered Fireheart’s kin had gone back to the soft life of a kittypet. Once a kittypet, always a kittypet!Perhaps the jibe24 that had haunted Fireheart for so long had an element of truth in it after all.
The scuttling25 of a mouse under the pine trees distracted him. The Clan still had to be fed. Fireheart crouched26 instinctively27, but there was no joy in the hunt this time. He chased and caught the mouse with cold swiftness and carried it toward the camp.
The sun was touching28 the tips of the trees when he reached the gorse tunnel. He paused and took a steadying breath before he walked into the clearing, the mouse swinging between his jaws29.
The Clan was sharing tongues around the clearing after their evening meal. Mousefur met him at the entrance and Fireheart wondered if she had been waiting for his return. “You’ve been gone a long time,” she observed mildly. “Is everything okay?”
Fireheart glanced awkwardly away. He felt he should share his news about Cloudpaw with Bluestar first.
“Whitestorm organized the evening patrol in your absence,” Mousefur went on.
As Fireheart watched her go, he tried to tell himself that Cloudpaw’s loss didn’t mean he was alone in the Clan. Most of the cats seemed to accept him as deputy, despite the broken naming ritual. Fireheart just wished he could be sure that StarClan felt the same way, and his earlier fears clouded his mind like noisy fluttering crows. Was Cloudpaw’s loss a sign that StarClan wanted to punish ThunderClan by depriving it of a potential warrior31? Even worse, were the Clan’s warrior ancestors signaling that kittypets didn’t belong in the Clan?
Fireheart felt as if his legs were about to give way under the weight of his anxiety. He dropped his offering on the pile of fresh-kill and looked around. Sandstorm was lying beside Runningwind, a sparrow in her paws. Fireheart flinched as the ginger32 she-cat cast him a reproachful glance. He knew he would have to apologize, but first he had to tell Bluestar about Cloudpaw.
Fireheart crossed to the leader’s den7 and called a greeting at the entrance. He was surprised when Whitestorm’s voice answered. He poked33 his head through the lichen34 and saw Bluestar curled in her nest, her head up and eyes shining as she shared tongues with Whitestorm. For once the ThunderClan leader looked like any other warrior, enjoying the company of a trusted friend. And as he saw the contented35 expression on Bluestar’s face, Fireheart shied away from disturbing her with his bad news. He’d tell her later.
“Yes, what is it?” asked Bluestar.
“I…I just wondered if you were hungry,” Fireheart stammered.
“Oh.” Bluestar sounded puzzled. “Thank you, but Whitestorm brought me something.” She dipped her head toward the half-eaten pigeon that lay on the floor of her den.
“Er…fine, I’ll leave you to eat it then.” Fireheart quickly backed out before she could ask what he had been up to. He returned to the fresh-kill pile, picked up the mouse he’d caught earlier, and carried it toward the nettle36 clump37 where Sandstorm and Runningwind lay.
Sandstorm looked away when she saw him coming and busied herself with tearing the wings off her fresh-kill. Fireheart dropped his mouse onto the ground.
“Hi, there,” Runningwind greeted him. “I thought you were going to miss mealtime.”
Fireheart tried to purr a friendly reply, but his answer came out hoarsely38. “Busy day.” Runningwind glanced at Sandstorm, who was still ignoring the Clan deputy, and Fireheart thought he saw the lean warrior’s whiskers twitch39.
“Sorry about earlier,” Fireheart whispered to Sandstorm.
“So you should be,” she muttered, not looking up.
“You’ve been a good friend,” Fireheart persisted. “I’m sorry I made you think I don’t appreciate you.”
“Yeah, well, next time try thinking beyond your own whiskers!”
“Are we friends again?” Fireheart meowed.
“We always were,” she replied simply.
Relieved, Fireheart lay down beside her and began to crunch40 on his mouse. Runningwind hadn’t uttered a word, but Fireheart noticed that his eyes were glowing with amusement. His interaction with Sandstorm was obviously attracting attention from the other warriors41. Fireheart felt a self-conscious prickle ripple42 through his fur, and he looked awkwardly around the clearing.
Darkstripe was sitting in front of the apprentices’ den talking to Ashpaw. Fireheart wondered why he was speaking to Dustpelt’s apprentice43 instead of sharing a meal with the other warriors. Ashpaw was shaking his head, but the dark tabby warrior carried on talking until Ashpaw lowered his eyes and began to pad across the clearing toward the nettle patch.
Fireheart’s ears twitched44. From the way Darkstripe was watching the young gray apprentice, he could tell something was up
“Is something wrong?” Fireheart asked.
“I was just wondering where Cloudpaw was,” mewed Ashpaw. “He said he’d be back by mealtime.”
Fireheart gazed past the apprentice at the dark tabby who watching them closely, his amber1 eyes glinting with undisguised interest. “Tell Darkstripe that if he wants to know, he should ask me himself!” he snapped.
Ashpaw flinched. “I…I’m sorry,” he stammered. “Darkstripe told me…” The apprentice shuffled46 his paws and suddenly looked up, staring Fireheart straight in the eye. “Actually, it’s not just Darkstripe who wants to know. I’m worried, too. Cloudpaw promised he’d be back by now.” The gray apprentice hesitated, glancing away, and finished, “Whatever else he might do, Cloudpaw always keeps his word.”
Fireheart was amazed. It had never occurred to him that Cloudpaw could have earned the respect and loyalty47 of his denmates like any other warrior. But what did Ashpaw mean by “whatever else he might do”?
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1
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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kin
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| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
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fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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pelted
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| （连续地）投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续抨击； 攻击； 剥去…的皮 | |
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skidded
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| v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区 | |
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numb
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| adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木 | |
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7
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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8
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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9
oozing
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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10
grit
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| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
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11
rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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12
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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14
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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flinched
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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flicking
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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jibe
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| v.嘲笑，与...一致，使转向；n.嘲笑，嘲弄 | |
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25
scuttling
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| n.船底穿孔，打开通海阀（沉船用）v.使船沉没( scuttle的现在分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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28
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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29
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer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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ginger
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| n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气 | |
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33
poked
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| v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交 | |
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lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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nettle
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| n.荨麻；v.烦忧，激恼 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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38
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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39
twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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40
crunch
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| n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声 | |
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41
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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42
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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44
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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45
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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46
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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47
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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