CHAPTER 6
The waning1 moon cast just enoughlight through the leafless branches to make the forest glow with eerie2 silver. Frost traced the outline of the dying ferns as Squirrelpaw padded through the trees beside Brambleclaw.
“But at least it’s clear,” Brambleclaw answered in a low voice. “Silverpelt will be shining.”
They were following Firestar and Cinderpelt through the forest. The pace was slower than the two younger cats had been used to on their long journey, but Cinderpelt was still struggling to keep up. Cold and hunger had made her limp worse than usual.
“If there is a sign,” Squirrelpaw wondered out loud, “how long do you think it’ll be before we go?” She wanted a chance to find her sister before the Clans6 left the forest.
“I don’t know,” Brambleclaw replied. “You saw what happened last night. Firestar can’t force the Clan5 to leave. He’s bound by the warrior7 code as much as any cat, and even though he’s our leader, he has to obey the will of the Clan.”
Squirrelpaw’s belly8 tightened9 as she remembered the Clan’s reaction. Beneath the stars, huddled10 against the icy wind that whipped the rock, Firestar had told them the message she and Brambleclaw had brought back from StarClan. A shocked cry had rippled11 around the gathered cats.
“But this is our home.” Speckletail’s rasping mew had cracked as she’d raised her voice.
At least Shrewpaw had sounded eager. “When are we going?” he’d asked.
But the memory of Hollykit’s piteous mew made Squirrelpaw’s pelt4 prickle even now. “We don’t have to go, do we?” the kit14 had cried.
“What if Dustpelt is right?” Squirrelpaw hissed15 to Brambleclaw as they leaped over an abandoned foxhole16, a yawning black mouth amid the shadows. “What he said in the den17 made sense—why should any cat follow the advice of a badger18 they’d never met?”
“But StarClansent us to see Midnight,” Brambleclaw argued. “What Midnight told us must be true.”
Squirrelpaw guessed he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
“We just have to hope that we see the sign at Fourtrees tonight,” she said. “If StarClan has something to say to the Clan—to anyof the Clans—it’s not up to us to prove it.” She trembled to think what Midnight had meant by ‘a dying warrior,’ but if the sign told them what to do next, they might still be able to save the Clans.
Their journey to Fourtrees took longer than usual, not just because of the slow pace but because they had to skirt the parts of the forest that the Twolegs had ruined, keeping low as they passed swath after swath of mud and felled trees. After a while, Squirrelpaw stopped looking at the empty, ravaged19 spaces.
“How can any cat think this is still our home?” she murmured.
Brambleclaw just shook his head and padded after Firestar toward the top of the slope that led down into Fourtrees.
For a moment, it felt like the start of every other Gathering21 Squirrelpaw had attended, and when she closed her eyes she could almost hear the murmur20 of cats below, sharing tongues as the four Clans met in peace under the full moon. But there was no full moon, and this was not a Gathering. Her eyes snapped open, and she peered over the crest22 of the rise. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, her breath caught in her throat. Even though Cinderpelt had warned them that the Twolegs had cut down the four great oak trees, Squirrelpaw hadn’t let herself imagine what it would look like. Not in nine lifetimes could she have imagined anything as terrible as what she saw now.
The four giant oaks that had once guarded the Great Rock had completely disappeared; even their stumps23 had been torn from the ground. Their trunks lay in pieces, neatly24 sliced by giant claws. Squirrelpaw could smell the bitter sap that seeped25 like blood from each mutilated piece of wood.
The heart of the forest—and the roots of life for the four Clans—had been ripped out. Nothing would ever be the same again.
Squirrelpaw wondered how their warrior ancestors could bear to look down from Silverpelt at the ruined clearing. “Webfoot told us they had destroyed Fourtrees, but I didn’t think…” Her voice trailed away as her father looked at her, sympathy in his eyes.
“Come on,” he hissed, leading them down the slope.
As she picked her way over the sliced trees, sticky sap clung to Squirrelpaw’s fur, and tree dust wafted26 up to sting her eyes and tickle27 her throat. Blinking, she scanned the clearing, then stared in disbelief. “The Great Rock is gone!”
Brambleclaw stopped dead and followed her gaze. “How could that happen?” he gasped28. He bounded over to peer into the huge hole that gaped29 where the rock had once stood.
“I-I thought it had roots like a tree,” Squirrelpaw murmured dazedly30, looking down into the hole. “I thought they reached down so far that nothing could ever move it.”
“Over here!” Firestar called from the side of the clearing.
He and Cinderpelt were standing31 almost belly-deep in the mud beside a vast gray stone. It looked clumsy and awkward, and the shape was unfamiliar—after a few moments, Squirrelpaw realized it was upside down—but it was definitely the Great Rock.
Brambleclaw thrashed his tail. “Twolegs did this!” he spat32. “They must have used their monsters to move it.”
In the cold, unfeeling moonlight, Squirrelpaw could see gouge33 marks scarring the rock where the monster’s talons34 had scratched it. This was worse than losing every single tree in the forest; every cat knew that trees were living things that grew old and died just like they did, but the Great Rock had been there for moons upon moons before the cats came, and should have lasted for uncountable moons more.
A harsh voice rang out across the clearing. “There will be no more Gatherings35 now.” Squirrelpaw recognized Blackstar’s meow, and shadowy movements on the logs around them told her what the scent36 of the sap had disguised—that the other cats were here already. Remembering Mousefur’s dire37 warnings of an ambush38, she looked closely in the half-light and spotted39, with a twinge of relief, Tawnypelt, Crowpaw, and Stormfur among them.
“Tawnypelt!” Brambleclaw ran over to welcome his sister. Squirrelpaw heard a disapproving40 growl41 rumble42 in Firestar’s throat, and her paws pricked43 with frustration44. How could he question their loyalty45 when he knew they were only working together to save the Clans?
Each cat had brought their leader and medicine cat. But Squirrelpaw felt a jolt46 of surprise when she saw that two other cats had joined them: Mudfur, the elderly RiverClan medicine cat, had brought his apprentice47, Mothwing, and Mothwing’s brother, Hawkfrost, had come too. Squirrelpaw recognized them from Leafpaw’s descriptions. The dark brown tom wasn’t looking at the Great Rock but was watching the other cats, his ice-blue eyes expressionless in the moonlight.
“It cannot be true!” Mudfur hissed, staring at the Great Rock. Every hair on his pelt stood on end, and his tail quivered like a near-dead mouse. Mothwing tried to calm him with rapid licks on his shoulder, but he did not stop shaking. Cinderpelt picked her way awkwardly across the logs, her injured leg barely touching48 the ground, and pressed her body against his.
Squirrelpaw followed her father as he joined the other cats at the bottom of the Great Rock. She glanced at Crowpaw, Stormfur, and Tawnypelt, desperate to know how their Clans had received them, but they stood silently beside their leaders.
“How will we climb it now?” Tallstar asked, his voice trembling as he stared up the sheer rock face towering above them. Even half-hidden in shadow, the black-and-white WindClan leader looked so frail49 that Squirrelpaw was surprised he had managed the journey here at all.
“These marks will give us a grip,” Leopardstar said, stretching her forepaws up the smooth rock to where the monsters’ talons had scraped long wounds into the hard stone.
She pushed her hind50 paws into the mud and scrabbled upward. Blackstar clawed his way after her to the top of the rock. He looked strong and determined51, but his dull black pelt hung from his bony frame as he climbed. Tallstar watched them, his thin frame seeming smaller than ever.
“I’ll follow you,” Firestar offered.
Tallstar nodded and scrambled52 up toward the lowest gouge mark, clinging to the slippery rock with his claws. Firestar sprang after him, propping53 the WindClan leader with his shoulder to stop him sliding back down again.
“Shouldn’t we climb the Great Rock too, to see Midnight’s dying warrior?” Squirrelpaw whispered as the leaders disappeared over the top and the medicine cats went around to the other side.
“I don’t think it matters who sees it,” Brambleclaw answered, but his eyes were clouded with worry.
“She didn’t say it had to be us,” Stormfur chipped in. “She just said ‘stand on the Great Rock.’”
“At least we have a chance to talk now,” Tawnypelt murmured. “Blackstar says he is ready to leave the forest.”
Squirrelpaw blinked. “Really? That’s great!” She wished her own homecoming had been so straightforward54. “Firestar hasn’t decided55 yet.”
Tawnypelt flicked57 her ears. “To be honest, I think Blackstar had already decided to go, even before I came back with Midnight’s warning.”
“But what did he say when you told him? Did he believe you?” Squirrelpaw demanded.
The tortoiseshell warrior didn’t reply.
Brambleclaw pressed closer to his sister. “Did they give you a hard time?”
Tawnypelt shook her head. “They acted like I was a stranger.” Sadness glimmered58 in her eyes. “Tallpoppy’s kits60 were frightened of me.”
“It wasn’t easy for us either,” Squirrelpaw mewed. “It’s as if we’re not part of the Clan any more.”
“Of course we’re part of the Clan,” Brambleclaw reassured61 her. “It’ll just take a while for things to get back to normal.”
Stormfur snorted. “Nothing’s ever going to get back to normal!” he spat. “I’ve seen what the Twolegs have done to WindClan and ThunderClan territory, and I can imagine it’s the same in ShadowClan.” He glanced at Tawnypelt, and she nodded grimly. “Even though they haven’t reached RiverClan territory yet, everything’s changed,” Stormfur went on, lashing62 his tail. “Mistyfoot’s gone missing, and Hawkfrost is deputy now.”
“Mistyfoot’s missing?” Squirrelpaw gasped.
“Was she taken by Twolegs?” asked Brambleclaw.
Stormfur looked puzzled. “Why would Twolegs take her?”
“They took Leafpaw!” Squirrelpaw told him. “We know what happened because Sorreltail was there, although she got away.”
“No ShadowClan cats have been taken, but I’d guess it’s only a matter of time,” Tawnypelt mewed. “And meanwhile the Twolegs have invaded so much of our territory that we’re starving. There’s hardly any prey64 left, and leaf-bare’s only just begun.”
Brambleclaw sat down carefully on the muddy ground. “Whether it’s Midnight’s message or starvation that drives the Clans out, I don’t see any way we can stay in the forest.”
“But the Twolegs haven’t touched RiverClan territory,” Stormfur reminded him. “And Hawkfrost thinks they never will. He pretty much called me a traitor65 for being concerned about the other Clans, and he said I should never have gone on the journey.” His amber66 eyes glistened67 with sadness. “He said Feathertail would still be alive if I hadn’t let her get caught up in other Clans’ problems.”
“It wasn’t the journey that killed Feathertail. It was staying with the Tribe so long,” hissed Crowpaw.
“We had to help them!” Squirrelpaw stared at Crowpaw, puzzled. She had found him arrogant69 and impatient at the start of the journey, but he had become much easier to be around as they traveled, and by the end of their adventure she would have considered him one of her closest friends. Now he was as prickly as ever. Did their journey, the importance of the message they all had to take to their Clans, mean nothing to him?
“Crowpaw?” Brambleclaw meowed. “What did WindClan say when you told them?”
“They accepted Midnight’s words without question,” he muttered. “It’s our last hope of survival.” His voice was flat and dull, like stone. “I didn’t think the Clan could be suffering any more than when I left, but it is. There’s nothing left to eat on the moors71 at all. A bird if we’re lucky. Sometimes a mouse, just one to feed the whole Clan. WindClan kits have nevergone hungry like this before.”
“So Tallstar wants to leave?”
Crowpaw lifted his eyes and met Brambleclaw’s gaze. “Oh, yes,” he agreed. “He wants the Clan to go as soon as we can. His greatest fear”—he broke off and swallowed—“his greatest fear is that we’re not strong enough to make it.”
“Oh, Crowpaw!” Squirrelpaw exclaimed, immediately forgiving his harsh words to Stormfur. “I’m so sorry.”
“We don’t need your pity,” growled72 the WindClan apprentice. “I will fight with all the strength I have to make sure my Clan survives.” He glared at her, his eyes cold.
Squirrelpaw felt a surge of anger rise in her belly. “What are you talking about? You’re acting73 as if you’re the only one who can save your Clan! Don’t you remember that we’re in this together? Or have you forgotten there were six of us on that journey?”
Squirrelpaw grumpily fell silent. Crowpaw looked away, but he flexed74 his claws, tearing at the cold earth.
Tawnypelt gazed up at the rock. There was no sign of their leaders. They were hidden behind the brow of the rock’s towering summit. “Everything would be easier if we knew where we were meant to be going,” she mewed. “Do you think the sign will come?”
“Perhaps we’re too late,” murmured Stormfur. “We were a long time in the mountains.” He glanced at Crowpaw. “Believe me, I wish we hadn’t stayed.”
“We allagreed at the time,” Brambleclaw reminded him.
Crowpaw stared at his paws without saying anything.
There was a yowl from above them, and Firestar’s call rang around the hollow. “We should wait awhile longer!”
“Why? What’s the point?” growled Blackstar. His bony frame appeared, silhouetted75 against the stars, on the edge of the rock. “We have wasted our time coming here. There will be no sign tonight. And do we really need one to tell us that the forest is being destroyed? Just look around you!”
Squirrelpaw and the others backed away as the ShadowClan leader bounded down the rock and landed in the mud beside them. Leopardstar followed him.
“But it’s not even moonhigh!” Firestar protested, peering down from the top of the rock.
Leopardstar looked up at him. “Even if StarClan does send a sign about leaving the forest, it’s no concern of RiverClan’s,” she meowed.
However frustrated76 she was by Leopardstar’s selfishness, Squirrelpaw could understand why she wasn’t as troubled as the other leaders. Her glossy77 coat proved that she and her Clanmates were as well fed as ever, and their sleep wasn’t disturbed by fear of monsters snarling78 and munching79 their way into the camp.
“Hunger will soon make her change her mind,” Crowpaw hissed
“But surely you want to see what StarClan thinks we should do?” Firestar argued.
“It’s too cold to wait any longer,” meowed Blackstar. “My fur is thinner than I’d like these days—and that’s not a sign from StarClan. It’s the fault of those fox-hearted Twolegs stealing my Clan’s prey.”
“You can’t leave yet!” Firestar yowled as the ShadowClan leader clambered away over the logs.
“There’ll be no sign here tonight,” Blackstar called over his shoulder. “Look at this place! It’s ruined.”
“StarClan will not desert us!” Firestar leaped down from the rock and scrambled awkwardly over the logs to the ShadowClan leader.
Blackstar faced him, his pelt bristling80. “I did not say StarClan had deserted81 us! But my Clan would rather rely on their leader’s judgment82 than on the muddled83 rumors84 of some inexperienced warriors85 and a badger.”
“But StarClan is going to show us the way!” Tallstar slithered over the edge of the Great Rock, half scrambling86, half falling down its side. Crowpaw leaped forward, reaching up with his forepaws to soften87 his landing. Tallstar hit the mud clumsily but staggered to his paws, shaking Crowpaw off. “They will know where we can find new territories, far away from these dangers,” he insisted.
“We are perfectly88 capable of finding a new home for ourselves.” There was a chilling certainty in Blackstar’s words.
“You have somewhere in mind already, don’t you?” Cinderpelt looked up from where she crouched89 beside Mudfur.
“We are going to live in Twolegplace where BloodClan used to rule,” he announced. “I still have one of their former warriors among my elders. He will show us the best places to find food and shelter. Now Scourge90 is dead, we’ll be the strongest cats there.”
“You can’t do that!” Firestar protested. “That will leave only three Clans in the forest!”
“Soon there won’t bea forest,” Blackstar pointed out grimly. “Only the bodies of dead cats. This is one battle in which I cannot see how it would help us to join with other Clans. It’s not a matter of fighting an enemy, but of finding enough prey to feed the mouths we already have. I’m sorry, but we go alone.”
He turned to leave, but Firestar stood in his way. Blackstar curled his lip to reveal sharp teeth.
“We can’t let them fight!” Squirrelpaw hissed to Brambleclaw.
“I know,” he agreed. He leaped over the logs to Firestar’s side. “Firestar, you have to persuade ShadowClan to come with us! That’s what StarClan wants. If there isn’t a sign, like Midnight said, then we should go back to the sun-drown-place and ask her if she knows where we should go.”
“You want us to go to a strange place just because you think StarClan sent youthere?” Leopardstar snarled91. “Since when do you make decisions for all the Clans?” Her gaze swept over Squirrelpaw, Tawnypelt, and Stormfur. “In fact, why should we trust any of you? You are all part ThunderClan!”
Tawnypelt unsheathed her claws. “Are you questioning my loyalty to my Clan?”
“My sister died on the journey to fetch this message!” Stormfur hissed.
Squirrelpaw wondered if StarClan was watching them and thinking that these quarrelsome Clans didn’t deserveto be saved.
“Stop!” rasped a feeble voice, and Tallstar padded unevenly92 over. “If we fight, the sign will never come!”
“How many times do I have to tell you? We don’t need a sign,” growled Blackstar. “ShadowClan is going to leave the forest, and we already know where to go.”
Firestar didn’t argue with him. Instead, he turned to Leopardstar. “What do you plan to do?”
“RiverClan has no need to travel to some distant place on the word of a few dreaming warriors,” Leopardstar replied. “The river is still full of fish. It would be stupid for us to leave. The other Clans’ troubles are not ours to worry about.”
“But if our troubles are not yours as well, why was Feathertail sent by StarClan with the other cats?” Cinderpelt challenged quietly.
“Only Feathertail can answer that, and she is dead,” Leopardstar retorted.
Hawkfrost climbed up beside his leader. “If you can’t survive in the forest anymore, then I agree that you should leave,” he meowed, his gaze flicking around the cats to include Tallstar. “After all, what sort of leader would let his Clan starve?”
Squirrelpaw was rather taken aback by the bold way he addressed the other Clan leaders. After all, he wasn’t much older than her.
Brambleclaw glared at Hawkfrost. “You just want us to leave so you can steal our territory!”
“If you aren’t here, then you won’t need it anymore.”
“Show some respect, Brambleclaw!” Firestar snapped. “Hawkfrost is not responsible for his birth.”
Brambleclaw opened his mouth, ready to argue, then seemed to think better of it and looked down at his paws. Squirrelpaw thought she saw Hawkfrost’s whiskers twitch94 with satisfaction and felt a surge of anger on Brambleclaw’s behalf. How dared he gloat?
“This is getting us nowhere,” Tallstar meowed fretfully.
“The four Clans must remain together,” Firestar insisted. “We have lived beneath Silverpelt for as long as any cat remembers. We share the same ancestors. How could StarClan watch over us if we are separated?” But Blackstar had jumped down from the tree trunk and was padding away, signaling to Littlecloud, the ShadowClan medicine cat, to join him.
Tawnypelt looked uneasily at her friends. “I have to go,” she whispered to Squirrelpaw.
“What about the sign?” Squirrelpaw reminded her. She shivered, and not just from the cold. Where was the sign that was supposed to save them?
Doubt flickered95 in the ShadowClan warrior’s gaze. “I’m sorry; I can’t wait.” She hurried after Blackstar and Littlecloud. The hollow felt even emptier and more exposed without the three ShadowClan cats.
“Good luck, Firestar,” Leopardstar meowed. She looked over to where Mothwing was crouched beside Mudfur. “Is he well enough to travel?”
“Of course I am!” Mudfur rasped, struggling to his paws. “I made it here, didn’t I?”
“Then come,” Leopardstar ordered, and, turning away, she led her cats from the clearing.
Stormfur brushed against Squirrelpaw’s pelt as he passed. “I’ll try to speak to you and Brambleclaw soon,” he whispered.
“What can we do without the sign?” Squirrelpaw hissed frantically96.
Stormfur flashed her a look of despair. “I don’t know,” he said. He gazed back at the Great Rock, dragged from its ancient seat. “Perhaps StarClan has no power here anymore.”
Squirrelpaw stared at him in horror. Could that be true?
Firestar watched the RiverClan cats leave. “I cannot persuade them.” He sighed.
“Then we two must go alone,” Tallstar wheezed97. He sat down to catch his breath. “Firestar,” he croaked98, “I must find new territory for my Clan before the next full moon. We are starving.” Squirrelpaw felt her heart twist with pity as he went on. “But we are too weak to make the journey alone. Travel with us, Firestar. Help us like you did when you brought WindClan back from exile, after Brokenstar drove us out.”
Firestar miserably99 twitched100 his ears. “We can’t leave without the other two Clans. There have always been four Clans in the forest, and wherever we end up, four Clans must be there as well. How else can we be sure the fifth Clan will come with us?”
The fifth Clan?Squirrelpaw wondered what her father meant. She glanced at Brambleclaw, but he looked as puzzled as she felt.
“StarClan will be with us always,” Tallstar argued, and Squirrelpaw understood: StarClan were the fifth Clan.
She saw a glimmer59 of anger enter the WindClan leader’s tired eyes. “You are too proud, Firestar,” he warned. “I can tell ThunderClan is on the brink101 of starvation just like WindClan. If you insist on staying in the forest while you wait for the other two to make up their minds, your Clanmates will die.”
Firestar looked away. “I’m sorry, Tallstar,” he meowed. “I want to help you, but my heart tells me that ThunderClan cannot leave until all the other Clans agree to leave as well. We will have to keep trying to persuade them.”
Tallstar thrashed his tail. “Very well,” he hissed. “We cannot travel without you, and so we will wait. I don’t blame you for the hunger we suffer, but I’m disappointed you will not help us now.” He padded away with Barkface close beside him, ready to support him if the WindClan leader stumbled on paws that hardly seemed strong enough to carry him to the edge of the clearing, let alone all the way back to the moor70.
Squirrelpaw turned to Brambleclaw. “Why wasn’t there a sign?” she protested.
Brambleclaw gazed at her. “Do you think Midnight was wrong?” His wide eyes reflected the moon. “After all, did she really tell us anything we can’t see from what is happening around us?” He gestured with his tail to the ravaged clearing, to the swaths of fallen trees around them. “Every cat knowsthe forest is being destroyed by Twolegs. Perhaps Blackstar is right, and each Clan should just try to save itself, without waiting for any more signs.”
Squirrelpaw fought to control the panic that fluttered in her chest. “You can’t mean that! We have to believe that Midnight was right!” she argued. “StarClan sent us to speak with her, and that must mean StarClan wants us to save the Clans.”
“But what if we can’t?” Brambleclaw murmured.
Squirrelpaw stared at him in dismay, her mind suddenly filled with an image of falling trees, roaring monsters, and blood spilling down Sunningrocks into the river. “Don’t give up, Brambleclaw!” she whispered. “We didn’t make that journey and lose Feathertail for nothing. We haveto save the Clans!”
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waning
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| adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
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eerie
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| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
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fretted
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| 焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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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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warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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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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foxhole
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| n.（军）散兵坑 | |
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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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badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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25
seeped
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| v.（液体）渗( seep的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；渗出；漏出 | |
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wafted
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| v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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27
tickle
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| v.搔痒，胳肢；使高兴；发痒；n.搔痒，发痒 | |
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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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29
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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30
dazedly
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| 头昏眼花地，眼花缭乱地，茫然地 | |
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31
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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32
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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33
gouge
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| v.凿；挖出；n.半圆凿；凿孔；欺诈 | |
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34
talons
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| n.（尤指猛禽的）爪( talon的名词复数 )；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物；锁簧尖状突出部 | |
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35
gatherings
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| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
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36
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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37
dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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38
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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39
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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40
disapproving
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| adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 ) | |
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41
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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42
rumble
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| n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说 | |
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43
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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44
frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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45
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 | |
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46
jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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47
apprentice
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| n.学徒，徒弟 | |
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48
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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49
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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50
hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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51
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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52
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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53
propping
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| 支撑 | |
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54
straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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56
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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57
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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58
glimmered
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| v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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kits
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| 衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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62
lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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63
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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64
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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traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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66
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
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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69
arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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70
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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71
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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72
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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73
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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74
flexed
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| adj.[医]曲折的，屈曲v.屈曲( flex的过去式和过去分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌 | |
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75
silhouetted
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| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
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76
frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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77
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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78
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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79
munching
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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80
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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81
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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82
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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83
muddled
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| adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子 | |
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84
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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85
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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86
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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87
soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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88
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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89
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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90
scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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91
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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92
unevenly
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| adv.不均匀的 | |
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93
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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94
twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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95
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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97
wheezed
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| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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98
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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99
miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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100
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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101
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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