CHAPTER11
Lionblaze heard his sister screeching1, buthe ignored it. He knew, with every hair on his pelt3, that he could fight the dogs. He could feel his blood pumping hot and fierce through his veins4, and every fighting move he had ever learned was at his claw-tips.
The dogs seemed to approach in slow motion. He had all the time he needed to watch the drool waving from their lips and their paws pounding over the ground. His gaze flicked5 from one to another.
I’ll take out that black-and-tan one first. When it falls, it’ll trip the thin gray one, and the white one too, if I’m lucky. Then I’ll go for that yapping little horror with the black paws….
He was dimly aware that his Clanmates were yowling behind him, but he still didn’t respond. This ismy fight. I’m the only one who can save them!
Lionblaze braced8 himself to leap, spotting the surprise in the leading dog’s yellow eyes. “You didn’t think a cat would turn and fight!” he taunted9. “Well, now’s your chance to learn!”
His last words were drowned by a shattering crash; he glanced behind to see that one of the silver boulders11 had toppled over, sending a silver disc spinning across the ground. It rolled into the pack of dogs; they swerved12 to avoid it, the rush of their attack halted.
To Lionblaze’s surprise, a dark brown tabby she-cat popped up from behind the fallen boulder10, closer to the fence than the terrified Clan6 cats were. “Quick!” she meowed. “Help me push this one over.”
She reared up, resting her forepaws against the side of the next shiny boulder. Brambleclaw sprang up beside her, and together they pushed. The boulder crashed over like the other one, the silver disc on top of it spinning away. Twoleg rubbish spilled out from inside.
The dogs were yelping13 in frustration14, scrabbling at the boulders in their efforts to get around them and sink their jaws15 into their prey16.
“Come on!” the strange she-cat ordered. “It won’t hold them off for long.”
She dove through a narrow gap at the bottom of the hedge that had been hidden by the silver boulders, and the patrol followed her at full pelt, racing18 across a wide stretch of pale gray stone.
Renewed barking made Lionblaze glance over his shoulder as he fled. The small brown-and-white dog and the thin gray one had pushed their way through the gap and were bounding across the expanse of stone.
“They’re coming!” he gasped19.
“This way!” the she-cat mewed tersely20. She led them down a narrow path between two high fences and halted beside a small hole with jagged edges. “Through there.”
Birchfall bundled through first, followed by Hazeltail and Hollyleaf, and Lionblaze squeezed through after them. He let out a yowl of alarm as he crashed hind7 legs over head into brittle21 grass. Head spinning, he staggered to his paws to see Brambleclaw already beside him and the strange she-cat scrambling22 through the hole.
“Brackenfur?” he asked anxiously.
A screech2 answered him as the ginger23 tom hauled himself through the fence, paws flailing24 as he tugged25 at his tail. “Fox dung!” he gasped, collapsing26 on the grass. “That flea-ridden brute27 bit me!”
Brambleclaw gave his Clanmate’s tail a quick sniff28; Lionblaze could see that some of Brackenfur’s fur had been stripped off, but there didn’t seem to be any blood.
“You’ll be okay,” the deputy decided29. “Where now?”
The she-cat’s reply was drowned out by a flurry of barking. The fence creaked and bent30 as the dogs flung themselves against it.
In the Twoleg nests around them, lights began to appear in the dark holes in the walls. Lionblaze heard a Twoleg shouting angrily, but the dogs went on barking and pounding at the fence. His belly31 lurched when he saw that the small brown-and-white dog had stuck its head through the gap and the wood around it was starting to splinter.
The dark tabby she-cat darted32 forward and slashed33 her claws at the dog’s nose. Yelping, it pulled back.
“That’ll teach you,” she meowed with satisfaction. To the cats she added, “Quick, follow me!”
They raced after her to the entrance of a Twoleg nest. Brambleclaw skidded34 to a halt.
“We can’t go in there!” he protested. “It’s a Twoleg nest.”
“Fine!” the tabby snapped. “Stay out here and get eaten.” She squeezed through the skinny gap at the side of the flat piece of wood blocking the opening and disappeared.
Brambleclaw and the rest of the patrol exchanged confused glances; then the deputy shrugged35 and raised his tail, signaling his Clanmates to follow. Lionblaze paused to look back across the grass, and saw that the small dog was still scrabbling at the gap. It had managed to get its shoulders and one paw through the hole.
Lionblaze felt his fur bristle37 and grow hot again as he braced himself to fight. He could almost taste the blood and hear the terrified yelping as his claws ripped into his enemies’ pelts38.
Then he heard a crash and a Twoleg shouting; it sounded much closer than before. The dogs’ fierce barking turned to frightened yelps39; the little dog struggled backward to free itself from the hole in the fence, then vanished.
Lionblaze’s fur lay flat again as the noise died away. He started to feel disappointed that he hadn’t managed to try out his battle skills against the dogs, then jumped as Brackenfur nudged him.
“Come on,” mewed the ginger tom, angling his ears toward the entrance to the nest. “What are you waiting for?”
The other cats had already gone inside. Lionblaze pushed his way through the gap, with Brackenfur close behind him. He found himself in a small, straight-sided den17; his Clanmates huddled41 together in the middle, casting nervous glances around them. He tasted the air: There was a strong scent42 of cat, but only a very faint, stale trace of Twoleg.
“That’s unusual,” he began. “Why…?”
The brown tabby she-cat paid no attention to him. “This way,” she mewed briskly. “Since you’re here, you may as well meet the others.”
She led the way through an archway into a larger den. Light streamed into it from a long slit43 in the wall. As Lionblaze padded hesitantly forward, the smell of cats grew overpoweringly strong; it was almost like coming back into the camp after a patrol in the forest. Hollyleaf kept close to him, their pelts brushing, while Brambleclaw and Brackenfur stayed on the outside of the group. Lionblaze knew they were ready to protect the younger cats if they needed to. And so am I. If we have to fight our way out, I’m ready.
Brambleclaw signaled for his patrol to halt in the center of the den. A broad-shouldered gray tom sat on a shallow ledge44 just below the gap in the wall, while a she-cat with a flecked brown pelt was curled up on something like a soft boulder in bright Twoleg colors. Four kits46 suckled at her belly. On the other side of the den, another cat was barely visible as he peered out from underneath47 some wooden Twoleg thing.
Lionblaze caught his breath as he recognized the black-and-white tom sitting on top of another soft-looking boulder. He was the cat they had met the night before, who had run away from them.
“I’m Jingo,” the tabby she-cat announced, before Lionblaze could speak. “Over there is Hussar”—she waved her tail at the gray tom sitting on the ledge—“and the queen with kits is Speckle.”
“Hi, there,” Hussar meowed, with a lazy wave of his tail. Speckle just twitched48 her ears; she looked wary50, as if she was afraid the newcomers might harm her kits.
“Over there’s Pod,” the tabby she-cat went on. The cat underneath the wooden structure blinked at them. “Come out, Pod, no cat is going to hurt you. And I think you’ve already met Fritz.”
As she finished speaking, she leaped up onto the squashy boulder beside the black-and-white tom. He stared at the Clan cats, wide-eyed, and didn’t speak.
Brambleclaw stepped forward. “Who did you think we were?” he asked Fritz. When the tom didn’t reply, he turned to Jingo. “When we met him last night he seemed to think we were connected with another cat, one who talked to you but ended up causing you trouble. Do you know who that was?”
“We don’t trust strangers around here anymore.” Jingo’s voice was solemn. “Not since Sol.”
Lionblaze felt a jolt51 in his belly. We were right! Sol has been here!
“Sol?” Brackenfur’s neck fur rippled52. “You know him, then?”
Jingo nodded. “He came here last leaf-bare, but no cat knows where from. He lived on the edge of Twolegplace for a while, then when the weather turned colder he moved into this abandoned Twoleg nest and invited some other cats without housefolk to join him.”
“I was one of the first.” Pod emerged from underneath the wooden thing, revealing himself to be a scrawny brown tom, his muzzle53 gray with age. “Speckle and Fritz came with me.”
“And I joined later, with Hussar,” Jingo went on. “I heard about the community of cats that had made a home for themselves, and it sounded like a good idea.”
“Did Sol act like he was your leader?” Lionblaze asked. The patch-pelted loner had tried to take over ShadowClan; maybe that wasn’t the first time he’d been in control of a group of cats.
“Yes, did he ever tell you to believe anything in particular?” Hollyleaf added.
Jingo looked puzzled. “Not exactly. Only that we could live however we wanted to, because that’s what we deserved. Life was good, he said….”
“Life was not good!” Pod snapped. He sat down and lifted a hind leg to scratch behind his ear. “We had to do whatever Sol told us to, like bring him food and feathers for his nest. And he scared the little cats by telling them that they’d die without him.”
“It wasn’t that bad!” Jingo protested. “You’re just thinking of what happened later.”
“And why wouldn’t I?” Pod stopped scratching to glare at her. “That mouse-brained idiot nearly got us all killed!”
Fritz nodded vigorously, giving his whiskers a nervous twitch49, but still didn’t speak.
Lionblaze glanced at Hollyleaf; she looked as shocked as he felt, her eyes glittering and her claws working on the hard Twoleg floor. When Sol had lived in the forest, he never wanted cats to die,Lionblaze thought. Is Hollyleaf wondering if he really could have killed Ashfur?
He was distracted by Speckle’s four kits, who left their mother and scrambled54 down, one after another, from the soft boulder. Speckle sat up, watching nervously55 as the biggest of the four, a tom with a flecked brown pelt like his mother, bounced up to Brambleclaw.
“I’m Frisk,” he announced. “What’s your name? Are you coming to live here?”
Brambleclaw shook his head. “We’re just passing through. I’m Brambleclaw,” he added, addressing all the cats. He went on to introduce the rest of the patrol. “Thanks for helping56 us,” he finished, dipping his head to Jingo. “The dogs would have ripped us to pieces without you.”
“We’d help any cat in danger from those dogs,” Jingo responded. “And you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”
“Thank you.” Brambleclaw bowed again. “Now, can you tell us what Sol did?”
Jingo settled herself on the soft boulder, tucking her paws underneath her chest. Hussar sprang down lightly from the ledge and padded over to sit beside Pod. For the first time, Lionblaze noticed that he had a long scar along his side, where the fur hadn’t grown back. Glancing around, he noticed that the others had signs of injury, too: One of Fritz’s ears was torn, Pod’s muzzle was scarred, and the tip of Jingo’s tail was missing.
“These cats have been fighting hard,” he muttered to Hollyleaf.
He sat down on the hard Twoleg floor, longing57 for the grass of the forest or the soft moss58 of his nest in the warriors’ den. Hollyleaf sat beside him, her claws still flexing60 restlessly, and their Clanmates gathered around.
“Sol didn’t cause any trouble at first,” Jingo began. “He kept to himself and stayed out of kittypet territory.”
“He was the first cat to find this abandoned Twoleg den,” Hussar put in. “He started inviting61 other cats to live here with him—cats without housefolk of their own, to start with.”
“He said he wanted to keep us all safe,” Speckle mewed, creeping a bit closer to the edge of the soft boulder.
Pod snorted. “More likely he wanted us to do things for him. Lazy lump. He had an easy life here.”
“That’s not fair!” Speckle protested. “We’re safer here than wandering about in the open, sleeping under bushes.”
“So what happened next?” Brambleclaw prompted, before Pod could continue the argument.
“More and more cats joined him here.” Jingo took up the story again. “I lived with housefolk then, but I liked the sound of what Sol was doing, so I came to give it a try.”
“I joined soon after her,” Hussar added. “I liked the freedom. I could come and go without waiting for my housefolk to let me in and out.”
“And catching62 our own prey was better than eating that dry Twoleg food,” meowed Jingo.
“But why did the Twolegs let you stay?” Brackenfur asked curiously63. “Don’t they want this nest?”
“Obviously not,” Hussar replied with a shrug36.
“Twoleg kits used to come here now and again,” Jingo explained. “They never tried to chase us out, though, and they don’t come anymore.”
“Sol told us what to do if adult Twolegs came,” Speckle explained. “There’s a dark space right at the top of the nest, with a pointed40 roof. Sol told us to hide up there.”
“They did come once or twice.” Fritz spoke64 for the first time. “So we all hid.”
“And the Twolegs never found us,” Speckle added proudly.
Even though he had good reasons for not trusting Sol, Lionblaze realized that what he had done here wasn’t all bad. The cats had shelter here and support from one another. He wasn’t sure why kittypets would want to come, but it was certainly better for loners than trying to survive in the open through the harsh moons of leaf-bare. It was like a Twolegplace version of a Clan.
“So what went wrong?” he meowed.
“Can’t you guess?” Jingo replied bleakly65. “The dogs found us. They couldn’t get in here, because most of them are too big to get through that narrow gap at the entrance.”
“A little one pushed his way in, once.” Hussar extended his claws, the beginnings of a snarl66 in his throat. “He didn’t try it twice.”
“But they lay in wait for us whenever we came out,” Fritz continued with a shudder67. “And then they chased us.”
“Clumsy, oafish68 brutes69!” The tip of Pod’s tail twitched.
“If we did manage to hunt, they stole our prey,” Jingo continued. “And they killed Flower.” Her eyes clouded with sorrow and guilt70. “She was a beautiful young cat. Her housefolk had the den next to mine, and I persuaded her to come here.”
She bowed her head, and Fritz nudged her shoulder.
“So how did Sol react to that?” Brackenfur asked, after a moment’s respectful silence.
“He told us we needed to show the dogs that we had the right to live here.” Hussar took up the story. “So he made a plan. He found a small unused den beside that stretch of stone where the monsters sleep. He said if we could lure71 the dogs in there they wouldn’t be able to get away while we fought them.”
Fritz shuddered72, letting out a frightened mewling sound, and sank his claws into the soft boulder underneath. Jingo pressed up against him comfortingly.
“It didn’t work?” Brambleclaw guessed, though Lionblaze already knew the answer to that question.
“What do you think?” Pod spat73.
“Sol showed us how to fight,” Jingo went on. “We spent a lot of time training—”
“Which meant there wasn’t enough time to hunt,” Pod interrupted. “My belly thought my throat was clawed out.”
Jingo ignored the interruption. “Then Sol said we were ready. He chose a tom called Pepper to go out and catch some prey, and then get the dogs to chase him to the small den. We were all lying in wait, ready to follow the dogs in and fight them. Sol was with us, and when—”
“Why are you talking about that piece of fox dung?” A new voice spoke from behind Lionblaze, who glanced over his shoulder to see a black tom standing74 in the entrance to the den. His fluffed-out fur made him look twice his size, and his tail whipped from side to side.
Lionblaze’s muscles tensed; a cat who looked like that was ready to attack. But then he realized that the black tom’s anger wasn’t directed toward him or his Clanmates.
“It’s okay, Jet,” Jingo replied. “These cats asked about—”
“It’s not okay,” Jet hissed75. “It’ll never be okay. I don’t want to thinkabout that cat ever again!” Still bristling76, he whirled around and disappeared.
“I’m sorry if we’ve upset him…” Hazeltail mewed, gazing after the black tom.
“It’s not your fault,” Jingo assured her. “Pepper was his littermate, and now he can’t bear for any cat to mention Sol.”
“Pepper died?” Hollyleaf asked.
Hussar nodded, his eyes clouding. “Before we ever made it into the den. We were hiding on the roof of one of the other dens77, and we saw Pepper streaking78 across the stone space with the dogs on his tail. I’ve never heard such a racket as they were making! Then we heard this awful shriek—”
Lionblaze’s paws tingled79 as a yowl sounded from outside the den, almost as if Hussar’s words had called it up. It was followed by an outbreak of barking, drawing rapidly closer. All the Clan cats crouched80 closer to the ground, frozen by fear, their claws scraping on the hard floor. Pod whisked back underneath the Twoleg thing, while Speckle gestured urgently with her tail. “Kits—come here quickly.” The four kits scrambled back onto the soft boulder, and Speckle circled them protectively with her legs and tail.
Only Jingo and Hussar seemed calm. Jingo meowed, “They can’t get in.”
Lionblaze jumped at the sound of scrabbling just outside the den. Hussar leaped to his paws, only to relax a moment later as a ginger-and-white she-cat poked82 her head through the entrance; a mouse dangled83 limply from her jaws. Just behind her, a young gray tabby tom peered over her shoulder.
“Oh, it’s you, Merry.” Hussar arched his back in a stretch, then sat down again. “And Chirp84. Come and meet these new cats.”
Merry took a step into the den, her green gaze flickering85 from one Clan cat to another. Then she shook her head, mumbled86 something inaudible around the mouthful of prey, and retreated; Lionblaze heard the sound of her paw steps fading.
Chirp, however, padded into the den and sat down. But he stayed near the door and kept casting nervous glances over his shoulder.
“We’re all jumpy since the fight with the dogs,” Hussar commented.
“And can you blame us?” Pod emerged again and gave his chest fur a few licks, as if trying to pretend he hadn’t shot so quickly into hiding.
“Tell us what happened,” Lionblaze prompted. “After you heard the shriek…”
“We all raced into the den,” Jingo went on, digging her claws into the soft boulder. “Pepper was already dead. The dogs were tossing his body about. We attacked, but there were too many of them, and they were too big and fierce for us. Every cat was injured. The dogs ripped Frosty to pieces, and Jester was so badly wounded that he died after we brought him back here.”
Lionblaze felt sick. Sol had made a terrible mistake. Every cat could have died in that single battle, and it was obvious the dogs were still causing trouble.
“Ask me if Sol joined in the fight,” Pod rasped.
Brambleclaw cocked his ears. “Well?”
“He didn’t raise a single claw to help us,” the old tom growled87. “He wasn’t even there to watch! He just strolled in here while we were licking our wounds.”
“What happened then?” Brackenfur asked.
Jingo twitched her ears. “If he’d admitted he was wrong, it might have been different. But he insisted that we were the ones who decided to fight, and it wasn’t his fault that we lost. Then he sat down and started washing himself, and asked Jet to bring him some food.”
“If I hadn’t held Jet back, he might have ripped Sol to pieces,” Hussar added.
Birchfall’s whiskers twitched. “I wish he had!”
Jingo looked surprised, but she didn’t ask the young warrior59 what he meant. “So we asked Sol to leave,” she meowed. “We would have driven him out if we had to, but he just told us we were making a mistake and went without a fight.” She sighed. “Maybe he was right. I don’t know anymore.”
“No, she was right,” Birchfall muttered into Lionblaze’s ear. “They’re better off without Sol, and so are we!”
Jingo rose to her paws, yawned and stretched, then sat down again. “That’s all we can tell you. Now tell us what you know.”
Brambleclaw and Brackenfur exchanged a glance; it was Brackenfur who spoke first. “Sol came to the forest where we live,” he began. “It must have been after he left you. He went to stay with ShadowClan—a group of cats who live near us—and he persuaded them to stop believing in the warrior code and the spirits of their warrior ancestors.”
The Twolegplace cats glanced blankly at one another. Clearly they had never heard of StarClan or the warrior code.
“He can be very powerful when he’s trying to persuade you,” Jingo murmured.
Lionblaze flashed a glance at Hollyleaf. They knew better than most cats how persuasive88 Sol could be. Maybe Sol was right,Lionblaze couldn’t help thinking, in spite of his horror at what the dogs had done. Maybe these cats shouldn’t blame him because they lost the battle.He flexed89 his claws, imagining what he would do if he came face to face with one of the dogs. Maybe they should have trained harder.
“So are you looking for Sol because of what he did to…to ShadowClan?” Jingo asked.
“No, it’s because another warrior—” Birchfall began eagerly. Lionblaze’s belly churned at the thought of discussing Ashfur’s murder.
Brambleclaw raised his tail to silence the younger warrior. “We just need to talk to Sol about something that happened recently,” he stated calmly. “Have you seen him?”
“No, and we don’t want to,” Pod growled.
Hussar muttered an agreement, but Lionblaze noticed that Speckle was looking wistful, as if she had better memories of Sol
“I haven’t seen Sol.” Chirp, who had remained quietly by the door, spoke suddenly, startling Lionblaze. “But I heard he’s back.”
Hussar scraped his claws hard against the floor. “He wouldn’t dare!”
“Not here,” Chirp explained, “but on the other side of Twolegplace. Where a cat called Purdy used to live.”
“We know Purdy!” Lionblaze exclaimed, remembering the old loner who had guided them on part of their journey to the mountains.
“Thanks, that’s a great help,” Brambleclaw meowed. “We’ll go and look for him there.”
“It’s too late to go now.” Jingo rose to her paws and leaped lightly off the soft boulder to land beside Hussar. “You can stay here for the night.”
Brambleclaw dipped his head. “Thank you.”
“You can eat with us,” Jingo continued. “Come on, Hussar, help me carry the prey.”
The two cats left and returned a moment later loaded with fresh-kill, which they shared among all the cats. Speckle jumped down from her boulder to join them, and her kits scrambled after her; she picked out a mouse for them and they squabbled happily over it.
“This isn’t what Sol would have taught them,” Lionblaze murmured to Hollyleaf as he crouched to eat a blackbird. “Remember how he told ShadowClan that every cat should feed themselves? He said it was a sign of weakness for any cat to depend on another.”
Hollyleaf nodded. “These cats obviously have a fresh-kill pile somewhere, and they hunt for cats who can’t hunt for themselves. They’re almost like a Clan.”
“It looks like they’re better off without Sol.” But as Lionblaze spoke, he knew that some of these cats wouldn’t agree with him. He had felt the pull of Sol’s charm, his quiet authority and sense that he knew exactly the right thing to do. Jingo and the others must have felt it too, and missed the loner when he was gone. Lionblaze thoughtfully ate his blackbird. It was plump and juicy, but it had a taint90 of the Thunderpath about it, and he would have found it hard to choke down if he hadn’t been so ravenous91.
When they had finished eating, Speckle’s kits started to bat a scrap81 of leaf around, squealing92 and tumbling over one another in their excitement. Frisk, the biggest and boldest of the four, batted the leaf toward Lionblaze.
Some of Lionblaze’s tension melted away as he batted the leaf back to the kit45. This was almost like playing with the kits back in the stone hollow. Speckle’s litter were big and strong, almost ready to become apprentices93.
Soon they should be learning to fight and hunt,he thought. Do these cats have the skills to teach them properly?
Hollyleaf joined in the game, too, chasing the leaf and pouncing94 on it until all four kits collapsed95, panting, beside their mother.
“They’re fine kits,” Lionblaze gasped, flopping96 down on the floor in front of Speckle. “They’ll grow up to be strong cats.”
“I hope so,” Speckle murmured. She bent over Frisk, licking his rumpled97 fur. Then she looked up again. “Whatever you think Sol has done, you’re wrong.”
Lionblaze’s belly lurched as he glanced at his sister; Hollyleaf’s green eyes were wide with alarm. How much does this cat know?
He was too startled to reply. After a couple of heartbeats, Speckle went on quietly: “Sol never gets his own paws dirty. If something has happened, another cat did it—maybe at Sol’s bidding, maybe not. You won’t be able to accuse him of anything.”
There was a yearning98 in her voice; even though she knew the damage Sol had done here, she clearly wanted him back.
“Is Sol the father of your kits?” Hollyleaf asked, reaching out her tail to touch the brown queen’s flank.
Speckle shook her head. “Their father left when the dogs started to become a problem.” She hesitated, then added almost defiantly99, “I wanted them to be Sol’s. I know that the other cats say he betrayed us, but we were the ones who decided to fight the dogs. Sol didn’t force us to do anything.”
No, he just made it seem as if you couldn’t do anything elseLionblaze couldn’t speak the words aloud to Speckle. It was obvious she was still deeply in love with the loner.
He and Hollyleaf exchanged another glance. Neither of them had mentioned Ashfur, but Lionblaze knew that the gray warrior’s death must be weighing on his littermate’s thoughts, just as it was on his own.
Speckle bent her head and went on grooming100 Frisk. “If Sol came back,” she mewed between licks, “I’d be very glad to see him.”
收听单词发音 |
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screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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pelt
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| v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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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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clan
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| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
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hind
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| adj.后面的，后部的 | |
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braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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taunted
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| 嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落 | |
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boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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boulders
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| n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾 | |
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swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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yelping
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 ) | |
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frustration
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| n.挫折，失败，失效，落空 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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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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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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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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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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tersely
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| adv. 简捷地, 简要地 | |
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21
brittle
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| adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的 | |
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22
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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23
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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24
flailing
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| v.鞭打( flail的现在分词 )；用连枷脱粒；（臂或腿）无法控制地乱动；扫雷坦克 | |
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25
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
collapsing
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| 压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂 | |
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27
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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28
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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29
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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30
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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31
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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32
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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33
slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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34
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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35
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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36
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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37
bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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38
pelts
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| n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走 | |
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39
yelps
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| n.（因痛苦、气愤、兴奋等的）短而尖的叫声( yelp的名词复数 )v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的第三人称单数 ) | |
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40
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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41
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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42
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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43
slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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45
kit
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| n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物 | |
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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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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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48
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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49
twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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51
jolt
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| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
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52
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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53
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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54
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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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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56
helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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57
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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58
moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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59
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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60
flexing
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| n.挠曲，可挠性v.屈曲( flex的现在分词 )；弯曲；（为准备大干而）显示实力；摩拳擦掌 | |
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61
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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62
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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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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65
bleakly
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| 无望地，阴郁地，苍凉地 | |
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66
snarl
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| v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮 | |
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shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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68
oafish
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| adj.呆子的，白痴的 | |
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69
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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70
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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71
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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72
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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73
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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74
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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75
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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76
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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77
dens
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| n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋 | |
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78
streaking
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| n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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79
tingled
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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82
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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83
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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84
chirp
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| v.(尤指鸟)唧唧喳喳的叫 | |
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85
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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86
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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87
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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88
persuasive
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| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
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89
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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90
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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91
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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92
squealing
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 ) | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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94
pouncing
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的现在分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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95
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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96
flopping
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| n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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97
rumpled
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| v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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98
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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99
defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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100
grooming
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| n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发 | |
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