Chapter Text
Shroudpaw did not sleep her first night in DarkClan.
笼罩爪在暗族的第一夜没有睡着。
It was not because of the warrior who stood in the center of the clearing and yowled—that was morning. She learned later that it was to tell the time. She could not sleep because it was too dark here. The darkness of DarkClan was not the same as the darkness of night. Night had the moon, had stars, had the hazy, faint glow that was everywhere in MistClan’s forest. You were never truly blind. But DarkClan was different. Here, the darkness was the kind that made you unable to see even your own tail!
不是因为那个武士站在空地中央喊了什么——那是早晨的事。她后来才知道那是在报时。她睡不着，是因为这里太黑了。暗族的黑和夜晚的黑不是一回事。夜晚有月亮，有星星，有雾族那片森林里无处不在的朦朦胧胧的微光。你永远不是完全看不见的。但暗族不一样。这里的黑是那种连自己的尾巴都看不清的那种黑！
She lay in a completely unfamiliar den, smelling stone and dust. No moss, no dampness, no scent of the forest that had always made her feel safe. She turned over, and the echo magnified her movement several times, as if something was following her in the dark.
她躺在完全陌生的巢穴里，闻着石头和尘土的味道。没有苔藓，没有水汽，没有那种让她觉得安全又潮湿的森林的气息。她翻了个身，回声把她的动作放大了好几倍，像是有什么东西在黑暗中跟着她似的。
Shroudpaw stopped and held her breath. The echo faded, and the heavy, pressing silence returned.
笼罩爪停下来，屏住呼吸。直到回声散了，四周又恢复了那种沉甸甸的安静。
She missed MistClan’s silence. MistClan’s silence was soft—cushioned by mist and leaves, softened by the distant sound of the stream. Here, the silence was hard, like sharp stones digging into her pads. Touch it, and it bounced back to strike her.
她想念雾族的安静。雾族的安静柔软，有雾气树叶，有远处的溪水声把它冲淡。这里的安静是硬的，像碎石似的硌在爪垫里，你碰它一下，它就弹回来砸在你身上。
Shroudpaw had never thought about these things before. In MistClan, everything had seemed natural—dawn came, the mist cleared, she worked; dusk fell, the mist returned, she slept. Every day she rushed between camp and forest, treating herbs, joining patrols to gather, changing moss for the elders, bringing fresh water to the queens. There was always work to do. When her Clanmates called her name, their voices carried that blind trust that said, “You know what to do.”
笼罩爪从来没有想过这些。在雾族的时候，她只觉得一切都是理所当然的——天亮了，雾散了，干活；天黑了，雾来了，睡觉。她每天在营地和森林之间奔波，处理药草，跟着巡逻队出去采集，帮长老换苔藓，给猫后带新鲜的水。有干不完的活。族猫们叫她的时候，语气里带着那种“你该知道怎么做”的盲目。
She was not unseen.
她不是没被看见。
It was just that no single cat had ever truly seen her! At this thought, a flicker of resentment rose in Shroudpaw’s chest.
只是没有被某只猫看见而已！想到这儿，笼罩爪心里涌起了不满。
The thought surfaced in the darkness, but she pushed it back down. Then she turned over, squeezed her eyes shut, curled into a tight ball, and waited for sleep to come.
这个念头在黑暗中冒头，但她把它压了回去。然后翻了个身，闭紧眼睛蜷缩成一团，等着困意自己降临。
In the morning, the wake-up warrior’s yell roused her.
早晨，守夜武士的喊声把她叫醒了。
Shroudpaw sat up and began grooming the rumpled fur on her chest. Her body still remembered MistClan’s rhythm—at this hour she should already be sorting herbs, Whitefur’s nest mostly empty, she alone moving the leaves that needed drying outside, laying them out while the mist had not yet fully cleared.
笼罩爪坐起身，梳理着胸前被压乱的毛。她的身体还记得雾族的节奏——这个时辰她应该已经在整理药草了，白毛的窝铺大部分时间都没动静，她一只猫把需要晾晒的叶子搬到外面，趁着雾气还没散尽的时候摆好。
Shroudpaw shook her head, trying to shake off those thoughts.
笼罩爪甩了甩头，把这些念头甩掉。
Sageface’s den was in a branch off the main thoroughfare. DarkClan’s camp was far more complex than MistClan’s.
圣面的巢穴在主干道旁的一个分支里。暗族的营地比雾族复杂多了。
It was not a simple circle of tree roots and bushes, but a network of underground passages. The main thoroughfare ran through the whole camp, widest, with the strongest echoes; branches led off in different directions to the sleeping quarters, the nursery, the elders’ den. The unused sector was deepest, visited by almost no cat, its air thick with dust. Shroudpaw spent several days figuring out which passage led where.
不是简单的树根和灌木围成的一圈空地，而是一套交错的地下线。主干道贯穿整个营地，最宽，且回声最大；分支朝不同方向延伸出去，通往休息区，育婴室，长老巢穴。闲置区在最深处，几乎没有猫去，空气里全是灰尘的味道。笼罩爪花了几天才搞清楚哪条路通往哪里。
Sageface’s den was close to the leader’s den, at a fork in the middle of the main thoroughfare. Not too far, but not conspicuous either. When she walked in, Sageface was still curled in his nest.
圣面的巢穴靠近族长巢穴，在主干道中段的一个岔口里。位置不算偏，也不显眼。她走进去的时候，圣面还蜷在窝里。
He slept deeply, his breathing even, his chest rising and falling slowly. Shroudpaw crouched at the entrance, unsure whether to wake him. In MistClan, Whitefur never slept in—not because she rose early, but because she often did not come back to sleep at night at all! So Shroudpaw was used to starting the day’s work alone.
他睡得很沉，呼吸均匀，胸口缓慢地起伏着。笼罩爪蹲在巢穴入口，不知道该不该叫醒他。在雾族，白毛从来不睡懒觉——不是因为起得早，是因为她经常根本不在晚上睡！所以笼罩爪习惯了她独自开始一天的工作。
She waited for a while.
她等了一会儿。
Sageface did not wake.
圣面没有醒。
She decided to start by herself. She moved the herbs that needed sorting to the den’s entrance, using the faint light from the end of the main thoroughfare to begin picking out dried leaves. Chamomile, coltsfoot, burdock root—DarkClan’s herbs were smaller than MistClan’s, and the basic treatment was a little harder. Her paws were skilled, her movements quick. She sorted through them leaf by leaf, throwing away the bad, keeping the good.
她决定先自己动手。她把需要清理的药草搬到巢穴入口附近，借着从主干道尽头透进来的那点微光，开始挑拣干枯的叶子。甘菊、款冬花、牛蒡根——暗族的草药相比雾族的要小一些，基本的处理方式有点难。她的爪子很熟练，动作很快，挑出来能用的，一片一片地翻过去，不好的扔掉，好的就留下来。
She did not need Whitefur to teach her these things.
她做这些事情的时候，不需要白毛教。
After what felt like a long time, a rustling sound came from behind. Shroudpaw turned her head and saw Sageface rising slowly from his nest, shaking out his pelt. His eyes were still half asleep, the ice blue clouded with drowsiness.
过了不知多久，身后传来窸窣的声响。笼罩爪回头，看到圣面从窝里站起来，慢吞吞地抖了抖皮毛。他的眼神还是半醒的，冰蓝色蒙着一层睡意。
“You wake early,” he said. His tone held neither praise nor reproach, just a statement of fact.
“你起得很早。”他说道，语气里没有夸奖，也没有责备，只是陈述了事实。
“I’m used to it in MistClan,” Shroudpaw replied, looking up at the black-and-white medicine cat.
“在雾族习惯了。”笼罩爪说，抬眸望向黑白相间的巫医。
Sageface did not answer. He walked over to her side, glanced at the sorted herbs, then touched her ear with his still-dry muzzle—a greeting, perhaps—before turning and leaving the den to drink.
圣面没有接话。他走到她旁边，低头看了一眼挑拣好的草药，刚睡醒还有些干的口鼻先碰了一下她的耳朵算是问好，转身走出了巢穴饮水。
Shroudpaw watched his back disappear into the shadows of the main thoroughfare. She wasn’t sure what his mood was, nor whether she should keep working or do something else. After a moment’s thought, she decided to continue sorting herbs.
笼罩爪看着他的背影消失在主干道的阴影里。她不确定他的情绪，也不知道自己应该继续干活还是做些别的什么。她想了想，决定继续挑草药。
After all, the work always needed doing, she thought.
反正这些活总是要干的。她想。
That morning, they barely spoke. Sageface glanced at her now and then, checking whether she picked correctly, but he never corrected her. Shroudpaw didn’t know if it was because he thought she was right, or because he simply didn’t care whether she was right or wrong.
那个上午，他们几乎没有说话。圣面偶尔看她一眼，看她挑得对不对，但没有纠正过她。笼罩爪不知道这是因为他觉得她做得对，还是因为他根本不在意她做不做对。
Shroudpaw dared not ask too much.
笼罩爪不敢多问。
Thus began her days of learning in DarkClan. The sickness here was not severe, but it had dragged on for a long time. Shroudpaw wondered if it was because their camp was too dark—some symptoms might not be noticed until the cat themselves felt unwell, days later. Sageface walked ahead, Shroudpaw followed behind, helping him press herbs onto wounds, holding them down, waiting for the sick cat’s breathing to steady, then rising to go to the next.
在暗族学习的日子就这样开始了。这里的疾病不算严重，但拖了很久。笼罩爪猜想，是不是他们的营地太暗了，有些症状不容易被发现，等到猫自己觉得不舒服的时候，已经过了好几天了呢？圣面走在前面，笼罩爪跟在他后面，帮他把药敷在伤口上，压住，等病猫的呼吸平稳下来，再站起来去下一个。
Sageface had said they didn’t have enough helpers. Shroudpaw didn’t know if that was the whole reason, or just an excuse, but she didn’t ask. Every afternoon she followed him to check on the sick cats, helping to change dressings and clean wounds.
圣面之前说是他们没有足够的帮手，笼罩爪不知道这是不是全部原因，或者只是借口，但她没有问。她每天下午跟着他去查看病猫，帮忙换药，清理伤口。
The cats of DarkClan showed her no special attitude. Not exactly friendly, but not hostile either. She felt like a gust of wind passing through in leaf-bare—there one moment, gone the next. No cat gave her an extra glance, no lively apprentice asked her what MistClan was like, where Whitefur was, why she had come here.
暗族的猫对她没什么特别的态度。不太友好，倒也无所谓。她像是秃叶季路过的一阵风，吹过去就过去了。没有猫多看她一眼，没有活泼的学徒问她雾族是什么样子？白毛在哪？为什么要来这里？
She found this quite fine. At least the DarkClan cats seemed to bear her no ill will, willing to accept treatment and help from another Clan—that was the whole reason she was here, after all.
她觉得这挺好的。暗族猫至少看起来对她没有敌意，愿意接受别族的治疗和帮助，才不失她原来来到这里的目的。
She had been invited. She carried nothing on her shoulders.
是被邀请的，她什么都不用背负。
Until that day, when the sun was nearly setting, Shroudpaw met Yarrowstar on the main thoroughfare—and it suddenly hit her that she had not met her before! The DarkClan leader stood near a fork, flanked by several warriors just back from patrol. Her fur was almost black in the dim light, but a beam from a crack overhead fell upon her, revealing her true color—a dark ginger, like a pile of wet fallen leaves.
直到那天太阳快落山了，笼罩爪在主干道上遇到了黄星———她才猛然想起来没有事先见到她！暗族的族长站在一个岔口附近，身边跟着几只刚巡逻回来的武士。她的皮毛在微光中几乎是黑色的，但有一束从头顶裂缝漏下来的光照在她身上，露出真正的颜色——是暗姜黄色的皮毛，像被雨淋湿的落叶堆。
The first time Shroudpaw had seen her at a Gathering, she had thought Yarrowstar looked truly imposing, while Bountystar was much gentler. She twitched her ears, because her own leader was always smiling.
笼罩爪第一次在森林大会上看到她，就觉得黄星真的很有威严感，而华星比她温和多了。她抖动耳朵，因为族长总是笑眯眯的。
Yarrowstar swept her gaze over Shroudpaw, lashing her tail.
黄星扫了笼罩爪一眼，甩动着尾巴。
It was a brief look, but Shroudpaw felt as if the cat had turned her inside out.
那一眼很短，但笼罩爪觉得那只猫已经把她从头到尾翻了一遍。
“Hmm… MistClan’s medicine cat,” Yarrowstar said. It was not a question.
“嗯……雾族的巫医。”黄星说道，这不是疑问句。
“Yes, I’m still a medicine cat apprentice,” Shroudpaw replied quickly, lowering her head.
“是的，我还是巫医学徒。”笼罩爪连忙低下头。
Yarrowstar relaxed, nodded, and said nothing more. She led her patrol away, their paw steps fading into the main thoroughfare. Shroudpaw stood where she was, waiting until the echoes had completely died before she continued on.
黄星放松起来，点点头没有再说别的。她领着巡逻队走了，脚步声在主干道里渐渐消失。笼罩爪站在原地，等回声完全散尽之后，才继续往前走。
She did not know what that look had meant. Not hostility, certainly not friendliness.
她不知道黄星那一眼是什么意思。没有敌意，也绝不是友善。
It was appraisal.
这就是审视。
Shroudpaw kept walking, turning into the branch that led to Sageface’s den.
笼罩爪继续走，拐进圣面的巢穴所在的分支。
“You’ve met Yarrowstar,” he said.
“你见到黄星了？”他说。
Shroudpaw started. “Yes, Sageface.”
笼罩爪愣了一下，“是的，圣面。”
“Did she look frightening?”
“她看起来很可怕吗？”
Shroudpaw thought for a moment, then gave the most honest answer she could. “Maybe… she’s tall and very imposing.”
笼罩爪想了想，给出了她觉得的最中肯的回答。“也许……？毕竟她很高大，也很威风。”
“Then what?”
“那是什么？”
“She looked at me. I felt like she was studying me.”
“她注视着我，我觉得在观察我。”
Sageface did not reply.
圣面没有接话。
After a while, Shroudpaw asked, “Are you and her… on good terms?”
过了一会儿，笼罩爪问：“她和你的关系好吗？”
Sageface, who had been rooting through a pile of dried herbs, finally lifted his head. His ice-blue eyes glowed in the darkness.
圣面一直埋在一堆枯草里寻找的头终于抬了起来。他的冰蓝色眼睛在黑暗中看起来很亮。
“She is the leader,” Sageface said. “I am the medicine cat. We do not need to be on good terms.”
“她是族长，”圣面说，“我是巫医。我们不需要维持好关系。”
Shroudpaw nodded. Because they already were on good terms? She pulled a face in the shadows.
笼罩爪点头。因为他们关系本来就好？她在暗处挤眉弄眼。
She thought she might have asked a question she shouldn’t have. But Sageface’s tone held no reproach, not even any emotion. He had simply answered a question, then lowered his head and went back to rooting through the dried herbs.
她觉得自己可能问了一个不该问的问题。但圣面的语气没有责备，甚至没有任何情绪。他只是回答了一个问题，然后低下头，继续埋在一堆枯草里。
Shroudpaw crouched nearby, not knowing what else to say, so she began sorting herbs as well. She picked chamomile flowers one by one, lining them up on a flat stone to dry.
笼罩爪蹲在旁边，不知道还能说什么，就也开始整理药草。她把甘菊的花一朵一朵摘下来，排在石板上，等着它们晾干。
That day passed, just like that.
那一天就这么过去了。
----
As soon as she entered the nursery, the smell of milk hit her.
刚走进育婴室的时候，她先闻到了奶味。
Not the warm scent that clung to Whitefur, whose source she could never quite place. This was real queen’s milk, mixed with moss and the smell of kits, so thick it almost wrapped around her.
不是白毛身上那种让她说不清来源的温暖香气。这里是真正属于猫后的奶味，混着苔藓和幼崽的气味，浓得几乎能把猫裹住。
And then there was that heat—not the kind herbs could smother—the sickly, fevered heat rising from the kits’ bodies.
然后就是那股不是草药能压住的热度，是幼崽身上散发的带着病气的灼烫。
Her nose twitched. She had smelled this kind of heat before, in MistClan, when Brownfrost had a fever. But he was an elder, his body already worn down. Even if the fever broke, he might not stand again. Kits were different. Kits either pulled through, or… She did not finish the thought.
她的鼻子抽动了一下。这种热度她闻过，在雾族，褐霜发烧的时候。但他是一位长老了，身体已经耗了大半，烧退了或许不一定能站起来。幼崽不一样。幼崽要么扛过去，要么……她没有往下想。
Two kits lay curled in a moss nest, their fur matted together, their breaths short and shallow. Mossfleck crouched beside them, her head low, licking one kit’s forehead, then the other. Her pale golden fur looked darker than it really was in the gloom.
两只幼崽蜷在苔藓窝里，皮毛黏在一起，呼吸又急又浅。藓斑蹲在旁边，低着头舔其中一只的额头，舔了几下又换到另一只。她的浅金色皮毛在黑暗中看起来比实际更暗。
“It started yesterday,” Mossfleck said anxiously, not lifting her head. “Sageface told me he didn’t have enough herbs. He said to find him again once the kits showed symptoms.”
“从昨天开始的，”藓斑焦急的说，没有抬头，“圣面告诉我草药不够了，让我在幼崽有症状之后再去找他。”
Shroudpaw crouched down and touched her nose to the nearest kit’s ear. Hot. She touched the other. The same.
笼罩爪蹲下来，用鼻尖碰了碰最近那只的耳朵。烫的。她又碰了碰另一只，也是一样。
Mossfleck finally raised her head and looked at her. Shroudpaw noticed that her eyes were a pale yellow, pretty, but always shadowed.
藓斑终于抬起头，看着她。笼罩爪注意到她的眼睛是淡黄色的，很漂亮，但始终笼罩着阴霾。
“Are you the medicine cat from MistClan?” Mossfleck asked.
“你是从雾族来的巫医？”藓斑问。
“Medicine cat apprentice,” Shroudpaw said. “I came to help.”
“巫医学徒，”笼罩爪说，“我来帮忙的。”
Not just to help, a voice inside her said. To learn. Bountystar wouldn’t send an apprentice to another Clan for nothing. But she didn’t need to say that, and Mossfleck didn’t need to know.
不是仅仅是来帮忙的。她心里有个声音说。是来学习的。华星不会白送一个学徒给别族。但这句话不需要说出口，藓斑也不需要知道。
The queen gave a small nod. She asked nothing more, just shifted her body aside to make room for Shroudpaw.
猫后轻轻点头。她没有再问别的，只是把身体往旁边挪了挪，给笼罩爪腾出位置。
Shroudpaw opened her herb bundle and pulled out the leaves that brought down fevers. She moved gently, chewing the leaves and pressing them into the first kit’s open mouth. The kit stirred, letting out a tiny whimper, but did not wake.
笼罩爪把药草包打开，翻出退烧用的叶子。她的动作很轻，把叶子嚼碎，挤在那只幼崽张开的嘴里。幼崽动了动，发出一声细小的呜咽，但没有醒。
She thought of Paleflower. Not often, but sometimes—in moments like this, quiet, with only the sound of a kit’s breathing—she thought of the queen who had raised her. Paleflower had never been unkind to her. But she had also never… Shroudpaw couldn’t find the word. It was something in between, a middle ground she couldn’t name.
她想起浅花。不是经常想，但偶尔——在这样只有幼崽呼吸声的时刻——她会想起那只把她养大的猫后。浅花从来没有对她不好。但也从来没有……笼罩爪找不到那个词，是一种说不上来，夹在中间的空地。
“The other one too,” Mossfleck said.
“另一只也要。”藓斑说。
“I know,” Shroudpaw answered.
“我知道。”笼罩爪回答她。
She pushed the thoughts down, like pressing a curled piece of moss flat.
她把这些念头压下去，像压一片翘起来的苔藓。
She finished the first and moved to the second. The two kits looked almost identical, both dark-furred, impossible to tell apart. Mossfleck seemed to notice her hesitation and touched one with the tip of her tail. “This is Crowkit. That one over there is Firkit.”
她处理完第一只，又去处理第二只。两只幼崽长得几乎一模一样，都是深色皮毛，分不清谁是谁。藓斑好像看出了她的犹豫，用尾巴尖点了点其中一只：“这是小乌。那边是小杉。”
Shroudpaw murmured in acknowledgment and applied the herb.
笼罩爪应声，把药敷好。
The nursery was quiet for a moment. The air held only the kits’ breathing, fast and uneven. Mossfleck lowered her head again to lick Crowkit’s forehead, slow and steady.
育婴室里安静了一会儿。空气里只有幼崽的呼吸声，急促且不太均匀的那种。藓斑又低下头去舔小乌的额头，一下一下的，很慢。
Shroudpaw watched Mossfleck’s tongue move across the kit’s forehead and back again. The pale golden queen wasn’t speaking, but her whole body was doing one thing—letting the kit know she was there.
笼罩爪看着藓斑的舌头从幼崽的额头滑过去，又滑回来。那只浅金色的母猫没有说话，但她的整个身体都在做一件事——让幼崽知道她在这里。
Shroudpaw suddenly thought of herself at that age. Who had been beside her? Paleflower. But Paleflower had had her own kits then. Shroudpaw had been placed next to that litter—one more, not too many, not too few.
笼罩爪突然想到，自己在这个年纪的时候，身边是谁。浅花。但浅花当时也有自己的幼崽。她是被放在那一窝旁边的，多一只不多，少一只不少。
She could not remember if any cat had ever licked her forehead like that.
她不记得有没有猫像这样舔过她的额头。
“How old are they?” she asked, clearing her throat.
“他们多大了？”她清了清嗓子。
“One week,” Mossfleck answered. “They haven’t left the nursery yet.”
“一个星期，”藓斑回答，“还没出过育婴室。”
“I expect some apprentice brought it in. Sageface will come by later to change the dressing.”
“我猜或许是哪个学徒带进来的，稍后圣面会再来一趟换药。”
Shroudpaw looked at the two small, curled bodies. They were so small that a single fever could hang their lives over a cliff.
笼罩爪看着那两团小小蜷在一起的身体。它们那么小，小到一场高烧就能把它们的命吊在悬崖边上。
She thought of herself. Not now, but many seasons ago. She had been that small too. Had she ever had a fever? Who had stayed beside her? Paleflower? Any other cat? She cut the thought off.
她想到自己。不是现在，是很多个季节以前。她也是这么小的。她也发过烧吗？是谁守在她旁边？浅花？还有其他的猫吗。她把这个念头掐断了。
Mossfleck lifted her head and looked at her.
藓斑抬起头，看着她。
“You look younger than your paws,” Mossfleck said.
“你看起来比你的爪子年轻。”藓斑说。
Shroudpaw didn’t understand.
笼罩爪没听懂。
“Your paws are strong,” Mossfleck said, “but your eyes are still like a kit’s.”
“你的双爪很有力，”藓斑说，“但你的眼神还像幼崽。”
The words were like a tiny thorn—barely felt, but she knew it was there.
这句话像一根细细的荆棘刺，扎进去几乎感受不到疼，但她知道它在。
Shroudpaw didn’t know how to answer. She lowered her head, pretending to check Little Fir’s pads. The herb was already applied. There was nothing to check. She just didn’t want Mossfleck to see her eyes.
笼罩爪不知道该怎么回答。她低下头，假装在检查小杉的脚垫。药已经敷好了，没什么可检查的。她只是不想让藓斑看到她的眼睛。
Mossfleck didn’t pursue the subject. She rested her chin beside Crowkit’s head and closed her eyes.
藓斑没有继续这个话题。她把下巴搁在小乌的脑袋旁边，闭上了眼睛。
“Thank you,” she said. “When will you leave?”
“谢谢你，”她说，“你什么时候走？”
“Not for a while yet.”
“还要待一阵子。”
“I meant now.”
“我是说现在。”
“Sorry, Mossfleck. I’ll go now.”
“抱歉，藓斑。我现在就走。”
“Will you come back tomorrow?”
“那明天还能来吗？”
Shroudpaw lifted her head. Mossfleck wasn’t looking at her, her eyes still closed. Maybe she thought Shroudpaw was DarkClan’s medicine cat.
笼罩爪抬起头。藓斑没有看她，眼睛还是闭着的，或许她把她当成暗族的巫医了。
But Shroudpaw knew this was not ordinary. No cat had ever asked her like this. In MistClan, her work was assigned, not requested.
但笼罩爪知道这不平常。没有猫这样问过她。在雾族，她的工作是被安排的，不是被请求的。
“Of course I will,” she promised. “I’ll stay until your kits are well again.”
“当然，我会的。”她承诺道，“我会在你的幼崽康复之后再离开。”
She rose and wrapped up the leftover herbs. At the entrance of the nursery, she looked back. Mossfleck had curled her whole body around the two kits, her pale golden fur like a dying firefly in the darkness.
她站起来，把剩下的草药重新包好。走出育婴室的时候，她回头看了一眼。藓斑已经整个身体圈住了两只幼崽，浅金色的皮毛在黑暗中像一只濒死的萤火虫。
But she looked again.
但她还是看了第二眼。
Shroudpaw turned and walked into the darkness, away from the sleeping quarters.
笼罩爪转过身，迈步往休息区相反的黑暗里走去。
Footsteps sounded behind her. Not Sageface’s—Sageface’s steps were usually silent. This part of the tunnels was mostly for the nursery and sleeping quarters; apart from apprentices and the mates of queens, she rarely saw any other cats here.
身后传来脚步声。不是圣面的，圣面的脚步通常没有声音。这带是休息区的育婴室主分布，除了学徒和猫后们的伴侣她基本没有看到其他猫进来。
The cat’s paws landed on the stone floor, one after another, neither heavy nor light, as if deliberately letting her hear.
这只猫的爪子落在石地上，一下一下的，不轻不重，像是故意让她听见。
Shroudpaw spun around.
笼罩爪猛地转过身。
A long-furred figure stood in the shadows of the side tunnel. His orange fur looked almost brown in the dark, only his eyes glowing with an unnatural green.
修长的身影站在小道的阴影里。他的橙色长毛在黑暗中看起来几乎是棕色的，只有那双眼睛亮着不太正常的绿光。
Shroudpaw knew his name—Emberflight. This tom was not easy to forget.
笼罩爪知道他的名字是烬飞，这公猫很难让她忘记。
Though she remembered that Emberflight was not Mossfleck’s mate, as far as she knew.
不过她记得烬飞好像不是藓斑的伴侣。
“Sageface needs you,” he said.
“圣面需要你过去。”他说。
The warrior’s voice was flat, perhaps just relaying the DarkClan medicine cat’s words. Then he turned and walked away without waiting for her answer, without looking back to see if she followed.
武士声音平平的，或许他在替暗族巫医转述。说完他就转身走了，没有等她回答，也没有看她有没有跟上来。
Shroudpaw stood there, watching his tail disappear around the fork. The young apprentice let out a frustrated sigh, her ears drooping, and turned into another dark tunnel.
笼罩爪站在原地，看着他的尾巴消失在岔口的方向。年轻的学徒懊恼的叹了口气，耷拉着耳朵拐进了另一个黑黝黝的通道。
—————tbc.