木秀于林 Forest for the Trees

在他们的眼中，血腥的战场无异于一顿香气澎湃的盛宴——生命如此美味，尽可攫取，尽可猎杀。狼灵踱过雪地，而羊灵轻捷地踩着剑锋和矛尖前行，血迹斑斑的屠场没有在她苍白的身体上留下半点污秽。

The battle spilled over like a feast before them. Such delicious life—so many to end, so many to hunt! Wolf paced in the snow while Lamb danced lithely from sword edge to spear tip, the red-blooded butchery never staining her pale coat.

“狼，无畏与痛苦满盈这地。盼死者众。”她抽出长弓，勾动弓弦射出一发迅疾的弧线。

“There is courage and pain here, Wolf. Many will gladly meet their end.” She drew up her bow and let loose an arc of swift finality.

一个士兵手中的盾牌被一把重斧劈开，他极不情愿地吐出了最后一口气。一枚白色的羽箭钉在他的胸口，光华四溢地颤动着。

The last breath of a soldier came with a ragged consent as his shield gave way to a heavy axe. Stuck in his heart was a single white arrow, shimmering with ethereal brilliance.

“无畏，就是无聊，”雄健的黑狼一边穿行雪地一边咕噜着喉咙说，“我饿了，我要追捕。”

“Courage bores me,” the great black wolf grumbled as he tracked through the snow. “I am hungry and eager to chase.”

“应耐心。”她低声在他耳边呢喃。话音刚落，狼灵的肩膀猛地一耸，身子伏了下去。

“Patience,” she murmured in his shaggy ear. As soon as the words left her, Wolf’s shoulders tensed and his body dropped low to the ground.

“恐惧，我闻到了。”他的声音因为兴奋而微微发颤。

“I smell fear,” he said, trembling with excitement.

泥泞的雪地尽头，一个稚气未脱的护卫看到了正在山谷里收割亡灵的千珏。他还只是个孩子，本来不应该出现在这里，但是，他的手里也握着一柄短剑。

Across the muddied field of snow, a squire—too young for battle, but with blade in hand, nonetheless—saw that Kindred had marked all in the valley.

“这个鲜嫩的，我想要。它看到我们了吗，羊?”

“I want the tender-thing. Does it see us, Lamb?”

“是，但它要抉择。以身饲狼，或迎我入怀。”

“Yes, but it must choose. Feed the Wolf, or embrace me.”

绞肉场的锋刃终于转向了护卫。他目不转睛地看着，绝望与毅勇相混杂的汹涌气息扑面而来。这就是他最后一个黎明。那一刻，男孩做出了选择。他不愿意就此安息。他要一直逃下去，直到咽气为止。

The battle turned its steel toward the squire. He now stared at the roiling tide of bravery and desperation coming for him. This would be his last dawn. In that instant, the boy made his choice. He would not go willingly. Until his last breath, he would run.

狼灵磕了一下牙齿，兴奋地把脸塞进雪中，像一只新出生的狗崽那样打了个滚。

Wolf snapped in the air and rolled his face in the snow like a new pup.

“是的，亲爱的狼，猎物待你去追。”羊灵的话音空灵地回响着，有如一串玲珑珠玉。

“Yes, dear Wolf.” Lamb’s voice echoed like a string of pearly bells. “Begin your hunt.”

仿佛是得到了许可，狼灵一声雷吼，身子直窜出去。他跃过战场，紧盯着年轻护卫逃跑的背影。一道黑沉的影子掠过遍地的新鲜尸体，和他们支离破碎的武器。

With that, Wolf bounded across the field after the youth, a howl thundering through the valley. His shadowed body swept over the remains of the newly dead and their useless, shattered weapons.

护卫转身钻进了树林。他一路疯跑，飞掠而过的粗壮树影都变得模糊起来。冰冷的空气灼烧着他的肺腔，但他反而加快了脚步。他不断地回头张望狼灵的身影，但除了益发昏暗的树丛之外，眼中并无他物。突然间，周围的阴影一下子收拢，把他紧紧裹在了其中。他心里明白，这就是结局了。黑色的狼影已经无处不在，追捕的游戏迎来了终盘。狼灵把一对尖牙埋进男孩的脖子。鲜活跳动的生命迸射而出，化作了腥红的绸带。

The squire turned and ran for the woods until thick black trunks passed in a blur. He pressed on, the frozen air burning his lungs. He looked once more for his hunter, but could see nothing but the darkening trees. The shadows closed tightly around him and he suddenly realized there was no escape. It was the black body of Wolf that was everywhere at once. The chase was at its end. Wolf buried his sharp teeth in the squire’s neck, tearing out ribbons of vibrant life.

Wolf reveled in the boy’s scream and crunching bones. Lamb, who had trailed behind, laughed to see such sport. Wolf turned and asked, in a voice more growl than speech, “Is this music, Lamb?”

狼灵陶醉在男孩的惨叫和骨节嘎吱声中。亦步亦趋的羊灵看着这幅景象，笑出声来。狼灵转过巨大的脑袋，狂乱地吼叫道：“音乐!这是吗，羊?”

“It is to you,” she answered.

“于你而言。”她回答。

“Again,” Wolf licked the last drop of the youth’s life from his canine jaws. “I want to chase again, little Lamb.”

“再来，”狼灵舔下唇边最后一滴血迹，“我要再追一次，小羊。”

“There are always more,” she whispered. “Until the day there is only Kindred.”

“活物常有，”她淡淡地说，“直至世间独剩千珏。”

“And then will you run from me?”

“那时，你会逃开我吗?”

Lamb turned back to the battle. “I would never run from you, dear Wolf.”

羊灵转身，朝着战场的方向走去。

“我永不逃你，亲爱的狼。”