长翅膀的怪兽 The Winged Beast

作者： Rayla Heide

瞭望塔的大门没锁，里面空无一人。

The gated watchtower was empty.

希瓦娜认识这里的卫兵，他蓄着灰胡子，总是一脸严肃，名叫托米。他宁可自断一臂也不会擅离职守。她在巡逻德玛西亚北部山林的路上闻到了人血的味道，循着气味找到了这里。

Shyvana knew its stern, gray-bearded guard, Thomme, would have cut off his own hand before abandoning his post. She had scented human blood while patrolling the northern hills of Demacia and followed its trail to this tower.

进到塔里，血味更浓了，但看不到任何血迹。作为一名德玛西亚士兵，希瓦娜大部分时间都保持着人类的外形，隐藏自己的本性，但她的魔龙直觉却时刻都保持敏锐。她用力咬着自己的舌头，努力让自己别被这气味勾起食欲。希瓦娜登上塔顶，从高处更好地观察周围情况。她的目光锁定在一片枝繁叶茂的树林，林间空地附近的树冠正在沙沙作响。

Inside, the smell was all but overpowering, though no bloodstains were visible. As a soldier of Demacia, Shyvana remained in her humanoid form most of the time in order to conceal her true nature, though her dragonic instincts remained sharply intact. She chewed her tongue to distract herself from her growing hunger at the scent. Shyvana climbed to the top of the tower where she could better survey the surroundings, and fixed her gaze on the thick, tangled trees where leaves rustled near the edge of a clearing.

希瓦娜从瞭望塔的窗户一跃而出，双脚稳稳着地，落差足有五层楼。她在风中嗅到了血迹，随后跑进了西边的森林，在枝杈间飞奔，一边捕捉着气味。她来到了空地的边缘，只见一只巨大的金毛猫科动物正在托米残破的尸体上大快朵颐。这只动物的两肩末端上生着一双黑色的羽翼，分叉的尾巴像一条长蛇在自顾自地扭动。

Shyvana leapt from the window of the watchtower and landed on her feet, five stories below. She detected a hint of blood on the wind, and sprinted west into the forest, dodging branches as she pursued the scent. At the edge of the clearing, a large feline beast with golden fur feasted on Thomme’s mangled body. Atop the creature’s shoulders were black feathered wings, and its forked serpentine tail twitched as if independent of its owner.

鲜血的味道让她陶醉，但希瓦娜强迫自己将心思放在这次狩猎上。她加入德玛西亚是为了实现更伟大的成就，而不是屈服于自己的兽性本能。

The smell of fresh blood was intoxicating, but Shyvana forced herself to focus on the hunt. She had joined Demacia to be part of something greater, not to surrender to her animalistic desires.

她悄悄爬向那只野兽准备突袭，双手开始泛起龙焰的热度。但还没等她出手，那只野兽突然转过了头。它的脸上没有毛发，满是皱纹，就像一个老人的脸。它对希瓦娜露出了微笑，满嘴血染的尖牙。

She crept toward the beast and felt dragonfyre warming in her hands as she readied to strike. But before she could attack, the creature turned from its kill. Its face was hairless and wrinkled, like an old man. It smiled at Shyvana through bloodied fangs.

“归你了，”它说。

“All yours,” it said.

希瓦娜听闻过疾走猁的故事传说，描述它如何凶残、如何贪食人肉、如何狡猾机敏。但没有任何故事让她有心理准备面对一张如此诡异的人脸。它的双眼一眨不眨地迎着希瓦娜的凝视，随后突然缩进了灌木丛，消失在视线中。希瓦娜心潮澎湃地开始了这次猎杀。疾走猁的毛皮在斑驳的树影中模糊难辨。它带着这天然的伪装，越过倒伏的莓树和湍急的河流，但是它无法隐藏嘴里的血味，所以希瓦娜一直紧随其后。

Shyvana had heard stories of the vellox’s ferocity, its appetite for human flesh and its slick agility. But nothing had prepared her for the creature’s eerily human face; its unblinking eyes held her gaze as it slinked into the brush and disappeared. Shyvana’s heart raced as she sprinted to catch and kill the beast. The vellox’s fur mingled with the dappled sunlight, camouflaging its torso as it leapt over fallen bramblewoods and raging rivers. It could not disguise the blood on its breath, however, and Shyvana followed the scent.

一块嵌入地面的巨石挡住了前方的路。疾走猁用爪子奋力一蹬，旋即消失在巨石后面。希瓦娜跳上巨石，突然急停，鞋跟都凿进了石块之中——巨石的边缘就是悬崖。一道鸿沟横在她面前，脚下便是陡峭的深渊。

A fallen boulder blocked the path ahead. The vellox’s claws scraped the rock as it leapt and disappeared over it. Shyvana dug her heels in at the top of the crag to halt her momentum – the rock marked the edge of a wide crevasse, plummeting in a steep vertical drop.

裂谷的另一面，森林继续延伸，疾走猁已经没入了灌木丛。希瓦娜叹了口气，要想越过这道山涧只有一个方法，她原本并不想动用这个方法。

Across the gap, the forest continued indefinitely, and the vellox was already deep into the thicket. Shyvana sighed; there was only one way to cross the ravine, and she had not wanted to resort to it.

她四周看看，确保附近没人，然后用力吸气，让自己的肺张到最大，胸中燃起烈火。即使隔着一条裂谷，她也依然可以闻到托米的气味。她不再压抑自己的渴望，一股冲动飞快腾起，转化为体内熔炉般的热力。希瓦娜呼出一束烈焰，轰然一声，变成了一条巨大的魔龙。整条裂谷在她的咆哮声中颤抖，回荡着她磅礴的呼唤。她张开自己强壮而又柔软的双翼，滑过了裂谷，冲进了前方的森林。

She checked to ensure no one was watching, inhaled as much air as would fill her lungs and felt her breath burn within her chest. Even across the width of the ravine, she could smell Thomme on the vellox’s fangs. She embraced her hunger until it powered the furnace-heat beneath her skin. With an exhalation of streaming flame, Shyvana burst into her enormous draconic form and roared. The ravine shook as it echoed back her mighty call. She spread her thick, velvety wings, and swept across the ravine into the forest ahead.

她不再需要躲避树干，而是径直走向前，压倒枝杈，碾碎路上的一切障碍。她张开翅膀向前猛扑，森林在她眼中混为棕色和绿色的漩涡。木熊、银麋鹿和其他丛林动物全都慌不择路地四散而逃，它们的恐惧让希瓦娜沉浸在自己的力量之中。她吐出了巨浪般的龙息，一片茂密的树林顷刻间化为灰烬。

She no longer had to duck between trees. Instead, she barreled through their branches, tearing down anything in her path. She leaned into her wings and the forest blurred into a whirl of brown and green. Woodbears, silver elk, and other woodland creatures scrambled to evade her path, and Shyvana relished the power she felt at their fear. She breathed a flaming torrent of fire, burning a thick grove to smoldering ash.

眼前隐约浮过一撮金毛，她立刻奋力一跃，扑到了疾走猁的背后。它的尖牙划伤了她的侧腰，但她几乎没有觉察到疼痛。

She spotted a trace of gold fur ahead and leapt onto the vellox’s back. Its teeth raked her flanks but she barely noticed the pain.

“我认识你，” 疾走猁一边扭打挣脱，一边恶语威胁。”它们都叫你狗链子。”

“I know you,” the vellox snarled, fighting to break free. “They call you the Chained One.”

那只金色的怪兽奋力一蹬，伸出利爪胡乱抓挠，尖牙死死咬住她的脖子。希瓦娜也用双爪深深刺入它的后背，享受着撕裂血肉的快感。

The golden beast leapt, slashing taloned paws and grazing her throat with its teeth. Shyvana sank her claws into its back and savored the sensation of tearing flesh.

“你为什么要抓我？” 疾走猁问道。”我们又不是敌人。”

“Why do you hunt me?” the vellox asked. “We are not enemies.”

“你杀了一个德玛西亚的士兵，”希瓦娜说。”托米。”

“You killed a soldier of the Demacian army,” Shyvana said. “Thomme.”

她的脖子被咬出了血，但她吐出一口龙焰，疾走猁立刻闪避到一旁。

The vellox drew blood from her neck, but she exhaled plumes of fire and it spun away to avoid the flames.

“他是你朋友？”

“Was he your friend?”

“不是。”

“No.”

“这样你还要替他报仇。看来传闻都是真的。你是一条养熟了的狗。”

“And yet you attempt to avenge his death. I fear the rumors are true. You are merely a tamed pet.”

希瓦娜愤怒地低吼。

Shyvana growled.

“至少我不杀害人类。”她说。

“At least I am no killer of men,” she said.

“真的吗？”疾走猁露出了一幅奸笑和一嘴血牙。”你不馋人血吗？”

“Truly?” the vellox smiled through its stained teeth. “You have no thirst for human blood?”

希瓦娜绕到疾走猁的侧面。

Shyvana circled the vellox.

“我在你的眼里能看到饥渴。”它说。”渴望新鲜肉食的滋味。和我一样的渴望。毕竟没了追逐，美餐也索然无味。”

“I see the hunger in your eyes,” it said. “The taste for living meat. You need the hunt as much as I. After all, where’s the fun in a meal without a good chase?”

希瓦娜转怒为笑。

Now Shyvana smiled.

“说得好，正合我意，”她说。

“Which brings us to my intent,” she said.

希瓦娜向前猛冲。一招制敌，将疾走猁死死压在落叶与草丛织成的地毯上，大口咬住它的喉咙。疾走猁吐出灼烈的毒液，狠抓她的前胸，刮下了她的鳞片。希瓦娜的双眼被毒液烧得睁不开，伤口像被针扎一样刺痛，但她丝毫没有松口。

Shyvana dashed forward. In one quick motion, she pinned the vellox’s body to the mulched forest floor and gorged on its throat. The vellox spit scorching venom and clawed at her chest, scraping scales from her skin. Shyvana’s eyes burned from his poison and her wounds stung, but she held fast.

疾走猁曾经华美的毛皮现在被鲜血浸透，凌乱不堪。它水汪汪的眼睛惊恐地盯着希瓦娜，生命逐渐流逝。

The vellox’s once-glossy fur was now sticky and matted with blood. Its watery human eyes stared up at Shyvana in horror as its life dripped away.

虽然饥饿感对她不依不饶，但希瓦娜还是控制住了自己，没有吃掉他的肉。她长舒一口气，胸中的龙焰渐渐退去，然后抽动着着变回了人形。她非常享受这次猎杀，但却也因为这种感觉对自己充满鄙夷。她控制着颤抖的身体，拎起疾走猁的死尸拖向刚才那道裂谷。这尸体是她非人渴望的证据，必须藏在深谷的阴影之中，永不见天日。

Though her hunger was unrelenting, Shyvana stopped herself before she devoured his flesh. She exhaled, releasing the dragonfyre from her chest and shuddered as she transformed back into a human. She was disturbed at how much she had enjoyed the kill. Shaking, she lifted the vellox’s body and dragged him back to the crevasse. There he would lie, proof of her inhuman hunger, hidden in the darkness beneath the rock.