兄弟手足 Brotherhood

作者：Ariel Lawrence

哭声的来源是个小男孩。六夏，或者可能七夏的年纪。

The source of the crying is a boy. Six, maybe seven summers.

他背对着我，盘腿坐在一棵浆树下。嚎啕大哭逐渐变成了小声啜泣。我停在树林的边缘，回头望向坡下的林荫小路。正午的阳光炽烈无情，洒在那个孩子所在的草地上。他似乎并没有受伤。那片空地很开阔。没有任何阻挡。

He sits cross-legged with his back to me, in front of a tall sapwood. The weeping settles into sniffling, wet hiccups. I stop at the edge of the trees, and look back at the shade of the road below. The midday sun is merciless, streaming bright into the boy’s meadow. He doesn’t seem hurt. The clearing is open. Unprotected.

任何人都不需要你。专心赶路。

You’re not needed. Keep to your path.

我脑海中的那个声音非常清楚，但我已经有一段时间没听见它大声说了。我转过身，但随即听到一声惆怅的哀叹，连带着又一轮啜泣，于是我终究还是掉头回去。

The voice rings clear in my head, though I haven’t heard it spoken aloud for some time. I turn, but about-face at the sound of a deep, racking sigh, ending in renewed little sobs.

距离他三剑远的时候，我踩在一根干树枝上，提示我的存在。男孩听到声音以后立刻开口说话。

When I am about three sword lengths away, I step on a dry twig to announce my arrival. The boy starts at the sound.

“泰奥，对不起，我不是故意……”他仓促的道歉说到一半，胡乱用衣袖抹了把脸。然后他看到了我，惊呆在原地。

“Teo, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” The boy’s rushed apology is muffled by the swipe of his sleeve across his face. He stops dead at the sight of me.

他迅速后撤，砰地一声撞到了树上。

He retreats so quickly that his back thuds against the tree.

“伊麦已经给兄弟会交过钱了，”他结结巴巴地说，“我没在大路上玩。”

“Emai paid the Brotherhood,” he stammers. “I wasn’t playing on the road.”

一听他说到兄弟会，我的手立刻放在剑上。男孩注视着我，他的哭声变成了浅浅的喘息。当然会是这样。他以为我是纳沃利的小混混，要从他身上抢东西。

At the mention of the group, my hand goes to my blade. The boy stares at me; his crying gives over to a series of shallow gasps. Of course. He thinks I’m some Navori thief coming to take something from him.

他觉得你是坏人。

He thinks you’re a criminal.

我把手从剑柄上拿开，尽量显得和蔼一些。“不，我不是兄弟会的人，”我说，“我在路上走着，听到有人的声音。而且听起来，这个人好像出了什么事。”

I release my grip, trying to appear more friendly. “No, I’m not with the Brotherhood,” I say. “I heard someone from the road. Sounded like they were having a tough time.”

男孩又用袖子擦了一把泪湿的脸颊，想要在陌生人面前表现得坚强。

The boy wipes his wet cheek with his sleeve again, trying to save face in front of the stranger standing before him.

“你在附近看到这样的人了吗？”我问。

“Know anyone like that?” I ask.

男孩慢慢摇头，不过他磕磕绊绊地说出了事实。

The boy starts to shake his head slowly, but the truth tumbles out of him.

“我就是那个人，”他用羞愧的声音承认。“我……我只是想拿出来玩。”他指了指树上。在最高的枝杈之间，挂着一个老旧的丝绸风筝，长长的尾巴在轻风中轻轻拍打。“是泰奥的。”

“It was me,” he admits, shame roughing his voice. “I… I just wanted to play with it.” He points up. There among the tree’s uppermost branches is an old festival kite, its silk tails fluttering in the light breeze. “It’s Teo’s.”

他双眼又开始流出泪水。他伸出手掌给我看，上面沾满了树胶、灰尘和树皮。

His eyes start to water again. He shows me the palms of his hands, covered in sap, darkened with dirt and bark.

“我试过爬树，但是太高了。泰奥一定会生我的气。他告诉过我不许碰。”

“I tried climbing the tree, but it’s too tall. Teo’s going to be so angry with me. He told me not to.”

我俩沉默了片刻。“当哥哥的都愿意说这句。”我喃喃地说。

A moment passes between us. “Brothers often say that,” I murmur.

男孩前方有一小堆松散的土壤。我蹲下来扒开顶层的浮土，发现下面是一棵刚发芽的浆树籽。

There is a small pile of broken soil in front of the boy. I kneel, wiping away the top layer to reveal a newly sprouted sapwood nut.

“我伊麦是织木匠。我也正在学。我以为……”男孩垂下头，为自己的不自量力感到惭愧。要知道，即使是让种子长成树苗，一名织木匠也无法在一个下午之内完成。

“My emai is a woodweaver. I’m learning. I thought…” The boy hangs his head, embarrassed at the idea. Woodweaving even a sapling would take far longer than an afternoon.

我保持着微笑，“你的努力很值得敬佩。”

I keep the smile from my lips. “An admirable effort.”

男孩的目光徘徊在我带沟槽的肩甲上。

The boy’s gaze lingers on the fluted edges of my pauldron.

“这个样式不是我们村的，”他说着，声音里开始流露出谨慎，“旁边山沟里的村也没有这个样式。”

“That pattern isn’t from our village,” he says, caution edging into his voice. “Or the village in the next valley.”

“我正在赶路去崴里，”我答道，“诺克萨斯大道交通便利。就是石头有点硌脚。”我笑着答道。不过一想到诺克萨斯给我们留下了有价值的东西，我知道自己脸上的笑容很僵硬。

“I’m on my way to Weh’le,” I reply. “I was making good time on the Noxian road. Even if the stone is a bit hard on the feet.” I try to smile, but with the thought that Noxus could leave us anything of value, I know it comes off a grimace.

“你能帮我吗？”他问。

“Can you help me?” he asks.

我抬头望向树顶枝杈间轻巧安置的风筝。“我可有日子没爬过树了，小孩。”

I look up at the kite sitting delicately in the high branches. “It’s been a while since I’ve climbed a tree, kid.”

“乔卜，”他说，“我叫乔卜。”

“Joab,” he says. “My name is Joab.”

我向他伸出手，但我的名字到了嘴边犹豫了。已经有太久的时间，每当我说出自己的名字，都只会感到羞耻。

I offer him my hand, my own name hesitant on the tip of my tongue. It’s been too long since I've said it with anything but shame.

别矫情了。你的外号不是更难听。

Come on. You’ve been called worse.

“亚索。”我说着，扶他站了起来。

“Yasuo,” I say, and pull him up from the ground.

我从林荫中走出，回到空地中的阳光下，仔细看清树顶的情况。空气闷热。我闭上双眼感受林地边缘徘徊的微弱气流。一股轻风渐渐加强，拂过我脸上的汗毛。

I step from the shade of the tree, and back into the sunlight of the clearing to get a better view. The day is hot and still. I close my eyes to feel the tiny currents of air lingering at the edges of the meadow. A small breeze picks up, pushing the wisps of hair from my face.

“要是我能直接把它吹下来就好了。织木一点用都没有。”乔卜咕哝着说，皱起眉低头看向自己的浆树籽。“以前有过一位长老，能够转移风向，不过他已经死了。他的徒弟也能，但伊麦说他不是好人，说他杀了长老……”

“I wish I could just blow it down. Woodweaving is useless,” Joab mutters, frowning from the kite to his sapwood seed. “There was an elder once who could move the wind, but he’s dead. And his student could too, but emai says he’s dangerous, that he killed the elder…”

我摸向腰间的刀剑。抽出武器的同时，将魔法集中于一点。风潮在剑身周围涌动，涡旋越来越致密。尘土和落叶在剑身上舞动，最后我将旋风塑造成想要的样子，手腕轻弹，放出狂风向前飞旋。

I reach for the blade at my side. As I draw the weapon, I focus the magic. Eddies of wind swirl around it, gathering in tighter and tighter whirls. Dust and dead leaves dance on the blade until I shape the whirlwind to my liking, then release it with a flick of my wrist.

那股无形的力量实打实地撞到树上，树干发出剧烈的颤抖。枝杈左右摇摆，就像是看不见的灵力在树叶之间穿梭上升，最后抵达了风筝。彩色的风筝缓缓腾起，随着气流一起升上空中，然后缓缓落到我高举的手里。

The invisible force hits the tree dead-on, the trunk shuddering with the impact. The branches shake as if some unseen spirit rises through them, finally reaching the kite. The colorful silk lifts off gently as the air returns to the sky above, and drifts slowly into my outstretched hand.

男孩张大了嘴，但立刻就合上了。恐惧又回来了。

The boy’s mouth hangs open a bit, but he closes it quickly. The fear is back.

“是你？”他问，“你就是长老的徒弟？”

“You?” he asks. “The elder’s student?”

全艾欧尼亚都知道你是什么东西。

All of Ionia knows what you are.

乔卜看了看林间的道路，可能是看我身后有没有追兵。“你逃跑了吗？”他悄声问道，但我摇摇头。“那你是被释放了吗？我的意思是，被赦免了吗？”

Joab looks to the forest road, maybe for someone to come hunting for me. “Did you escape?” he whispers, but I shake my head. “Did they let you go then? I mean, were you pardoned?”

“我没有犯下罪行，也就谈不上赦免。”这只是一套说辞，但我必须尽快说出口，否则就会被我脑海内的声音抢先。

“I can’t be forgiven for a crime I didn’t commit.” It’s just a technicality, but I say it before the voice in my head can.

但你杀了其他人……

But you killed the others…

我深呼吸，稳下心，感受身后的清风和手中的风筝，不让自己陷入往日的回忆。乔卜默默地思索片刻。

I take a deep, steadying breath, concentrating on the cool breeze at my back and the kite in my hand to keep the memories at bay. Joab chews on his own thoughts for a moment.

就在他要开口问出下一个问题的时候，森林的边缘出现了一道金属的反光。

Just as his mouth opens for another question, a glint of metal emerging from the forest catches the sun.

我举起剑准备应战，却发现是一个大号的乔卜，正拖着一根长长的绳子，绳子上拴着的是一种小型农具。我赶紧放下武器，但已经太晚了。恐惧和紧张的气息笼罩在这片草地上。

I raise my blade in anticipation, only to find a slightly older mirror of Joab carrying a small farming tool attached to a long rope. I lower my weapon quickly, but too late—fear and wariness settle into the meadow.

动手的时候不假思索，停手的时候慢慢吞吞。

Too fast to react, too slow to stop.

他永远都不满意。这是我一生的缩影。

Never enough for him. It’s my whole life in miniature.

乔卜的哥哥看着我们。他并没有离开森林的掩护。

Joab’s brother watches us. He does not leave the safety of the forest edge.

“乔卜，”年纪稍大点的男孩大喊道。乔卜乖乖向他跑去，但当他看到农具和绳子的时候停住了脚步。我顺着轻风，听到了他的低语。

“Joab,” the older boy calls out. Joab runs over obediently, but stops when he sees the tool and the rope. I pull on the light breeze, straining to hear.

“你拿那个要干什么，泰奥？”乔卜恍然大悟，开始生气。“你一开始就知道我会偷拿风筝？”

“What’s that for, Teo?” Joab asks, realization turning to anger. “You knew I would take the kite?”

我摇摇头。他当然一开始就知道。

I shake my head. Of course he knew.

哥哥总是知道弟弟要干什么。

Big brothers always know what little brothers will do.

“对啊，肯定是我不让你做什么，你就偏做什么，乔卜。”大男孩说道，依然目不转睛地望着我。“那个人是谁？”

“Yeah, always the exact opposite of whatever I tell you, Joab,” the older boy says, still watching me. “Who’s that?”

乔卜回头瞄了一眼，然后在哥哥耳边悄悄说了什么。泰奥先是睁大了双眼，然后又变成一脸不屑。

Joab glances back, then leans over and whispers in his brother’s ear. Teo’s eyes grow wide for a moment, then relax into a dismissive scowl.

“伊麦喊你回家吃饭。”泰奥说着就要走。乔卜拉住他的手臂，想让他慢下脚步。他又在泰奥的耳边悄悄说了一句。

“Emai says it’s time to eat,” Teo says as he turns to leave. Joab pulls on his arm, trying to slow him down. He whispers again in Teo’s ear.

我想要让风静下来，不想再听到下面的话。但已经太迟了。

I try to quiet the wind that carries the next words, to stop listening, but it’s too late.

“不行，他不能来。”泰奥说，“他是渍蠡。”

“No, he can’t come,” Teo says. “He’s xiiri.”

渍蠡。

Xiiri.

这个词鲠在我的喉咙，风终于静了。渍蠡是令人嫌恶的东西。是随着外人和贪欲而来的灾祸。是跟在哥哥身后的虫豸。

The word catches in my throat as the wind finally stills around me. Xiiri is something unwanted. A misfortune brought by outsiders or greed. A little pest that follows big brothers around…

烈日当空，把我的剑晒得发烫。这个词我听了一辈子。

The sun beats down, heating the blade at my side. It’s a word I’ve heard all my life.

任何人都不需要你。专心赶路。

You’re not needed. Keep to your path.

我按捺住自己，向那对兄弟走过去。

I steel myself, and walk to the brothers.

“听哥哥的话，小孩。”我把丝绸风筝还给乔卜，“哥哥说的一定是对的。”

“Listen to him, kid,” I say, handing the precious silk bundle to Joab. “Brothers know best.”

不等他们答话，我便离开了。前路漫漫，风轻云淡。

Before either of them can answer, I walk on, returning to the road ahead.