Chapter 42: The Firelight and the Silence （火光与寂静）

　　For a long time, they did not speak. Words were inadequate, clumsy things compared to the simple, profound fact of their presence together by the fire. The wind whispered through the pines, the flames danced, and the vast, starry sky arched overhead, indifferent to the small drama unfolding beneath it. Leon sat with his knees drawn up, shivering slightly as the adrenaline faded, leaving him hollowed out and trembling with exhaustion. Iris tended the fire with quiet, efficient movements, adding a few dry branches. The light flickered across her face, revealing the new sharpness in her cheeks, the shadows under her eyes that spoke of her own trials.

　　很长一段时间，他们都没有说话。与他们一同坐在火边这个简单而深刻的事实相比，语言是苍白而笨拙的。风在松林间低语，火焰舞动，广阔星空在头顶拱卫，对下方上演的小小戏剧漠不关心。里昂抱膝坐着，随着肾上腺素消退，他微微发抖，感到身心俱疲，精疲力竭。艾莉丝安静而熟练地照料着火堆，添了几根干树枝。火光在她脸上闪烁，映出她脸颊新添的棱角，眼下的阴影诉说着她自己的磨难。

　　Finally, Iris broke the silence. Her voice was low, melodic, a sound Leon had dreamed of in the coldest, darkest nights. "You are thin," she said, her gaze sweeping over him. "And you carry the cold of the high peaks in your bones." She reached into a small pouch and handed him a piece of waybread. It was different from the dry, crumbly loaf from his pack—softer, with a faint, sweet taste of honey and nuts. "Eat. Slowly."

　　最终，艾莉丝打破了沉默。她的声音低沉、悦耳，是里昂在最寒冷、最黑暗的夜晚曾梦寐以求的声音。“你瘦了，”她说，目光扫过他。“身上带着高山的寒气。”她伸手从一个小袋子里拿出一块旅行面包递给他。这与他背包里那种干硬易碎的面包不同——更软，带着淡淡的蜂蜜和坚果的甜味。“吃吧。慢点吃。”

　　Leon took it, his fingers brushing against hers. The contact sent a jolt through him, a reminder that this was real. He ate the bread slowly, savoring each bite. It was the first truly nourishing food he had tasted in weeks. As he ate, he watched her. She moved with the same grace he remembered, but there was a new wariness in her eyes, a depth that hadn't been there before.

　　里昂接过面包，手指轻轻擦过她的。这接触让他心头一震，提醒他这是真实的。他慢慢地吃着面包，细细品味每一口。这是几周来他吃到的第一顿真正有营养的食物。他一边吃，一边看着她。她的动作仍带着他记忆中的优雅，但眼中多了一丝新的警觉，一种以前没有的深沉。

　　"When the Sentinels took me to Auberdine," she began, without him asking, her eyes fixed on the flames, "I thought they would send me back to Teldrassil. To... confinement. Reflection." She said the words with a faint bitterness. "But the world had other plans. The ship I was to take was delayed. News came from the north—of increased Scourge activity in the Plaguelands, of restless dead near the borders of our lands." She looked up at him, her starlit eyes serious. "The Sisterhood decided my... experience... in the wilds might be of use. They assigned me to a scouting party, to monitor the passes from the east, to watch for signs of the undead."

　　“当哨兵们带我去奥伯丁时，”她开始说道，没有等他问，眼睛凝视着火焰，“我以为他们会把我送回泰达希尔。去……禁闭。反省。”她说这些话时带着一丝苦涩。“但世界另有安排。我要乘坐的船延误了。北方传来消息——瘟疫之地的天灾军团活动加剧，我们边境附近有亡灵骚动。”她抬起头看着他，星光般的眼睛很严肃。“姐妹会认为我在荒野的……经历……或许有用。她们把我分配到一个侦察队，监视东边的隘口，留意亡灵的迹象。”

　　Leon listened, his own story feeling small and simple in comparison. Her path had not been one of simple return. It had been one of duty, of being thrust back into the very dangers they had fled.

　　"I have been tracking a presence in these mountains for weeks," she continued. "A corruption. A blight that feels... old. Not like the Scourge. Something else. I left the cairns as markers, for my own return, and... a hope." She looked at him. "A hope that you might see them. That you would understand."

　　里昂听着，相比之下，他自己的故事显得渺小而简单。她的道路并非简单的回归。而是责任，是被推回他们曾逃离的危险之中。

　　“几周来，我一直在追踪这片山脉中的一种存在，”她继续说道。“一种腐化。一种感觉……很古老的瘟疫。不像天灾军团。是别的东西。我留下石冢作为标记，为了我自己能返回，也……是一个希望。”她看着他。“一个希望，希望你可能看到它们。希望你能明白。”

　　Leon found his voice, rough from disuse and the cold. "I saw a tauren. A druid. It changed shape. Became a mountain lion." He gestured vaguely north. "It went that way."

　　里昂找到了自己的声音，因久未说话和寒冷而沙哑。“我看到了一个牛头人。一个德鲁伊。它变了形。变成了一头山狮。”他模糊地指向北方。“它往那边去了。”

　　Iris's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of professional interest overriding her personal emotion. "A shan'do? Here? That is... significant. The tauren druids of Thunder Bluff are masters of the wild. If they are drawn to this place, the corruption must be deep." She fell silent for a moment, pondering. "We may be on the same trail."

　　艾莉丝的眼睛微微睁大，一丝职业兴趣盖过了她的个人情绪。“一位导师？在这里？这……很重要。雷霆崖的牛头人德鲁伊是荒野的大师。如果他们被吸引到这里，腐化一定很深。”她沉默了片刻，沉思着。“我们可能走在同一条路上。”

　　The word "we" hung in the air between them, fragile and powerful. Leon felt a warmth spread through his chest that had nothing to do with the fire. He was not alone anymore. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the smooth antler. "I kept it," he said simply.

　　“我们”这个词悬在他们之间，脆弱而有力。里昂感到一股暖流涌过胸膛，与火堆无关。他不再是一个人了。他伸手从口袋里掏出光滑的鹿角。“我留着它，”他简单地说。

　　Iris's stern expression softened into a smile that reached her eyes. She reached to her own belt and drew out the hunting knife he had given her. The blade was clean and sharp. "And I," she replied.

　　艾莉丝严肃的表情柔和下来，露出一个直达眼底的微笑。她伸手从自己的腰带上拔出他给她的猎刀。刀刃干净锋利。“而我，”她回答。

　　The exchange needed no more explanation. Their bond, forged in the crucible of survival, had held fast across time and distance. They had not just survived; they had grown, and they had found their way back to each other.

　　这个交换无需更多解释。他们在生存的熔炉中铸就的纽带，跨越了时间和距离，依然牢固。他们不仅活了下来；他们还成长了，并且找到了回到彼此身边的路。

　　"Tomorrow," Iris said, her voice firm now, the voice of a scout with a mission, "we will follow the trail. Together. We will find this tauren, and we will see what darkness gathers in these peaks." She looked at Leon, her gaze assessing his exhaustion. "But tonight, you rest. You are safe here."

　　“明天，”艾莉丝说，声音现在很坚定，是一个有任务的侦察兵的声音，“我们将一起追踪这条痕迹。我们会找到这个牛头人，看看是什么黑暗聚集在这些山峰。”她看着里昂，目光评估着他的疲惫。“但今晚，你休息。你在这里是安全的。”

　　Leon nodded, too tired to argue. He lay down on the bed of soft pine needles Iris had prepared, pulling his thin cloak around him. Iris sat with her back against a tree, the knife resting across her knees, her eyes scanning the darkness beyond the firelight. She was keeping watch.

　　里昂点点头，太累了，无法争辩。他在艾莉丝铺好的柔软松针床上躺下，拉过薄斗篷盖住自己。艾莉丝背靠一棵树坐着，刀横在膝上，眼睛扫视着火光之外的黑暗。她在守夜。

　　As he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep, the last thing he saw was her profile against the fire, a sentinel against the night. He was home. Not in Goldshire, not in a house of stone and wood, but here, in the wild, with her. It was the only home that mattered anymore.

　　当他陷入深沉无梦的睡眠时，他最后看到的是她映着篝火的侧影，一个守夜人。他回家了。不是在闪金镇，不是在石头和木头的房子里，而是在这里，在荒野中，和她在一起。这是唯一重要的家了。