They got midway through the Mud Kingdom in about a week. Mallow tried her best to make sure Caldera and Jackal were fed—Calcite got her own food. Mallow wanted to make a small detour towards her home, but there wasn't much reason to.

The mostly walked in silence. Jackal still hadn't said anything since they were back at the cave, but Mallow couldn't find the right time to ask way.

The four had been walking along silently when Mallow heard familiar voices. She cursed—but she did her best to make sure no one else heard it—and turned to her traveling companions. "Hide in the rainforest until they leave," she said.

Caldera seemed to recognize her tone of voice, because she asked, "Do you know them?"

"Whenever you want to avoid someone, they always show up." Mallow replied, gently shoving her younger friends into the forest and scowling at Calcite.

The voices came closer, and she could make out bits of a conversation—or maybe it was an argument.

"I feel like they did this on purpose…"

"You're going insane. Now shut up."

"But most of the patrols that come through here are killed. And we 'just so happen' to be a pair of two. What if—"

"I said shut up. I don't care if you want to run away; we need to get patrol done to cover up your little mishap."

The voices came into view, showing two MudWings. Mallow checked to make sure her friends were hidden, then looked at the MudWings. For a second she hoped that they weren't who she thought they were—but no, they were the very same. Vervain and Flora.

Flora looked ready to retort what Vervain had said before she saw Mallow and stopped walking.

Vervain growled at her. "What are you—" he cut himself off when he followed her gaze and saw Mallow. For a second, he didn't look angry—he almost looked sad. Mallow never fully understood that reaction; it was fairly common when they ran into each other after a particularly bad battle or when she was coming back from dragonet-sitting Jackal.

"I just need to get through to the other side of the kingdom," Mallow explained. It probably wouldn't be enough for Vervain, but if Flora was already having a bad day, she might just let her go to be done with it.

Flora looked back at Vervain, seeming to ignore her older sister and instead continuing their earlier argument. "And it was your venom!" She said. "You were just going to spray it, and then others would've saw, and then Burn would come to kill us! You need to be biting the dragon, to ensure our safety and their death!"

"It was in the middle of a battle," Vervain hissed. His eyes never left Mallow's. "Everyone would've thought they were just seeing things. And you can't pay attention to anything but your opponent when you're fighting IceWings—then they sneak up on you. I would've been fine if you hadn't shoved yourself in the way like that."

"But—" Flora began. She sighed. "Never mind." She looked at Mallow and flicked her tail. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Out for a stroll? Isn't everything and everyone worth your time on the other side of the kingdom?" Her voice was venomous, but it was more hurt and bitter than the way Vervain's always was. It still made Mallow wince a little.

"I was never told exactly why, but I need to get to the other side of the Mud Kingdom." She figured Vervain would've clawed her face off if he wanted to by now, so she relied on half-truths. "And I have a young company, so I would appreciate if we can be bitter sibs later and if you could just let me through?"

"Why would we do that?" Vervain asked. "We're on border patrol—and the general idea of border patrol is to see if we find anything suspicious. Now, 'sister,' what do you think counts as suspicious? I have an idea; a MudWing who lives alone, unsibbed, walking around saying she need to get to the other side of the kingdom for moons-knows-what. Sound familiar?"

"If you need proof I actually have dragons with me, I can call them out," Mallow replied.

"Do it," Vervain said. As always, he sounded demanding and triumphant—Mallow wondered if he faked it or not, but it was hard to tell.

Mallow turned over to where her friends were hiding. "Jackal, Caldera, come on. I won't let them hurt you. The sooner we get by them, the faster."