(I'm going to try to start tying up loose ends and such now, since the story will end in the next few chapters.)

Mallow was glad to find that everyone fell asleep before her and Jackal did. She took the opportunity to talk to him.

She brushed his wing to get his attention, and he looked up at her.

"Are you alright?" Mallow asked.

"You've been asking that a lot lately." Jackal replied quietly.

"I get concerned sometimes. It's a bigwings thing," Mallow said. "But you're not answering my question. You haven't talked since we were back at the cave and I would like to politely ask why."

Jackal sighed. "I'm fine," he said. "I just…don't trust Calcite."

"Welcome to the club," Mallow replied. She laughed silently. "I don't think any of us do."

"I don't trust her because she was reaching for my blindfold when we first met her," Jackal explained. "I don't really mind IceWings because my scales help keep me warm, and I don't think she'll hurt us if she haven't already. But I don't trust her."

"Because she tried to get your blindfold?"

"Because she tried to get my blindfold that was enchanted. What if she could tell? What if she already knows I'm an animus?"

"If she did, wouldn't you think she would have killed you by now?"

"You haven't heard of anything about animus dragons, have you? In the legends, dragons would use others with animus magic for wars and personal gain until they lost their soul, then they killed them. I figured if I stayed silent, maybe she'd just…forget."

"Well, don't worry about it, okay? I'll protect you. I promise."

"Thanks, Mallow."

"Any time."

With that, Jackal pulled himself into a little ball and started sleeping. Mallow rested her head on her talons and did the same.

…

It took another week for them to get to the tip of the Mud Kingdom. Mallow heard whispers about dragonets her age running around Pyrrhia, but she never stopped to listen so she didn't know who they were or what they were doing. But she could tell that dragons were starting to think it was the end of the war—the MudWings she passed seemed peppier than normal.

Most of the time all four of them walked together, Calcite taking the lead, but sometimes Mallow made the others—or Calcite, at least—hide near the rainforest so they didn't look suspicious (although they probably already did).

Calcite claimed they had reached their destination when they stopped at a cliff that gave a nice view of the Kingdom of Sea. The sun was setting, so it would one of those picturesque moments if not for the fact Mallow wasn't sure what to do next. She was perfectly aware that two of the three dragonets couldn't fly away if they were pushed off.

"Alright, you're on the other side of the Mud Kingdom," Mallow said. "Can we go back home now?"

"Wait a moment," Calcite replied. She flicked her tail. "Don't move, or I'll kill you."

Mallow was beginning to think those threats were empty, but she didn't go anywhere, just in case. Calcite dove off the edge of the cliff—Caldera stepped forward, but Mallow nudged her back. Jackal stayed silent.

It took a few minutes to Calcite came back. Mallow was, honestly, a bit disappointed the IceWing wasn't dead.

"You know how I told you I wanted to go closer to the rainforest?" Calcite mused. Mallow had honestly forgot; she was too busy making sure they made it safely. "Well…I lied."

"Will you let us go home?" Mallow asked.

"No." Calcite replied sternly. "I have something much more…fun planned."

Then she hit Mallow's head with her tail and the world went black.