Mallow woke up and regretted it. Her head must've been bleeding at some point, because she could feel dried blood. She tried her best not to overreact.

Caldera and Jackal were on either side of her, but not close enough for her to touch or reach for. All three dragonets were tied with vines, and that plus the fact Mallow could hear forest creatures, they must've gone closer to the rainforest while they were unconscious. Caldera had vines wrapped around her snout, Jackal had vines that kept his tail closely tucked in to his body, and Mallow had vines that must've been touched by Calcite's ice breath; they were freezing. The trio also had vines tied around their talons and wings so they couldn't move or fly, just sit their awkwardly.

"Are you all up yet?" Calcite asked. Her white scales made her pretty easy to spot in the light that came in from outside. It gave her a glow, almost.

Since none of them could talk, her only answers were glares and silence.

"I guess you'd want an explanation?" Calcite was back to being theatric and Mallow hated it. Nonetheless, the hybrid nodded in response. "I'll just begin simple," Calcite continued, "so you don't get lost."

"I hatched and was raised in a peace-loving community. An entire island, dedicated to uniting the tribes despite the wars on Pyrrhia and Pantala—the latter of which you've probably never heard of, but that's not important. However…I wasn't like them. I loved theater. It was—and is—my calling. I loved it so much, it's like a second nature. I put on a lot of plays. Dragons loved me. But I fell in love with the more…sadistic side to the theatrical arts, alas. I attacked a dragonet, intending for true bloodshed rather than the fake stuff she had hiding beneath her wing—I loved it. But the adults didn't, and they sent me home. I was scolded and shunned for weeks, until I realized something: if they won't have me, why stay? So I left.

"IceWings are most common in Pyrrhia, so that's where I went. I watched battles, and participated in a few. I never actually became an official soldier—Blaze is an idiot and overall it was too dangerous. I wanted to inflict harm on others, not myself. I laid low for a few years, and I wanted to come here…then you three came along and the rest clicked.

"I wanted to come here because…well, you probably don't need to know. I like getting out and about. These past few months were fun, at least. You three aren't that bad to tease. But nonetheless, you're wondering what my intentions are, right? Suffice to say, every story needs a villain. In this one, I am that villain. My intentions were to bring you here, kill you or torture you, then bring in more dragons to do the same with. This location isn't too bad for such a thing."

Caldera growled, which surprised Mallow a little bit. Jackal looked defeated—there wasn't anything he could do besides use his magic. Mallow herself desperately wanted to leave.

"No one at home wanted me…" Calcite murmured. "No one on Freedom Island, for moon's sake, wanted me. The community where dragons that are like me and crave violence, are loved and cared for, not mocked and killed. A smile for a smile, instead of a eye for an eye. Not my parents, not my friends, not the village leaders…they all hated me for what I had done."

Mallow heard scratching and realized that Caldera was slowly working on her vines. Calcite hadn't tied her talons very tightly—probably because they were dull so she wouldn't be able to cut anything. But they SkyWing was making good progress on her snout nonetheless—and Calcite either didn't notice or didn't completely care. Jackal followed the small SkyWing's lead, albeit being a bit quieter. Mallow eventually started tugging on her vines, but it was harder since her talons were more wrapped than the other two.

Eventually Caldera got herself free. Calcite didn't do so much as twitch; she wasn't even looking in their direction. Caldera hurried over to help Jackal, and then the two youngest dragonets helped Mallow out of her chilled vines.

"We need to get out of here," Mallow whispered. "No cave has one exit. If we get caught, she would've killed us anyway. We don't have anything to lose—but if we can make it out, we can go back to Jackal's village. Or at the very least, a populated MudWing area. She wouldn't be able to follow us if we get too far."

She turned to leave, but Caldera but her tail on Mallow's to get her attention.

"Wait," Caldera said. "I want to try to talk to her."

"She'll kill you." Jackal replied, quiet but concerned. Mallow was glad he was talking again, but she'd rather be home.

"I've watched dragons die because they weren't given a chance to explain themselves." Caldera said firmly. "I just want to try to help her. She's like us. She has something that she's not proud of but can't change. I know how to cope with my deformity, my defect. Maybe I can help her do the same."

Mallow looked at Jackal, then to Calcite. Jackal didn't seem to like the idea, but he shrugged. Mallow looked back at Caldera.

"Okay, but if she turns on you, I want you both to run while I keep her here," Mallow said.

Jackal and Caldera nodded, and the trio turned to Calcite.