To travel to the rainforest, the four decided to fly along the eastern side of the Claws of the Clouds, the mountain range dividing Pyrrhia in two, and at the point where the four were flying, separating the Sand Kingdom from the Mud Kingdom. As they traveled along the border of the mountains, Schist gleefully looked towards the east, to where the rest of the MudWings there. Although the only MudWings they saw were specks in the distance, and the swampy grounds of the Mud Kingdom were too far to be visible to Schist, he seemed to be proud of the kingdom he hailed from, even if he'd visited very little of it outside of the village he'd grown up in.
The weather varied between extremes on the border of the mountain range: from the Sky Kingdom came cold, dry winds which made flying uncomfortably turbulent, and from the eastern marshes hot, humid winds blew, occasionally bringing rain with them. It was on a day like this, a warm shower falling on the four, when Griffin asked Torrent, "What are we going to do if one of the animus dragons isn't bad?"
"Huh?" Torrent commented in confusion.
"Gila and Adobe were both using their powers to hurt others," Griffin explained, "and both Magma and Sunscorcher attacked us, so we didn't exactly have a choice there. What if we find that the animus is just minding their own business in the rainforest?"
"If they've got powers, then they're a danger," Torrent assured him. "Chances are they've already used their magic, and lost part of their soul from it."
"Like Orca?" Griffin asked with a frown.
"Yes, like Orca," Torrent snapped back. What is Griffin getting at? "She killed River in the end, and she's the one who wanted me to kill her," Torrent reminded Griffin.
"Well, maybe she was wrong," Griffin replied. "Orca killed River to save us. She just wasn't able to think of another enchantment in the time she had. Besides, Orca isn't the only one who's used magic, what about Crystal?"
Crystal continued flying a moment, then turned back, hearing her name called. "What?" she asked, slowing her pace a little to fall in line with the other three.
"You've also used magic," Griffin explained, "if we end up facing an peaceful animus, then we shouldn't just immediately kill them."
Crystal shook her head. "I'm different from a normal animus. Even if I have lost a piece of my soul, I can't use magic again, as far as I know. I'm not a threat to anyone, the Darkstone is, and that's why I'm keeping it with me. To make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong claws."
"What if we can convince the animus not to use their powers?" Griffin put forward.
"That wouldn't work," Torrent retorted, "as long as they have powers, they can still use them. We have no way of making sure."
Schist had flown a little closer by now, and decided to join in on the argument. "We still shouldn't kill them if they're peaceful and we can avoid it!"
"Then what would you suppose we do?" Torrent snorted. "If Orca had given me something to remove their powers, then sure, but she didn't, and I don't think Crystal would be able to enchant something like that, at least not without killing herself while doing it. I'm not even sure if it's possible." Although, if Erosion had given Magma powers, who knew?
"Why don't we just let them be, or make sure they only use their powers for good?"
Torrent sighed. "Crystal and I explained this already. It's too dangerous. Animus magic can do awful things, and a lot more dragons could die if it's not stopped. Better just to make sure it doesn't exist."
"Yeah, but animus magic can also do good things!" Schist protested. "It could be used to stop the war, or unite the kingdoms."
"Do you really want to take that risk?" Torrent asked. "You should know most of all of us that using animus magic like that doesn't work. That's what Adobe tried, to use his magic to save dragons. You should be more worried about magic than all of us."
"Don't tell me what to think," Schist snapped.
Torrent snorted. "Fine. It probably won't matter anyways. Chances are, the animus we meet will be going around torturing RainWings or something."
Eventually, the four reached the rainforest, a vast expanse of trees stretching out further than Griffin could see. The canopy completely covered the ground, and barring a few rivers, the four's eyes were unable to penetrate the greenery to see the ground. All of it looked the same to Torrent, and the only way he was able to find his direction was by using his map, the green blemish representing their destination.
After hours of flying, Torrent believed they had found the area corresponding to the ink blotch, though it looked little different from any other section of the rainforest, just a dense plethora of foliage.
"I think we're here," Torrent replied. He pointed his dagger below and pressed a talon to the amethyst. It felt mildly warm to the touch, though the SeaWing wasn't sure if that was just the humidity of the rainforest sticking to it.
The four made their descent to the densely covered ground, the heat and humidity sticking uncomfortably to Crystal's cold scales. It took a while before they found a spot where they could land, and even then, Torrent's wings were scratched up by falling branches before he reached the ground. As he walked out of the opening so Schist could land after him, he flapped his wings and gritted his teeth, airing out the scratches.
Crystal looked around the area. The scenery certainly was a change. Ferns and small plants covered the ground, and it felt like wherever she looked, there was a wiry tree to block her path. It might get difficult to get around. "Where to?" she asked, "I don't see any sign of an animus."
"Just a moment," Torrent said, holding out his dagger. Closing his eyes, he spun it around in a circle, trying to feel in which direction the amethyst was the hottest. When he opened his eyes, the dagger was pointed directly at Griffin, who stepped back in alarm.
"Sorry," Griffin muttered. Torrent sighed, and tried again. He had forgotten that Griffin was included as an animus enchantment.
This time, Torrent thought he had more luck. The gem was distinctly warmer in one direction. "This way," he commanded, trying to make his way through the maze of trees. The others followed.
"Do you hear something?" Crystal suddenly asked, her ears perking up. She turned around, looking back and forth. RainWings? she wondered. She supposed that if Torrent's dagger was right, there'd have to be at least one dragon nearby.
She suddenly stiffened up in surprise. It felt like something had just bit her tail. Crystal turned around to see who the culprit was, but instead, she saw a small thorn sticking between her scales, with a few blades of a grass-like plant sticking out of the back. She reached a claw towards the thing, to try and inspect it. But as she moved her paw, it slipped, Crystal lacking the coordination to pick it out. The IceWing suddenly became woozy, and the world around started to spiral into darkness as she quickly fell unconscious.
"Are you alright?" Griffin asked in alarm, turning back to see Crystal fall to the ground. "I think she fell unconscious!" he yelled to Torrent and Schist. "It might be the Darkstone again!"
He turned to Torrent and Schist to see that they were in a similar state. They had also fallen down, and were gently breathing, the plates across their underbelly slowly moving in and out. Well, I guess that theory is debunked.
Griffin suddenly felt a small poke, and waved his feathered wing, trying to shake it off. It was probably another one of those bugs, they had been biting him for the last few minutes. After feeling another bite, he turned around, trying to slap it with his talons. Instead of a mosquito, Griffin saw a small number of thin darts sticking out of his feathered wings and backside. He pulled one out, and inspected it. It had a colorful liquid on the tip.
"It's a sleeping dart, strange bird," a voice suddenly said from in front of Griffin. "It's supposed to make you fall asleep." Griffin immediately turned to see a small dragon materialize in front of him. She had vivid scales of dark blue on most of her body, with splotches of yellow all across her. She brought her head closer to Griffin, as if inspecting him.
"Who are you?" Griffin squawked in alarm, taking a step back. As he did so, he suddenly ran into another scaly body behind him. Looking around, a second dragon had materialized, this one slightly older, with a goofy grin plastered on his snout.
"It can talk, like a parrot!" the second dragon observed. The first looked excited at this prospect.
A parrot? Griffin wondered, surprised. There were other birds that could talk?
"Don't worry, weird little dragon-bird," she comforted Griffin, "your friends will be fine, they should wake up before too long. I'm Liana, and this is my friend Simian; we're RainWings! Welcome to the Rainforest Kingdom!"