It took a moment for Torrent's eyes to adjust to the cavern. The colors around him faded to tones of grey as his darkvision took over. Crystal, on the other claw, could barely see in the darkness. She grabbed ahold of the end of one Torrent's wings, squinting as she tried to see her way around the cave.

"Is that water?" she asked, hearing a running sound nearby.

Torrent looked down. She was right, there was a small stream running through the cave that the rivulet of water merged into. It came from further above, from a small hole far too tight for Torrent to fit into. Following the stream with his eyes, it went deeper into the ground. More of the small gems poked out from the walls, as if they were bursting through the stone in the cave. He lit up one of his luminescent stripes to let Crystal see, casting a dim light over the cave.

"This way," Torrent whispered to Crystal, the IceWing letting go of his wing.

Crystal walked slowly as she followed Torrent, every step carefully placed. The ground was slightly damp, and the stones were slick. The stream was wider than she had thought, water rushing down the narrow slope. Her tail brushed alongside the wall, and suddenly, dim specks of colorful light emanated from the nearby jewels. Magic? she wondered. Or something else? It eerily reminded her of the Darkstone around her neck.

"So, is the Darkstalker really down here?" Crystal asked. Every IceWing knew his legend — the mongrel son of Prince Arctic and a NightWing who'd kidnapped him, the Darkstalker had used his stolen animus magic to murder dragons in their sleep. IceWings, in particular.

"I don't know," Torrent truthfully answered. "My map says there's an animus, but it might not be him. Most of the legends claim that it wasn't until a year after Agate Mountain fell that Darkstalker finally disappeared, but others claim that Clearsight defeated him earlier with something Prince Fathom, one of my ancestors, enchanted."

"So Fathom was the one who took down the mountain?" Crystal proposed. "If the Darkstalker had enchanted himself to be immortal, then Fathom could have trapped him in here. Why couldn't he just enchant his way out?"

"His talisman," Torrent explained. This part of the legend he'd learned well in Ripple's scrolls. At the time, he'dd wondered if Orca would have been able to use something like that to protect her soul, but considering Darkstalker's fate, disregarded the possibility. "It was enchanted so that his animus powers were within it."

Crystal nodded. "So he might actually be down here," she whispered. Somewhere beneath her claws, the ancient animus lay. She snarled. "Why couldn't Griffin have told us earlier? You'd think that being directly on top of literally the most powerful dragon to ever touch Pyrrhia would've been kinda important!"

Torrent sighed. "I don't know. I think he's still angry over what happened in the rainforest, and this is his way of being spiteful."

"Well, maybe he should just leave if he doesn't want to help," Crystal grumbled. "He put us in danger."

Torrent gave her a look of concern. "Crystal, he's still my friend," he said, "he's the only thing I have left of the Sea Kingdom."

"I know, I know," Crystal continued, exasperating. The stream seemed to contract at this point, and started to run faster. "But I wish he could try being nicer or working with us for a change. What's done is done. Can't he stop being angry at us for killing that dragonet already?"

Torrent stayed silent for a moment, in partial agreement. It had been months since the incident, and he didn't get why Griffin still hadn't forgiven them. "Yeah," he replied, "maybe it has something to do with Schist."

"Maybe," Crystal muttered. "They were always close." Suddenly, Torrent stopped, almost causing Crystal to step on his tail. "It's a dead end," she commented, trying to see from behind the SeaWing.

Torrent groaned, and moved his head closer. The stream seemed to run through a small passage in the cave wall. He took a step into the cold water, and lit up a few more of his stripes. The passage was small, barely large enough for Torrent to squeeze through, and it looked like it was completely flooded with water.

"No," he muttered. "Not a dead end." He clenched his wings together, and stuck his head down into the water. Due to his burned gill, the water didn't provide as oxygen as he would've liked, but it would do. He'd started to squeeze through the tunnel when Crystal grabbed ahold of his tail, and gave it a tug. Torrent raised his head from the water, confused.

"We shouldn't go down there," she warned him, "you could get stuck, and I could drown."

Torrent frowned. "We've come this far," he protested, "maybe we can find Darkstalker! He could be just beyond this tunnel!"

Crystal looked skeptical, and peered into the passage. "I doubt it, and we don't have any way of knowing how far it goes on. If there are more caves, we need to make sure we don't get lost."

Torrent gritted his teeth. They had finally found an entrance, and now it was just more waiting! Still, he accepted Crystal's suggestions. She was right, it would be too dangerous to go in now. If he got stuck, he wasn't sure Crystal would be able to pull him out without drowning herself, especially with the running water. "Okay," he complied, turning back around, "let's go back."

The two dragons walked back up the slope, returning to the top of the cavern. As Torrent poked his head above the drizzle of water, he saw Griffin at the top, with a somber expression on his beak. A small leather pouch was strung beneath his wing.

"What's going on?" Torrent asked Griffin. "We didn't find Darkstalker, by the way. There's an underwater tunnel further into the caves, and we decided to wait." An idea entered Torrent's head. Griffin was small, and could breath underwater, maybe he could go!

Griffin grimaced a little as Torrent pulled himself up. Crystal went after him, staring warily at Griffin's pouch.

"I decided I'm going to go," Griffin carefully stated, swinging the pouch from side to side, "I fe —"

"Wait, what?" Torrent asked in concern, wondering if he had heard Griffin right. "You're going to go? Like, leave? You can't just go, you're my friend."

"As I was saying," Griffin continued, unhappy to be interrupted, "I feel like it might be a good idea for us to have some time apart. Just . . . to get out of each other's currents for a while." He cast a glare towards Crystal as he said this.

"How long?" Torrent questioned. "Like, you're going to be gone for an hour, a couple of days, longer?"

"Longer," Griffin replied. In all honesty, he wasn't sure he ever wanted to come back to the two, at least not while Crystal was still here. They had murdered a dragonet, and he felt ashamed just being around them, for not hating Torrent with all of his soul because of it. "Until I'm ready to come back."

"What if we leave?" Torrent wondered, worried. "What if you can't find us again?" The SeaWing was starting to get frantic now. "What if something happens to you, and you get stuffed and locked in Burn's tower?"

Griffin ruffled his feathers. He was a little glad to see that Torrent was worried for him, but that didn't change his decision. "If you really have to find me, I'll might be with Trustbreaker," he conceded. He was annoyed by this already, he hadn't particularly wanted to tell Torrent where he was going. For all he knew, Torrent could decide to pop in on him in a few days. "And I don't need protecting. I can take care of myself."

Torrent sighed, and paced across the stone. He didn't want Griffin to leave. Griffin was his friend, his brother. He hadn't wanted things to come to this. But maybe it would be best for all of them, and when he came back, Griffin would be able to forgive him and Crystal, and they'd all be a happy group again. Without Schist.

"Okay," Torrent conceded gloomily, "I'll miss you, you know."

"I know," Griffin acknowledged. "I will too." He wasn't sure how certain that really was, but he hoped it was true. He turned around towards the entrance to the cave. Only a slight drizzle. Not ideal weather for flying, but probably the best he'd get.

Griffin stepped towards the exit, and turned back to the two dragons. Torrent appeared as glum as the rainy day, and he looked towards the ground, averting Griffin's eyes. Griffin looked to Crystal, expecting her to be smirking gleefully about his departure, or to at least have a hint of a smile. Instead, her expression was devoid of happiness.