Jackal stopped walking. He looked back at Spectrum.
"Are you telling me that you were born during the Scorching?" Jackal said. "You've got to be kidding me. There's no way that someone can stay alive for thousands of years, and look like they're only six! Dragons never stop growing. That creepy NightWing who delivered the dragonet prophecy is proof of that."
"I was born about a thousand years after the Scorching, just as the name was decided." Spectrum replied. "Let me see…I was nearly six…so I'm about over three thousand and six years old. Moons, I hope my sister is okay."
"I'm sorry, but I personally doubt anyone you know is still alive." Jackal said. He continued walking again.
"Can you tell us why you were trapped in that cave?" Mallow asked.
"Like I said earlier, when we find my sister." Spectrum said. "We have to find my sister."
"Why do you want to find your sister so much?" Caldera said. "Mallow is the only one of us three that has siblings, but from what I know, MudWings are also the only ones that pay close attention to their siblings."
"And that's only because MudWings are in troops that consists of their siblings." Mallow added. "In other tribes, a sibling is either just a friend, burden, or enemy. Especially depending on who you are and your status."
"Yes, yes, no one needs a lesson on how siblings and MudWing work." Spectrum replied. "And my sister is my best friend. She's my little sister, smaller than average. Truly pretty black and gray scales with a little bit of dark green here and there, everyone loved her. She promised me she'd be there when I woke up. She never promised something that she couldn't keep."
"I'm pretty sure that no dragon can live for thousands of years, maybe except with animus magic." Jackal muttered. "And I hope you didn't mean to keep you being an animus secret, with that assassination attempt on Father."
"I was giving you the message that we needed to go." Spectrum protested. "I wasn't trying to kill him. Besides, you weren't there. And you're parents annoy you to pieces."
"They might annoy me, but I'd rather have them than not have any." Jackal replied. He looked back at Mallow and Caldera. "Sorry. I know you guys technically don't really have parents."
"I'd rather be alive then know them." Mallow said. "I know my mother wouldn't care. My father would try to hide is in the rainforest, which would only make things worse. Although they're both dead now, so it doesn't matter anyway."
"I always thought that if I had lived with my parents, they wouldn't pay much attention to me anyway." Caldera added. "I've never wished for parents. Just friends."
Jackal looked at her and smiled, and Mallow brushed her wing on Caldera's head.
"Well, you have that much." Spectrum muttered. "Can we please continue walking in silence? I liked that much better."
"You're the one who started the conversation." Mallow pointed out.
Spectrum just grunted.
Jackal looked ahead of him again, to the sun rising and the Mud Kingdom coming into few. "Let's rest. With any luck, we can get through the Mud Kingdom without Vervain noticing us."
"My brother can never stop trying to find me." Mallow replied. "Just stay close, and look as deadly as possible. If he thinks that we're easy prey, he'll attack. But Flora might be able to convince him to walk away if we seem dangerous."
Jackal nodded. If needed, he can use his tail. Surely Spectrum should know how to fight, and Caldera…well, hopefully she can run if anything goes wrong.