They went to Mallow's mound of mud and dirt as soon and quickly as they could. Mallow assured Jackal, who believed that Vervain would just attack them while they're sleeping, that they would be safe since it was closer to the rainforest.

Not a lot of dragons came by. While the Rainforest Kingdom was still a ways away, it was visible in the distance. Jackal thought he saw flashes of movements every now and then, which he guessed was RainWings playing.

Not for the first time, he wished that he could see colors. He had always wondered if he should've tried to enchant something to make him see everything a normal dragon would. But then he felt like even with soul protection, who's to say he still won't end up like other animus dragons? And he would also have to explain to his parents. That would be the worst thing that could happen.

The sun was rising as the group settled into the mound. Jackal helped Mallow made the mound bigger.

Jackal took off the fabric covering his eyes, taking away the sights he had grown familiar too. He handed the fabric to the dragon beside him, which he guessed was Mallow. "Stand back, I'm going to try to dry the mud a little bit with my fire." He warned. There was a sound of talons backing away, and Jackal let out a gentle stream of fire. Carefully, he tried to let the fire touch every inch of wet mud underneath the mound. When he thought it was enough, he slowed the flame to a stop and held out his talon. He felt a smooth piece of fabric around his head as a dragon tied it on for him. Once it was on and over his eyes, he tuned around to see Caldera standing beside him.

He held back any retort about how he could've done it himself. He walked over to the mound of mud, and tapped the ground below it. "Yeah, this is fine." He said. "Who'd like to squeeze in first?"

"I can." Caldera volunteered. She walked past Jackal and squeezed in. There was plenty more room for the other three, but she was the youngest and thus smallest. Mallow was the biggest, and fit into the mound next. Then Spectrum rolled her eyes and muttered, but she got under the mound as well. Jackal was the last one in, and out of the four of them probably the second smallest.

The group huddled together, slightly uncomfortable and tired.

Jackal tried his best to sleep, but it didn't seem to come. Instead, he worried about his parents. With him gone, his mother would refuse to stop searching. Hopefully she wouldn't think to look in the Mud Kingdom. Or the Kingdom of Sea.

Trapped in worried thoughts, Jackal tried to think of something else. He couldn't truly find any subject that wouldn't make him mad or upset, though. There were his parents—worried and overprotective—his friends—possibly in danger but kind—and his journey—following Spectrum into SeaWing territory and thus making them basically begging to be captured or killed. There wasn't a lot of things Jackal could look forward to—based on what he knew of the war, in another two years when it's over he'll most likely be dead because by then, at least one of his parents would find out that he was an animus, even if he was really careful, and he didn't really want to be killed by SeaWings either. They may not be the most deadly tribe, they weren't the least deadly tribe, either.

Jackal hoped that maybe all of the SeaWings were underwater. That no one would be there to stop them from looking for Spectrum's sister, so then they could drop Spectrum off somewhere in the desert (maybe in a town that the Outclaws oversee), then go about their normal lives. Although Jackal did enjoy the thrill of doing something other than sitting around his house, something about Spectrum tinted that feeling. He wasn't sure how, though.

While still pondering, Jackal ended up falling into a dreamless sleep.