"What do you mean you're from the Glade, what is the Glade?" River questioned.
Opal sighed, "It was a large clearing in a pretty big forest. I grew up there with, I thought, every other dragon. Now you're turn, what's the Cavern?"
"It was a cave system. Similarly to you, I grew up there and I don't think anyone knew about another dragon kingdom," Ravine answered.
"What was life in the Cavern like?" Opal asked, shifting her weight to get more comfortable.
"Well, uhm, it was fine. We knew since we were very young what our life would be like. The strongest dragons would be diggers and builders, the fastest would be hunters, and the smallest or those with the best eyesight would be explorers. You could, however, move up and become the head of your crew or even work on the council," He explained.
"You never even got a chance to be something else?" Opal asked, perplexed.
"No. Why, did you?" Ravine inquired.
"Kind of. Our jobs were chosen by a test once we finished school," She answered.
"Huh, interesting." Ravine noted before continuing, "Well, young dragons stay with the others of a similar age who will also have the same job. There isn't much contact between dragons, except for your den mates and teachers, until you become an adult and fully become a member of the Cavern. What about you?"
"Young dragons sleep together in a few different dens until they are assigned a job. Generally, you stick to your own den mates because they are like your siblings, but there is a fair amount of mingling between dragons of different ages and jobs," Opal answered.
As soon as Opal finished, the door opened again and two monkeys stepped through.
Both dragons immediately jumped up prepared themselves for whatever was about to happen. Both monkeys slowly entered the room and moved closer to the cage. Opal and Ravine glanced at each other, then back at the approaching monkeys. The two monkeys placed trays through a small hole in the bottom of the cage, barely large enough to fit a claw through.
Ravine and Opal looked at each other again, before simultaneously moving forward and smelling the trays of meat. This time, the meat didn't smell rancid, in fact, it smelled pretty fresh. The monkeys slowly backed up from the cage and back through the door before shutting it behind them.
"Well, feel like we can trust this meat?" Opal asks, turning to Ravine.
"I don't even know what this is, we never had anything like this to eat in the Cavern," Ravine answered, sniffing it suspiciously.
"It's deer...? Opal replied, "What did you eat in the Cavern, this is a pretty common meat in the forest around the Glade."
"No one, not even the hunters, were ever allowed to leave. So most of our food was smaller animals like lizards, bats, and some fish," He answered.
"Weird. Uhm, this smells pretty fresh so I believe it'll be safe enough to eat," She said before taking a tentative bite.
Ravine hesitated, not fully trusting the food that was in front of him. Only at Opal's nod did he slowly lean down and try the meat.
"This is great!" He exclaimed.
"I know right," Opal agreed.
