"I don't put anything in it," he said, "It's sweet and once it's rolled up, it gets this really nice, chewy texture. And while a fruit rots once picked from a tree, these stay fresh for a lot longer."

James picked up a stick and stirred the mixture, picking out chunks with the end and setting them on a leaf, "We don't want a lot of chunks, it'll make it harder to spread. You can eat those if they're cool enough."

He continued to stir, the bowl heating up and the mixture very slowly starting to bubble.

"You see! Those bubbles mean it's heating up," he said, and set the stick against the side, "You try stirring, now."

James dipped the stick in and lifted it up, the liquid easily dripping off, "If it does this, it's not cooked enough. You'll know when it is when the stuff in the bowl shrinks to about half of what it was. That's about how I like it, and it spreads better. But when you dip your stick in and it drips really slowly and sticks to the stick easily, it's ready. But keep stirring, or else it'll burn and taste bad."

He'd learned that the hard way.

He watched carefully as Sprig stirred, ears perked forward, "You're doing very good, Sprig! Look, it's starting to get thick. When it does, we'll pour it out onto a flat rock and let it dry and harden."

"Easy...", he said, and breathed out as it worked, the liquid pooling evenly, small fruit chunks appearing in it.

"Good job! Now we wait," he said, and lay himself down, "So, Sprig, I know your siblings, but I don't know you. How are you doing? Anything exciting going on?"

He was interested in the child, who sported a very odd look, and a rainbow one at that.

James gasped in genuine awe, "That's amazing!! How are you going to go about actually breeding them? I didn't even know you could do that."

He'd never questioned that plants could breed. He knew they dropped seeds and grew, but that was about it.

"You're so smart," he praised, "Figuring out such a thing and then going about using that to your advantage. I'll be the first to try out your Caterjack fruit."

James immediately grabbed Sprig by the shoulders, "No. Absolutely not. Whatever you do, whatever you need, unless you are so desperate that you are willing to risk your life and others, then don't go to the Collector. He's a snake with a silver tongue and he'll trick you into doing harmful things."

He pulled away and smoothed down his feathers, brows furrowed, "Now... candy's ready."

He picked up a stick and started cutting the fruit mixture into strips before rolling them up. He did the same to what was left in the bowl so nothing was wasted and offered one to Sprig.

"Come try," he urged.