"What the heck?" Riley finally screeched.
"What?" asked the delinquent dragon, completely unbothered. "Even when I was young, I knew the nest was a stupid place."
The law-abiding citizen blinked, glancing around the study as if worried someone might overhear the dragon lord calling their own dragon nursery stupid.
But Kael clearly didn't care. He just continued, voice calm and matter-of-fact.
"It was back when I was much younger than Orien," Kael began. "It wasn't a particularly peaceful time. By then, the dragons were still wary of attacks from the last yet desperate and persistent stragglers of the Wyvern clan."
Riley straightened, curious despite himself.
"So naturally," Kael went on, "we grew up faster and stronger than the dragonlings of today. Without the luxury of peace, there was a desperate need to improve much faster. That made the nest really seem like a joke, when, much like today, they couldn't even keep us in there properly."
