"Hey... I want to chat with Meredith all night long... and listen to her tell the dark history about you, Lance,"
Lance put down the Dragon Whelp, knocked on its head neither too lightly nor too heavily, "You have homework tonight; keep working hard. Someday when I think you have the power to protect yourself, maybe I'll let you join them on an adventure."
"What level of self-preservation are you referring to?"
"The kind where you can run carrying a mountain on your back, where the Dragon Breath you exhale can melt the mountain. When a sword strikes your head, it leaves no mark, and enchanted weapons can't pierce your dragon body. When you throw a punch, you can shatter a small hill, or when you swing your dragon tail... you can snap a tree trunk one meter thick. At the very least, you need to master two Dragon Curses, strong enough to disable a 'Golden Wheel'-class expert."
"...."