"...I don't...actually know what that means."

He sighs.

"The reason I'm here is because I used to rule the world and I was very bad at it and mostly spent my time drinking wine and torturing people to death. Someone decided to get rid of me. I expect they wanted me straightforwardly dead, but their magic didn't entirely agree. I won't claim I'm happy with the outcome but I'm hardly about to say they shouldn't have done it."

"Ah.

...I assume the Valley didn't bring me here for you to torture to death."

"I very much doubt it."

"Okay, good," she says. "If the Valley brought a bunch more people here would you torture any of them to death?"

Shrug. "It doesn't seem like it would be a very good idea."

"Then I guess I still don't get why you have to be alone."

"Transforming me into a twelve-foot-tall monster was also a bit excessive," he says, shrugging.

"Oh, I guess you would have looked different before too. Turning you twelve feet tall and scaled and so on was a bit silly."

"It's not all bad, but I do miss being human."

"What do you miss about it?" she asks sympathetically.

He tries to come up with a coherent verbal answer for a few seconds, then shrugs and shakes his head.

"Okay.

I'd probably be more scared of you if you were human."

He blinks up at her in puzzlement.

"Everyone who's ever hurt me has been human," she explains. "I've never met a dragonperson before."

"...well, I guess I can't fault the logic..."

"And the Valley's never steered me wrong before."

Snort. "It's a very nice Valley, in its way."

"I am sorry it's keeping you trapped."

Shrug. "...Thank you."

"You're welcome.

I don't really believe in people deserving things."

"Me neither, not really, but -"

A moment searching for words.

"...it matters that it wasn't just random cruelty, that putting me here accomplished something worthwhile even if keeping me here doesn't so much."

"...That's true," she acknowledges.

Shrug.

"...Well, I'm here. You're not alone for now."