Feast 3
"I see." Aldrich pondered the Death Lord's statement for a bit. "When you mean the fastest way to have her be battle ready, do you also mean the most optimal for her?"
"What do you mean by 'optimal'?" said the Death Lord.
"I would rather not put a child through a harmful process."
"Indeed," chimed in Valera. "The young can learn through trials of fire and hardship, but that learning damages them just as much as it forces them to grow. I know this well."
"You mean that is how your young learn." The Death Lord crossed her arms and turned up her face in haughty display. "Hmph. I simply do not understand the frailty of young among your kind. When I was born, hatched into a cold, empty cave, I had nothing and nobody.
I survived on my own merit and strength.
And you, usurper, I did not know you had such softness within you."