He shook his head. "If it weren't for the fact that the first person who did this to me was dead, I'd suspect this was another practical joke by old Garkin."

He huffed out a sigh and his scales settled a bit.

"Look, if it ain't your fault, I'm not going to eat you, okay? We just need to bite the bullet, and play the cards we're dealt. And hey, at least you aren't screaming at the sight of me, so already a more promising start than the last time."