“Oh just sit on it,” Hades said. “It’s got a barrier anyway. You can’t hurt it,” he said, waving a dragon arm with the sort of expressiveness expected when he was in a man’s body.

“Dragon shells are among the hardest shells found on this star,” Hythlodaeus added. “There often scavenged purely for their calcium content. His voice came easy and chipper. Hades found it to be a relief.

“I could always build an incubator,” Hades said, though he knew the idea would be shot down on sight.