"You're wasting your time, Liam."
Liam didn't react, though he was tempted to roll his eyes. Asger, the half-dragon currently curled up on his shoulder and hidden under a veil of magic, shifted lazily.
"These kids are nothing special. Why do you even care? If they don't want to talk to you, don't waste your time playing nice."
Liam ignored him.
It wasn't like Asger understood. The half-dragon didn't care about human social structures or the feeling of being an outsider.
He saw things in simple terms—power, hierarchy, strength. If someone wasn't useful or interesting, they were irrelevant to him.
But for Liam, it wasn't that simple.
Even if he didn't want deep friendships, he knew the value of networking.
Staying completely isolated in the academy could put a target on his back. He needed to at least appear to be part of the student body, not some detached loner.
Still, despite his efforts, the results were clear.