His anger settles down almost immediately. He takes in what Estinien says and feels all the tension fade out of his body. Taking a step back away from the bars, he completely drops all of his aggression. He barks out another laugh, but this one is much more jolly than the ones of before.

"Ah, what a misunderstanding." Nero takes a step back so that he can slap his hand over his forehead. He acts as though the two of them had just a simple miscommunication and not that he wanted to rend the other elf into multiple pieces.

"Most elves when they talk about 'mankind' are only talking about humans." He points to his face. "I don't think that way at all. We're all in this shitty world together and gonna suffer its cruelty one way or another. Doubling back... I'd say that some of the people of Thorne are, indeed, subhuman. They can justify and ignore the pain that they cause others while also denying any accountability."

It's probably troubling that he can admit that with an easy smile. But hey, that's his motto! If a person is going to make someone's life shit, they need to take responsibility for it.

"Still... drooling? I guess I never thought about it." He wipes his chin with the back of his hand. "I might? But anyway, age has little to do with self control. In fact, as you get older, you find more reasons to excuse the things that you do."

A beat.

"But don't worry. I don't excuse my drooling. That was my bad, cousin-dear."