Yeah, he's a good friend. I taught him firebending.

[And how to explain this in a nutshell...]

The Malnosso are an organization that kept us in an enclosure, gave us these wings, and experimented on us. The Third Party... well they're bad news. Or they were. People with really big wings.

[Yeah held captive by jerks and made to fight even bigger jerks. Wasn't a good situation really.]