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"True, but not all things are affected to the same degree. Physiology plays an important role in how we handle the cold. I can make educated guesses with most races, but Dryads are completely new territory to me," Topaz said as she followed Narra. She slid into a seat and passed a few of the further back dishes closer to the table edge so they were easier to grab, then leaned back a bit while the cafe employee ran a rag over the table to make sure it was clean. Only then did she resettle herself and turn her attention to answering Narra's questions.

"Baphomets aren't immune to cold, but we're better suited to it than some," she explained, extending a leg slightly so it was easier to see. "Our fur offers a level of protection, but it's more about muscle efficiency. The fur keeps everything warm, so more energy can be spent on movement and less on heating up the muscles." She pulled her leg back, and grinned. "Fat is our other insulator. You will rarely ever see a skinny Baphomet."

Topaz was a fairly good example of the average body type of her race. She was a husky girl; she wasn't out of shape, but she certainly didn't look as strong or durable as she actually was. The only feature she had that might be considered "graceful" on first glance were her horns.

"You mentioned seedlings earlier. Is that your terminology for a freshling?"

"Interesting," Topaz said, genuinely meaning it. "I can't think of any of race that has their own separate terms for various stages of growth, either physical or to signify maturity. Status terms are really the same as that. What are the other kinds of terminology you have?"

Before Narra could answer a cafe worker came over to the table to ask if they knew what they'd like to order. "Ah, a blueberry muffin and vanilla latte please," Tarot requested with a smile. She turned to look at Narra. "Anything you in the mood for? My treat, for being so generous and patient with a stranger."

Topaz chuckled. "You haven't met many Baphomets, I take it," she said as she acquiesced to Narra's request for separate bills. "Our culture has a tradition of generosity and reciprocity." She grinned and shrugged. "Not all the other races understand it to the degree we take it to though." A thoughtful frown cross her face, just the slightest downturn of the mouth and crinkling of the brow. "Orphans might have an easier time of it, odd as it is to say. They get raised in a multiracial setting, so they pick up different culture values. I'm sure they get taught the specifics of their own race, but it's one thing to be taught and another to grow up with it."

Topaz blinked, then refocused on Narra and felt a blush running across her cheeks. "Sorry, I drift off into tangents sometimes. I'm taking anthropology classes, so I have a tendency to speculate aloud during conversations. Just call me back if I get too far off topic," she said with a quick wink, then launched back into question mode.

"So what if someone is mature in all ways, but doesn't settle down? Have there been young Dryads who become wanderers, or is that something that's a bit more frowned upon?" As a particular strong blast of cold air from outside made the cafe windows rattle, another question occurred to her. "Aside from cold, is there anything else dangerous to a Dryad's health?"

Topaz couldn't help but laugh softly at Narra calling her cute. It was the first time anyone had labeled her thought process as such. She could tell he meant it in a complimentary way rather than being condescending, so she didn't take offence. She didn't know him very well, but Narra struck her as being straightforward and not prone to double meanings.

When Narra elaborated on seedlings and roots, Topaz had to take a moment to disassociate herself. The whole concept of staying in one place for the rest of one's life was so bizarre to her, it felt almost confining. Once she removed herself and looked at it objectively though, it wasn't so odd. There were a lot of people who lived and died in the place they were born in, be it small village or big town. It probably wasn't meant literally either. Economically speaking, for smaller towns at least, sometimes you had to take product to one place where the demand was to sell it, and there were probably things that had to be bought that weren't available in the local area. Traveling traders probably solved a lot of this, but there were still probable instances of Dryads who had to leave their towns briefly before coming straight back. And it did make sense that this was important to them. In all her travels, Topaz had never seen a tree get up and walk around.

She was about to launch into a series of counter questions to confirm her theories, when she noticed the most haunted look on Narra's face as he answered her last question. She drifted for a moment, still in objective mode. Fire didn't need much explaining; no race was exempt from burning, and the thought of burning alive was horrifying to anyone. She imagined their plant half made the prospect that much worse for a Dryad. Rot... She knew plants could suffer from it, but that was all she knew. She didn't know if there were multiple kinds or if a plant afflicted with rot could be saved. And she wasn't sure how that would apply to a Dryad, since they were only part plant. If it was anything like a wasting sickness though, she could imagine the anguish that would cause.

Topaz heard the question Narra posed to her and drifted back to her herself, blinking a few time and then clearing her throat. At that moment their waitress came back and left them their food and drinks with a cheery smile. Topaz flashed her what she hoped was an equally cheery smile, then picked up her drink and took a sip.

"It's a system that's equal parts generosity and reciprocity. We expect to get back what we give. If someone gives you a gift you're expected to give one back at some point. It's easy to offend someone by giving back less than they believe you owe, which is why other races sometimes find us a little difficult to deal with." Topaz chuckled. "You should see some of the gift wars that happen in my race though. People trying to one-up each other until it's just ridiculous."

She took another sip from her drink. "Hospitality is also part of it. We don't really have many public inns, since it's common for us to just stay with friends or family. There's a tradition of guest friendship where if you host a guest in your house they are considered a friend. It ties right back into reciprocity. You can expect to find a place to stay and that you will be treated well, but in turn you offer your own home as a place to stay for those who need it and you treat your guest well. If you ask someone for help, they are entitled to do the same."

Topaz pulled her muffin closer and picked up the plastic fork set on the plate with it. "I try to emulate other cultures a bit more when I'm traveling. It feels more polite than forcing my own cultural beliefs on someone who might not fully understand them, or agree with them."

Topaz worked on using her fork to cut her muffin into bite-sized bits while Narra talked, and ate a few bites, washing it down carefully with more of her hot drink. A twinge of amusement crossed her face at Narra's disbelieving words. It was the first time she'd heard the Dryad so surprised. She did sober up a little at his last words. It couldn't be helped, such a long war was bound to leave bad feelings. It would be the work of generations to repair the relationships between the two worlds; they were only laying down the ground work.

"It might vary from person to person," Topaz said. "Some Baphomets can be a bit less tolerant of other races than some. Geists, for example, since we don't have the best of history with them. Chimeras too, though I doubt they'd want to stay with a Baphomet. They're mostly insular as a race, though a few are starting to try to branch out a bit more."

Topaz took another bite of muffin and chewed it thoughtfully, then swallowed and spoke again. "I don't know that most would welcome Daydreams either. We lost a lot of cities through firebombing, including our capital." She gave Narra an apologetic look. "From what you've told me I highly doubt any Dryad would have taken part in that, but there might still be grudges held regardless."

She sighed. "It's such a long way to go to repair the damages from that war, to reshape anger and mistrust into friendship and trust," she said, giving voice to her earlier thoughts. "We're only just starting to set the foundation to that change.

And this conversation is probably pretty heavy for two people who just met on their way to the grocery store," she added with a chuckle, hoping to lighten the mood a bit. "Sorry! I should have waited until a second or third meeting to start bogging you down with my historical maundering."

Topaz grinned. "As would I, though I probably won't be in town for more than a week. I don't have any classes at the moment, but I try to check in with my university on a regular basis to make sure I'm not missing anything." She devoured a bit more of her muffin. "Plus I have a pumpka back home that sulks if I'm gone too long. If they were better behaved I'd try to bring them with me, but they're a feisty little stinker." Boo was probably just waiting for Topaz to get home so they could try to scare her. They always tried when she was away on long trips, but thus far they'd never been able to successfully pull it off.

Topaz quickly polished off the rest of her muffin. Her latte was a nice temperature now, and she sipped on that to wash the muffin down. "I can definitely make Maiden's Wreath a stopping point though. Most of my travels see me going west or north anyway."

Topaz took the paper, picked up the pen, and wrote some information of her own on the unused bits on the bottom of the paper. Finished, she handed the pen back to the waitress with a, "Thank you!" and used the table edge to carefully tear the paper. She handed it over to Narra. "This is my current address and contact information. If you get wanderlust though, be sure to give me a call to make sure I'm not elsewhere at the time," she added with a laugh.

The waitress came back with their separate bills. Topaz plunked some money down, making sure to leave enough to cover the tip for both her and Narra. Her own little rebellion in lieu of Narra insisting on separate bills, and her grin said as much, though she knew she was just being a bit silly and stubborn.

"Below does get warmer. You're in a bit of a bad spot, actually. The mountains block a lot of the light and keep the area colder. Asterion is further south and right by the coast. Lots of storms, but the weather doesn't get too terribly cold. You'd probably like it!"

Topaz smiled a little when she noticed Narra noticing her tip, but she didn't mention it either. She grinning at the mention of him switching universities, partially in amusement and partially because it would be nice to have a friend nearby. "You could always double major, if you're partially through a class already," she suggested. "Asterion has nice dorms though. You can look up me if you come visit. I don't have a roommate, so there's a free bed if you need a place to stay."

The cold was especially bracing after the warmth of the cafe. Topaz enjoyed it, though she took a moment to spare some sympathy for Narra. "Grocery store isn't too far. I'll help you carry whatever you buy, so you can stock up a lot if you want to!"