Of course she had to ask, well Tao couldn't exactly blame her for being curious. Rather then lie he decided to tell the truth without going into specifics. "I left the Fire Nation after the incident with my right arm and am now training to guide people around this forest." As he mentioned his arm his expression made clear he didn't like to talk about what happened to it.

He decided to change the subject in a way she hopefully wouldn't notice, by asking her more or less the same question. "And what is a Water Bender doing in a Earth Kingdom forest accompanied by a Mongoose Lizard?" Of course he was actually a bit curious, cause it didn't make sense for her to use a mount from the Fire Nation. She could have only just gotten the lizard but the two of them seemed too close for that.