"Oh, sure, it gets cold," Gallus conceded in an underplaying way. "It's just that you don't have to deal with sunburn. Up on the mountains we cover up, both to keep warm and to protect from the sun. Anyway, it's not so much the dry desert heat, even though that's a nuisance." Gallus spread his arms, "It's the thick forest air! You sweat like a fountain, you can never cool down, and once you think you could have the rain wash you off, it somehow makes things worse. The cold has the common courtesy to numb you before it kills you."

Gallus drank more deeply as he became accustomed to the drink. "Anyway, I shouldn't complain. I don't feel like complaining. Longing for the Bruma clanhome is actually making me feel a little homesick." Gallus looked to the table. "Not just for the weather."

There was a long pause from Gallus before he realised himself and handed back the bottle. He didn't know what part of the beverage was loosening his tongue, but he had something of a strange topic surface in his mind. "Do you ever...think about the future?" Gallus lifted his eyes to Ri'vashi, "You know, not just the clans or the war, but...what you want to do? I don't think I've been thinking about that enough."