"Mostly the latter. It's easy enough to tell rat-folk from plain rats if you get a good look, but out hunting, peckish and in a hurry... I have a cousin who got in a fight that way once. Bit the wrong frog and 'watch where you're going, mister!' He hasn't touched an amphibian since, even though they're not normally ambiguous, you could go a whole lifetime without running into a surprise like that and most people do."

"Most humans don't hunt our own meat. It's farmed, by and large."

"Farmed? Sounds southern."

"It does sound like humans as a group have some southern tendencies."

"Oh? What else?" she asks curiously.

"Being diurnal, living in buildings, Starlight thought I looked southern when he first saw me..."

"Yeah, you do sort of have that southern-fey look, I'd've said the same if I hadn't known, but once you know 'outworlder' it's obvious, you're sort of - I don't know - off in the details? Not that I know which details, I've barely seen any southern fey, but there's definitely something."

"Humans have a lot more than two ethnic groups. Mine's a minority in my country."

"Oh, there's lots of different kinds of fey on each side, you certainly don't look anything like a dryad or a sunsprite or a riverwalker."

"What kind is Reflect?"

"Shadowsprite. It's fine to just know 'fey', though, there's hundreds of kinds and most people can only name a few dozen of 'em."

"Okay, that's good to know. It's a little too dark to write even now my eyes are adjusted or I'd be trying to take notes."

"—oh, right, dayfolk vision. Not sure how to help with that, sorry. I bet you can get more light in Silver Falls, there's some folk who like it brighter."

"Oh good, I like to write."

"This far north you won't see much sun even when it's up, but I'm sure there's some way to put together enough lamps to suit you."

"Lamps are fine. You're being very accommodating."

"Well, you're an outworlder," she says reasonably.

"Still, I appreciate it."

"I'm glad!"

"What do you all do when you aren't taking outworlders to see the Queen?"

"We're scouts! We scout. Farther south than here, usually. Updating maps of the borderlands, making sure there isn't anyone sneaking up here to do mischief."

"What are you doing this northerly, then?"

"Taking a little holiday. With permission, I should clarify."

"You go on vacation with your squad?"

"Why not? We're all good friends."