[ Kimmuriel deals with Tama's voiced insecurity by just...completely ignoring it. He's not one for reassurance even at the best of times; the human can find out whether he's good for the task himself. ]

There are plenty of peoples who enjoy regular meat as part of their cultural diet, as this 'West' of yours does. In the Underdark, however, hunting is always a risk. Fungi, at least, stays in the same place and does not bite back...and the ones that do wander, you are better off not eating. [ You can but it's easier and more practical to eat the ones that don't. ] The taste is not entirely the same, but it is familiar...though I have not yet come across anything large enough to make a decent mushroom steak.

[ He shrugs a little at that trailing-off uncompleted sentence. ] Eating what is most readily available is an entirely practical idea. I see no reason why it should be subject to any particular scorn. I have certainly found it easier to stomach than trusting meat in a place like this.

[ Mushrooms are mushrooms and vegetables are vegetables. But the meat has to come from somewhere and he hasn't seen any livestock. ]