Astor surprised at the centaur's hospitality, agreed to tell him everything, but on the condition that he could eat and drink first. Firenze's camp was a large tent, it would have to be large for a centaur, Astor supposed, and a fire blazing underneath a large earthenware pot. Inside the pot, to Astor's disappointment, Firenze was just boiling water; though he was hoping for a hot meal of some kind, Astor was instead given dry bread of some kind and ripe and juicy tomato. He ate the vegetarian fare with the relish of a carnivore, and after he had finished, he was given a hot mug of water which had been flavoured with brown leaves. At first, he was wary of the drink, but Firenze implored him to swallow it down whole, leaves and all. To his surprise, the concoction made him feel more refreshed than the food had, and after finishing his hot drink, he decided he had enough energy to tell the centaur his story. Firenze listened patiently as he sat on his haunches drinking his own tea, only stopping Atsor once or twice to ask him to clarify a detail here and there. After Astor had finished, Firenze was quiet for a very long time while he cogitated on the details of the story, so long in fact that Astor grew fidgety and bored and got up to stretch his legs, which had gone stiff from being crossed on while he had sat on the floor. The only sounds were the chirping of birds and whistling of the calm and soothing wind winding through the branches of the surrounding oaks. Eventually, the centaur spoke.