Due to his being raised by Muarim, Tormod tends to behave more like the Laguz than the Beorc, though not by a significant margin. Many victims of the present day, like Muarim, were born into their enslavement and never lived the ways of their ancestors until they were given the opportunity through liberation. Ergo, Tormod was raised in the cusp of two radically dissimilar cultures, and simply prefers the company of the Laguz more than the "Senate's dogs," though the army does live civilly close to a village of Beorc (who are actually halflings). This is evident in his referring to members of his army as brothers, a familial term that Laguz use to refer to one another.
While the majority of his support conversations addresses his numerous character flaws, by far his most important interactions are with Sothe, a Beorc boy around his age. Their meeting starts with Tormod, who makes a sudden declaration that Sothe, being the cautious and roguish type, recoils from:
Tormod: Hello, friend!
Sothe: Give it up. We're not friends.
Tormod: You're going to be my friend whether you like or not.
Jeez, who wants to be friends with someone like that? But Tormod's intentions, though pure, are not necessarily right, and he becomes downright aggressive and desperate in his attempts to get Sothe to call him a friend.
When asked why he would go to such lengths, Tormod explains that he'd only wanted a Beorc friend to appease Muarim, who laments that Tormod was largely raised in isolation from genuine Beorc company. This confession strikes two points: A) Tormod dearly loves Muarim and would do anything for him, and B) Tormod would not have approached another Beorc for friendship without Muarim's feelings in consideration. Despite his joining Ike's company of mercenaries for the war, his distanced feelings toward his race are quite palpable.
Sothe is an important turning point for Tormod, who comes to truly view the former as an important friend. Tormod's transparency wins Sothe over, and the two become good friends for the next three years into the start of Radiant Dawn.
Cultural Adaptation
Tormod's development in the first game reaches full bloom by the time Radiant Dawn rolls in. Clad in an improved set of attire and in a better standing with the Empire, courtesy of Apostle Sanaki, he leads his mobile group of emancipators with greater political grace. Where he would have once cried in outrage over the injustice of discrimination, he now knows when to choose his battles and reaches out to console Micaiah, who weeps in his place.