Kenji stared at the garment in his hands like it might bite him.Looked at Wren.Looked at Jin.Looked back at the panties.
"I didn't...I wasn't...I thought it was..."He gestured helplessly at the tree.
Jin kept his expression carefully neutral, though he could feel the corner of his mouth threatening to twitch.
Kenji carefully, delicately, draped the silk garment over a nearby branch and backed away with his hands clasped behind his back."My apologies.I should have asked first."
"It's fine," Wren managed, still pink."It grows...undergarments.And nightgowns.I didn't think to warn you."
"Lieutenant," Jin said mildly."Perhaps we should focus on the immediate situation."
"Right.Yes.Immediate situation."Kenji was determinedly looking anywhere except at the silk tree."The shield.And the bulbs."
Belatedly, Jin offered the bread back to Wren.
She waved him off.“Keep it.You were a big help today, and it’s the least I can do.”
“Thank you.”He tucked the bread into his saddlebag.It was evidence he could show when he made his report; he expected some disbelief from the town elders.The pun farmer was going to be big news!"You need to get those bulbs in the shield pillars right away.The damage is severe."
"I will.Right after you leave."Wren was recovering her composure, though her cheeks were still faintly pink.
"And you'll need more in two weeks.Three at most, with that damage."He paused."When you're ready to go into town, send word through the squirrel network.I'll meet you and introduce you to the traders.You'll need local contacts."
"The squirrel network?"
"They're the messengers," Kenji explained, eager to be helpful.He probably still felt like a fool."Just tell Walter.He'll get word to us."
Wren nodded slowly."Alright.Thank you, for everything."
Jin mounted his horse.Kenji followed suit, moving with perhaps more haste than necessary.
"Two weeks, Wren," Jin said."Send word before then.Don't wait until the last minute."
"I won't."
He urged his horse forward.As they passed through the shield and back onto the main road, the silence held for maybe thirty seconds.
Then Kenji groaned."I grabbedunderwearfrom a stranger'sunderwear tree."
"You did," Jin agreed.
"Why didn't you stop me?"
"You moved too fast."
"I'm never going to live this down."
"Probably not."
Kenji was quiet for another moment."The bread's real though."
"Yes."
"And she's growing trees.On the cursed farm.Where nothing grows."
"Yes."
Another pause.
