“These are instruments?” she asked, turning the paper this way and that because she wasn’t sure what was supposed to be the top.

“You have to imagine them made of wood and metal. And in three dimensions. And properly proportioned.”

She continued to stare at the drawing until he pulled it away from her.

“Okay, so this didn’t help at all. At least it gave me something to do.”

“Keep working on it,” Leelo said with a nod of encouragement.

Jaren brushed an invisible speck of dust off the drawing. “I was thinking—because aside from this masterpiece, I haven’t had anything else to do—about your brother.”

“Tate?” Leelo hadn’t mentioned him to Mama recently because it only seemed to make her sad. But it was nice to have someone to talk about him with. Even if it was an outsider.

“Maybe, if I get off of Endla, I could check on him for you? I could tell him that you’re okay, and I could make sure he’s doing well. I’d have to find him, of course, but it’s entirely possible he ended up in Bricklebury.”

Leelo’s heart stuttered in her chest. “You would do that for me?”

Jaren’s flush reached all the way to the tips of his ears. “Well, sure. It would be the least I could do, considering you saved my life.”

The last time he’d mentioned what she did, she insisted she wasn’t helping him for his sake, that she’d only done it for herself. But she couldn’t claim that was true anymore. She could have brought him supplies and left them outside his door. She didn’t need to bring him drawing supplies, of all things. Spending time with Jaren right now was a choice, not a necessity.

Guilt replaced the hope that had bloomed in her chest just moments ago.

“I should go. I need to clean myself up before I go home.”

“Could I... I don’t mean this to sound untoward, but could I go with you? I haven’t bathed in days and while I’ve become somewhat immune to my own aroma, I can’t imagine it’s particularly pleasant for you.”

Leelo smiled. She couldn’t smell him over her own odor. “Are you sure? I don’t think we’ll encounter anyone, but it could be dangerous.”

“I understand. But if I’m going to die anyway, I’d prefer to do it clean.”

Chapter Thirty

Jaren followed Leelo through the woods as quietly as he could, which was still nowhere near as quietly as Leelo. He was overjoyed at the prospect of washing up, even more so at the notion of cleaning his wound. His leg still hurt, but he’d checked the bandage earlier and hadn’t seen any redness creeping around the edges. That had to be a good sign.