Vision in Silver(120)

            Baffled silence.

            “Steamed?” Jenni said. “You cook corn?”

            Kowalski, Debany, and MacDonald exchanged looks.

            “Yes,” MacDonald said. “We cook lots of vegetables, including corn.”

            “I never cared for the taste of it, but it might be appealing if it was cooked properly,” Vlad said.

            Jenni huffed. “Maybe. But it’s fine just the way it is.”

            If you’re a Crow, Monty thought. “How do you protect your crops?” They weren’t likely to put scarecrows in their gardens.

            Henry laughed. “Didn’t you see the Hawk post? What comes to raid a garden is also food for many of us, so this is a season of plenty.”

            “And protecting a garden is good training for the juvenile Wolves,” Simon added.

            Forks paused. Eve Denby stopped chewing and eyed the dishes that Tess had contributed to the meal, no doubt wondering about the ingredients.

            “There’s nothing here that you wouldn’t find in a human store,” Tess said, amused.

            “Your pups have stopped eating,” Jester said. The Coyote pointed at the three children, who were fading after an active day. “I could take them to the social room to watch a movie.”

            “Go ahead,” Simon said.

            “I’ll give him a hand,” Theral said.

            The rest of the women refilled their glasses and went outside. After a moment, Jenni Crowgard joined them, leaving Tess as the only female still at the table.

            “We were wondering why having a share in the garden is so important to all of you,” Vlad said with a casualness that made Monty wary.

            “You did offer,” Monty replied.

            Vlad nodded. “We did. Why did you accept?”

            Tension filled the room.

            “Speaking for myself and Ruthie, being able to grow some vegetables means a smaller bill at the grocery store, and lots of foods are going to be more expensive, including fruits,” Kowalski said. “The price of anything made with flour has also risen in the past couple of weeks.”

            “We have fruit as well as the vegetable gardens,” Simon said. “We have strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes. There are some apple trees in the Courtyard, as well as pears and peaches.”

            “Walnut trees too.” Henry smiled. “While a particular form might have acquired a taste for certain foods, the terra indigene can, and will, eat much of what Namid provides. So our Courtyards have some of everything that grows in this part of Thaisia.”

            “Why is fruit going to be expensive?” Vlad asked.

            After a look around the table, it was Pete Denby who answered. “Shortages. Several of the regional governments are predicting food shortages this year, and prices are already going up. The loss of the farms in Jerzy—”

            “The farms weren’t lost,” Simon snapped. “The farmers might be working for the terra indigene now that the land was reclaimed, but the work is the same. They keep what they need to feed their own and provide the food for the Intuits who moved into the hamlet to run the businesses that those farmers also need. The rest of their crops are sold to the markets in human cities, same as last year.”

            “Crops were lost in the Midwest,” Pete said. “At least, that’s what the news reports are saying.”

            “The Elementals weren’t interested in farmland. The enemy wasn’t hiding in the fields. They struck what they intended to strike.”