"What do you mean?" It's not defensive, not really, not any more than a subdued reaction to being told he was doing something wrong - it's mostly curious. He wants to do it right.

But the idea of having more clothing was appealing, as, he's never had that. Something to wear, something to sleep in (generally what he's grown out of or is too threadbare to wear) and something to wear while washing his other clothes (always too threadbare to really wear) was just normal for him and almost everyone he knew.