In that moment his father wasn’t at home, it never was that day of the week, in which he met with the head of other families to discuss what was happening at Pinwheel forest. That’s why Salazar could sneak out of the house without any problem.
Some time before, when someone needed help usually turned to the legendary protector of the forest. He was wise and kind to everyone and was always willing to help those in need. But then he had left the forest to venture elsewhere. And now many turned to Princeton. It was quite obvious as they sought for an authority figure.
In his youth Princeton was himself a knight who had wandered through the various regions with his team, to fight and to help. Not only was he very strong, and a master of arms but he was also known everywhere for his strong sense of duty and justice. He could quell any fight or discussion with just a glare of his, giving off an aura of authority to which no one could oppose. Strict but fair, austere and virtuous, that was how his father was made, and Salazar admired him very much.
After he left his house, Salazar walked through part of the forest passing by the main trails. That actually made him lose some time, but he had no longer the courage to venture in the deeps of the forest alone, fearing to be attacked by wild Pokémon.
The sewing classes were held in the home of one of older Levanny. In the past she had worked throughout the region as a stylist and had gained some fame, but now that she had become older had returned to the forest to live quietly and to teach the younger and pass on her experience. Her house was like a gigantic workshop with sewing machines, mannequins of all sizes and large looms for weaving.
He knocked softly, then with more strength, since there was already a lot of noise coming from inside the house. The landlady herself came to open the door, greeting him with a warm smile.
“Salazar dear, welcome” said, stepping back to let him in. Salazar thanked her, taking off the bag he carried over the shoulder. “So how are you? Did you start working on that tapestry you were talking about last time?” She asked with polite interest, closing the door and accompanying it in the laboratory where there was already present at least thirty people. “Yes! I finally finished painting the carton!” announced him enthusiastically, pulling out the cardboard that had finished painting the night before.
It represented the legendary Virizion surrounded by a frame of flowers and plants of all kinds. Each color matched perfectly with the next one. Salazar had spent different hours choosing carefully the colors to use. That cartoon would have served as a model to weave the threads of the tapestry to the frame. He wanted to create a masterpiece worthy of the legendary protector of the forest.
The woman examined the carton with a critical eye, and in the end she smiled again. “I like it. I think its beautiful dear.” Salazar breathed a sigh of relief. If the old lady liked it, then the result had to be good for real. Long time before he was left open-mouthed at the sight of several tapestries woven by the skilled hands of the woman. It was a real expert in the field.
For many years he had learned to sew all types of clothing, but he also learnt to embroider and now wanted to try his hand at weaving. After a couple of attempts, he felt confident enough to be able to weave a whole tapestry now. So he went to one of the loom, where he had already woven the edge and the top of the tapestry.
Walking around the various tables where the Swadloon gijinka were embroidering, sewing or cutting fabric, with the Leavannys going around to give advices, he saw a boy who had never seen before. He was quite tall and had to be about his age. Salazar noticed him immediately, because it was another type of Pokémon, a Cottonee it seemed. He wondered who could ever be that guy. Sometimes girls of other species were sent there by their mothers to learn to sew by the Levanny, and even humans came to them, but it was the first time he saw another male. Just for a moment he felt a shiver behind his back, for no reason. Then he decided to finally get to work on his project, since he had to return home before his father did and the time went fast.
While weaving, he was so focused on the shuttles and reels that he didn’t even noticed that someone was watching him working from over his shoulder. “Fantastic!” commented then. Startled, Salazar turned suddenly and found the unknown boy's face a few centimeters from his. He was so surprised that almost fell off the chair, but the boy caught him in time to keep him in balance. “Watch out!” said, looking at him. “I'm sorry, I didn’t indented to scare you! Are you alright?” their gaze met for a moment and Salazar noticed that the boy had a worried look in his golden eyes.
Immediately he looked down, blushing slightly. Then blushed even more when he realized that the boy was still holding him by his shoulders. “I’m fine, thank you. It was my fault for being distracted. I apologize for my thoughtlessness.” murmured Salazar with his best manners, focusing on the tapestry. The boy finally left his shoulders and smiled, his eyes narrowing in an affable expression. He had a really sweet smile. “Nah.. Don’t worry! It was my fault! I was watching you while working. You’re really skilled at weaving!” He pointed the cardboard with the painting that was leaning by the frame. “This is the model, right? That’s impressive. You’re talented! Have you came here long?”
Salazar blinked perplexed by all that enthusiasm. He wondered about that guy, and why he was so interested in his work. “Actually... It’s already six years I come here to sew, but it’s not that long that I learned to weave.” “Six years? It’s quite some time.” He was still looking around, then focusing on the tapestry. "On the other hand is the first time you come here, right? I've never seen you before" finally asked Salazar, hoping not to sound too curious.
The boy nodded, smiling. "It is indeed. I was considering about learning to sew, and I know that some people teach here" he said enthusiastically. Salazar was stunned. That boy wanted to learn sew on his own initiative, as he did? "Oh, I see ... and what does your family thinks about it?” The boy shrugged. “Well, it’s not that they care much about the matter. My mother would be happy if I could darn my own clothes thought!" he chuckled.
Salazar couldn’t help to scratch his head thoughtfully. That situation was really different from his own. He had to secretly slip away to go there, while for other the people could be such a normal thing to do. But they weren’t Serperior, after all.
"I’m happy to see that there’s someone else like me here, to tell the truth.” Continued him, blushing slightly. "I thought that only the male Leavanny sewed, and I wasn’t expecting another boy" he moved close enough for Salazar to be able to look straight into his eyes, which were of a nice golden brown. "So why don’t you teach me to sew? I would feel much more comfortable to learn from you!"
After a moment of surprise, Salazar thought about it. He didn’t have much time to be able to teach someone else unfortunately, although he would have liked to help. "But I can come here only on Thursdays. While the others are here every day" he started. "It doesn’t matter" replied him smiling. "I’m in no hurry to learn. I would really like to learn from you to sew. And by the way, I haven’t introduced yet. My name is Devin" said, holding out his hand. That guy was so affable, and it looked so nice! Maybe it was an opportunity to finally have a friend, someone with whom he could have been himself! Salazar really desired for someone like that very much. So he shook his hand and smiled back. "I'm Salazar, and I would love to teach you!"
