Leia had just finished weaving a layered jacket — sleek, dark red, with golden threading stitched in wave patterns across the sleeves. The runes embedded inside were meant for temperature resistance. Fireproof, if she got it right.
She needed to test it.
She wasn't expecting him to show up again.
---
He leaned against the alley wall, arms crossed, trying to look bored.
Same copper hair.
Same smug energy.
But now… he looked uncomfortable. Not angry. Not threatening.
Just nervous.
Leia paused mid-stitch.
"You lost?" she asked, not looking up.
The boy clicked his tongue. "I wasn't trying to find you."
"Then you're in the wrong alley."
He hesitated. "I was… passing by."
"Right."
A beat of silence.
Then: "You stitched that blue cloak with the mirror buttons, didn't you?"
Leia slowly raised her eyes.
"And if I did?"
"I saw it. Two days ago. Some girl was wearing it in the east quarter. Said she traded three mana stones just to try it on."
Leia blinked. "I haven't sold any."
"Then someone stole it."
Leia didn't reply.
The boy shifted.
"I didn't come here to fight," he said. "I came to ask something."
Her needle paused in mid-air.
"I need a coat."
Leia frowned. "Why would you need anything from me?"
The boy scratched the back of his head. "It's not for battle. It's for… the Noble Gathering next moon. My brother's getting inducted."
She blinked.
"You want me to make you a fashion cloak?"
He scoffed. "It's not just fashion. It needs to be heat-resistant. Stylish. Formal. I mean—" He sighed. "You've clearly got talent."
Leia leaned forward.
"You nearly set me on fire two days ago."
The boy looked genuinely uncomfortable. "Yeah. I… didn't know you'd block it. Or that you'd even still be standing after."
Leia studied him.
"What's your name?"
He hesitated.
Then: "Calen. Of House Rusk."
Leia raised an eyebrow. "Rusk?"
"Yeah, yeah, Flameborns. Fancy titles. I didn't come here for that."
She nodded slowly.
"Alright, Calen of House Rusk. You want something stitched? Fine. But I pick the colors. And if you ever try to burn me again, I'll thread fire into your boots."
He smirked. "Deal."
---
Over the next few evenings, Calen showed up in awkward silence, watching as Leia measured, cut, stitched.
He didn't ask many questions.
But he looked at everything.
Even the way her fingers glowed faintly when the thread listened.
---
"This thread," he said on the third visit, "it's not enchanted the normal way."
Leia nodded. "It's infused. Not imbued. I work it in as I go."
Calen whistled. "They don't teach that in the academy."
Leia looked at him. "Maybe that's why they're all wearing the same capes."
He snorted.
And that was the first time he laughed.
---
By the time the coat was done — a sleek gray-black weave with ember-colored edges and a flame-proof core — he looked stunned.
"You made this in four nights?"
Leia shrugged. "Told you I was good."
Calen held the coat up to the light.
The thread shimmered like coals under ash.
He said nothing for a while.
Then: "You could make a lot of enemies doing this."
Leia looked at him. "Or allies."
He nodded, pulling the coat over his arms.
"It fits perfectly."
"I know," she said.
He hesitated at the alley entrance.
"I owe you," he said. "For this. For last time. Just… don't tell anyone where it came from."
She smiled faintly. "Wouldn't dream of it."
---