Most days, life in Auradon was good. The four were adjusting slowly but surely to the bubbly, shiny kingdom, but some days didn't quite make the cut. Some days it felt like their progress was one step forward, two steps back.
Some days they just needed to hit something.
While there were plenty of little things, subtle differences between Auradon and the Isle, the thing Jay thought about the most was the freedom. Auradon was a new kind of freedom - freedom from his father and his heavy hands, freedom from hunger and constantly being alert - but he was more tied down than ever in a different way. On the Isle, power reigned. Power was gained through action, not useless titles, and action was usually violence. In Auradon, Jay had to clench his fists and glare at the other kids instead of putting them in their place the only way he knew how.
Apparently, beating people up was a one-way ticket to detention at Auradon Prep. He'd done it once, and the fear of being sent back to the Isle for misbehaving was too strong for him to do it a second time. There was very little that he wouldn't do to never have to live on that island again, but he knew that it was still a part of him regardless. No matter how much he had improved and how much better his life was in Auradon, he would always be an Isle kid, born and raised.
And so, sometimes he just needed to hit something. Beating people up meant detention in Auradon - but not if the person was willing, and not if nobody else knew about it.
On bad days - days where he felt a little too Isle to be around all of the princes and princesses - Jay sought out Mal. Some days she came to him instead, but today it was Jay that needed the fairy.
Mal was sitting under one of the trees with a strawberry in hand, laughing at whatever dumb joke Ben had just made when Jay approached them. She didn't see him until he was right in front of them, turning around at the sound of her name.
"Mal."
Jay's face was stony, his expression dark. Mal immediately sat up straight and asked, "What do you need?"
"No weapons," Jay replied, already turning on his heel and heading towards the dorms.
"No weapons?" Ben questioned as he scrambled to help Mal rapidly collect their things. He jogged a little to catch up with her, but she merely shook her head.
By the time the two reached Mal's room, Jay was waiting outside in his full Isle leather, boots and all. He didn't speak as Mal slipped into her room to change into her Isle clothes as well and Ben stood in the hallway awkwardly. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but thought better of it once he caught sight of Jay's expression.
Ben was spared further discomfort as the door to Mal's room opened and a water bottle came flying out, which Jay caught without a second glance. The girl slipped out and glanced at Ben before tilting her head at Jay.
"I don't care," the thief said as he once again walked off. Mal followed immediately, looking back at Ben expectantly until he followed along as well.
Ben was perplexed before, but his confusion grew as the two kept walking all the past the tourney field and into the forest. They passed all of the familiar clearings in silence, Mal's arm brushing Jay's every so often, until they reached a section that Ben had never seen before. He'd never traveled this far out into the woods.
Jay and Mal tied up their hair and put down their water bottles by one of the trees, and Mal instructed Ben to sit as Jay started to stretch. Once Ben got settled and Mal placed a little bag next to him, she joined Jay in the middle of the clearing until the thief stood up.
"Hurry up," he snapped. Mal rose from her stretches, smirking back at him. "Oh so that's how we're going to play it today, huh? Somebody's impatient."
