Jia hummed to herself as she packed the last of her things. A compass, some emergency snacks, a pocket knife. She wasn't sure she would even be using half of this stuff, but better safe than sorry. It wasn't like she was bringing too much stuff with her anyway. Breeze told her to pack light.

She had been excited when the blonde had told her that she wanted her to come along on a training trip. Not only would she get to travel a part of mewni she hadn't seen before, but she was going to get some real one on one tutoring from her knight. She couldn't wait.

She looked down at her phone, seeing that her sister had sent her a text. She had told Dai Tai about this little trip a few days ago. She didn't want to keep any secrets or lie to her. It had taken a little convincing, but after Breeze assured her that she'd come back safe and sound, she relented. She texted her back, once again assuring her that everything would be fine and she'd let her know as soon as she got back.

"You ready Sol?" she asked, turning towards the bird who was perched on her dresser. It let out a cherp before flying over and landing on her shoulder. Sol always liked going to mewni. She supposed it made sense. It's where it was from after all. "Alright, let's get going then."

Engulfed in a sudden flash of fire, the two finally found themselves standing in the middle of the training yard in the Butterfly castle. Dozens upon dozens of knights were running about, sparring, exercising, and going through drills. Nobody seemed all that surprised to have her pop up in the yard. She had been here a few times, so at this point it seemed like they were starting to get used to her appearing and vanishing act.

"Yo, if it ain't the little firecracker." She turned her head and saw Slick walking towards her. Behind him was his own squire, Arty. She had met him a few times before when he and Slick would meet up with Breeze for missions and training. "Coming at it with that flashy entrance as usual."

Arty waved towards them, and Sol chirped and flew towards the tiefling, perching on his shoulder and nuzzling his face. He smiled and gently nuzzled the boy's cheek. Sol had seemed rather fond of the boy. Jia heard that tieflings were fire resistant or something. Maybe that had something to do with it somehow.

"Hey guys. Getting some training in?" she asked.

Slick patted Arty on the head. "Nah, we're headed out on a mission. Petty theft in some small town or anything. Nothing really worth sending us for, but they got some good desserts over there so I thought I'd swing by and check it out," he explained. "And what about you? Looking for Breeze?"

She nodded. "Yep. We're going on a training trip. To some place called Crushbone Creek." She hadn't told her sister about the name because… well, it wouldn't have exactly eased her worries.

Slick hummed. "That right? I think I remember her mentioning a place like that before. Her old knight used to go up there with her or something," he said.

"It's where Sarasim would always take me to train when she was off duty." They all turned around and saw Breeze approaching them. "Apparently her knight did the same, as did the knight who trained her. So it's a bit of a tradition I suppose."

Jia put her fist together and bowed towards her. "Hey Breeze. I'm all packed up and ready to go," she said excitedly.

Breeze smiled down at her. "I can see that. Glad you're so eager to get started."

"Of course!"

She couldn't wait to learn some new training and secret techniques. Sol flew back onto her shoulder as Breeze began walking. "Good. Let's get moving then. We may just be going for a day, but it'll be a very important one. Slick, don't get into any trouble. Arty, we both know Slick isn't going to listen, so watch him."

Slick gave her a mock salute, while Arty nodded. Jia walked up beside Breeze. "So, where exactly is this place? Maybe Sol can get us closer and save us some time?" she asked. She wanted to get started as soon as possible.

Breeze patted her head. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but let's just go on foot. It's a part of the training after all," she said. Jia nodded. She guessed a long walk was a good workout. Not much of a challenge, but…

"So, how are you doing?" Breeze asked looking back over her shoulder.

Jia panted as she continued to scale up the side of the cliff. They had done a LOT of walking before arriving at what she had assumed was a dead end. Before she could even ask if they'd made a wrong turn or something, Breeze had begun climbing without even uttering a word. Jia had stood surprised for a few seconds, but then began climbing after her.

Okay, this was more of a workout than she thought.

"I'm fine," Jia assured. "Just… never climbed this high before. Do you really do this every time you come here?"

Breeze nodded. "I do. It's like a warm up," she said as she pulled herself upwards. "It also gives me a chance to clear my head." Clear her head? If this was her idea of clearing her head she wondered just what else the princess got up to in her daily routine. "There's the top."

The blonde climbed over the edge before turning around and then offering her hand towards Jia. the girl gladly took it before being hoisted up to the top. Jia let out a sigh of relief, and Breeze nodded behind her. Jia looked at her confused, but then turned around. "Oh… wow." Her eyes widened as she took in the view. It was absolutely stunning from up here.

"This is the part that actually clears my head," Breeze said standing next to her. "Makes the climb more than worth it in my opinion." Jia nodded in agreement. She could see so much from up here. "So, we'll take a small break, then get going. Are you ready to begin?"

Jia nodded again. "Sure am!"

After taking a few minutes to get themselves together, Breeze led her up a trail and towards a small clearing. The place looked well traveled, which made sense since Breeze seemed to come here often. Breeze stopped and turned towards her, getting into a fighting position. "We'll start off with some sparring."

Jia set her things down and then stood off against her. "Alright!" Jia rushed towards her, fists raised and ready to strike. She swung at Breeze who began to step back, either dodging or knocking away her punches. Jia kept up the flurry however, not wanting to give her the chance to counter attack.

Breeze moved to the side before finally throwing a punch of her own, and Jia ducked underneath it and tried to sweep and kick her legs from under her. Instead, Breeze pressed her foot down hard against the ground, and Jia didn't even manage to budge her. The girl looked surprised before Breeze quickly grabbed her ankle and flipped her.

Jia tumbled onto the ground and sighed. "Ow…"

"So, what was that exactly?" Breeze asked.

"I was trying to sweep your left from under you. Knock you off balance."

Breeze shrugged. "Not a bad plan, but that's not a very good way to do it. At least not for us anyway," she said. She could see the confused look on Jia's face and continued. "A kick like that relies heavily on putting your weight behind it. And given your size and stature, and can't imagine you weight all that much."

She walked over towards the girl and offered her a hand. Jia took it and was pulled up to her feet as Breeze continued. "For fighters like us who don't have much size or cheer strength to rely on, we need to use other methods to knock our opponents off balance. Speed, timing, momentum. Step forward and try to punch me."

Jia nodded and did as told. She stepped forward, throwing a punch towards Breeze, who slipped right by it with ease. "Now, pay attention to where I place my hands and feet." Jia looked down and realized that mid step, Breeze had placed her foot right in front of her own. And her hand had slipped right by and was right on her back. "What would happen?"

"You'd push me from behind so I'd trip," Jia answered.

"Exactly," Breeze said. "And with you still throwing yourself into the punch, there's little you could do about it. These are the types of tactics we use. Small quick movement that uses our enemies' power against them."

Jia nodded. That made sense. Thinking back, she had seen her dad and sister throw around people twice their size with moves like that. She just figured it was because they were so strong though. "Here, try throwing me." Breeze walked over and held her arm out, as if throwing a punch. "Imagine I'm punching at you. Grab my arm while sweep your foot at my leg, then throw me."

"Um… am I strong enough to throw you?" she asked. Breeze was pretty small in size, but she wasn't exactly a powerhouse herself.

The knight nodded. "Trust me, you will. Just try it. Grab my arm, then sweep the leg."

Jia walked over and stood in front of her. Then, in one fluid movement, she grabbed Breeze by the arm and spun around, kicking her leg out from under her and throwing her over her shoulder. She was surprised at just how light the girl really was. Breeze hit the ground and rolled right back up to her feet.

"Excellent," she said smiling. "I want you to try that later when we're sparring. I'll give you one for free, so you better capitalize on it."

Jia nodded. "I'll be sure to." She was totally in need of it.

"Hiya!"

Jia leapt at Breeze who ducked underneath her. Jia landed and rolled up to her feet before charging at her again. She threw a flurry of punches at the knight who easily avoided them. Jia kicked out of her, but Breeze grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, sending her to the ground.

The girl managed to roll back up to her and quickly backed away before Breeze could strike her. "Good. Never stay on the ground. The moment you start to fall, you should already be bracing yourself to get back on your feet," Breeze said charging at her.

Jia jumped at her, spinning in the air and throwing a kick down at her head. Breeze blocked it, then grabbed her leg and threw the girl down to the ground again. This time, before Jia could start getting up, she punched at her, stopping just short of her face. "Not a bad attempt, but you left yourself too open," Breeze said. "If you're going to use a move like that, you'd best be sure it lands."

She stood back up and then offered her a hand. Jia nodded before reaching up and grabbing it, then suddenly pulled Breeze forward. The knight looked surprised she fell forward, and Jia rolled back and used her feet to throw her backward. Jia got up and got ready to capitalize on it, but Breeze landed on her hand and then flipped right back onto her feet.

They turned back around, and Jia slid to a stop, wide eyed. "Whoa…" She really did react quickly to everything. She was sure that she had her that time.

Breeze hummed. "You attacked me while my guard was down…"

Jia laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. I guess I just thought-"

"Don't apologize," Breeze said, walking towards her. "You were right to do it. I didn't say it was over after all. You saw an opportunity and you took it."

"Oh, really?" Jia asked. She had been worried that she might think it was a little underhanded or dishonorable. She was a knight after all.

"Capitalizing on openings, striking at weaknesses, in a fight with your life on the line nothing is off the table," Breeze explained. "There is such a thing as honor of course. But being honorable doesn't necessarily mean fighting stiffly. Be mischievous, clever, and unpredictable."

Jia smiled. "I can do that."

"Yes, I'm sure you can," Breeze said amused. From what Astro and her sister told her, she was quite the devious little thing. If it came to being clever she was sure that she'd show her quite some interesting things in the future. "Now, let's talk about your little stunt. You threw me and were ready to strike right after, that was good, but gave me time to recover. Perhaps next time you can try and arm hold or…"

"Here you go Sol," Jia said as she fed the phoenix from her hand. He chirped happily as he ate away. Sitting across from them, Breeze continued cooking the portion of meat her own companion had brought back from it's hunt.

Breeze pulled one of the pieces back from the fire and held it up, and Peak leaned over her shoulder and took it. She smiled and gently scratched her under the chin. "Good girl," she said gently.

Sol, having had enough to eat, swooped down into the fire and made himself comfortable, while Jia looked up towards her knight. "Hey Breeze, can I ask you something?"

The blonde nodded. "Of course."

"So… when Astro volunteered to help me out, he said that he already had someone in mind to teach me. And he also said you were already interested before it came up."

Breeze nodded again. "I was indeed." When Astro had brought it up to her, it wasn't all that hard of a decision to make. The only thing that had stopped her from considering it was that he said her sister would be against it. Once he got her blessing, there was no reason to refuse.

"I was just wondering… you know, why?" Jia asked.

Breeze raised an eyebrow. "You want to know why I chose you?" Jia nodded. "Well, I suppose it's because you remind me of myself when I was younger."

"Wait, really?" Jia asked. She honestly couldn't see that much of a resemblance between them. Breeze could be relaxed sometimes, but she came off as very stern and strict most of the time.

"I'm the runt of the little in my family," Breeze explained. "I wasn't as big or strong as my brothers. I couldn't fight like them. No matter how hard I tried, I simply couldn't seem to catch up to them. It was irritating, and I felt… sort of lost."

Jia had heard that she had older brothers, but she didn't talk about them much. She figured it might be a sore subject for her. "It wasn't until Margo and Sarasim gave me a chance and helped me find my own way to fight that I found my footing. And I suppose when I heard that you were struggling with that to do, I wanted to help you find yours. If I could anyway," she said.

"You've helped a whole lot," Jia said smiling.

"I'm glad to hear that," Breeze said. "Now, we should get some rest. We've had a long day of training, and we'll have to get up earlier to get you back to your sister."

"I can always teleport us back," Jia said. "Or, are we climbing back down the mountain?"

Breeze shook her head. "No. I thought we could take a more scenic route back," she said patting Peak on the head. "If you thought the view was nice from the top of the cliff, wait until you see it from up above in the sky."

"Sounds awesome," Jia said. "It'll be nice to see it on a normal flight instead of… you know, fighting a giant bat monster and stuff."

"Just another day in mewni…"

A/N: Commission for Laylaylamode of Breeze and Jia spending some quality Knight/Squire time together training!