It was a beautiful day out, perfect for training, and since Lonnie was teaching Carlos and Evie to ride, Ben took the chance to try sparring with Jay. Lonnie had nothing but praise for Jay's skills, and now Ben knew why. The other man was strong. Observant. Quick to learn and react. He still had a long way to go, but the potential was obvious.

The fact that Jay apparently preferred sparring in a vest was definitely messing with Ben's head. Ben knew what he was capable of and he was not on top of his game today. Too easily distracted when Jay moved. Attention drifting to watch how Jay moved and forgetting to fully pay attention to where Jay was moving. Gods he was glad it was only Jay he was facing. If he tried to spar with Mal at the same time…

Dim pain vibrated up his arm as he parried a heavy blow from Jay. And instead of lecturing himself for not paying close enough attention to avoid taking the full brunt of the strike, Ben found himself admiring the strength behind the attack.

Oh he was so fucked.

Bracing himself, he threw his weight against the locked swords, forcing Jay to step back. Even though it was pointless, Ben shook his head in an attempt to clear it. For a moment the VK in front of him seemed to pause, studying him. If it were anyone else, Ben would take advantage of the potential opening. Instead he adjusted his grip and settled himself better into his stance. Jay's expression cleared. If Ben didn't know any better, he'd say Jay'd been worried and wanted to make sure he was alright.

But he knew better…

Probably knew better…

Godsdamnit.

Together, they circled, both of them waiting for an opening. A few feints. A few quick clashes. Jay's guard lowered just enough and Ben took it, catching Jay's sword and forcing it from his hand while slamming their shoulders together, forcing Jay off balance and to the ground.

Panting, they stared at each other until Ben asked, "Ready for a break?"

For a moment Jay considered before nodding. "I could go for a break."

With a smile, Ben offered Jay a hand and after a few seconds, Jay allowed him to help him up, grip firm on Ben's; Ben forced himself not to think about it. Once Jay was up, Ben set his sword down and stretched. His muscles burned in a satisfying way that told him he was working hard. As Jay copied him, Ben went over to the bench and grabbed two towels and some water. "What do you think of Basic Training? Lonnie says you're doing really well."

"It's weird training with other people," Jay shrugged. "On the Isle you fight anyone not in your gang. Training with someone else means giving away any tricks you've got."

"So how did you guys meet?" Ben asked as he tossed a towel over to Jay. "If I can ask?"

Catching the towel, Jay shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you can ask. I met Mal first. Jafar gave me to Maleficent as part of some treaty or whatever. She had no use for me, so she gave me to Mal as a minion."

Ben almost choked on his water. Jafar traded his own son away to Maleficent?! Honestly, he shouldn't be surprised, Jafar was a villain after all. And it wasn't as if Ben didn't know about how scarred and underweight the VKs were. Clearly their parents didn't care about them, let alone their well-being. But it was one thing to know it and another to actually hear it from someone who experienced it.

"How old were you?"

"Hmm." Gaze unfocused, Jay took a drink. "I think I was around twelve? Maybe thirteen? Keeping track wasn't really important on the Isle." He shrugged. "Mal would've been ten? Eleven?"

It took all his self-control not to flinch. They'd been so young. At least Maleficent had "given" him to Mal. If she hadn't, Ben wasn't sure Jay would've lived long enough to get his invitation. "What about Carlos and Evie?"

This time Jay visibly paused, frowning slightly. At first, Ben didn't think he was going to get an answer. A lot of their past was a mystery to him and he knew that most of it was painful; he was lucky to get whatever scraps they were willing to throw him. And he couldn't do anything to change what happened or even help them heal, but he wanted to. Finally, Jay said, "We met them a few years later. We formed a temporary alliance with them because we needed their skills. Stuck together after."

It was both more and less than what Ben was hoping for and he didn't push. Either Jay didn't know how Evie and Carlos met, or he didn't think it was something he should tell Ben. Ben could accept that.

"So how did you meet Doug and Lonnie?" Jay asked.

Smiling, Ben ran a towel over his face. "I met Doug during a political trip with my mom. We were visiting Prurian and while she was speaking with Queen Snow White and King Florian I was allowed to play with their son Neal. Doug, as the son of one of the Seven Dwarves, was there as well and we met that way. Doug was fascinated by all the differences between Auradon and Prurian and he and I disappeared for hours to talk about the economy."

"Sounds as boring as philosophy."

"Worse," Ben laughed.

Jay curled his lip. "Not possible."

"Trust me. It is. A lot of political stuff is," Ben assured him. "Anyway, I met Lonnie here. I was taking Intermediate Training and Lonnie was in Basic Training. I don't know how much she's told you about her parents, but both of them are war heroes and veterans and are still employed as some of the Emperor's generals. Long story short, they've been training her since she was little. So Basic Training was a bit beneath her. She tested out of it and into my class and we became friends."

"She mentioned something about it," Jay commented. "But she didn't tell me she tested out of Basic Training."

"Oh yeah. A lot of the guys were really jealous," Ben nodded. "Some of them were stupid enough to challenge her too." Most of them got over themselves after she beat their asses, but there were still a few of them that said she never should've been in the class as a girl anyway. Sometimes Ben hated people.

Laughing, Jay shook his head. "Fuck I wish I could've seen that. I'd love to see Lonnie really put someone in their place. If she was on the Isle she definitely would've had her own gang if Mal didn't try to recruit her."

Lonnie with her own gang. Yeah he could definitely see that. Though he suspected Mal and Lonnie could've been friends on the Isle. She was a lot like Jay in the ways that would matter most to Mal from what he could tell. Loyal. Strong. Clever… Would he have been friends with the VKs if he'd grown up on the Isle? What would he be like if he had?

That was a dangerous path to go down. What would an Isle of Heroes look like if the villains won and decided imprisonment was a better alternative to death? If he was born to a villain who would his parents be? How would that change who he was?

"How many gangs were there?" he asked, trying to distract himself.

"Depends on if you mean all of the different groups, only the main ones, or if you mean the kids or adults," Jay shrugged. "Ours and Uma's were the most powerful gangs among the kids."

Uma. He knew that name. "That's Ursula's daughter right?"

"Yup. Real pain in the ass. Always after our territory. It's probably hers by now. None of the wannabes are strong enough to keep it from her."

"So that's at least two gangs of kids. How many others were there? Actual gangs, not just groups."

"There was only one other official kid gang and that was run by the Stepsisters' kids," Jay replied. "They focused more on markets and deals than actual territory. Most of us didn't mess with them. If you needed something rare, you had to go to them or Madame Medusa. Easier to deal with one of our own."

One of their own. That was interesting. The kids saw themselves as separate from the adults. Was it because of how they were treated? Or was it just the natural age gap that manifested a little more strongly than on the mainland? Gods he had so many questions, but Jay tossed aside his towel and grabbed his training sword again.

"Up for another round?" Jay grinned.

Downing the rest of his water, Ben returned the grin. "Sure."