(I absolutely hate math)

The last thing Jingliu expected was to see a young girl jumping from roof to roof, but she wasn't surprised.

She'd seen far stranger things.

This child... she'd seen her before. Jumping out of a three story building to flee her angry abecedary, being dragged screaming back to the lyceum, clinging to a tree branch wailing while her elder brother pleaded for her to at least try to stay in her classes.

Jingliu had watched this child flee her lessons quite often, only to be returned in ways that ranged from mildly concerning to completely ridiculous.

Yet she tried again and again.

It seemed as though she opted to use the rooftops as her escape route this time, jumping from one to another. There was a particularly large gap coming up, one that Jingliu doubted she could clear with her short legs.

Still, the girl showed no signs of slowing down as she sprinted along the roof while her abecedary screamed at her to come back immediately.

As she got closer and closer to the edge of the roof, it became more and more apparent that she just wasn't going to make it. Yet Jingliu still stood there and watched as the girl took a leap.

Going... going... yeah, no.

Jingliu blinked when the girl smacked against the other roof, getting gut checked by the very edge before falling and smacking against the ground.

The girl laid there groaning until her classmates arrived and helped her up, scolding her for doing something so stupid.

That wasn't the only incident of roof jumping. Again and again, Jingliu saw the girl make more and more attempts at jumping across big gaps in the rooftops. And again and again, she missed.

Each time she hit the ground with a thud and laid there until her classmates came to retrieve her, with the exception of the one time she didn't.

It started off normal.

She jumped, she missed, she hit the ground. But this particular time, she hopped back to her feet and ran right back Jingliu while wheezing.

The woman thought nothing of it until some other kids ran after her, shouting "get her!" and "don't let that idiot get away!"

It was none of Jingliu's business, really, but she trailed after them regardless. She followed the four children to a lone tree where that h/c haired child had climbed up onto a branch and perched herself there while the others kids shouted and threw rocks at her.

They were all shouting over one another, the e/c eyed girl screaming at the other children to "go die" and "shut up" while they jeered back at her with scattered words of, "mara monster."

It was a minute or so before the girl launched herself out of the tree and kicked one of the kids in the face, then chaos ensued as they all began fighting.

Of course, it was a 3v1, and the conflict ended with the little girl being left lying face down in the dirt. She was quiet for a bit before getting up and rubbing dust away from her face.

Upon realized Jingliu was watching, the little girl blinked as her irritated expression faded, "Oh. I've seen you before."

"And I've seen you." Jingliu replied simply as the child looked around as if checking for something before wandering closer to the Cloud Knight, "You seem to have difficulty getting across that particular gap in the rooftops."

"It's 'cause I've got short legs, but that won't be a problem forever." the girl replied with a shrug before lightly bouncing up and down on her toes, "Miss Jingliu, right? I've seen you with the other Cloud Knights before. Thanks for that."

"Thanks for what?"

"For being interesting. Watching you is wayyyy more worth my time than listening to lectures all day."

"I'm glad you find me interesting, but I suggest that you put more effort into your studies. You won't be a child forever, little one."

The child scrunched up her nose at that, "Doesn't matter, I'll just become a Cloud Knight! Like you!"

Jingliu regarded the little girl for a while, the child staring right back with an unwavering gaze. "Being a Cloud Knight isn't all fun and games."

"I know, I'm not looking for fun and games."

"What are you looking for, then?"

The girl looked around again, just what was she so concerned about, before shuffling closer to Jingliu and whispering, "I wanna protect my Mother. Big brother became a Cloud Knight for the same reason, but Mom is still really worried about us. If I become a Cloud Knight too, I can protect big brother on the battlefield and Mom from the Abominations of Abundance! Mom not worrying anymore is a bonus. Good idea, isn't it?"

"And just how do you intend to execute this plan of yours? Physical strength is an important factor in becoming a Cloud Knight, and considering how often you miss those jumps... you're lacking." Jingliu pointed out before poking y/n's cheek where she had a small scrape, "And, from the looks of it, you lack the ability to hold your own in a fight against children."

"Uh... I have growing to do. But that's not important! I can learn! My Mom spends so much time fretting over my brother and I, she needs to be protected too!" y/n declared before crossing her arms and looking away with a small pout, "If I had a sword, I could get started right away! I wanna learn everything about it, just like my brother did! And my father before him! And his father, and his father, and his father—"

The girl droned on and on, seemingly unaware of Jingliu as the woman removed the blue ribbon tying up her hair and knelt down to the little girl's level instead.

She gave the woman an inquisitive look, but didn't say a word as she used the ribbon to the bleeding coming from the young girl's head subside. One of the rocks thrown of her was likely the cause of it, but she'd seemed completely unaware of it during her rant.

"So you want to learn the sword?" Jingliu questioned as she finished tying the ribbon around the little girl's head, the child reaching up to feel the blue fabric with a small look of awe, "To protect your mother, correct?"

"Mother and brother." the child corrected before flashing the woman a grin, "And to protect my precious home of course. As sucky as my classmates and abecedary are, I wouldn't wish upon them a horrible death by the hand of the Abominations of Abundance. I quite like my home, and the yummy snacks and nice napping spots. Everyone else does too! All the more reason to protect it, right? So everyone can be happy!"

"That's what you want?"

"Mmmhm! Besides, I'm not gonna let some stinky abomination bother my Mom! She's too fragile, y'know."

Ironic considering the words were coming from a child. Regardless, Jingliu rose to her full height again and turned away, "Very well, then. Come with me."

"Where to?" the little girl questioned as she scampered after the Cloud Knight, rushing to keep pace with the woman, "Am I gonna get beat up again?"

Jingliu didn't reply, taking the young girl to the Artisanship Commission. On the way there, loud rumbles from the child's stomach interrupted the little girl's stream of questions, so they stopped for steamed buns.

"I like steamed buns, but my Mom makes them better. Do you like steamed buns, Miss Jingliu?" the little girl questioned, holding onto the Cloud Knight's sleeve with one hand and nibbling on her snack which was held in the other, "You seem like a steamed bun type of person."

"What exactly gave you that impression?" Jingliu questioned to which the young girl only shrugged.

"I dunno, you just give off that kind of vibe." she mumbled before perking up, "Oh! My name is y/n, by the way! Did I tell you that?"

"There was no need for you to do so. It was impossible not to learn it with how often I heard it from your abecedary and classmates whenever you decided to flee the classroom." Jingliu replied simply, earning a bit of nervous laughter from the young girl.

"I guess you're right. If you don't mind me asking, why are we here?" y/n questioned.

"To find you a sword, of course."

"Oh, that's nice. ...wait, what?"

"You said that you could begin your path towards becoming a Cloud Knight if you had a sword, correct? We're here to find the right sword for you." Jingliu explained before gesturing for y/n to hurry, "We don't have much time. It's getting late, and we should get you home soon."

Y/n's eyes lit up with excitement before she nodded eagerly, quickly inhaling the rest of her snack before hurrying ahead, "Yes! Yes! Let's go, let's go!"

Finding the right sword for y/n was quite the task.

She was dazzled by every single one she laid eyes upon, though she mostly seemed fond of the finely crafted bows and spears on display.

Though it took quite some time, they eventually found one that she quite liked. She couldn't hold it right, her small size was at fault, but she held onto it as if it were the most precious thing in the world as she bade Jingliu farewell, thanking her before hurrying off to return home.

After that, Jingliu and y/n didn't cross paths again.

However, it wasn't very long before tales of the precocious child's feats began to reach her ears.

First, it was a rumor that her and the High Elder had been seen sparring together. Jingliu never went to investigate, though she did find that the statement was true.

She briefly saw y/n, a little older and in far better condition than she'd been in when they last spoke, trading blows with her elder brother. The spearmanship was unmistakably that of the High Elder's.

More and more stories began to float about, some accompanied by quite the surplus of nicknames.

The Dozing Knight, a less than favorable nickname supposedly earned due to her habit of sleeping and slacking off during training. Jingliu heard word from her own student that the h/c haired girl would sometimes hide out for hours to avoid training.

Demon Knight was the next nickname she'd obtained. Did Jingliu know why? No.
Did she care? Not really.

Not too long later, the nickname Hellraiser came along. She'd supposedly gone on a rant in the middle of a battle and took out her anger on their enemies in a devastating display of physical prowess. Whether or not the stories were exaggerated, to destroy abominations of abundance solely by hand was nothing to scoff at.

Eventually, the curiosity was something the Sword Champion couldn't ignore any longer. She'd heard that y/n had recently returned from an expedition, and she'd been subjected to unwillingly listening to Dan Feng's complaints regarding his protégé.

Jingliu set aside some time to search for her, and found the girl— ah, no the young woman carrying groceries throughout Central Starskiff Haven.

It didn't take long for her to take notice of the white haired woman, pausing and glancing over before her eyes immediately lit up.

"Woah! Miss Jingliu!" she chirped, "Been a while!"

Bad mannered and rude. A certain craftsman had described her as such when asked about her. Apparently, her only redeeming quality was her eye for finely crafted blades.

Bad mannered and rude... didn't seem like it at all.

"Y/n." Jingliu greeted as she joined the young woman, "You've been growing well, I see. And, from what I've heard, you've made quite a name for yourself as a Cloud Knight."

The young woman's expression instantly grew sullen, "Please... don't bring up those nicknames. It's bad enough that I have to hear them so often." she shook her head before suddenly blurting, "Nicknames aside! I want the chance to spar with you! As soon as possible!"

Why was Jingliu not surprised?

"You seem to be a bit occupied at the moment," Jingliu pointed out and y/n visibly began to panic.

"W-Wait here!"

She ran off in a hurry, zooming around the corner while kicking up dust. It wasn't long before she came rushing back, empty handed. Huh... empty handed.

"Right! Let's go!" y/n declared, "We can get steamed buns afterwards too! And catch up a bit! I mean, if you want to catch up. I only heard about you from the fish and that old head, but I wanted to hear from you myself."

Y/n was beginning to do that rambling thing again as white noise filled Jingliu's brain, the woman visibly spacing out as she tuned out the h/c haired Cloud Knight's rambling until finally, "You don't have a sword. Or a spear."

Y/n glanced at her hands, "I'm gonna use these."

"These as in your fists?" Jingliu murmured before nodding, smiling, "Very well. I've heard rumors about you being a terrifying hand to hand combatant. I guess this means I'll get to see it for myself today, hm?"

The younger woman quivered with excitement, eyes glimmering with delight as she nodded her head harshly enough to give herself whiplash.

"Yes ma'am!"

Pff... bad mannered and rude.

She was more of an excited little puppy than anything else. Jingliu wasn't underestimating her, no no.

With just a glance, she could tell that despite still being a precocious youth, y/n had grown as a soldier.

Now, Jingliu wanted to see that growth for herself.

(This is goofy)