Chapter Text
Jestro rubbed the memory of the morning from his eyes. Apology cards were a flop in Grindstead, and he could safely cross the marching band off the list of potential good-guy jobs. That one was a bit of a disappointment; it had been actually fun to try out the tuba. Settling in a calmly lonely playground for lunch break, he plucked elastic-cloth balls from his pocket. Tossing them up in quick succession, he was met with a perfect arch in the sky; glowing like a rainbow in the late morning sun. He had to fumble a few and drop a few, but the rhythm was generous. Smiling at the sky, he juggled them higher.
“I thought that was you!”
Jestro caught what was left in the air and waved back at Clay. He scooted over to free up the bench.
“Please, continue,” the knight said as he sat down. He cracked open an orb filled with lettuce that smelled like old seaweed. “It looked really good.”
“Thanks,” Jestro sighed, picking up the balls he’d dropped. “I’m really out of practice.”
Clay shrugged. “That just proves it was a unique performance.”
Jestro chuckled at that, thinking of the ‘unique performance’ which kicked him hard enough to shake the darkness off his tail.
He had yet to see the knight’s headquarters after his re-transformation, though it was only to be expected. Meanwhile, Clay tracked him down during free lunch days. They were thankfully many since Monstrox had been defeated. An apple in his mouth, Jestro tried again at juggling. Even though it was Clay, an audience always made the balls misbehave. One fell a little too far out of his range and the rest scattered at once as he tried to snatch it. Clay helped pick them up and nodded to try again, then kindly buried his attention in the salad.
Jestro set the apple down minus the one bite and lined up the colors again. Again they flew up into the arch. Steadily faster, steadily higher.
From the corner of his eye, Jestro caught the blue knight picking up the apple. He lightly tossed it his way. The jester jumped, instinctively reversing the flow of the spheres. The peachy red swirled into the colors. They spun once, twice, then lined up between his hands.
The knight pumped his fist in celebration.
Jestro just studied the set with a smile forming from the inside. He took the apple again. “How are the rest of the knights?” he asked.
“Aaron’s breaking every record in the kingdom, Axl’s back on The Singing Chef, Lance is working out the paperwork to name his pet pig a Richmond…”
“Sounds 'bout right,” Jestro chuckled.
“Macy’s been looking after the Fortex. Both of us have been trying to convince the people they need to be able to defend themselves against monsters.”
Jestro nodded approvingly, spitting out an apple seed.
“I think it’s wearing on her,” Clay sighed like it broke his heart a little. “No one listens about possible dangers.”
“Do you really think monsters could come back?” Briefly, he thought of the almost-definitely mirage in the clouds the day after Monstrox was shattered.
“I should certainly hope not,” Clay replied. “But I hope to be prepared if anything tries. I’ve been working on teaching the Knight’s Code to the students,” he said, brightening at the mention of two of his favorite things. “‘All sworn duties shall be executed in a manner consistent with the Ancient Accords of Virtue and Chivalry,” he recited. “Including it’s most profound pillars of Honor, Respect, Loyalty, Courage-”
“Compassion, Diligence, and Justice,” Jestro finished in unison. “They’ll have it in no time, I’m sure,” he remarked dryly. “Well, if anything does come,” he shrugged, “you’d be able to take care of it. After all,” he joked experimentally, “who could possibly be a worse villain than I was?”
Clay laughed. “They’d be hard-pressed to find one as important to Knighton or to me.”
Jestro chuckled as well. “Tell Macy not to worry too much about the people,” he added. “You figure this stuff out when it’s important, you know?”