Once more, Leone split off from us after taking us towards the training grounds, the Vampire going to take her own lessons beneath her parents and Aunts.
We all gave the Princess a swift kiss before entering the training grounds behind the other Knights, and I took a moment to glance up at the sky.
It was still incredibly dark out, and I was swiftly entranced by the similar - and different - constellations dotting the dark violet sky scape above us.
Some of the constellations were ones that I had seen when I had been taken away, and I found an odd sort of comfort in still seeing them here, like it validated the journey I had made on a scale far larger than what I was used to.
Like the Gods and Goddesses who created this world acknowledged the distance I had traveled to get back home.
As for the different constellations, I decided that I needed to take a few nights and spend some time plotting them out, so that whenever I looked up at the stars I would be able to see a deeper beauty in the sea of glittering lights far above my head.
ƥandasnovel.com Anput brought me out of my stupor by snaking her arm around my waist, the Jackalkin doing so with such smoothness and suave that I had to wonder who exactly she was practicing with for it to be so... natural.
Obviously wasn't Jahi, so I guess Leone had taken my 'spot' during my absence as the 'woman' of the group.
"You okay?"
Her soft whisper made me smile at her, and I nodded before returning my gaze to the stars, whispering back "I was just admiring the stars is all... Some of the constellations are the same from... where I had been sent. I guess I was reminiscing a little bit, at all the beautiful swathes of nature that I had happened across."
Anput nodded, her hand squeezing my waist softly, like she was reassuring me that I was truly back.
My heart warmed at this small, insignificant action of hers, and I could feel tears forming, though I blinked those away rapidly.
We waited in peaceful silence for the Demon Wolf to enter, gazing up at the early morning sky and enjoying the bliss of having one another back.
It didn't take long for Lady Fenryas to come prowling into the training grounds, her confident stride and arrogant, self assured aura as strong as ever, while her scythe rested lazily on her broad shoulders.
Anput released me as we moved to get into line, standing once more besides the Marquess as the black skinned woman began to call out the Knights by name, getting their affirmatives.
Unsurprisingly, everyone was here on time and in gear, but we could all see that a few of the Knights were still tired, their stifled yawns and unfocused gazes speaking of the exhaustion.
My guess was that those few Knights were the ones who stayed up far later than they should have, not getting the proper rest like the rest of us; the boon of a Core was bountiful when it came to physical conditioning, and the energy it gave you after an hours rest was almost like two and a half to three hours, especially if you slept.
Perhaps, like I had, they had spent some time with one another or with some of the Palace's maids indulging in the pleasures of the flesh, hoping to find comfort in the embrace of another instead of resting.
Sadly for them, that thought was completely wrong - unless you were a succubus, and I knew for certain that there were none here; I had checked - and would only harm them more instead of benefiting them, but...
They were Knights; they should know that by now.
"Well, at least you're all here on time! Guess you learned not to be late after what happened during the last group training, huh? Yes, I'm looking at you, Trinity, and you too Aethi. Alright, to start, let's get going with the same as always. Drop!"
Anput, Jahi and I glanced at the Marquess, watching as the large Demoness dropped to the ground and did a plank, which we swiftly mirrored, not wanting to deal with being yelled at by the Demon Wolf prowling around.
"Down!"
Her barks filled the entire training ground, and all of us pressed ourselves against the ground, maintaining that position until she barked "Up!"
Returning to a normal plank, I groaned inwardly as she shouted "Stand!", my mind already knowing where this was going - burpees.
"Jog in place!"
Fun, advanced burpees, because why not.
All three of us began to jog in place, but I very quickly realized that these upcoming weeks was going to require some additional 'support' for my chest, as my time spent running through entire countries had so easily taught me.
A lesson that I stupidly forgot to follow...
"Drop!"
Everyone instantly dropped back to a plank, and the routine started from there, forcing us into an endless hell of dropping, push ups, planks, jumps, and jogging in place.
Well, when I say 'endless', I mean endless in the sole way that planks are capable of extending a minute into an hour, which put us in a really shitty spot.
This continued for around - according to the system, since my entire mind was filled with curses and agony - thirty minutes straight, before the Demon Wolf formed giant sphere of rock and tossed them our way, each of the Knights catching them.
"On your backs!"
Oh for fucks sake.
We were going to be doing the entire regimen of a strongman from back on Earth, weren't we?
No... honestly, I feel like they'd cry too at this hell that we were being sent into.
And this was just the warmups; this wasn't even the actually training yet!
Resting the giant sphere of stone on my stomach, I watched the Marquess curl herself up before twisting, the rock held the same distance from her body the entire time.
Taking a deep breath, I began to follow along with her pace, ignoring the barks of the Demon Wolf and instead focusing on me and the Marquess, doing as she was doing.
Now, whether or not I could keep up was a different story; I knew this exercise from back home, but using a medicine ball, which usually capped at 25 pounds, while the average gym had an abundance of ones that were always around 10 to 15.
Instead, I was working out with a sphere of solid rock that was probably in the hundreds, so...
I was already - by far - the weakest physically in this group, so having that weakness put on display as I collapsed onto my back, my entire body drenched in sweat as I panted... well, like a dog, was not a great feeling, especially not when Lady Fenryas came over and nudged my cheek with her foot, smirking at me.
"You lasted longer than I thought, pup, but still..."
She scoffed before poking me again, her bare foot looking extremely bitable as she continued to nudge me, which made her smirk.
"Use that fire and give me a few more, pup~! Though, I can certainly say you've far more weight to deal with than the others..."
Her toe nudged against my breast, and she rolled her eyes as I glared at her, the Demon Wolf saying "Trust me, if I was interested in breeding a bitch, I could find me one. I know you're marked; I can smell it. I'm making the simple observation, pup. Deal with it. Now, either pick that ball back up, or..."
I glared at her some more before lifting the stone back up, even as my arm muscles screamed at me, while my abdominal region weeped.
Taking a few deep breaths, I started the exercise anew, all while Lady Fenryas watched me, her silver eye filled with amusement as she counted out the remaining curls and twists I needed to do.
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