𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐓𝐃𝐅: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Ares spit out a clot of blood, her feet moving around the platform as she guided her way around Saul Silva's blade.

She had gotten to Red Fountain around 4 am that morning for training, it was now 1 pm and she had barely realized how lazy she'd gotten recently. Her stamina was completely depleted, and apparently so was her ability to wield a sword.

"Okay okay, I get it. I lost my touch" Saul laughed as she called a timeout to get a drink of water. "You haven't lost your touch, you just haven't practiced" he slapped her back, looking down towards the forest below the school. "I missed this" she smiled, exhaling against the wind as she followed his eye-line to the rest of the sparring students.

"Your students are spectacular, better than when I first came" she noted, not letting her eyes fall from where they landed. Some of the boys she recognized from her latest visit doing quite well against tough opponents. "Don't just watch, at least try to show you're better than them" she scoffed at the older man, looking back up to his offered hand. Quickly taking it before finding herself face to face with him, back on the platform.

The girl finally dismissed herself after another two hours of sparring, excusing herself back to Alfea school of Magic. Ares always enjoyed the long walk between the schools, the sights of not only the winding trees but the flowing rivers was everything including enjoyable. Walking through the large black gates and towards the training, grounds were quick, different forms of target practice, stamina endurance training, and reflex tests placed everywhere.

She stood at the center of it all, taking in the sight of the training grounds she once spent hours in all alone. She quickly shook off the nerves, moving towards the reflex training area. The entire training ground was shared with Red Fountain, so it was made mostly of things fairies wouldn't often need help in. She hit the red button that started the spell, working by throwing small spells from every direction.

She prepped herself quickly, taking a deep breath as she felt the magic around her. Behind. Caught it, a small purple orb was held tightly in her fist, quickly absorbing it into her palm before feeling it again. left, right. Easy. Left, up, back, right...front. She let out a quick breath, as the training continued

She exhaled heavily, sweat dripping onto the grass as she absorbed the final orb. "Oh gods, I forgot how tiring that thing was" she rubbed the sweat from her upper lip, dousing her face in the rest of her water bottle before returning to Alfea for more.

"Miss Peters, it's nice seeing you in such high spirits again" Griselda stood before the doors, holding her own arms as she looked to the glowing girl. "Hi! I just came back for a couple bottles of water" Ares smiled giddily at the woman, Griselda nodding before deciding to walk beside her colleague. "How did you enjoy teaching this year?" Griselda asked every step she took making a loud clicking noise. "I enjoyed it as much as I could, with having to be at three places at once it was hard to take my time with" she awkwardly laughed, smiling at every passing student.

"I am very glad you did, your students were able to learn a lot from you. Even in such a short span of time." She bowed her head at Ares, excusing herself into her room to get a couple more bottles of water. As she wasn't even close to done with her day's training.

She quickly made her way back to Red Fountain, she decided to switch between physical and magical training was probably best as it would give herself a break from each.

She had forgotten how hard regular gym workouts were, punching bags, treadmills, and lifting was harder than last time. She did multiple sets of each, finding herself having to mute out other specialists that decided to make their presence in the room know.

"Ares!" She turned to the call, Cyprian slipping through the glass doors and into the large room, many eyes turning to him and the two heavily armed guards in tow. She quickly let go of the bar, speeding towards the boy before pausing "oh shit, I'm kinda really gross right now" she awkwardly laughed before whipping away the sweat on her chest. "You're glowing love" he leaned over, grabbing both sides of her face before placing chilled lips against her slightly warm forehead. She smiled up at him, her hands on his wrists as she pulled him for a kiss. "uh-" she paused, turning to the eyes of the guards and other specialists in the gym. "Let's not talk here" she exhaled, pulling the boy by the hand out of the gym and towards his dorm.