The Light Side Of The Crystal

7. The Training Lesson

New cover!!! Made by  @catastrophe275  ^^

The sun was just peeking over the horizon, but it was already warm. The group of people was just at the entrance of the forest. You would think it was the whole House, but some people were missing. The people were talking and stretching. I was in my tights and loose T-shirt. My hair, which was now ginger, was up in a ponytail that was hitting me every time I bend over to stretch. We were about to run the morning jog. I started to get the hang of it, same was with the other stuff in the House.

I was getting better at the fighting, but there were still things to work on and Victor was very helpful. He stopped beating my ass so hard, now I defended myself, but still couldn't quite hit him yet.

I looked around. There were some familiar faces and some not so familiar. Emilia was beside me stretching. Victor was at the front with Chris talking.

"Okay, guys lets go!" I heard Victor with raised voice so he can outspeak the talking group. Everyone made their final stretches and began to jog slowly after Victor, who entered the forest. I waited for a while before joining them at the end. Chris did the same and jogged beside me.

We entered the forest and the smell of pine hit me immediately. I took a deep breath, taking it all in. The rising sun peeked through the trees casting shadows over the path, but overall it was a little bit dark.

The morning jog always started with a slow run but never ended like that. I felt Chris's shoulder pushing mine slightly. I turned my head to him and he smiled.

"Up for a little competition?" he asked me daringly. I smiled. We would race occasionally, but he was the one that was always winning.

"What's the point you always win?"

"Yeah, but you started learning pretty fast and it's harder for me now," I smirked at him. Of course, I was getting better. If you practice something every single day you would eventually get used to it and be better at it too. I pushed his shoulder with mine.

"On three?" I asked. He nodded.

We didn't stop running we just made sure that we were at the same speed and even so, no one would have a heads up. I looked in front of me where were the rest of the group. We were at the very end of the jogging group and now we had to run through them so we can get ahead. I turned to Chris letting him know I was ready. A determination appeared on my face. I felt the adrenaline kicking in and my eyes burning. I smiled and then I heard Chris starting to count.

"One.... Two... Three... GO!" The minute he said 'go' I was already running fast pushing past people that were still jogging slowly. This was part of the race with Chris, you had to pass through the group that was in front of you and then get ahead of Victor.

I lost myself in the sea of bodies, trying very hard to push through them. I lost Chris and I secretly hoped he was stuck somewhere. I started to murmur some excuses to the people I pushed. My heart was racing when I saw Victor at the front.

I saw a clearing of bodies and I made my exit going past Victor himself. I heard Chris behind me. He was close. I sped up leaving the group of joggers behind me. I focused ahead.

I knew I had time to gain some speed before the traps start to appear. I felt Chris laugh just behind me and pushed myself to run faster. The forest path took a slight turn and just after that turn came, the traps. It was a hole in the ground. I knew what to do. I had done it so many times before. I jumped over it.

Losing balance when I made it to the other side. A thud came beside me. I turned around just to see Chris with a huge grin on his face. He sped up in front of me. But I hadn't given up yet. I ran faster feeling my lungs burning, but I didn't stop. I was running behind him, but he was fast. He passed the other traps with no effort. Eventually, I would get next to him, but he would have just run faster.