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"run your tongue over my teeth"
HER FISTS STRUCK LEATHER, SENDING A TWINGE OF PAIN THROUGH HER ARMS. Her muscles were beginning to become worn out, stressed with tension. She didn't mind, though.
Ariadne panted while continuing her movements. Her knuckles were almost bleeding raw, the tape around her skin having been discarded long ago when it kept taking the brunt of the force away.
She needed the burning sensation in her lungs. It helped her focus. She knew she deserved it, after all her years of ignoring the hard truth that ha deben smacking her in the face—she wasn't strong enough.
Thoughts swarmed her head like the churning sea; daunting, dangerous, and just a bit dark. Nothing was helping her focus. She had left Percy in his room to shower, as he felt a bit disgusted from that aquarium water. If he had noticed her mood he hadn't said anything. For that, she was grateful.
All she wanted to do was punch her knuckles raw and find a way to save someone without losing another.
Ariadne hadn't noticed Percy leaning against the door frame to the small training room they had below deck. It had a few punching bags and chains, but it was mainly filled with mats on the walls and floors for sparring. She had spent too much time there while Leo had been building the ship, and when they were on their way to retrieve Percy and meet Camp Jupiter.
His shoulder pressed into the wooden frame while his arms were crossed tightly, dawning a new tank top and a black pair of shorts. His hair was wind-swept, strands tickling his forehead. Those sea-green eyes raked her body in a rabid fashion, something he hadn't intended.
"Annabeth told me you spend a lot of time in here," Percy spoke up after a few minutes.
Her eyes swept over him. Her beauty was ragged while she wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead, letting them fall to the group while she ignored her bloody knuckles. She licked her chapped lips, saying nothing.
Percy eyed her with a calm expression. Usually, when anyone saw her in training mode, they backed away and left. But Percy knew how she was, he knew her own limits, and what he could do in training against her. Of course, he had only beat her once in the five years of sparring, but the boy had watched her plenty of times. His ocean eyes were unwavering against her cold expression. She was wanting him to leave her to continue her grueling pain, but that wouldn't happen.
Ariadne huffed when he didn't turn to leave. Her stubborn boyfriend was pushing her buttons. She ignored his movements farther into the room while facing the punching bag once more, holding her fists out before jabbing them.
