"Can you see any muscle yet?" Reyna asked as she flexed in front of the mirror. Her companion rolled her eyes. "I'm going to be like a statue. Chiseled from stone. Abs like a washboard. That's what it's called, right?"
"Right," Clarisse repeated. She shoved Reyna slightly. "Now, move. This sexy bitch needs to look at herself."
Reyna grinned and took a moment to look at herself in the mirror. The scars from Lycaon had mostly faded, leaving behind thin lines. Other than that damn mark on her lip. A sigh left her as she ran her finger across it. Her jaw felt much better, as did her finger. Along with the cuts on her sides.
For once in her life, Reyna felt relaxed. At some point in the last two weeks, she realized that she really would be safe here. Everyone at the bar treated her well, even Piper and her backhanded comments were not the worst thing Reyna ever had to deal with. It was actually nice that someone there seemed to hate her guts.
"This is what fucking muscles look like," Clarisse proclaimed as she flexed. Her muscles seemed to bulge, and her biceps were rather large. Reyna smirked slightly. The two of them had been going to the gym for two weeks now, ever since she found Lycaon outside of Chiron's house.
Lycaon was smart enough to hurry away when he saw Thalia pull up. The cops took their statement, but they wouldn't do anything. Reyna could see that from the useless questions and the fact that they didn't take any notes.
Lycaon was also smart enough to not show his face again. Clarisse made sure that her and Reyna were the last ones to leave the bar, and she gave Reyna a ride home each night. That woman took security a little too seriously. Granted, Reyna had yet to be jumped again, so there was one bright side.
"Get your gloves on," Clarisse said as she looked away from the mirror. "I can't wait to beat your ass all over the gym."
"Doesn't boxing have to stay in the ring?" Reyna questioned as she grabbed her gloves. This was their fifth time going to the gym and the third time they would start with boxing. They also lifted weights and did some light running on the treadmill, and Reyna actually enjoyed it.
She knew that exercise was important for a werewolf to help keep their energy down during the full moon. It also was something to look forward to at the end of the day. Reyna had slowly developed a schedule. She would wake up two hours before work, although that had started to turn into one hour or less.
After work, she would either go to the gym with Clarisse or go and scout out Ma Gasket's place. It turned out that Ma Gasket was a very busy woman. Well, cyclops. Most nights she left her bar before her boys did and went off to the unknown. Her two sons would close up their shithole called a bar before heading to a place that looked more like a retail store than a home.
Ma Gasket never went there, and the one time Reyna followed her, Ma Gasket went on a walk throughout the city. There seemed to be no destination in mind. She ended up back at a rather fancy looking home. It made Reyna realize that Ma Gasket did not live with her sons, leaving them as easy targets.
Reyna wanted to pull the trigger on her plan, but she knew that she needed to wait, to be patient. The full moon would be getting closer, and Reyna would need to make sure she had an alibi. It helped that only two people knew she was a werewolf, but she would also need to make sure that Jason had an alibi as well. No need for him to get dragged into it.
"Come get your ass kicked," Clarisse taunted as she walked towards the ring they were using. Reyna followed behind and fixed her gloves. She put in the mouthguard that Clarisse had given her. During their first sparring session, Reyna didn't wear one and almost bit her tongue off. She wore one after that.
"Chase! Get your damn head out of that book and watch me kick Reyna's ass!" Clarisse ordered as she turned to look at Annabeth. The woman in question did in fact have her face buried in a book. Reyna watched Annabeth glance up at them.
"I have a big test," Annabeth waved off. "And, hasn't Reyna been getting her ass kicked enough?"
"Hey," Reyna complained as she stared at Annabeth. "What the hell?"
A fist slammed into Reyna's gut, and she doubled over. Clarisse spoke, "Rule number one: don't take your eyes off your opponent."
"You bitch," Reyna hissed as she coughed for precious air. Clarisse wiped the floor with her every time they sparred.
"Quit crying and stand up," Clarisse ordered. Reyna let out another wheeze as she stood up straight. Clarisse threw another punch that Reyna dodged. She always ended up on the defensive against Clarisse, and the woman's damn freakish strength made it so that she wasn't dumb enough to go of the offensive.
The two went back and forth, with Reyna mostly dodging and staying away from the cannonballs fired at her. Clarisse heaved another blow and spoke, "Quit being a coward and throw a punch."
"You're the one who told me not to lower my guard," Reyna countered. A fist slammed into her mouth. "Ow! Fuck!"
"It looks like you just lowered it," Clarisse commented. She turned her gaze. "Chase, it is late at night. Just do your exercises and then get some sleep."
"Go back to kicking Reyna's ass," Annabeth said as she waved her hand.
"Hey!" Reyna complained. She brought her fist back and tried to punch Clarisse while she was distracted. Her blow was blocked, and Clarisse punched her right in the face. Reyna stumbled back and brought both hands up. Clarisse punched her in the gut and then followed up with a second one. The third punch caused her to double over.
Before Reyna could make it to a fully standing position, a fist slammed into her face, knocking her flat on her back. Reyna groaned, "Fuck."
"I could have knocked you out," Clarisse informed as she took off her glove and held her hand out.
"Thanks for not," Reyna groaned as she spat the mouthpiece out and placed a hand to her nose. "I'm just going to lay here for a while."
"I'm going to take Chase's book," Clarisse threatened as she jumped out of the ring. She walked over to Annabeth, who tried to keep her book away. Clarisse snagged it out of her hands and closed it.
"I"m trying to study," Annabeth complained as she stood. She tried to grab the book from Clarisse, who held it above her head.
"Who studies at a gym?" Clarisse demanded. "This is for the important muscles. Not your stupid brain."
"The brain is a muscle," a voice interjected. Reyna slowly looked up and focused on Thalia. She quickly sat up. While Reyna was rather comfortable with everyone in the bar, she didn't want anything to do with the hunters. It reminded her too much of her past. And family.
"Got room for one more," Thalia questioned as she looked at Reyna.
"I'm good," Reyna said as she took her gloves off and rubbed her jaw. She would happily go a few more rounds with Clarisse, but she wouldn't fight Thalia. "I'll just lift some weights."
Reyna slowly slid out of the ring and watched Clarisse walk towards it. Clarisse spoke, "I have been waiting so long for this, Thalia. I am going to kick your ass all over the place. It is going to be so much fun."
"You can't fucking touch this," Thalia taunted. Annabeth tried to grab her book, but it was tossed into the ring. Thalia picked it up. "Oh, gonna fight me for it?"
"I'll kick both of your asses," Annabeth threatened. Reyna left the three behind and made her way over to the weights. She quietly set the weights on the bar. While Reyna could lift more than sixty pounds, Clarisse told her it was important to start small and get her technique down. She also didn't want to draw too much attention.
Reyna laid on the bench and grabbed the bar. She carefully lifted it. Reyna slowly lifted the weights, doing her best not to go too quickly. Reyna nearly jumped out of her skin as someone appeared over her and spoke, "Need a spotter?"
"Um, sure," Reyna said as she looked at Zoë. She really didn't want or need a spotter, but there was no way for her to get out of it now. Zoë hummed as she stood over Reyna. "Isn't it kind of late at night?"
"Thalia has been cooped up in the office all day trying to handle Ma Gasket and Lycaon," Zoë answered. "She needs to get some pent up energy out of her."
"Yeah," Reyna said as she swallowed painfully. She continued to lift the weights.
"How are your wounds feeling?" Zoë wondered. Reyna wondered how much trouble she would get in for flinging the weight bar and running.
"Better," Reyna replied. She tried to ignore how uncomfortable she felt. Reyna swallowed painfully as she shifted. It was quiet as she finished her next few reps. When she went to add more weight, Zoë silently helped her.
When Reyna was halfway through her next set, Zoë spoke, "Have we met before? I swear that I recognize your face."
"No," Reyna answered. She didn't recall ever seeing Thalia or Zoë before, so why would they...
Hylla.
Reyna tensed and placed the bar back in its holder. She quickly sat up and looked at Zoë. Did they know her sister? Had they met her before? What else did they know about Reyna? Did they know about her? Zoë spoke, "Is anything wrong?"
"No," Reyna said after a few moments. "Just trying to think if I know you, but nothing comes to mind."
Reyna slowly laid back on the bench. She grabbed the bar and started to lift again. After a few more sets, she would go back to the ring and watch the others spar. Maybe even grab Annabeth's book and pretend like she could read it. Anything to get away from the hunters. Something told her it was going to be a long night.