I had to force myself to continue walking to find Orwell's room. The hall had tons of rooms and a few cracks where the cherry leaves had bursted through and blossomed in the hall. Soon, Casper helped me find the male cupid's door, which had his name plastered on it with a small drawing of a hummingbird on the sign.
I knocked on it a couple of times, waiting a few seconds as I strained to hear anything from the room. I heard nothing, glaring at the door in annoyance. I continued to wait, hearing Casper whine just below me.
"Alright-" I nodded to him as he spoke, reaching for the nob and opening the door with a slight push. It pushed open, and I was immediately greeted with the strong, heavy, rosy scent.
It was calming, quickly calming my tense shoulders as I breathed in the scent. It smelt like a sweet rose, like pastries or sweet-smelling foods. Along with the calming smell of the lovely interior, I took in the cupid's room, which also sent a shock wave of awe.
The inside of the treehouse castle was much like its exterior, with cherry blossoms blooming throughout the room as though they were lively, thriving bushes. They filled his room, covering the floor and even spilling in through the roof. Most of the decor featured shades of pink, while a few walls were elegantly adorned with white and lavender patterns. The room also had several bookshelves, complemented by plants that added lovely accents of forest green against the pink backdrop.
I looked up at the roof, where vines hung down into the space below. The cupid's bed was positioned near the only window in the room, which opened up to a dome, offering a panoramic view of the blue sky. I moved over to a ladder that was coated in vines and small daisies, reaching up toward his bed. As I passed by, I noticed more books and shelves filled with various decorative items, such as globes and pictures.
I paused for a moment, my eyes drawn to a photo of a familiar face. It was Bridget, a small but well-framed picture of the angel that sat tucked behind a few cacti on Orwell's shelf. I couldn't help but smile, feeling a warmth spread across my face at the sight.
Casper barked from below me, dragging my attention down to him. "I'll be back. Stay, okay?"
He complained but gradually lowered his boy onto the cozy carpet that covered the entire room. I nodded at him before continuing up the ladder until I reached Orwell's bed. The large, tall bunk bed was adorned with big, fluffy pillows scattered across the ample space. I quickly directed my gaze toward the open window.
Opening up my wings, I made sure none fell onto the cupid's bed while I shifted into the air. I managed to grab some of the vines and swing my way over to the seal of the glass. When I made it over there, I let go of the vine and shifted my energy into my wings, which flapped to keep me afloat.
The sun slightly blinded me when I emerged from the opening, but I quickly shook off that when I heard the familiar voices of both Bridget and Orwell. I turned in their direction, quickly taking in the sight of both of them in the lush cherry leaves on top of the whole treehouse castle.
The pair sat, their bodies buried in the leaves before either of them noticed my presence. Bridget turned to me, her smile growing even wider as the cupid slightly shunned away embarrassingly.
I gradually lowered myself to their level, feeling the cherry tree leaves brush against my skin. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No.. no, it's okay, Vienna. I was just about to leave." Bridget stood up, looking down at Orwell, who finally turned up to her. I noticed how they held hands, the small angel releasing him as she moved away over to me. "Bye Orwell."
The cupid waved, his face a beat red as he forced a smile, "bye, Bridget."
I felt guilty for dragging Bridget away from him. Obviously, she liked the cupid deeply, and I was indeed interrupting them. So I stopped in my tracks, forcing Bridget to do the same a few feet in front of me.
"Vienna?"
"You can stay with him, Bridget." I could hear Orwell shuffle behind me at my voice.
Bridget shook her head, her braids falling from her shoulder. "I was just about to leave anyway, really—"
"Really?" I crossed my hands, giving her a good stare as the angel tried to come up with words. Instead of her speaking, the cupid behind me appeared beside me with his eyes looking longingly at my friend.
"I wouldn't mind if you stayed, Bridget.."
Her face blew up brightly at the cupid. She stuttered a few words, sifting around while her wings desperately tried to stretch and hide their fidgeting. "I-I really. I mean, I would like to, but you.. my friends Seth and Rory. I came with them, and they probably want to.. you know-"
"I doubt they would mind if you stayed a little longer with Orwell." I moved over to the short girl's side, slightly nudging her over to the cupid encouragingly. "He wants you to stay, so you might as well, right?"
She chuckled, looking down at her feet that turned their tips to one another. Orwell chuckled, his wings curling up and trembling in his own anxiety, as did the angels' larger wings. I couldn't help but look in between the two shy lovebirds with complete adoration at their cute oblivion.
Along with their awkwardness, the silence began to stretch. I clapped my hands together, turning their attention to me. "What were you guys doing? I mean, holding hands is kind of—"
Bridget jumped to cover my lips, her face burning even brighter. "Not that Vienna!" She shook off some feathers that dropped and disappeared in the leaves before continuing. "Orwell was just showing me his companion!"
"His what?"
The cupid chuckled, lowering his head to stifle a giggle. Bridget calmed down, her shoulders relaxing as she began to explain. "Every cupid has a companion, a creature that the Mother Goddess has created and given to a specific cupid to care for." She gestured towards Orwell, who had returned to his original spot. "Orwell just received his companion from the goddess, and he is showing me her."
"Her...?" I let the angel lead me over to the cupid's shoulder. The male was now holding something in his palm. He opened it up, showing a small hummingbird in his palms. The bird flew up, looking around and making a small cluster of noises.
"This is Sable. She is a violet brewing hummingbird."
I crouched down to get a better look at the small bird. I noticed that it had some unusual features. It had feathers on its head that matched the fluorescent purple of its back feathers. Additionally, it had two extra eyes on top of its normal ones.
When Orwell noticed me googling Sable's features, he let out a shy chuckle. "The Mother Goddess let me give her some features, you know, like for the special event you guys were at?" I turned down to him, seeing as the cupid tried to avoid eye contact with me.
"I take your cupids like more than two eyes on an animal, huh?"
Orwell looked up at me with a bashful yet embarrassed look. Bridget let out a laugh, seeing as the cupid grew embarrassed at my observation. I didn't mind; the creature was rather cute with her odd quirks.
Orwell nodded thanks as I complimented the cute bird. He lifted a finger to graze under the bird's chin, making a slight purring sound that was almost inaudible from the small animal. He gave a soft smile, nuzzling up to the hummingbird, who followed the cupid's finger.
Bridget backed down in the spot she was once at, her hands in her lap while she watched the two in front of her. I placed my hands on my hips, looking at the two as the explanation came to me.
The Mother Goddess gives each cupid their own animal companion. She even allows the cupids to give their companions unique features, just as she did at the event I recently attended. Witnessing this filled me with a mix of jealousy and admiration for the kindness that the goddess shows to her beings.
It also made my heart slightly seize at Janus's absence. I suddenly missed her very much, missed her warm embrace, her soft fingers through my hair. I missed her more and more as I watched the two talk amongst themselves in front of me. I knew that standing there would not bring the Gate Goddess over to me like I so wanted her, but I couldn't help but grow more frustrated at not seeing her.
My thoughts suddenly washed away when I heard a similar voice call out for me from behind. I wiped my head around to see Arthur flying quickly over to me. He called out for me as he tumbled while landing on the treetop. His hands came over to hold his knees as he panted.
"Arthur? What's wrong?" I walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder while he heaved with shaking wings.
He looked up at me, a hint of unease in his eyes. "Um, did you not realize you were supposed to go to the field? Apollonia and Arden are upset that you didn't show up. This is only your second session as a Warrior."
I quickly covered his mouth, waving my wings around to fan out his voice, when I realized Bridget was looking over in confusion at us. I turned over to him, releasing the warrior behind me, who kept his mouth shut. "I need to go to the field," I said, and Bridget's face fell at the news. "I'm sorry. Can we do something after training?"
"Okay, I would like that." She gave a small smile, nodding to me while I lifted into the air, where Arthur was already waiting for me with trembling wings. "Can we meet you back at Angels Cove outside your room?"
"Sure," I turned an eye to Orwell, who looked confused between us. "Bring Orwell as well. The more, the merrier." I winked at the blushing pair before waving and following the warrior behind me.
Before I completely left Cupid's Cover, I turned to the open dome window, where I stopped a head poking out from behind the glass. "Come on, Casper! Let's go."
The pup jumped and leaped from the window, flying over to me before we turned over to follow Arthur. The male warrior looked at the Heaven Pup with bewilderment. I watched him try and form words, confused by his sudden quietness at Casper flying beside us.
"How—?" The warrior finally found his voice, shocked by the revelation. "You're allowing him to fly around? You do realize you could get into serious trouble if anyone found out you were letting a Heaven Pup roam free, especially so near Cupid's Cove!"
I flew past Arthur, who turned his wings to the side to follow me with wide eyes. "He's fine. He's not going to trouble anyone, so what's the big deal?"
"Getting caught and in trouble for something not supposed to happen-"
I rushed over to the warrior, who closed his mouth when I forced a hand in front of his face. "Arthur, nothing is going to happen."
"Are.. how are you so sure?"
I smiled at him, opening my wings that spread for the wind to catch. "Because you're not going to tell anyone." The boy tilted his head, his armor scraping as he fiddled around in obvious confusion. "Because if you told anyone, you would get in trouble too. Right?"
"WHaT?" His voice squeaked, his body shifting slightly to move away from me.
My lips curled into a smirk as I looked at the boy. "You saw him flying when he wasn't supposed to, right? That means you're involved in this too; you'll get in as much trouble as I will." The boy's mouth fell open, his cheeks flushing a faint red from embarrassment as he struggled to find words. I stepped back, sending feathers shimmering across the sky. "So keep this to yourself, and you won't get in trouble."
The empty threat seemed to catch the warrior completely off guard. He had no idea what to say or what to say, so all he did was give a shallow nod before following me in the direction of the crowded forest. A part of me did feel slightly guilty about using that. Still, it was an empty threat that wouldn't actually work.
Arthur was a bit too dense to realize that, so he just followed me with the promise of keeping this low.
We pressed on until we reached a clearing in the forest. I dropped down onto the grass, carefully navigating over leaves and fallen logs, while Arthur followed closely behind me. Casper stayed near my legs, trotting on the ground until the trees parted, revealing the sight of the warriors ahead.
I held back a sigh when I caught the eyes of Arden and Apollonia, who looked mildly annoyed.