I didn't see it at first. The creature was small and blended in with the forest roots and bark around it. I caught a glimpse of it when it quickly dashed into the open area. My breathing hitched, and I could hear the other angels crouching nearby, breathing swiftly as well.
The creature was a small, brown pine marten, but it looked unusual. Its fur was puffed up and almost spiked, resembling a hedgehog. Long, curled horns adorned its head, and its eyes were a deep, endless black. Although it appeared tiny and harmless, the dead fish in its mouth told a different story.
It quickly climbed up the tree, its brown fur showcasing a distinct floral pattern that blended seamlessly with the muted colors of the trunk, allowing it to camouflage effectively. It had strong arms, and its paws dug into the bark as it pulled its small body onto a branch.
It sat perched, its fuzzy tail flipping below as it munched on the fish.
"That's a pine marten?" I turned to Bridget, who was lying on her stomach next to me.
"Yeah, have you seen one before? This is the first time we've taken you here."
I looked back at the little rodent as it began to chew on the fish, its body comfortably balanced on the thick branch. I swallowed hard, unable to respond because I didn't have any reason to know this creature. Perhaps it was connected to memories from my dreams? This seemed to be a different kind of pine marten, likely a creation of the Mother Goddess.
Without responding to Bridget's curious stare, I moved down and slid back onto my back to stare up at the sky. Rory shrugged and went back to looking at the little predator. Seth and Bridget shared a look.
Casper had settled onto my legs, his large head resting on my thigh as he gazed up at me with his big eyes. As time passed, I decided to relax and observe a rodent eating a fish up in a tree. While it looked lovely and majestic, it didn't quite compare to the beauty of the stag and fawn.
My eyes suddenly jolted back open. I sat up quickly to turn my head in the short angel's direction. She, along with the others, grew bored and began to engage in small conversation nut Bridget paused when she noticed my reaction.
"What's wrong?"
"Didn't you say we could see the stag? The one we saw the goddess create?"
Rory suddenly appeared at my side, hanging over my shoulder. "Right, I was hoping to catch that creature as well, it had enough time to reproduce as well!"
"Shush!" Seth pushed the redhead to keep quiet.
Rory giggled and brushed their arm on their shoulder where the blonde touched. I turned my attention to Bridget, my eyes beckoning her to explain.
"Yes, that's what I was hoping we could find out here." She glanced around, the sun's glare filtering through the leaves and illuminating her brown skin. "However, we can't always expect to see them, especially the deer like that stag. They are shy creatures, so we would really need to go out and search for them if we want to catch a glimpse."
"That's lame," Rory pouted, falling onto Seth's lap. The blonde leaped but grumbled his annoyance instead of pushing them off.
I averted my gaze from Bridget, my attention captured by a sleek pine marten perched on a sturdy branch, meticulously licking its paws. Its glossy fur glistened in the dappled sunlight filtering through the pine needles. I could hear Bridget shift beside me, her voice softening. "Is there a reason you're so eager to see this creature?"
"I don't know," I answered truthfully, crossing my legs and arms. "I guess after I helped create it, I kind of wish to see it in its environment and how it's doing."
"You'll get a chance to see it, Vienna." Seth nudged me from my side, ignoring the pestering red head who kept tugging at his robe.
I gave him a thoughtful smile back. Bridget scooted over to my other side, her shoulder pressed against mine. "We can go and look for it if you have the time?"
"That—" Before I could finish my sentence, my wristband buzzed against my skin. I glanced at the message, already anticipating that the next session was about to start. Letting out a sigh, I looked back at my friends, who wore somber expressions. "Sorry."
"No, it's okay," she pulled away from me, allowing me and Casper to stand up. "We can do this another time."
"Of course," I flipped open my wings, Casper already jumping in joy at the idea of flying again. Before I flew away, I turned to the three and gave a wave. "We will hang out later, okay?"
"Got it." Seth nodded to Bridget, who followed him.
"We will meet you in your room!" Rory waved with a toothed grin that held mischievous thoughts.
I giggled as I leaped into the air, my wings spread wide and feathers scattered around me. Casper soon joined me while I took one last look at my friends. A tightness in my chest made me squint, and my head throbbed with a dull ache, but I tried to ignore it. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, I pressed a hand against my head and winced.
Casper came over to me, pushing his nose into my arm with concern.
"I'm okay.." I tried to say, but I winced once again. The pain was numbing away at me, dulling my senses that almost made me falter in the sky.
Soon enough, the pain slowly fadedinto the back of my mind, where it had come from. Casper pushed me, making sure I was pressed against him as my wings were fidgeting, and lowered me down. I held onto myself, breathing deeply until the pain was finally gone and I could fly normally.
I nodded my thanks to Casper and turned my gaze forward, where the trees of the forest bordering the field came into view. I clenched my hands together, suddenly missing the warmth of the Gate Goddess, who had kept the pain at bay.
I wondered if I would be able to see her again…
I couldn't dwell on that right now. I landed in the trees, with Casper following closely behind me. I moved forward until I reached the field, where everyone was lining up, preparing for what was next. I quickly pressed the wristband to engage the armor and glanced over at Arthur. I noticed that none of their Heaven Wolves were with them. However, Casper didn't mind sticking with me.
We stood in line while Apollonia began to announce who was going next and what we would be doing. I followed along, Casper pressed against my leg from behind, and Arthur's wing slightly trembled near my right. I cast him a glance, but he didn't return it.
The next few fighters went up. All of us younger warriors expected the same outcome with Casey, and we were right. The older warriors were much more experienced, faster, and stronger. The experience and maneuvers they did with their wings were something neither Apollonia nor Arden had taught us.
I watched closely, figuring I could try and practice doing the same thing. I was the last one to have a one-on-one with the warriors. That also reminds me of having a training session alone with just Casper and me. The pup needed to learn if I wanted to pass this fully; he needed to learn control above all else.
Instead of dwelling on that, I redirected my attention to the fight. This match ended rather quickly; the two warriors shook hands and nodded at each other. When it was time for the next pair to compete, I noticed Arthur stiffen up once again as Apollonia announced the next fighter.
This time, I fully turned to look at him. "Arthur?"
He gulped, only turning his eyes in my direction. But he didn't answer; he quickly looked back up front with a stone face.
I gave a low glare. I was going to say something to him after this. The warrior was acting weirder than usual. He is typically jittery, but I could tell the difference—this was fear.
I gently nudged him with my wing, but he only flinched a little. Apollonia had prepared the next group of warriors, and they began their battle at a swift pace. I turned back to Arthur and nudged him a bit more forcefully.
This time, he did face me, his eyes widened, and his mouth gaped slightly.
"What..?"
"We need to talk," I hissed quietly.
Arthur turned, looking over to the fight, where Arden and Apollonia stood under the trees across from us and the fighters. He turned back to me, "we're gonna get in trouble, Vienna." He turned his eyes away, "there isn't anything to talk about."
"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes. "You are normally very fidgety. But this isn't, you're gonna tell me what's wrong, Arthur."
"Nothing is," he quickly interjected.
I made a sound and squared my wings, feeling tempted to hit him with them. Instead, I glanced down the line at Casey. He was too busy watching to notice me. "You're not going to tell Casey because you don't want him to look at you weird, right?"
The boy stiffened at that, swallowing the newfound nervousness in his bones. I smirked, finally identifying what the boy's problem.
But before I could say anything else, one of the older warriors who stayed on the other side of us came forward. They placed a finger over their lips in a silent warning. Arthur and I turned back in front, following orders as the fight continued for a few more minutes.
At least one more one-on-one happened before we were able to go. I quickly made my way to Arthur, spreading my wings out to block his escape.
Casey was too busy yawning at the older warriors to notice his partner being trapped. That allowed me to keep him here and finally get him to answer me truthfully.
The short male let out a deep sigh, realizing he couldn't escape this situation. Putting on a "strong" face, the boy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at me.
I followed his movements, giving him my own glare. I knew the boy couldn't stand this act for too long; he would fall sooner or later. So after a few seconds of not talking, Arthur suddenly let out a sigh, and his face dropped. "What…?"
"Why are you scared?"
"ScaRed?" His voice cracked. "What do you mean, I'm not scared?"
"What's going on with you? You're acting really nervous. I initially thought it was because of Casey, but you're still acting strangely even when he's not around. I moved my wing to block his escape and stepped closer. "Tell me what's wrong.'"
"You're gonna make fun of me.."
I raised a brow, watching the boy scratch his shoulder nervously. He turned back to me, his eyes big.
"Really?" I chuckled, shuffling my wings back to my side. "Come on. Try me."
He pouted, sighing like he had just dropped a ton of weight off his shoulders. "I'm not scared to fight them. I'm scared to lose."
"What?" I couldn't help but chuckle out loud. Arthur glared at me, and I coughed to hold back a few snickers. "How can that be the thing you're scared about? We don't have to win, Arthur, we just have to give it our all."
"I know.. It's just… I had to work hard to prove myself to Apollonia. To everyone, just because of my size and stature…"
I grimaced slightly, understanding where he was coming from. When I first came here, I could tell Apollonia picked on him a lot. He was the shortest person there before I arrived, which is probably why she paired me with him to go one-on-one. It's no shocker that she picked on him, but that could be a good thing.
I stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder so the short boy could look at me. "Hey, I know how that feels. They picked on me when I first started. But that doesn't mean losing will hold you back." He looked away, his shoulders slumping. "She picked on you the most because you had the most potential."
"You're just saying that." Arthur shrugged me away, but I caught the light blush on his cheeks.
"No." I forced his eyes back to me. "You're a good fighter. Better than me, you beat me on our first match, you even beat Casey in your one-on-ones. You beat almost everyone here!"
"W-Well, I cheated by hitting your face-"
"That doesn't count," I pushed aside his worries before he could finish. "What matters is that you don't have to prove anything in your fight. You already have."
The boy looked at me, his ears spiked red and his wings slightly fluffed up at the encouraging words. He took a glance away from me before he looked back at me and gave a soft smile. "You sure?"
"I'm positive, Arthur. You're stronger than you think."
The boy jumped on me and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back, chuckling at the strange fondness in his eyes. With his wings wrapped around us, he pulled away and wiped his tears.
"Aww, are you crying?"
"N-No," he sniffed, wiping his tears with a smile. I laughed, pushing him away when a sudden wing came to seperate us.
Casey pulled Arthur into him. His armor was already off, and he glared at me. "Did you make him cry?"
I shrugged.
"No, stop it, Casey!" Arthur quickly pushed the taller boy away and turned back to wave at me. I waved back as the pair left, not without Arthur mouthing a 'thank you.'
I nodded to them, waiting until they flew away before I turned to feed Casper waiting for me at my feet. I nodded to the pup, petting his head as we began to walk into the trees. "Let's go train, buddy-"
"Vienna!"
I stopped and turned to the voice behind me, nearly tripping over my own feet. Janus stood tall next to Arden, her hair flowing in the wind and her smile as bright as ever. I took a deep breath, quickly ensured my armor was off, and rushed over to them.
Arden was the one who called for me. She coughed slightly, looking up at Janus as she took a formal bow. "You may take her, Gate Goddess. Thank you for checking in."
"Of course," Janus nodded Arden off, her eyes turning back to look at me. Her gaze softened. "My darling."
"Janus.." I whispered, coming over to nod to her. "You're here? What's going on-"
"I came to fly with you." She simply smiled, looking down at Casper, who was next to my side. "And Casper, of course. If you wish to, I will leave if you wish to be alone-"
"No!" I put my hands up, blushing at my rushed answer. "I mean.. no… I do actually want to fly with you."
Janus nodded gently and extended her hand for me to take. I reached out and slipped my hand into hers. Her warmth enveloped me, sending shivers up my arm and across my skin. She spread her wings, and I did the same, jumping up alongside the goddess as we began to soar above the trees, with Casper close behind.
When we were far up in the sky, Janus let out a sigh, turning her eyes to mine. "I feel like I have interrupted you. You were going to go and train with Casper, right?"
"Oh, yeah, I was." I shook my head. "But it's fine. I can schedule another time to do it."
The goddess nodded, looking away from me for a moment. Then, she squeezed my hand, encouraging me to meet her gaze. I quickly lowered my eyes. "Oh... I guess you know about what happened at Angels Cove."
"I try not to interfere with things I shouldn't, Vienna." Janus let out a sigh with her sad eyes looking back. "But when it comes to you, I cannot help but watch. I don't want you hurt, I don't want you to hurt yourself."
"I know.. but you have to understand that I knew what I was doing. I was fine, I wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"What if things didn't go that way?" Janus thoroughly looked at me, her wings spreading to completely cover us. "What if you did get hurt?"
I began to stutter, unable to move or continue forward. I was forced to stay with her, compelled to look at her and respond. "I—I don't..." I didn't have an answer, to be honest. I truly didn't know what I would do next. "I don't know. I thought I knew what I was doing."
Janus moved closer, her hand gently rubbing my face with her warm touch. "I believe in you, my darling. You are smart," she said, as my head rested against her chest. "You are strong, so never doubt yourself." She brushed a bit of hair out of my face, and I lifted my gaze to meet hers. "But be cautious. Take your time and pace yourself; I don't want to see you in pain." She kissed my head and moved her wings back so that I could see the sky.
To my surprise, we were above the forest that Bridget, Seth, and Rory had taken me to. I turned to Janus, catching her with a bright smile.
She giggled at my reaction. "I'm guessing you have been here before? With your friends, I presume?"
There wasn't even a reason to be surprised anymore; all I could do was nod my head. "Yeah.. why take me here?"
"Your friends wanted to meet you back here. You want to see the stag the Mother Goddess created, correct?"
I smirked, giving Janus a glance that she returned with endearment. "You know everything, don't you?"
She let out a soft giggle and brushed my hair back. "I know what I need to do. Let's go downstairs and take a look. Your friends will be here to meet you soon."
"Will stay with me until they do?" I asked.
"Of course."