We didn't see the stag; instead, we sat and talked for a long while until my wrist buzzed. I quickly looked down at it, surprised at how quick this all felt.
Was it already another session? Felt like I just had one.
The others nodded in understanding. I waved at them before I motioned for Casper to fly with me. He did so with his wings spread out wide, almost knocking me over in the process with a playful yelp.
I could tell he wanted to play, so with a bit of a tired heart, I bumped him back.
We played as we flew all the way back to the field. We arrived relatively quickly since we were far from the trees to begin with. It felt strange to see the field appear so soon; we had to swoop down quickly to catch the wind and ensure we didn't miss it.
Time was passing quickly; something was making it hard to grasp time itself.
Well, time doesn't really exist here, does it?
I dropped to the ground and quickly equipped the armor before I rushed over to Arthur waiting in the lineup. It was like nobody moved yesterday; they all stood in a straight line with their backs straight and wings cupped against their shoulders.
Apollonia stepped forward, instructing the next group of warriors to prepare for battle. Casper settled down by my feet, resting his snout comfortably on top of my armored boot. Instead of focusing on the fight, I concentrated on my breathing. However, I remained attentive to the older warriors as they engaged in combat using their wings.
Sooner or later, the next fight began. It was the same thing over and over: the sound of them scraping the dirt when being thrown over, the sound of wings flying in the air, and a dust of feathers falling around. I felt somewhat intimidated just by watching it, though I knew I wasn't going to fight this round.
Arthur was not so lucky.
Even after I spoke with him about his fear, the boy's wings continued to tremble as the fight at the front came to a close. I heard him inhale sharply when the match ended. The older warrior had emerged victorious and helped the younger one back to his feet before they returned to the line. Apollonia turned to Arthur, and I could feel him stiffen even more.
They were called in the middle, the boy still a shaking mess. Before he could leave, I grabbed his hand. He turned to me, telling me that he didn't want to go before I cut him off. "You got this."
He stood for a moment before numbly nodding. I squeezed his hand as he walked off as he put on his helmet on to cover his face.
"You got this!" I called out, waving a hand at him.
The angels beside me gave me a strange look, but I managed to make Arthur trip over himself when I called out to him. Arden raised an eyebrow from across the field, but I ignored her gaze. Instead, I focused on Arthur and the other warrior.
They bowed to each other respectfully before taking their positions. Arthur dug his feet into the dirt for a solid grip, raising his Branchie near his waist and placing his Pedal on his outstretched knee. I recognized this stance; Arthur had used it during our one-on-one training sessions. A bubble of excitement formed in my chest as the older warrior took the first leap forward.
Just as I expected, Arthur had lured the older warrior in with his position, leaving himself open and unguarded in the front. The warrior hurled the Branchie towards Arthur's side, cutting into his left. Just then, Arthur pushed his feet into the dirt and pounced back. With the warrior now pressed against his other side, Arthur quickly drew out his Pedal and rushed it into the warrior's side.
I could hear a loud clash of armor and metal in the shield. The older warrior fell back with the hit, sliding on the ground before they caught themselves from being thrown back. They were quick to reattack. Jumping forward, they used their wings to quickly swipe their own attacks.
Arthur had to unleash his Pedal from its protective position to block the attack, digging his feet even more in the dirt as he did so. His wings flared up in distress as the older warrior completely pushed him into the dirt.
They were much stronger than he was, and that strength caused Arthur to quickly lose his footing and jump away. His Pedal made a loud scraping noise as the Branchie sliced a long mark in the ground when he pounced away from the attacker. He dug his hand into the earth to stop himself from sliding.
The older warrior allowed the younger one a moment to collect himself. However, it was only a brief pause before they launched another assault against him. I could see that Arthur wasn't going to win with the approach he started with. Charging head-first at the warrior wasn't going to work; they were bigger and stronger than he was. Arthur needed to change his tactics. I wished I could help him.
It almost seemed unfair how the more petite angel had to battle with the larger warrior. Arthur had to duck and tousle his body away to avoid the plumbing blows that would surely knock him to the ground.
The older warrior threw their wings back before they swiped down at the ground at Arthur's legs. He didn't see it coming, tripping over himself with his Branchie flying away from him. The older warriors' wings buckled, sending dust at Arthur's face. He shielded himself with his Pedal, pushing into the dirt as he stayed hunched over on the ground.
The elder warriors advanced, their Branchies aimed directly at the side of Arthur's head. The boy quickly moved aside, using the Pedal to shove against the attacker's chest and keep them at bay. It was effective; he managed to position the Pedal between himself and the other warrior, just enough to block the impending blow.
At that moment, he looked around frantically as he was being forced into the dirt. The older warrior was trying to break his spirit, applying relentless pressure to make him give up. However, Arthur refused to surrender. I observed closely as the thoughts in his mind came together, forming an idea.
Using his smaller body, the boy twisted out of the hold to go completely under his Pedal and out on the other side. When he escaped the other's grasp, the boy flicked his wings back, using his leg to kick the older warrior in the back and into the ground. Having that one stall moment, Arthur rushed over to his Branchie, picking it up with brisk hands.
Of course, the older warrior was fast, lightning fast. They were back up and on him in a split second.
Arthur didn't have his defense anymore; his Pedal lay untouched, dug into the dirt. But he did have his Branchie. Now, he had to use his own size and speed to evade the other.
The Branchie made a swift swipe at the boy's head just as he dodged, causing me to bounce on my feet. They engaged in a back-and-forth motion, and I was beginning to sense that the boy might not win. After a while, as they continued this same rhythm, I noticed that the older warrior began to sag slightly.
My eyebrows raised for a moment, watching how the older warrior had to stop for a second.
They were getting dizzy!
Arthur took that moment of stall to his advantage. Jumping up and onto the older warrior, he pressed his foot into their chest to take them down. With a dull thud, Arthur placed his Branchie near their head, keeping his foot down onto it. He had them surrender.
It was silent, all of the warriors and even Apollonia had to stop for a second at the surprising victory of the small warrior. Unlike them, I quickly jumped up with my hands in the air.
"I knew you could do it!" I yelled out, making Arthur stumble slightly when he helped the other warrior up. "Good job!"
"Good job, Arthur!" Casey also joined in on the encouragement while the warrior went back to their places.
Arthur nodded to us, his face burning a bright crimson with embarrassment. He stood beside me as I nudged him to look at me. He did so, his wings a trembling mess. "You did good."
His smile grew, and his eyes softened. "Thank you, Vienna."
I gave him a comforting nudge with my wings, quickly pulling away when Arden had made her way over to us. With our backs straight and eyes forward, Arden turned to the short boy with a side eye. It soon morphed into a smirk, then a smile.
"You did well."
I could sense the tension dissipating from Arthur, even though I couldn't see him. He nodded respectfully as the large warrior walked away. Apollonia took her place but didn't announce the next fight just yet. Instead, she looked at Arthur, her smile bright as her dreads swung around her.
She firmly pulled the boy into a spine-breaking hug. "I knew you had it in you!" She put him back onto the ground, stabling the boy who wobbled slightly. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gave a genuine grin. "You are no longer a little mouse, you are a prying fox! Great, sneaky predator!"
Arthur giggled, his face turning red and wings shaking. He nodded to her, smiling all over.
I raised a brow, causing Apollonia to turn to me. She cocked her head to the side. "You'll need to prove yourself, too. Or else you're always going to be the little mouse with teeth." She giggled with mischief as she walked away.
I growled behind her back but kept my stance upright and forced.
I knew I had to win my one-on-one matchup. Apollonia must be testing me, or she believes that Arthur was able to defeat his opponent, so she expects me to do the same. I was the smallest person in the group, with Arthur being only a few inches taller. Regardless of what she thought, I was determined to win.
The rest of the groups went at it, leaving at least two more, and then me. But the session was over, and we were all sent away. I stayed a few more minutes with Arthur, speaking with him about the fight and how he managed to win.
"I-I really don't know.. I just used what we were trained with."
"You were the only one to win against them! You're the best one here, you know that?"
"N-No!" The boy quickly retorted, his face burning at the compliment.
"Sure are," I nudged him, meeting his eyes. "I knew you could do it."
He blushed even more, turning his head away just as Casey came over with Kingston and Flint following behind. "Hey! Stop hogging him!"
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes at the loudmouth.
Flint came over to nudge his face into the small warrior, earning a low coo and a grunt in response. Arthur turned to his boyfriend, who had Kingston sitting loyally on his side. "What's up, Casey?"
"Thought we were gonna go train with them on our own?"
"Oh!" The boy suddenly jumped, his wings bristling in realization as he re-equipped his armor. "Right. I kinda forgot about that…"
"It's cool," he slung his arm over the other's shoulder. "I would do it if I won against one of those mighty warriors."
"Stop!" The small boy whined as he released himself from the others to climb onto Flint. Casey did the same with Kingston, facing the sky and ready to take off. He waited for Arthur, the boy with the buzz cut, who looked down at me before he flew off. "Thanks again, Vienna. You're a good friend!"
"Thanks, but I barely did anything," I replied, shrugging and trying to ignore the blush creeping up my neck at his praise. He waved goodbye before Flint jolted into the sky with a glide of his wings, joining Casey's wolf. They took off, leaving the field with a few stray warriors lingering behind.
I looked around, and I had nothing to do-
Casper sat by my feet, looking up at me as he whined. I realized I needed to practice and train with him, something I had almost forgotten about. Now was the perfect time to do it since I wasn't meeting with anyone else. This would be a great opportunity to prepare for my upcoming one-on-one session, which will definitely take place in the next meeting.
So I pulled my wrist up to put on my armor again, motioning for the pup below to run with me into the trees. I stopped after a few seconds of running. We were buried deep in the forest, with the large oak trees covering us from below. I turned to Casper, who had his tail in the air, ready for what was to come next.
"Alright, we're actually doing this now, Casper," I placed my hands on my hips, giving the dog a look before I pulled my Branchie out. I turned to face a tree, swinging down at it and embedding the sword in the tree. The Pedal was soon placed next to it, giving my arms free range for what was to come.
I waved at Casper, lifting my wings up and spreading them out. "Follow along."
He barked, opening his own wings and spreading them wide across from me. I nodded to him in affirmation, flapping my wings up and down in a rhythm that the pitbull soon followed with his own.
I jumped into the air, my wings lifting me higher as they flapped rhythmically. The air around me grew slightly colder. I didn't rise too high because I wanted to make sure Casper was following me. Thankfully, the pup was right below, swirling around me with his smaller wings beating quickly.
Seeing his excitement, I felt my own blood rush and a smile crease across my face. I tipped my wings down, dripping for a second before they opened back up for the wind to catch me and toss me around.
"Catch me if you can, Casper!" I looked down below me, seeing the pup wiggly around with joy, his tongue out as he registered my words. I could see him sprint up, his wings cupped to give him the speed to catch up with me in the sky.
I dodged him, dipping my wings backward and falling with my back towards the trees. Casper was unable to turn his body entirely, his paws kicking in the air as he cupped his wings to his body and followed right after me.
With his wings cupped, he quickly caught up to me. I turned to the side before he could nip at me. He stayed behind me, the flap of his wings synchronized with mine as we flew in dizzying circles through the sky. I turned and flipped around, dodging all of his attempts to catch me.
He didn't give up and continued to chase me. Soon enough, I started to feel tension in my wings, causing me to slow down and allow the pitbull to catch up. He barreled into me, his paws landing on my shoulders and his tongue directly in my face. I gave him some encouraging words and gentle pats, both of our wings battling the air as we stayed afloat in the sky.
"Alright, now you have to change your size this time, Casper." He tilted his head, his ears falling onto his head in distressed confusion. "Come on, I know you can do it, buddy." I moved my hand over to the base of his neck, where his collar was, pressing down on it so he could also equip his armor.
He was startled for a second before he eased back into me. His blue eyes turned to me, a whine that sounded confused, making my lips turn into a line. Could he not change forms without Janus or something?
Maybe playing tag with him wasn't the best starting option.
I twirled us around, finding a position in the air where I could let him go while we both remained at the same level. I started to speak a few words, trying to discover what would resonate with him. However, nothing seemed to work, and I began to think that he couldn't change forms without Janus.
Giving out a breathy sigh, I slowed down the flaps of wings to fall back onto the grass below. Casper was soon down with me as well, his eyes wide like he assumed he had failed me. I smiled, rubbing his head and under his eye with a low coo before I pulled away and in the direction of my Branchie and Pedal.
When I got to them, I stopped for a second to think. With my hand on the weapon, I released it from the trunk with a thud.
It was loud for a second, guns firing, screening of men—familiar…
All of it was similar, but I didn't want it to be. I tried to fight it, to let it go.