Axel found his way out of the pond, sitting on the ground where none of the pups could bother him, and he began to ring out his shirt. I was trying to stop my giggling, but it was no use since the angel was already glaring at me. "Thanks for the help."
I cough, trying to catch my breath. "Oh, come on! You know I won't try to help you."
"Wh-" he turned to me, his hair dripping wet. "Didn't we just talk for a moment?"
"You think that made up for what we haven't talked about?" I crossed my arms, raising a brow to him.
He scoffed, running his fingers through his hair. "Of course you know—you're really hard to understand." His wings opened up, splashing water at me. "But your childishness really suits you."
"Excuse me—" I started to respond, then closed my mouth to open my wings and swat his soaked ones away from me. "You're the one who started that fight by not shutting up!"
"You have no self-control," the warrior said, rubbing down his pants that were still soaked. "You need self-control if you want to be a Warrior Angel."
"Oh, you're one to talk to."
"What do you mean by that?" He seethed, taking a step in my direction.
I grinned, crossing my arms and smirking at his reaction. "That's what I mean. You have been doing this more than I, yet have worse control over yourself compared to me."
"Like you know anything, you wanted to fight me in the first place!"
I growled, taking a foot forward like he did. "That's because you gawked even after beating me. You're overconfident, that's what!"
"You, 'little mouse', are a sore loser." He laughed, shrugging his shoulders before giving me a glare.
I gritted my teeth together, stepping closer. "I am not!"
His grin widened, and he tilted down to me. "Sore loser."
My hands clenched into fists as I lunged at him. He didn't see it coming, so he raised his hands to defend himself as I tackled him backward. We rolled on the ground, each of us trying to push and hit the other while blocking blows in return. Our wings spiraled out of control, sending water spraying all around us, but we continued the fight.
"I am not!" I shouted, dodging his fists before he managed to push me into the dirt. The noise from our struggle must have drawn attention; the pups began to bark and yip. I noticed shadows forming above him as the barking grew louder, with the pups rallying together to join in the scuffle with their innocent playfulness.
I knocked my head against his chin, causing him to fall back, and I jumped up to roll him over. He fell, and I followed right after him, splashing into the pond. I felt my wings weighing me down, pulling us under, but we kept moving. Our movements slowed as we wrestled underwater, bubbles swirling around us from our wildly flapping wings, accompanied by a flurry of gurgled insults.
Suddenly, I felt a harsh tug pulling me away, and I was released onto Axel. I let out a yelp as I surfaced, kicking my feet to stay afloat, but then another pup's body pushed me back under. I grabbed them, using my wings to help me push back up and create some space to keep myself above water.
The Heaven Pups were relentless, pushing back down and kicking their paws at me. I felt my skin sting, cutting right into my bone, so I had to bite back a few cries.
The pond was beginning to overflow with puppies. They crowded the surface, leaving me submerged underwater. I kept trying to flap my wings and lift myself up, but sharp nails kept pushing me back down.
Why didn't we cut their nails!?
Our struggle must have startled all the pups into jumping into the water. There were many more than there had been before, and I began to feel a sense of panic. I tried to reach out, but my legs were bruised from their clawing, and my hands felt cut up every time I attempted to grasp the surface.
I could feel the rising pressure and pain intensifying in my head; the pounding grew stronger, and I had to close my eyes to desperately block it out. It was a dull ache at first, but then it became a relentless throb, engulfing my body until I felt nothing. I was numb and limp—blood...
Dawson. He was bleeding..
Heartbeat- he couldn't be dead.. Dawson!
Dawson!
"DAWSON!"
I took a deep breath as a hand pulled me by the wrist, bringing me back to the ground and freeing me from being trapped underwater. I coughed and rubbed my sore eyes. The dull pain in my head began to subside as I took shallow breaths, trying hard to stop my hands from trembling.
Once I managed to calm my breathing and no longer feared that opening my eyes would bring pain, I turned to the hand resting on my shoulder. Axel stood above me, his eyes filled with bewilderment and concern. His mouth was moving, but the words were unclear to me.
"Vienna? Hey? Hello—you can breathe, right? Are you hurt badly, in pain, or is something else wrong? What's with that face?" His hand felt warm on my wet shoulder; his fingers were still damp. Both of us were soaked, our wings lying limp and wet next to us, and our clothing stuck to ourselves.
I took a few more breaths, finally finding the strength to lift myself from the ground and hang on my knees. The pups continued to play in the water, splashing around without knowing what had just happened.
Axel was still asking me questions, so I put my hand up and brushed him off with a low gruff, "I'm fine."
"You're shaking."
I let out a frustrated "Tch-" and brushed my shoulders off, gripping them tightly to steady my trembling body. However, that did little to calm the wild fluttering of my wings behind me. Eventually, I sank to the ground and sat there for a while, breathing deeply and steadily to gather the energy I needed.
I heard Axel sit beside me, staying still with only water dripping from our soaked bodies.
I opened my eyes, sighing when my body felt back to normal, only the small stinging from my cut legs was what I could feel. I coughed, rubbing my hands down my arms with my face heating up, "uh.. thanks."
"Hm?" Axel turned to me, resting his head back until I spoke up.
I didn't want to repeat myself, but I just couldn't not thank him. With an embarrassed face, I turned and spoke up; "Thanks. Thanks for helping me out."
I couldn't see his reaction, but I could hear a little snicker. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Though I do appreciate your apology after you just jumped me."
"You had control over yourself." I shrugged, smiling slightly when he shifted.
"Right," his voice was strained, but I could still hear the smile in it. "I just don't think it was right to leave you in there… You looked really.. hurt." He said it like he didn't know if it was right.
I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment as I sat there, my soaked wings making me feel even more vulnerable and useless. "I was, but you helped me, so it doesn't matter," I replied.
He shifted slightly, and I finally gathered enough courage to look back at him. His gaze was directed down toward my legs, resting on my thighs. "You're bleeding a bit, in case you haven't noticed," he said.
And I was back to being annoyed.
Axel chuckled at my expression. I brushed it off and shakily stood to my feet. The angel was right behind me, his wing coming out behind me like I was going to fall over in a second. I gave him a glare.
"I'm alright."
"Did you not hear what I just said about your legs?"
"It's just blood," I rolled my eyes, flapping my wings together to try and dust off all of the water. "I'm fine."
He tilted his head to shake off the water, giving me a smirk that I came to loathe. "You don't look 'fine.' Is it alright if you sit down and dry off before we head back?"
I turned towards the pond where the pups continued to play. "Don't we have to finish with them?"
"We already did."
"What-" I turned, watching the man shrug himself off and place a hand on his hip.
He turned his smile back to me, pouting his lips like he would to a child. "What? You didn't think we would be this quick?"
I scoffed, "I didn't think you could be this fast."
"I've done this many times. I know what I'm doing."
I was about to respond with a snarky comment, but his words caught up with me. My shoulders stiffened, and all I could do was look back at him. "So... Have you been punished many times before?" The angel looked away, his smile looking shaky.
This would be the perfect time to make fun of him and get back at him for everything that he had done. It was such an ideal moment, but as I tried to form words, I couldn't let out any.
I cleared my voice, drying out my wings while I waved them behind me. I should say at least something; the silence between us was so loud.
My mouth opened, but Axel interrupted me. "When I finished my beginner training and was assigned to work with an older warrior, who trained me, I was like you—maybe even worse." I turned and tilted my head, intrigued. "I thought I was the best, so I tried to defeat all the older warriors I faced. Of course, not only was I beaten, but I also got punished for starting the fights."
I paused for a moment, trying to quell the sting in my heart at his words. "What about the older warriors you fought? Were they punished as well?"
"Nope," he shook his head, eyebrows knitted.
I growled, rolling my eyes.
"They should have." We both said at the same time.
We shared a glance, snickering before erupting into laughter. I shook my head, brushing my hair away from my face in an attempt to compose myself. I felt surprisingly at ease and comfortable laughing with him. He soon cleared his throat and stretched his now dry wings.
"Well," I said, redirecting my attention to him and noticing the easy smile on his face, "I think we should head back. The session will be over soon."
I shook my wings off, feeling the softness as they were no longer wet. I nodded to him, opening them up to jump after the warrior. "Wanna race?"
He scoffed, raising a brow. "I have been training faaaar longer than you. You really think you can beat me?"
"What, are you scared~?" I giggled, mockingly tilting my head.
His smile widened, a hint of mischief behind his gaze. "Of you? Please—" He brushed past me, feathers brushing against my face, which I quickly dusted off. When I looked back up, I saw him waiting for me with his arms crossed. "Let's see if you're quick enough, mouse~?"
Jerk.
It's no surprise that he won; he had much more training with his wings. I genuinely thought I had a chance to beat him. Rory was always good at speed, so I tried to mimic what he did, only to be left in the dust by the guy who bragged about boosting his wings right in front of me when we landed.
"You cheated," I tried to counter, knowing full well he didn't, while I placed a hand on Casper's head when he came over to greet me.
He called my bluff, placing his hands behind his head leisurely. "Did I? Or are you just a sore loser?"
I rolled my eyes, speeding past him to where I caught Arthur and Casey waiting for me. I ran up with them, making both boys stand when I got closer.
"Took you long enough," Casey said with his arms crossed.
"Did we take too long?" I turned to Arthur, ignoring Casey's offended face when I ignored him.
"Not too long, we ended the session not that long ago." He turned his eyes behind me, shrinking on himself when he did so.
I turned to see Axel still standing there, looking like he wanted to say something. I spoke to both boys and asked them to wait before I quickly moved over to him. He nodded, looking slightly embarrassed.
"What? Do you want to rub it in my face some more?" I asked.
He snickered. "No, no. I mean yes, but no." I raised an eyebrow, confused. The guy coughed and extended a hand toward me, standing straight with his wings squared.
Like he would do to address Arden..
"I would like to apologize to you. Formally apologize for baiting you like I did. It was childish, and not how Warriors Angels behave." His eyes opened, softening his look. "I'm sorry. Vienna."
I gulped, suddenly feeling dizzy. I took a moment to look at him, finding his face slightly calming, no longer with that annoying smirk. He looked at me with respect.
I took his hand in mine, feeling him squeeze it in return. All I could manage was a nod and a quiet, "Thanks." I cleared my throat, embarrassment bubbling up inside me, pushing me to speak. "I'm sorry too. I acted rashly, and that got you into trouble." I offered a slight smile. "Though, to be fair, you contributed to it as well."
"Aren't you supposed to be apologizing to me?" His smirk grew, and I had the urge to punch him.
I released his hand and waved at him. "I already did," I said. Turning to leave, I glanced back at the male, who made no effort to stop me. It felt a bit cruel, but I would see him for the next few sessions, as he would be the one personally training me. Now, I had two boys waiting for me impatiently (and none of them were Arthur).
"Ready to go now?" Casey stood to his height, looking very annoyed.
"You know you don't have to come." I shot back at him, ignoring how he towered over me.
Before we took off, I felt Arthur place a hand on my shoulder. He was looking down at my legs, and I almost forgot about the shallow cuts from the pups' claws. He met my gaze, concern pooling in his eyes. I raised my hands and shook my head, responding before he could ask any questions.
"The Heaven Pups got really rowdy when we were grooming them. They're just small cuts."
"B-but..." His lips pressed into a thin line. "Doesn't it still hurt? Some of them look deep enough to bleed."
"I'm fine. They're not bleeding anymore," I said, pushing away from him, feeling trapped by his worried gaze. "Let's get going, alright? Everyone's probably waiting for us at the palace."
I jumped up to fly off, ignoring the shared glances from both boys on either side of me.