They were red—they had to have been red—there couldn't have been any other way! Arden glanced over to where Casper lay with Vienna pressed next to him. She couldn't help the nervous gulp at the sight of the unconscious angel. Why were her eyes red?
"Hon?" Apollonia called for her, "Are you okay? What's going on with you?"
"Nothing." Arden pushed past her, ignoring the desperate talking coming from Arthur and the other angels who hung out with the angel. She went for the Warrior Goddess who had not even tried to check on the injured angel. Arden held back a growl. "Goddess."
"Arden." Ballona turned to her, giving the warrior a stern look. Her eyes soon fell back to Vienna. "You beat her, good job."
"She is injured, it's.. bad. She lost consciousness. May I help take her back to her cove, where she could recover?"
Ballona turned back to her, eyebrows frowning. "The session is not over."
The tall warrior bit the inside of her cheek. "I know, however, because of Vienna's loss of consciousness, I will be ending it here and taking her back."
Ballona crossed her arms, clearly unhappy. "It's your squad, Arden; you can do what you want." She started to leave but turned back to give him a stern glare. "Though I know the real reason you want to bring her back is more than you're letting on."
She gulped, turning away from the huge goddess. "Thank you, goddess."
Ballona left, allowing Arden to take deeper, more confident breaths. She knew that Apollonia would have many requests of her, but those could wait. The warrior took in the sight of the small angel leaning against Casper. Arthur and Casey had made it down to the arena, disregarding Apollonia's warnings not to come; they were there to check on Vienna.
Arden made her way over, calling out to her wolf.
"I can't see anything too serious right now." Casey gave a look over her, moving her armored hand up to see her side.
"It's because of the armor." Arthur let out a sad breath. "She is probably really bruised up. We should take her armor off so she cools down." Arthur pressed the angel's wrist, taking the armor off so that the unconscious angel could take in deep breaths in her state.
With Becklewood by her side, Arden forced the pair to leave Vienna. "Go back and listen to Apollonia," she shooed them away.
Arthur trembled, looking around wearily. "Uhm.. we should take Vienna back to her cove," he said.
"I am already on it, Arthur. Go on."
Both males gave the tall warrior a strange look before nodding and approaching Apollonia. The warrior began to dismiss the angels, telling them that the session was over as the warriors, looking confused, flew away. Once all the warriors had departed, Apollonia returned to Arden, her concern evident as her eyes followed Vienna.
"Is.. she gonna be okay?"
Arden huffed as she knelt down and pressed her bare hand to her head. "Yes, I believe the Gate Goddess will find her and help heal her. Or the Mother Goddess; they won't let an angel suffer in pain for too long." Before Arden could pull Vienna into her embrace, Casper let out a deep growl.
"Such a protective cutie," Apollonia giggled, moving over to smooth Casper's head with gentle pats. He allowed her to pet him, a low, purr-like rumble escaping his throat, which distracted him while Arden gathered the angel in her arms.
The Heaven Pup was distracted until Arden began to move toward Becklewood. He jumped up, his wings flared and teeth bared at the wolf. Becklewood growled in response, positioning himself protectively in front of Arden, who was cradling the small angel. It could have turned out badly if Arden hadn't given a gentle command to the wolf.
"Stand down."
It was clear Becklewodd did not want to. But he listened, steering back and lowering his head to Casper. That made the giant pitbull stop. He tilted his head, obviously not expecting a Heaven Wolf to back down. Apollonia came over to the pup, petting down his raised fur. "It's okay, boy, they won't hurt Vienna."
He whined, patting at the dirt with concerned blue eyes, trying to look for his angel. Arden gently moved over onto Becklewood's back, and the wolf lowered himself so that Arden could place Vienna in front of her. She then climbed on after, holding onto Vienna's waist so she could not fall.
Vienna let out a pained moan, curling her wings at the pain. With that noise, Casper quickly tried to jump over to her.
Apollonia stepped in between the two and shook her head. "Hey, she's okay, Casper." He whined, his ears drooping against his head. Apollonia paused for a moment, hearing Vienna's soft cries of pain as Arden adjusted their positions. "Take her to her cove, okay, Casper? Help Becklewood and Arden get her back safely, alright?"
Casper fidgeted with his wings, looking back and forth between the two before letting out a huff and jumping up. Apollonia waved to Arden, glancing one last time at the small warrior in her arms before the three of them flew off into the distance.
Arden followed Casper all the way to Angels Cove, but by the time they arrived, she wasn't sure which direction to take. So, she let the large pup lead the way. She noticed the curious and astonished stares from the angels and a few cupids nearby. To keep Vienna hidden, Arden pressed her gently into the wolf's fur, making sure she was comfortable.
Arden knew that none of their Heave Wolves had ever come to the coves, which is why so many beings, including the giant Heaven Pup, were awe-struck.
Speaking of the said pup, he was outside a room, waiting for Arden. Becklewood stood a few feet away, letting Arden slip down with Vienna in her arms.
Casper maintained his tense posture, fixated on the wolf, until he caught sight of Vienna. He suddenly shrank back, lowering himself to slip past Arden as she entered the room. She gently placed Vienna down and watched as Casper quickly jumped up and curled next to her. Arden would have left after that; she had done what she promised—brought Vienna back to her cove.
However, as she examined the small warrior's form, a frown crossed her face. She let out a sigh and moved to sit on the bed beside Vienna. Arden made sure to remove her armor before slowly starting to peel away the white tunic the angel wore. She knew what she would find beneath it, but that didn't stop her from feeling a pang of trepidation.
On both of her sides, large purple bruises were blossoming on her brown skin. They looked like it hurt, along with her neck, which had ugly purple fingerprints closing around her whole neck. Arden couldn't help but just think.
Had I really hit her that hard?
Arden didn't believe she had done any damage, but the bruises on the angel's body told a different story. She had to push back the gut-wrenching realization threatening to overwhelm her. Determined to find any additional injuries, she examined the rest of the angel's body for more cuts or bruises. She discovered another bruise on the angel's ankle, along with several small cuts on her face. Aside from that, there appeared to be no other injuries.
Before the tall warrior covered the angel back up, she paused to look at the bruise on her side one last time. She had never seen an angel with bruises or blood before. The last time she had bled was on the battlefield, where she had fought against hundreds of hellish monsters trying to breach Heaven's Gate.
The eyes of an even bigger monster were watching over it all, an amused smirk on her face.
Arden got lost in her thoughts, unable to feel the suddenly significant presence behind her forming in the room. She didn't notice it until Casper raised his head, a low whine in the back of his throat.
That, and a smooth, cold voice making the warrior's blood run cold.
"What is this?"
Arden quickly pulled Vienna's tunic back up, shifting to stand to her full height in the face of the Gate Goddess. "Goddess." She bowed, trying to stop the sweat from pooling down her face.
Janus said nothing; she kept her eyes fixed on the unconscious angel in the bed. Casper whined under her stone-cold glare, curling up closer to Vienna so the goddess could focus her attention on the warrior.
Arden finally found the courage to look up, shaking slightly on her feet. "I brought Vienna back from the session. She got hurt more badly, which is why she passed out."
Janus walked past her, prompting the warrior to swiftly step aside so she could lean down onto the bed next to Vienna. She pressed a hand on top of the angel, and her face suddenly turned pale. With her eyes closed, Arden had to restrain herself from staring at the pained expression on the goddess's face.
Her golden eye opened back up, and she turned her attention to the warrior in the room. "Did you do it?"
Her heart raced, and a sudden spike of fear stilled in her stomach. She knew better than not to answer. "Yes. We were paired together to fight in the Warrior Goddess's arena." She gulped, "I realized I had gone too hard on her."
"I believe you are not allowed to fight with your students in the arena?"
She was getting more anxious. "Yes. I am not allowed to, but the Warrior Goddess paired us up anyway. She wanted us to fight."
Janus moved a hand down to Vienna's side. She stopped when a hand hovered above a bruise. The room shifted, and the sudden cold that it produced made a chill go down the warrior's spine. "You did this?"
Arden knew better; she was one of the oldest warriors here and had learned from a few mistakes. But this—this was different. The warrior hadn't felt such fear in a long time; it clawed at her throat and suffocated her.
Something inside her shifted; she felt her wings tense and her head pound. The goddess must be doing this, stifling the air to make the warrior suffocate. Desperate to stop the fear from overwhelming her, Arden blurted out, "Y-Yes..! I did—when... when we were fighting... Vienna... her eyes..."
Janus stood to her height, towering over the now-shaking warrior. Arden knew this was uncharacteristic of her, but none of that made sense in this moment; only the fear remained. So she kept talking, "Her eyes... they were red. She was possessed."
She expected her to be shocked, but to her surprise, the goddess did not budge a muscle. "Did you inform anyone about it?"
"N-No..." She gulped, the sudden rush of air filling her lungs again. She let out a raspy breath, feeling fear slowly ebbing away. Coughing a few times, she tried to mask the panic attack she'd just experienced. "I did not. Only I saw it."
"Good. Do not tell anyone about the fight." She sighed as her tense posture relaxed, her wing coming to rest above the angel. Her expression softened. "You are no longer allowed to fight her, no matter what. If the Warrior Goddess commands you to do so, tell her you have orders from me and cannot comply." She cast a glance at Arden.
"Of course, goddess." Arden bowed her head, trying to stop the trembling in her wings.
Janus moved so she could place Vienna in her lap, smoothing a hand down her head and through her hair. "You may leave Arden. Thank you for bringing Vienna to her cove."
"Of course.." She let out a whisper, quickly opening the door and exiting the room. Becklewood was waiting for her, his fur rough when the warrior placed a hand on his muzzle. He was not alone; Juno and Apollonia were there as well. Arden felt her muscles drop at the sight of her warrior.
Apollonia approached her, grabbing and holding her hands tightly. "Are you okay, hon?"
"Yes." Arden smiled, feeling a sense of freedom when holding her.
Apollonia giggled, her eyes suddenly dropping. "Vienna.. is the angel..?"
"Yes," Arden quickly said. She moved to pull the warrior into her chest, feeling the browned-skinned woman's bare skin against her own. She loved the way it felt compared to her armor. "The Gate Goddess is with her. She will be healed."
Apollonia hummed, nodding against the taller woman's chest. "I'm sorry."
Arden looked down at her. "Why are you apologizing?"
"I understand that you didn't want to fight her; you care about the angel. However, you felt compelled to do so because the Warrior Goddess forced your hand." Her wings trembled slightly, revealing her distress. "I tried to warn Vienna to prevent this from happening, but..."
"Hey," Arden pulled her face up, forcing the shorter warrior to look at her. "None of this is your fault. Blame no one, you hear me?"
Hearing the stern words, which almost sounded like an order, made Apollonia grin. She loved that side of Arden, almost as much as she loved the caring and more real side of the warrior.
When she heard the tall warrior discussing the fight with her after the session, it was clear that she felt unhappy and even scared at the thought of having to battle Vienna. Although Arden may not express it, she does have affection for the little warrior. This is one of the reasons why Vienna was given so many chances.
Arden liked her spirit, her will, and her bravery.
The warrior had spoken with Vienna during the session at the arena. Naturally, she had shared the conversation with Apollonia, particularly how Vienna described pain. Arden had experienced pain herself, likely even before Vienna had, which made her feel like an angel. By acknowledging these feelings, which she had suppressed for over a decade, she found a sense of release.
She cared for Vienna, which is why it hurt so bad to have caused her pain.
Apollonia could see the world spiraling into the tall warriors' eyes. She grabbed her face, forcing her head down to meet her dark brown eyes. "Stop thinking that it's your fault then."
Arden smiled, having the warrior care so much for her, to see her hidden worries.
Apollonia stood on her tiptoes, kissing Arden's nose with affection. "No more, okay?"
Red dust spread along her cheeks. She nodded, wrapping a hand around her waist that Apollonia curled into. "Alright."