Chapter 12: "Pups Cove"

We made our way to where we first saw Pup's Cove. I watched the three trails down and onto the soft grass. I was less graceful, stumbling slightly after them before catching myself. Now that I was closer—the cove was much larger than it had looked from the sky. It was a large and fluffy bush surrounded by different leaves and foliage. There was no roof or anything to cover it; it exposed the interior, which I had seen just slightly when I was up in the sky.

Once we were on the ground, I looked around for an entrance into the cove. But it looked like there wasn't any. It wasn't until Seth and Rory walked up to the large cove that the ground started to open up. It was extending out, and the ground came up; swallowing the two alive. I stood in shock, not moving an inch. Bridget stood beside me, giving a little chuckle. 

"It's okay, that's normal," she looked up, her hand grabbing a hold of mine, dragging me into the hole that was now closing. "Let's hurry before it closes!"

"What—" I couldn't respond before falling down the hole with her. I held the smaller angel's hand tightly as we slid down the hole and onto a soft patch of grass.

Bridget giggled, ruffling the small leaves that fell into her hair. She then stood up, taking me by the hand to help pull me up. I was shaking slightly, a bit frightened over the fall. It was a drop, a drop that they all jumped into. But it wasn't really scary; it only caught me off guard. Now that I was thinking about it, it was fun. We landed on soft grass patches along with a few dried leaves that were inside the cove.

We—we were inside the cove.

I made my way to my feet, brushing off the greenery that landed in my hair. Bridget held tightly onto my hand, now guiding me into the large place. It was sunny, and the bright sun lit up the expansive cove surrounded by leaves and vines covering the interior. But the vines had no thorns; it was soft like the ground. Not only was it a smooth and vibrant green, but a few bits of hay and what seemed to be bedding were on the ground. It was a bit messy in the enormous place; it was also filled with Heaven Pups.

The dogs were all different colors, shapes, and sizes with abnormal patterns. Some were fluffy with short tails, and some were small with longer tails. But they all had something in common—they all had wings that matched their fur colors. All of them were just so adorable. I hadn't really had the time to see these creatures and their calm, playful nature.

Rory was on the ground, cuddling a few fluffy poodles and chihuahuas that ran up to them. Seth tackled a massive Great Dane before making the pup run after him. The two played around, encouraging me and Bridget to do the same.

Bridget ignored them and instead walked up to pet a brown Shibu. The older dog let the pets ease him, laying down for Bridget to rub its belly. She giggled, sitting down and rubbing all the spots.

I watched with a faint smile on my face. This place felt so warm, so cozy. It was filled with life and love; the ground was soft and comforting, and the sun gave me the urge to lay under it. I turned to a few whining noises, noticing some dogs jumping up at me. I knelt and gave them a few pets.

My eyes wandered. I looked behind them, noticing a small den pushed inside the bushes. It was big but not too large, enough to house a few dogs at a time. More of the same dens were around in the leaves. I noticed a few of the leaves moving. The leaves blew up in the air, flying around and hitting me as a barreling figure ran into me.

I fell over, landing on my back with my wings flying out to catch me. I had a large amount of weight on my chest, along with the wet feeling of a tongue licking my face.

It looked like a pitbull mix. It wasn't too big, but big enough to knock me off my feet. It sat on my chest, drooling all over me and licking with such enthusiasm that it was hard to breathe. I had to push it away, sitting up so my wings didn't get crushed.

"Okay—okay!" I laughed out, scratching behind the pitbulls ear to calm it down. Their wings flapped happily, a goofy grin on their face.

I laughed at them, moving my hand down to rub its neck. I shifted when I felt something hard. Looking down; I noticed a hanging collar. It had a bright red string with a nameplate on it.

"Hm, Casper?" I looked into his eyes and noticed his tail swish wildly behind him when I called his name. The name made sense; he was all white with bright blue eyes, with no color except the red on his neck to show off his name. "Well, aren't you a cutie?"

"Hey, Casper buddy," Bridget kneeled beside me, petting the happy pup to guide him off from me. I dusted myself off, wiping the drool from my face.

"Oh, you met that little guy!" Rory came over, carrying a miniature black poodle in their arms. They set them down, letting the poodle run over to Casper.

They sniffed each other before bounding up in the air with small flaps of their wings. I noticed they didn't take flight; they played around and glided near the ground but never left the ground or the cove. They jumped around while Bridget lifted me from the ground with her hand. When the pitbull noticed I had stood up, he jumped back over to me.

I saw it coming and steadied my feet, holding onto his paws before they could dig into my skin. I chuckled, feeling his tail move through his entire body in joy. He was cute; he just didn't have any boundaries.

"He likes you," Bridget noticed, trying to shoo him off from me with a gentle touch. The pitbull gave her a look before returning to what he was doing. 

I forced my body to straighten, looking down at the dog. It was shaking with excitement, yipping back and forth for more attention. "Sit," I pointed to the ground, and to my surprise, the pup listened to me with his tail wagging furiously. "Good boy," I gave him some minor scratches under his ear.

"So you're also good with dogs~" Rory appeared beside me; a side eye and a smirk told me all I needed to know about their intention. Still, I rolled my eyes at them with a faint smile; their hands went around my shoulder and held me proudly. "You would make a great girlfriend; you have everything a boyfriend would want!"

I blushed, pushing myself free. "What—what are you talking about!?"

"Aww, you look so cute when embarrassed," Rory smiled, laughing and pointing at my flushed face.

I huffed, moving away from them and towards the still-sitting pitbull. He looked up at me expectantly. I sighed and motioned my hand forward, "up."

The pup leaped up and onto me. I fell over again, and the dog took the chance to drool all over me with sloppy kisses. "Ueh—ew!" I laughed out loud, doing very little to push him away.

More dogs showed up to show their affection, slobbering all over me with proud looks. They all came to my face, kissing and yipping happily. 

"Who fell and is getting attacked?" I heard Seth through the mess of dog faces.

Bridget giggled, but it was Rory who responded. "None other than Vienna. Can't you catch up, blondie?"

"Ugh, why are you so touchy?" Seth said in annoyance.

"Can someone help—" I tried to say as the pups pushed into my face.

Bridget came into my view, pushing them away with a gentle touch. Seth followed behind her, flapping his wings and pushing the wind in my direction. The pups looked over at him, suddenly feeling interested in the angel. He called for them before swiping into the air and flying up. The pups followed but stayed on the ground while jumping at him.

Rory was up with him, picking up a tiny pomeranian on the way. They were also above the dogs, playing around with the fluff ball in their arms; it cuddled closer into Rory's chest.

When I could sit up again, I noticed how all the Heaven Pup's didn't use their wings. I also noticed that Casper was still here, sitting close and obediently to my side. When he came forward, I put a finger up to stop him. "Don't."

He listened and took a step back, yipping out a whine. I pointed down to the grass, "lay down." He listened again, laying his head in my lap for more pets. I couldn't say no.

While I rubbed his soft fur, Bridget came behind me and kneeled on the ground to join me. She sat comfortably close, petting the pitbull while watching Rory and Seth fly around us.

"Uhm.. Bridget, can I ask a question?"

She turned to me, "of course."

"Why aren't the Heaven Pups flying? They do know how to fly, right?" 

Bridget nodded with a tiny giggle. "The pups only fly when they are ordered to or are in action."

"In Action?" I questioned, more confused than before.

"They fight and are trained to protect themselves and the angels when there is danger. We don't have much danger here, so they just fly around to get some of their energy out." She turned her back to Casper, laying down beside him so the sun could warm up her face.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. But don't they want to fly? Are they deprived of it?"

"They fly if they really want to," the small angel clarified. "The goddess has taught them not to fly all the time so they don't go around and run into anyone. Especially the cupids. It's good for everyone; it doesn't stop anyone from having freedom. Being here is all about being free, Vienna."

"Right.." I looked back to the pup in my lap; his tail had calmed down, and he wasn't as energized as he was before. I glanced at Bridget, confused about something she had said about the cupids. "—what do you mean by not running into the cupids?"

"Uhh…" Bridget looked away from me, nervously biting her lip. I leaned in, eyeing her with suspicion. 

"Well?"

Her lips formed into a tight line, her brows close together while she tried to avoid answering. Her face turned red as a blush traveled up her neck. I couldn't help but feel utterly lost and confused. What am I missing here?

Rory was suddenly beside me, crouching down with us. "Talking about cupids, are we~?" They sat next to the smaller angel, who rolled her eyes and moved closer to me. Rory ignored that, looking at me instead, "do you want to know? It looked like someone was too embarrassed to explain."

"Explain what?" I asked more clearly, wanting to know what the redhead was getting at and what made Bridget so embarrassed.

Rory gave an evil smirk as Bridget shoved her face into her knees. Rory then looked back at me and relaxed on the grass. "The cupids have hyper-reactive senses when it comes to other beings. Exceptionally with their wings."

I titled my head, feeling more confused. "What?"

"Alright, I'll explain it more clearly since you're not following me." Rory pointed at me and then motioned to my wings, "if any of us—not just angels—if our wings touch even the slightest of a cupid's bare skin, the cupid will feel our energy. Cupids are able to feel all of our deepest desires, they are able to use it and move that desire towards another being. It's kinda like pairing two things together but with actual living things."

My mouth opened wider and I could just gape at that explanation. Some of that made sense; it brought me back to the first encounter I had with a cupid. My wing grazed their shoulder when I was running. I remember her face, she had turned red and looked like she had seen something..

I blushed, looking down in embarrassment. It makes sense why everyone was keeping their wings close to them when cupids were present in the dance room. It was now all making sense to me, still oddly embarrassing to know that they saw me uncovered and were able to see my desires...

"Oh.." I looked down, ignoring Rory's wild laugh while they watched me turn red. Now here me and Bridget were with red faces while another angel laughed their heads off.

The commotion caused Seth to come over; he shoved Rory's shoulder before sitting beside Bridget and me. "Alright—alright, enough of that!"

"That's hilarious! Your face—Vienna is so cute!" Rory teased me with a wail, and I glared at them.

"Let's.. let's not talk about what the cupids can do; you know they don't do it on purpose..." Bridget shook her head, trying to push away her embarrassment. 

"Cupids?" Seth looked back and forth from Rory and then to Bridget. "Oh, okay, that makes sense," he chuckled with a small blush.

"How about this?" Rory stood up, dusting off their legs before putting their hands on their hips. "Let's go to Cupid's Cove and meet some of them. We can ask more questions about their ability?"

"Finally a great idea coming from you," Seth stood up alongside them.

Rory giggled but didn't fight back. They stood up and both me and Bridge followed after. While we made our way out, I heard whining come from behind me; it was Casper who tried to follow after us. He whined, pawing at the ground when I stopped to look at him.

"Can he come?" I said out loud.

Rory stopped and turned to the white pup. "Sure he can, he just can't exactly fly out of here…" The angels behind me spread their wings out and watched me walk over to the pitbull.

"Please don't be heavy.." I begged before trying to lift him up. Luckily, he wasn't that heavy, he had gone limp when I lifted him which made it easier for me to fly out of the cove with the rest of my friends.

Casper stayed still, with his tail being the only thing moving. He wasn't hard to get out since as soon as I set him down, he jumped up to lick at my face. 

I patted his head, looking up when the other three came up beside me. "You guys can continue to fly if you want, I can walk-"

"It's fine, we can walk together," Seth said as he followed in step with me.

Rory put their arms around my shoulder, a smile on their lips. "We stick together!" 

I laughed at the redhead, who giggled along with me. We ended up walking along the ground with Casper trotting beside us; his tail still wagging happily the whole way.