The Goddesses World

I hunched over, breathing deeply while words spun around and around. I didn't pay attention; I only held myself slow and steady to breathe in deeply. I felt so tired and uncomfortable, but a bit of excitement existed. It was thrilling—my body was shaking with adrenaline.

"That was awesome, Vienna!" Seth appeared next to me, a big smile on his face. 

Bridget was next to him, a hand on my shoulder as I breathed heavily. "No one's done that before; it was actually pretty awesome." She laughed, pulling me up as I caught my breath. "Well- you're awesome."

I smirked at that, making eye contact with the angel. 

"Heck yeah, she is awesome!" A voice cheered from beside me. A shoulder bumped my own, and a brush of soft feathers ran on my skin. I turned to be met with the vibrant red-haired angel. "I haven't seen anyone with wings do something stupid- and make it look cool!"

"Hey-" Bridget stepped forward, blocking the hyper angel from me. "Be nice."

"Right, right," they looked past the braided-haired girl and over to me. You were great; honestly what you did was so cool!"

"Thanks," I breathed out, not knowing what to respond with. I wiped my sweaty face, feeling Bridget retract her hand from my shoulder. "Who.. who are you?"

"My name?" The angel smiled lightly, tossing their hair in the air with a dramatic sigh. "Rory, my name's Rory." They turned a pout to Bridget, who stood in front of me. "I thought you already knew about me. I'm pretty popular around here."

Bridget rolled her eyes, turning back to me and ignoring Rory. "Are you feeling better? Are you ready for the next thing Seth and I want to show you?"

"Well.." I looked to the side, hearing Rory whine at Bridget's treatment of them. Seth appeared behind his friend, a hand around her shoulder and a hopeful smile. "I guess I do feel a bit more energized."

"Great, let's show you how to fly!" Seth suddenly stepped forward, leading me to the edge of the platform. I wasn't about to follow, watching as the two stepped forward.

Bridget turned around, looking back at me encouragingly. I straightened my back, walking forward to stand next to them. They were looking into the open sky where angels, cupids, and heaven pups flew around in joy. But instead of looking up, I looked down. Peering at the far fall below, I couldn't believe I was able to climb this high.

"Don't look down," Seth abruptly said from beside me, guiding his hand up into the air. "Look up and only up before you take the leap."

"L-Leap..?" I looked back at him, confused but quickly understanding what they were getting at. I wasn't so sure anymore about learning to fly. I still had questions I needed answers to.

Before I could say anything, Bridget stepped forward. "Leap of faith: You have to take the first step. Learning to fly is trusting yourself, it comes naturally."

"Uhm.." I gulped, shaking my head silently before stepping back. The pair looked back at me as I retracted, "I don't think I can…"

"You climbed the damn vine that was about 80 feet, and you're saying you can't take one jump forward?" Rory came from behind me, a hand on my shoulder while their wing closed around my back. 

"Rory!" Bridget stepped forward, intending to protect or pull me away, but the red-haired angel came forward. They blocked the smaller girl from me, standing right in front of me, so all I could see was them.

"Climbing is harder than flying. It will be a piece of cake for you!"

"I-I can't just.. I can't trust myself." 

Rory laughed out loud, flapping their wings behind them before they were lifted off the ground and into the sky. "You will have to learn how to fly eventually," Rory smirked.

"That sounds like a threat.." I cautioned, stepping back.

Rory gave a mischievous look, but before they could come forward, Seth appeared behind them. He was also in the sky, pushing Rory away from me while driving their wings up and down to push them off balance. "That's not how we help new angels, Rory!"

The angel being yelled at crossed their arms, aiming their body up so they looked like they were standing in midair. "It is the quickest though.."

"Ignore them, Vienna." Bridget stepped forward, her hands outstretched in front of me. She gave a small and optimistic smile- encouraging me to grab her arms. 

I shook my head more hesitantly this time. "I don't think..." I sighed, pulling my arms down before looking back at the small girl. "If I do this... you will answer some of my questions, right?"

Bridget's eyes widen, she looked confused for a moment. She then gives a small giggle, "of course I will."

My hand was in hers, and my feet were dragged forward back to the edge, where I cast my eyes up this time. Bridgets squeezed my hand, causing me to turn to her. All she did was smile, and I scratched my head nervously. "So I just.. jump?"

"Start by getting to know your wings," Seth said in front of me. I turned to see the boy flapping his wings while in the air. Rory wasn't next to him, scowling while crisscrossing around behind me. "Do what I'm doing, just grounded," he instructed.

While holding Bridget's hand, I turned my gaze to behind me, watching the white limbs flutter up in the same motion. Feathers and wind blew from the force, blowing onto the ground below me and almost pushing me up. It was easy enough to make the wings do what I wanted; it was just the uncertainty of how much strength I had to do it.

Could they really hold my weight?

I was about to find out. I kept my eyes open, holding tightly onto Bridget's hand before stepping forward. She held on tightly, silently following me while my wings did all the work behind me.

"Just trust yourself." She said, letting go of my hand while I kept looking forward.

My next step seemed to miss the ground. I didn't feel the wood under my feet; nothing grounded me anymore. I was off the platform, and my whole body was flying in the air, only a few feet behind Seth.

My wings kept me up, but I still slipped and almost tumbled below the platform. It was a slow fall, but still—it felt like falling. My wings trembled on impulse, blowing wind below my feet and into the sky. The opening made it easier to keep me up, it wasn't like it was grounding me in place- only keeping me up.

My arms moved in front of me while my legs withered around for some ground to land on. I still looked forward, shifting my body around while my wings suddenly tilted. I fell forward, the limbs on my back tightening up in fear. 

The arms I stretched out in desperation were caught. My eyes shot back open, looking up at the angel who held me. Seth gave a laugh, a bit of excitement in his eyes as he watched me, "you're doing great! I got you; keep flapping your wings, find a pattern."

I did what I was told. Closing my eyes, I found a pattern with my wings, slowing down the motion but keeping the powerful flaps in them. My body was no longer desperately moving around. I had a hold on myself, it made me feel more confident. 

The wings' strength was evident, and they pushed me forward and farther up. I noticed that with the same pattern, I was no longer moving. All Seth did was hold me but he didn't try to stop me from moving, so I was doing it by myself.

I kept myself stable, plated in the sky, with only my hands holding onto someone.

I opened my eyes and looked around before looking back at Seth. The boy smiled cheerfully, showing teeth. "That's it! You got it."

Bridget laughed. She flew behind me before ending up to my left, watching as I found a balance with my wings. "Just let go when you think you can do it."

"D-Do what?" I asked.

"Fly, of course," she exclaimed, tossing her head back into the air. Her wings lay flat, catching her and shooting the small girl back up into the sky while she laid on her back.

A few angels joined her, doing the same thing she did. They caught themselves, gradually shooting into the sky with their wings spread wide. It looked and sounded fun. The angels laughed together, playing, tossing each other around, and holding each other's hands; some even brushed their wings together.

Seth laughed out loud. "Show off!"

"Come on, girl!" Rory was also in the sky, motioning for us to follow them. They turned back in the direction of the others, flapping their wings. It was powerful, sending feathers flying all around. Feathers fell on us from above; the wooden platform was also covered in them.

Seth slowly started to move up, and his wings moved effortlessly as he was lifted into the sky. He followed Rory, watching them wrestle with Bridget and the others. He turned back down to me. 

"Keep looking up." He winked, flying higher and higher up. It was slow; he was purposely slow for me to catch up, like he didn't want to leave me alone.

It didn't feel that scary anymore. As the sky and angels came closer, I didn't have much to fear. I felt ready, comfortable, and maybe even daring. Without saying anything, I released my hold on Seth's arm. He looked down in surprise, trying to grab me again and only stopping when he noticed my expression. He returned my look with a grin and let me go.

He shot himself back up above me, glancing down at me a few times. Either way, I was left alone. I didn't let it get to my head too much. I flapped my wings hard and strong, the air that was created from my wings pushed me up. The pattern was starting to get tiring; my wings almost felt sore. But I knew if I stopped, I would fall.

So I didn't stop, my body straight and head looking directly up while my wings did all the work behind me. Some stray feathers fell past me or blew in my face. The wind blowing past me was making the momentum I found hard to follow. My pattern strayed, throwing me off as my legs started to stir. 

Seth looked back down, concern crossed over his face. "You need help?"

"No.." I breathed out, I was closer to him now. He had stopped, waiting in the middle of the air for me to catch up. I did, flying next to him; he stopped me with his hand outstretched. "You don't have to keep going. Try to ground yourself without moving."

"How-"

"You will know how; just levitate like this." He showed how with his hands on his hips, a carefree expression on his face. I watched his wings. They slowed down, still strong but not as powerful as they were in getting him up here. The wind kept him floating in the same place, he was no longer moving.

I followed what he did and turned around. I watched my wings with amazement. I don't know how, but I wasn't moving anymore. I stayed floating in this position; my body relaxed, and my exhaustion wasn't as exhausting. I wasn't using a lot of my power; I was just floating midair like Seth.

I couldn't hide the smile on my lips. I laughed out loud, excited at how quickly I caught on. Seth smiled back. "You got it! You're doing it, Vienna!"

"You're doing great!" Bridget yelled from above.

"Get your butts up here, come on!" Rory cut in the moment with their enthusiastic voice. They hunched their back, smiling while their wings flapped wildly behind them. 

Everyone in the sky looked like they were having fun, like a game was happening above. I got excited, and without noticing it- I made my wings snap back harder. I forced my body up so I was no longer staying in place.

Seth blew past me more elegantly while I struggled to continue flying up. Still, I blew fast and hard, wanting to reach the rest of the angels. It was so much fun doing this, but I wanted to feel what it was like up there with them.. in the middle of the sky, where light never stopped shining.

"Come on!" Bridget shot forward, encouraging me to continue; everyone above me did. They laughed and flew around, tossing glances and smiles my way.

My body was happily going forward, slowly—yes, but I was having fun. With a smile on my lips, I couldn't remember the last time I felt this much excitement, this much thrill.

Well.. I couldn't remember anything at all. Nothing was on my mind, but the feeling was so familiar. I knew that doing something like climbing the vine or flying around in the sky where I could possibly fall. The adrenaline was pumping, and my thoughts were through the roof.

I didn't know why I felt like this..

There was a reason behind this feeling. Behind me- what I was. 

What.. who am I? 

My vision flashed, and a bright light pierced my eyes. I was suddenly somewhere else, no longer in the sky and feeling air blow through my hair. I was on the ground with the sound of guns firing all around me. But it still felt exhilarating; my hands bore a large weapon, and my eyes peered through a scope at a target. I was shooting at it, hitting every shot, the recoil hitting me in the chest.

A smile was plastered on my face.

It was exciting and thrilling. Bits and pieces of burnt gunpowder sprayed back at me while I shot. It hit my large goggles before flying past my face; my small body was dug into the ground, and I didn't even flinch back at the power from the gun. My eyes were strained forward, and all I was focusing on was my target.

I sighed just as I ran out of ammo. I brought the gun away from my face, gasping out in excitement. 

"All in the head!" I yelled out, turning my eyes to a man above me. 

His face was shadowed, a ghostly smile on his face. "All in the head." 

My body suddenly shook in shock, fear rippling through my bones and causing goosebumps along my skin. My eyes shot open, tears suddenly lining my eyes. I flung my arms forward, trying to grab onto something, when I realized I was back in the sky. I was falling, my hands reaching out for anything to hold onto. 

The wind blew and hit my exposed back, my wings flapping uncontrollably. The tears blurred my vision, but I could faintly see white figures above me. They were so far away—their cries were too distant for me to grasp.