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When Burble was just a little cloud baby, he was very aware of his situation. As a cloud, it was simply way too easy to die! When he was born, his father jumped for joy and was lifted by a gust of wind, never to be seen again. When he was a child, a passing raven flew through his uncle’s head while he was taking Burble to the cloud cream store. When he was an adolescent, his mother had gotten too old and heavy and dissolved into two separate cloud people, each with their own personalities far different from his mother. It was a condition called cloud splitting, and as far as Burble knew, it was one of the worst ways to die.

Now, as an adult, Burble did the best he could to survive. When it was windy out, he’d stay in his home. When eagles and other birds were sighted, he’d hide under his blanket. When he felt like he was getting too heavy, he’d starve himself for days. Despite all his precautions, he still lived in perpetual fear. What if the ground experienced cloud splitting? If cloud people and cloud buildings could split, why couldn’t the ground? Why couldn’t a huge bird pass through and destroy everything? Why couldn’t the cloud get too heavy and fall out of the sky? His neighbors called him crazy because of the way he behaved, but who was the crazy one now!?

Burble stared up at the creature that had just destroyed the royal palace with what seemed to be a sneeze. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of unfairness in his chest. Of all the generations of cloud people, why did the apocalypse have to come while he was still alive? Couldn’t it have came a hundred years later or a hundred years earlier? That way, he wouldn’t be here, fearing for his very life. Right when Burble thought the apocalyptic creature was going to sneeze again, finishing off the world for good, something unexpected happened. The majestic creature … turned into a blue cloud. The strange bird on top of its head also turned into a cloud, separate from the first one.

Burble exhaled. He finally knew what was happening. This was simply a dream. He wasn’t sure how to exit dreams, but he knew if he went to bed, everything would be alright in the morning when he woke up. He waddled back home, climbed into bed, closed his little cloud eyes, and did his best to ignore the commotion in the streets. However, he couldn’t ignore things when his door was kicked open, and he was dragged outside by his neighbors.

On top of the blue apocalyptic cloud, there was a tiny creature. It wasn’t quite a bird, but it definitely wasn’t a cloud either. Whatever it was, it was saying something, but Burble had no idea what it was trying to convey. He looked around, but it didn’t seem like anyone else knew what it was trying to convey either. Only the police cloud people that were dragging people into the main square seemed to know what they were doing. When a police cloud person walked by, Burble isolated a part of his body and shot it into the police cloud. In response, the police cloud shot part of itself back.

Upon taking in the police cloud’s separated portion, Burble understood what was happening. The royal family was corrupt, and as such, the god of creation annihilated them and was personally stepping in to guide the nation. Everyone had to be present to witness such a moment, and the police clouds took it upon themselves to help the new leader.

***

“Are they attacking me?” Vur asked, his voice echoing out from his body. He wasn’t sure how he was talking, but he it didn’t really matter as long as he could.

Stella flew back and forth in front of Vur, batting away the portions of clouds that the cloud people were shooting at Vur. “I think it’s because you destroyed their palace. It’s no surprise they’re angry at you.”

“No, that’s not it,” the Recordkeeper said. Unlike Vur’s blue cloud, her cloud body was black with tints of red and purple on its outline. “This is how cloud people talk. They segregate their thoughts into one portion of their body, and then they shoot it out. The receiving cloud will understand the thoughts of the original cloud.”

Stella didn’t let the Recordkeeper’s words stop her from swatting away the incoming clouds. “Are you sure it isn’t harmful? What if a cloud person merges with Vur and takes him over? I didn’t think this place would be this dangerous. How about you turn back into a dragon, Vur?”

Vur’s cloud body pressed against the ground cloud a few times. To his surprise, it was hard. It didn’t feel nearly as soft as he thought it would from the images he had seen in the Recordkeeper’s palace. Even the bed at Tafel’s place was softer than this. There was no way he’d get decent rest over here. With that thought in mind, Vur’s cloud body hardened and expanded, turning once more into a dragon. The lower half of his body extended and grew through the ground cloud, and when he flapped his wings to get away, the cloud nearly split in half. “This place isn’t fun,” he said and grabbed the Recordkeeper. “I don’t think Tafel will like it.”

***

Burble clung onto the ground cloud for dear life. The apocalyptic creature was upset by the noise and decided to destroy the world. Why couldn’t his fellow citizens just keep silent? Why did all of them insist on talking at the blue cloud? Now, the world was ending, and there was nothing anyone could do. The apocalyptic creature tore its way out of the ground cloud, leaving a gaping fissure behind. Then, instead of finishing off the survivors, the creature simply left. Burble swallowed and slowly rose up from the ground cloud. If it weren’t for all his practice drills preparing himself for a strong gust of wind, he was sure he would’ve been swept away. He looked around and saw very few cloud people left. How long would it take to repopulate the place? Well, at least, one of his worries was solved. The ground cloud had less of a chance of falling out of the sky now that so many people had disappeared. Burble sighed. It was tough being a cloud.

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