The Weight of the Clouds | Episode 1

 The sky above Cloud City was a vast sea of shifting blues and whites. It was beautiful, Damian thought, but lonely in its endlessness. Below the city’s floating streets, the clouds stretched like a false floor. The city felt like a sanctuary to some—a marvel of engineering, a beacon of hope. But to Damian, it was just a small island lost in the expanse.

Damian stood at the edge of the training ground, holding his practice spear loosely in one clawed hand. His gray scales shimmered faintly in the sunlight, but his slender frame drew teasing glances from the other recruits. They hadn’t started yet, and already he could hear the whispers. "Do you think he's gonna go to the new simulator today?" said one of them, "Nah, he probably won't fit through the door with those hips he's got. I've seen singers that look less of a woman than he does!" responded the second, their conversation getting progressively louder, their laughter hurt more than anything they could have physically done, "Will you all shut up already? What are you, middle schoolers?" someone suddenly said,  behind the foxes, stopping their laughter and making them turn around. A rabbit girl stood with her arms crossed, her striking green fur contrasted with her weirdly short height, "Oh, look at that. It's Avocado Girl again." said the bigger fox, "Yo, Enok, bet I can punt her across the field like a football!" he said, ready to kick her, "I wouldn't try that if I were you." she replied with a serious tone, "Why? It would hurt both your tiny body and your feelings?" said the fox, laughing once again. However, the bunny girl lost no time and kicked him in the leg as hard as she could, causing him to fall over, his friend quickly rushed over and tried to counter-attack, but the bunny was quicker and she jumped, causing the fox to trip over his friend who was laying on the ground and hit his head and knocked both himself and his friend unconscious.

"Thanks, Tsuyo. I don't wanna get in trouble with Captain Sylvie again for beating the heck out of these guys again." said Damian with a smile, Tsuyo laughed and responded "You still sound like when you were sixteen, dude. Still worried about all that performance stuff, calm down!" she replied, "I know you don't care much about it, but I do. How are we going to join the Monster Control Crew if we just keep wasting time here?" Damian was concerned Tsuyo wouldn't understand things in time, and that he would have to leave her and go work by himself, the thought alone was terrifying enough. "Don't you worry about me like that! Haven't you seen the charts? We're at the top! If we keep going at this pace, we won't end up with the stinkers of State Security, we'll be on the Control Crew and we'll go out and kick some monster ass!" she said excitedly, punching Damian lightly in the arm, his smile was more genuine now, he was happy to have at least one friend in this cruel world.

But it hadn't always been this way, the two of them against the world. Many years ago, when Damian was fifteen and Tsuyo was thirteen, they met each other and changed their lives forever. Even farther into the past, none of them fit into the mold their families had made for them quite right. Damian was born with a strange mutation, Draconic Testosterone Deficiency, a rare condition that affects certain glands in male dragons, the affected subjects tend to develop to look much more like a female dragon than a male one, and their wings often don't grow at all, requiring an amputation. From the very beginning of his life, Damian had already let his family down, or at least he felt that way. Growing up, his father paid little attention to him, constant cruel comments such as "I should have had a daughter instead of you" were a common thing in his life, yet he still pushed forward to accomplish one dream: joining the Monster Control Crew, the heroic group of soldiers that defended Cloud City from the beasts that soared within the Sea of Clouds. From a very young age, he showed a natural proficiency with the spear, an elegant and swift weapon, yet one often seen as dishonorable in dragon families, blacksmiths who wield the swords that they craft by tradition. Even in school, people didn't respect him much either, the teachers often mistook him for a girl, and his classmates called him names that, although he can't remember, he knows it hurt every time he was addressed by one of them. A cruel prank was played on him one day, after physical education class, he took a shower to wash his worries away, yet the uniform he found in his locker was a female one, and he was forced to wear a skirt for the rest of the day, being called Princess. He turned a blind eye to the criticism and pretended to be deaf to not hear the mockery, no one would stop him from achieving his dream, and he would prove those who thought he was weak wrong. He would be captain of his own squadron, and he would lead the heroes he admired so much to victory every time. He just needed the time.

Tsuyo was also born in unusual circumstances, a warm spring day when the grass was a beautiful emerald green was the day she was born. The moment her mother gazed upon her for the first time, however, something was undeniably wrong. The newborn rabbit was inexplicably small, small tints of green in her otherwise pink skin made her look very sick. She was rushed to emergency care and stayed until doctors knew it was safe for her family to take her back home. Despite her miraculous survival, she was still treated as inferior the moment her first coat of fur grew, a lustrous emerald green that was a shocking contrast to her family's light brown. It also became clear that she wasn't growing very much as the years went by, her small frame staying the same regardless of how much she tried to eat, or how many vitamin pills she took. Her school life wasn't easy either, other bunnies made the primary target of their mockery for her short height and strange fur color, they came up with a nickname that would stick to her like a barnacle to a ship, "Avocado Girl!" they chanted as it were a ritualistic practice. Tsuyo couldn't take this much longer, so instead of hating herself for everything she wasn't, she started loving herself for everything that she was. Her new goals were clear, train and become stronger, and maybe join one of the brave groups of soldiers that defended Cloud City from threats within, or from far beyond. She would prove height doesn't have to do with bravery or strength. She only needed the time.

They met on a calm day, their encounter an accident or perhaps a twist of fate. Damian was sitting on one of the Skyview Platforms, an old and abandoned tourist attraction, from the times the skies were safe, when monsters didn't lurk deep within the Sea of Clouds, waiting for the time to strike again. "Hey there. Beautiful sights, right? Almost as stunning as The Distant Lights at night!" said someone behind him, he turned around to see a bunny girl with green fur, she walked until she was right beside him, not at all worried by the fact they were strangers, her demeanor almost like she was with an old friend. "Yes, it's my favorite place in the city. The lights are fine too, I guess. They're kinda creepy." Damian replied with a sigh. "How about The Great Lake of Mud down south? You've surely heard about it, right? The greatest geological mystery of our time?" continued the rabbit girl, determined to get something out of Damian, "I don't care about it. Geologists can go an investigate it, I guess. Just a boring patch of wet dirt" said the dragon as he curled his tail around his legs, "Woah! Depressed today, are we? Do you come here every day or is it only when you want to be a drama queen?" she replied, Damian giggled a bit, "No, I'm fine. I just want to see the world. I want to see what's out there, beneath the clouds. Beyond just the same boring landmarks we have up here." he replied, his tone noticeably less grim, "Well, you're not gonna see much from here. After all those attacks 100 or so years ago, no more ships come here to pick up passengers. Can't believe you don't know that, do you even pay attention to your history class?" she joked once again, Damian laughed harder this time, "No! I am the best in my class, actually. I'm Damian, nice to meet you" he said, smiling, "Cute name! I'm Tsuyo. Umm... one thing, is it true what they say about dragons?" she said that last part in a whisper as if it were a secret of utmost importance, "What?" Damian replied, rightfully confused "Do... you guys fart fire too? I mean, you CAN breathe fire, so it makes sense, right?" Tsuyo asked the question in such a serious manner that Damian couldn't help but laugh out loud, "So, is it true?! Tell me!" Tsuyo continued, making Damian laugh harder, but she couldn't contain herself much longer, so they both laughed for a whole minute. The rest of the day went by with the two of them talking about their lives, their families, and their struggles. When the sun was setting distantly on the horizon, Tsuyo turned to Damian once again, "Hey, Damian" she said, he turned to look at her, "What? No more questions about what dragons can or can't do, I can't laugh more or I'll definitely break something" he said happily, "Do you think it's true, what they say? That if you jump down, the clouds will catch you?" she said while looking out to the horizon, "Well, if they do, I would love it if they carried me far from here" he said, "I wouldn't like that" Tsuyo responded immediately, "Why not?" asked Damian confused once again, "Because I wouldn't see you again" Tsuyo concluded before getting up, "Well, look at that. We spent our ENTIRE day here, I say we go back home. Would you mind giving me your number so that we can stay in contact? I haven't met a dragon before, I would love to be able to tell people my bestie is a dragon, that way no one wants to mess with me because they don't wanna get burned!" she exclaimed as she pulled out her phone from her pocket, "Sure, I had never met a rabbit before. If I say my best friend is a rabbit, people are gonna think I actually want to devour you" he said as he showed his number to her, she giggled "Yeah, like you'd get any nourishment from me." she responded. After a quick exchange, they waved goodbye and parted ways for the day. As the sun set completely and gave way to the night, the world was able to be put to rest once again, in a period of peace that lasted over one hundred years.

That wouldn't last much longer.