Cloud outta control!

Atlas was just wandering through the local woodland, thinking about whatever happened to cross his mind and just basking in the warm sunlight. A few bees buzzed by, a few butterflies fluttered and the birds sang peacefully. That is, until they let out a sudden alarm call.

The tree’s behind Atlas shook as half the birds resting there flew away with squarks of warning, causing him to nearly trip over a tree root, and do a little dance as he attempted to regain his balance. Before he even had time to investigate the cause of sudden disturbance, he was swept off his feet by what appeared to be a… cloud?

Somehow, the cloud was very fast for it’s small size, but didn’t seem to have good coordination. Atlas had to wrap his tail, arms and legs around it to stay on as it smashed into several trees, before suddenly shooting upwards through the branches.

As they emerged into the sky, Atlas didn’t dare to attempt to brush the many sticks and leaves from his fur, in fear of falling off at such a height and speed. Instead, he just clung on tighter and hoped his strange ride wouldn’t suddenly throw him off as they ascended nearly as high as the other clouds.

Just before reaching the lowest clouds, they began to descend at an alarming rate. It now seemed the cloud was falling out of it’s control, but Atlas tried to convince himself that wasn’t the case. 

Luckily, inches before hitting the ground (they were now in the middle of a field, with no woodland in sight - he hadn’t realised they had travelled that far) they stopped, before speeding forward at an even faster speed than before.

They passed several forms of wildlife, nearly running over a family of sugar nix, who Atlas shouted an apology at, and almost getting knocked off as they hit another couple rocks. 

This continued for many minutes, in which time Atlas and the cloud narrowly dodged obstacles including: Many rocks and trees (however, most were sadly not avoided), a house, a trio consisting of a draphibi, sugarnix and bettabo, a horse, a sculpture, and a small child. 

By this time, Atlas was beginning to feel queasy. He hadn’t felt solid ground under his feet for over an hour, and if anything the cloud had only sped up. The constant collisions and terrifying encounters with other living things had given him a terrible headache. He almost slid off several times from the exhaustion, but was determined to stay on. Worse yet: those sticks and leaves were still clinging to his fur.

They were now far from home, and Atlas was unsure if he would ever make it back. The current landscape was terrifyingly unfamiliar, especially considering he hadn’t a map on him, and they only continued to get further away from home. He considered for a moment just jumping off, but quickly shut down the idea - no way was he risking something so dangerous so easily.

They continued for another hour, Atlas’s hope of returning home now drained almost entirely, until finally they came to a sudden halt. In the harsh action, Atlas was flung forward and landed and, after tumbling for a little while, smashed into one final tree. The cappari stood, immediately threw up, then marched over to the cloud, paws on hips. 

The thing just floated there as he glared at it, before giving it a good kick and reluctantly climbing back on. However much he hated the risk, and the fear, he needed to get home somehow, even if he had to travel all the way around the world to get there.

Slowly, the cloud began to rise, and Atlas prepared for the sudden speed. The cloud, however, didn’t move, and instead just hovered calmly a few feet above the ground. Atlas frowned, and used his tail to softly push it in the direction of home. 

As the cloud began to move, he prepared himself once more, however the cloud only drifted along at a reasonable pace. The same pace as the wind, in fact, which Atlas assumed was now what was allowing them to move. Relaxing slightly, but still clinging on, just in case, Atlas lay down on his chest to enjoy the ride.

He woke up a little while later - he hadn’t intended to fall asleep - and realised he was now back in the same woodland he started. He must’ve been asleep for a while, because the cloud was now barely moving. It must’ve taken a while to get there. 

Hopping down from the cloud, Atlas gave it a small pat of both gratitude and resentment before heading in the direction of his house, finally plucking the debris from his fur as he went.