Work Text:
His job is enjoyable.
Sure, he works a 24/7 shift, and some days the weather is less than perfect but if you asked him if he’d rather be stationed in say, the Cupid Department or the Guardian Angels, there would be no hesitation in his refusal.
The humans on the Earth call his creations ‘clouds’ and he paints them in many shapes, sizes and colours. He enjoys the giant blue canvas of the day time. The whiteness of these pieces makes pleasant distinct shapes in the sky. He loves experimenting with the shades of the night time too, with Mr. Moon casting a much more subtle glow compared to the vibrant light Ms. Sun provides.
His favourite times of the day to paint, however, are the morning and the evenings. It’s at these times that his colour pallet briefly expands from his usual whites, greys and sometimes greens, to the beautiful pinks, oranges, purples and reds that he sees Mother Nature using all day on the ground below.
His favourite types of clouds to paint are the large, puffy and ever so detailed clouds that herald the coming of a storm; ‘Cumulous’ and ‘Cumulonimbus’ clouds are what he’s heard them being referred to as by the humans, much to his joy. It's also while working with these particular clouds that he gets to meet with his favourite companions.
He doesn’t often get to work with the young twins, Thunder and Lightning, but when he does, oh boy does life get spiced up.
Lightning is certainly the more energetic of the two, bouncing from the artist’s creations to the ground and then back up at the speed of light, leaving a white streak in her wake. This never ceases to amuse her twin, with his rumbling laugh being able to be heard for miles around. The artist loves to watch their joyful play as he continues his work swirling, growing and moving the dark grey piece across the skies. Alas, as the dark greys available to his pallet for the storm diminish and the softer greys and whites return, he must say farewell to the boisterous pair.
‘Until next time.’ He calls to them fondly when it is time for them to leave. Each time he receives merely an excited wave from Lightning and a contented rumble from Thunder, before they both disappear in a white streak, hand in hand and ready to play in the next storm they find.
Like any artist, he loves it when people appreciate his work. He often watches in joy as the humans perform a ritual they like to call ‘cloud watching’. It is a game where they point out, describe and discuss what each cloud formation looks like to them. The artist usually finds this game highly amusing and much prefers it over the one they call ‘star gazing’ (since the infuriating woman who sticks them up at night gets so lazy and simply puts them in the exact same position despite his frequent suggestions to put them in different shapes).
He is quite aware that sometimes his work can do with some...work. It’s especially apparent when the humans pick out shapes from his pieces that he had definitely not intended to paint or when one of the miniature humans describes his work as ‘unrealistic’. However, he takes it all in stride and accepts every day as a learning opportunity. After all, what is an artist without a little bit of constructive criticism?
No matter the day, it fills him with a great sense of pride when he sees the humans’ attention being drawn to his Paintings in the Sky.