Ruby Skies

Where earth and sky are in the closest embrace,
the sun not set nor risen,

Above the shielding clouds,

Showered in sunlight

This is where I soar,

Endlessly, beautifully,

Here I find rest
amongst the ruby skies.

We where scattered around a tall, aged lady. Nine young boys, with our eyes fixed on the priestress. She emitted a strong, willfull glow and her mouth and arms where set for speech. We sharpened our ears and tensed our muscles. Indeed, we made sure not one word would fell on deaf ears. Every single sentence was of the utmost importance. We could not imagine anyone we would rather listen to, nor a place where we'd rather be. This would be a day we would boast about at many campfires. The day where we met our live's compangion. The day where we met our Bison.

Tuss sighed as he dusted off the picture with a lazy stream of wind. Even without the dust, the picture looked aged. He searched the picture for his doppelganger. There he was, standing right in the center, with his mouth wide open. He flipped around the piece of paper and read the doodles on the backside. "From Nytt, to Tuss, without love.". Tuss repeated out loud. "Without love…" he murmured to himself. Yep, that's Nytt for you. Even when he was still barely reaching a bison's toenail, he already reigned his own world.

As he flipped the picture around again, he searched for Nytt with his index finger. He was nowhere to be seen. Tuss smiled feintly. Oh yes, offcourse, how could he forget. "A true artist never illustrates himself". One of Nytt's many crazy ideas about art. That was probably why Tuss looked so rediculous on paper. He had accidently insulted Nytt by requesting a portrait. "I will not draw as I am told!"

The picture itself looked a lot worse than the author's more recent work. Just as the paper had, the inhabitants had grown too. Most of them where now double the seize of their counterparts. Some of them had now parted ways with Tuss and now lived up north. How much had they grown? What had become of them? I wonder what they would have to say if he would see them again…

"Oi!"
Tuss turned a sharp 180 and faced his intruder directly. A small bald boy clad in baggy orange clothes was grinning slyly.
"What's the matter, chocked on your tongue?"
Upon closer inspection, the boy's clothes where smudged with paint in various colours, and had a wet paintbrush clutched between his left index finger and thumb.
"Nytt…" Tuss started slowly.
"Hmm?"
Nytt tilted his head slightly as he awaited an awnser. At the same time, he was tapping his foot on the ground, the vibration making his still wet brush drip on his pants. Clearly, there was something caught on the tip of his tongue.
"You are the reason I am vouching for wooden doors in the dormoritories…" Tuss grunted irratebly. Nytt responded with a hearty chuckle. As he settled down, his eyes fell on the picture in Tuss's fingers and he straightened his head.
"Ah, admiring my work I see?"

"Well, not excactly admiring…"
Nytt's smile faded.

"I'm just saying-" Tuss added hastely "you have improved a lot since. Your art has grown" Nytt's smile returned "-unlike your"
The response was swift. Nytt quickly changed into a sturdy stance, and slashed his brush trough the air and launched a gust of air accompanied with leftover paint at Tuss.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" he roared as he waved his brush wildly like a wand, spraying paint all around the small room.
"…Your height"
Nytt roared again as he swirled around madly, now trying to hit Tuss's face directly with his brush. Tuss dodged all of Nytt's attempt with a few lazy bending moves. As he dodged Nytt's final strike, Tuss swirled around and send a mighty gust at Nytt, who crashed into wall, next to his own paintwork.

"Its over" Tuss boomed viciously.
Nytt got up slowly, rubbing his chest and grinning madly.
"Yes it is. But not in the way you'd imagine…".
Nytt gestured at the stone walls surrounding them. There it was, written in clear black:
"Nytt owns. End of story." Tuss read. Nytt laughed victorously. Shortly after, Tuss joined him. Another masterpiece had joined the colourfull room.

"Anyways, what are we up to again?" Tuss asked confusedly. The duo was walking trough the vast hallways of the Southern temple. The corridor was just a small part of a small maze of the dormoritories. Stone walls with lots of windows flanked the duo as they strolled trough.
Nytt sighed.
"Don't make me say this again" he snapped.
"Well excuse me for getting confused by yet another one of your masterplans".
Nytt tried hard to surpress his smile.
"Well, since you are not gifted by a large-"
"Head?"
"Brain" Nytt grunted "-I suppose I could make this easy for you. We are going to Master Gehn's choir-auditions."
"That part I get, but…why?" Tuss frowned. "I thought you hated music?"
"I do."
"Then, would you mind explaining why we are going again?"
Nytt snorted impatiently. He was still clutching the brush in his left hand. Thanks to the extensive use a few minutes ago, the paint had dried up and the hairs had become brittle.
"Why, to support father Gehn offcourse!"
"I'm confused. Didn't you say that he "was a old geezer not worthy of inhaling your oxygen?"
"Yeah, I did"
"Then why are we going?" Tuss was getting impatient himself now. He threw a look at Nytt's face and noticed he was smiling.

The duo left the cold stone hallways behind them and entered the central square. The vast square was located on the second-highest plateu of the temple and overlooked several other, smaller plateaus. Few airbenders where seen jumping from the square to different plateau, minding their own buiseness. In the middle of the plaza stood a lurking statue of a aged Airbending master. His face was enriched by the setting sun, basking the airbender in a ruby glow.
"Well, I'm just saying, father Gehn can use some support."
Tuss frowned irritably as he dodged a lemur.
"Right. Now what was the real reason we're going again?"
"Show some patience…" Nytt winked as he dashed towards one of the many platforms below and took a dive. He swirled around his arm clumsily and landed with a soft thud. Tuss cooly walked towards the edge and pushed himself over it with airbending, and landed with a lazy flick of his hand. Nytt grunted irritably.

The lower plateau lead to another, smaller square. This square was enriched with a small, dried up fountain. It overlooked various other plateas, including the Bison quarters. The small door was shielded by a gracefull crimson silk curtain.
"Master Gehn and the wailers, now recruiting." Tuss sighed. Soft tunes could be hear leaking trough the large windows in the draughty room.

"Are you sure abou-"

Nytt waved away his gesture and greedily stepped inside, grubbing his hands.

"Seriously, what are you doing here?" A sneery voice cut trough the air like a knife. Tuss froze at the doorstep. He had barely passed the curtains, and already he was getting yelled at. "…Your dream? Well, it is my nightmare. Get out of ear before you shred my eardums. Next!" A very scrawny looking Airbender ran past Tuss, not even noticing him, his face covered in tears. Clearly, Gehn's famous "auditions" had already started. Tuss sneaked around a stone pillar next to the curtains and took a good look at the small hall. Every window was covered with the same red curtains the door featured, amplifying the ruby glow of sunset. There where several soft cushions on the ground facing a small central stage where the auditions where held.

"I said, next! What are we waiting for?" the voice shrieked trough the silent air. Gehn was sitting on the cushion directly facing the central stage, with several scared looking young airbenders flanking him. Gehn's face reminded of a aged vulture. His cheeks where hallow and his nose was long and beakish. His eyebrows where folded in a permenant frown. One of the airbenders next to Gehn carefully rose up and raised his hand. Gehn sighed.
"What?"
"Master…may I speak?"
"What kind of question is that? Didn't you just speak to me already?" shrieked Gehn in a high-pitched voice. His thin, grey goaty was trembling. The boy, obviously disturbed, continued.
"Master…I appologize"
"Cut to the point." Gehn replied coldly.
"Well, that was the last contestant. All of the other…they lost interest, sir."
"Lost interest?" Gehn roared. "Music is their life? How in Yangchen's sake can they loose interest?" All of the pupils had their eyes fixed on the old master. Silently, they felt the pain of the contestants. Gehn was murderous.

Suddenly, Tuss noticed a familiar voice trying to restrain his laughter. Nytt was next to him, two hands folded in front of his mouth, his eyes wet.
"So that's why we came here? To have a laugh? Well I don't think this is going to stay very funny for long… lets bail" Tuss hissed in a low-pitched voice. On this comment, small sounds where escaping from Nytt's mouth.
"Seriously, Gehn will explode when we find out that we are spying on him..." On the thought of Gehn exploding, Nytt exploded himself. A high-pitched boyish laugh filled the chamber, amplified by countless echoes in the small stone hall.
"Shut up!" Tuss screamed desperatly.

"Who's there?" Tuss and Nytt froze similtanously.
"You!" Shrieked Gehn's voice suddenly.
"Over here, now!" his clawy hands where beckoning greedily. As Tuss turned around in desperation, Nytt had vanished from the crimescene.