Itia was sitting on her knees on the big bird. She examined everything about it from where she sat. The way it flew, the shape of it, everything. It was graceful, yet efficient. "It's amazing."
"Thanks!"
"This isn't real art, brat. This-" He took out a scroll and a puff of cloud exploded around him. When it cleared, there was a puppet in front of him. He had blue strings coming from his hands and connecting to the puppet. It looked like a man. "-is real art."
"Not it isn't, un! Art should be fleeting!"
"Art is eternal, brat!"
"Itia! Who's art is better, un?" The woman stood up and walked over to the puppet. She looked it over.
"It's beautiful and you can tell it was once a real human."
"How do you know that's how I make puppets?"
"I have ways. Either way, it's amazing."
"But who's is better, yeah?" Itia got a far off look as she sat down on the bird's back. She reached into her bag and pulled out her sketchbook. She sketched for a few minutes, humming quietly. "What are you doing, un?"
"Making a point." She turned the sketchbook toward them and they looked at it. It was a sketch of a dove standing on a branch. It was absolutely breath taking. "Is this art?"
"Well, of course." Sasori said, confused.
"You know the bird I had in my hands when you came up to me yesterday?"
"Yeah." Deidara said, as confused as Sasori.
"This is her after I healed her injured wing."
"And?" The red head asked, looking over the sketch again.
"I love this sketch. Deidara, do you love your sculptures?"
"Of course, un!"
"Sasori, do you love your puppets?"
"Yeah."
"That's what makes art. The way I see it, everything is art. It just takes the right eyes to see the value. As long as one person in the whole world loves something, it's art." She ripped a blank peice of paper out of her sketchbook and tore it into a bunch of little shreds. "Watch." She flung the handful of paper over the edge of the bird. The peices fluttered down until they were out of sight. "Did you think that was art?"
"Err-"
"Most would say no. But I think it was. The way the shreds fluttered so gracefully in the wind. Art is everything. Just the thought of it is intoxicating." She finished, smiling. She was on all fours, watching the ground speed by. "See what I mean?"
"Yeah. I do." Sasori said, understanding what she meant.
"Me too." Deidara was so deep in the thought that he didn't add his usual 'un'. Itia layed on her back, looking into the blue abyss that was the sky.
"Everything is art. Even people are." She got a sad, far away look in her eyes. "And when you lose art that you truly loved, it feels like your heart has broken beyond repair." Silence followed. The fox puppy nudged her owner's hand and Itia looked at her. She had something in her mouth. It was shiny and purple. "My I-pod? When did you find this?" The fox pup just layed down next to her master. She pressed play and Silly Boy played. 'Oh well.' She thought as she drifted to sleep, the hollow feeling in her heart stronger than usual.