Miko Takami lands on the floating cloud platform, her enormous black wings folding wide. They knock over a tower of cloud-bricks stacked near the edge. The bricks tumble and clatter down the slope, a bright rain of pale blue. She freezes, one wing half-folded, while a hollow wind whistles past her ears. *What have I done?* she thought.
Miko scrambles to gather the scattered bricks, but they keep rolling away from her fingers. She reached again, but the bricks were slippery as ice. Each one slips and tumbles back down the slope. Behind her, soft footsteps sound on the cloud-surface. *He's coming,* she thought, and pressed her wings closer.
A boy with white and red hair steps around the cloud-pillar and kneels beside her. He holds out a brick with a smudge of cloud-dust on his cheek. "Shoto," he says. Miko takes the brick, her wing tips brushing his hand like a quick question. His eyes were bright as the sky.
Miko Takami and Shoto work together stacking the bricks into a new tower. They tap each brick into place, building higher than before. Just as the last piece clicks, a gust of sky-wind shakes the platform. The tower begins to lean. Miko's wings twitch with alarm.
Miko throws her wings wide to catch it. Shoto braces against the base, his hands pressed to the shifting bricks. Both of them hold their breath as the tower steadies. The wind dies down to a whisper. Cloud-dust floats in the still air. A faint gleam lights their faces.
Miko lowers her wings slowly and looks at Shoto. He is grinning with cloud-dust on his nose. "Hello, my name is Miko Takami," she says. Shoto offers her his smudged hand. "Shoto," he says again. Their shadows stretch long across the cloud. The sky city sparkles like scattered gems.
They stand together on the platform, watching the sky city gleam below them. Clouds drift past like slow ships. A breeze carries the sound of chiming bells. Miko's black wings rest gently at her sides. Shoto points to a distant spire. "That's where we live," he says.
The tower of cloud-bricks stands tall and true beside them. It catches the golden light of the setting sun. Miko and Shoto watch it together, two friends on the edge of the world. The wind hums a soft tune. Stars begin to puncture the deepening blue.
Miko Takami tilts her head, thinking. She likes the sky city already. Shoto nudges her shoulder playfully. "We should build another tower tomorrow," he suggests. Miko smiles, her wings fluttering once in agreement. The first star winks down at them. A distant bell tolls the hour.
Night falls softly over the sky city. The tower glows with captured starlight. Miko and Shoto sit side by side, watching the clouds drift on forever. The world is wide, but it feels just right. A gentle breeze wraps around them like a blanket. Somewhere, a lullaby begins to play.