Watchers

   "I'm bored," he said.
   Betty scoffed. He was always bored and it took lengths to amuse him. It never lasted, either. She remained silent and brushed her hair, cut short, with one side slightly longer than the other, with her fingers. The wind licked her face gently.
   "Let's do something." he volunteered.
   "What, Ralph? Like what?"
   "I don't know," Ralph said, leaning back.
   They were lounging about on a rocky incline. Above them was the blue expanse of sky. There were no clouds at this level of height. Below, the clouds blanketed the world, a white sea of bumpy foam. The wind was faint, like a ragged whisper of it's former self below. Looking down at the sea of clouds made her dizzy. Betty inwardly cursed her vertigo.
   "Like.... go down and take a peak."
   "No," she immediately snapped.
   "Why not? Race you!"
   He rose to his feet and walked to the edge of the jagged grey cliff they were seated on. He raised his hands to his sides in diver fashion.
   "Ralph! No!"
   But before she could get up to stop him he had already dived down. She watched as he plummeted, long hair whipping behind him, going faster and faster, approaching the cloud cover. She sighed and swore, loudly and then took the leap after him. Ralph's wings unfurled in bright white plumage and he flapped mightily. Hers did, too, scattering feathers around them as they penetrated the clouds. The clouds were frigid and damp, leaving biting streaks of cold moisture across her face as they bobbed and weaved and dove in the clouds. Ralph was laughing. She was dreading every inch of the way.
   "Come on. At least smile!" he shouted to her.
   She pretended not to hear him. After all, the wind was whipping up in their ears.
   And then they were deposited out of the clouds and they saw the world that was below them. It was a strange place, filled with mountains and canyons and fields and forests. And there were animals of all shapes and sizes and color. Betty liked the animals. They swooped low over a canyon and then swerved upwards. They crested over a rocky rise and that was where the pair saw them.
   They were dirty things, with hair and ragged trappings. They lived in huts and spoke with grunts and guttural barks. Humans, Ralph had called them.
    "Come on, let's get closer. I want to see them." Ralph said.
    But this time, Betty clamped a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
   "No. We're going."
   "Why?"
   "They're savages. Disgusting creatures. They'll attack you and kill you," she said with nose upturned in disgust. "Let's go."
    Ralph shot one last look down at the creatures squatting in the dirt and the mud and then nodded. The pair disappeared back into the sky from whence they came.