The clash of the cloud makers

Incubus Bunkle was widely known throughout the Atmosphere as the best cloud sculptor ever known. His designs of earthly objects and animals were legendary amongst the Air dwellers. Everyday they eagerly waited, hovering miles high above earth and ocean, for Incubus's dazzling and daring designs to float past them.
Although Incubus was a modest Atmospherean, he was also a very proud one and staunchly defended his talent against any who saw fit to challenge him. But in the four hundred years that Incubus had been working for the World Cloud Corporation as their Chief Cloud Designer, none could equal his creative prowess.
One day, however, the WCC announced it was to celebrate its four billionth anniversary by launching an Inaugural Annual Cloud Design and Sculpture Competition. It was an announcement that filled Incubus was joy. He thrived on challenges and was supremely confident that his design would be a triumph. Word of the contest travelled far and wide and eventually reached the ears of the son of a hailmaker who lived in the chilly northern skies. His name was Tuba Scud. When Tuba wasn't at school learning about the earth below and the space above he was busily carving off bits of his father's cloud home and and creating sculptures of things he'd discovered in class. Tuba's home used to be mountainous, reaching far into the sky but was now little more than a the size of a hillock.
"We'll be floating on thin air if you carry on," Tuba's father said, despairingly.
"Don't worry dad, I'll win the competition and we'll be able to live where there are enormous cloud houses," beamed Tuba.
"Oh will we now. And where would that be then?"
"Above Scotland. It's always cloudy there. It's famous for it."
Tuba's father had no further comment. He just tutted at Tuba, the way he always did when his son had some hairbrained scheme.
Tuba's father might have thought his idea was giddy but Tuba took it seriously. In the weeks working up to the competition he worked tirelessly on designs. He created some simple sculptures of aeroplanes, ducks and erupting volcanoes before moving onto more elaborate creations such as the Golden Gate bridge, the pyramids of Giza and a marching pipe band, but it was when he was laid on his fluffy cloud bed one night looking up into the twinkling stars that he thought of the best idea ever. It was sure to guarantee victory.
On the day of the competition Tuba glided with his father to Cloud City where the WCC's headquarters were based. Sculptors from all across the Atmosphere turned up to compete, each busily warming up their fingers whilst officials passed enormous white puffs to each contestant. The air was charged with so much electric excitement Tuba thought it might cause a storm.
One competitor absence, however, had not gone unnoticed and Tuba couldn't help but over hear the rumblings about it amongst the crowd.
"Who's this Incubus dude they're calling for then?" Tuba asked one of the other competitors.
"You've never heard of Incubus Bunkle?" he said.
Tuba shook his head. "I come from the other side of the world. We don't hear much news from the round these parts."
"Incubus is the god of the cloud sculpting world. Anyone who's anyone knows of Incubus Bunkle."
No sooner had the man finished his sentence than the crowd erupted with thunderous clapping and rants of "Bunkle, Bunkle".
Tuba followed the gaze of the crowd to an old white wisp of a man that shuffled into the cloud arena.
"So that's Incubus Bunkle," said Tuba.
As the crowd quietened the first stage of the competition was announced.
"Ready your fingers for the Standard Formation round. I'd like the competitors to sculpt a cigar cloud. You have twenty seconds starting from..."
Tuba readied his hand.
"Now!"
Like lightening Tuba's hands frantically carved and scooped away at the fluffy mould, just managing to finish his sculpture before his time ran out. The officials hurried scored the line of cigar clouds before they drifted off. Unsurprisingly to the crowd but disappointingly to Tuba, Incubus was announced the winner of that round.
Incubus gave a perfunctory wave to the crowd and smiled smugly.
Tuba already started to dislike him. He seemed so full of himself, so smug, so confident that he was unbeatable.
So Tuba increased the pressure and sailed through the second round, beating Incubus by miles with his perfect F5 tornado. The officials said they gave Tuba extra compassionate points for creating the tornado over an area of the United States that was largely uninhabited and so caused the humans below minimal suffering.
Incubus was indignant and Tuba sensed it from the swirling smoke coming from Incubus's ears.
The final round was what everyone had been waiting for. The freeform round.
Tuba knew exactly what he was going to sculpt. The image was as clear in his mind as the deep blue sky. As the officials passed more lumps of shapeless cloud to each contestant Tuba could feel the glare of Incubus spearing him like a NASA rocket. He averted Incubus's stare and concentrated on his own sculpture.
After half an hour there was no keeping his design secret. Most of the audience had worked out what Tuba was recreating. He'd carved the sun complete with solar flares, finished Venus, Mercury, Earth and Mars and all the moons and was busily crafting Jupiter with is giant red spot when Incubus appeared at his side.
He studied Tuba's design.
"Very interesting, if a little crude," snipped Incubus.
Tuba ignored him.
"I mean what on earth would happen to the solar system if one of your planets went off course," said Incubus as he flicked Tuba's cloud Venus out of orbit.
"Hey, watch what you're doing?" said Tuba.
Incubus held up his hands."I never touched it," he said and strolled off.
Tuba looked over to see what Incubus was working on. From what Tuba could tell it looked like the Eiffel Tower. But then it might have been and very thin pyramid, he couldn't be sure. One thing he was sure of though was Incubus blowing air toward Tuba's solar system. It was already started to disperse Tuba's pluto creation and he frantically had to scoop up the clouds and reform them. He managed with only seconds to spare before the officials called time on the contest.
Tuba gasped with relief. He was so exhausted from painstakingly sculpting the terrain of all his planets and moons in minute detail that his fingers were numb and he failed even to notice the officials studying his design.
It wasn't until a booming voice called out that a winner had been decided upon that Tuba snapped out of his weary stupor. He looked over to Incubus who was already grooming himself for the big announcement. He clearly expected to be crowned the champion. Tuba had to admit that his sculpture was indeed great and for an elderly man he was an exceptional cloud maker. Tuba's heart sank as thoughts of defeat began to depress him.
"After much thought, consideration and deliberation I can proudly and sincerely announce that the crown of the Inaugural Annual Cloud Design and Sculpture Competition goes to...Tuba Scud."
It took a few seconds for the calling of Tuba's name to sink into Tuba's mind and when he realised he'd won he leapt for joy and danced around in circles. He spun so fast his spinning solar system went into overdrive and moons and planets began to collide and merge with each other. Tuba didn't care. He'd won.
Incubus was furious. In a whirlwind he spun over to the judges and demand a re-examination of the exhibits. But the judges were not to be budged. Incubus shot Tuba an icy glare and stormed out of the cloud stadium.
Tuba knew that wasn't the last he would see of Incubus. He'd won one battle, but the war was about to start.