He was sitting in another one of his little aeries when he heard a commotion directly below. He seldom ventured out before around two in the morning. Salt Lake wasn’t the liveliest of cities, but there was some nightlife, and he preferred to avoid being seen when he could. The last thing he wanted was to become a public curiosity. But his own curiosity was still there, and so he went to the edge of the roof and peered over. In the alley below two men had a third backed against the wall. Muggers, thought Aidan with disgust. Well, since I’m rather equipped to play Batman, why not? I always wanted to be a superhero. And with that he vaulted over the edge of the roof and into a controlled fall to the street below. He hit the larger of the two thugs just before he hit the ground, slugging him on the back of the skull with somewhat less than his full strength. The man went down and stayed down. The second thug turned and just gaped at the odd apparition that stood before him. Aidan gave him a big, toothy grin and the man went wide-eyed and ran. Aidan was content to let him go. He didn’t worry much. Few people would believe whatever story the thug told.

He turned his attention to the would-be-muggers’ victim. The man, or at least Aidan presumed it was a man, stood there gaping at him. Aidan gaped right back, somewhat surprised. The fellow was dressed all in black, from a black mesh long-sleeved shirt with a ragged black t-shirt pulled over it to a black velvet skirt and black boots. He also wore several spiked leather bracelets, a matching spiked collar, and a belt with dangling silver bondage rings all along it. To top off the outfit the guy was wearing exaggerated black eyeliner and had one eyebrow and both ears pierced.

“Er,” said Aidan gracefully, trying to recover his poise, “are you all right?”

“Uh,” said the man brightly in reply, “Yeah, I think so. Um, thanks.”

“No problem.” He’s just a goth, Aidan told himself, trying not to stare. He’s not any more of a freak than you are, so don’t be rude.

The man stared at Aidan a moment longer and then said, “Look, I have to ask. Those are real, aren’t they? I mean the wings. I saw you flying! How is that possible?”

Aidan hesitated a moment, then decided he might as well. “Yeah, they’re real. As for how, well, I’m not exactly human, and I’m not exactly from around here. But the whole story is kind of complicated. And… I have to ask too. Where on earth are you going in that getup?”

“Huh? Oh. To a club, actually.”

“Must be some club!”

“The local goth hang-out,” the man replied.

“In Salt Lake? I didn’t know there was anything like that around here!”

“You’d be surprised, actually. And in a place like this we freaks need somewhere to go where we can relax and be ourselves. Being a freak isn’t easy.”

“I know,” said Aidan softly. He’d been here more than two months now and he was getting very lonely. He missed his family every day, but he also missed just being around other people.

It was silent for several moments and then the man spoke up. “Hey, we haven’t exactly been introduced. I’m Owen. And thanks again for the help. I don’t usually walk to the club, but tonight the weather was so good and the stars so bright, I just had to. Guess I’ll know better from now on.”

“Guess so,” said Aidan with a smile. “I’m Aidan, by the way.”

“Look, Aidan” said Owen, “You want to come with me? If there’s anywhere in this town where you’d fit in, The Sanctuary is it.”

“I…” Aidan hesitated. To go out in public, looking like he did? But maybe if he kept his wings folded people would think it was some kind of outfit, like Owen’s outlandish getup. And he missed human company. Perhaps he could try it just once. “All right, I’ll go.”

“Great! It’s just a couple more blocks. We can talk along the way.”

They strolled out of the alley. The streets were fairly empty at this time of night, but there were still a few people out. Aidan got some funny looks, but so did Owen. “Don’t mind them,” he said. “They’re just norms. They don’t know how to handle anybody who isn’t just like them.”

Aidan nodded. “I guess I’d just gotten used to fitting in. Back home…” he broke off, hit all over again by homesickness.

“Okay, you have got to tell me where you’re from, my friend, and how you got the wings. Not to mention the teeth, which I gather are also real?”

“Yeah, they’re real too. Actually I was born not far from here. But I got a chance to go… somewhere else. Another world. I’m not sure how to describe it. When you go there, it changes you, makes it so you belong. If you don’t like it there, you don’t stay. But if you’re the sort of person who belongs, the world itself takes you in, makes you one of its own.” He shrugged. “Bad luck follows me though, and I got stuck back here. I hope I can go home someday, but I’m trying not to hope too hard.”

“That’s beyond belief,” said Owen, “but I suppose I believe it. I can’t think of any explanation that I’d believe better. How long have you been here?”

“Couple months is all.”

“Where you living?”

Aidan shrugged. “Wherever. I can’t exactly pay rent, and I don’t know if anybody would want me as a tenant anyhow.”

“You’re just camping on the street?”

Aidan grinned. “Not on the street, on the rooftops. You’d be surprised how many places there are where nobody ever goes up on the roof.”

“Neat. If you ever want somewhere better to crash though, look me up. I’ve got a little place and there’s room for two. And…” he gave Aidan a look which the aerian couldn’t read, “I have to ask one more question. You’re too gorgeous to be true, so the answer’s probably not what I want to hear. Are you straight and are you single?”

Aidan actually blushed. “Er… yeah, I’m straight and I’m married too. Um… sorry.”

Owen shrugged. “I’ll leave you alone then. I just had to ask.” He paused a bit and then said, “Married eh? You look a bit young to be all tied up like that.”

Aidan laughed. “I’m older than I look.”

“How old, if that’s not prying?”

“Not centuries or anything like that. I’m thirty-four.”

“Yeah, you are older than you look. That reminds me of a problem, actually. You probably don’t have ID on you.”

“No.”

“Hmmm… ‘fraid I can’t get you into the upstairs then. You’ll have to go down and hang out with the under twenty-ones. And I can’t buy you a drink either. I was going to, you know, to thank you for saving my wallet and possibly my life back there.”

“Thanks for the thought, but I don’t drink anyhow.”

“You’re one of the wise few then, my friend. Ah, and here we are. Sanctuary sweet Sanctuary. Come on.”