With his needs seen to, though, there was nothing more for him to do. He couldn't go and visit the stores and the tourist attractions during daylight, and at night they were closed, even if he could somehow hide his wings. He didn't want to fly too much, otherwise he might increase the risks of being seen on radar. So he was more than a little bored. He spent many hours hashing over possible ways to return home, but even if he hadn't had to worry about the spell Asmodeus has put on the torc he didn't know how he'd manage it. His first trip from Earth to Aretha had been some kind of cosmic accident, and given the relatively small number of people who had come through the same portal he knew he couldn't count on it happening again. So his only choice was to wait and hope that Flame Song would set Jordanis and the other royal mages looking for him.

Meanwhile he was bored out of his mind, and his only entertainment was to watch the people that passed below his lofty rooftop perch.

So it was no surprise that when only a few weeks had passed he noticed what was almost certain a mugging going on below him. Two men had a third backed up against the wall of an alley behind the building. From above that was all he could make out, but his sensitive ears picked up a harsh demand for cash, which was enough for him to be quite certain what was going on. Well, I more or less look the part, he thought to himself with a grin. Wasn't there some comic book hero that had feathered wings? Why not play superhero if I can? He spread his wings and dropped down on the unsuspecting trio in a controlled fall. He landed more or less on top of one attacker, sending the man crashing to the ground. The second man stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Hi,” said Aidan, with a broad, toothy grin. “I think you should probably start running now, don't you?” He drew his right-hand dagger and took a step towards the man, who backed away a step, then turned and ran for it. Aidan laughed. “Now there's a cure for boredom.” He glanced at the downed man, who was quite obviously out cold and not going anywhere, then turned his attention to the person they'd been robbing. 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 rings all along it. To top off the outfit the guy was wearing exaggerated black eyeliner and had one eyebrow and both ears pierced.

Aidan shook himself and tried not to stare. He's less of a freak than you are, after all. “Er, are you okay?”

“Uh... Yeah. Thanks.”

“Oh good,” said Aidan, smiling without showing his fangs.

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. I know more than you could possibly know, he thought sadly. Here he was a freak because of his wings, but even home on Aretha there were all too many places where he wasn't welcome because of his vampirism... He repressed a sigh. There was no point dwelling on such depressing thoughts.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, then the man said, “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 nobody else in my building was going and I didn't want to pay for a cab. Guess I'll know better next time.”

“Guess so,” said Aidan with a smile. “I’m Aidan, by the way.” He held out his hand, and Owen took it without hesitating.

“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. People in a goth club didn't seem likely to turn him in to the government for dissection, after all. “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. “Yeah. I suppose I should be used to it by now. Even 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, which is how I got the wings. The fangs... well, that's a longer story, and not a very fun one” He shrugged. “Bad luck seems to follow me, and I got into some pretty serious trouble that left me stranded here. I hope I can go home someday, but I don't know how long it will be.”

“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 of weeks is all.”

“Where you living?”

Aidan shrugged. “Wherever. I can’t exactly get a job and pay rent looking like this.”

“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 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 anyway.”

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