"Yeah, I'm starting to believe that. Welcome to Earth, I guess. How did you get here in the first place? We have Outer Gates for that kind of thing, I thought."

"From nice bar. Person broke door," says Pen indignantly. "Door supposed home and did no home instead here!"

"O...kay. I think I got that. How do you get back to the nice bar?"

"Can't! Door close door gone door maybe be again but anywhere a door go," says Pen, throwing up her hands.

"So. You're stuck here. Uh... I can put you up, I guess. I mean, it's Sally's place, but she's out of town and the odds of her saying no to me taking an extradimensional child with nowhere else to go are nil. Do you want to stay with me?"

"Guess so. Did checking for a one Mommy or one Daddy or sisters and people and nobody nobody."

"Huh. There can be ones of people? Wonder if there's an angel one of me flapping about in your world. I'd like to meet him, he sounds interesting."

"I dunno, not recognizing you from space plant party," shrugs Pen. "Most my world people not angels. Serah have a one her and not angel."

"Disappointing. Maybe I'll give myself wings and be the winged one for him, then. Can you actually fly?"

"Yeah, 'course."

"That's amazing. I wouldn't think you could get strong enough wings on the back to lift a human, but I don't know from biology. But I think we might have to do something to hide your wings if you're going to stay on Earth for a while."

"Is a not a magic world?" asks Pen. "Or secret magic? You do a magic."

"Well, secret is as secret does. There's no rule against telling people, but for some reason people mostly don't know about it, and a lot of the magic people get really antsy about telling people. But, y'know, screw them. I'm mostly just saying people will stare, and that could be unpleasant."

"Am angel. Aren't so many. Mommy will going be Archangel, also. People look angels. Give us presents!"

"Here it's less likely to be presents and more, uh, 'oh my god' and 'are you an escaped government experiment'. And things along those lines. Also, I can guarantee that people will ask if they can touch them, so if that's a bad thing you might want to avoid it."

"Is rude," says Pen, rustling her wings indignantly.

"Yes, and asking to touch children is skeevy in any circumstance, but people are, in fact, rude. I can make your wings invisible, is why I ask."

"Can still do flying with invisible wings?" she asks.

"Uh, yes, but if you're going to fly I'd ask that you do it in the Nevernever so humans don't hit you with planes and stuff. Sorry."

"What is Nevernever?"

"It's a world that's sort of- sideways to this one. It's really pretty, but there's things in it that want to eat you, so you'd have to bring me along for protection. But it's very pretty. And there's no humans except some wizards."

"I can't eaten," says Pen. "Unless very magic eating maybe so okay you come along... What kind wizards?"

"Very magic eating, yeah. And eating's not the only unpleasant thing that can happen to lost children in the Nevernever. Best all around if you stick with me. And they're my kind wizards! We do magic with earth and air and water and fire and spirit, and then we do more complicated magic with demons and magic items and- there's a lot of stuff you can do with the complicated magic, it's flexible."

"What kind demons? Is a one daddy who a demon. He red, extra tall, wings but not angel wings."

"Demons're just a kind of spirit, not a very nice one. You can summon them to ask them questions or ask them to hurt your enemies and whatnot. Red and big and winged, that's a classic. What's your daddy like?"