Then they will be put where they belong, neatly labeled in the former case and neatly stacked in the latter. Then she goes looking for the clock room to check the time again.

It's starting to get late! Exploring space can take a while, apparently.

And she has school tomorrow, drat. She didn't used to think "drat" about school very often, but that was before she had alternatives like "being a robot dragon exploring outer space". She promises to be back on Saturday at the latest, and is in fact back on Wednesday because she managed to get ahead on her homework. Her parents have been told she is "helping a friend out with a project".

"Margaret! Hello. It's good you're back so soon - I have a bit of a request for you, in fact."

"Yeah, I got lucky with my schedule. What's the job?" she asks eagerly, swishing her tail.

"Depends. There's someone who could use a partner on their own job. Do you mind working with them?"

"Not at all! I'm always happy to meet new people."

"Good! I'll lead you to them, then, and let them explain the mission."

Follow follow, happy tailswish.

There's a werewolf-shaped person waiting for them. They have wolf ears instead of human ones, bright golden eyes, a spill of fur down their back, an odd posture, and a big fluffy tail. Their clothes are dark greens and browns, tailored specifically around the wolf parts. Their shape's moderately but not extremely feminine - mostly apparent around the face.

"Hello!" they say, voice husky and androgynous. "You must be my new teammate. I'm Silv. Gender neutral pronouns, unless I say otherwise, please."

Margaret smiles at them. "Hi Silv! My name's Margaret." Her voice is feminine, and with her lack of flesh and clothes that's about the only gender cue she's giving off.

"Good to meet you. - Oh, Marel, I think we're good, though I'll send you a message if something comes up, okay?"

"Alright. Have fun, you two."

And she's off.

"So, how long have you been doing this work? I just started last week."

"A few months! I got shapeshifting, the proper magic kind, so my debt's pretty big. Still, it's fun work."

"It's so much fun-- I got to go to outer space! I don't have any magic, but I have some really cool technology."

"Yeah. I love the whole robot dragon thing! That's super neat. I haven't been to proper space-space yet, except, like, inside a spaceship, since my mods aren't the best for that."

"Being a robot dragon is the best. But I bet shapeshifting is amazing too. Do you know what our job for today is?"

"Yeah! Collecting rare materials from this one magic mountain forest. Some of the sites are pretty far apart, and I can't carry a ton, so a big flier's gonna help reduce the number of loads, pretty much, and I bet you have senses I can't manage biologically."

"Ooh, that does sound pretty. And yeah, I can definitely fly stuff from A to B while you tell me what's useful and what isn't. I can probably carry you around too if you want."

"We'll have to have a race to figure out which of us is faster! To see if that's economical, you know."

"You're on. I don't even know my top speed yet!" She knows her humanoid form no longer has to put in much effort in gym class, but she hasn't had a chance to push the limits of the dragon form's abilities in atmosphere.

"Head over to the planet, then?"

"Yup!" And off they go.

The planet: is mountainous and forested, with forests of dark blue-purple leaves and grey trunks that fade to a dusky blue in the distance, and wide streams that run over glittering pebbles, and outcroppings of crystal that glows with a soft inner light. It's night now, the sky awash with more stars than visible anywhere on Earth, auroras dancing over past the mountains, and soft glowing flowers unfurl in the shadows of the trees, like distant fireflies.