Rowan stared up at the richly colored letters of the sign above her head. “Barlowe’s Bookery.” This was definitely where she’d dropped Ronan off the first night they’d met. She couldn’t imagine that he would be eager to see the harbinger of supernatural oddities that was Sailor Tempesti, so she hoped that arriving as her less outlandish persona would do something to put his mind at ease. If he was even here, of course. But from what she was able to tell, he was at least close friend with someone who worked here and maybe they could put her in touch with him. What little he’d been willing to share about himself during the occasions on which they’d met indicated that he was a book…preserver of some sort and it seemed worth the risk of rebuff to make her admittedly bizarre request. Maybe he’d find the prospect of working with alien books interesting. Or maybe he’d draw the line of what he was willing to believe at space libraries.

The soft ringing of a bell announced the young woman’s entry, drawing the attention of a stout, iron-haired shopkeeper behind the counter.

“Looking for anything in particular?” The woman’s voice was gruff but not unfriendly as she addressed the prospective customer.

“Oh, um. Well, I was wondering if Ronan is around? Or if you have a way to reach him?”

The shopkeeper raised her eyebrows slightly, scrutinizing the newcomer who sought her protégé before shouting. “Ronan! Visitor for you!”

A series of quiet, frustrated huffs accompanied the young man’s arrival. Clearly disgruntled at having been disturbed, Ronan emerged from the depths of the shop, a small white instrument still clutched in his hand. “Yes, hello. Can I help you?” With a great deal of effort, he managed to maintain a neutral expression as he regarded the customer.

“I’d like to discuss some…unusual book restoration. If we could speak privately that would really be great.” The woman behind the counter frowned slightly as she looked between them. “I was in the middle of.” Ronan sighed, “If it’s quick. I’m afraid I don’t have as much time for conversation as I would like to.” It wasn’t quite a lie, but it was close enough. With a jerk of his head in the general direction of their destination, the man began walking toward the back office.

He pulled the door open, gesturing for Rowan to walk inside and closing the door behind them as she did. “Alright, what is this ‘unusual’ book restoration you were talking about?”

“Well, first of all. You don’t recognize me like this, but we’ve met before. A couple of times. I’m Sailor Tempesti. Sometimes, anyway. I thought coming here like this would be less, I don’t know. Weird? But it’s still weird, I guess. Sorry about that.”

Ronan frowned as his acquaintance spoke, carefully examining her appearance. Many of the same markers were there, true, but there was something decidedly different about her. The odds of another red-haired, grey-eyed young woman knowing about his encounters with those monsters seemed pretty slim. That left the possibility that she had some weird means of protecting her identity the most likely one. “Why didn’t I recognize you?”

“I’ve asked a lot of people that question and none of them have a more thorough explanation than ‘magic,’ sorry about that.” Rowan made a face, embarrassed about her lack of information.

“And what does this have to do with book restoration?”

OK, this would be the difficult sell. Hopefully the fact that he already knew about the magic bit would make the space angle easier to believe. “So. Tempesti isn’t just my name. It’s the name of a planet. My planet. Ugh. That came out wrong. I’m not an alien, but my power comes from Tempesti. The planet Tempesti.” Maybe she should have brought notes with her. “But the planet’s civilization died out…ages ago and the books aren’t all in the best shape. I was hoping that you could help me with some of them. I don’t have a lot of money, but there are some artifacts I could give you or-.”

Ronan could feel the perplexity on his face growing with each passing word. This was insane. She realized that right? Completely and utterly insane. “And…you’ve been to this planet?”

“Yes, many times. Oh! Here, I’ve got photos. And videos. Hang on.” Fumbling slightly she pulled out her phone, swiping until she reached photos of something other than Reginald. The sweeping vista from the hill on which the palace complex stood filled her screen, spires and canals, the harbor, the Tower of the Winds in the distance.

“That is…very good. If it’s a deepfake…it’s very good. So. Show me. Take me there.” If she was insane calling her bluff could go very poorly, hopefully she wasn’t insane.

“Alright, I need to transform first. For it to work. Should you let your friend up front know you’re leaving for a bit?”

“Sure, why not? A moment, please.”

Several minutes later, Ronan returned to find Rowan replaced by Sailor Tempesti. Wings and glowing tattoos and all.

“Are you ready to go?”

Ronan nodded, gesturing for her to proceed. Focusing her intention, Tempesti pressed the button and carried them both far from Earth’s grasp.