Lucas heard the thumping noise coming from his backyard.

"Lucas, I think your sister's on the bouncy castle again." His mother called. "Can you get her off?"

He sighed. His family had rented an inflatable white castle for little Kira's 4th birthday party, and still hadn't gotten rid of it. Kira wasn't supposed to get on it without supervision.

"Alright, Mom." He opened the glass sliding door, decorated with handmade suncatchers. Kira and his mom loved to make them together, and the results were beautiful. Brynn the blue merle corgi ran out before him, yapping. She never barks this much. Lucas thought. Strange.

He approached the castle tentatively. Maybe a raccoon or a squirrel got in.

Peering inside, he yelled in shock. A blue-skinned girl was sprawled out, apparently unconcious. Her curly, white hair was fanned out around her, and she wore nothing but a white leotard and a long, fluffy sash. "Mom? Can you come outside?"

"Mmm?" Mrs. Mitchell stepped out onto the patio, looked into the castle and screamed. "Oh goodness! What is that?"

"I...think it's a girl." Lucas checked for a pulse. After a second, he let out a sigh of relief. "Still alive."

"Well, we should take her inside and get her situated in the guest bedroom." Mrs. Mitchell said, fixing her pink damask apron with the word "diva" em( )oidered on it in black thread.

"Ok." Lucas gingerly hooked his arms under the girl's own. She was surpisingly light. His mother took her legs. Gently, the still form was lifted and taken into the house.

***

Lynwen awoke in a strange room. She remembered falling, and then blacking out. Her head hurt, and she was surprised she hadn't ( )oken any bones.

She sat up slowly to examine her surroundings. A white and blue floral quilt lay on top of her, and fluffy white pillows pressed gently against her back. The furniture was white, and looked antique. A vanity was placed against the wall she was facing, and had a delicate array of pretty perfume bottles placed on a mirrorlike silver tray. There was a window to her left, and its white lace curtains veiled a window seat upholstered in the same light blue as the walls. It was...different. She decided. But not a bad kind of different.

"She's awake." The whisper came from a crack in the door, and Lynwen saw a human boy watching her. His skin was a medium ( )own, and didn't shimmer like her own. His hair was so dark that she gasped aloud. Even Zepyrine's navy blue locks weren't that dark.

She gathered her thoughts. "Where am I, human?"

Lucas smirked. Her tone was stilted, like she was trying to act superior. "You're at my house, on the planet Earth."

Lynwen made a noise like the wind rushing through the trees. In Wind, it meant that she knew what he was talking about. She knew he wouldn't understand her, and it made her feel more important.

"Are you an alien?" He asked, raising an eyeb.row.

"Excuse me? I live on the same planet, although my kind doesn't occupy the land your kind does." She said, raising her voice a little.

"So then, where does your kind live?" Lucas was a bit dumbfounded. "Underwater?"

"No, you fool!" Lynwen threw up her hands in disgust. "We live on top of the clouds!"

Lucas recalled how odd it had been that she was light, and not heavy like a human. "Clouds are just vapor, though. How do you live on them?"

"That's what they want you to think." She said. "An adult human could fall through, but if you're light enough clouds are quite stable."

"They? Who are they? Why do they want me to think clouds are vapor?"

"My people's human correspondents." She didn't want to reveal that she really had no clue who they were. All she knew was that they were dangerous, and didn't tolerate Aracellans living amongst humans. That was a fact taught since Basic Academy, Aracelis's Preschool equivalent.

"How do you plan on blending in with the human world? It's not like you can walk down the street like that." Lucas asked.

If stuck on Earth, find some sort of makeup and a wig. It will help disguise your true skin tone and hair color. Another tip snuck into Lynwen's mind. "Do you have any white face paint? Also, could you find some black clothes?"

She would buy the wig later, she decided. Ever since she was little, she had planned her disguise carefully. Gothic fashion was the way to go. It wasn't too hard to cover up her light skin with white foundation, and the style seemed to keep the humans away.

Fog Workers would be her best bet on getting home, she would find one and have them produce a cloud thick enough for her to step onto and propel back to the sky with her snow.

"I got the clothes, but not the facepaint. I can get my mom to go get some real quick." Lucas spread his hands out in a can't-help-you-there gesture.

"Good. Send her to the store you humans call H-E-B. There's some located in the makeup section, under the ( )and named Manic Panic."

Gee. Lucas thought. This chick did her research.

Mrs. Mitchell came in with a tray of assorted foods, the likes of which Lynwen had never seen before. "I'm Gina, and I thought you might want something to eat."

"Care to relay your request, uh...what's your name?" Lucas blushed.

"Lynwen Cadellith, or just Lynwen. I don't recall you introducing yourself, either." Her snowflake-pupiled eyes gazed, unblinking, at him.

"Mitchell. Lucas Mitchell. Lucas for short." He decided to channel his inner James Bond.

"Gina, can you please go to the nearest H-E-B and purchase some white Manic Panic foundation? Oh, and some Gothic clothing? Please make it long, I must hide my legs. I am a size S in your measurements."

"Sure, Lynwen. Lucas, make sure Kira doesn't get into anything while I'm gone." Mrs. Mitchell sat the tray down at the foot of the bed.

"Ok, Mom." Lucas sighed. Lynwen grabbed the tray and picked up a biscuit, gazing at it curiously.

"What is this?" She sniffed it.

"It's a biscuit. Don't you eat in your world?"

"We have assorted fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, and desserts, but nothing like this." She took a ginger bite.

"Well?"

"It wasn't the best..." She set it down and plucked the lemon garnish off of the lemonade glass.

"Uh..." Before Lucas could warn her, she bit it. Instantly she let out a cry of disgust and took it out of her mouth.

"That...that was bad!"

"Here, drink this!" He held up a can of orange soda. She took it and drank deeply, only to spew it out in horror.

"It's burning me!" Sputtering, she waved her hands around wildly.

"Um, uh..." He spotted a doughnut and frantically grabbed it. Then he shoved it into her mouth. She looked surprised, then began to eat it, delighted. Lucas sighed. This was going to be worse than babysitting.