He was just looking for a place to live, to stay out of the way of Observers and humans alike until he figured out how to be human properly, when he found the skating rink. Halfway destroyed by the invasion, deserted, somehow the power was still on and the ice was still frozen.
He'd watched, in 1882, Axel Paulsen perform the first axel jump in ice skating history. Humans considered innovation intrinsically valuable, even when the purpose was not clear. He had not understood skating.
Looking around, he found a pair of skates that fit and learned how to fly.