Ocellus looked around the dorm-room. It was only by random chance that they had all decided to convene in Sandbar and Gallus’ dorm for the evening now that classes were finished. They could have just as easily decided to hang out in her and Smolder’s dorm or Yona and Silverstream’s, depending on how exactly they wanted to spend the day together.
Alas, Sandbar had a HayStation and Gallus wanted a rematch against Smolder in Mortal Trotters.
“C’mon! C’mon! Yes!!” Gallus pumped a claw in victory having secured a clutch win against Smolder by the skin of his teeth, his fighter giving an unsportsmanlike shot to the groin of Smolder’s character.
“A’ight, not bad.” Smolder conceded. “I think that puts the score at ten to three.” She said, her smirk making it clear which of them was in the majority.
“Yeah, yeah, still gonna savor the win. Now then…” Gallus allowed a wicked grin to spread across his beak as he looked over the move-list for his fighter, taking a few seconds to memorize the button inputs for the ridiculously over-the-top, gory finishing move that would serve as the capstone to their match.
Backing out of the move-list and back into the game, Gallus’ talons clicked and clacked across the gamepad, his character moving in an intricate dance leading up to the kill and…
Gallus misclicked a button, making his character give an anti-climactic low kick to his opponent’s shin. Smolder’s fighter slumped to the ground, dead.
“Gah! Dang it!”
Ocellus giggled, momentarily looking up from her book to observe their game at the sound of trash-talking. Parallel play having become the normal weekday routine with their group whenever they escaped the confines of academia.
Looking around, the rest of her friends were similarly engaged in their own activities, occasionally giving audience to the virtual bloodsport on the tiny television on Sandbar’s desk.
Silverstream kept her claws busy with her latest craft project, having recently taken up whittling, never truly being satisfied with only one medium to express her creativity.
Her current skill-level was at a comfortable mid-point between novice and adept, with her wooden figurines more often than not having a passing resemblance to her intentional design. The current piece in her claws made Ocellus’ blush a bit as it was clearly modeled after the group’s resident Changeling herself. Course, knowing Silverstream, it was more than likely she was planning to make one for each of her friends, but Ocellus was still flattered that she chose to make her first.
This week was one of the rare few when Swift Foot, sometimes fugitive Princess of Thrace, could abscond from her family and their island for a time without them noticing, one of the rare advantages to having a neglectful family.
As such, she had nestled into her comfortable spot in-between Sandbar and Yona, the three of them having officially formed their ‘throuple’ a few months back and were now just enjoying their, however unorthodox, relationship.
Yona was in the midst of braiding Swift Foot’s mane, which must have felt therapeutic to the young mare as she serenely leaned her head on Sandbar’s shoulder, Sandbar, in-turn, leaned against her while their hooves were entwined.
Everyone seemed perfectly comfortable being in each other’s presence on this perfectly comfortable day in.
‘Well, this is as good a time as any.’ Ocellus thought to herself.
She cleared her throat, wanting to make this announcement before Gallus and Smolder started their next match so as not to interrupt them.
“Hey, guys? Can I say something real quick?”
“What’s up, Cell?” Gallus said, admittedly not looking back at her as he was contemplating his next fighter.
“It’s another one of our… Rainbow Talks.” Ocellus said, her smile dropping but not entirely leaving her face.
Gallus and Smolder exchanged a look before they both put down their controllers, scooching on their hindquarters until they faced Ocellus directly.
Silverstream stopped whittling and calmly put her figurine and tool on the ground next to her, giving Ocellus a gentle smile and her undivided attention.
While Swift noticeably winced when Sandbar pulled away from her and Yona stopped braiding her mane, she still made sure to give Ocellus her undue attention, as did her partners.
‘Rainbow Talks’ had become shorthand for their group whenever any of them made a… significant discovery about themselves. The coin was first termed by Gallus the first time Ocellus told them that she was attracted to girls. He used the term again for when he admitted to the group, and more-so to himself, that he fancied both boys and girls.
Silverstream used the term when she revealed that gender played no role whatsoever in what she found attractive, she was simply attracted to whoever and whatever caught her fancy. Sandbar and Yona used the term when they revealed to their friends that they were both dating Swift Foot and that she would be joining them as a third part to their romantic relationship.
And now, Ocellus had another likewise announcement to make.
“Got something you want to tell us, Cell?” Gallus asked, his smile telling her the accusational tone was all in good fun. Everycreature in that room knew there would be absolutely no judgment to anything Ocellus had to say.
Maybe some confusion and some potentially embarrassing questions, but all in the name of better understanding. Ocellus knew that for a fact.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while…” Ocellus began, taking a breath to expel the last few remnants of trepidation that never really go away, no matter how much support one may have. “And I’m pretty sure I’m non-binary.”
The response was to be expected, mostly just understanding smiles with a few confused looks here and there.
“That’s awesome, Ocellus! Congratulations!” Silverstream said, clasping her claws together near her face as she gushed.
“So, non-binary. That’s a trans thing, right?” Gallus asked, trying to recall his Gender Studies classes.
An understandable question, all considered, and one Ocellus was happy to answer. “Sort of. It is a form of gender dysphoria, but whereas transgender individuals identify as the opposite gender from what they were assigned at birth, non-binary means you don’t identify as male or female.” She explained in her best teacher voice.
Pretty much everycreature in that room knew Ocellus was going right back into the school after graduating, only to occupy the opposite side of the teacher’s desk.
“So what do you identify as?” Swift Foot asked.
“Non-binary.” Ocellus said simply. No curtness or annoyance in her tone, there was simply no better word.
Swift Foot shrugged, accepting that it probably was the best word on hand, and acknowledging that it made perfect sense when she broadened the perspective. If non-binary do not identify as male or female, then what’s left?
“So, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m genuinely curious…” Smolder began, wanting to cover her bases lest she say something out of line.
Ocellus merely kept her patient smile and motioned for her to continue. So long as Smolder’s intentions were to better her own understanding, Ocellus didn’t think Smolder could offend her if she tried.
“This whole ‘non-binary’ thing? Is it more of a ‘Changeling’ thing or more of a ‘You’ thing?”
Ocellus genuinely pondered the question and realized it really was a rather interesting one. “Huh, I guess in a way, Changelings do have a unique perspective on the nature of gender identity. After all, the entire premise that sex and gender are two separate things becomes much more complicated when you factor in the ability to make your physical sex whatever you want.”
“I guess, in the simplest terms that I can manage, is that individual Changelings are just as liable as other races to prefer expressing their gender identities in a myriad different ways. We just have an, admittedly, unfair advantage when it comes to physically expressing that identity.”
“So, do you want us to refer to you as They/Them from now on?” Sandbar asked. He always was the one among them to have a bit more of a hoof on the pulse for the, call it what it is, socially correct vernacular for these sorts of subjects.
Ocellus ‘hmm’ed to herself as she thought it over. “I’ll be honest, I’m still figuring that part out. I never really had an issue expressing myself with feminine terms before, even if I don’t identify as female.”
“So, how are you okay with using feminine terms, but you’re not a female?” Gallus asked, leaning back against his elbows.
“Just like how there’s a difference between sex and gender, there’s a difference between gender identity and gender expression.” Ocellus explained. “It’s the difference between a trans woman and a drag queen. Both express themselves outwardly as feminine, but whereas a trans woman inwardly identifies as a woman, a drag queen still identifies as a man. Just… a man that likes to be pretty every now and then.”
Gallus nodded. He definitely had personal context from all the times he and Smolder would doll themselves up for her tea parties.
Ocellus turned back to Sandbar, who was already starting to ease back into his snuggle-huddle with Yona and Swift Foot. “Anyway, to answer your question Sandbar, let’s go with She/They for now. I would like to experiment with They/Them pronouns, but I won’t mind at all if you keep calling me ‘she’ or ‘her’.”
Silverstream cocked her head in thought, placing her chin in the palm of her claw while tapping a talon against her cheek. “So… Does that mean you’re still my ‘girlfriend’ or do I call you something else now?”
Ocellus blushed a bit. Everycreature knew she and Silverstream were dating, but it was still a little embarrassing to just have it be said out loud. “Um… Girlfriend is fine, also. But, uh, you could also use gender-neutral terms like partner or-or date-mate…”
Silverstream smiled, her eyes lidded. “Then I have one last question.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Can I give my date-mate a kiss? It looks like they could really use one.”
Ocellus gulped as her blush deepened, but nonetheless nodded as Silver was already leaping off the ground, gliding directly towards Ocellus as she wrapped her arms around their neck, gently caressing their lips with her beak.
Gallus snickered at the blushing mess that was currently engulfed in a sea of very affectionate pink feathers. Turning on his butt back towards the TV, Gallus gave a wave behind him. “Well, congrats, Cell. I’m very happy for you.”
Sandbar nodded while Swift Foot and Yona were already going back to their braiding. “Yeah, we’re all proud of you, Ocellus!”
Ocellus and Silverstream broke away from each other long enough for Ocellus to give a very dazed “T-Thanks, guys…”
Silverstream merely smiled warmly at her girlfriend, her date-mate, her partner, before nuzzling into Ocellus’ side, having apparently forgotten all about her whittling project and now merely wanted to snuggle against her little love-bug.
“Okay, back to our game, Smolder.” Gallus challenged. “Let’s keep my winning streak going.”
“You can’t have a streak of one, Gallus.”