Welcome to Gaia! ::

Bahjat stared into the water, blue and nearly sea through. It wasn't masking anything from them. Unlike her own inner turmoil. Them? He?

Oh, Bahjat wasn't too sure anymore. They kicked the water that was at their feet mindlessly and watched it ripple. More often than not, they seemed to come here, to this exact same place. Ever since they had learned how to swim. It was somewhere safe, somewhere in the winter and fall months where they could find a place against the wall and sleep or contemplate life. And now, they were here. Staring at their own reflection.

What were they? What were they doing with their lives? Their hair said feminine and their lashes said the same but....Were they a girl?

Gender shouldn't be an issue, they knew that. But right now it was. Looks meant the world to them. It gave them their own style, made them stand out, made them who they were.

But...they felt like they weren't a girl. The kumiho loved styling their hair, loved cutesy things but..did that have to make them a girl?

Ahh..why was life so complicating?!

Taking care of the academy was hard work. With so many nightmares and daydreams of all different sizes and shapes, all with their different needs, even with a vast amount of caretakers there was always room for someone to help.

Which was why he was here. To help. It was mainly custodial work but it was still help. And boy, did they need a lot of it. The hybrid came in whenever he could after his studies, of course. And it still didn't seem like enough. It was...frustrating work. But he didn't mind it.

Which was why he was here. Brushing leaves into a large pile that were around the pool. Fall was here with a vengeance. And with it, came the falling of leaves.

But he couldn't understand why a freshling was also at the pool, lazing about. Wasn't school in session. They propped the long broom on the cement wall and walked over, shade tail dutifully looking around to see if there were any other little ones around.

"What are you doing here, kiddo?" Perseus tried to smile, his tail coming around on the other side of the kumiho to stare. "You're not ditching class are you?"

"Whaaa---?" she looked up, bewildered. Another nightmare? When--how--? Her eyes misted over with slight fear. Who was this nightmare? Why were they there? Were they going to take them back to class? They weren't ready yet! A feel of a furred, moving thing on their other side made them jolt, nearly scooting fully into the water. Bahjat turned towards the furry shade tail, bewildered and leaned as far away from it as she could. It only moved closer. They let out a strangled whine. There really was no escape.

"I-I'm just sitting here.." She trailed off, avoiding the other one's clear gaze in favor of the water at her feet. What was she going to do?!

A frown overcame Perseus' lips. Just sitting there? That wasn't too likely. Not with that sort of reaction. His tail moved to plop down on top of the kumiho's lap in an attempt to comfort her. It only seemed to startle her though. "Achilles..." he gave his tail a warning look, gently crouching down next to the freshling. "Are you just sitting here? You know, I think there are much better things, funner things to do besides just sitting here."

"Was only trying to help." His tail said, solemnly, before raising himself and moved over to his side as Perseus gave the nightmare a look over. She was still staring in the water. Why? More importantly, why was their fear in the young nightmare's eyes? Someone so small shouldn't be afraid. "Do you want to talk about it? Or are you afraid of the water?" He tried looking at her gently, sympathetically, even though he didn't know the situation himself. "You know I won't tell anyone."

Achilles was the tail's name? Bahjat stared at the tail, slightly mystified. Their dad had a tail so it wasn't unusual for her to interact with a tail. Amazing. Sure, they had seen plenty of students They stared for a long while before turning back to the water, the familiar ache for Rosebud and her home tugging at her heart. If only they could go back to such a simple life. With simple thoughts. Bahjat side, wiping their eyes as she could feel the tears prickle at the corners.

Why did this guy have to barge in and take a hold of their attention? They wanted to be alone. The freshling out a sigh, kicking the water again. He wasn't going to leave unless they said something, huh? "I..." They frowned. "It's dumb." Bahjat finally let out after a few moments pause. As if they would believe him. Or really care about their issue. Who would when gender wasn't a big thing?

Oh no. Not tears. Perseus had to restrain his tail from coming over and giving the kid a hug. Now wasn't the time. Or the place. Maybe after they had their talk, but right now it wouldn't do any good but freak the little one out.

"You can trust me." His smile widened as he tried to be as approachable as he possibly could. How was he going to get to them? They pondered, looking to the water as well. How were they going to approach someone who thought that "No issue is a dumb issue. We all have them. " Perseus idly petted his tail, trying to calm his frustrated nerves. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" You could lead someone to water but it wasn't like you could make them drink. There was nothing that he could do for the kid if they weren't going to talk.

But he really wished the kid would.

They can trust them? Yeah, right. Likely story. Wouldn't all adults say that? But..."You aren't going to go away if I say I don't want to talk about it, are you?" they side eyed the other nightmare warily, speculative. And didn't bother waiting for an answer. Of course they wouldn't leave. Bahjat had also ditched class in order to be here. He was probably going to send them back to their class, tell their teacher, get them in trouble.

Bahjat let out a sigh. "I don't know who I am...me wise." They waved a hand towards their body. "I----look girly. I like girly things." Their body radiated female. But..they hung their head. "I feel like a boy." their voice wilted. It wasn't wrong but was it...right? Could they feel like a boy when their looks screamed girl? Life was so confusing. "Told you it was dumb."

He wasn't really going to leave. Planned on doing so if they kept on protesting. He wasn't really one to ever push. But---

Why leave when they finally talked.

Perseus cocked his head to the side, fully paying attention to them. Even Achilles turned around to listen to the freshling. Gender identity issues, huh? He couldn't speak from experience. The shade had always known that they were a he their whole life. But he could sympathize, just a bit. There were many times in his life when he wasn't sure what to do about his own dreams, whether he should go with what his family wanted or what he wanted. Even now, he wasn't fully sure.

But the heart did know what it wanted. This situation had to be the same right?

Gently, he patted the kumiho on the back of the head. "It's not dumb." he reached over to give the nightmare a gentle pat at the back of the head. "You're having normal issues." Perseus sighed good naturedly. How was he going to go about this?

"You know there's nothing wrong with liking girl things while feeling like you're a guy." He ruffled his hair. "If it's what you are, it's what you are. Go with what your heart says."

"Normal issues?" Bahjat looked at the male with obvious doubt. "Everyone else knows what they're going to do with their life. Everyone knows how to deal with their life. And has things together. This...this is so small. " Bahjat put their hands in their lap, clenching them. "It's so easy for someone to say what they are, what they feel. What if...my heart's wrong?" Their voice got small. What if this didn't work out? Would people think that they're a flake?

Ugh, they didn't know what to do. "It's really okay to like girly things when I feel like...like a boy?" They raised a brow, unsure. Although there was doubt running through their mind they couldn't...help but want to believe that they were telling the truth. They were an adult right? Maybe they did know a thing or two...

He gave her a small smile. Typical kid. "Yeah, might not seem normal, but it's normal. Nothing too out of the ordinary." he made a fist and gently knocked his knuckles against her shoulder, folding one of his knees so that his other arm could hug it. "No one has their life completely together. It's complicated. Don't you have other problems? Difficulty in a certain subject, family issues, home life, friend issues..." He eyed her. "You're a normal nightmare, we all have our sets of problems. Solving them is what makes us..us." At least that's what he liked to believe. It was how he became what he was today. And so many others went him for advice.

It was weird.

"It's completely okay. There are plenty of others that like similar things. You just haven't found them yet." Perseus smiled gently and patted her knee. "Maybe someday you'll meet someone like you. Until then, you're unique! There's nothing wrong with that." He smiled. "As long as you're not hurting anyone, it's completely okay, kid. You do what you want to do. And if you feel different later..." he gave a half hearted shrug. "You can state that you're different."

'So..I'm a boy. A guy." Bahjat nodded to themselves. It seemed...right. Like a weight was lifted off of their body. The kumiho smiled suddenly. A boy.

That sounded so much better. So right. The clouded gaze that he once wore seemed demystified. "Yeah, a guy." They nodded again. "Thanks..." They smiled back over to the stranger. Who were they? A frown flitted across their face. They didn't get their name.

"My name?" Perseus chuckled and got up slowly, stretching. His tail brushed against the freshling lovingly before going back to the shade's side. "Perseus. I'm glad we had this talk." They looked at the sun before their gaze went back to the kumiho at hand. "I do have to go now though. I'll catch you later." They waved, their tail turning around as he did.

There was still more work to be done.