“They”
Xian Black
What are they?
Ree wondered this, even as something inside her balked at the awkward phrase. She was a poet. A lover of the old language, for all its flaws. She knew that traditional gendered pronouns did not reflect the new understanding of gender as non-binary. “They” was the term preferred by most people who lived within the vast curved spectrum between the poles. Ree understood this, too, but it was difficult for her to move past the principle that “they” was plural.
Whatever else this person was, this person was utterly singular.
Standing against the railing on the opposite side of the rooftop, apart from the party, haloed by the city lights diffused through the smoke of their cigarette. Hair dyed cherry-red. Their feline green gaze seemed to absorb the glances Ree had been sending their way since she got here.