Breaking Out of an Ancient Locked Closet

It was the day after her night with Dmitri and River. Fweiu had been distracted all day.

She was drinking from the fire hose, learning what she could about these other supernatural communities, trying to build deals with them that could benefit her people. Trying to learn how to pass as a human. She couldn't afford to be distracted, especially not by something frivolous.

And yet, Fweiu was thinking about women. Re-thinking all of the ways she used to think about other women. Over a century and a half of life, she had never known that having a romantic relationship with another woman was even possible, but it was. And she... might have always wanted that?

Fweiu had been made to look like a fool, too - made her whole clan look like fools. Like some kind of backwards community where she couldn't have learned that lesbians exist. Or, maybe there were plenty of other lesbians back home, but nobody had ever bothered to tell Fweiu about them. Was this just a personal problem for her, not knowing?

It was near the end of her day, less productive than it could have been. Her class was over. Shul's should have been, too, so she was fairly sure that calling him up wouldn't interrupt anything.

She stood outside of the school and held the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Shul. I... learned some things, recently, and I don't know if it's something I can talk about with other members of the clan. Do you have a minute?"

@EmiRose

Fweiu nodded to her brother, somber and serious.

She was sitting at a bench on campus, and she gestured for him to sit next to her. She wanted to get right into it, but - she struggled to think of what to say. How should she introduce this sensitive subject? They would sit next to each other in silence for a little while, until she was ready.

"So, I've learned recently that it's possible for..." she cleared her throat. "That two women can be in a romantic relationship. With each other." She spoke as though overwhelmed by the gravity of the situation. "It has given me a lot to think about."

Fweiu just stared at him for a little while. "Shi and Loosh?" she asked. "Seriously? This whole time I thought they were just... Close friends who lived together." Now she felt stupid. Did everyone else know but her?

"Do you mean to say that our... that my people at home, would think this is okay?"

Fweiu blushed, embarrassed. Not everyone knew. She didn't know, for all those years.

She spent a while sitting there, Clutching at her pant leg.

"I'm worried that... if I start doing things like that, it could be bad for the clan. Wouldn't it?" She knew she would have to bear children at least once in her life. She hadn't yet - she always used birth control. She was afraid of what being pregnant would do to her air of authority. But what would homosexuality do to her authority? What would the clan think? It could be like Antarctica all over again.

"I don't know that it's the same."

Fweiu took a deep breath.

"...But, maybe you are right. If Loosh and Shi... if nobody cared about them doing it, then it can't be that big of a deal. And nobody's going to care enough to split the clan again."

Hearing herself say her fears aloud made her realize how silly they were. She took a look at Shul, then burst out laughing, unable to contain it. This was such a stupid thing to be scared about. Of course nobody would care that much! "I must be letting Antarctica get to me again. I shouldn't worry about such things."