Chapter Text
•H U N T E R•
It was when Hunter first met Raine Whispers that he started to question who he was.
Well, what’d you expect? He was really only around his uncle and the other Emperors’ Coven scouts, although he never talked to any of them enough to know what anyone identified as, and because of the masks they were forced to wear, along with the other parts of the uniform, he went off of voice alone, not appearance.
But Raine Whispers.
When Raine became the head of the Bard Coven, Hunter managed to spot them wandering around the castle with a small stack of papers in their hand, going over them while humming like there was nothing wrong. Once Hunter peered closer, he managed to make out music notes and different drawings -one of which looked like a younger version of The Owl Lady. Did they know each other?
With Raine, it was hard to tell whether they were male or female. Their hair was short, and their facial structure made them look male. However, their voice was higher than any guy he had ever met. The glasses they wore made them look younger, despite the gray streaks on the side of their head, and the earring they wore on their right, pointed ear made them look more feminine. The name “Raine Whispers” didn’t exactly shout ‘gender’ either. The clothes they wore were gender neutral as well.
Hunter was determined to find out.
So, in that hall, he approached Raine Whispers with vigor and asked the question,
“What’s your pronouns?”
Raine, who hadn’t seen him behind the stone wall, startled. They yelped as they dropped whatever papers they had in their hand and turned their neck so fast that they must have been given whiplash. HIs eyes were wide with surprise.
“G-” Raine stuttered, his voice squeaky. “Golden Guard!” They leaned down to pick up the papers, which luckily hadn’t scattered too far. Hunter leaned down to help pick them up. He gave them a closer look. They were indeed music sheets.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Hunter murmured. He handed the papers he had picked up to Raine, who accepted them gratefully. They looked over him for a moment.
“Thank you.” Raine said as they stood up. “Now, what can I help you with again?”
“I was wondering what your pronouns are.” Hunter answered, pointing towards them. Raine didn’t seem all that surprised by the question -to Hunter’s relief- and instead answered like Hunter was asking what their favorite color was.
“I’m nonbinary.” They answered. “I use they/them pronouns.”
Hunter didn’t know what that meant.
“What does that mean?” He asked after a moment.
Raine hummed, thinking of their answer before saying anything. “Well,” They said, “It means I don’t fit inside the gender spectrum. I am neither male nor female, to explain it simply.”
“So, the pronoun ‘they’ is not just used for someone who you are not sure of the gender of?”
Raine nodded.
“And people can just change their gender like that?”
Raine nodded again.
Hunter just nodded along like he understood.
“Is that all, Golden Guard?” Raine asked. They had finally sorted out all of their papers.
Hunter nodded again. “Yes, thank you.” Just before he turned around, he said, “And please, call me Hunter.”
Raine hummed and continued on his way while Hunter turned around and continued to wherever he was going.