Chapter Six: Smell like I sound

Alright. I just want it to be very clear here that I am cis. As such, this particular chapter might have some glaring error in realism or something. If so, I'm sorry; please drop me a line and I'll do my best to fix it.

I try to avoid transphobia in this chapter. If I did it right, the most is a couple of boys raised in isolation who don't know that transsexuality is a thing. After all, Marissa Meyer stated that in the future things like transphobia are only historical. For all of the Lunar monarchy's flaws, this doesn't seem like the sort of thing that Channary or Levana would try to bring back. But as before, if I'm wrong, please let me know.

Ze'ev had been in the pack for what he (very roughly) estimated to be about three years. In that time, he'd learnt how to fight, how to shoot, how to kill. He knew dozens of techniques for deflecting and using weapons, including each of his bio-modifications.

More than that, he'd also learned his pack mates.

He knew that Crater Brock was hostile and violent, but took his role as leader seriously and would protect his pack if it came to it. He knew that Tristan Wynn would accept anything resembling a dare and that Gibbous Troya always drew blood before letting a fight finish. Vanya Volkov hated being an operative but always tried to joke about it; Masaru Tsukino never wasted a move, moment, or word; Rille Baines hid every emotion but still felt them. Alex Rafe hated causing pain but would never hold back, while Eclipse Garson would pull every punch he could without completely destroying his status. José Lobo was always ready with a smile but no-one sensible would turn their back to him; Wane Becke was able to keep calm no matter what chaos exploded around him. Huang Liu was terrified of becoming omega but would only pick a fight with someone weaker; Emil Katona was terrified of pretty much everything; Aziz Sherazi was fearless but quite simply also talentless. And Ze'ev had known every detail about Omega Ran Kesley since the day his father introduced him to the small bundle wrapped in his mother's arms.

There were things no-one would talk about, mostly due to the question of whether they were under surveillance. Still, Ze'ev was confident that he knew most details about his pack.

Every once in a while, he learnt something new, but it never surprised him. He either already had some subconscious idea, or it fitted perfectly with what he already knew about his teammate. Beta Troya's news was no exception.

The pack was stripping off their uniform for the day, changing into sleepwear.

"Hey, everyone?" Beta Gibbous Troya called, throwing the regolith stained clothes into the laundry basket.

Everyone glanced around, although no-one stopped getting dressed.

Gibbous hesitated for a moment. "What's the difference between boys and girls?"

A dozen blank stares met the question.

"What?" Beta Alex Rafe asked.

"What's the difference between boys and girls?" Gibbous repeated. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "I'm not asking for an anatomy lesson, but there has to be something other than biology."

"How about that girls don't get conscripted into the lupine aspect of the army?" Beta Vanya Volkov suggested, moving to his bed.

"That's a biology thing," Beta Tristan Wynn pointed out. "The different hormones mean that the operations don't take properly."

"How do you know that?" Beta Aziz Sherazi asked.

"Before I came here, I asked my teacher why only boys got conscripted," Tristan said with a shrug.

"What kind of differences?" Ze'ev asked Gibbous.

Gibbous folded his arms. "I don't know," he said grumpily. "Girls are supposed to like some things boys don't, right?"

Ze'ev could vaguely remember a girl in his class, back in RM-9, arguing with a boy that girls didn't have to like hairclips if they didn't actually like them. But that had been an eternity ago – the only women Ze'ev had seen in three years were thaumaturges, and even they never interacted with Jael's pack.

No-one said anything for a moment.

"I had a sister," Beta Eclipse Garson said after a moment. "She used to pretend that one of her toys was her baby. She said that was just what girls did. I was never interested."

"My cousin said the same thing with things to make her hair pretty," Beta Huang Liu offered. "Our fathers worked in textiles and sometimes they were allowed to bring home little scraps. She wore them on her head and loved it."

"Not all girls do, though," Ze'ev said. "I think one of my classmates hated being told girls were supposed to like playing with their hair."

"I think my old best friend loved to watch broadcasts so she could see fashions in Artemisia," Beta Alex Rafe said.

"My brother lost a tooth once when he told a girl she wasn't supposed to like getting dirty," Alpha Crater Brock said. "No-one complained about her in the dust after that."

"I think my mum used to play with dolls when she was a kid, because she kept it in a box."

"My father always used to say that girls were better at cooking."

"That can't be right; my mother never did the cooking at home, only my dad did."

"I had a girlfriend. She really liked to draw."

"My stepmother always sung."

"Maybe girls are less vicious."

"I think everyone on Luna is less vicious than us."

There was a slight ripple of laughter. Ze'ev wondered how much of it was self-loathing.

"I don't think there's something all girls have in common," Tristan Wynn said finally. "I think they're all different."

"Then how do you know the difference?" Beta Troya asked.

"Call them 'she' instead of 'he'," Ran suggested.

The omega lit up as the rest of the pack agreed with him.

Gibbous shifted uncomfortably, hopping from foot to foot. "I know. It's just… I was thinking… I think maybe… I think I'm a girl."

"Why?" Masaru Tsukino asked simply.

"I…" Gibbous faltered. "I don't know. It's just, ever since I was a kid, I always felt like I wasn't… I never…"

"Can you be born a boy and decide you're a girl?" José asked.

Gibbous growled. "If I say I can, I can."

José bared his teeth in response to the growl, but sat back slightly, indicating that he wasn't going to pursue a fight. "I was legitimately asking. I didn't know that was a thing."

"I think my cousin Richard used to be my cousin Crescent Moon," Alex Rafe said thoughtfully.

Vanya Volkov clicked his fingers. "Good point, Alex. 'Gibbous' is a boy's name. If you're a girl, you need a new one."

"I don't need anything," Beta Troya growled, but there was no real heat in her voice. She seemed to be legitimately thinking about it.

The pack was quiet for a moment, watching her curiously.

Ze'ev mentally tried to connect Gibbous with the girls he'd used to know, and concluded that Tristan had a point. Gibbous fitted in the mould as well as anyone, because there was no mould. Although now he thought about it, Beta Troya did tend to be somewhat modest when changing.

"I don't know any girl names," Beta Troya said finally.

"You could call yourself Selene," Beta Rille Baines suggested. "Plenty of girls were named after the princess."

"She died young and screaming," José pointed out. "Maybe a bad idea."

"How about Crescent?" Eclipse suggested. "It would be a nice counter to 'Gibbous' if you were a different phase of the moon."

"Why be so different?" Tristan asked. "What about 'Gabby' or 'Gibby' or something?"

"Izzy?" Aziz suggested. "One of my classmates was called that."

"How about Satellite?"

"Andromeda?"

"Yuki?"

"Stella?"

"I knew a girl called Tatanya."

"Maha?" Ran suggested.

"Liana?"

"Ella?"

"What about Vermillion?"

"Orbit is kinda pretty."

"Star?"

"Ludmilla?"

"Nanako?"

"Mary is a classic."

"Alex?"

"Might get a little bit confused with Beta Rafe if you go with 'Alex'."

"Rhianne?"

"Solstice?"

"Enough," Alpha Brock barked out.

The brainstorming cut off abruptly. Crater had been coming up with as many suggestions as anyone else, but apparently that was over. The pack all sat a little straighter with their alpha addressing them.

"This could go on all night," Brock continued. "Lights out."

Without waiting for Beta Troya to get to her bed, he flicked the switch. Darkness engulfed the barrack.

Eclipse got out of bed and began his nightly ritual of praying for faith and forgiveness.

Once he was done, Beta Troya hummed quietly. "Thanks," she whispered, not looking at anyone as she crawled into bed. It was pretty much the most emotional display Ze'ev had ever seen from her.

Morning was announced when the lights flicked on automatically. Ze'ev immediately swung his legs out of bed, prepared for another day of training.

Beta Troya hopped off her top bunk, nearly flattening Beta Lobo as he began to emerge from his bed.

"Watch it," Beta Troya growled at him.

"You nearly stepped on me," José protested, but Beta Troya had already lost interest.

She stepped slightly into the middle of the room as the rest of the pack began meandering to the bathroom. "I picked a name," she said.

There was a buzz of interest.

"That was fast," Beta Rille Baines commented.

"How often do we really use first names in the pack anyway?" Beta Emil Katona asked rhetorically.

"So come on. How long you going to leave us in suspense?" Vanya asked the only girl.

Beta Troya grinned. There was hardly any malice in her smile at all. "Orbit. I'm Beta Orbit Troya."

"Good to know," Alpha Brock said calmly, nodding at her. "Now get dressed."

Orbit nodded, and moved off to get a clean uniform out of her closet box.