One early August morning, Kelsey returned from the park early. She hated that when August rolled around, it took longer for the sun to come out, which signaled colder weather was fast approaching. However, her stomach was in knots from all her anxiety. She'd recently learned some of her online friends were part of the LGBTQ, which she hadn't a problem with.
The problem she DID struggle with was addressing them by the correct pronoun when they talked about being non-binary. She'd only recently learned of the term and didn't fully understand it. She didn't want to offend someone from a genuine lack of understanding of the concept. Still, therapy was hours away, and she needed someone NOW to talk about the stress this was giving her.
When she returned to her apartment, she was surprised to see Zephyr calmly sitting in the living room! "Zephyr! I didn't expect to see you here!" Kelsey exclaimed, then cringed. For a moment, she'd forgotten Zephyr was deaf. After severe bullying online and being called a racist or white supremacist, Kelsey's last desire was to be labeled either homophobic or an ableist. Zephyr only smiled as their own heterochromia eyes shined with love.
Despite being dressed for the 21st century, they still stood out with their bright pink and green attire. Plus, they had the same hairstyle and earring as Namaari from Raya and the Last Dragon. They'd the magical quill of Aella, which they reached for to communicate with the Storyteller. The quill quickly began to write Zephyr's thoughts aloud.
"Storyteller, please don't worry about offending me. While my culture may be quite accepting of people of what your world calls LGBTQ, I understand entirely that several people struggle with it.
I don't believe all of them are out to insult us intentionally. With my best friend, Aang? At first, he didn't know sign language or how to address someone who was genderfluid. I didn't hold it against him at all. Instead, I patiently worked with him till he understood who I was. I've come to help you do the same."
"Let me guess? Alanna sent you to help me?" Kelsey asked, to which the green-haired teen nodded before the feather again started to work its magic.
"I'm willing to work with you whenever I can. I'll do my best to teach you sign language and how to use proper pronouns with the LGBTQ. Alanna told me she could sense you're struggling not to offend your online friends."
"It's not been easy for me, no. I'm not a hateful person. I'm accepting of people being whoever they are. However, it still remains a struggle not to offend someone from genuinely not understanding certain traits of different individuals."
"Well, I'm here to work with you on it. So, let's start with the basics of sign language, and we'll work our way up. After you master that, I'll help you better understand the various genders and how to refer to them properly."
"Well, I hope I can learn some sign language. I'm not sure I'd master it, but I'll do my best to learn."
"That's all, Alanna and I ask. So shall we begin?" to which the Storyteller nodded. They spent the next hour attempting to teach her each letter of the sign language alphabet. Zephyr was kind and patient with her. Eventually, they had to return to their world, but promised to stop by soon again to continue the lessons. Kelsey only hoped with each visit, she'd be able to better herself and never accidentally offend anyone again.