[it's... it feels so enormous, to hear these things. stripped bare, laid out for the two of them to see. it doesn't start off as much of a surprise to anna, regrettably; she's heard stories that rhyme with kainé's. but it isn't being told to surprise her or shock her or indeed garner any kind of sympathy. it's a confession and anna must recognize the weight of it.]

[she looks down at her hands, resting in her lap, and past them as her eyes stare at the body she's decided to make her own. her legs changed first, hadn't they? she'd called astin over for help, not that they knew what to do, but it was a moment of uncharacteristic vulnerability all the same. anna, sitting there, stuck in her bed and terrified out of her mind at what changes were coming over her. asking for help. receiving it unconditionally.]

Don't care if it's pretty. People like us never get pretty stories. There's always someone out there who's going to hate you just for being different than them. Could be gay, could be trans, could be... intersex, I think the word is? [it's not the point. she turns her head over her shoulder.] But just 'cause it's a normal thing here doesn't change everything we went through to get here. People like us need to look out for people like us.

[the one thing she doesn't say is that she's sorry that kainé went through it. obviously she is! she's crushed that one person had to live through so much hate. but it doesn't feel like why she's just been told that. it just feels like another moment of uncharacteristic vulnerability. one that needs to be met the same way.]

I don't care if you say yes or no to that... stupid thing I said to you a few minutes ago. I just want this place to be safe for us to be ourselves. And I'm sorry that I made it feel like it wasn't.