table of contents of this story: https://jordynsaelor.com/cant-catch-me-now/
previous part: https://jordynsaelor.com/2026/04/16/village-of-dracans/
***
I didn’t actually mean that.
I didn’t want anyone to adopt me,
I could take care of myself
just fine
probably.
Or at least
I’d made it this far.
But
I sort of wanted
what Runabon had
with Roundabout
or whatever its dad’s name was–
actually,
if it had a dad
and fed me
and gave me a ride here
maybe I should call it
something better than “it,”
better than Mrflfip
and the blankets,
so I asked
if I should call Runabon a he or whatever
and Runabon
was like
I haven’t hit
the age
where dracans find out what sex we are
so “she” is fine
so I said
wait,
where I’m from
“she” is what one of our sexes usually goes by,
how are you a she if you don’t know your sex
and it said
oh,
only old people know their sex
(which did not really answer my question)
so I asked
what the old people did go by
and it said
my dad’s a dad so xhe’s a guy
and my mom’s a he
and that sleeping dracan
with the blue-tinged wings
goes by moa
because moa is the moon speaker
so I surmised
my language understanding abilities
granted from the sea deity
interpreted something oddly
about this whole situation
but whatever.
Then
the dracan squinted at me
and said
where you’re from,
what do you go by?
When do you discover your sex?
So I opened my mouth
to explain how parents
raise sons and daughters,
but my parents hadn’t raised a
daughter, had they?
My parents hadn’t raised anything
since my dad and I never talked
and my mom
well,
you know,
so I said,
“I don’t know.
I mean, they said I was a girl
ever since I was born
but I haven’t been home in years
and I don’t want to be
what my mom told me
I was
so I guess to you
maybe I’m a she or xhe
but to me,
I don’t know,
what if I’m a he?
I know this probably doesn’t make sense
to you
but I think I ought to figure it out
so call me whatever you want
I guess.”
And Runabon said
“Okay.
That reminds me of a joke.
Want to hear it?”
I frowned and said sure
and it–she–started laughing
before saying anything
but choked out,
“In the rains
what do mother dracans do?”
I shrugged, and she said,
“They open their mouths
and drink.”
And I didn’t get it
but Runabon
rolled in the dirt
laughing
so I sat down,
just so I wouldn’t
lose my balance
on these feet.
And Runabon laughed more
and said, “It’s funny
because the moon
rarely makes it rain,
yeah?”
So I smiled
and nodded
like that made perfect sense.
***
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