Ankyra Sound Mystification

He was grappling with the question, if his expression was anything to go by. Masquerade waited patiently, since she had nothing else to add. Maybe he just needed a moment to process.

In the end, he declared himself male. Masque started to nod in acknowledgement, though she stilled at his followup query. “Does it matter?”

You smell like both, she answered thoughtfully, or maybe neither. So I just wanted to clarify, Masque said, adding to herself, It’s what Relic would call a mindfuck. But no, she continued, it doesn’t…

She paused mid-sentence as an errant thought wafted into her mind, no more pleasant or welcome than the brackish ocean air. Masquerade’s face visibly scrunched as she turned it over in her head a moment before deciding to risk voicing it.

Can you be both? she wondered aloud, not thinking to disclaim the “you” in general terms. Or… neither?