Hagoromo, Kurama decided, was either a secret sadist or utterly clueless.

"Come now, Kurama. Surely walking isn't that difficult?" He asked, sounding honestly perplexed. Kurama just groaned, the sound coming out more like a growl.

She'd been trying for the past half hour to get more than 5 steps forward without falling on her ass, side, or stomach. One time she even managed to land on her back, something that she still had no idea how she managed considering she was quadrupedal now, apparently.

She forced herself to her feet, taking a deep breath as she shakily moved forward. She wasn't tired, far from it. However, she felt... different. Very much so, in fact, and it wasn't even the fact that she apparently was a giant fox cub.

She stole a glance at the tiny demon-human floating calmly at her side. The man seemed content to just watch her make a fool out of herself while wearing a disarming smile, and honestly, Kurama couldn't blame him. She'd have done the same thing if their positions were reversed... Although she might not have been as silent and supportive as he was being.

She let out a sigh, plopping down onto the floor. "Can we just talk here? I feel... uncomfortable, doing this while you're here. Please?" She begged. She usually wasn't bothered with people mocking her, but as of right then there, she felt rather vulnerable.

Hagoromo inclined his head forward slightly, giving her another small smile that, had she still been human, would have made Kurama's cheeks go up in flames. The man didn't look half bad, after all.

Hagoromo's lips twitched slightly, not that Kurama noticed this, as she was completely and utterly lost in her own delusions. "Of course. Whatever makes you feel better, dear. I will show you the mindscape I set up for you at a later time, then." He said while floating down towards the floor, landing on it with a grace that would have made professional dancers green with envy.

Kurama eyed him for a moment longer before clumsily sitting down as well. Now that she was aware of the fact that her body was no longer human, the motion felt stiff, awkward, and considering she was naked, a bit humiliating too.

Still, she dealt with it as she had with all things in life: Take it in stride and go for the ride.

Hagoromo looked away from her, his eyes landing on something not there. Memories, perhaps. Kurama had seen that type of look on her mother's face whenever she reminisced about her late husband.

"Where to start... Well, I suppose an apology would be good first and foremost. I do not understand what happened or why, but it is clear to me that I took you away from home and your body, and for that, I cannot say enough sorries to ever make it up to you, but I hope you will forgive me anyway." Hagoromo said, and Kurama could tell he was honest. It was practically written on his face, after all.

"I... Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's fine. It's not your fault, and besides, I'm still not sure if I'm lucid dreaming or not..." Kurama trailed off. Truth be told, she'd lucid dreamed before, and it felt nothing like this. Still, a girl could hope.

Hagoromo shook his head with a small smile on his face. "I understand. Somedays, I too wonder whether my life is a lie as well... Anyway, I'm glad you're taking this so well. Now, I suppose I should tell you the story of how you came to be. Or at least, your new body came to be."

Kurama's ears unconsciously perked up, her eyes practically shining with ill-hidden interest. Hagoromo waggled his finger at her, lips twitching to hide a smile. "Now, don't interrupt. It's a fairly long story, so I'll try to sum it up as best I can. I promise I'll answer any questions you have at the end of it."

Kurama nodded eagerly, her comparatively giant head bobbing up and down comically at her action. Hagoromo hid a chuckle behind a cough and then started the story.

"Where to start... Well, around three hundred years ago, a woman originating from a clan of space-dwellers lands on this world. This place wasn't what you or I would call a particularly good world, and neither did that woman." Hagoromo's eyes once more took that far-away look, and Kurama instantly guessed that he probably knew that woman personally on some level.

"Now, the woman's clan had, many, many millennia prior to the woman's arrival, planted a seed. By the time the woman arrived, that seed had blossomed into a tree, the Shinju tree. It had fed on the body and souls of all the deceased during its life, and it was widely worshipped. The woman, desiring its power, consumed the fruit of the tree, becoming the primogenitor of what we now call chakra."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Kurama couldn't help but interrupt here. "Chakra? As in, the spiritual stuff eastern monks love?" She asked curiously, only to wilt slightly when Hagoromo gave her a very unimpressed stare.

"Do not interrupt, child. This is important, and you must understand it, for you are one of the keys to releasing... Nevermind. I shall explain that later. I'm sorry for snapping at you." Hagoromo sighed, his hand unconsciously going to rub his horns and hair.

"Anyways, after she consumed the fruit, the woman single-handedly ended all wars on this planet. However, she eventually became mad with power, becoming a tyrant hell-bent on her own divinity and rule. That was around the time we were born, during her descent into madness." He looked tired just speaking about this. Eyeing him for a moment, Kurama chose to keep silent. She could more or less guess what happened next.

"She was my mother. Me and my brother lived in bliss during our childhood, ignorant of the dark truth hiding beyond the veil she put before our eyes. Eventually, however, we found out. We trained hard, and eventually, our mother discovered our treachery. We fought and won, sealing her body in the moon. Before our fight, she had fused with the Shinju, creating a beast called the ten-tails. I took upon myself the burden of sealing away that monster."

Kurama was in slight disbelief at the sheer power-scale Hagoromo was alluding to. Sealing people on moons? Monsters? Demons? Gods? Was this world an anime or something?

"For years, I worked to heal this world of the scars my mother left on it. I traveled far and helped whoever I could. Now, however, my end is nearing. I am old, but I am still powerful. To protect this world from the return of my immortal mother, I needed to destroy the ten-tails, but just as my mother is immortal, so is the monster. Instead, I split it into nine parts, and breathed life into each. You, Kurama, are the first of my creations." He explained.

Kurama was speechless for a while. She didn't really know what to say to that, and honestly, she was having trouble understanding everything. She believed him alright. after all, he was freaky enough that she would believe it if he told her he was Satan, much less this.

Comprehension, however, was another matter.

"I... I see." She said, unsure. With an awkward flex of her new, extra limbs, she waved her tails around. They felt somewhat odd on her body, and yet, also natural. "So, technically speaking, would I be the nine-tails, then?" She asked jokingly, hoping to dispel some of the tension.

Hagoromo chuckled, some of the stress on his face melting away at her cute attempt to cheer him up. "I suppose, yes. It is a horribly uncreative name, and one I fear will eventually come to be used to dehumanize you, but at least it was descriptive enough."

"Well, there isn't much human to dehumanize here..." Kurama murmured, feeling a bit down at the idea. She wasn't particularly depressed or angry that she'd lost her body, but then again, she'd always been the type to get depressed later, just like when her first dog died.

For the first few weeks, she was fine. And then, the loss hit, and it hit hard.

The feel of a hand landing on her nose (snout?) tore her out of her thoughts, her startled gaze landing on Hagoromo, who was gently caressing her.

He gave her an honest smile. "It does not matter what you look like. Human or not, what really matters is what's inside. Remember this, and it will save you a lot of grief, dear. Now, how about you tell me some things about you?" He asked her gently.

"I-I..." Kurama could have died from embarrassment there and then, and for a moment, she was glad for her new body, since it didn't blush. "I... I had a brother. I loved him, and he loved me. We lived together with our mom, although she wasn't there very often." Kurama murmured, feeling nostalgic already despite it having only been a few hours at most since she'd seen her brother.

"I was a stunt performer. Basically, I did really dumb things and got paid for them. Shoda, that's my brother, by the way, was an engineer, and a really good one at that. He made way more money than I did, and it was really only thanks to him that I was able to survive all the hospital bills I got." She chuckled at the memory. Her mother had once said that their father, an immigrant, had always complained about just how shitty the American health care system was, and Kurama could wholly agree with that sentiment.

Kurama shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she focused back on the patient-looking Hagoromo floating before her. "I mean... Other than, that, I don't know. I like books and I enjoy sports, I guess..." She trailed off, not really knowing what else to add.

Hagoromo didn't seem to care though as he nodded. "You're an interesting person, Kurama. I'm glad I met you." He said with a smile before floating a bit further away. "I have to go now, though. When you are ready, just call out my name, and I will direct you towards the area I'd created for you. If you do not want to, then feel free not to. I do not wish to make you feel as though I am forcing you." Hagoromo said, waving at her.

"O-oh. Later, then..." Kurama said, watching as Hagoromo winked at her before vanishing. She stood around for a few minutes, feeling quite awkward before finally huffing and trying to get to her feet.

She'd be damned if she allowed something as measly as walking get the best of hers. Besides, she didn't really know what else to do, and taking the time to think would likely only make her feel worse.

Thus, with a determination that could only be born out of a desire to just do something, Kurama threw herself into walking with a vengeance, not caring just how ridiculous that sounded.

And, considering just how many times she slammed her face on the floor... Well, she'd need the practice.