Mother. Mother. Kiko went through so many different emotions in a short length of time. First she was relieved, that her mother actually came out to talk to her rather than just not acknowledging her. Her heart swelled with elation to see this beautiful woman, full of comfort and gentleness. And then her mind burned with fury. Why had she left? Why had she done that to her? Why had she dragged her away from her life? Why?!

“Why?” Kiko’s feelings spilling over to a point of speech. “Why did you leave me?” Kiko’s eyes filled with tears and was frozen to the spot, just staring mournfully.

“We have an intricate culture. A culture of Conflict with The Beasts, and of disdain for the city dwellers for the betrayal. Though, it was a culture that your father disagreed with and wanted to keep you from. And I couldn’t stay with him telling me that I couldn’t teach you who you were. I couldn’t watch you bounce about life not knowing who you were. So I returned to my clan and waited for him to come talk to me. To come discuss this. He never did” Yeni spoke with a mournful tone as she told the story of her absence.

But for Kiko, she just cracked. She felt split in half down the middle at the emotional blow that she had been given. This, culture, was one to abandon your child rather than love her for who they were? Kiko felt a boiling heat build up in her, and Yeni let out a light gasp before stepping forward and clamping her hands on both of Kiko's tail-tips.

"I could handle you leaving me. I never knew you. But you left him, and you broke his heart, and he died. You could have been there, to save him. To support him. To make sure, he didn't die" Kiko's words were staggered and dull, her eyes just staring into bleak nothing. Seeing this, Yeni's heart swelled with a sadness that was then dampened by her mentality. Given objectivity of the situation, she pulled Kiko into her bosom and hugged tightly.

"You have suffered so much, because of me. I can only tell you why, but I know why will never be accepted, we are like night and day. Fatherborn without a father" Yeni would speak, while hugging her daughter. Ignoring everything, she was glad for this moment. After some time, Kiko's arms moved, and slid around Yeni's waist, hugging her tightly and sobbing gently into her chest. Today had just been...far too much. She didn't want to be around anymore, just wanted tomorrow to come and give her some distance from all this.

Such wishes were never given, but eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the delayed mentality asserted itself, and the barbed hooks in her mind fell away, leaving her only her mother.

"What's a Fatherborn?" Kiko asked, a somewhat dry tone as she wrestled with the physical impact of hysteria.

"We retained a strict hierarchy from the Great War. Every Kitsune has a duty, daughters to their mother and sons to their fathers. They learn their parent's craft and then aid them in it for a number of years varying from clan to clan. And then they take this craft and aid the clan with it for, again, varying number of years. Once this duty is done, then you are free to be your own Kitsune. It is how we have lived for so very long, and how we survived the despair that was The Great War.

But people are not all the same. Some men are gentle and soft, unsuited for war. Some women are vigorous and passionate, unsuited for the camp. With population growing to a point, larger clans can afford to be slightly more loose on the strictures of duty. And so a relatively recent development has been that of the Fatherborn, and Motherborn. In essence, it changes who your duty is to, as if you were the other.

A Fatherborn is taught as a man is, learning the craft of her father and then fulfilling her duty to the clan with it. I assume from your outburst that you do not wish to learn from me. So we can send you to the Fatherborn to learn from them instead" Yeni gave a deep explanation of the culture, and it even let Kiko understand the woman some. She grew up in a strict culture and could not flex around the idea of letting another grow outside it.

Decoupling and snorting to get the crap out of her nose, Kiko would nod.

"Yea. Sounds, more my speed" Kiko would state, rubbing the dried tears out of her eyes and trying to get herself back into a proper physical state.

"Also. Sorry to load all this onto you so soon but, tails. A Kitsune's tails are a mark of their age and power, the grow out every fifty to a hundred years depending on the Kitsune. Though, there is also a survival mechanism built into us that in times of intense stress and trauma, a new tail is born to give us the capabilities to survive the coming trial. Kitsunes grow stronger and more aware of their surroundings the more tails they have, so it is treated as a social standing thing. You, were more aggrieved than I thought and birthed your second tail. People will see this and treat you differently than before, so be prepared for that. Also people with more tails than you will expect respect from you, which is why everyone here has their tails out constantly. To hide your tails is considered very rude and shows you are a thief or thought or deed"

Kiko watched, mouth a little slack from the explanation layered on to the other explanation right before it, and just nodded.

"...Right. I'll...try, remember, all that" Kiko muttered, scratching her head and leaving Yeni to go find these Fatherborn. She'd prefer to explore herself than be guided, right now.