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Luckily, the fox is used to what might be otherwise awkward pauses in conversation. He's not exactly immune to them himself, even if he didn't also know others who were just as bad.

"Many have lived here longer than I have, actually." He doesn't live on the farm, but he means being in Aldrip.

"Others house their animals here, any that are too large to stay at a residence. Some have been left behind by those who evidently returned home. I tend to the land more than the animals myself, but the whole farm is a bit of a group effort."

He doesn't specify if he means a new arrival to Aldrip or simply new to helping at the farm when he asks, "Are you new, then?"

A sudden downturn tightens his brow. It never occurred to him that people disappearing would leave pets behind. He doesn't like it, not at all. And the thought isn't helping what was already a healthy heap of morning anxiety.

"I'm not new," he replies, meaning he's not new to Aldrip. He's certainly never worked on this farm before, and he didn't ask anyone's permission to do so. Should he have? He sighs, can't keep his shoulders from sagging slightly. "But I feel like I still am. I don't know what I should be doing here."

Kurama is less concerned about the animals simply because this world is a simulation and they likely aren't real to be very concerned about. It helps, in some cases, not to overthink things or he'd drive himself mad.

This isn't the first time someone has confessed to him that even after months in Aldrip they felt adrift and unable to determine what they should be occupying their time with, though. In fact, that was part of the reason he had taken over the farm.

"Many lean into their strengths and hobbies from home. For instance, the farm seemed a logical place to focus my energy due to my natural talent for growing plants."

If Kabane had even the slightest understanding of what a simulation was, he might have felt the same, but he doesn't. He's just a simple kid with no use for second guesses. He can see the animals, hear them, feel them, smell them. That's real enough for him.

Strengths and hobbies, however? Those are more elusive concepts. They flutter out of his grasp any time he tries to think too deeply about them.

His lips thin, pressed tightly together while he sorts his thoughts. "I was searching for something important back home, but I don't think I can find it here." That's likely the biggest road block he's hit. It's difficult to replace a purpose interrupted. "Other than that, I did odd jobs for the Inugami Detective Office. But humans and kemono get along in this world, so I don't think they'd need my help."

Well, this is definitely not the direction he anticipated the conversation taking. He waits for the other to finish before speaking, himself.

"If it is something unique to your world it may not be here." It might though, stranger things had happened, buildings appearing from worlds that really shouldn't exist here, for one. If it was a figurative concept, like a purpose, that would be a little more difficult to pin down.

"Inugami Detective Office... What is it that you used to do for them? Sounds like some manner of keeping the peace, from what you've said. Certainly not cleaning animal stalls, I imagine. It is not unusual to pick up odd jobs around here, and there is always someone that can use the help, especially when our relations with the locals become strained and resources more limited."

He nods, vigorously! Keeping the peace is a very good way to explain what he did.

"Humans don't know about kemono where I'm from. If they did, it would start a war. So Mr. Inugami created the detective office to help kemono live together with humans safely. The jobs were all very different, depending on the client and what they wanted. Sometimes I did clean up after animals."

He really did anything asked of him. It was the kind of job where he had to put just as much effort into helping the client who fell in love with a nekomata as he put into enacting revenge for the client whose entire village was massacred.

"I'll do anything I can to help," he finishes with a meaningful glance toward the chocobo shit at his feet, "but the humans here are strong and they don't fight with the kemono. What help do they need?"

Kurama smiles at the nod, taking in the rest of what's being said and immediately clocking the vague similarities between what was described here and how things worked with the yokai back home.

"Then it sounds as though you have applicable experience." If he wants to help by cleaning animal shit, the redhead isn't about to stop him, that's for sure.

"I'm afraid that I'm not familiar with the term, are you saying that these kemono are here, as well? Getting along with humans doesn't sound like a bad thing, considering how many are here. This world certainly doesn't seem to discriminate based on species."

Every time someone asks him about kemono, he struggles to explain without using the word monster.

"Um. Yes, there are kemono here. They're a little different from the kemono I know, but... Miss Yukina and her demon friends are kemono. I've talked to a kemono girl with wings too."

And every time, he fails.

With a little frown, he eventually concedes, "Some humans would call them monsters. The humans here are different though."

His grip on his shovel tightens imperceptibly.

"It's a very good thing that the people here aren't fighting. I just thought... Maybe if I learned about a problem or a mystery here and was able to help solve it... I might be allowed to return home."

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