Morning came gray and hesitant, as if even the sun wasn't sure it wanted to rise over Bloodmoon Mountain.
Cyrus stepped onto the inn's balcony first, jacket half-zipped, hair still damp from a rushed sink-wash. The cold slapped him instantly, thin, sharp, and sour with the metallic scent he'd started associating with last night's attack.
Below him, Ashfall Crossing looked fragile in the early light. Chimneys barely puffed. Streets sat empty. Noctowl shadows drifted between rooftops, uneasy even now.
Behind him, the door creaked.
Kina stepped out, arms crossed against the cold, Growlithe pressed to her leg like a living furnace. Her braid was slightly crooked—a rare sign she hadn't slept much.
They stood there a few seconds, letting silence settle.
Cyrus finally exhaled.
"…Morning."
"Mm." Kina's eyes stayed on the treeline. "You okay?"
"About as okay as someone who almost got shot and mauled in the same hour."
Kina shot him a look, sharp enough to cut, but her voice stayed soft.
"That's not funny."
He winced. "It wasn't a joke."
She said nothing for a moment. Then—
"You scared me. Not just because of the trainers. Because you ran straight in."
Cyrus' mouth opened—then closed. It wasn't often Kina said things like that out loud.
He leaned forward on the railing. "I wasn't going to let them kill it."
"I know. That's the problem."
She stepped beside him, shoulder brushing his. "One day you're going to throw yourself between a mad Ursaluna and a trigger-happy idiot and not come back out."
Cyrus huffed a quiet breath. "You were there."
"I had to be." Kina looked anywhere but at him. "Like I'm going to let you die on the first field mission I'm assigned with you."
There was a heartbeat of silence that stretched just a little too long to be normal.
Growlithe broke it by sneezing.
Kina blinked, shook the moment off, and nodded toward the inn room behind them. "We should check the Ursaluna again."
Cyrus was almost grateful for the shift.
Almost.
The room was dim, curtains half-drawn, a portable healing unit humming on the bedside table. Cyrus knelt beside it, lifting the Pokéball gently.
The ball trembled in his hand—not violently, just a faint, rhythmic pulse.
Still weak.
Still hurting.
Cyrus whispered, "Let's check on you, big guy."
The ball opened in a soft beam, revealing the Bloodmoon Ursaluna curled against the wall, massive frame rising and falling with shallow breaths. Its fur—normally rich, dark, and patterned with red lunar markings—looked duller. A matted patch of dried blood streaked one flank.
The creature's massive head lifted. One eye cracked open, glazed but aware.
Kina crouched beside Cyrus, her movements slow, non-threatening. "Hey… easy. You're safe here."
Growlithe stayed at the doorway, tense but quiet.
The Ursaluna snorted weakly, nostrils flaring at the unfamiliar space.
Cyrus opened the satchel. "Two more Hyper Potions. One Full Restore. And—uh—an Oran jelly packet someone shoved into my hand last night."
Kina smirked faintly. "Use the potions first."
"Was gonna."
"You were going to use the jelly first."
"Maybe."
She elbowed him lightly—quick, playful, gone in a blink.
Cyrus sprayed the Hyper Potion over the wounded area. The Ursaluna flinched but didn't lash out. Kina rested a hand lightly near its paw—not touching, just grounding the space.
When Cyrus grabbed the Full Restore, he hesitated.
"Should we save this for later?"
Kina shook her head. "No. He's going up the mountain with those wounds if we don't fix them today. Use it."
Cyrus nodded and sprayed the Full Restore. The Ursaluna's breathing eased. Some color returned to its fur markings, the red swirling like embers reigniting.
Slowly—very slowly—the massive bear lowered its head again, eyes fluttering shut.
Kina let out a breath she'd been holding. "He's stabilizing."
Cyrus set the spray down and leaned back on his palms. "Good."
Kina's gaze softened. "You did the right thing."
He looked up at her. For a moment, something unspoken passed between them—gratitude, worry, something warmer around the edges.
Then Kina glanced away quickly, ears a little red.
"We should talk about what we saw."
Maps were spread across the floor—trails, migration routes, territory heat signatures. Cyrus had circled the attack locations from the ranger logs in red. Kina highlighted traditional Bloodmoon dens in blue.
A grim pattern formed.
"They're being pushed down," Cyrus murmured. "Forced into the valley."
Kina traced one fingertip along the mountain contour. "But by what? A predator? A territorial shift? Climate disruption?"
"None of those would affect Bloodmoon Ursaluna this much."
Kina's jaw clenched. "Something up there is scaring monsters that don't scare."
Cyrus swallowed. "You think it's related to the Bloodmoon phenomenon?"
She shook her head. "The Bloodmoon is predictable. This isn't."
A pause.
Then, softly:
"Cyrus… something's driving them into a panic."
He met her eyes. "And we're going to be walking right into it."
Kina stared at the map a second more, then pushed herself up. "We should get some rest before we leave. Harlan said morning weather will be clear in the afternoon."
Cyrus stood too. "Yeah."
But Kina didn't move toward her room.
She hesitated.
Then turned back to him.
"Cyrus," she said quietly.
He lifted his head.
She stepped closer. Too close for "teammates," not close enough for anything else. Her voice dropped.
"Don't do what you did last night."
Cyrus blinked. "Which part?"
"The part where you jumped in front of a gun."
Her fists clenched at her sides. "You scared the hell out of me."
There it was. Not anger. Not annoyance.
Fear.
He softened. "Hey. I'm okay."
She glared at him. "That's not the point."
"Kina…"
She lifted a hand—hesitated—and then placed two fingers gently on the side of his jaw, checking a bruise just under his ear he didn't even know he had.
It was barely a touch.
Barely anything.
But Cyrus forgot how to breathe.
Kina's fingers lingered only a heartbeat before she caught herself, snatched her hand back, and stepped away quickly, ears scarlet.
"Goodnight," she said too fast.
Cyrus blinked. "…Night."
She turned, grabbed Growlithe, and slipped out the door.
The moment she disappeared, Cyrus exhaled hard, running a hand through his hair.
"Right," he muttered to himself. "Totally normal teammate behavior."
On the bed beside him, the Bloodmoon Ursaluna huffed in its sleep, almost like it was laughing at him.