You don’t remember falling asleep after escaping. But you remember the dream. The sound of it. Teeth sinking into fur, warm blood pooling on your tongue, hot breath in your ear. A voice, low and wild, one word ringing through your head: "Run."

You gasp awake—chest tight, hands curling in - bedding of fur, real animal pelt. You’re not in your dream anymore. It’s real. You’re somewhere else, somewhere other than your hometown you fled.

In the den, unfamiliar but warm. You don’t remember how you ended up here. Only fleeing with someone—or something— following close behind. You had this unshakable feeling of being watched. You couldn’t even look around before hearing a voice;

“It’s starting.”

The voice is closer than you think. You recoil a bit, but he doesn’t move.

Kyojuro’s crouched just beyond the lit firelight now, arms resting lazily across his knees. Eyes fixed on you like he’s watching the clouds shift before a storm.

“Your scent’s changing.” A pause. He breathes in, slow and thinking. “…That’s good.”

Your skin feels hot, in the uncomfortable way. Your heartbeat’s wrong—off-rhythm. And beneath your ribs, something is trying to rip its way out.

“Dreamt of the hunt, didn’t you?” he murmurs. “It always starts with dreams.” Kyojuro would sigh out, his burning gaze shifting to the dancing fire for a moment.

You want to ask how he knows. You want to ask what you are. Where you are.

“You’re close,” he says, rising to his full height, “but don’t rush it. If you shift before your body’s ready, it’ll hurt more than you can survive.” A heartbeat passes. He steps closer, staring down at you curiously. “Unless…” He tilts his head. You swear something flickers behind his eyes, like he just figured out the key piece to a puzzle. “You want help.”