When Kuram pressed against her, Juniper felt the heat rising to her face. They'd exchanged kisses and hold hands and flirt like it was the easiest thing in the world, but he'd never been as forward before and it left her just a little speechless. It was over before she could answer him, but the brief physicality left her rattled and embarrassed enough to throw her off her game. It didn't help that Kuram had chosen the worst possible character for her. Red-faced, turned to him and frowned. "You did that on purpose didn't you? Tricky, but I'll bounce back and beat you!"<br/><br/>Their shoutout came to an end when a young boy began to ask for help.<br/><br/>Juniper felt a familiar lang of alarm, but told herself it had to be something simple. The child had probably lost his mom in the crowd. "Don't worry." The game had now been forgotten, "We'll definitely help you." She crouched down to run her fingers through his hair then playfully rolled her eyes at Kuram when he tugged her along. "Trust me, that's not going to happen anytime soon. We're on the same page." And she had grinned back at him, unaware of what was about to transpire. Once they were out the door and alone with the child, the entire atmosphere changed. Juniper felt the weightyness of it all in her bones. The air in the alleyway was different, the shapeshifter they were facing was powerful.<br/><br/>Kuram was the first to act, shifting before her and explaining what they were up against. Krause had told them about Pod Tree's in one of their briefings two weeks ago. Recently monsters who could affect human emotions were on the rise, and it led to the heightened state of chaos and crimes in their city.<br/><br/>"Kuram," Juniper's voice was hoarse. The air was taut with negative emotions and she felt it, how powerful and all-consuming it was. "It's one of those monsters that mess with people's heads, be careful, we can't stay near it for too long." Not to waste any more time, she grabbed the purple gem by her belt and held it tight.  Her dark suit and all too familiar helmet enveloped her and she unsheathed her saber in one quick sweeping move of her arm.<br/><br/>She rushed forward, a blur of dark purple hues. Juniper rushed straight for the monster only to twist seamlessly to the left, but not before swinging out her blade and slashing in a large upward arc. She moved quickly, nicking the monster wherever she could to distract it for Kuram. She and the Cleaver boy had come up with their own teamwork techniques as well. "You know what to do!" She called out as the monster turned its attention toward her and began to give chase.