Her father looked like he was deep in thought. Moonlight didn't ask him what it was about (she hated it when Pokémon did that to her...), but he definitely looked worried about something. Maybe she should ask. "Is something wrong, Dad?"
He jumped a little as she spoke, like he had forgotten she was there. "Hm?"
"You look worried about something."
Umbreon hesitated before answering. "No, it's nothing. It'll be fine."
Clearly, it wasn't, as he went right back to his troubled thoughts as soon as his daughter didn't answer. Moonlight barely held back from rolling her eyes. Let's play "Piece Together What Dad is Being Really Cryptic About."
Clue #1: It's something that Umbreon is pretending to not be concerned about.
Possible answers: Espeon/the rest of the family (this was usually the answer), something that he thinks Moonlight shouldn't worry about, something that he doesn't want Moonlight to worry/think about, or, the worst case scenario, something that he's deliberately keeping from Moonlight.
These answers were too broad. Next clue.
Clue #2: He said it will be fine. Future tense.
Possible answers: He's worried about Espeon being in charge while he, Splash, and Surf are all away, he's worried about Espeon watching over both the Clan and her four other kits on her own, or he knows something about Dark Cave that Moonlight doesn't. No. Scratch the last one. He knows something about Dark Cave that he doesn't want Moonlight to know.
More specific, but there were still too many possibilities.
Clue #3: It will be fine. Non-gender specific.
Possible answers: This one doesn't completely take out the Espeon/family related possibilities, but it greatly reduces the odds of being about someone he cares about. If it were Espeon or Moonlight's siblings (or both), he probably would have said "she" or "they." That left the pre-formed knowledge of Dark Cave wide open.
So that was it. ...Unless it was something else.
Clue #4: He didn't stop worrying about it after Moonlight said something. In fact, if anything, he's more worried now.
Possible answers: Whatever he knows about Dark Cave is so bad that he's considering telling Moonlight that they should turn back right now, something along the lines of "Darkrai lives in this cave and secretly planning the destruction of the universe and if we go anywhere near this place he will kill us and everyone that we care about," or... He had another premonition. He had only mentioned it in passing when Moonlight was still Two, but he had gotten one right before the explosion, and she knew about one that he had right before Espeon and Sunbeam got into trouble on their Power Quest, despite Umbreon not telling her about it. What if he had gotten another premonition before he and Moonlight left?
Bingo.
It all fit. Umbreon knew Moonlight very well (better than she would have ever admitted under any circumstances ever). He knew that she'd go on this Power Quest whether he was with her or not. She had dutifully endured being grounded, but now she wanted OUT OF CAMP. If her father's warning had been really big, he probably would have told her about it and then helped her find another place. She would have been annoyed, but grateful that he had kept her from walking to Yveltal's door.
But if it was small enough to worry him but not deter Moonlight, then he wouldn't say anything, and just stick by her side and do his best to keep her safe. She appreciated the thought, but she could take care of herself. ...Like I proved that... she thought glumly as she kept walking silently alongside her father.
Still... No matter how much she denied it, her father's premonition worried her. She was going to go on this Power Quest anyway, but she still had to wonder how much trouble they were in for. She suddenly wished she could see the future like Sunbeam.
They walked on in silence until the sun started to set. It was Umbreon who finally broke the silence. "We should set up a place to sleep for the night."
Moonlight stopped and looked over her shoulder at her father. "Why? We're Umbreons. We get the same amount of energy from the moon that we do from sleeping."
"Because that's only if you sit still and don't move. We could go one night on it without any problems, but I'd rather not."
Moonlight was about to argue, then realized that Umbreon probably wanted to save his energy for whatever was giving him bad vibes. She could give him that. "...All right. But I'm not sleeping. I'm watching the moon."
He nodded acceptingly, then turned his attention towards the roots of a nearby tree and started digging into a small space that was already open. Moonlight scanned the surrounding trees, trying to pick the one with the best view and then figuring out how to climb it.
She felt like she was getting into a rhythm with her father, or at least an understanding. He gave her space, and she listened to him. If he pushed her, she'd stop listening to him and do what she wanted to do. She liked figuring things out on her own. She may have been the second oldest, but she was by far the most independent.
Mapping out a good path to the top of one of the taller trees, Moonlight jumped high, hooking her paws over the lowest branch and pulling herself up. Bolt would have been proud of that. She worked her way up through the branches, her mind still on her father's premonition. What could it have been about? Maybe it's something along the lines of what happened to Sunbeam with human intervention. If so, she'd heard from Four that Umbreon was no stranger to attacking humans that threatened his kits, and Moonlight herself was no slouch, either, and she had a grudge against humans. Besides, hadn't she had enough freedom restriction on the behalf of humans for one lifetime?
She reached the top and sat down in the crook of a bough, laying down so that she was comfortable as the moon started to peek above the horizon. She glanced down at her father, who was shaking the dirt out of his fur from the shelter that he had dug. He had placed it so that the moon's light would still fall on him later in the night. He was smart.
Moonlight sighed quietly as she looked back up at the darkening sky. She and Umbreon were both strong, resilient, and smart. They could get out of whatever obstacles this Power Quest threw at them.
As if to undermine her confidence, she saw a Murkrow fly past to the north. That was the direction that she and her father were heading to get to Dark Cave. She saw a Murkrow at night, towards where their destination was. Great.
Just another bad omen on top of an already troubling premonition.
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