[Hijikata carefully waits for the sun to disappear behind the horizon completely before he takes off the helmet. He's lucky that his transformation is about the softest one could imagine and doesn't involve any tormenting bodily restructuring. His pointy black dog ears are already there and pop up from where they were flattened against his head. His tail is uncomfortably crammed into his clothes - the inner layer is a stretchy suit to prevent any accidental sun exposure due to movement -, so he excuses himself and changes into his usual gear behind some rock formation.

When he returns he's in his standard black uniform, with his chainmail-enforced knight cloak on top. Naturally he keeps his swords on him (since the start of the year he carries a short sword in addition to the long one).]

Hah... the night vision comes in handy. I can smell the bastards, too.

[Being a weredog Hijikata is less bloodthirsty than a werewolf, but he still feels the urge to run and chase and hunt, and he needs to be careful to not lose control of himself. His swishing tail, in any case, indicates a degree of excitement.]

Let's go down, shall we? Oh, wait - do you want to use my shield by any chance? I have it in the backpack, but I won't need it in this state.