diff --git a/hive-subagent-mcp/src/session.rs b/hive-subagent-mcp/src/session.rs
index 37d2ff05..48230c58 100644
--- a/hive-subagent-mcp/src/session.rs
+++ b/hive-subagent-mcp/src/session.rs
@@ -1738,8 +1738,8 @@ fn describe_stopped(name: &str, stop: &StopReason, turns: &str) -> String {
         StopReason::NeedHelp(msg) => format!(
             "subagent `{name}` is BLOCKED and needs help: {msg}. It called `need_help`, which \
              stopped its goal continuation, and nothing is in flight — it stays blocked until you \
-             answer it.{turns} `continue` is how you answer: give it what it asked for as the \
-             next turn's prompt."
+             answer it. `continue` is how you answer: give it what it asked for as the next \
+             turn's prompt."
         ),
         StopReason::TurnCap { turns: spent } => format!(
             "subagent `{name}` ran out of turns — the harness limit of {spent} was reached and it \
@@ -2884,8 +2884,9 @@ mod tests {
             "the block and its reason must both be in the answer: {blocked}"
         );
         assert!(
-            blocked.contains("Turn 2 of 5"),
-            "with the progress that says how far it got: {blocked}"
+            !blocked.contains("Turn 2 of 5"),
+            "a subagent waiting on an answer needs the answer, not a turn count competing for \
+             attention: {blocked}"
         );
         assert!(
             !blocked.contains("idle"),
@@ -2893,6 +2894,23 @@ mod tests {
         );
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn turn_cap_status_still_carries_the_turn_count() {
+        // The turn count is the whole point of a `TurnCap` stop — omitting
+        // it here (unlike `NeedHelp`) would be the regression a later
+        // refactor could silently reintroduce.
+        let capped = describe_status(&StatusFacts {
+            stop: Some(StopReason::TurnCap { turns: 5 }),
+            turns: Some((5, 5)),
+            ..StatusFacts::new("n")
+        })
+        .expect("a capped session is a state, not an error");
+        assert!(
+            capped.contains("Turn 5 of 5"),
+            "the turn count is the point of a TurnCap status: {capped}"
+        );
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn a_reported_goal_never_reads_as_a_verified_one() {
         // The failure this is built against: `goal_reached` is self-reported