The twisters come ever closer. Like the jungle come alive, they press nearer and nearer as Ares and Aurora huddle in the back of the cave, tongues darting, fangs flashing in the dim torchlight. There is barely time to react, let alone think.

So when Gregor steps forward and says, "I'm going to try something. Get the bats out if you can," Luxa cannot stop him. The speed of her sword and torch is all the movement she can spare at the moment. So she lets him charge ahead. He leaps to the rock and starts to spin.

Like Ripred.

He spins wildly, turning about himself rapidly, moving at a rate that Luxa had not thought him capable of. For the first time, she truly sees the rager in him. The speed and the very capability of wielding a sword while turning about himself, the fervency with which he cuts. Slowly, Luxa finds the twisters thinning between her weapons, meeting more air than flesh. The jungle grows slightly quieter.

And she sees him clearer now, too. His face is tense. It strains and twists with every rotation, turning grotesque. She can see his teeth. The white of his eyes. A strange sound reverberates through the cave. With a start, severing the head of a twister with her sword, Luxa realizes that the sounds originate from Gregor's mouth. Snarls. Grunts. The sounds of something thirsty stalking you in the darkness, never felt nor seen before one feels and sees no more. Luxa finds herself gritting her teeth.

He is smiling.

Gregor, who loathes violence, who would spare the Bane, who would talk to an enemy before striking, this Gregor…

There are no more twisters left. Only ribbon-like pieces remain, caked with blood and floating about the cave. But Gregor is still spinning. She calls for him. Ares calls. They call again.

He does not stop.

So Luxa steps forward. She tries to find his eyes, but they are wild. He is turning so fast, his sword appears to be flashing.

He might hit her.

She steps closer and lifts her sword before bringing it up towards his.

CLANG

The weight falls from her hands as his sword snaps hers in two. For a moment, she holds her breath. Her heart is pounding.

But he only drops his sword on the floor, reeling into the vines and vomiting.