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[@NarayanK] [@Write] [@FlitterFaux]

Them’s [i]fighting[/i] words, bird girl.

Things were going fine so far. No one was hit, no one was grabbed, one tendril down, they’d made a little forward progress. Despite the tendency towards tunnel vision in a situation like this, he’d caught on to Trad’s plan; he might not have been on Ben’s team anymore, but he still had their backs. When this was done, one of these days, they’d have to catch up. Had been too long since they’d gone their separate ways. 

Friendly joining behind, per Skye’s report. Helpful, for sure, but-

He heard more than saw the assault on Skye, it was too far behind him to see, but it didn’t escape his notice. His advance slowed long enough for him to glance back over one shoulder, determine if someone needed to intervene, but was relieved to see the girl back on her feet. 

But it presented an issue. If the rear guard was under such heavy attack, he wasn’t doing his job well enough.

The Dionaea wasn’t focused enough on [i]him[/i].

Time to fix that.

Three tendrils came next, the Reisen was upping its game, which necessitated a change of strategy. One, the sneakiest, went for his ankles; it received a shotgun-enhanced swing from Caletfwlch to dissuade it of that notion. Hurt, but not severed, it withdrew just in time for its brethren to strike. The first came in as before like a whip, a swing from the massive limb meant to smash him into the ground. 

It met Joyous Guard like the crack of thunder, sliding across its angled surface to deliver the brunt of its momentum into the ground. Water sprayed from the spot, drenching his left, but he was unhindered. But the Grimm was smart. It could see the way dealing with the first two had opened him up, left him without a viable defense. So the last rocketed towards him like a spear, with such force that it didn’t [i]need[/i] a point to tear into his defenses. The water inhibited his movement, his guard was wide open-

Exactly as planned. Bastille’s captain twisted, avoiding the brunt of the blow, but that left it clear to pass him and reach his teammates. Until he clamped his arm down, trapping the thick tendril between his limb and torso like a vise. His Aura gauge dropped in his peripheral vision as Deinamig kicked in, he slid backwards with its continuing momentum despite his footing, the beast overcame its surprise and started to encircle him like a python, but Ben’s grin only widened.

Steel met vine with the crack of a shotgun, Caletfwlch descending like the wrath of an angry god upon the Dionaea’s limb. It had experienced such an attack once before, so perhaps it was surprised when the blade cleaved through its tendril like a knife through butter. 

The tendril went limp and he let it drop contemptuously to the ground, pressing the opening to advance several more steps and flicking the viscous sap-like substance from his blade. His Aura dropped again precipitously, his BaSTEEL’s dutifully informing him of Deinamig’s expenditures, but it barely registered.

[color=00aeef]”1-1, Nuit!”[/color] The declaration was more like a war cry, resonating from deep within the blacksmith’s chest. He locked eyes with the Dionaea’s main head as best he could, whether the beast noticed or not, and slammed Caletfwlch’s hilt once against Joyous Guard’s to punctuate his message with the ring of steel on steel. [color=00aeef]”Keep up! Skye, status?”[/color]