He had flinched. And glared. Of all the things he could've done, all the reactions he could've had, he had  flinched and glared. Ace had to press his lips together to keep himself from laughing out loud. Well, he was glad looks couldn't kill, and that the man probably didn't have the power to lay a curse on him. But the reaction wasn't what he was expecting. In fact, Ace hadn't thought he would be able to get a reaction at all. But it definitely improved his mood even further.<br/><br/>His smile grew as he exited the inn. Crusty hadn't to pick up a fight, yet, and Ace doubted he would. At least for now. The mercenary would probably have to sleep with one eye open to keep himself from waking up with something missing, or not waking up at all, but now that he saw he could get a true reaction out of the other, and not just 'i'm-mightier-than-thought' looks, he was dying to see how far he could push before he finally snapped. Because everyone ended up snapping sometime, some sooner than others, and lately, Ace had only found the sooner type. The no-fun type. And Crusty seemed the opposite - someone who would do anything not to snap, so he could prove to himself he was above all else. Well, no human was above humanity. Oh, the travel would definitely be fun.<br/><br/>A blond woman passed by him in the stairs, nodding. Ace didn't bothered to answer, but he gave a small smile in answer to Caine's, nodding to him as he jumped down the stairs to reach the other. He looked at the bread he was holding and nodded.<br/><br/>"So this morning is turning out to be really productive, huh?" he said, more to himself than to the other. In truth, Ace had yet to taste any scout's bread that he found better than shit, but it still offered better sustenance than half the things he could catch in the wild, so he wasn't complaining. He did had to eat his fair share of the bread enough times for his tongue to become almost insensitive to it, but this still didn't mind he liked the thing. Who knew that of all things he could be picky about, he would be picky about bread. He knew the reason, but he would be dead before he acknowledged it. "I'm even in a very good mood, so here is the gift I promised you. You can sell it if you have something better. Just take it as a lucky charm for the beginning of our Hunt." Caine probably had something better, but nevertheless Ace reached his belt and took the dagger out, waiving its handle towards the man. It would be of no use to him. His own dagger was ten times better than this one - to him, at least - and he had got enough money already. Besides, he was sure that Caine would be able to sell it to a much higher price than he could, anyway, and it could turn beneficial to them, if they needed the money.<br/><br/>When Crusty finally exited the inn, appearing on the top of the stairs, Ace sent turned his head to him, a half-smile on his lips as he sent a smile and a mocking kiss. He turned towards Caine again, but never forgetting to keep an eye on the grumpy man. Ace trusted his own abilities enough that he knew he could fight the bigger man easily, but that was only if he wasn't caught by surprise.<br/><br/>The mercenary was actually surprised to hear Crusty answer and to turn and wait for his answer, and not in an annoying way, either. As a small sign of respect for that, although the other man would never know it, he decided to think about the question and answer seriously instead of simply mocking the other.<br/><br/>"Well, that is up to you two, really." Ace stretched. He would pick horse over feet any time, but it would do nothing good if the others ended up breaking a leg and delaying everything. "I know I can control almost any horse, and I'm sure the three of us can fend off anything that tries to eat horse meat, so even if we walk, I would say we get a horse to carry our things." the man shrugged. "But then, if any of you feel like you cannot protect the horses or that you will fall from one, I'd rather we just walk." for once, his words weren't mocking. He was just stating a fact. He practically lived in horses' back, and he was confident enough of his own ability to keep himself on top of one, but he knew not everyone was the same. He just usually didn't care. But now, it was important, as it could mean problem for him too. "I do have a horse on the stables. So we can at least use her for as long as she lasts, and then we decide what to do next." he suggested, not letting on he would rather she lasted a long time. He had a little affection for Girl, but then, that meant nothing to the beasts in the woods.