Caine had no sooner been able to give a curt nod of his head, agreeing with the plan, before the sudden onslaught of animals blotted out the world around them. A quick flick back of his hands over his hips, and he crossed his arms in front of his face. The two daggers only made short, calculated swipes to take out a single little beast here and there as they swirled around the trio. The man gave a muted grunt of frustration before he took a few little hops in preparation before he was sprinting off.<br/><br/>Dane fared no better off at the start. One arm came up, shielding his face from the sudden onslaught of claws and snapping beaks. The large man staggered back only a second, disoriented by the sudden chaos of the flock. A talon caught him across the cheek, deep for something so little, and he gave a hiss between clenched teeth. A little bit of pain was always grounding. It was just what he happened to need. His shoulders rounded, and his feet planted in a wider stance before he took in deep and rolling breath that filled in that barreled chest.<br/><br/>What loosed from the man was nothing short of a roar. It bellowed out into the air, louder and clearer than the cacophony around it. The cloud of feathers around him frenzied, the mind of the possessed creatures flooded in fear. The sudden army of feathers turned from fight to flight in seconds, a clear arch of air billowing into existence around him.<br/><br/>They were only animals, after all. If it were a flock of cats, well, that might have been a different story, but they were just birds. Simple birds like the ones who frantically scrambled away when he passed underneath.<br/><br/>While he often felt the burden of his curse until it made his soul weary, sometimes- just sometimes- it came in handy.<br/><br/>The cheap sword echoed in the arch he'd made, another yell and they were clearing further. He turned his head to the side, the birds filling back in quickly as the fear cleared and the orders overtook their judgement.<br/><br/>"Ace! Behind me!" Dane turned back around and rushed forward, a well practiced swing that drew X's in the air and were followed back short barks of growls. Each and every time he made one, the birds would dance back just enough to allow him to draw in a little further. Though the path was still blocked with flapping wings and frantic creatures, it was progress none-the-less.<br/><br/><br/>Caine had given a solid set of tucks and rolls, the erratic and low movements helping him to avoid being overtaken by the little feathered annoyances. He'd gotten to his tree, stopping once to slice in a flurry around him to buy him only seconds of space, but seconds was all he needed. The man had shimmied up the tree, those sharp blades easily aiding his accent before he was nestled up against the thick trunk, able to take cover in as set of branches that allowed him to slice and dice anything that came at him. He'd only just looked out when he saw the sudden eruption of feathers, a turn in the tides.<br/><br/>"Ha! Atta boy, Dane!" he crowed from the tree. Another owl swooped but, this time, he  managed to snatch it. A quick twist of his hand and a feathered body fell to the forest floor. There was something satisfying about that<br/><br/>He leaned up, back on task, and gazed out over the chaos to eye the small and gangly form that was lingering not far from where it had been at the start. The little bastard hadn't made it very far, had it? This would be over soon.<br/><br/>"Ahead! Straight ahead!" he called down. "Make a-" he had to twist and slash, "-push for it! Dead on two hundred pace-" Caine felt the sudden rush of air, and turned his head only in time to watch the shadow blot out the forest on one side. His eyes narrowed, at first thinking it was some strange way the clouds must have played over to darken an entire patch of trees. When he figured out what it was, however, his eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to warn his companions.<br/><br/>And that's when the tree splintered, the old oak shattering under the sheer weight of the beast.<br/><br/>As it groaned and crashed to the ground, the wave of owls whooshed out of the way. Dane had only just caught the movement out of the corner of his eye. He twisted to the side, nearly falling to the ground as he scrambled to get out of the way.<br/><br/>"Look out!" he called, the only warning he could give to his companion as the massive oak barreled down atop them. In the seconds that they had, Dane realized there simply wasn't enough time to move, to leap out of the way. Even for the most fleet of foot, there was no escaping the shadowed mass of branches that was coming down atop them. With no other option, he did the only thing he could.<br/><br/>That massive form of muscle was suddenly twisting around, towards Ace. The hand that latched onto his shoulder gave no quarter as it suddenly threw him to the ground. The first shadow to overtake him was the behemoth of a man. One arm was planted firmly on either side, those amber eyes looking down to him for only a second before the the second shadow came. The world around them was suddenly filled with the roar of cracking branches shattering under the weight of the tree. Dane gave another roar suddenly, eyes closing and body jerking forwards as a branch erupted into splinters over his back.<br/><br/>The beast rode it down. Thick black talons of its front legs stayed dug into the trunk as it bounced and came to rest, the powerful muscles pushing against it. A long featherless neck snaked out and low, head cocking to the side so one yellow eye could look over for the tasty little morsel that had been hiding in the tree. With an impatient clack of its beak, the Owltrice dove its head into the mass of branches and leaves while Caine rolled out of the other end.<br/><br/>Holding his breath, he leaned back against a thicker patch of foliage as he tried to remain unseen while his gaze scanned for his companions. He managed, after dipping lower, to be able to peer through the network of branches over the dirt and spot an outline that didn't fit.<br/><br/>Dane was still holding up over Ace, jaw set hard and that chest rising and falling with what were now pained breaths. His lungs begged him to gasp for air, but the weight pressing down on him was far too great. He could only make a soft and strange huff, struggling for more breath. The clicking and nearly cooing sound of the creature above them silenced him.<br/><br/>As the beast leaned forward, turning its head to the side to listen for the little mice hidden in the branches, the oak groaned and so too did Dane. The muscles of his arms began to shake, the weight of the animal coupled with the weight of the wood atop him testing the limits of what he could take. His once dull amber eyes were now lit with a light of ambition, and just a tinge of pain. He silently strained to try and push up more, motioning with his head for Ace to get out from under him.<br/><br/>Above, tiny little bodies were slowly adding themselves to the fallen tree. Hundreds of them, some starting to drop into the inner branches. While the weight of one owl wasn't much, the flock's combined mass of feathers was enough to make those arms shake all the more. Dane was stronger than he looked- and vastly stronger than any man should have been- but even that had its limit.<br/><br/>They'd have to do something, and quick.