The scream surprised him. No, it wasn't a scream, it was a roar, a bestial sound that, for a split of second inflicted fear in his heart. He narrowed his eyes towards the other man, wondering if he was truly human. The suspicion became nothing more than a faint whisper in the back of his mind, however, as a talon scratched his head, pulling strands of hair and bringing him back to the matter at hand. Crusty wasn't the threat, at least not for now. Now, he had to focus on the owls trying to rip them apart.<br/><br/>The fact that the yell seemed to clear a path for them only surprised him further, but he wouldn't question it. Ace's grip on his sword became more steady, more relaxed, as he put himself in the mindset of battle, walking quickly after Crusty, taking advantage of the clear path. Some stray owls would pass far away from the bigger man in front of him and then make a turn to try and attack the supposedly less threatening target, but he kept himself close enough to Crusty and kept moving, never in a straight line, and it seemed to be enough to keep himself out of harm's way. Whether this had been some kind of magic or some dirty trick, he didn't know - what he did know was that it was useful for them, and so, he could accept it.<br/><br/>In the heat and heart of the battle, surrounded by enemies, Ace could barely hear Caine's words. He was used to do this by himself, to never worry about a companion's position or intel, because he never had any. For a moment, the human words seemed just another meaningless sound between the ominous shrieks of the owls. If it wasn't danger, it wasn't worth paying attention to. But then he looked ahead, at Crusty's broad back, and Caine's voice tuned in. He made a wide slash with his arm, sword cutting an owl before it could collide with his head, and turned to Dane, trying to be hear above the noise.<br/><br/>"Do you think you can..." before he could finish his sentence, however, a powerful hand grabbed his shoulder, pushing him downwards. Every muscle in his body screamed in pain as Ace tried to firm his foot on the ground, keep his balance, a futile attempt against an almost inhuman strength. His instincts took place, and the mercenary brought the sword up, ready to dive it deep down in the body of his assailant. Something clicked in his mind, though, and his hand hesitated.<br/><br/>And then, he was on the ground, wind knocking out of him and he was looking straight at Crusty. Ace growled, ready to snap as soon as he could draw a breath again, but then, a tree came crashing down.<br/><br/>If there hadn't been a massive body on top of him, the tree would've crushed him. The realization took the air out of his lungs once again, as he grabbed his sword once again, unsure what to do or what to think. He was positively sure no man should be able to stop a tree like this and barely flinch, but he couldn't find a single complain in his head for it. Instead, he froze as he heard the clicking sound of a bird that was definitely no owl.<br/><br/>His suspicions were confirmed once yellow eyes on top of a long and crooked beak appeared above Crusty's shoulders, between the foliage of the tree. Ace paled again, and took a deep breath, taking care to remain as still and as silent as possible. If only he could get away from the tree without being spotted, than perhaps he could...<br/><br/>The plan vanished as he saw Crusty's arm shake, probably unable to hold the weight of the tree and of the Owltrice much longer. Ace needed to act quickly, if he didn't want the other man to be crushed under the tree. Grabbing his sword, he rolled his body away and crawled out of the tree foliage, branches scratching his face. Once he was finally out, he turned back to the Owltrice.<br/><br/>It was a hideous creature. To call it an owl would be an offense to the animals that were now perching themselves on top of the fallen tree, as if they were actively trying to crush the man beneath it. Its face shape resembled an owl's, but its beak was slightly longer, and the featherless and long neck that attached it to the rest of the body only seemed to add to the nastiness of the creature. The Owltrice hadn't notice him, it seemed, because it was still trying to reach between the branches. With a low coo, it began to torn the branches out of the tree.<br/><br/>Ace had a few options. He could ran back for his bow, shoot the beast and hope it would come after him. He could try to sneak behind it and take it by surprise. He could dive towards the general direction of the... thing, that had taken his sister's shape, in the hope that killing it would at least attract the Owltrice attention. In any of these scenarios, he felt confident enough that he could win, or at least, stay safe. But in any of these scenarios, the man that had just saved him would be either crushed by the combined weight on top of the tree or would be injured and probably killed by the beast, considering the speed the Owltrice was breaking the branches.<br/><br/>So he did what his brain was screaming for him not to do, and charged at the creature, sword ready.<br/><br/>The branches of the tree made it easy for him to step on them and throw himself on the Owltrice's leg, his blade piercing the thick skin. It was enough to throw the beast off balance, and it fell to the ground, shrieking. Ace had only time to think that perhaps the weight loss was enough for the other man to get free before a piercing pain shot through his leg, and he was thrown in the air.<br/><br/>His back made contact with another tree, and Ace bit back a scream, growling in pain. His back hurt from the impact, but the worst of it was his right leg. He could barely feel anything except for excruciating pain, and, looking down, he could see the hole the Owltrice's beak had left on his thigh. His vision blurred as Ace stood up, whole body shaking with the effort. It hurt, and it was obvious he couldn't trust it not to send him straight to the ground if he tried to walk. But to remain fallen would be way more fatal, as the Owltrice had already scrambled to its feet and seemed ready to charge at him again.<br/><br/>"Caine, if you could kill the shit controlling these things, it would be most appreciated." he screamed, hoping his other companion hadn't abandoned them yet. But his focus once again shifted at the beast in front of him, as it charged, wings wide open and beak ready to attack. Using the tree behind him as support, Ace readied his sword once again. If he could avoid the attack and place on of his own, he could further injury the Owltrice and keep safe.<br/><br/>He only hoped that his hunch was right and it was indeed being controlled by the 'girl', because he wasn't sure how many times he could duck an attack.<br/><br/>That, and the blood running from his wound just made everything worse. That was exactly why he didn't help anyone in battle.