Talons clacked together in front of his face before the thing was screeching and running high into the air. His gaze had only cut to Ace once, expression neutral. Despite having that rather rigid sense about him, he seemed almost at ease in battle. The chaos around him was not enough to stir him, even with the close calls and the rather annoying brushes with the ugly beasts. He even seemed ready for the retaliation.<br/><br/>He brought his arm up again as one swooped in close, this time not to catch the claws but to throw a surprisingly quick hook. He managed to connect, and the harpy gave an awkward squawk before it was wobbling off to the side. It seemed as though things-<br/><br/>A pile of harpy suddenly dropped atop him, and he was twisting it off to the side as it plopped and twitched on the ground. He'd been spattered with a good bit of blood now, and he was quick to wipe it off of his face while still holding that little stick out behind him as he got to his feet just as the remaining harpy was recovering. It was quick to swoop back down, those large claws open. He presented his arm again and it easily took the bait.<br/><br/>The second it latched on, Dane suddenly threw all of his muscle and weight down onto one knee. Those large wings worked to swoop at the air, trying to compensate even as it let go. It gave a wobble  but was left with no other recourse than to land for a moment. It coiled power into its legs, needing to push back off and into the air.<br/><br/>Which is when it suddenly met with a swift punch to the face. It stumbled backwards, hitting the ground. It flopped around, dazed and with a now cracked beak. Dane didn't seem to pursue it any further, just watching as it tried to figure out exactly which way was up and down. A few clumsy flaps of its wings, and it was screeching and bumbling into the air. The rest of its sense had gone, but it at least returned to the very last of it, which was to fly hard and fast, and keep going until it figured out exactly what had happened.<br/><br/>With a deep breath, Dane looked satisfied at the quickly returning quietness of the forest around them. He brought the skewer back and tore off a piece of the still pristine meat. He seemed quite satisfied, looking over to Ace with a nod of his head. He only had a scratch on his arm and one on his lower cheek from the edge of one of those annoying wings. Over all, things had gone quite well for their first little scuffle together. He didn't seem to mind, nor critique the shooting that Ace had done. It had worked well enough.<br/><br/>Caine just smirked and then gave a set of slow claps. "It was a very enticing show. Especially with the way you missed that one and managed to drop an entire bird atop his head. I only wish I'd had more snacks to enjoy it with, and that it had gone on longer. I could have watched that all evening." While his words seemed to always border on teasing, it had been a good chance to gauge his companions in battle. Dane seemed able to keep his head and Ace seemed versatile and rather like he enjoyed a fight. It was, despite how short and easy that might have been, a promising little start to their joint endeavor.<br/><br/>Finished with his meal, 'Crusty' moved to snatch up the carcass of the dead harpy by its feet before he motioned to the other one with a nod of his head.<br/><br/>"We should get rid of these. We've already attracted attention there was a fight. Don't want something coming in close looking for an easy meal and bothering the horses." He seemed always to be thinking ahead, concerned with the bigger picture. It was the sign of someone who was quite accustomed to needing to do so, which seemed to tighten in that image that he was some sort of solider at the very least. He was also instantly back to business as he added, "We've shouldn't waste any more time that we've got to rest. I'll stand the first watch. You should take the last," he stated, looking to Ace. "You'll need the most time to rest uninterrupted." He had, after all, done most of the action this time round.