the feral promptly beat away a few more wing-spans , widening the distance between them , and kept his position until temeraire gave his terrible thundering roar : the trees shaking with the force of it so that a hail of old leaves and twigs , trapped in the canopy , came shedding down upon them , and also some of the ugly lumpen sausage-shaped fruits , whose impact thumped deep aggressive dents in the ground around them ; chenery 's midwingman hyatt uttered a startled oath as one glanced off his shoulder .