Amberdrake just sighed, and covered Garth with a hand before the little bird could retort again.

He gave Cassian a long-suffering look. Really? Really-really? The guy was picking a fight with a feathered puffball the size of a golf ball... counting the feathers.

Why did Drake always end up hanging around such grumpy people? "My name is Amberdrake," he decided to attempt to steer things away by being extremely polite. "I apologize for Garth. Kaled'a'in messenger birds are about as smart as a human toddler, memorization skills aside."