Donovan nodded and rubbed his beard as he thought the princess' words over. He actually didn't have any other birds here, any of the others that he'd raised were either in the service of another man or were stationed at the aviary. It'd take a week to get any reinforcements... or maybe less, if he sent one of his own birds out as messengers. But then he'd be left with only one partner while the kingdom was possibly at risk...

As he went over the possibilities, an argument pulled him from his thoughts. Seems Claire and Latias were arguing for some nebulous reason. Again. A quick glance and a shrug at the Talonflame above him confirmed that it was thinking the same thing, even if no words were spoken. Donovan grinned as he heard the two arguing, and Latias' pleading almost caused him to laugh inappropriately.
 
Regardless of how entertaining the current situation was, Donovan doubted that Zokura was in the mood for this. There was threat to the kingdom, no time for childish disputes in the meeting chamber.
He turned towards [u]Claire[/u] and asked in a hushed voice, [b]"[u]Claire[/u], would you mind if I took Latias off of your hands for a while? I'm sure the princess would appreciate it, and I'm going to need a few extra eyes in the sky."[/b]

The Talonflame shuffled around its roosting post, a betrayed look on its face.