The chicks were more than capable fliers by nature, but they weren't used to carrying humans as yet, and though their far more experienced mother might have been willing to serve for transport in a pinch, their father would probably require more cajoling than they had any amount of time for. Annoyed though she might be by the request, Kono-hana could probably mimic a magpie's flight pattern enough that they wouldn't be slowed down by wingbeats.

"She'll know the fastest way there," Sasuke nodded, then remembered to roll up a shoulder in a half-shrug to respond to that grin. "Once there, it's a two-level building with an internal storeroom trapdoor. That's where I -- that's where things are kept."

It was a slip, and the recovery inelegant, but he hoped the meaning was clear nonetheless, and it still looked like a natural hesitation. Without realizing it, the attention he needed to pay to keeping his body slouched at a relaxed angle and the pitch of his words was helping to keep him steady, distracting him momentarily from the task at hand.