"Well they do require having a dragon heart..." Gabe wasn't about to try to get a dragon's heart. He smiled at her interest in the thestrals as well. Those were the animals (beyond the ravens and crows he saw) that he felt the most kingship with. And they helped him feel a little bit like everyone else sometimes too, because only those who had seen Death were able to see the skeletal horses.
"You could keep these feathers... but they aren't phoenix feathers." Gabe teased.