Jake took a moment to focus a thought at the billy-bumbler. Oy, stop it. You're making it nervous, and it might smack you. The bumbler looked back at Ake and promptly sat back in his seat.
"He's called a billy-bumbler. They used to run wild, but Oy stayed with me instead of his pack. They didn't like that he tried to talk, or that he was smart." Jake didn't know where the need to defend Oy's intelligence had come from, but he didn't particularly like the look coming off of that monkey. Mrs. Coulter, however, still had a pretty voice to listen to. He didn't mind talking with her.
"He's saved my life a few times," Jake added, with all the fierce love in his voice a child could have for such a beloved pet. No, more than merely a pet. They were ka-tet, one from many.