“I don’t suppose you could lend me some assistance?”
What limited magic he has at the moment - thank you, dearest sister, for running off with the amulets and breaking them - is used just to disguise the telltale eyes into a more mundane brown, usual green plumage pale with the loss of his magic. Poe doesn’t prefer this sort of situation, even if it’s what finally freed him from his fully avian fate. Needing help from anyone is a blow to his pride, but perhaps he can turn it to something, if he finds a soft enough soul.
This man seems to be the type, assuming Poe can still read people as well as he’s accustomed to.
“Only, I’m new in town and I’m afraid that while I was trying to find lodgings, some extremely aggressive ruffians took nearly everything of value that I have.” Not entirely a lie. A group of beagles had tried to mug him, but he’d never been one for carrying coin on his person. Not when he could have it in piles around a throne. And they’d been easily scared away with even a paltry show of power. Poe’s expression turns full apologetic. “I really hate to be a bother.”