As soon as Uxia was within reach, then reached down and scooped her up into his arms, bridal style. It was a little awkward, given she was almost as tall as he was and muscular besides, but he was still able to easily hold her.
"Just, y'know, wanted to double check things. Get a feel for your, uh...weight."
Alright, so it had mostly just been an excuse to touch her, but if he could easily lift her as a human then he could generally get airborne with her weight as a gryphon, when he was far larger, stronger, and sturdier. Sure he'd carried her before, but he'd been half dead with exhaustion then and couldn't really remember most of that trip anyway.