(You might as well get it over with,) Marco called cheerfully, directing his thought-speech to Tobias even as Shara and Slade dove for the clear space just behind the dolphin tanks.
(Fine.)
Tobias dove, a full three and a half feet behind the two seagulls as they fell through the air on course for their respective destinations. The two siblings were able to land safely in an area that was free of both workers and patrons. And from there they were able to demorph and fade into invisibility with impunity.
Tobias, however, had to remain in full view as he dove. Left to acquire a dolphin with his talons; talons that were obviously designed as weapons and little more. He would have been fairly inconspicuous at the beginning of his dive, save for one little bit of bad luck.
Such bad luck as Tobias was having had no effect on either of the twins, of course, and they were able to quickly scale the stairs leading up to the dolphin tank and acquire a par of dolphins for themselves. Moving carefully so as not to alert any of the dolphin trainers to their presence atop the tank with them, the two siblings left the tank for the safety of the dark behind it.
Back in the air, Tobias was just raking his wings forward to cancel his remaining momentum. Hitting the dolphin with a fraction of his former momentum, Tobias concentrated and acquired it. Unhappily for him, this particular dolphin – unlike the ones that Slade and Shara had been able to acquire – was in motion when he acquired it.
(Oh no,) Tobias said with an eerie calm, as he tried to loosen the talonhold he had on the dolphin and failed.
The dolphin, for his part, continued on his previous trajectory. A trajectory that, unhappily for Tobias, would carry it right back into the water. (I'm stuck! My left talon is-!) As the water closed over his head, Tobias fell silent.
The crowd was on its feet, shouting and loudly wondering just what was going on. They certainly weren't the only ones; the dolphin trainers were all running around, each trying to entice the dolphin to come over to the side of the tank, where they would be able to remove the hawk from his back.
The dolphin, however, was having none of it. The playful nature of his kind had led it to believe that this was just one in a series of endless games that his trainers chose to play.
(Aaaaahhhhhh! He's gonna drown me!) Tobias screamed, on the knife-edge of panic as the dolphin leaped and splashed-down again and again.
(Hold your breath!) Jake shouted, trying to be helpful.
(Gee, do you think?! Why didn't I think of that?!)
(He must be all right,) Marco said sagely. (He's still capable of being sarcastic.)
(You know, you're not helping,) Shara chided. (Tobias, try to loosen your grip when you come up again! The momentum should throw you off!)
(Start acquiring him!) Rachel called. (It should put him into a trance!)
(I am acquiring him!) Tobias shouted back. (Guess what? He's not in a trance!)
(Here I come to save the day!) Marco singsonged.
(What are you planning to do?) Jake asked, not sure if he liked the tone of Marco's voice.
(Kamikaze!) Marco shouted gleefully, folding his wings back and diving.
He'd aimed for the place where Tobias would most likely surface next, and sure enough that was the next place the dolphin breached the surface of the water. Marco would have been grinning, just a bit crazily, if he had been in human form. Luckily for him, he wasn't; both for the fact that he would have been unable to fly in his human form, and for the fact that he would have been completely obvious.
Slamming into Tobias with all the force that his speed had imparted to him, Marco knocked the hawk free and then flapped to regain altitude before he could fall into the water himself.
(Ow!) Tobias grumbled.
(Ow yourself,) Marco said. (I just saved your life.)
(Yeah,) Tobias groused, with somewhat strained good-humor. (Next time, could you try finding a way to save me that doesn't involve breaking any bones?)
The two of them made their way back to where the others were waiting, Tobias muttering various unpleasant things to himself.
(Are you all right?) Shara asked privately, once the Animorphs were on their way out of The Gardens and she could spare some attention from keeping up with them.
(I'm fine,) Tobias said shortly, not really in the mood to talk.
(Are you sure about that?)
(Yes.)
Shara sighed; she hadn't really been expecting someone she hadn't known for even a full day to want to confide in her, but Tobias had sounded so depressed that she couldn't help but try. Still, he might have felt better for knowing that someone was worried about him. That was really all she could hope for.
(The dolphin should be okay,) Cassie said. (Very superficial cuts. The vets will put some salve on him and give him a preventive antibiotic, I suppose, just to be safe.)
(Well, as long as the dolphin is all right,) Tobias drawled. (Because I really, really hope the dolphin is all right.)
(Are you going to be sarcastic for the rest of the day?) Marco asked.
(Yes. I am going to be sarcastic for the rest of the day,) Tobias snapped. (I nearly drowned. Now I'm going to go become the thing that nearly drowned me. I will be sarcastic until further notice.)
Marco, chuckling internally at not being the only one to have problems with this mission. Admittedly, Tobias' reasons weren't remotely the same as his – and he wasn't going to speak a word of his situation for anything – but he could at least get a few digs in. It would make him feel better, if nothing else.
(You know,) he said mock-thoughtfully. (That could be a regular act down at The Gardens. Hawk and dolphin. Kind of like a dolphin rodeo, if you really think about it.)
(Marco? You've got to remember that right now, you're just a lowly seagull. Which is practically a pigeon; and I'm a hawk. You want to keep grinding my nerves, I'll be glad to show you the difference when it comes to arial combat,) Tobias said tolerantly, with just the slightest edge of annoyance.
(Dolphin rodeo,) Marco repeated. (I'm just saying it has some possibilities.)
Shara sighed inwardly, and continued flying.