As he lead Slade and Shara to their usual rendezvous-point in the woods, somewhere that the not-so-human-members of their group could be themselves without risking the security of the whole war-effort, Tobias reflected that he still didn't quite know what to make of either of them. They were both good to have in a fight, and they were both a bit more dangerous than they tried to make themselves look – especially Slade – but aside from all of that, he still didn't know quite what to think of them as people.

He supposed that he just hadn't had enough time with them to make any kind of judgment on their character. The two of them had only been together for two missions with the other Animorphs, and Slade himself had only been with them for one more than that. And, given the fact that the two of them stayed at Cassie's barn when there wasn't a mission in the works, and he only came there when their was, it wasn't like he'd been given much of an opportunity for socializing with the two of them.

Not like he had much more time to socialize with the other Animorphs, though, Tobias reflected with a mental grimace.

(It looks like Jake and the others are landing,) Shara said, bringing Tobias' attention back from where it had briefly wandered. (I can see Marco demorphing now. Rachel's just behind him.)

(Yeah,) he said, resisting the urge to nod; it could have screwed up his flightpath, and besides it wasn't like Shara was looking at him, anyway. (You two should get back on the ground and start demorphing, yourselves.)

(Right,) Slade said, speaking for the first time since the three of them had started off on this trip; he really seemed to be a pretty taciturn, close-mouthed kind of guy. The kind that made it easy for people to forget he was even there, sometimes.

As the two siblings folded their wings, diving down to join the rest of the Animorphs who had gathered together in the clearing that had become their unofficial meeting place for those times when the barn itself was just a bit too exposed for the kinds of things that they needed to be discussing – or for when their three not-so-human members needed to be around in unmorphed forms for a long time – Tobias himself fluttered down to a perfect landing on what was quickly starting to become his favorite branch.

As the meeting itself got underway, the others discussing what they were going to be able to do about Mr. Edelman, or at least what they could do for someone who had a Yeerk in their head, Tobias listened with half an ear to the forest all around him. It was his job to make sure that no one and nothing would be able to get close enough to either overhear or attack one of these meetings.

Most animals, he knew, wouldn't bother a gathering of humans, so he didn't worry too much about that kind of thing. Still, he'd learned better than most that anything was possible, so he kept his eyes and ears open.

The consensus in the meeting seemed to be coming down on the side of finding out just what was going on with Mr. Edelman and the Yeerk in his head, since it wasn't like any Yeerk to let their hosts just brazenly reveal themselves to anyone. Not even a family member, unless they were planning to turn that person over to the Yeerks, themselves. He didn't know just what to make of this new development, but Tobias would freely admit to being just as curious as anyone else about it.

With the meeting over, the rest of his fellow Animorphs morphed into birds, and Tobias launched himself into the air to meet up with them.

(So, I meant to as you this before,) Jake said, speaking directly to him without being prompted for the first time since they had all met up. (But, do you know the way to get to this place, Tobias?)

(I've been over the area a fair few times,) he said, smiling inwardly. (I'll get us there, no problem.)

(Thanks,) Jake said, sounding like he'd be smiling back, if he could. (It's good to have you with us, Tobias.)

(Thanks.)

As the eight of them flew on, Tobias carefully studied the ground, picking out the landmarks that he used to navigate from place to place in the absence of more conventional means. He spotted them fairly quickly, leading his seven friends and fellow Animorphs speedily toward their destination. And wondering all the while just what kind of new weirdness this mission would bring.

He hoped it wasn't anything like the last mission.