Ten people who have helped to make you the person you are today
1. Elfangor. He gave up the universe to become Alan Fangor, to be with my mother, and they had a child. Then, thirteen years later, he returned to Earth as an Andalite prince and changed my life forever. I felt a connection to him then, stayed with him longer than any of the others, and maybe that's why. Maybe I sensed the connection. I'm grateful for both. I'm glad I know that my father was someone to be proud of.
2. Loren. I haven't met her. I don’t know how Elfangor did - and neither does she, now. Her memory of him is gone. I guess that's why she gave me up, and for some reason she can't get me back. But she gave me my life, and my name, and maybe someday…
3. Jake. I met him when some tough guys were trying to stuff my head in a toilet. Back then, I pretty much screamed 'vulnerable'. Well, he wouldn't stand for it. He just told them to back off, and they did. I admired that. And now, he's the leader of our little band of guerillas, and without him we'd all have died by now. When he did - an unnamed rebel in the massacre of the Delaware river - it seemed unreal. We got him back, but I never forgot that feeling.
4. Rachel. I love Rachel. That's just the simple truth of the thing. I knew her a bit, before that night - tough, but not a bully. Beautiful, but not conceited. She was always nice to me. And then…well, it was Rachel who I came to, when I was losing myself to the hawk. Rachel who convinced me that I am and always will be Tobias. Rachel who lit the candle on my birthday cake. Rachel who I kissed when, after seeing her blown in half centuries before her birth, she appeared whole and alive. I think if she was gone, really gone, Tobias would be too.
5. Cassie. Rachel's best friend, and now one of mine. Not just because she's an Animorph, because we've risked our lives for each other, because we share a horrifying secret. It was in her barn I acquired this morph, this body that's now my own. She heals broken animals whether they want her to or not. She's so strong, more than she knows. When I try to hold on to human pity, human compassion, she's the one I think of. She's the reason that, after eating a skunk kit, I helped defend its brothers and sisters.
6. Marco. I wasn't exactly fond of him at first. Just another callous class clown, making jokes at peoples' expense. The thing is, though - when I started joking about myself, long before I could morph again, he was the one who laughed. He was the one who helped me see the humour in it, because that's how he sees the world. He can be ruthless, and harsh, but he's a good guy. He's an asset, as well, as we all are.
7. Ax. Elfangor's little brother. My shorm. We're both unique on this planet, both without proper homes and families. Shorm is a word for 'tail blade' - it means you'd trust this person to put that blade to your throat, and I would. I'm closer to him than anyone, maybe even Rachel. He's the only one he can really understand. And now, we share something else. An honour, a tragedy. It is Ax's duty to kill the monster who murdered his brother. Well, now it's mine, too.
8. My aunt and uncle. They never cared much about me. I mean, they never asked to take care of someone else's kid. I almost wish they hadn't - maybe then I'd have gone to people who'd look for me when I went missing. But they didn't, and at least there's no one to worry over me. Maybe they're the reason I was so vulnerable, so lonely, but they're also the reason I was in the right place at the right time.
9. The Ellimist. He's the one who gave me the power to morph again, even into my old body. He's the reason that there's a free colony of Horj-Bajir on Earth, that a young seer is named for me. He's the one who made me realise that I'm not the boy I used to be, and that's all right.
10. Me. Because when it comes down to it, you make your own choices. I chose to accept this power. I chose to fight this war. I chose to remain a red-tailed hawk. And I don't regret any of it, even when I miss just being a human boy. Now I'm something different, something new, and I think my dad would have been proud.
2. Loren. I haven't met her. I don’t know how Elfangor did - and neither does she, now. Her memory of him is gone. I guess that's why she gave me up, and for some reason she can't get me back. But she gave me my life, and my name, and maybe someday…
3. Jake. I met him when some tough guys were trying to stuff my head in a toilet. Back then, I pretty much screamed 'vulnerable'. Well, he wouldn't stand for it. He just told them to back off, and they did. I admired that. And now, he's the leader of our little band of guerillas, and without him we'd all have died by now. When he did - an unnamed rebel in the massacre of the Delaware river - it seemed unreal. We got him back, but I never forgot that feeling.
4. Rachel. I love Rachel. That's just the simple truth of the thing. I knew her a bit, before that night - tough, but not a bully. Beautiful, but not conceited. She was always nice to me. And then…well, it was Rachel who I came to, when I was losing myself to the hawk. Rachel who convinced me that I am and always will be Tobias. Rachel who lit the candle on my birthday cake. Rachel who I kissed when, after seeing her blown in half centuries before her birth, she appeared whole and alive. I think if she was gone, really gone, Tobias would be too.
5. Cassie. Rachel's best friend, and now one of mine. Not just because she's an Animorph, because we've risked our lives for each other, because we share a horrifying secret. It was in her barn I acquired this morph, this body that's now my own. She heals broken animals whether they want her to or not. She's so strong, more than she knows. When I try to hold on to human pity, human compassion, she's the one I think of. She's the reason that, after eating a skunk kit, I helped defend its brothers and sisters.
6. Marco. I wasn't exactly fond of him at first. Just another callous class clown, making jokes at peoples' expense. The thing is, though - when I started joking about myself, long before I could morph again, he was the one who laughed. He was the one who helped me see the humour in it, because that's how he sees the world. He can be ruthless, and harsh, but he's a good guy. He's an asset, as well, as we all are.
7. Ax. Elfangor's little brother. My shorm. We're both unique on this planet, both without proper homes and families. Shorm is a word for 'tail blade' - it means you'd trust this person to put that blade to your throat, and I would. I'm closer to him than anyone, maybe even Rachel. He's the only one he can really understand. And now, we share something else. An honour, a tragedy. It is Ax's duty to kill the monster who murdered his brother. Well, now it's mine, too.
8. My aunt and uncle. They never cared much about me. I mean, they never asked to take care of someone else's kid. I almost wish they hadn't - maybe then I'd have gone to people who'd look for me when I went missing. But they didn't, and at least there's no one to worry over me. Maybe they're the reason I was so vulnerable, so lonely, but they're also the reason I was in the right place at the right time.
9. The Ellimist. He's the one who gave me the power to morph again, even into my old body. He's the reason that there's a free colony of Horj-Bajir on Earth, that a young seer is named for me. He's the one who made me realise that I'm not the boy I used to be, and that's all right.
10. Me. Because when it comes down to it, you make your own choices. I chose to accept this power. I chose to fight this war. I chose to remain a red-tailed hawk. And I don't regret any of it, even when I miss just being a human boy. Now I'm something different, something new, and I think my dad would have been proud.