That might be chalked up to getting more used to it, especially since Cassie is an estreen. Just like when you're out of shape, exercising can be a pain. Though the more you do it, the longer you can last. Eventually you can easily do things without becomeing tired that would have left you exausted a few weeks or months ago.
Yeah, I agree with Chad completely. Real life example: A while back I got a job involving a lot of hard physical labor. When I first started in the middle of the slow season, I'd work, come home, pass out, then wake up sore the next morning. By the middle of the busy season (a mere 4-5 months from when I started), I was doing two to three times as much work, coming home to party with friends until like 1am and be fine the next day.
Either way to get back on topic...
Why didn't they get goose morphs when they had the chance, because Cassie had a goose in her barn in the beginning. Why did Tobias never get an owl morph after book 13?
I agree completely with those two things entirely. They made me rage every time I read the books. How many
plotlines could have been entirely skipped over if they could fly in unison for long distances or if Tobias could fly completely silently and see in the dark? If I had a dollar for every time I read, "Bird of prey don't exactly get along," or "Hawk eyes aren't exactly good for seeing in the dark, but are great for stargazing," I could probably pay to have a movie made >_>
I mean, they had access to geese/ducks from the start and always complained about the lack of endurance/non-compatibility of the raptors. Common sense should have kicked in at around the eighth time they talked about hiding from birdwatchers. Tobias was an excellent, experienced flier. He should have gotten an owl as soon he could morph again. He even mentioned envying them repeatedly in his own books. Yes Tobias, you too can now fly silently in the dark.
Another random bit that wouldn't have been as vital as the first two things, but still could have helped them out: acquiring Ax. A single mission where they all rushed in as Andalites, killed a large group, and left before anyone noticed they were all identical could have gone a long way in either halting any thoughts that the bandits were human or convincing the yeerks that the Andalite bandits were larger in numbers.
Another thing was Tobias' sheer lack of other flying morphs. By the end of the series, the yeerks were blasting red-tails on sight. If I were him, I would have acquired anything with wings just so I could get closer to sensitive targets. In fact, with birds of similar dimensions, he could have probably morphed mid-flight to confuse the yeerks (which would have also made a pretty awesome scene in my opinion).