For the most part, Toby tried to remain optimistic, but since the onset of people's abilities, he'd had an increasingly difficult time putting the bad thoughts out of his mind. Or, he could, if he caught the negativity in time. Sometimes he could even project positive emotions, if he caught it in time. But in casual conversation, he didn't like to do that. More often than not, this meant that he absorbed their negative emotions by accident, and this was one of those cases. "A long time until we see a lot of things. Maybe never," he pointed out, absorbing the pessimism by accident. "I don't know much of anything about it, either. A lot of it is trial and error," he gave a half-laugh. "They're good kids, but they definitely trying sometimes," he chuckled a little.
Toby smiled a little when the conversation went to Kori. She was a godsend. "I don't know what I'd do without her, honestly. The girls love her like a..." he paused. Like a what? Like a sister? Like a mother? There was no way to answer that question without backing himself into an awkward corner. "Well, they haven't had a female role model in a long time. Way too long," he thought aloud. "And you're right. They couldn't have chosen a better one." He chewed on his lip.
He nodded his head. "You're right about that. Especially when it comes to preying on kids." Emma and Elisa weren't really children, but all they'd known since they were children was the infection. They hadn't had a normal chance to grow up, live through normal growing up experiences... he held them to different standards, admittedly. "I wondered what happened to them, honestly. If they just faded into nothing or if they're waiting to come back when everything settles down, you know? It's..." he shook his head. "I guess we probably don't have to worry about things settling down, though. Things never seem to settle down."
"I hate to say it, but I agree. Times like this, the past is very important. I'm sure there are plenty of people we can leave out, but we should ask them anyway, just for the sake of uniformity. Or, I mean... you should. But if you need a consultant? Someone who can point out lies and physical discrepancies or whathaveyou? You can ask me." Sometimes it was easy to forget that he wasn't an actual part of any of the security or leadership things. "Maybe, if you think that's where they'll hit next, you should put more security cameras there? Widen the scope?" It made sense, at least to him.
With a shrug, Toby sighed. "That's kind of a thing, though. As long as there's something to be unhappy about it, people will find it." He shrugged. "The most you can do is remind them that things can be worse. You know?"