The first time they met each other, they were all surprised. Thinking back on it, they shouldn't have been. They were all outcasts in their own ways, and their fates were interwoven with gold thread. It was predestined since the beginning of time.
Annabeth, at that time, was not quite sure what she was. She was the youngest of the three, and had the least experience in the real world - a world she was not accustomed to. She was born to the Wise One, but had been raised by a mortal man. Her exact heritage had been hidden from her, but she knew she was a Skyborn. Her father had always wanted to take to the skies and gain new knowledge, and he was delighted when he was gifted with a daughter that could fly. In later years, he learned of her gift of knowledge as well, and was further pleased. She lived a happy life until her father married another woman. She did not understand Annabeth's fear of spiders, and would chide her about creating a fuss whenever she saw one. Furthermore, she did not see her as a person because of her wings and strange eyes.
Then one night, Annabeth had a night vision of a giant spider swallowing her whole and falling for eternity through darkness - darker than any night she had ever been through. She had woken up screaming, and the woman that was not her mother became angry at her. Angry at her for waking her two sons, angry at her for not being normal, and angry at her for having such pettish fears. She threw her out of the house without her new husband's consent, as he was still making his way home from a long day of work. She claimed the girl had ran away, and while Annabeth's father was heartbroken, he was able to move on.
Annabeth had to move on in a different way. She took to the skies and shed her name. She was now the Nameless One. She wandered for a year before finding a new family.
Luke, at first, was known only as Castellan. He had left his father, the Messenger, of his own accord, feeling neglected and unimportant. In an attempt at revenge, Castellan began to steal to support himself. He was often dirty and starving, but that never deterred him. It gave him pleasure to know he was causing trouble for his father - the one who abandoned him. He stole from the gardens of the Great Ones and caused trouble among the Earthborn. During that time, they had been mere children, trying to find their way in a world they did not know anymore. They were young and had not yet received their proper Titles yet, but he was already well known. He was Thief in the Night, a Winged One.
Grace was the daughter of the King of the Sky, though she never permitted them to call her by her true name. She was the Child of Storms by birth, but she did not want that future. She was terrified of the expanse of the sky and the distance between the stars and Earth in a way that no other Winged One had ever been. She forsook her name and took a new one, Thalia. Names had power, and taking a new name gave her control over her own future. Because she gave up her flight, she became the Flightless One and Lightning Child, as that was the one power she chose to retain.
She, Castellan and Thalia, for those were their names then, did everything together and eventually became their own family. They stole together, they laughed together, they fought together, and they lived together in a way they had never done before. Together, they were alive; they were invincible, untouchable, and free.
Then, the Creatures began to come. Small ones at first, curious about the scent of new prey. They had never fought Creatures before. It was always bandits or wild animals. They were unprepared, and they suffered. In the dead of the late autumn night, huddled under the cold stars and a meager fire, the first Creature attacked. Thalia had been in the woods by herself, looking for more firewood. Castellan received a wide scar that ran across his face, and Thalia became terrifyed of being alone in the dark. A deep, petrifying fear that ran as deep as Annabeth's fear of spiders. She is now certain that Thalia had lost a part of her sanity at that point.
In the aftermath of the fight, they were constantly on the run, the scent of fresh Skyborn blood attracting more Creatures. It was during this time that, in a moment of hopelessness, they had shared their true names over a dinner of wild berries. While Thalia never allowed them to call her Grace, saying that her old name was not her name anymore, Castellan did, and became Luke.
Before then, they had called Annabeth Little Owl. She rather liked the name, but her true name carried meaning and power. It was sorrow, it was beauty, it was pain, but most of all, it was hope. Perhaps that was why they shared their names. They needed hope in those dark times.
But it never got better as long as they were together. The Creatures came more often and became more vicious, and they gradually got more powerful. She will never forget their last battle together.
They were scared. Of course they were. They were only children with no one else but each other. The Creatures were closing in around them, the most imposing of them a Cyclopes. They had been told by a wise old man that Cyclopes were Children of the Sea that strayed from the path their father set for them. As a result, they grew deformed, but also gained strange powers. It was with these powers that they brought about the end of the small family. They had the ability to mimic voices. The children had not known that. Castellan - no, Luke - was about to kill the Creature when it spoke in Annabeth's voice. She will never forget the feeling of her voice being used by another being. It was violation and pain and wholly unclean. Luke had stumbled back, and the Cyclopes advanced. Annabeth vaguely remembers screaming at Luke and a frozen Thalia to run, fly while you can, but it was too late. Luke had taken to the skies in time, but Thalia was frozen by her fear of the sky and the dark.
Luke tells her that Thalia is dead, but a part of Annabeth still refuses to believe it. A small, childish part of her that perhaps her big sister survived. Maybe it was because her young mind couldn't process her best friend and sister being ripped to shreds. She cried at the funeral anyway.
Years later, they had gone back to the place where Thalia died and planted a pine tree there on her birthday. Pine had always been Thalia's favourite. She said the scent calmed her, and reminded her of home. Not her Skyborn home, but her home before she found them. A craggy cave in the midst of an evergreen forest. At least, that was what she had told them. They had never seen it for themselves. The tree was the first place Annabeth had cried in three years. She had not shed a single tear since her old night terrors when she was seven, but at ten years old, she cried for her sister, two years after her death.
She did not only cry for Thalia. She cried for Luke as well. Something was different about him. He had turned bitter. He was no longer running away, but seeking revenge in any way he could find it against the Great Ones for not saving Thalia. He had become reckless, risking his life often in any way that he could to get back at them.
She cried for the family she lost. Luke was still here, but he was changed. He was no longer the big brother she knew. And Thalia… Thalia was gone. Perhaps forever.
But Annabeth did not cry for long. Luke had gently reminded her that the Creatures could still come back, and they should move on. Her last good memory of her big brother. They had turned away from the frozen winter soil, wrapped up in their wings and bundles of cloth and faces red from the cold, leaving the ratty shovel they had used to plant the sapling behind.
Not long after that, Luke had left her. He told her he had a greater purpose in life, and he could not look after her at the same time. She did not feel that was the only reason. She could feel the waves of anger rolling off him and crashing into her. She did her best to shield herself from the anger, but it still affected her. She was angry at him for leaving her, for leaving Thalia, to do something so rash. She saw it in his actions and the way he moved. He was about to do something he would come to regret, but what broke her heart was the knowledge that she could do nothing to stop him.
On another frost-bitten winter morning, Annabeth said goodbye to the last family she had left. She still doesn't know what she is, but she is determined to find out.
A/N: So I wrote this thing. It's meant to be a companion piece to Siren Song, or maybe a chapter in it. I felt that it didn't flow with the story, however, so I'm submitting this as a one-shot. Hope you all like it! R&R and keep the love coming :)