"Thalia?" Annabeth's grey eyes are wide in fear, and she scoots as close to Thalia as she can without touching her. "What's that sound?"

"Probably nothing," Thalia assures her. She's long since stopped noticing the threatening noises.

"Probably?" Thalia smiles at her. Annabeth is pretty brave for a little kid, but she's unadjusted to living on the run.

"Definitely," Thalia says firmly. She looks over at Luke, "Right?"

"Right what?" The spooled fire is reflected in his eyes, he's lost in thought again.

"The sounds don't mean anything."

"Oh, yeah. Of course not," he grins at Annabeth also; she's slowly becoming their little sister.

Thalia smiles as Annabeth leans into her slightly, she enjoys being the older one. It has barely been a week, and already she likes the new pattern into which they are settling. It is nice, taking care of someone alongside Luke, and she is the happiest she's been in a long time.

"Are you hungry?" She vaguely remembers that mothers are supposed to check on the hunger status of their children, which is why she does it, squarely three times a day.

Annabeth shakes her head, her eyes still circular. She has yet to smile, yet to lose that overpowering sense of apprehension. Thalia and Luke understand, of course, since they have been there too, but they worry about her all the same.

Luke sidles over to them, away from the distracting fire. "How would you like to pick berries?" he asks Annabeth, "We can usually find nice ones."

Annabeth hesitates, resting her head in her hand. She shrugs, "I don't know."

Luke does his best to smiles, gently enveloping her hand with his own. "Well, why don't we try it? Thalia, do you want to keep the fire going?"

Thalia nods, slightly disappointed. But that is how it works in families; the workload is split, and some people get the less enjoyable roles. She stays behind, tending to the sticks with Luke's fire-log.

They return, a while later, and Annabeth is thoughtfully sucking on a blueberry. She does not bite it, but licks it carefully, as if she is unsure about the taste.

"Do you like it?" Thalia prods her, curious as to whether she will learn something new about her friend.

Annabeth nods, frowns, and then wrinkles her nose. "I don't know." They have discovered that it is her most commonly used phrase, and decided that it must be out of fright. No demigod could possibly be so indecisive; it wouldn't be in their nature.

"We got lots of berries," Luke says brightly, holding up a handful of them. "Want some?"

Thalia nods, coming to sit between them. "Sure. Want to have dinner?"

Luke grins at her. That's what they've started calling their pseudo-meals. "Yeah, okay. You ready Annabeth?"

The little girl nods. "Yes, please." She is awfully polite, and they have noticed that most of her words are formalities.

After dinner, Annabeth yawns and quietly asks if she can go to sleep. They both agree at once, unable to refuse her anything. They relate to her fright too well.

It is after she is lying on her log-and-leaf bed that Thalia confesses to Luke. "It's nice, isn't it? Having her around?"

He nods. "Of course it is. It's great. You're great with her, by the way."

Thalia sits up, feeling proud. Now that Annabeth is here, she feels less his junior. "It's not so bad, is it? Us being here?"

Luke thinks about it, unwilling to lie to her. "I guess not. Not as bad as it used to be, anyway."

Thalia smiles. She knows they won't be able to stay this way forever, but she sometimes she wishes that they could. For whatever its difficulties, there is something nice about the responsibility. She likes the peace of it, and knows that she will never find anything as happy as their current game of house.