This is the first of a series of oneshots I've created, based on the years Luke, Thalia and Annabeth were traveling together and onward. They range from about 300 words to plus minus 2k (with this one being one of the longest ones) and are largely Thuke. I've long been obsessed with this coupling and just started pumping these out one day completely randomly.

Most of them are from either Luke or Thalia's perspective but there are a few that are from other characters' perspectives.

Also, as I tend to do, I've made a soundtrack for this entire story. I consider the theme to be Where We Belong by Thriving Ivory. I may post another chapter to list what the other songs are for the entire series but yeah.

Warnings: Some cruder language but no swear words(in this one.) Mostly rated T because I'm paranoid.

I place this as being about a month after Thalia ran away from home, so she's nine. Luke is eleven and has been on the run for two years on his own.

Disclaimer: I'd likely be posting this as a book if I was Rick Roirdan. In other words no, I don't own Percy Jackson.

Anyways enjoy!

Swamps, she decides, must be the most hostile, agonizing environments Gaea in her infinite sadism created. They're the armpits of the world. Scratch that, she thinks as another gas bubble explodes in front of her, sending a fist of foulness to assault her nose and burn her eyes. They're worse than that. In fact, she'd much rather have her nose permanently lassoed to her own armpit by the coarse hair growing from it than ever be force to trudge through these murky silted depths again. At least she wouldn't feel like a billion eyes were watching her unblinkingly and every corner she turns and splash she hears makes her heart thump for fear that its some scaly beast from the depths come to devour her.

She's wet. She's cold. She's near exhausted from fighting. She's muddier than she's ever been in her life and that's saying a lot since she's not a girl afraid of getting a little dirty. And she's more than a little lost and scared, although it would be a painful blow to her pride to admit either even in her mind. But she's also alive and she's alive because she's smart. She figures that the smell of the rotting vegetation might hide her for a few hours and while the bacteria could prove nasty and give her a killer infection in the cut she got from that harpy a fortnight ago, she had needed to get away from the troop of giants chasing her.
She needed time to recuperate and this was the only place that seemed like it could promise some reprieve, provided she find a clearing she could rest in. She had been confident that this requirement wasn't too much of a stretch. That was almost four hours ago. She'd been trying to find a patch of somewhat solid and at least semi dry land for about two-and-a-half hours…well, it had seemed like a good idea at the time anyways. The sun long reached its peak in the sky and was now rapidly sinking below the ever-darkening canopy.

She needed to find some place to rest and some cover soon. Preferably before she became even more of a walking buffet for the mosquitoes hallowing above her head of spiky black hair. She was wearing bug spray and an intentionally-added coating of mud in the most troublesome areas but they were still bespeckling her arms with itchy red swollen bumps.

She prodded the ground in front of her with her walking stick, dismayed when it sank about a foot in the sodden earth. Her feet made a loud smacking sound that she was painfully conscious of as she dredged it up from the thick mud to take another step. But then she paused for a moment as she realized that there was more sound than her two booted feet should produce on their own. Sure enough, even with her frozen (yet sinking into the mud like it was slow quicksand) another shmuck was audible above the croaking of frogs and the buzzing bugs. It was distant and halted just moments after she did, but she was certain she wasn't being paranoid this time. This time she actually heard something.

It might have just been more swamp gas releasing in a gurgle (or even her own jagged inhaling), but she thought she heard semi-labored breathing. Both sounds pointed in the same direction: behind her. Someone…or something…was shadowing her. Her mind went about imagining some awfully haunting things it could be and she could feel her heart beat quicken as her hand slid to the dagger on her belt (she procured it from that harpy the other day but not before it took a juicy chunk out of her thigh.) Quietly as the slurping mud and shing of metal would allow, she drew her weapon, the tang of the blade catching a hint of sun and shimmering lustfully. As if it sensed blood and a fight coming.

Abandoning whatever pretense of surprise she'd otherwise think she had, she gave off a loud savage yell and raced toward where the sound was coming from: a misted humanoid figure. She was surprised when a slightly longer blade caught hers and effectively parried then thrust hers downward. The hilt slid from her grasp in a follow-up thrust. Unfazed, she used the momentum to her advantage in a blind kick that sent her opponent sprawling into the water with a splash. She knelt over and yanked her blade back from the sloppy earth and moved in for the kill.

Only to find it wasn't a monster. It was a boy, a good two years older than her from the looks of him. At least, she thought it was a boy from his build. His entire face was obscured thanks to the muck. He was just staring up at her, two white eyes poking through the grime and his jaw agape. One hand supported his weight, the other still held his weapon—celestial bronze as the harpy had tauntingly told her—out in case she decided to attack.

She should really. She could never be too careful and trusting strangers had gotten her burned before. But this boy didn't look threatening. Hell, he didn't even look all that competent with his weapon, like he was just getting use to using it. Little did she know looks can be deceiving, such the case here was. But he had this wild, familiar gleam in his eye. Where was it familiar? She wondered briefly before it clicked. That look was what she saw last time she looked in the mirror. He looked…like he was just like her.

"Who are you?" She asked, surprised at how dry her mouth was.

He blinked once, sitting a little straighter and wiping some of the mud from his cheek. He didn't answer.

A bit miffed, she angled her blade downward a bit more, as if to remind him she had the higher ground. "Who are you?" She repeated in a deadly tone.

"None of your concern. Although I'd certainly like to know who you think you are?" He had a sort of cocky tang to his voice, as though she was the one on her back and stuck in the mud. But before she could piece together just why that was, he gave her a demonstration. So swiftly she barely realized what was going on, he swept her legs out from under her while simultaneously getting to his feet and slapping the dagger from her hand. He even managed to smoothly catch it by the hilt in his opposite palm while she panted wide-eyed at him.

"My turn to ask. Who are you and why did you attack me?"

She wiped the swamp mud from her lips so she could speak. "Attack you? You were stalking me! What else was I supposed to do?"

The corner of his lip twinged. "So what if I was? You're kind of easy to follow with all the ruckus you make."

Thalia felt a shot of hot indignant anger at his words. How dare he? Taking a cheep shot at her pride like that, never mind that it was the truth. Still rude to say so. The air around her cracked loudly, as it always did when she got this pissed. He didn't seem to even notice he offended her, too busy running his grimy finger across her dagger in his palm. Admiring it. She was just about to roar back an insult (possibly coupled with a few volts of electricity) when he laughed.

"I thought so. You're a halfblood aren't you?" Her eyes widened at the mention, her powers cutting off like they'd come unplugged. Then they narrowed in suspicion. She'd been called a halfblood before. By many of the various monsters she ran into. In fact, other than a few scattered comments from the narrow selection of more benevolent Greek creatures she'd met, that was the only time she got called halfblood. Yet this boy looked normal enough but then so had that harpy. Until it morphed into chicken-woman and tried to peck her eyes out for horderves. As his expression brightened hers did the inverse.

"It's okay. I'm one too. Name's Luke, son of Hermes. What's yours?" She hadn't expected that one but even still she didn't readily answer.

"If you are who you say," She started finally, "then you'll let me up and give me my weapon back."

"Luke" scratched the back of his neck, thinking for a moment. "Well, see, thing is, I can't really do that. I get the sense that if I do you're going to either attack me or leave and well, don't you think we'd survive longer if there were two of us?"

Was he honestly suggesting they team up? Thalia scoffed at the idea, even as "Luke" lowered his weapon and extended his hand downward to help her up. He tossed his head and gave her what she supposed he thought was a winning smile. She pushed his hand away. Yeah, right. This kid was insufferable. She wasn't trusting her back to this imbecile. For all she knew he was a monster in disguise wanting to toy with her before it ate her. "No thanks. I'll take my chances alone."

"Luke" drew back a step, his expression hardening slightly. He testingly flicked her blade, still firm in his palm. "Well, you're not going to get this back in that case. I think I'll keep it. It has a better balance."

He tucked both weapons way and turned his back to her and started trudging through the swamp.

"Wait, you're just going to leave me here without a weapon?"

"I won it from you. Fair's fair." He called back over his shoulder. "See you later...if you live that long."

Thalia bit her lip. She wouldn't survive long without a weapon. She supposed he probably knew that. In other words, "Luke" wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Styx." She cursed aloud and begrudgingly followed him.

He paused for a moment, allowing her time to catch up. "Glad you see things my way." She knew she didn't imagine the smug smile stamped across his stupid face.

You'll notice of course Thalia does not have her spear or Aegis yet. I do have plans for when/how I'm going to bring those into the story.

Anyways, drop a review and keep on the look out for the other oneshots yet to come! I'm undecided on whether I'll group them on the same story or post them individually, although I have one that I would consider needing an M rating...

~Crisi