AN: This chapter is mainly setting the scene, so there's not a lot of action. Reviews are always appreciated :))

To the guest review: ngl, i was considering percabeth originally, but ive decided it won't rlly work. i don't have a set pairing yet, but i do have a few ideas ;)

Percy gaped up at her, unable to comprehend what was happening. His mouth was hanging open once more. This was probably the third time in the last five minutes.

"What's a demigod? I'm not a demigod," Percy tried to protest even as her electric gaze bored into him.

"Look kid, if you weren't a demigod, the cyclops would've left you alone. Hades, if you weren't a demigod, you wouldn't have been able to even see it was a cyclops. If you weren't a demigod, you wouldn't have a Celestial bronze knife, and you definitely wouldn't be able to see my spear. So, still wanna deny that you're a demigod? What's your name, by the way?" With each statement she stepped closer, somehow shrinking her spear till it was a can of mace, before slipping that into her jeans pocket, sitting down where the cyclops had first sat down next to him.

"Uhhhh, my name's Percy, and I don't even know what a demigod is? Is that why I always see monsters? And why they always try to eat me? And my mom gave this knife to me," he mumbled the last part, eyes lowering to the blade, his reflection staring back up at him.

He could almost hear her breaths, faint and shallow, her heartbeat, slowing down, until it stopped.

He flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder, jerking away even as she removed it, hating the sympathy that filled her expression before it was replaced with a new determination.

"It's not safe to discuss this kind of stuff here, I have a place we can go to for now. Do you want to come with me? We can talk in private there and I can explain everything I know," she offered in a hushed voice as she glanced around the subway car. It was like no one had noticed the commotion, the old lady was still dozing, head against the window, and the group of teenagers were still doing, well, whatever teenagers did.

Figuring this was his only chance to find out what was going on, he nodded, clutching the backpack more tightly towards himself; like a shield.

"Alright. We get off in three stations, so just try to relax and not look terrified till then, 'kay?" She slumped down into her seat, all the tension in her body leaving as she settled in. turning to the boy, her expression softened.

"Look, Percy. Perce? Look Perce. I've got a kind of safe house a few blocks from the station with supplies. We can rest up, I can explain everything to you, and if you decide you wanna stick with me, great. If you wanna go off, that's cool too. Capish?" She held out her left fist, waiting for him to bump it back, gauging his reaction. He stared at her fist for a few seconds before a soft grin spread on his face.

"Capish."

-Line Break-

As they exited the subway station and headed up the stairs, Percy stuck closer to Thalia. She had a kind of confidence as she walked, an air of self assurance that comforted him, if only a little. When they finally arrived, she gestured at a bush, and with a flourish of her arms, announced, "Welcome, to the Safe House!" He looked around, peering at the green tangle of sticks and leaves, wondering if this was some kind of prank. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd been duped into thinking he was invited to something.

"Umm Thalia? Where is the Safe House?"

"Percy, Percy, my dear demigod, open your eyes! It's right here," Percy watched as she strode forward, and lifted what seemed like a patch of brambles, before realising it was a woven door to the camouflaged shelter. Once she had shifted it to the side, she crawled in, waving at him to follow, before moving the door over the opening, once again concealing the entrance.

He gazed around in awe, the interior was big enough to fit at least four people. The walls were woven from plant material like a Native American hut, but they looked pretty solid and waterproof.

Stacked in a corner was everything you need or want for a campout - sleeping bags, folded blankets, an ice chest and a kerosene lamp. In another corner were different provisions, weapons of sorts and some kind of weird cake in boxes.

He turned back towards Thalia, who appeared to be emptying the bag that he just noticed she had been carrying, taking things like wallets and purses out, a few chip packets and a couple bottles of water. Setting his backpack down as well, he sat, content to wait for her to finish whatever it was that she was doing before she could start explaining all of this to him.

After she had finally taken everything out and sorted through the items, storing them away in whatever place she deemed appropriate, she finally took a seat across from him, chip packet in one hand and water bottle in another.

"So, what would you like to know?"

-Line Break-

After a solid three hours of questions, answers and more questions, Percy had finally accepted his reality. He was the son of some greek god, and because of his special heritage, monsters found him especially tasty, and would like nothing more than to gobble him up.

He could see them through the mystic veil called the Mist, generated when divine or monstrous elements interacted with the mortal world, obscuring the visions of mortals, and sometimes even demigods. Thalia didn't know who his father was, but she did have a guess, given what he had told her, as well as the unique colour of his eyes.

Her father was Zeus, the god of the skies, and king of the gods. She had cool powers that she was still learning to control, and her spear had been a gift from him. Percy had asked if she had met her dad before, since apparently there were Ancient Laws forbidding gods from visiting their children, and she told him yes, she had seen him quite a few times, but not since she was ten.

He learned that she had been living on the streets on her own for over a year, and that she was turning twelve, meaning she was around five years older than him.

When she found out he was six, almost seven, she had gotten a far away look in her eyes, like she was reminiscing about something. He thought he spotted a few tears, but before he had time to look again, she had turned away to grab another packet of chips. When she was facing him again, there were no signs of any tears and he chalked it up to him just seeing things from exhaustion.

She rose from her spot, groaning as she stretched out her muscles; stiff from being stationary for hours, before heading over to the corner with sleeping bags. Grabbing two sleeping bags and some blankets as well, she lay them on the floor before placing the sleeping bags on top. She then passed another blanket to Percy, before heading to one of the sleeping bags, gesturing for Percy to do the same.

They settled in and lay there in a comfortable silence, both reflecting on their day.

"Goodnight Thalia, thanks for saving my life," Percy murmured as sleep finally took over him. The day had been hectic enough without him staying up till the wee hours of the morning.

"G'night Perce."

-Line Break-

A slight rustling sound pierced through the sleepy haze of his mind and he bolted upright, tripping over in his hurry to get out of the sleeping bag. Wait, sleeping bag? He gazed at his surroundings. This was not an alleyway and it definitely wasn't a sewer.

The events of the day before came rushing back and he relaxed. He hadn't even realised he had grabbed his knife until he loosened his fist, becoming aware of the now familiar weight in his hand. At least his reflexes were well tuned. Honed from weeks of having to survive on the streets with only himself to rely on, combined with years of avoiding Gabe, especially when he was in one of his moods.

His expression darkened at the thought of that man. He had gotten what he deserved.

There was another rustle, and as he turned around, he realised that Thalia was nowhere to be seen. His frown deepened. She didn't ditch him, right?

She had found him and taken him in. she couldn't just leave him, right?

The woven door started moving; someone was coming in. Percy didn't know if it was Thalia, the intruder hadn't said anything. Mind racing, he came to a decision.

Better safe than sorry. He moved to the side of the wall, away from the intruder's direct line of sight. As they stepped in, he jumped at them, knife out. Just in case.

"Woah, woah, woah!" The person jumped back, revealing familiar electric blue eyes.

"Geez Perce, you trying to kill me or something?" She turned around, taking in his rigid stance, knife out. He relaxed, lowering his knife as he scratched at his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Thalia, I thought you were some kinda monster or something," he mumbled, looking down. Now she would kick him out, or at least punish him in some way. He startled when he felt her hand on his head as she ruffled his hair, smiling wryly.

"Don't worry about it kiddo, it's good that you're cautious. It'll save your life," she added over her shoulder, walking back towards her bag that had been dropped in the confusion, pulling out two sandwiches. She offered one to Percy as she started unwrapping her own.

"So, have you decided?"

"Decided what?" He cocked his head, confused.

"If you want to stay with me, or go out on your own." She watched him as he fumbled with his wrapper before taking a bite.

"I wanna shtay," he finally grinned out, mouth full. Returning it with a fond smile of her own, she nodded.

"Well, after we finish eating, I can try teaching you how to use your knife properly, how 'bout that?" The way his face lit up was confirmation enough, even as he nodded his head up and down vigorously.

"Well, the faster you finish, the quicker I can teach you, so…" she trailed off, expression soft as she watched him speed up.