THEIA FELT AS IF SHE'D TAKEN A STEP BACK IN TIME. It'd been nearly five years since her last venture beyond the boarder of Camp Half-Blood, longer still since she'd last set foot within the small Washington town to visit the white paneled house that trapped her gaze the moment she emerged from her uncles police cruiser. It looked just as it had all those years ago, minus the snow she vividly remembered blanketed the foliage in a sea of thick, frozen slush. It'd been accompanied by a blizzard, carried upon a chill so strong it froze the front door shut. Her Uncle Charlie had to use an old blow-drier and a space heater to thaw the sheets of ice that kept them barred inside.

Said man was currently climbing out of the drivers seat, seeming to have not aged a day since she'd last seen him. His signature narrow smile twisting into a dimple on his right cheek as he offered to help with her bags. His right hand rising to run through his thick brown hair that noticeably curled by his ears. A stereotypical cop mustache, matching the exact shade of brown atop his head, brushing against his top lip as he'd spoke. Warm eyes, a shade of brown comparable to bark of the Douglas-fir trees that peppered the state, glistening with a torrent of emotions as Theia glanced between him and the house that contained so many memories. The lack of sunshine and warmth apparent in his alabaster complexion, a stark contrast to the sun-kissed tan that many assumed natural for the golden Swan. Truth was, she just spent a lot of time outside. She flourished in the sunlight - an expected truth considering her grandfather was the Sun God himself. There had to be a joke in her situation somewhere; the prized granddaughter of Apollo, moving to a place of eternal doom and gloom. The irony wasn't lost on her, though that didn't mean she was any less confident in her decision.

She was going to make this work.

"You still like blue, right?" Her Uncle asked as he led her into the house. Theia was immediately struck with an intense feeling of Deja vu as soon as she stepped through the threshold of her uncles. It hadn't changed, not that such a revelation was at all surprising to the girl. Her uncle had for as long as she'd known him been resistant to change. Theia suspected it had a lot to do with the loss of his ex-wife, infrequent visits with his daughter, and the failing health of her late grandparents that fell upon his shoulders. He was a man constantly losing everything he cared about, so clinging to what he had was not an unexpected behavior.

"Yep!" She popped the P as her uncle pushed open the door of the guest bedroom. Her bedroom for the next year or so until she decided on a college. The furniture was all pine, making the room seem more rustic than the rest of the house. The bed itself was situated against the wall that ran perpendicular with the door, full in size with two nightstands on either side of the headboard. The sheets a pale, baby blue that matched well with the watercolor painting hung over the bed. On each nightstand was a lamp, with white lamp shade that matched the mostly barren walls. There was a desk just beyond the foot of the bed, just under the windows that gave the golden girl a great view of the forest below. The closet was just across the room. The two sliding doors shut. It wasn't much, but it was far more than he had to provide. She was over eighteen, he technically had no reason to provide her anything anymore, nor did she expect him too. "Pastel blue is still my color."

She set her bags atop the bed, watching her uncle in her peripheral as he followed her example, the bags he'd generously grabbed carefully set atop the mattress which creaked beneath the weight. "Thank you Uncle Charlie, for agreeing to let me stay with you, especially with the whole," she made a waving motion towards herself. "Blood situation."

He huffed, shifting on his feet. "Well I can't have my niece on the streets."

She gave him a soft smile, barely an upturn of her lips that never reached her eyes. The awkward atmosphere between them grating slightly on her nerves. It was hard to dispel as she couldn't figure out how to act with him considering how long it'd been since they'd last interacted. "Well, whatever your motivation, I still appreciate everything you're doing for me. I've got a good chunk of money left over from my father's estate and I run a small side business with one of my brothers so I can contribute towards expenses."

He shook his head, a soft albeit awkward smile falling upon his lips. "Don't worry about it kid, you focus on finding a school and what you want to do. That's far more important," he paused, right hand rubbing at the back of his neck.

"I'm not going to freeload," Theia was quick to protest, she could easily contribute to some of the expenses and still save for college. Her business was fairly successful especially after she managed to get her mother to promote some of the designs her elder half-brother, Atticus Miller helped her perfect. They sold primarily apparel, designed specifically around the concealment of weaponry and certain magical-slash-godly objects. Atticus was, strangely enough, rather adept at twisting the mist and excelled even further once they hired on Veronica Praxton, a daughter of Hecate. They found a way to mask them so well even metal detectors couldn't read mortal weapons. They restricted their sales some after that discovery.

Atticus' father owned a design company and was more than enthused when he found out about their startup, as he'd called it. Mr Miller footed the down payment on a warehouse just outside the main hub of Long Island that quickly became the primary production point of their business. They hired mostly demigods and satyrs, offering them a certain level of safety while on site. They even had plans to construct employee housing on the vacant lot behind the facility, a safe place where demigods could thrive with some semblance of safety. It wouldn't possess a fancy boarder like Camp Half-Blood, but Veronica assured them that, with the aid of her sister Danika, they could place wards that would deter monsters from accidentally stumbling upon them. Like a cloaking spell that could deter all but the most persistent or powerful of monsters, it meant the most common of monsters wouldn't be able to detect them unless they were really looking. Last time she spoke to Atticus, they were just waiting on the city to approve the construction permits. "At least let me contribute towards groceries, I promise I can afford it."

"No," he told her firmly, a nervous smile dusting his lips. "Keep your money Thay, I'm doing this because I want to get to know my niece better, not to make you pay bills."

She felt her entire demeanor soften at the use of the nickname, he'd called her Thay since she was a baby. "Uncle Charlie, I still want to pay you back somehow. I hate feeling like I'm taking advantage of you."

"How about this," he proposed. "You spend your time looking into schools and different programs, figure out what you want to study, whether it be fashion, art, or business-y things. Outside of that maybe you could, potentially spend some time with Bella? I think she could use a friend, that'd be payment enough...well, that and some of your famous cookies."

She laughed. Both were certainly doable, though she wasn't sure how open Bella would be to the idea of spending time with the cousin she barely knew. They hadn't seen each other in five years and prior to that absence, they'd only ever seen one another on Christmas Eve and Christmas. They were practically strangers that just had a relative in common. But for her uncle Charlie, she'd do it. If only because he's the only tie she had left from her father's side, the only normal person in her life that truly mattered. "That's more than reasonable," she acquiesced. "Where is Bella anyway?"

Charlie's sigh told Theia everything she needed to know even before his lips parted. "She's at her boyfriend's. She should be home soon," he coughed. "She was real, uh, excited about you coming."

Theia nodded, she wouldn't judge the kid just yet. Charlie was her father, he wasn't supposed to like the boyfriend.

"I'll uh, leave you to unpack. Dinner at the diner tonight?"

"Yeah that'll be perfect," she flashed him another gentle smile as he made to exit the guest-her room. A thought struck her suddenly, heavy and thick, it sent her entire body to a momentary, screeching halt. "Hey, Uncle Charlie?"

He paused in the doorway, glancing at her over his shoulder with a single brow raised.

"My dad, he," Theia sighed. "His car, it's still in storage isn't it?"

Charlie's eyes flickered away from her face. "Uhm," he hummed. "Yeah, it was...he left it to you. I can uh, I can have a friend bring it by the house if you want it."

She swallowed, her mouth feeling dry even as her chest swelled with gratitude. "I'd appreciate it, thank you."

"Course Thay, you need anything feel free to holler, I'll be downstairs."

- CONTEXT -

So Atticus and Veronica are both older than Theia. Atticus is 23 and Veronica is 21.

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- ALSO -

Just so everyone is aware, I primarily publish on Wattpad. On Wattpad I have about 25 different stories. Some of them ones that are posted here, others that arent.

So that being said, I apologize if updates take a while. I often rotate through different stories. This WILL NOT be abandoned nor any of my orher stories on here...exceot maybe one that I'm still debating on.