Disclaimer: Don't own PJO or the Whiskered Warrior.

Lunar Phases

First Quarter

Reunion.

The word on its own is often associated with the massive social gathering held to celebrate and reflect on the end of one's period of life. Or it could be used to refer to the process of bringing two halves back into one whole. Typically, though, it is used in regard to two (or more) people — usually those of the opposite sex — coming together after a long period of separation. Some consider the reunion to be a conclusion, the end of a story, but those few are mistaken. After all, one of the greatest stories in the eyes of many Olympians is that of the reunion of King Odysseus of Ithaca with his wife, the faithful Penelope.

June 28th, 2008

Thalia didn't know who she was expecting to see behind the wheel when the Jeep blaring Metallica's "Ride the Lightning" pulled over, but it definitely wasn't Whiskers. He clearly shared her thoughts on the matter, judging by the dumbfounded stare he leveled her with. They stared at one another for a good moment, the idling engine and thrash metal being the only breaks in the wilderness' quiet.

As Thalia stared at him, she made note of the aesthetic changes he'd gone through. His left ear now had another piercing beneath the silver cuff and he had lost the silver band he wore around his head. He'd also gained a scar in his right eyebrow and there was yet another silver piercing beside it. He looked good with those new piercings…

Okay, Thalia's rational brain interrupted her hormones' train of thought. We've been staring at him for too long. Time to say something

"Whiskers/Thalia, what are you doing here?" Whiskers asked her at the same time she asked him. Thalia felt her ears burn and glared at him. Didn't he realize that she was the one asking questions? She got up to the passenger door and braced herself on it.

"What am I doing here? I asked you first." He did it again! The sheer gall of this guy! Thalia leaned in through the window, reaching across the seat to poke him in the arm to get her point across.

"Whiskers, stop copying me and answer my questions!" "Thalia, why in the world are you guys out here?!"

"...This is better than How I Met Your Mother." Rachel Elizabeth Dare – Percy's clear-sighted mortal girl friend (with emphasis on the space in the middle for Annie's sake) – commented from her spot on the side of the road.

It was then Thalia seemed to realize the precarious position she'd put herself in. Here she was, leaning in through the passenger's side window, her rear end sticking out, and her torso stretched across the seat so that her face was inches from Whisker's. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin and noticed that it took considerable effort to jab her finger into his arm. Like, Hoover Dam, that was firm.

"You should've seen them flirting when we were walking through Hephaestus' Junkyard."

Apparently, Thalia was going to be burying her two-timing cousin before the day was done. Shame Percy had to get the worst aspects of her sea-ruling uncle. Poor Annabeth would be so lonely without him. Hopefully, she'd bounce back.

"Oh, I've got to hear this."

Never mind. It was apparent Annabeth had also chosen death. Thalia was going to miss the little snarker when she was gone. She would be kind and bury the two's corpses together. Whether they would remain so would be in Hades' hands.

"Um…" Yes! Thank the gods for Whiskers' ability to break these awkward silences! "I take it that you guys need a lift for a quest?"

Was he asking her? What does she do now? Gawk—No, she tried that. That didn't get her anywhere. Think, Thalia, think! …got it! Quick! Respond like the strong, confident, and independent young woman you are!

"Um, y-yeah." Thalia breathed.

Stupid &*%$ hormones!

"Okay." Whiskers blinked. "You can stop leaning in through the window now."

Oh, right. Thalia casually slid her torso back out until her converses hit the asphalt. The lock clicked and she popped the passenger door open.

"I call shot–!"

"That is not happening, Kelp Head." Thalia snorted as she climbed in and claimed her seat. Er, the seat. The shotgun seat. Yes, that. Huh, and her-the seat wasn't too bad. Pretty comfortable. Yeah, riding shotgun ruled. Her smirk returned as the two dead-Demigods-walking – one grumbling about unfairness under his breath – and the potential witness to their homicide climbed into the back.

"Peet-Percy." Whiskers corrected himself on the name so fast Thalia almost missed it. He was meeting the clueless green eyes of the demigod in the back through the mirror. His lips pulled up in a small half smile when he looked at the next walking corpse. "Annabeth. Great to see you both again." He frowned when he looked at the other mortal. "You...I don't know."

"Pleased to meet you." The girl grinned a toothy grin. Thalia had the sudden – and bizarre – urge to knock a few of those teeth out. Geez, did she get some kind of psychopathic rage from her father or was that residual insanity from That Woman. "I'm Percy's friend. Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"...Dare?" Whiskers turned around in his seat to look at her. Her smile fell and Thalia's urge to commit assault on the clear-sighted girl dwindled. "Dare Enterprises, Dare?"

"I don't associate myself with my father's company." Rachel crossed her arms. Thalia gave her points for her rebellious nature. She lost more for the next words she said with another smile. "But since you know about it, I guess you're one of those hot activists that'd be on the news?"

Weird, the murderous urge had returned.

"Oh, terrific. Bunch of teenagers in the backseat. …You're right, this was a great idea." Whiskers muttered to himself as he put the Jeep in gear and took them down the road. Thalia wondered why he was talking to himself, but brushed it off as a survival quirk. His poor mortal mind could probably only handle so much.

"Hot activists?" Percy asked softly, brows furrowed. Thalia wouldn't be surprised if he died with that look on his face since he expressed it so often.

"Dare Enterprises is a large development company." Annabeth, the dutiful source of information that she was, explained. She looked over at Rachel, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Guess that explains why you're taking such an interest in helping us. Trying to pay off the sins of your father?"

"I'm Percy's friend," the mortal girl said with a far-too-pleasant smile. "If I can help him, I will."

"...Why is Annabeth glaring at her?" The whispered question had Thalia snapping her gaze at Whiskers with disbelief on her face.

"A-Are you serious?" Come on, no way. He noticed a rolled ankle when he was fourteen. He couldn't have missed the tension between the three in his backseat. Right?

"Um, yes?" Whiskers glanced at her with his stud-pierced eyebrow that looked far too good raised up in an arch. "Thalia, I haven't seen you guys in months. I don't know what's changed in the dynamics of Demigods."

Ah, that reminded Thalia of something she had to give him that was long overdue.

Suddenly and without warning, her fist lashed out and nailed him square in the shoulder. Slight miscalculation on her part. Now her knuckles hurt. Hoover Dam, that was a thicc shoulder.

"Ow! Geez! What was that for?!"

"That's for disappearing for six months, you jerk!" Thalia snapped. She drove her fist into his arm again.

"Thalia what–?!"

"That's for all the crap I've had to deal with in High School!"

"How is that my fault?" Whiskers asked, scowling at her for a moment before he turned his attention back to the road.

Thalia wasn't sure what the answer to that was. She had agreed to be seventeen, and there was no way Whiskers could have foreseen her issues with the academic jump. However, given that admitting he wasn't in the wrong for going AWOL on her essentially boiled down to a matter of protecting her pride, she couldn't let him know that.

Hence, she adhered to the rule of three and punched him again.

"Gods!" He scowled and glared daggers at her. "Thalia, I am driving!"

"I don't care!" She scowled at him and dang near punched him once more for good measure. "You left! Again!"

"As a concerned passenger, I feel like this is something you two should work out without endangering us, liable witnesses, and off the road."

"Your death is going to be so painful, Percy. I'm not even kidding." Thalia growled, glaring with sparking eyes at her cousin where he sat between the two girls. He scowled at her, but held his hands up and leaned back. Her glare shifted back to the driver. "What happened to being there, huh?!"

"Well, since my home in Pennsylvania was destroyed while I was away and Mom's plan was shot down by your Dad, I had to move." Whiskers snapped back at her. She felt her nostrils flare, it wasn't like she wanted her dick of a deity dad to ban him from camp! He huffed and turned his eyes back to the road. "Since I was essentially homeless, Uncle Fred got me a hotel room in Jersey City–"

"You moved to Jersey?" Percy's nose scrunched up in disgust.

"Annabeth?" Whiskers glanced up in the mirror. "Do me a favor and slap your friend for me."

Ever dutiful, Annabeth gave Percy a smack upside the head.

"Ow! Annabeth!"

"You interrupted him, Seaweed Brain. Use your manners." Annabeth huffed. "Sorry about that. He's still learning."

The look of confused betrayal on Percy's face was nothing short of hilarious. It took a lot of willpower for Thalia not to laugh out loud. Not difficult, considering she was still quite upset at Whiskers.

"Thanks, Annie." Whiskers nodded at her in the mirror. He glanced back at Thalia before looking at the road once more. "Anyway, yeah, Uncle Fred moved me into a hotel in Jersey City. After that, things got...complicated."

"You did something stupid, didn't you?" Thalia snorted. His eyes flicked to her and away, but he didn't answer. She crossed her arms and smirked. She had him now. "You did. You did something stupid and got kicked out!"

"No, I did–...Okay, yes, maybe being arrested for manslaughter does count as doing something stupid. Pretty sure Alf took care of that, though." Whiskers frowned. "At least, I hope he did."

"M-Manslaughter?!" Thalia, Annabeth and Percy repeated incredulously.

"Alf?" Rachel Elizabeth Dare's eyebrow shot up. "Are you talking about that old eighties sitcom?"

"No, I, uh…" Whiskers glanced at Thalia, silently asking who this girl was. Thalia sympathized. Sure, Red was nice and all, but her presence really did kind of throw off their dynamic. Still, she shrugged in response, telling him to go for it with a roll of her hand. Whiskers cleared his throat. "No. He's someone I'm not allowed to talk about."

Another God? Thalia frowned. No, wait, that's not important, there was a more pressing query to investigate.

"You got arrested for Manslaughter?" Yes, that. Thank you, Annabeth.

"They were mafia goons and Ogres." Whiskers scowled. "They shot up my hotel room while I was making lunch. I was defending myself."

"An Ogre like Shrek?" Percy asked. "Those are real?"

"You guys call them something else." Whiskers shrugged. "Personally, I think it's insensitive to Canadians."

"You mean...Laestrygonians?" Annabeth asked, arching a brow.

"Yeah," Whiskers nodded. "I think calling them 'Ogres' is more appropriate. What if you meet a few actual Canadians? Or Canadian Demigods? You don't think they go around calling them Canadians do you?"

"...That's a good point…" Annabeth frowned. "Why do we call them Canadians? How did that start?"

"Wait, hold on, back up." Rachel Elizabeth Dare frowned. "Why did the Mob shoot your hotel room?"

Thalia frowned. That was a very good question. She looked at Whiskers for his reaction.

"I beat up their boss at a grocery store after he threatened the cashier with a gun." He shrugged. Of course he did. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Whiskers…did you ever think it was a good idea to, I don't know, not get involved in fighting the Mafia?!" Thalia asked, glaring at him. Whiskers looked at her, his pierced brow arched once more.

"I didn't know he was with the Mafia until the rest of his goons and their Ogres showed up to kill me." He looked back at the road. "Anyway, after Alf bailed me out, he got me a job in Boston."

"Boston? My cousin lives there," Annabeth said, perking up from her muttered train of thought. Huh, that had to be the first Thalia's ever heard of Mr. Chase's family extending to more than his wife.

"Does he? That would've been great to know." Whiskers huffed. "Doesn't matter. I'm never going back to Boston."

"Why? What's wrong with Boston?" Percy asked. He tilted his head and added. "Aside from their baseball team."

"Can't say."

"Can't or won't?" Thalia asked, scowling. Was he keeping secrets again? She thought they were past that. If he was, he was getting another punch in the arm. Driving be damned.

"Can't." Whiskers grunted. "Mom told me to keep what happened in Boston to myself. She even bribed me."

"Bribed you?" Thalia asked. Whiskers pointed at the piercing on his face.

"This replaced the circlet."

Artemis didn't know it yet, but she'd just become Thalia's favorite Greek god.

"Okay, you keep talking about your mom and Uncle Fred, but…I've never heard of a god named Fred." Rachel frowned. Thalia took pity on her and turned to look her in the eye.

"Whiskers is the son of Artemis."

"...I'm not sure which implication from that sentence surprises me the most." The redheaded girl blinked. "That you just told me the goddess of virgins had a kid, that the god Apollo goes by Fred, or that the aforementioned goddess named her child 'Whiskers.'"

Percy and Annabeth started giggling like the immature teenagers they were. Thalia couldn't stop the grin that formed on her face. She glanced at Whiskers and–Oh, Hoover Dam, he was blushing. That was too cu—No, not cute! Thalia didn't think he was cute! Well, not more than he usually was—Dammit hormones, go take a cold shower!

"Thanks, Thalia. Thanks so much." Whiskers glared at her from the corner of his eyes. He glanced up at the mirror to meet Rachel's eyes. "In order: I'm adopted, it's his favorite alias, my name is Naruto, and Tree Girl here–" Thalia scowled at him as Percy and Annabeth's giggles doubled in volume. Did he have to use that stupid nickname for her? It made her chest ache hearing it. "–is the only one that can call me that and get away with it."

"What? What about me?!" Annabeth tried to pout despite not having recovered from her giggle fit.

"You laughed. You lost the right."

"Thalia laughed!"

"She also came up with it. Much as I hate it, we have to respect the artist's rights."

"This guy gets it." Rachel nodded.

"Thalia? An artist?" Percy asked with a snort. Thalia scowled at him.

"Wanna see me make a Picasso out of your face, Jackson? Because I will."

"Tree Girl, please do not turn my car into a crime scene." Whiskers drawled, before uttering lowly. "Even if he deserves it—"

"I deserve it?" Apparently Percy heard him. "What'd I do?!"

"Your suggestion at Solstice."

"My wh—You're still mad about that?"

"Yes."

"That was months ago!"

"Can't help how I feel." Whiskers shrugged.

"What suggestion?" Rachel asked. Percy huffed and crossed his arms.

"That his mom turns him into a girl so he can join the hunt and then change him back to a boy to get around Zeus' decree!" Percy explained. "It'd work, right?"

"It wouldn't." Annabeth sighed. "Whisker's uncle—"

"Annabeth." Whiskers warned and Thalia smirked triumphantly at her best friend from her seat. The daughter of Athena pouted at her.

"Naruto's uncle," she corrected herself with a frown. "Apollo made Artemis swear an oath on the Styx not to change him into a girl. They never specified for how long, so any change would likely risk her breaking that oath."

"…Wow, no, yeah. You kind of deserve it." Rachel snorted. Percy frowned at her and she shrugged. "That's a terrible loophole, barely one if it's got a consequence. Not to mention the neurochemical cocktail whiplash he'd get from that series of biological transformations would probably break his brain."

"Aw, isn't that sweet, Whiskers? She thinks you have a brain." Thalia smirked at the blond boy. "Clearly, she wasn't listening to your story about the time your hotel room got shot up for attacking a mob boss."

Whiskers let out a mock laugh before he cranked the stereo's volume up and grumbled under his breath. Content with the small victory, Thalia chuckled to herself and enjoyed the drive. She closed her eyes as the vocals of Hetfield, Hammet and Burton filled her ears. This was actually pretty nice, she could see herself doing this all year instead of being in school. Just her, some good music, and the road. Yeah, that sounded great. The only way it could be better was if Whiskers was there with her.

I looked away for one second and came back to find you having daydreams about your hunk? I really am good at what I do! A familiar titter echoed in her head. Thalia's happy thoughts immediately turned sour for the goddess of love. Oh, don't fret, my dear. Your hunky boy toy is all yours…for the next twenty minutes. Enjoy them while you can.

The implications in her words left a swirl of dark feelings in Thalia's gut.

Only Thalia can call you Whiskers, huh? The Fox snorted. What would you say to your mother if she ever asked you about that?

"That Uncle Fred told me all about how overlooked artist's rights are." Naruto grumbled lowly. He rubbed his face, confused by the heat that he felt. Didn't he just get the heater fixed in this thing? "Why would Mom even care?"

Even The Bitch wasn't this obstinate. The Fox rumbled lowly, and Naruto furrowed his brows further, but stopped himself from interrupting when it spoke louder. Because, boy, that little creative 'artist' of yours is female.

"So?"

Old Sage, preserve me. The Fox growled. She is radiating pheromones, you nose blind idiot. How are you going to get your degree if I have to explain this to you?

Naruto frowned. Nose blind? What? Thalia didn't exactly smell any different. Sure, the human nose wasn't as good as others in the Animal Kingdom, but Naruto was raised by the Goddess of the Hunt and trained further by the King of Alfheim. His nose was, in the words of his uncle, "up to snuff" compared to others.

Naruto took an experimental whiff of the air, catching the scents of those riding in his interior. The son of Poseidon still smelled like the salty sea breeze, Annabeth like a freshly cracked book, and Red…actually, she didn't have much of a distinct scent. Definitely mortal, then. Still, he thought about what he remembered of Thalia's scent and shook his head. The Fox was clearly mistaken, because she still smelt like the lingering dew after a thunderstorm.

As he was thinking about this, he pulled into a public lot in Colorado Springs and parked. Once the others got out, he grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Noticing their stares, he arched an eyebrow and shrugged.

"I've got a class in an hour. That's why I was driving to the city in the first place."

"You're in summer school?" Thalia seemed surprised by it. He looked at her, a mite annoyed with the implication of what her question meant about his intellect.

"College." He adjusted his bag as they started walking towards a cafe. His stomach rumbled, and he thought about the instant ramen cup he'd left out earlier. Bruno had his table trick down, and now he had to find a way to keep the Beta wolf from eating his food while his back was turned. "I'm working on getting a Bachelor's in wildlife biology."

"While also being in High School?" Percy asked. Poor guy looked dizzy at the thought of juggling both types of classes. Naruto sympathized. It seemed like a lot to him too, before he stumbled across the GED application and swiftly nipped that concern in the bud.

"Nah, I got my GED months ago."

"Oh, did you?" Thalia turned to smirk at Annabeth. The blonde girl was scowling at him like he'd committed an atrocity. The daughter of Zeus crossed her arms with an air of smugness. "Hear that, Annie? Whiskers got into college just fine with his GED."

"I said it would be harder, Thalia, not impossible."

"Maybe for Ivy Leagues, but not if you go for a partnership with a community college." Naruto shrugged at the daughter of Athena's look of betrayal. "What? Pikes Peak's community college is way more convenient than any 'official' school, and I don't have to dedicate a lot of time to it."

"Bu—Naruto," Annabeth frowned. "How is anyone going to take your credentials seriously?"

"That is small-time thinking, Chase." Red shot at her as Naruto led them into the cafe. "Trust me, most employers don't really care what school you went to as long as you sell yourself right."

"Red knows the score." Naruto nodded. He slung his pack on the back of a chair and claimed a seat at the table, before ordering some soda and food for them all. He looked at the three demigods and the lone mortal with them. "You know, we never got around to why you guys are in Colorado in the first place."

"We were in the Labyrinth." Red told him before any of the others could speak. "Looking for its creator."

"David Bowie?" Naruto asked with a frown. He wasn't huge on the man's music. Mostly because when he was younger, Uncle Fred loved to put "Moonage Daydream" on to mess with him whenever they drove somewhere.

"Daedalus," Annabeth said with a scowl on her face. "But he's gone. Hiding."

"From K-the Crooked One's army," Percy added. At his words, a look of remorse flashed across Thalia's face and he looked at her.

"Everything okay?"

Thalia hesitated before giving her response. Two words that changed little in the grand scheme, but so much for their group.

"Luke's alive."

"…I'm gonna need details on that." Naruto deadpanned.

Annabeth and Percy started to recount their adventure, Percy adding in dreams he was having, but through it all Naruto focused his attention on Thalia, even if only out of his peripherals. The way she messed with the offered utensils or fidgeted in her seat. Her eyes were locked on the table. Whatever had happened between her and Luke in the Labyrinth had really bothered her.

This Luke kid sounds like he needs to be eaten. The Fox muttered.

"Don't tempt me." Naruto mumbled.

"You'd be willing to go with us?" Annabeth asked, eyes lightening. Thalia's own eyes seemed to brighten up. Uh-oh, Naruto did it again. He lost track of the conversation.

"No." Annabeth and Thalia looked more than a little disappointed. He shrugged. "Chances of winding up in Camp are too high if I go with you guys. No offense, but I'll pass on getting the permanent eviction from life."

"Oh…"

"I can tell you there's a weird glow around the Mining and Industry museum. Never got a bad feeling from it, so I let it be." He shrugged. "That, and I'm not interested in minerals."

Thalia snorted. "Says the guy who ate lead and lived."

"Funny. Does that mean you want to be a forester, Tree Girl?" Naruto asked. He chuckled at the way her scowl made her freckled nose scrunch up. His eyes flicked to the clock behind her and he cursed. His class was soon. "I gotta go or I'll be late. Museum closes in twenty minutes. Better get moving before you pull a B-and-E."

"We literally do that all the time though. Shouldn't the Mist cover us?" Percy asked with a frown. Naruto pointed at Red.

"She's literally a Mist repellent."

"…that explains the cheerleaders…"

There was not enough context in the world to make that sentence make sense to him.

As the questers started to leave, Naruto reached out and put a hand on Thalia's arm, holding her up. He gave her a small smile when she arched her brow.

"Hang on one second." Naruto dropped his pack to the ground. He pulled a notebook out and ripped some paper before scrawling his number on it. He gave it to her and at her confused look he shrugged. "I promised I'd always be there for you, and I blew that. Sorry. But now, we can talk whenever you want. Preferably, without the punching."

"…Thanks, Whiskers." The way Thalia smiled then seemed to make time slow. He noticed her freckles really added a charm to her features.

Hm, that's odd. All of a sudden his chest hurt and his heart rate had spiked, but precipitation hadn't increased so it wasn't an adrenaline rush. Weird.

I can't believe it. You're worse than The Bitch.

What was that supposed to mean?

His silent inquiry went unanswered. By the time Naruto snapped himself from his confusion, Thalia had already pocketed his number and jogged off after the others.

Huh, she really made those black jeans work…

"Gods," his eyes closed as he realized what he was doing. He pinched his nose and hung his head. "Damn it. Uncle Fred, Alf, whoever is the cause of my hormones. Stop."

Rachel Elizabeth Dare liked to think herself quite observant. She was quick on the uptake due to her father's demanding upbringing. Few could say she was easily fooled, as evidenced by her dismissal of Chase's 'subtle' belittling.

Hence why, while Percy and Chase were arguing about that 'Luke' creep behind them, she asked the question that's been in her mind since Thalia first leaned into Naruto's Jeep.

"So how long did you two date before you broke up?" She asked, looking at Thalia.

"Wh-what?" The seventeen year old looked at her, wide eyed.

"You and the studded stud back there?" Rachel threw her thumb over her shoulder before crossing her arms. "You guys were together right? I mean, the way you two were making googly-eyes at each other was nauseatingly sweet for a couple that broke up. I think I got a cavity just from watching."

"W-we weren't-! Whiskers and I never-!" Oof, Thalia lost a lot of her thus far stacked "cool" points with that denial. She had it bad for that guy, and it was painfully obvious he wasn't any better. A bit more socially awkward than she was, but that made it kind of sweeter.

"You never dated?" Rachel asked, a bit incredulous. It wasn't that she didn't believe Thalia, but rather that she couldn't believe her. The girl missed out on trying anything with that guy? Why? Because she was a demigod and he wasn't? That's stupid.

There was a reason Rachel wasn't just going to roll over for Chase. Percy was a decent guy who was cute to boot, anyone would be lucky to snag a guy like that. Until he said otherwise, it was open season. And no offense to the daughter of Athena, but Rachel had gone hunting before.

"No! We're just friends. Is that so wrong? What do you care?" Geez, she'd never known freckles could glow. Did her freckles do that? She hoped not. Talk about embarrassing.

"It isn't and I don't." Rachel shrugged. She just felt that life was worth living with no regrets. Who knows what could happen the next day? It's why she put her all into every project she was part of. "Just thought you two had some chemistry. He looked like he had it bad."

Okay, maybe she was stirring the pot here, but Rachel felt like they had to at least try.

"Wh-what?" Did, hold on, did Thalia "I can shoot lightning from my fingertips" Grace just squeak?

Rachel was wrong. Thalia didn't have it bad; she was doomed. And if Thalia was like this, she could only imagine what Naruto was like. She kind of wished she was a telepath just so she could get their thoughts on the matter. It was bound to be very entertaining.

"C'mon, you're telling me you didn't notice how he'd always smile a little whenever he looked at you?" Rachel tilted her head in thought. "Okay, maybe not smile, but he perked up a bit."

"No, he just— We're just friends." Thalia protested. Rachel arched a brow, was it her imagination or did she detect a hint of disappointment? Better give her another subtle nudge.

"I guess if that's how you feel, that's all you'll be then." She shrugged. "I'm sure he'll get over it and meet someone in college. It always happens."

"Aren't you a freshman?" Thalia scowled at her.

"Yeah, but I still have ears and friends outside of Percy." Rachel smiled back. A glint of light caught her eye at the next intersection. She looked back at the boy in question and Chase, who'd taken to walking in silence with their thoughts for the past few minutes. "C'mon, you two, we've got some road to cover!"

AN: Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the best oracle even before she was one.

Fight me, you won't.