Lucas woke the next morning to the sound of shuffling outside his tent. After stretching, he got up carefully, trying not to disturb Harold, before opening the flap and stepping outside.
Thalia was nowhere to be seen, while Luke was already preparing breakfast. Seeing Lucas emerge, he greeted him with a nod and returned to tending the food.
Lucas took a deep breath of the cool morning air and made his way beside Luke.
"How is it?" Lucas asked.
Luke understood what he was referring to without needing context. A growing smile and a nod of the head gave Lucas all the answer he needed.
"It seems you were right about her change last night," Luke said, breaking into a grin. "We're officially dating."
Lucas smiled and hugged Luke by the shoulder. "Congratulations."
As he congratulated Luke, a thought popped into his head.
"Now that I think of it... Annabeth's going to be depressed when she hears she missed this."
"I get that she'll be a little sad, but I don't think it'll be that big a deal," Luke replied.
Lucas raised a brow. "She's been cheering you two on since she first saw you give Thalia puppy-dog eyes. She's going to be hit hard by this."
"I have never given Thalia puppy-dog eyes!"
"No, I agree with Lucas," another voice chimed in. "Those puppy-dog eyes you always give me really worked in your favor."
Thalia had emerged from her tent and glided toward them, joining Lucas in teasing Luke.
Luke huffed, turning back to the food, while Lucas and Thalia laughed at his expense.
"Actually, now that I think about it..." Lucas turned to Luke. "Hand me one of your golden drachmas."
"Why? Use your own."
"You Hermes kids always have spares. I wouldn't be surprised if the ones in your pocket came from either Thalia or me."
"Just because my dad is the god of thieves doesn't mean I'm a thief," Luke said, handing over a drachma.
"So, you're denying being a thief?" Thalia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I'm just saying it's a coincidence that I am one," Luke smirked. "So what's the coin for?"
"Watch," Lucas replied simply.
He manipulated the Mist, using a bit of photokinesis to construct a small rainbow.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Annabeth Chase, Camp Half-Blood, Long Island."
With that, he tossed the golden drachma into the rainbow. Thalia and Luke leaned closer, unsure of what to expect.
The rainbow distorted and then resolved into an image of Annabeth.
"Annabeth?" Thalia gasped.
Luke and Thalia leaned in further, while Annabeth blinked, then spoke up. "What is this? How are you guys calling me?"
"An Iris message," Lucas explained. "For a small fee, you can message anyone, anywhere."
"But enough of that. It happened," he added.
Annabeth blinked again, confused for a moment. Then Lucas subtly tilted his head toward Luke and Thalia and winked.
Her eyes widened. "Thalia, you and Luke finally got together?"
Thalia flushed slightly, but nodded.
"Yeeeeees. Finally! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?" Annabeth grinned.
Sensing this might go on a while, Lucas whispered to Thalia how to end the call and backed off, Luke following.
They began packing up the camp, leaving some food aside for Thalia while they ate their own.
Eventually, a tired-looking Thalia returned and sat beside Luke, glaring playfully at Lucas.
"Congratulations. I've barely been awake for an hour and I'm already emotionally exhausted."
Though she grumbled, they could tell she didn't mean it. Ever since they'd found her, Annabeth had become their little sister, especially to Thalia. Spending a few quiet moments together, even through an Iris message, made this a good morning.
...
A few days later...
The SUV continued on toward Kansas. Lucas drove, one arm hanging out the window, sunglasses perched on his nose, conjured briefly with magic to block the sun.
In the back seat, Luke was laughing while Thalia glared at both of them, arms crossed.
The reason?
Harold.
The drakon-turned-guinea-pig sat strapped into the front passenger seat with a makeshift harness made from Lucas' enchanted wire. Thalia had claimed shotgun that morning only for Lucas to declare it "Harold's turn," and unceremoniously shove her into the back with Luke.
Eventually, they stopped at a roadside diner to rest and eat before swapping drivers.
Luke and Thalia headed inside while Lucas parked the SUV. He picked up Harold and tucked him into the breast pocket of his suit jacket, the little creature peeking out like a furry lapel pin.
He joined the others at a booth, just as they were arguing over the menus.
Lucas ignored them, entertaining himself by playing with Harold, who squeaked in protest.
Soon, a waitress approached their table.
She looked to be in her sixties, blonde curls dulled with age, a black apron over her pink uniform, fuzzy slippers peeking out beneath the hem.
...
"Well," she said, eyeing them, "aren't you three a little young to be traveling this far alone?"
She studied their faces. Years on the job told her when something wasn't quite right. She leaned in slightly, voice lowered.
"If you kids are in trouble, there's a phone in the back. I can call the sheriff. No questions."
They exchanged glances.
The girl smiled. "Thanks, but we're fine. Just stopping for food."
The waitress turned to her first. Early Teens. Black leather jacket, punk-band shirt, chains, spiked hair. The look screamed teenage rebellion.
Next was the blonde boy. Looking to be in his late teens. Sandy-blonde that was cropped short tanned, built like a poster boy for California tourism. Confident, charming. The kind of boy most girls giggled over in high school.
Lastly, she turned to the other boy. Similar in age to the blonde with what seemed to be a more agile build. Pale, black suit, sharp onyx eyes. A hamster sat calmly in his front pocket. He met her gaze with a gentle smile, and for a moment, the air around him felt...
The woman took a step back, blinking back from her daze. "Well... alright then. Just be careful, yeah? Wolves've been seen prowling these roads lately. Be a shame if anything happened to you kids."
She gave them one last long look.
Then pulled out her notepad. "Now, what'll it be?"