Astrid sank into the couch.

"I haven't just sat in a couch for ages." She sighed.

"Wimp." Nico teased.

"No, I haven't sat in one since before I left with my other peoples and even then the last couch I sat on had a old sock on it. First time in a while I've sat in a clean couch." Astrid sank a little lower.

"That thing is most definitely not clean." Hunter's mom said. Astrid didn't move.

"So the gods are real." Hunter's step dad said. He was coming to terms with it.

"How you doing with all this?" Hunter asked his little sister. She looked about eleven.

"You always were special." She said. "Are you dating that girl?"

"Yes." Hunter answered with a quick look at her.

"Good, cause if you weren't I would kick you then try and get you together." His sister said. Astrid laughed.

"Can I know everyone's names?" She asked.

"Well my name is Wilma. My husband is Robert. And my daughter is Maylie." Wilma said. "Do any of you kids want something to drink? Food? Shower? Clean clothes?"

"I call dibs on the shower." Astrid said and pulled her bag out of the drift. Inside would be a fresh change of underclothes, a tank top, and a high waisted shorts.

"Do you want me to wash your clothes for you?" Wilma asked.

"If you don't mind." Astrid said.

"I don't mind. Boys go get changed." Wilma said. Astrid got up and followed the boys down the hall. She stepped into the bathroom and locked the door. She threw the dirty clothes neatly outside the door and turned on the shower and fan. When she finished she slipped on the clean clothes. Her shirt was one of the cut ones from when she still had stitches after she first got her scars. Her camp necklace showed up well against the bright orange fabric. One thing she never understood is that demigods can't phone people because of monsters. So they made the official shirts as bright orange as possible.

Demigod logic.

Within minutes of getting out of the bathroom somebody else took it. Astrid pulled her hair into a messy bun.

"Wow, you actually look like a teenage girl and not a soldier demigod." Will said.

"Yup, until you see the scars and wings, eh?" Astrid laughed. She took a glass of lemonade and a slice of watermelon. Both tasted amazing.

Both made her feel like a normal girl.

And that hurt a little. Hunter noticed something was bugging her. He tilted his head towards the door that lead out to the porch.

"What's up?" He asked once the door was closed again.

"Life." Astrid said and took a sip of the drink.

"Me too." Hunter said. "What about life?"

"All I wanted to do as I got older was go to university for years and get a masters in archaeology. Maybe have a family. But after I found out who I was that all went out the window into the darkest part of the Sea of Despair and Broken Dreams." Astrid explained.

"I wanted to get a masters in Geology." Hunter said.

"The gods always complain about how bad being immortal is. And it's pretty bad. But they don't think about what kind of life their kids get. Always do their dirty work, going on fatal quests." Astrid just stopped.

"Some people say they want powers, and popularity. But they don't realize what it does to you once you get it." Hunter said.

"We gotta leave tomorrow, the Norse and Romans still have crazies." Astrid said. Hunter looked back at his swirling grey sword. It contained two souls.

"For tonight, let's focus on the now, and nothing else. Pretend we're normal and are going to graduate high school and get a masters." Hunter said. He wrapped an arm around her. She leaned against his side. Together they watched Fez run around with the horses.

"Hey, Nico's never seen the Lion King. Wanna come watch?" Will asked poking his head out.

"Sure." Astrid said.

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