[ annabeth is getting there. something permanent doesn't feel as out of reach as it used to. the idea of it is such a huge part of what helped her through tartarus; she can't give up on it now. ]

[ she knew, obviously, that admitting to claire some of the things on her mind would elicit some sort of response. perhaps she'd wanted one like this all along but didn't really know how to ask for it. ]

[ she isn't looking at claire as the woman speaks, but as she goes on, annabeth can feel a smile threatening to slip onto her face until it finally catches the corner of her mouth. she doesn't want to be her mother, for all the pieces she might still admire, and she certainly doesn't want to be her father, but most of all she doesn't want to be made of war. and she's been through so much of it already. she looks up at claire to meet her gaze and feels lighter, smiling back. ]

Yeah. You're right. I can and I will choose for myself.

[ she always tries to anyway. sometimes, maybe, she does just get a little too bogged down by war. ]

It's just hard not to worry sometimes, I guess, when there's been so much war. I really can't wait to leave it all behind one day.