Don't wait for the world to change. Change it yourself.

The Beginning

So, yeah. This is my first fanfiction so try not to be too harsh, just 'cause I don't like flames. Well, yeah. So Thalia ran away before Jason was taken. She didn't wait for something to change or something bad to happen, she just did it. Which is the reason for the title. Oh, and about the song, I don't know why but whenever I hear that song I think of Thalia so I put it with her introduction chapter. I kinda think it represents her character. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Nine-year-old Thalia ran like her life depended on it-which it did. She carried the bundle close to her chest. Trying to make sure it didn't swing back and forth too much as she ran. It was proven to be a hard task-a VERY hard task.

She ran and she ran and she ran. Away from her home- no, not 'home'. that word was too welcoming. House. That word was far better for it. A cold empty word. One with no feeling. Because her house wasn't her 'home'. It never had been. 'Home is where the heart is' they say. her heart didn't lie in her house. with her alcoholic mother and her dead-beet dad

Of course, she knew it wasn't his fault he was a dead-beet, but she didn't care, she hated him anyway. She had met him a few times. When she was seven, and when her little brother was born. He had been the one to name the little boy. Jason. Her little brother. Her sweet, innocent little brother.

She held him to her chest as she ran. She couldn't leave without him, and she had to leave, so she took him with her. Her two-year-old little brother had enough sense to stay quiet. They were being chased by two big black dogs-Hellhounds-and one snake lady-dracanae.

She ran some more. Quickly, she looked back to see that they weren't there.

'Finally,' Thalia thought 'I lost them.'

Nevertheless, she ran deeper into the woods, just in case. Five minutes later, she sat at the bass of a tall thick Oak in a small clearing. She put Jason on her lap and puled the blanket away from his face. He looked fine. Hell, he was asleep! And not the just-fell-asleep-in-the-past-three-seconds sleep. More like been-sleeping-for-the-past-ten-minutes sleep.

Thalia shock her head and laughed, a real laugh. It felt good to laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed, a real laugh. Not some fake laugh she used to cover her unhappiness.

"'Alia?" a baby voice said. She looked down to see Jason's wide electric blue eyes blinking up her. She must have been laughing louder than she thought and woken him up. Oops.

"Yeah, Jason?" she said.

"Caw we 'o 'ome?" he asked innocently.

She stiffened. No, they couldn't go 'home'. They didn't have a 'home'. Well, at least not yet. But she knew what he meant. He meant the house, but they couldn't go back there either. Ever.

"I'm sorry, little brother," she said "But we can't go back there."

He looked a little disappointed.

"Why not?" he asked in his cute, baby voice. Despite the situation, Thalia had the strange urge to 'Awww'. She didn't, but she felt like it.

"Because we're not safe there." From mortals or monsters. she added silently. She knew he diffidently wouldn't like to hear that.

They had been on the run for only a week and it hadn't been exactly a walk in the park. It was a good thing Thalia knew how to hunt. She was working on a bow and at the moment it was half finished.

"Oh," said Jason. "Okay."

They sat in silence for a while, caught up in their own thoughts. Well, Thalia was caught up in her own thoughts, she wasn't sure about Jason. I mean, was only two.

She thought about her dad. She knew who he was-who she was. The great and powerful Zeus (note the sarcasm). Her father (note the disgust). She knew she was a demigod, a child on the big three. She knew about the monsters. She knew about the gods. She also knew about Jason, about what he was. A Roman. A son of Jupiter.

She found out the day after she ran away. She was in the woods gathering branches to make a bow when she heard a scream and what sounded like electricity. She had thought 'Jason!'

She had picked up the branches and ran back to where she left Jason. When she got there she had seen a beautiful woman with a lotus staff and a goat skin cloak. Her hair had been standing up a bit and she was leaning over Jason.

Thalia's first thought had been 'Hera.' Her second thought had been 'Juno?'

Thalia hadn't really understood the Roman-Greek thing, but after a few minutes, she got it completely. Juno kept saying 'He's Roman, Thalia. He must be raised Roman.' But you know what? Thalia didn't care. She didn't care if her brother was Roman, he was still her brother, and she still loved him.

She had told Hera so. After a few minutes of threats on both sides, Hera left, frightened. Thalia was proud that she had scared the queen of the gods. Of course, the only reason she scared her was from talk of the prophecy but still, it had to count for something,right?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Jason shivering.

"Are you cold?" Thalia asked him.

He nodded.

"Alright." She stood up and started to gather small branches and a few twigs. She put them in a pile close to where they were sitting and shot lightning at it from her finger tips. It immediately set fire. This was easy for her. She had been doing it every night since the ran away.

She worked on her bow before she fell asleep. By the time she had settled down, Jason was already fast asleep.

***

For the next two years, the ran as far away from New York as possible. Sometimes they would find or build safe houses to hide from the monsters and stay for a few days. They would steel weapons from monsters who, in turn, stole them from their demigod victims. Thalia had a spear, the bow she made and a bracelet she found that turns into a shield with Medusa's face on it. (AN; I know that she got it from Hal but I really don't fell like adding that so in this she just got it off some monster, okay? Good.) Jason had a dagger the size of Thalia's forearm that they had picked up from a draccane . Thalia decided that when he's older, she'd give him the gold gladius they'd found in California.

They had a few extra weapons too. They had two Greek shields. Thalia wasn't sure what to do with one but she knew she would give one to Jason-when it was possible for him to lift it. They had a battle hammer that probably belonged to a Hephaestus/Vulcan demigod. They also had a Greek sword with the word Anaklusmos written on one side-Riptide. 

They were in Nevada when the monsters started to drive them back to New York. Thalia was reluctant but they had no choice. They went back to the first safe house the ever stayed in. Only a few days after they ran away. Somewhere in Brooklyn.

So I hope you liked it. I've decided that this is going to be a Fem!Percy story. I've already decided who she will be pared with and it's not Male!Annabeth. I've only seen this ship once but I absolutely love it so there is not swaying me. Percy's going to come next chapter, then I think I'm going to add Hazel. Then Bianca and Nico. So yeah, that's probably how it's going to go. Good!Luke. Maybe. I haven't really decided yet.

-Amy