[ she doesn't quite know how to feel about that, but it's a far more complicated story than annabeth can truly understand, so she tries not to let her own struggles with parental abandonment color it. perhaps she simply wouldn't be surprised if her father left; in some ways, he'd been gone already long before she'd even run away. ]

Did Bree always know her dad was... in the past? [ that seems like the best way to phrase it. ]

[ but she does understand the desire to be known as herself, and not the god she became. annabeth doesn't want to be that person, even with all her own imperfections now - she doesn't want to transform into another version of her mother. she offers claire a small smile and a nod over it. ]

When things are confusing, we just have to... try and sort the pieces. I'm not that person either. Maybe if we think about it like a three dimensional puzzle...

[ a puzzle of people and emotions. but if she thinks about it like a problem to solve, it feels easier. ]

[ oh. annabeth hasn't found here what claire says she has - family and friends - but she does understand the wanting feeling too, so much so that she suddenly doesn't question why claire would like being here, despite the life she'd led back home. ]

I'm glad you've been able to settle in this place. After everything you've been through, you deserve a little peace.