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[right][sub][color=C78B95]N E W  Y O R K  C I T Y    ↱    S T A T E N  I S L A N D[/color] [color=#9FE2BF]꧁[/color] [color=C78B95]N E W  Y O R K[/color][/sub][/right][table][row][/row][row][cell][img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/e606eb23ce441b040a7aee6402653046/f625e889008def3a-fd/s250x400/e75d118f39fbd198a2499daf6153317770264088.gif[/img][img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/9d603e0463b04dffefa4edf98c927711/f625e889008def3a-7c/s250x400/77178069ca4e3e8afb01baf655c17cef0eee91e6.gif[/img][img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/3e2695dfc6430ef8c3793e4c9aadb7cc/f625e889008def3a-e8/s250x400/2ce020a5f435e5f372e66815f965f71ba1d57cd3.gif[/img][color=2e2c2c]▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇[/color][/cell][cell]

The first thing Hermes stole from Sloane Mercer wasn’t her normal life- it was her certainty.

For twenty-two years, the world had made sense. Not fair, not good- just [i]sense[/i]. People with money had easier lives. People without it learned how to survive. Trust was a liability, kindness came with strings attached. If you wanted something, you took it. If you wanted to keep something, you held on tight and hoped the world didn’t pry your fingers loose. Life was simple. Predicatable.

Then a Greek god froze time in the middle of Manhattan and ruined everything.

Sloane sat on the edge of a rooftop overlooking the harbor, one boot hanging over open air as she watched the city below. New York stretched endlessly around her, alive with movement and noise. Headlights streamed through the streets like rivers of light. The distant sound of sirens blended with ferry horns and the constant hum of millions of lives intersecting below.

Where most people looked at New York and saw opportunity, the girl saw survival. Every alleyway, subway station, rooftop- she knew them better than most people knew their own neighborhoods. The city had raised her; the city had nearly killed her. And somehow, despite everything, she’d grown to love it.

A silver coin rolled across her knuckles. [i]Back and forth. Back and forth.[/i] The motion was automatic, a habit she had picked up years ago. One of many. The coin disappeared between her fingers before once more reappearing, then vanishing within the blink of an eye. A small smile tugged at her lips at the realization that some things still made sense.

Her gaze drifted toward the dark silhouette of Staten Island in the distance. It was the home of the nearest lead, her [i]first[/i] lead. Her first headache. A month ago, if someone had told her she’d be hunting Titans- or whatever the hell they were calling themselves these days- she would’ve assumed they were either drunk or trying to sell her something. Now? Now she carried a divine staff and could outrun traffic.

The awakening replayed itself in fragments whenever she let her mind wander: rain suspended in midair, the city frozen between heartbeats, the sensation of moving faster than reality could process. And then Hermes. God of thieves, messengers...Looking at her like she’d finally arrived somewhere she’d been heading her entire life.

[color=lightblue][i]”You’ve been borrowing my rhythm for years... Now it’s time to put your new skills to some good use. Find the others.”[/i][/color]

The memory still made her uncomfortable. Not because it scared her, but because it explained too much: the stealing, the running. The inability to stay still. The way she’d spent years drifting from place to place without ever feeling anchored anywhere. The way movement itself felt natural, almost like breathing. For the first time in her life, she had an explanation. And somehow that was more unsettling than not having one.

The coin disappeared into her pocket, a folded piece of paper replacing it. On the paper was a name, one of the wealthiest in New York. It was the kind of name newspapers wrote about. The kind of people Sloane had spent years taking wallets from.

Her snort echoed softly into the night. Of all the successors Hermes could’ve pointed her towards first, it had to be someone like that. Someone who never had to count every dollar in their pocket, never having to sleep on a rooftop because there wasn’t anywhere else to go. A wealthy heir carrying the mantle of Hades. She was sure there was a joke in there somewhere- she just hadn’t found it yet.

She didn’t even know why she was doing this; Hermes hadn’t exactly left her a detailed instruction manual. Before he had disappeared entirely, he had left her with suggestions and one infuriating sentence- [color=lightblue][i]”You won’t be alone.”[/i][/color] At first she had taken that a reassurance. Then, she realized it was probably an assignment, because apparently being chosen by a god wasn’t enough. Now she had responsibilities.

The word alone felt ridiculous. Sloane had spent her entire life looking out for exactly one person: herself. It wasn’t selfishness, it was practicality. Nobody else had been there, nobody else had made sure she ate. Nobody else had made sure she survived. So, she’d done it herself. She’d gotten pretty good at it. And now suddenly, there were others. Other people waking up to impossible abilities and impossible truths. People who might be scared, confused, lost...The thought made her grimace. She understood their feelings all too well. For a moment, sh wondered what would have happened if she’d met someone like herself after the awakening. Would she have listened? Probably not. Trusted them? Definitely not. Stollen their wallet? Almost certainly.

The laugh that escaped her this time was genuine. [color=#9FE2BF]”Yeah,”[/color] she muttered to herself. [color=#9FE2BF]“This is going to go great.”[/color]

The wind pulled at her jacket. Below, the Staten Island Ferry continued its journey across dark water. The Caduceus hummed softly against the concrete beside her, almost amused. Sloane stood. The skyline glittered behind her, the harbor stretched before her. And somewhere on Staten Island was a successor carrying the weight of a dead god’s legacy.

Lucky him.

The city was always moving, always changing, around her. Maybe that was why Hermes had chosen her: not because she was brave, noble, or wanted to help people. She moved. She kept going. No matter how many times life knocked her down, she found another road. Another shortcut. A thief in the middle of a crossroads, now a messenger. The realization made her roll her eyes. [color=#9FE2BF]”Still hate that.”[/color]

Stepping onto the ledge, she balanced there between the sky and city for a heartbeat. Between the life she’d known and whatever came next. Then, a grin tugged at the corners of her lips as she stared out into the night. [color=#9FE2BF]”Hope you’re less annoying than your reputation.”[/color]

She jumped. Gravity reached for her and missed. Blink vanished into the New York night, leaving only the wind behind.


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