ᎻᎬᏚᎢᏆᎪ

CHAPTER ONE

hestia gives a small sigh as she grips the steering wheel. she had been living in the mortal realm for a few months now, and while the initial adjustment had been troublesome, she had gotten the hang of things relatively quickly. if it had been one of the other gods, who only came down to earth to fool around with mortals and whatnot, then they would have trouble more so than she.

but hestia, being the one who tended to mortals without their knowledge, knew more of the world below their own. hermes and artemis were probably two of the only other gods that were more in touch with the mortal realm, seeing as they spent so much time in it. hades could be considered in touch, as well, but he still rarely left the underworld unless he had to. thanatos  was a darling, though, and she knew he would keep her little brother updated on the happenings of the mortals and their short little lives.

she had been going around all over the world during her time in this realm, helping mortals where she could and tending to the affairs her fellow gods either refused to, or just didn't know about. it annoyed her greatly, how the majority of them just left the humans to live dreadfully in some countries and across continents, but she had tried to convince them before.

all that ever got her were eyerolls and sympathetic looks from her family.

if they could even call themselves that after the millennia of disregarding her.

hestia had held their family together since kronos was first defeated. she kept them from going off the edge, being devoured by their power, and she made sure that they made up when grudges had went on too long. but they took advantage of her kindness, and disregarded her efforts to keep them all together.

the arrogant assholes ignored her and blatantly told her she wasn't needed by their incessant fighting. so, she had decided to leave.

word from her nephew was that the family had dissolved into an absolute mess without her there, tending the fire and keeping things calm between them all. her younger sister, hera, had even cried, is what he'd told her.

but hestia didn't care about the chaos that was left in her wake. they deserved it, to suffer for taking advantage of her being there. she had given them all of her heart, her worries, her soul, and what did she get in return?

nothing. absolutely nothing.

hearing the familiar tone of the device she'd picked up from hermes when she'd came to the mortal realm, she picks it up and puts it on speakerphone.

"hello?"

"sister?"

the voice of her oldest younger brother has her smiling softly as she stops at a red light, tapping her fingers on the wheel while saying, "hello, hades. what's with the sudden call?"

there was a hesitant pause, followed by a faint familiar voice in the background that had her smiling wider.

"man up and tell her, hades!"

"alright, alright! sister, you know i hate to ask you of things-"

"it's alright, little brother. i will help you no matter what."

the light turns green and she starts driving once more, waiting for the younger god to continue. he let out a sigh, finally giving into the pressure of his wife and his sister's fond words.

"there have been many deaths in a town near where you are. thanatos and hermes have both told me that the supernatural are running rampant there, and i've had way too many souls coming into the underworld from that town in the last couple of years. would you mind checking it out and finding out the source? i need to find the proper way to deal with the problem."

hestia's brow furrows in confused thought, lips pouting slightly as she thinks over his words.

she had been avoiding dealing with the supernatural during her time in the mortal realm, not wanting to deal with matters that didn't concern her. but, it seemed like she'd have to deal with them now.

it's not like she minded, though, since she'd be helping out her little brother.

"of course, hades, anything to help out my precious little brother." her fond, teasing tone causes laughter to filter in through the receiver that she knew was from persephone. smiling, hestia waits for the couple on the other end to stop their fond bickering.

"what town is causing you trouble, little shadow?"

she could almost see the fond, shy smile on his face at the familiar nickname, one she had called the man since they were young gods. instead of allowing his wife to tease him for his fondness for his sister, hades answers her question quickly, causing hestia to be somewhat surprised at how she really was quite close to the town.

"mystic falls, virginia."

———

hestia had been north carolina when she'd been called by her little brother, and it hadn't been long after the call that her little nephew had sent her a map to the little town.

she'd heard of mystic falls in passing when she was visiting the underworld, once, having heard about the vampire hunts and witch burnings in the past few centuries. it was hard to hear, her kind heart going out to the young women who had died just for being born, but she hadn't allowed herself to pay too much attention to it.

as a goddess, she hadn't been able to interfere. the people of the mortal realm had long forgotten their proper existence, so she was of no use.

it took a long while before hestia eventually reached her destination, smiling slightly at the welcome to mystic falls sign at the entrance to the little town. it seemed so ordinary as she drove in, quaint and quiet compared to what she'd expected.

it was so unassuming, she wouldn't believe that the supernatural were causing trouble here if it weren't for her little brother.

"where can i stay..." she mumbles to herself, pulling up by a food joint that looked promising. gods like herself didn't need mortal food, seeing as they could just eat ambrosia if they felt like it, but hestia rather enjoyed their delicacies. the humans had developed so many wonderful things over the years through the art of cooking, and being in the mortal realm gave her the opportunity to try it all out.