The Messenger - Daerin

Chapter 1 - Hermes

How lucky was she to be the messenger?

Haerin strolled through the blaring streets of the mortal world, feline eyes staring at her chaotic surroundings. It was loud. And there were too many people. She tried to push the sound of honking cars and yelling voices out of her ears as the sea of figures jostled against her. Who knew mortals could be so noisy? She kept her gaze on the ground, wishing to leave.

Haerin never wanted to be the messenger.

She wasn't used to it yet. The winged sandals.

After her father Hermes disappeared, leaving solely winged sandals and a note with the message "I must leave. I won't return. Choose a new messenger to take my place," she became the new messenger to the gods, inheriting her father's job. It was the best option they could choose. At first, Haerin opposed greatly. She was only 18, an atom-like number next to those like Zeus and Hades. But, she was forced to reluctantly agree.

As messenger to the gods, Haerin was responsible for delivering messages to and fro between the mortal and divine worlds, and she was able to do this thanks to her winged sandals (Although as a demigod who was mortal like a mortal, Haerin continued to refer to the mortals as mortals due to common usage from deities). She also spent much of her time in the underworld, helping carry the dead to Hades.

It was unexpected and unusual for a Greek god like Hermes to leave. It took Mount Olympus and the deities by a storm. It, in fact, was an actual storm, several Category 5 hurricanes reaching the mortal world. Haerin, however, didn't feel anything. She felt alone at home anyway. Her father had never let Haerin intercept his work nor spoke more than a couple of words to the feline girl throughout her life.

Haerin wished she could at least have had someone for the company during the times when her father was gone. She spent most of her days hidden in the maze of colossal columns, drawing silly pictures with a stubbed pencil and humming random tunes she memorized from an old iPod her dad had brought home one day.

Somehow, she wished she could take back her wish for company as she walked with hesitance through the crowd. Every so often she would have to quickly dodge backwards to avoid crashing into a mortal. She wondered how the mortals lived in this world, feeling overwhelmed with everything that occurred simultaneously.

Haerin, at last, looked up at the name of a place. She entered the building, contrastingly different from the outside. A table, lined with glasses of colorful liquids and bottles of intriguingly vibrant gradients, lay next to high chairs with people laughing and chattering. Her father told her it was what mortals liked to call "a bar." Haerin didn't see the appeal, but she dealt with it anyway because her next message belonged to a man named Dismas.

Haerin immediately found the man, sipping his drink. She quietly walked through the room, her feline eyes scanning the surrounding people. Her hand reached into her pocket, pulling out a little piece of paper.

Smoothly, her body just brushed the man, distracting him as he turned towards her. She easily slid the paper into his jacket pocket behind his back. She pretended to grab a seat, and the man was already looking away.

At least she didn't have to talk much at her job.

She waited at the countertop of the bar for a few minutes, not wanting to draw attention, before getting up and walking away. She sighed. One more, she thought, pushing the door. Her fingers pulled a paper out of her pocket, pressing the message a bit more tightly between her fingertips. Poseidon said it was much more important that it was delivered. What for? Haerin didn't know, but that wasn't her job. Her job was just to deliver them.

She took a left into an alleyway, the noisy sounds fading away. She kicked at a piece of trash. God, mortals are so messy, she thought. She let her eyelids fall over her eyes, and concentrated, waiting a moment before she felt a slight flutter near her feet, the sneaker disguise transforming into sandals and golden wings sprouting from the back, fluttering with excitement. She took a breath in and jumped up.