| The Rising Moon: The Awakening of a Demi-Goddess |

█▓▒­░⡷⠂ᴀ ᴅᴀʏ ɪɴ ɴᴇᴡ ʏᴏʀᴋ⠐⢾░▒▓█

nyctophila

(n.) love of darkness or night; finding relaxation or comfort in the darkness

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There were many perks of being a thief.

For starters, you could get money without working. You could become pretty agile and healthy from it. And best of all, you could piss off people like your ex-adopted parents. Now at the age of 14, Celeste had learned the alleyways of New York like the back of her hand. She already made $217 today counting, and it was only 1 PM. She'd buy some cheap lunch, probably purchase a new cloak, and bounce to somewhere secluded.

So there she was, in your local pizzeria, eating a solid pineapple on pizza with fries on the side. She was about 3/4ths of the way done with her meal when two slender girls with long nails and matching clothes strutted up to her. She didn't bother looking at them. After a few moments, one of them tapped her table. She turned to them.

"Hii! Could we sit here for a moment?" One of them asked Celeste so innocently. Celeste blinked at them. Her eyes quickly surveyed the area. There were so many other open seats. Why would they sit next to her?

"Actually, I was just leaving," She eyed them carefully before slipping her hand in her pocket. One of the girls glared at her before giving a fake sweet smile.

"Oh, why don't you stay? I know a fun game we can play," The other girl hissed. Celeste bit her lip. Something wasn't right. One of the girl slid right next to her, making her abruptly stand up.

"What contacts did you use to make your eyes different colors?" One of them asked, pointing at her multi colored eyes.

Celeste had heterochromia, which was the reason why one of her eyes were blue and the other was black, and it also gave her a white strand of hair as well. She stepped away from the girls, her instincts warning her that something wasn't right.

"I'm not wearing contacts. I think it's best if I leave..." she stepped away from the girls. One of them... flicked their tongue?

"Oh, you're not going anywhere..." she hissed. Suddenly, fire erupted from their hair, making Celeste gasp. Screams echoed through the restaurant as people smelled smoke. Celeste's jaw dropped. Fire? Fire hair? What the- suddenly, with glowing white skin, one of the girls lunged for her. Celeste ducked, pulling out multiple throwing knifes from her pockets. She fanned them out and quickly aimed, one of them hitting the fire monster square in the eye.

"ARRHH!" She roared, the blood leaking out. Celeste was too preoccupied to notice the second monster girl right behind her, claws unsheathed and fangs showing.

"Our mistress will be so so happy to see your head on a silver platter," The demon like creature chortled. A blast of fire was sprayed towards Celeste, making her frantically duck. She pulled out some poison darts and quickly shot them at the demon creatures leg, making its eyes widen and immodestly pass out.

"AURGG!" Pain seared through Celeste as she felt claws go through her neck. She turned to see that the fire girl that she had shot in the eye had clawed her, and deepened the wound more and more. The blood gushed out, the pain shooting through her body like a thousand daggers.

"The Empousa should be here!" She heard an unfamiliar faint voice speak at the entrance of the charred building. The 'Empousa' dropped her and immediately scurried to the door, suddenly screaming as Celeste could hear the sound of something slicing its skin. Celeste coughed, the smoke compressing her lungs and her neck wound not making it easier. Shadowy figures loomed above her, slowly stepping closer and closer. She covered her mouth with her cloak, and pulled out her dagger.

"S-stay *cough* b- *cough* back!" Her hand was shaking, as she lost more and more blood every moment.

"Percy! We have to get her to somewhere safe!" An unfamiliar female voice spoke to a black haired boy with a sword. A golden haired girl reached out towards her, but Celeste pulled back, shuddering at the movement.

"Don't worry, we're here to help you," the blonde girl told her. Celeste's lungs shook in pain as she flinched.

"N-no! S-stay back-" Her vision blurred, and she lost consciousness.