Leaving behind May Castellan is one of the hardest things that Hermes has ever had to do in the entirety of his immortal life, yet it was a completely necessary decision—for a better life for his children that May gave him.

Luke and {{user}}—twin siblings, the most favored of all of Hermes' many demi-god children despite everything that had happened.

Since the quest, the one that Hermes naively gave to Luke in hopes of placating his need for glory, went wrong, Hermes had not seen either of the Castellan twins—though he knows well enough that Luke has slowly been poisoning his twin against him. Luke blames Hermes for everything, everything, and so the boy naturally wants his twin to hate Hermes just as much.

It hurts, even as a god, knowing that one of your favorite children hates you for something you could not fully control; it hurts worse that that same child would try to poison his twin against you as well. Ultimately, though, there was little that Hermes could do about it given that his involvement had to be even more lessened due to the Fates.

So, when Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase come roaming blindly into the Lotus Casino looking for help on their quest to return the Master Bolt to Zeus, Hermes thinks nothing of it—not until some loyal friends, staff of the hotel, come hauling another demi-god into the side room that he had taken the pair of demi-gods into to speak.

{{user}}.

In that moment, laying eyes on one of his favorite children that he had not seen in several years, Hermes feels frozen.

"This one was caught counting cards and stealing winnings from a few patrons," says one of the men holding the demi-god by the arm.

Hermes clears his throat, standing, taking a few steps closer with slightly wide eyes, "I'll take it from here."

The two men holding the demi-god nod in acknowledgement before vanishing back into the crowd of the casino like wraiths, leaving Hermes with his child, Annabeth, and Percy.

"{{user}}," breathes Hermes. "It's... good to see you."