Chapter Text
A dull pain, worse than any wound he’d suffered before, made Polites’ head spin. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, a loud ringing in his ears. His broken glasses lay a few feet away, leaving his vision blurry. He recognised Odysseus from afar, lifting his head slightly to try to get a better look at him. “Cap…tain…?”
His head dropped back against the sand, blood pouring down his cheek and onto the ground. He heard faint shouting, though he was unable to process what they were saying. Polites shut his eyes, ringing in his ears just barely able to tune out the sound of impact from a few feet away. He was suddenly tired, incredibly so… he’d sleep for just a little bit, then he’d get up and help the fleet…
Polites felt a warm hand on his face, bringing him to consciousness. He opened his eyes slowly, blinking as a pair of glasses were placed onto his face and he was helped into a sitting position.
A youthful looking man was crouched in front of him, a kind expression on his face. Gorgeous, almost glowing, hair framed his expression. He looked as radiant as the sun, and Polites felt compelled to trust him.
Thoughts briefly crossed Polites’ mind— pain that was no longer there, the name Odysseus, a fleet, Ithaca— but all dissipated quickly.
“Polites,” the kind looking man spoke. “Welcome back.”
…
“Captain, I have something that I must confess.” Eurylochus approached Odysseus, one hand on the strap that kept the large sword on his back. “Something that I must get off my chest. Until it is said, I cannot rest.”
Odysseus sat near the water that surrounded the island they’d landed on not long ago, knees brought to his chest as he watched the waves.
“…Captain?” Eurylochus repeated, taking a step closer.
Odysseus didn’t tear his eyes from the waves, but finally responded to him. “Eurylochus, go make sure this island is secure.”
“But Captain—”
“There’s only so much left we can endure.” Odysseus rested a hand over top of his wrist, lifting his gaze slightly to look at the horizon. “Whatever you need to say can wait some more… of that I’m sure.”
Eurylochus was silent for a moment before he turned away. “…Okay.”
Odysseus fell back into silence, listening to the sound of Eurylochus’ footsteps retreating. He needed some time to think before he handled whatever it was that Eurylochus so badly needed to talk about.
Ever since they landed on the Cyclops’ island, it was like they were facing non stop chaos. No, no, not even like… the hardships were truly unending. Only a little bit ago, maybe a day or two (the days were blending together in his head so it was hard to tell) they’d run into Poseidon. He’d lost so many men in just the span of a few minutes…
He gripped his wrist that had been injured a bit ago, wrapped in Polites’ red bandana. And the massacre by the Cyclops… an older event, but one that he still hadn’t had the time to actually process. It was a black eye on his career as Captain, and a terrible day for all of them…
The war had been easy compared to what they’d been through as of late. Easy! A war, easy! If you’d told him that before all of this, before he’d left Ithaca, he’d have laughed at you. Travel, easier than war? Ridiculous. But yet… all six hundred men had made it through the war, but only forty three made it through the journey back home.
Forty three… a ridiculously low number. Five hundred fifty seven lost… five hundred fifty seven comrades that he could never get back. Five hundred fifty seven friends that he’d failed. Never would he voice it to the crew, but… Odysseus was losing hope, slowly but surely.
Odysseus didn’t like to pick favourites among the crew, but the death of one man in particular weighed on him heavily. Polites… the man he was closer with than anyone else. He hooked a finger around a part of the bandana on his wrist, watching it unravel from around it. He straightened it out, looking it over. Polites’ accessory of choice… still stained with his blood. He tried to make decisions based on what he thought Polites would advise him to do, as if that would bring him back, but it was getting more and more difficult to do so. He tried to greet the world with open arms, and it’d gotten him… here. Polites… if you were here, what would you tell me to do?
The sound of footsteps came from behind Odysseus, and for a moment, he felt hope. He knew it was foolish, but… he’d run into gods before. Surely seeing his friend again wasn’t such a ridiculous thought… He looked behind him, spotting Eurylochus.
He stood up, squinting as his friend got closer. He wrapped the bandana back around his wrist, flexing his hand a few times to make sure he still had movement before dropping it to rest on the sword at his hip. “Eurylochus, back so soon?” He called, taking a few steps closer. “Where’s the rest of your crew? And.. by the gods, what happened to you?”
Eurylochus stopped right in front of him, hand over his chest. He looked disgruntled, expression as if he’d seen a ghost. “Captain, we came across a palace…”
Odysseus took another few steps forwards, resting a hand on Eurylochus’ back. “Eurylochus? Come, sit down,” He had him sit on a rock, looking him over. For a moment he was worried of another massacre, but he saw no blood.
“Ody… you’re not going to believe this…” Eurylochus finally spoke up, looking over at his captain.
“Come on, spit it out, Eurylochus. Is the fleet in danger? Should we be talking as we head there?”
“It’s Polites!”
Odysseus was silent for a good few moments. “Polites…? What do you- what? Eurylochus, what are you talking about?”
“Polites… he was in the palace. He’s alive.”