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Chapter Text

“Choose.”

“Choose?”

“Someone’s got to die today and you will get the final say. You?” Zeus leaned in next to his ear, sparks alight in his eyes.

Odysseus held his side, blinking away the salt of the sea.

“Or your crew?” Zeus backed away as his eyes darted to the cowering remainder of his fleet.

“Please don’t make me do this, don’t make me do this.” He pleaded. He was so tired from it all.

Zeus paused, awaiting his decision, and his eyes unblinking in only a way that a god could.

“Please anything else. Please.” He begged, his knees giving out as he collapsed in front of the king of gods.

Zeus stared at him, then a wicked grin filled his face. “Very well.”

He breathed, looking up. “What?”

“Let’s make it a game. I won’t kill anyone. Their fate will rest in your hands, King of Ithaca.”

Odysseus stared in shock. “I don’t follow.”

Zeus stretched out his hand. “Your last game was a wind bag. Let’s see how long you last holding back the monster you’ve become.”

Odysseus felt a pressure in the air, a charge similar to the feeling before a thunderstorm. It made the air suffocating and his breath hitched as he pressed harder on his stab wound.

“The rules are this: you will have safe passage home if you do not kill a single member of your crew. If they kill you or release you off the boat, you all die. Can you play this game, Odysseus?” Zeus continued speaking.

Odysseus squinted at the brightly shining god, knowing there was a catch. There was always a catch. But he knew looking at the god before him that he had no other option. From behind him, Odysseus heard Eurylochus take a step closer to him. “Captain?”

Ah, and here he was, captain of the ship again. Words spoken so hatefully by his second reverberated in his ears once more:

“If you want all the power you must take all the blame!”

He told himself that Eurylochus didn’t know better, he’d never had to be captain, to own up to his mistakes for the crew.

And it didn’t look like he would start now.

Odysseus met the eyes of the god, never acknowledging the presence of his second. “Yes.”

Zeus, hand still outstretched, twisted his wrist in a flash and lighting struck Odysseus so hard that he lost his breath.

He might’ve screamed, but he wasn’t sure if sound even escaped him or could even be heard in that moment.

He vaguely heard the cries of his remaining crew, Eurylochus the closest to him yelling for him.

The bright white surrounding him abruptly faded away and he gasped on the deck as the lightning tapered off.

“Captain?” Eurylochus kneeled down to him, hands hovering over his body.

“Let’s see if you and your crew can handle the monster you truly are, King of Ithaca.”

Zeus boomed over him and that’s when a shiver went down his spine.

“Wait-“ he gasped out as his right hand supporting his weight on the deck suddenly cracked loudly.

He bit his lip as he groaned out at the terrible pain. His hand started to distort and he saw claws break through his fingertips.

He realized what was happening in horror. “No wait-please-“ he pleaded until he was interrupted by his own cry of pain as the rest of his body cracked sickeningly as it took a new form.

Eurylochus backed away from him.

The laughter of the king of gods boomed as he stepped back from them, taking his leave.

“Remember this, even one man dies and you lose the game. I will not shelter you from the wrath of my brother any more.”

Odysseus would’ve tried to respond to the retreating god, but he was busy holding his ribs as they rearranged below his skin.

He gagged and dry heaved onto the deck of the ship, nothing to come up from their lack of meals.

The whole reason they were in this mess to begin with, he thought bitterly as his breaths rattled in his aching chest.

It was agony for his body to betray him like this, but not unsurprising when betrayal was the most intimate feeling this crew felt.

He let out a guttural sound as his hands became giant paws, his hands clawed, and that wasn’t the only pressing issue.

His back throbbed as dark wings sprouted next to his shoulder blades, blood spraying out as they emerged violently from inside of him and tore through his clothes. He gasped out a strangled sob, and his tailbone had become some twisted tail emerging from underneath his cloak.

He’d felt every change happen slowly and agonizingly, until he was a panting mess on the boards of the ship, nothing human left about him. He blinked open his eyes, aware that his headache and stab wound from the mutiny were unfortunately still present.

His stomach growled loudly. A burning hunger unlike anything he had experienced before lit up his insides.

They had starved for countless days, this shouldn’t be anything new, right?

Right?

The burning felt all consuming and he vaguely realized what this feeling was.

Bloodlust.

His eyes darted to focus on his surroundings. He was so hungry, so desperate for relief, and he whined low in his throat as he picked himself off the deck.

He stood, noticing that he was much larger than before.

Even Eurylochus and his giant sword seemed small.
Insignificant, he thought.

Food.

A fumbling but still solid step was taken before he realized what he was doing and all the remaining crew on deck had drawn their weapons and pointed them at him.

Oh. Oh no.

Odysseus stood frozen. He opened his mouth to speak, finding an assortment of teeth of large sizes taking up space there and preventing him from forming words.

They had taken such a precious commodity from him. Who was he, King of Ithaca, former champion of Athena, and known strategist without his mind and his words?

A beast. A monster.

He gasped back a sob, backing away from his crew as they stared on in horror at him.

He felt something shift inside him, a minuscule thing really, but enough for him to groan as he grabbed his ribs.

He looked down to see a part of his flesh briefly reverted back to human before changing back to the grotesque combination of mammalian fur and reptilian scales.

He blinked, shock fading and his brain picked back up to problem solve.

Was this not permanent? Could he revert back to himself?

His stomach growled again and the bloodlust clouded his eyes. He fought it so hard, arms locking over themselves in front of him.

“Captain?” Eurylochus called for him, and the uncertainty in his voice was one he’d not encountered many times before they left for home.

He’d moved abruptly, tail swinging wildly as he backed himself to the edge of the ship. He was too large to go below deck and wait this out. Zeus knew this well he was sure.

He tried to open his mouth and speak once more, but all that left his throat was a low rumbling growl that reverberated through his chest and vibrated the very boards beneath him.

The crew did not drop their weapons.

Odysseus couldn’t blame them. The bloodlust was near impossible to fight and he panted harshly as he wrapped his arms around himself.

Penelope. Think of Penelope.

His left hand cracked loudly and he groaned. Looking down, he saw it was shifting back to normal, shrinking and taking on the hue of his flesh.

Taking a deep breath, he kept thinking of Penelope, her smile and the way she laughed.

More cracks of bones, more groans and growls of pain, but he didn’t stop.

Penelope. He would return to her, no matter the cost.

The cracking took a different sound. He looked down to see it had halted and even reversed, and the hunger hit harder than before.

He fell onto the deck, claws yet again supporting him as he fought back more bloodlust. It was so intense he could see red on the edges of his vision.

No. What had caused this? He was thinking of Penelope. What harm could she cause? She was the only thing keeping him human.

Or.

No. His drive to be with her is what caused his monstrous actions in the first place.

Scylla could attest to that.

But he couldn’t bring himself to think any differently.
He would do anything to see her again.

Saliva dripped from his panting mouth, and huffs of air burst from him as he could only see red.

Penelope.

I must have her.

The cracking became louder, but this time, it was not making him human again.

He howled, pain and hunger and bloodlust making him sound like a true monster.

He rose to his feet, and he heard distorted cries of fear from his remaining crew.

Good.

The blood from his stab wound still bled, red staining the fur and scales on his side, and he opened his mouth to roar.

These men betrayed him. He wanted to go home so badly and they were in the way.

He would make it back to Penelope, no matter the cost.

He charged at the nearest crew member, dodging the sword slashing down at him as his claws punctured their shoulder.

He raised them up in the air, and his memory told him this was the one who’d stabbed him, wasn’t it?
He’d opened his mouth, ready to feast upon him when a slash down his back, between the wings lying there, made him roar and drop the man.

He turned to see a man with a large sword. His eyes shined with horrified shock. His second. His betrayer.

Eurylochus.

Odysseus widened his eyes.

Eurylochus.

He froze. This was his friend. His brother. These were his men, his crew. What was he doing?

Odysseus could hear the echoing laughter of the king of gods in his head.

They were never meant to win this.

An arrow slammed into his right shoulder.

Stumbling back, he brought his left hand up to break the arrow shaft off with a wounded growl.

Red tinged his vision again and he took a step forward towards the direction of the shot arrow.

A clanging sound diverted his attention and he looked over at the source.

Odysseus took deep breaths as he saw Eurylochus shout at the crew, his sword tossed to the ground beside him.

The crew lowered their weapons. They had stopped.
He noticed that he also had stopped.

The crashing waves around them and his harsh pants were the only sounds for a moment.

“Captain?” Eurylochus held out his hands and did something he’d never expected him to do.

He stepped closer.

“We don’t want to fight you, Captain. Look at all we’ve lost and all we’ve learned.”

Odysseus recoiled, the familiar words hitting him hard.

Eurylochus was right.

The cracking started up again and he hunched over with a groan.

Eurylochus was right.

They couldn’t afford to fight each other like this. It was all a part of these god games.

He wouldn’t play their game.

He’d play his.

“Come back to us, Captain.” Eurylochus held out his hand and Odysseus could swear he saw the shadow of Polites from behind him.

He blinked and it was gone.

“You can relax my friend.” The words echoed, said by the wind and his second in front of him.

A sob choked out from his chest as he’d collapsed on the deck, nearly human again.

“Captain!” He’d heard murmurs around him as he panted harshly, bones trying to arrange back to what they once were.

Some didn’t quite make it, as he felt the uncomfortable feeling of sitting on a tail and the wings lying limply to his sides. He felt his head fall back and heard a hollow thunk at the same time his head jerked with impact. A hand raised to inspect found horns as well upon his head and his ears were not the shape or location he was used to.

They twitched when he touched them.

Eyes closed, he sighed and groaned at the pains of his body, and flinched when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“I’ve got you, Captain.”

“Eurylochus.” Odysseus slurred the words, teeth too sharp and large in his mouth and the blood loss, wounds, and body transformation trauma catching up to him.

“Rest. I need supplies for his wounds. Now!” His second commanded from over his shoulder.

Shuffling and murmurs confirmed a few of the crew’s compliance.

“We will get through this.” Eurylochus spoke under his breath.

Odysseus groaned again as a hand reached for the arrow lodged in his shoulder.

“Nooooo,” he’d moaned, a low underlying growl vibrating in his chest.

“I’m sorry, my friend.” A pause. A shaky inhale. “I’m so sorry.”

The arrow came out with one swift jerk.

He howled as his claws tore at the wood beneath him and his eyes shot open to see the stormy skies above him.

He would make it. They would make it. The gods would not win this game.

Chapter Text

Odysseus didn’t remember closing his eyes, but he must have at some point because the next thing he knew, the sun was shining on his face and the storm was gone.

His head still throbbed however and he let out a groan as he tried to raise his right hand to rub over his eyes. He gave up halfway there when a sharp protest came from his shoulder, and he just sat for a moment as his body throbbed in aching pain. He panted for a moment to catch his breath as his entire right side screamed at him.

“Perimedes is patched up. We think he will recover.” A familiar voice said to his right and he tried not to moan as he turned his aching head in that direction.

How long had he been sitting propped up against the side of the ship?

Squinting at the light, he could make out the tired form of Eurylochus beside him. The tall man had his large sword resting on his knees, and he scrubbed at the red on the blade. The furrow of his brow seemed to indicate distress that a stain had taken to the blade.

“Wha?” Was the closest intelligent response the King of Ithaca could give at the moment.

“Perimedes. He will be fine.” The patient voice repeated, though frustration leaked between the words as the frown on his face deepened.

“Perimedes was injured?” Odysseus slurred out, and his tongue felt heavy in his mouth, running into his teeth too often for his comfort.

The steady scrubbing sounds stopped and a world heavy sigh followed.

“Captain? Do you not remember what happened?” Eurylochus sounded hesitant now and almost sad.

Odysseus could’ve swore that a heavy silence suddenly fell over the ship, despite the thirty plus men who resided there.

He took a moment to collect himself, and his brain struggled through a heavy fog before it gave him images.

Odysseus jerked forward abruptly, groaning in pain as his eyes roamed the deck and skeleton crew before settling on his own hands.

They were normal.

He gasped in relief, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.

“I’m cured.” He breathed out in a shaky exhale.

“Captain. You are not cured.” Eurylochus spoke up from beside him, his sword cleaning discarded as he stared at his friend.

Odysseus felt his heart skip for a moment. “What?”

“You are not cured. We have done nothing for the gods to grant us this mercy so soon. You were unconscious, that is all.” Eurylochus seemed so certain of this that a suspicion started to set low in his belly.

“How do you know this, Eurylochus?” He whispered, fear clenching him in a vice.

“Captain, you cannot see it, but your eyes are red. They shine like the monsters we’ve faced.”

Odysseus brought his left hand up to hover over his eyes, feeling self conscious.

Penelope once said her favorite part of him was his eyes. How was he supposed to face her now? Would she recognize them when they were not brown, but red like the blood he’d shed to get back to her?

His hand cracked in front of him, claws breaking free and extending a few inches.

He gasped in shock and pain, dropping his hand and bringing it close to his chest.

No, this wasn’t happening. Was this the deal he struck? Doomed to be a monster to save the lives of himself and his crew?

“Anything else. Please.” His own words echoed in his head and he tried not to think of what Penelope would do when she saw him.

If she saw him again.

He choked on his own cry and the pain reverberated through him and irritated the wounds on his right side. He’d been stabbed and shot by his own crew in the span of one day.

He was so tired of it all.

The claws did not retract.

“You also have a few other problems.” Was the slow but deadpan response and he brought his gaze up to see Eurylochus pointing down to the other side of the deck.

A long object laid there, undisturbed until now as it twitched. It was a good eight feet long and it led right back to where he was sitting. Red, brown, and black scales shinned down the length of it, only broken up with patches of fur of the same colors, until it came to a rather large amount of feathers and fur at the end.

It looked soft.

His brain halted when he realized and remembered. “That’s a tail.”

“Yes, Captain. Your tail.” Eurylochus responded calmly.

Odysseus shifted and that is when the rest of it sunk in. He groaned at the presence of wings being crushed behind him and he leaned forward to take pressure off the feathered and scaled appendages.
They were large as well, fifteen feet at least in length. They were the same red, brown, and black as the tail he’d sported.

The tail twitched and moved closer, dragging upon the deck, until it curled up next to him.

He was too distracted to give it mind.

“How close are we to home, Eurylochus?” Odysseus closed his eyes and gasped out as he tried to shift and move, stiffness and new appendages making the effort seem insurmountable.

“About seven days time, sir,” was the response, though it seemed strangely halted.

Odysseus cracked open his left eye to see his friend sitting stiffly next to him. The end of the tail was on his second’s lap and his hands hovered above it. Something broke in his expression as he stared at the appendage.

“I’m so sorry, Captain.” Eurylochus broke, tears leaking from his eyes. “I should’ve listened to you.”

Which time, Odysseus did not know. With the wind bag or with the cows? It seemed like the crew could’ve done more of listening to him.

But a sobbing friend was still a hard thing to watch.

Odysseus’s heart clenched, and he felt the tail move without his permission to wrap around his friend in comfort.

Eurylochus froze, but ultimately buried his hands and face into the soft feathers, sobs wracking his strong frame.

Odysseus would’ve joined him but he couldn’t find enough moisture to fill his eyes.

He was so tired.

“Captain?” A different voice called out and he looked up to see other parts of the crew gathering on the deck. They stood back from him, fear in their eyes as they saw Eurylochus having a breakdown beside him. “What do we do now?”

Odysseus sighed deeply.

“We go home.”

The crew weakly nodded at that and set back to work.

“Ody?” He heard the broken call from beside him.

Eurylochus had emerged from burying himself in the comfort of his friend’s new appendage. His eyes were bloodshot and he’d never looked so burdened before, not even when they were in the ten years at war or when Polites died.

Odysseus pulled the tail away from him slowly, the sound of it dragging on the deck very loud in the near silence of the exhausted crew.

“I’m so sorry I betrayed your trust. I thought I was doing what was right for the crew. We can never make it at this rate. We will starve before we reach the shores of Ithaca.” Eurylochus looked deep into his eyes as he said this, unflinching at his friend’s new appearance.

“Hunger is so heavy.” The crew echoed his second as they mourned, and Odysseus felt his body could only agree.

He said nothing in response as he attempted to stand, clawed hands grabbing the side of the ship.

His wings flared out to right his balance until he was leaning heavily on the railing and staring out at the sea.

His stomach churned, angry at its emptiness as he stared over the side of the ship and into the water.

Though they were spared from the wrath of Poseidon, it did not look like the god was inclined to fed them.

Nothing stirred in the waters. No fish. No food.

His hands clenched on the wooden boards beneath him and wood splintered underneath them as he tried to keep his breathing steady.

The bloodlust always got worse with his thoughts of food. Why did Eurylochus have to bring this up again so soon?

“Penelope. Telemachus.” He whispered to himself as he felt his tail thrash irritatedly on the wooden deck.

The crew gave him a wide berth since his…change, so Odysseus knew Eurylochus was the only one near him.

“Eurylochus.” He turned to face his second once more.

“Captain. Not long before you woke the crew spotted an island in the distance.” The man looked hesitant at the topic change, knowing his words were not going to be received well.

Odysseus froze. “Ithaca is seven days away.” His ears twitched in agitation.

They couldn’t be serious?

“The crew won’t make it that long, sir. They cannot row without food.” He gestured to the weak crew, barely moving the oars in the water.

“Why not? I have, haven’t I? Do we not remember how I came to be this way, Eurylochus?” He snapped, and something else responded likewise in his ribcage. He hunched with a groan, panting as he held his side and felt rolling skin that wanted to burst with scales.

“Captain. I think it would do you well to eat also.” His second pleaded with him.

“It would do me well to see my wife!” He snarled, and something else gave beneath his skin as it warped and changed.

He must’ve black out for a moment because he next heard frantic yells and orders shouted.

“Take us to that island now!” Eurylochus shouted as Odysseus fought back the change, wings curled around him as he hugged his ribcage to stop it from expanding.

“Penelope.” He choked out before a sword hilt came down upon his head.

Chapter Text

Tearing, ripping, burning.

The hunger is what woke him. Not the throbbing from his skull, once again smashed by a sword hilt.

Awareness was fading in and out. He couldn’t think. There was only pain and hunger.

Pain.

Hunger.

So hungry.

His stomach growled loudly and the growl traveled into his chest and out of his mouth.

Voices nearby started to trickle into his ears, and they twitched.

“Why don’t you come inside with your men and rest? I could take care of you.“ A soft feminine voice brought him to consciousness.

“I cannot. Our captain is unwell. We have a deal with the king of gods. He cannot even be released from the ship until we reach the shores of Ithaca. I will stand guard on the beach until he awakes so I may help him.”

Eurylochus.

A tightness in his chest felt like something wanted to break free. A low growl finally vibrated through him and brought relief from the building pressure.

Help him? The throbbing on the side of his head begged to differ. Eurylochus betrayed him once more. Where were they now?

“I can get around all that. Trust me. Stepping onto this island will not break your deal.” The woman’s voice was so carefree sounding, so reassuring.

Seductive. Alluring.

A moment of silence.

“You can cancel the terms of his deal?” His second sounded suspicious but hopeful.

“Not cancel, modify.” Her voice dripped honey.

Just who was Eurylochus talking to? The only people with such power to tamper with god deals would be…

Other gods.

“Modify how?” The steel in Eury’s voice combated her sickly sweet tone.

“This island is mine, honey. It follows my commands. But if it will ease your conscious you could leave a small wood piece of the ship on his person when he steps off it. That way he could leave the ship and you will not die. You could all stay with me. For as long as I like.” This voice was persistent. And clever. Dangerous.

“You mean as long as we like?”

Silence.

“Will we be free to leave if we agree to your help?”

Silence again.

The growling was a constant now, the rumbling starting deep in the back of his throat. It seemed to be loud enough at this point that it quieted the conversation below him.

“Captain?” Eury called and he blinked open his eyes.

Odysseus saw rope first, snaking around his hands as he was tied to the mast, and he could’ve laughed at the attempt.

It would’ve held him before.

Not now.

He stood and pulled, the ropes gave easily, and he heard a gasp as his form was revealed to the two conversing on the beach below him.

Based on his height when he stood, Odysseus knew he was somewhere between his almost human form and the towering beast he was when first transformed by the king of gods.

It was enough to strike fear, he was sure of that.

And that was what he wanted.

His eyes zeroed in on Eurylochus on the beach with a woman.

She would’ve been radiant to any other man.

But he was no longer a man.

“Oh! That is what you call unwell?” The woman said as she looked upon his monstrous form, approaching the edges of the ship.

Something darkened in her eyes.

“He’ll do quite nicely.”

“What?” Eurylochus and Odysseus spoke at the same time.

“My dear, why don’t you join us?” The woman’s voice called to Odysseus as she waded into the waves of the shore.

All the rage in his body paused for a moment and he stared at her dumbly. Eurylochus seemed to be in the same dumbfounded state on the beach behind her.

“My dear?” The incredulous words rumbled out of him, fumbling out around the many teeth he’d obtained in his irritated form.

“I can make this all better for you, you’ll see. Just look what I have done for your men.”

It seemed too good to be true, as he glanced past her, past his second who only continued to disobey him at every turn, to the men who were happily eating and drinking past them.

They seemed happy. For the first time in years.

Odysseus stared at them, not paying attention to how close the woman got.

The sound of wood being ripped off the ship brought him back to reality.

“There. That should work. Now come down, dearest. I’ve found your loophole.” The woman smiled up at him, a primal hunger behind her eyes. A small green tendril of a plant grew over the side of ship, a piece of wood from the ship in its vines. It approached him and he snarled at it, backing away, until he felt himself pressed against the mast.

The vines grabbed him, holding him in place as the vine with the wood twirled into his hair. It wove and braided the piece in so intricately that he wasn’t sure it would ever come out again. The vines tightened their hold as he struggled against them. It drove his last few intelligent thoughts out of the window as panic took over.

Not that he could think very clearly in the first place.

The hold on him made his breath speed up in fear, reminding him of when he was restrained from the still recent memory of the mutiny. His side flared in pain, and his head, shoulder, and back all did the same. The chorus of pain and fear and adrenaline made his bones crack and arrange, and he felt his hold on his last strands of humanity to be slipping as the monster took over.

The vines released their hold on him as the first few snapped under his expanding form. Odysseus wasn’t himself anymore as all he could see was red.

All he could hear was screams.

It was too much.

So he bolted.

Wings spread out on full display, the red feathers flaring out and drawing attention away from the brown and black fur and scales beside them.

The monster leaped to the front of the ship, wings balancing and helping him make the jump.

He couldn’t recognize anything anymore as he looked down to the people on the beach.

He heard more screams and yells, though these came from outside his head this time.

It was his crew, yelling in fear as they saw him.

Something inside of him screamed back in response, but the sound never escaped him.

He roared instead, the sound so loud it could be equated to the sound of thunder.

The monster leaped off the boat and his wings spread out, letting him glide past the beach and into the deep jungle of the island.

He landed in a clearing a few miles off, and collapsed for a moment to breathe.

A branch broke next to him.

He spun to face the noise, a growl low in his throat until he saw the doe.

Odysseus thought it was beautiful, innocently looking at him with a curiosity that was bad for self preservation.

It reminded him of his younger self, before war came into his life. Before Athena claimed him as her warrior. Before Troy. Befor-

His stomach growled louder than his thoughts, hunger tearing up his insides, and the monster saw red once more as it lunged.

The black of the doe’s eyes was the last thing he remembered.

Odysseus blinked back to awareness in a pile of bones.

His eyes squinted as he attempted to sit up.

He groaned and grabbed his head and his stomach turned. He left his right hand to cradle his head as his left drifted down to wrap around his abdomen.

“Ugh my head.” He mumbled out, just sitting there as his stomach burbled in discomfort.

He wasn’t very nauseous before, so this development from his aggravated head wound was not in his favor.

He squinted open his eyes and found the scene around him to be even more horrific.

Countless dead animals lay around him, bones nearly picked clean of their flesh.

He laid on top of a pile of bones.

“Oh-“ Odysseus leaned over, looking around desperately to make sure a human skeleton was not among the bones.

Relief made him choke out a sob when he saw none.

His stomach rolled again, and he moved both arms around his middle as he’d realized what he’d done.

The monster had himself a feast and Odysseus didn’t remember a thing.

He wasn’t nauseous from a head wound, he was nauseous from his meal. His stomach complained by rolling, and he knew it was a discomfort from too much indulgence.

His current form had reverted back, smaller than the creature who’d eaten its fill and he was paying the price of its ravenous hunger.

He took a moment to breathe, then he turned to push himself up from his hands and knees, careful of the wound on his shoulder.

He stumbled to his feet, wings flaring out to balance him and tail dragging across the ground closer to his body as he wrapped his arms back around himself.

He was satiated for the first time in years, but still miserable.

“You’ve been asleep for a while. I was beginning to worry. If not for your sleep talking, I would’ve thought you’d perished. Tell me, who is Penelope?”

Odysseus spun, seeing the goddess from earlier standing at the tree line fifteen feet away from him.

“She’s my wife.” He stated bluntly, trying to keep his composure after everything.

Her soft features fell in disappointment, but she composed herself quickly.

“Anyways, my dear, if you were hungry, you could’ve just asked.” Her soft voice reminded him of the destruction he stood upon. Not his worst moment, but not his best either.

The woman watched him from afar, eyes going up and down him many times, and she tucked a thick loc behind her ear.

“I have all you could want here. I have no problem providing food. I also have no problem with giving baths. Or care for your wounds.” She started to step towards him and he took a fumbling step backwards, almost tripping over the bones that crunched underneath his feet.

“Stay back! I don’t need your help. I’ve been touched by too many gods now.” Voice broken, he pleaded at her, but she still approached steadily.

“So you know what I am? You are much more clever than your men. They still sit at the beach with no idea of where they’ve landed.” Her playful and innocent attitude contradicted her words and he shivered.

“What do you want from us goddess? Are we now to be in your debt? What payment do you require so we may go home?” Odysseus shot off the questions rapid fire as his brain tried to fight his disorientation and come back to his problem solving and strategic mind.

“Calm down dearest, let’s start over shall we?” The goddess held no fear of him as she stopped a foot away from him. “I’m Calypso. I know your crew and your second, Eurylochus. I suspect he knows what I am, but he is too worried for you to care.”

Odysseus would’ve huffed at that. Who knew what problems they made for themselves by stopping here. He was so angry at Eury, though he knew he wasn’t in the right mindset at the moment. Everything was too fresh, too much. He cared for Eurylochus, just as the man did him. But countless poor judgements had put a wedge between them that needed time to heal.

“He calls you captain, but has not given me a name. Who are you that Zeus himself would place such a powerful curse on you?” Her eyes sparkled in interest and one of her hands came up as if to touch one of his feathers on his wings that curled closely to his sides.

Odysseus fought the instinct to snarl. “I am nobody of concern to you goddess. Thank you for taking care of my men, but we must be going.”

Her eyes grew dark for a moment, then a soft and deceptive smile took over. With a flourish, her palm produced a vining flower.

“Eat it. It will help your wounds.”

His stomach flipped and he put a hand over his mouth for a moment. “Thank you, but I am fine.” At least his wounds had stopped bleeding it seemed.

Calypso squinted at him, clearly not liking his answer. “I insist.” And in his distraction, her hand made contact with his wing.

Odysseus wasn’t sure what happened next. His thoughts all calmed and he felt as if his head was in the clouds.

Why was he resisting help from her in the first place? She was only trying to heal him.

He took the flower from her, shoving it in his mouth and swallowing before his gag reflex could interfere.

His aching stomach complained at the addition and he hunched over with a groan as the flower burned once it reached his stomach.

Why did every god given flower do this to him? It was just like the Moly all over again.

But through the burning, he felt another pain. He pulled aside his chiton, thankful that it was loose enough to handle his transformations so far, and saw past the blood stains that his stab wound was sealing over.

He gasped as he dropped the fabric, feeling the tickling pain on his shoulder and back as well. His head felt lighter and a few tears leaked from his eyes.

“Captain! Captain! Odysseus where are you?!” The frantic calls of his second drew closer as he shook from the further body trauma he’d been exposed to in the last twenty four hours or so.

“Eury-“ he gasped out as his vision started to waver once more. Exhaustion was so strong and pulling him under.

“Rest now, Odysseus. I’ve got you.” Calypso smiled at the knowledge of his name, put her hand on his face, and he knew no more.