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The moon shines high upon a small island called Ithaca, the kingdom and its people have settled for the night and have left the roads empty and soundless. In the quiet, a specific trickster god, Hermes himself, watches from above, eyes gleaming with delight under his helmet, a small almost giddy smile on his face, and the wings on his sandals fluttering to keep him in the sky. With impressive speed, he crosses the kingdom and reaches the palace of Ithaca, the palace itself also seems to be resting along with its kingdom, the halls are quiet and peaceful after the big day they just dealt with, hours of people rushing around has now ended in everyone having a peaceful sleep. This day, in particular, was a grand one, because a few hours earlier was the birth of Laertes and Anticleia's firstborn, Odysseus, the prince of Ithaca.
Now, the reason for an amazing god like Hermes to be here is because this newly-born prince is his great-grandson, and he couldn’t be more excited to meet him, even if the baby wouldn’t remember it, it’s the thought that matters in Hermes' opinion. The only reason the speedy god did not come sooner was that he had been terribly busy today, with tons of messages to deliver and other little tasks that had left him too occupied to visit the second he heard the news that his dear granddaughter had given birth to Odysseus. Still, he was here now and was rather excited to see the boy. Hermes gracefully enters the newborn's room through the window, landing in a slight crouch as he looks around, and no, he does not consider it a breaking and entering, he considers it a nice family visit, a family visit that only he knew about, ok so maybe it was a bit like breaking and entering, but Hermes doesn’t feel too bad, it’s his family in the end.
Hermes stood up properly as he saw that there was no one around. The room itself is pretty small and has simple furniture, but Hermes focused on the crib that was against one of the walls and the empty chair right beside it. There were multiple blankets in the crib with a baby bundled up carefully in the middle of it. Hermes felt the giddiness come back to him as he silently walked up to the crib, taking off his helmet and putting it down on the floor, fixing up the pressed-down brown curls as they poof back up, he grabbed onto the railing of the crib and carefully looked down at the sleeping prince. Just at the sight of the newborn, Hermes can tell that his Odysseus will grow to be someone great, and it’s not because they’re just blood, he could truly see the potential of the future king of Ithaca.
After a few minutes of watching the small mortal, Hermes reached into the crib and as gently as the god could, grabbed Odysseus and pulled him close to his chest. There is a high chance that Hermes is out of practice when it comes to holding a child since it took an embarrassingly long amount of time before the god could feel comfortable moving with the little prince in his arms. Odysseus didn’t seem to care though, he barely made any movements or noises, which Hermes greatly appreciated, once Hermes knew he was holding the tiny boy properly he moved to sit down on the empty chair beside the crib.
Hermes looked down at Odysseus as he relaxed into the chair, looking over every small detail of the boy’s chubby face and putting it to memory like he had done to all of his children before Odysseus. Eventually, Hermes could see Odysseus open his eyes and was surprised to see that the boy had two different colored eyes, one eye was a sweet hazel brown while the other was a calm intelligent blue. Hermes tilted his head to the side a bit, wondering about this small revelation, he just shrugged to himself in the end, deciding it didn’t truly matter, the boy somehow looked even more precious to him now that he could see those amazing eyes.
“Hello, my dear Odysseus” Hermes whispered with a smile as he saw Odysseus take interest in him almost immediately when the boy realized he was being held by someone new, raising his hands forward in an attempt to touch the trickster god's face, oh yes, this boy is certainly an intelligent one. “What is it, little one? Do you want to feel my face? Is that it?” Hermes asked as he bent his upper body down and leaned in closer to Odysseus, letting the small hands pat and investigate his face, he closed his eyes so the chubby fingers wouldn't pick at them by accident, not that it would hurt the god, but it also would be a an issue if the boy got some eyeball on his finger.
After letting the newborn play with his face a bit he straightens his back, moving away from the tiny hands. Hermes opens his eyes, still smiling down at the now pouting prince, who seems to be disappointed that he no longer has Hermes face to play with, hands still reaching out “What is it now darling? Don't tell me you’re grumpy that you don't have great-grandpa’s face anymore” Hermes said with a teasing tone, Odysseus only let out a small whine as his hands curled into his chest as he let out a sudden yawn, growing tired now that he’s gotten a chance to look at the new person, Hermes couldn’t help but coo at how adorable his great-grandson looked at the moment. “You are so cute, good to know my genes are still in there somewhere” Hermes said jokingly as he watched the little mortal slowly go back to sleep once more.
Once Hermes was sure Odysseus was asleep he stood from the chair and walked back to the crib, placing the little prince back into his original spot, moving some of the blankets to make sure the newborn wouldn’t get cold for the rest of the night. Hermes stood there a bit longer to take in his new great-grandson, and how proud he was of his granddaughter for creating such a brilliant child. “I must go now little one, but don't you worry, I’ll always be there with you” Hermes whispered softly as he gently touched the boy’s cheek with two fingers, pulling away after a few seconds and stepping back with a warm smile on his face and grabbing his helmet from the floor, placing it back onto his head properly and once again hiding away his eyes.
Hermes gave one last look back at the crib that held the little prince before the wings on his sandals came to life and he swiftly left through the window, the night air hitting his skin as he flew at a speedy pace, practically tasting the salty waters from the ocean that surrounded the small island his family calls home. Hermes was content with his first meeting he had Odysseus, the little prince will certainly grow into somebody worth being remembered. He does hope that he’ll be able to actually talk with the boy once Odysseus was actually able to, but it will certainly take a while, maybe he could even bring the boy a dagger once he’s old enough, how old would that have to be? Maybe 6 years? Hermes doesnt truly know when it comes to mortals, but he is planning on getting the boy something once Odysseus was ready.