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Odysseus sighed, scrubbing his arms as he cleaned himself off in a cave.
Calypso was still asleep, and she should be for another half hour if his instincts serve him right.
His breakdown from the night before took a toll on him, leaving him with a pounding headache as he attempted to massage the sides of his head with one hand. He could vaguely remember calling out for his old mentor in a final act of desperation, crying and screaming into the rain before Calypso put his mind under a spell and dragged him back to her wretched cave, away from the cliff he so desperately wanted to throw his body off yet could not find the courage to do so.
He quickly realized that no matter what he did, he couldn’t escape her presence. It was as if she always knew where he was, and there was not one day where he had more than an hour apart from her before she inevitably reappeared, prancing back into his life and shattering whatever fragile peace he'd managed to find on this dreadful island. It didn’t matter what he did; peace was just a luxury he couldn’t have. It was only through sheer luck that he discovered that the only time he could grasp even a moment of tranquility was before she woke up and found him. Again.
(Do goddesses even need sleep or did she just enjoy playing human?)
Pulling out of his thoughts, Odysseus wrapped his chiton around his body, stepping out of the shallow spring and doing his best to enjoy the serene atmosphere around him before a small rustling sound in the trees startled him. That’s weird. In all his time spent at Ogygia never once has another creature bothered him during his morning routine. They seemed to follow Calypso’s schedule, waking up when she does and being animated to life in her presence, like a puppet. It is only in these few short hours that he can see the island for what it truly was: nothing more than an illusions, one created to mimic the paradise Calypso dreams it would be.
“Hello?” Odysseus called out, glancing in the direction of the noise.
The noise stopped, but Odysseus instincts’ told him that whatever caused the noise had not left, leaving him restless. He brushed past some overgrowth, eyes darting across the trees until he spotted a hawk sitting on one of the branches. The hawk tilted its head when he spotted him, ruffling its feathers.
A familiar pair of orange eyes stared back at him, making him squint his eyes in surprise. He quickly rummaged through his memories, trying to figure out where he had it before and oh no no no there is no way-
“Hermes?” Odysseus whispered, forcing himself to smother the glimmer of hope that bubbled up in his chest.
The hawk chirped happily and jumped off the branch, transforming into an all too familiar form.
Hermes laughed at Odysseus’s stupor, spinning playfully before turning himself upside down as he stared right into Odysseus’ eyes, barely an inch away from his face.
“Hello old friend!” Hermes grinned.
“What are you doing here?” Odysseus gasped, brushing his nose hesitantly as Hermes’ hair touched his face from the close proximity.
“Why, to set you free of course!” Hermes cheered, flipping back upright but still maintaining his complete lack of personal space.
Odysseus flinched violently, taking a step back as he felt the dreadful feeling of hope, one that he thought was extinguished, light up in his chest, “no, stop. Hermes I know you are a trickster, but this, this is too far,” he choked out, looking at the ground beneath him.
“Don’t,” he whispered, clenching his fists, “don’t give me false hope. Please”
To his surprise, Hermes didn’t immediately laugh at his face before sending a hoard of winnions to sing about his misery. Instead, he tilted his head in understanding, a sad smile forming on his face. He gently held Odysseus' chin with one hand, making Odysseus shutter as he forced himself to make eye contact with Hermes.
“I may be a trickster, but I am not cruel,” Hermes spoke gently, as if he were speaking to a wounded animal. He let go of Odysseus' face, giving the man a few seconds to process his words before walking away.
“Come along, old friend. Wouldn’t want to keep your family waiting even longer now do we?” Hermes called with a smile. Odysseus’ eyes widened, taking a hesitant step forward before sprinting to be alongside Hermes, a grin lighting up on his face.
“I can’t believe it! Thank you Hermes. I mean it. Thank you thank you thank you. I can’t spend another day here. I can’t wake up every morning-” Odysseus babbled, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he, for the first time in years, felt a giddy rush at the thought of returning home. Back to Ithaka. Back to Penelope.
“Woooow slow down there friend! It is not me you should thank! I’m just the messenger! You have someone else to thank for your release!” Hermes replied, putting his hands out.
“Who? Hermes who? I must thank them this instant. I will gather some-”
Hermes smiled, although it was more of a sad smirk than an actual grin, “I’m sure you will figure it out with that mind of yours,” He tapped Odysseus' forehead, making the man blink in surprise. He then summoned a few empty sacks from the air, placing them in Odysseus’ hands, “Now come, gather the supplies you will need for your journey. I can only bless your travel home by so much but you mortals still require sustenance for survival, which is not something I can assist with.”
Odysseus nodded quickly, collecting handfuls of nuts as he and Hermes speed-walked towards a field. Seven years of being trapped gave him an unwilling familiarity with the island, one that he was, for once in his tragic stay, grateful for. They continued gathering supplies; well, he did. Hermes seemed to favor chatting to himself over actually collecting anything, but he wasn’t complaining. Besides, Odysseus was immensely grateful to have someone else’s company that wasn’t Calypso for once, so he just nodded mindlessly to Hermes’ stories while pocking a couple of apples from a nearby tree. They continued enjoying each other's company until a rustling in a nearby bush snapped them out of their conversation, drawing their attention towards it.
“Hermes,” Calypso greeted, stepping over the tall grass. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion at his presence, “what a surprise. What brings you to my island today?”
“Ah, Calypso!” Hermes greeted cheerfully, throwing his arms up, “good to see you’re still kicking. I’m just here to send Odysseus home,” Odysseus averted his eyes, quickly gathering a couple more fruits into his sack as Calypso walked towards them, “we’re just gathering some supplies, then we’ll be on our merry way. If you would like to chat another time, I wouldn’t be opposed but as you can probably notice we’re on quite a schedule. So if you’ll excuse me-”
“No. I refuse. He cannot leave my island without my consent.” She growled.
“Well, that’s too bad. Your consent doesn’t really matter in this case since we’ll be departing with or without your blessing. Though I was hoping for the former, beggars can’t be choosers!” Hermes laughed, pulling Odysseus to his feet as they began walking towards the shores of Ogygia, only stopping briefly to pick up a sack of cranberries that Odysseus accidentally dropped.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?!” Calypso screeched, running after them and fuming with anger.
“Getting Ody away from here.”
“I will not allow this!”
“Well there’s nothing I can do about your feelings.”
“You have no authority over this!”
“It is not my word, it is the word of Zeus. Last I checked he was, I don’t know, the king.”
“You cannot take him from me!” She screamed.
“Hey, don’t kill the messenger I’m just delivering news on behalf of dear old father” Hermes replied with a shrug, craning his head back to look at Calypso, who reared her head back.
Calypso suddenly gripped the end of Hermes’ garment, causing his smile to falter ever so slightly as a golden snake appeared from underneath his cloak and hissed at her. Calypso wisely let go, but not before making another attempt at stopping them.
“You don’t understand!” She screams, reaching over hurriedly and grabbing the edge of Odysseus’s chiton, startling the man to a stop, “He’s all I’ve had! Your father gifted him to me and for seven years I have cherished him! Yet here you are, overcome by jealousy, scandalized when goddesses sleep with a mortal man when I have treated him with nothing but love.”
“Father gifted you no such thing,” Hermes hissed, narrowing his eyes as he swatted her hands off his great grandsons’ garment, “I am not overcome by anything. He was sent to you as a punishment for his crew’s slaughter of Helio’s beast. It is not his destiny to live with you forever.”
He gently pushed Odysseus forward, nudging his shoulder as the man attempted to take a look at the growing argument behind him. “Keep your eyes forward, my friend. You have done your part. This is not yours to fight.”
Calypso flinched at Hermes’ tone, her nymph-like form becoming more apparent as her desperation grew. She swung her arms, grabbing Odysseus’ tightly as she began to plead to him.
“Odysseus, my love, you don’t want this. I love you my dear, don’t you see? You know how hard life can be. We had a wonderful time together, dear, come back to my open arms and I will shield you from the unkind world outside. Our love is true. You love it here in paradise. You want to spend your life here with me in paradise, don’t you?”
Odysseus froze, his lungs seizing as his mind struggled in vain to resist a familiar spell taking over his body like a parasite. He resisted the best he could, but just like the past seven years he could feel the slivers of his rationality fading as her grip on his arm tightened, hoping with every fiber of his being that Hermes would notice his incapacitated state, hoping that he would not believe the words bubbling up his throat and pushing its way out of his mouth as he felt his lips speak on their own accord “Ye-”
He felt a rush of wind beside him as the hand around his bicep was violently pried off, causing him to stagger. He gasped, slowly opening his eyes as the remnants of Calypso's magic faded and bringing back the all too familiar disgusting aftertaste in his mouth. Gagging, he quickly leaned against his arms and tried to maintain whatever dignity he had left as he dry heaved into a tree. He coughed and hurriedly wiped his saliva with the back of his hand, finally glancing in the direction of the wind before freezing at the sight before him.
Hermes was holding Calypso’s wrist in the air with a deathly grip, and he would’ve breathed out a sigh of relief if it weren’t for the fact that he wasn’t so scared shitless at the moment.
No longer was it the cunning trickster standing before him. No longer was it the playful guardian who offered him a moly before sending his barely prepared ass into the hands of Circes, albeit it was obvious that he was keeping watch of the entire situation by the faint sound of popcorn crunching right outside of Circe’s window even though neither of them could see him physically.
No.
Odysseus felt goosebumps run up his arms and shivered. Even as a mortal, he could feel the change in Hermes’ essence as the air around him grew colder.
Hermes’ form began to glow a sickly orange, radiating in waves as a pair of ram horns sprouted alongside the wings on his head. Odysseus watched with morbid curiosity as the rest of Hermes' body darkened, creating the illusion of a void besides the luminescent glow of his eyes and wings. His mouth seemed to glow with each word he spoke, but Odysseus couldn’t be sure as the deity took another step away from him and towards the goddess that haunted his life for seven years.
“I have been patient, daughter of Pleione, but you have tested me. I came here with no intention of creating conflict, but you have given me NO choice!” Hermes growled, his voice echoing. A second set of eyes opened from the void where his face once was as two pairs of large glowing wings flashed into existence next to him, although they didn’t look to be attached to his body in any shape or form, just floating alongside its master and reacting violently to his unrestrained emotions. Odysseus quickly averted his eyes, staring at a tree next to Calypso as he forced himself to look away from Hermes’ new form, which was obviously not meant for his mortal eyes to see.
“Act of love you say? How ignorant can you POSSIBLY be,” Hermes yelled, his feathers ruffling as they spread out in an act of intimidation, “Odysseus mentioned over and over again that he is a married man and your solution was to defile his body through acts of force, yet in the span of seven years not once have managed to break his loyalty to his wife. How embarrassing. We may be unable to sense your island from our realms, Calypso, but do not take us for fools. In the 10 minutes I have set foot on Ogygia I have felt no space where there aren't remnants of your magic. There is not one corner of this island you haven’t manipulated and you have the audacity to say Odysseus’ love for you is true,” a black crack formed in the ground under Hermes’ feet as his eyes widened with unrestrained rage, “Give me a BREAK!”
Calypso, startled by the volume of his voice, took a step back, breaking eye contact for the first time since the confrontation began to quickly glance at the ground beneath her. Her teeth clenched in frustration and fear as Hermes continued to stalk towards her like a predator, closing the space between them with each step.
A sinister smile formed on his face as he took another step closer to her, relishing in delight at the hesitant step she took back. His form began to waver as his anger became harder and harder to contain, causing his body to flutter like a flame uncontrollably. Odysseus glanced over, giving into temptation just in time to see Hermes’ talons extend from his fingers as he summoned his staff. The golden staff wavered in the air before taking form and settling in its master's hand, and two golden snakes appeared from under his cloak. They twirled around their master’s arm, hissing as they took their place on his staff.
“I will not let you near him once again. I will not allow you to hurt a friend of mine. I will not allow you to hurt my descendant!”
Hermes let out an ear shattering screech, and Odysseus faintly compared it to that of a hawk as he quickly turned away and placed his hands over his ears. The trees around them shook and branches began breaking and clattering to the ground, kicking up chunks of dirt and dust. Calypso waved her arms out quickly, using her magic and control of the island to clear the debris before they become a tripping hazard to her as Hermes in all his fury continued to advance
Odysseus winced, slowly opening one eye and watched as Hermes' hands clenched to the point of drawing ichor from his own palms, arms rearing back as his grip on his staff tightened. “I WON’T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH HARMING MY CHILDREN!”
His winged flutter violently as he swung, aiming for the kill before a taloned hand grabbed the back of his cloak and yanked with all its might, startling the deity out of his rage and bringing him back to his senses. His staff dropped to the ground with a loud thud before disappearing into the air.
“Hermes,” A raspy voice called out from behind him. Hermes turned his head around, a pair of familiar bluish-gray eyes staring back at him with a tired yet determined look- albeit now sporting a brand new lighting scar that seemed to pulse with every breath she took- “my brother,”
“Stop.”