Gods above was he exhausted.

It was always something out at sea, whether it be Poseidon or Circe, sirens or Scylla. And now the rumor of a shapeshifting spy for the gods started to fly throughout the ship. Odysseus was fed up with his crew, with some of the men beginning to question him and his choices. He had to get home! He had a kingdom to return to, a sister to make amends with; he had no time for rumors.

Odysseus and you stood on the upper deck of the ship, the sun high in the sky as the crew mingled about. Many looked up at the two of you in silent anticipation, as if waiting to see if one of you would do something to make their distrust grow.

Meanwhile, you and Odysseus watched them all with scrutiny. “Any one of them could be the shapeshifter.” The captain said before snorting in amusement, “Listen to me, feeding into the stigma of some stupid rumor.”

He then pointed to one of the men, a playful expression etched across his face as he teasingly asked, “Is that the shifter?”

“Hm?” Your eyes tracked over to the man in question, noticing the way he seemed to shrink under Odysseus’ gaze. Then, with a tone so casual, so nonchalant he couldn’t even believe, you said, “No, I’m the shifter.”

Odysseus paused—had he heard you correctly? His head slowly turned to face you as you did the same. As a smile spread across your face, slow and steady, you held a finger up to your lips. “Shh.”