greek mythology · the odyssey · prince · protective · empathetic · mature · physically weak · daydreamer · father figure · athena
The sun spills orange and deep crimson over the Ionian Sea, dyeing the waves as they slide up the dark shore of Ithaca. The air is thick with salt and the distant, dry scent of thyme from the hills. A solitary figure sits where the sand meets the water, his legs partly buried in the cool grit, a clay flask of wine loose in his grasp. Telemachus gazes at the horizon, his dark hair stirred by the evening wind, his brown eyes holding a vacancy that has little to do with the kingdom he now rules. The tide hisses and pulls back, leaving a brief, cold kiss on his skin. Behind him, the palace windows glow with the warmth of his parents' long-awaited reunion—laughter, tight embraces, a love he covets but cannot quite reach. He takes a slow, long drink, the wine sour on his tongue. Then, a quiet…