Restless 'Til We Reach Home

Despite Everything, It's Still You

If barely anyone had seen Polites in the days prior, then he must have made himself truly scarce after his last confrontation with the captain. The playful, if unexplained, shenanigans were no more, and the crew fell back into their monotonous routine.

But remaining invisible for so long takes its toll, and he needs his moments of peace and quiet. And so, the crew took notice of the man sitting alone in the crows nest, his presence never faltering. At least this way, he can still be of some use to the crew while completely isolating himself.

By now, Polites hadn't moved from the crows nest in over a week. Even his practice with the coin was getting weaker. He sat with his knees pressed to his chest, desperately trying to shove the drachma across the planks. His finger phased through, making no impact on the piece of gold.

"How have you possibly gotten more pathetic than the last time we met?"

Great.

The voice startled him enough to clutch the coin in his fist. Polites heaved a sigh upon recognizing the unwelcome company.

"Please go away," he mumbled softly. Hermes scoffed.

"Yeah, no, I don't think so. You obviously need me, I mean, just look at yourself!" he gestured at him wildly.

"Hey!"

"No, you need to hear this!" Hermes snapped his fingers in his face to get his point across. Polites flinched back before shooting him with an annoyed look.

"I thought I left you in a good place! What happened?" he asked, dropping his voice an octave, purposefully playing up his disappointment.

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture, so can you just-"

"No- I will not just anything. So be honest, how long have you been sulking up here?"

"I'm not-"

"Oh come on, I didn't say anything that wasn't true. So, how long's it been? Or do you even know?"

"... I'm on watch-"

"For how long?" Hermes asked with a shit eating grin, propping his chin in his hands.

"... Until we're home," he said pointedly. Hermes barked out a laugh.

"Oh, so you're just gonna sit up here, all alone, until you reach Ithica? Woooow, you must be so dedicated. Definitely no underlying reason there," he drawled, smirking when he noticed the way Polites clenched his jaw. "Nope."

Polites sighed in defeat, "They hate me."

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Oh please, they don't hate you, they hate what they think you are. And I know you're gonna think I'm crazy, and stupid, and blind, but... their reaction is proof of how much you really meant to them."

"You're right, I do think that! Do you even hear yourself? They! Hate! Me!" he clapped between words to get his point across.

"They love you!"

Polites scoffed and turned away, "Who died and made you Aphrodite?"