A/N: Hi everyone! I wanted to put something else up, so I posted my short story about Elpenor falling off the roof. Poor guy. :( Constructive criticism wanted, reviews appreciated!
Disclaimer: I own a copy of the Odyssey, but not the idea for it.
Elpenor sat in the garden on Circe's roof as he took yet another sip from his cup of red wine. He looked at the curtain of shimmering stars up ahead as they seemed to blur together until they looked like the sparkly wool on one of Polyphemus's sheep. Polyphemus, thought Elpenor. I remember how Odysseus gave him wine to make him drunk before killing him. He took a bite out of the savory beef sandwich Circe made for the going-away party. And those lotus guys capturing some of our crew with those weird flowers, he recalled. He took another sip of the blood red alcohol and wiped his mouth on his arm. "How silly to die from food and drink!" he exclaimed out loud. Giving up on sipping, he downed the remainder of his beverage and gave a hiccupping laugh. He shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth. Around him, Circe's exotic plants curled and swayed like tentacles on a kraken. Luminous flowers bloomed like balls of fire, their leaves glinting metallically in the moonlight. The would-have-been majestic silence was permeated by Circe's oinking pigs. It's so pretty up here, and the temperature's just perfect. I might as well take a nap. This is my last day here, anyway. Elpenor curled up and fell into sleep.
"EVERYONE GET ON BOARD!"
"What?!" exclaimed Elpenor as he woke up in a meadow to the sound of Odysseus's voice. Why would he have fallen asleep in a meadow? His crew must be leaving! He scrambled up and broke into a sprint. He only made it a few yards before the ground suddenly vanished from under him. He screamed, but no one seemed to hear him save for the pigs, which only began to oink louder. He was falling, falling, falling. With a crash, his body broke under the cobbles next to the pig pen. He felt a tugging sensation as Thanatos, the god of death, flew out of nowhere and ripped his soul from his crumpled body. Elpenor gazed in horror at the limp, lifeless form that was once him. Part of his spinal cord jutted out from where his neck snapped, and blood, the exact same shade of red as his wine, pooled around his head.
Thanatos began to fly away on his wings of darkness, probably on his way to the Halls of Hades like Captain Odysseus's crew.
"WAIT!" yelped Elpenor, yet no one seemed to hear him. Thanatos didn't even look back. Dead and alone, Elpenor watched the ship begin to sail. I must have a proper burial, he thought. At that moment, he vowed to follow Odysseus to the Halls of Hades until the captain would turn back and allow his soul to rest in peace so he could drink all the wine in the Underworld.