The two landed on the strange yet lush island some time ago. The very air itself had a strangely sweet aroma, and it wasn't as humid as the king expected of an isolated island. The foliage had a strange purple hue in some places and golden in many others. His blade also struggled more than it should to cut through the brush, and his arm was growing tired with searching.
It had already been four hours, and they had found little beyond strange trees and bushes covered in odd seeds that glowed.
"You can relax, my friend." Polites rested a hand on his shoulder from behind. He stiffened for a moment before calming at his dear friend's touch on his arm.
"Hm?" He turned to Polites, and his shoulders untensed just a little at the smile on his dear friend's face.
"I can tell you're getting nervous, so do yourself a service..." he gave that warm smile again, "and try to relax, my friend."
"I'm fine, Polites." He assured his dear friend.
"Think of all that we have been through. We'll survive what we get into." He embraced his captain, and the two shared a quiet, peaceful moment. "I know that you're tired of the war and bloodshed..." He whispered gently.
Odysseus felt his heart sting. He quietly clutched Polites closer, and he felt the pain of a decade crash back down for a few terrible seconds. Yet there in his dear friend's arms, he felt the burden ease just a little more.
"Tell me... is this how we're supposed to live?" His eyes turned up towards his captain, and how they pleaded with him. "Look at how you grip your sword!" He exclaimed, his boice trembling lightly. "It is more than enough said. But, why should we take when we could give?" The smile reignited as he turned, and Odysseus had to stop himself from laughing at how easily Polites could always flip the script.
He turned towards the king of Ithaca, smiling as he walked backward through the thicket. The king heard water nearby, and he followed his handsome friend along the small path they had. "You could show a person that you trust them when you stop and lower your guard! Here, we have a chance for some adjustments." He stepped closer, touching his captain's sword hand and slowly untightening his fingers until the bronze clattered to the grass. The king chuckled lightly, as he was to do whenever Polites resorted to tactics more befitting of a spartan than an Ithacan.
"Give it a try. It's not that hard," a little smirk on his face as he said it, and perhaps the king felt a flush of red as the shorter man turned and strode along the grass with his delicate hands tucked behind him.
They walked towards the sound of water, and Polites then turned and spread open his arms with a brilliant smile. "I'm telling you, this life is amazing when you greet it with open arms!" His face practically a vision of Helios. "Whatever we face, we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart." He turned again with his arms held open, laughing like a fool as the king shook his head and followed with a gentle expression. His dear friend's voice turned soft and warm. "No matter the place, we can light up the world. Here's how to start." As they emerged from the thicket to a small pond filled with strange fuzzy creatures like little purple bears with leaves on their heads. "Greet the world with open arms." He said warmly, reaching out his hands to these strange creatures.
"Stay back!" The king shouted as he stood between Polites and these creatures. He swore they mimicked his words when he spoke them.
"My friend. Greet the world with open arms." He set his hand overtop of Odysseus's wrist and lowered his guarded pose just a little with a smile before he turned towards the odd little creatures. Their pond was filled with strange little leaves that resembled discs or plates, and they ate of these besutifully rich dark fruit that smelled like treats Polites had only ever tried from the most exotic of places. "We're only here for food." The king heard them echo his dear friends' words. Something wasn't right. The island was strange. These creatures seemed untrustworthy. Their fruit glowed oddly, and Odysseus began to loop within his own mind to find where he had heard this all before.
"Six hundred friends are waiting for us to show our faces." Odysseus said firmly. He stomped as one approached the two of them. He knew exactly what these were now. "Stay back, I'm warning you. If we don't get back safely, my men will turn this place into blazes and -" just as a dozen of the tiny things lifted platters and plates laiden with these fruits.
"See?" They all seemed to say eerily in unison. The king's eyes started to narrow, before Polites hefted a plate right out of their hands and began to cheer.
"This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms!" He beamed so brightly, his eyes closed. He could get so deeply enthusiastic when he wanted to, and his energy was infectious. "Whatever we face, we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart!" He began to dance in the center of the little creatures, and they danced alongside him before one even settled onto his shouldsr. "No matter the place, we can light up the world. Here's how to start!Greet the world with open arms!"
"Greet the world with open arms!" The little creatures echoed the little tune that Polites had made quite the song of by now. He always adored his newest little songs. They made the long voyages so much easier.
"My friend... I wish that I could say that I agree, but look at the way this fruit is glowing and filled with glowing seeds." He plucked a fruit off Polites' tray and tore it open easily with his fingers. Its very juices glowed, as did its seeds. "It took me a while to notice just what kind of fruit they eat." He sighed somberly, hating to break his dear friend's heart this way. "It's a lotus. It controls your mind and never lets you free." He rolled the seeds around in his hands, briefly considering them before turning and tossing them like trash to the grass. "That's what we'd get with open arms..." He whispered, frustrated with this venture already now. Polites, thankfully, were not so easily discouraged.
He knelt down beside the little creatures and began to ask, "Lotus eaters, I'd like to show my friend that kindness is brave. Could you tell me where there's other food to eat?" He gave them that signature bright smile, and they all answered in perfect unison.
"The cave." Something about that sent a chill down Odysseus' spine. Perhaps it was their haunting demeanor and the way their faces smiled like they lacked eyes.
"A cave!" Polites, sweet innocent Polites, instantly was ready to run headlong towards it. "You're saying there's a cave where we could feast?" He gave them all a wide-eyed expression, petting the one that had taken to his shoulder. Odysseus would be lying if the sight wasn't precious. "Where do we sail to find this food-filled cave?"
"East, that way." They all turned and pointed in unison. For a momebt, Odysseus felt something in the distance. A deep boom like the crushing sound of wood shattering stone.
He saw a single horrible red eye stare back, and then, he snapped back when Polites shouted, "Thank you!" His face seemingly fading the vision away. Odysseus felt his heart tremble, but he knew, at the very least, they would be alright
They always came out alright, in the end.
"Welcome." They answered in that sinister fashion that had begun to grow on the seaborn king.
"See? This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms!" He began again, starting to jog towards where they knew the ship was docked with a big smile always on his face. He grabbed Odysseus' hand as he began and looked back at him with kind eyes. "I see in your face that there is so much guilt inside your heart. So why not replace it and light up the world? Here's how to start." He turned judt before they reached the shores. Odysseus saw the sun rising behind his dear friend, and for that moment, he felt a true sense of hope again. He would greet the world now, far kinder. He held Polites' hand gently and sung warmly alongside him.
"Greet the world with open arms!"
"Greet the world with open arms..."
"Greet the world with open arms. You can relax, my dear friend."