Amused, Antinous can't help but smile at Telemachus as the younger man seems to get ready to fight him, the suitors egging him on. "Fight, little wolf, fight!" They say, smirking as they watch Antinous seem to agree to the fight as he puts his own hands up, now standing right in front of Telemachus. "Wanna entertain me?" Antinous asks, a sadistic smirk on his face, the suitors continuing to egg them both on. "Bite, little wolf, bite!" They say, some of them seeming to exchange drachmae, as if they're betting on the fight. "Let's see how you take this." Antinous says, his smile beginning to grow as he throws the first punch. The suitors keep encouraging the fight, as more drachmae keeps getting exchanged. "Strike, little wolf, strike!" They say, their words coming out at the same time as the punch hits Telemachus, the hit landing directly on his arm, leaving a bruise within seconds due to how heavy it had been.
Antinous smirks as Telemachus recovers from the heavy blow, shaking his arm out. "Wanna be a man? Then..." As though continuing Antinous' sentence themselves, the suitors speak. "Fight, little wolf! Fight, little wolf! Fight!" They say, as Antinous begins to truly fight Telemachus, landing blows against the younger man's arms as Telemachus blocks and dodges as best as he can. Antinous eventually weaves through the younger man's guard, landing a quick punch to his gut, leaving Telemachus gasping for air before he speaks, looking down at Telemachus. "You've made your worst mistake here!" He says, hitting Telemachus with a kick, knocking him down to the ground. "Might be your last one too! You'll have run out of bones to break when you and I are through!" Antinous says, grabbing Telemachus' arm, dragging him up off the ground, and hitting him again, this time having aimed for Telemachus' ribs, making the younger man's eyes widen in pain. As soon as the younger man's recovered a bit, Antinous grabs him by the hair, grinning as he speaks. "I'll teach you all the lessons your daddy never could! This cruel world doesn't give out presents just for being good, so..." Before Antinous speaks again, he shoves Telemachus away, letting the younger man get some distance to properly fight again. "Fight, little wolf, fight!" He says, the suitors echoing their words from earlier and joining him. "Wanna entertain me?" He asks once more, getting a sadistic look on his face again. Telemachus is still recovering from how Antinous had hit him moments ago. "Bite, little wolf, bite!" The suitors cry out, excited by the fight they're watching. "Let's see how you take this..." Antinous says, suddenly dashing forward towards Telemachus and getting ready to hit him again. Telemachus is barely able to dodge the attack in time, but it leaves him off balance.
The suitors, seeing that Telemachus is barely standing, decide to mock him. "Strike, little wolf, strike!" They say, all of them chuckling and smirking as they know Telemachus is barely remaining on his feet, let alone able to fight back. Antinous joins in on the mockery, raising an arm and gesturing towards Telemachus to come and fight as he smirks. "Wanna be a man? Then..." H says, his smirk growing as he walks forward and stares Telemachus in the face, not bothering to even throw a punch this time as he speaks once more, the suitors joining him. "Fight, little wolf! Fight, little wolf! Fight, or die, little wolf, die!" He says, finally starting to fight Telemachus again, aiming a kick for the younger man's stomach, which Telemachus is able to avoid, though only due to pure luck, as right after, Antinous hits him with a heavy blow to the jaw, having used Telemachus' lack of balance to his advantage. "Don't you know it's fight or fly, little wolf, fly!?" Antinous and the suitors all speak as one as Antinous shakes his head, sighing, his smirk never leaving his face. "Just because you had to try, little wolf, try!" Antinous says, walking forwards to Telemachus, who's wobbling on his feet, the blow to his jaw having clearly shaken him. Antinous threatens Telemachus, his smirk now gone. "Run away before you die, little wolf! Die, little wolf! Die!" Antinous and the suitors all say as one, Antinous raising his fist and throwing it towards Telemachus, aiming towards the younger man's temple, clearly trying to kill him.
Suddenly, everything around Telemachus stops right before he's hit by Antinous' punch. "Need some help?" A voice asks him. Telemachus looks around, confused, some blood running down his face from all the blows Antinous had landed on him. "What's going on here?" He asks, as the voice speaks up once more. "Is your plan to stand around? Cause I suggest you fight back." The voice says. Telemachus, frustration filling his heart, responds to the words spoken by the voice. "I don't know how-" He says. As if to help him, the voice speaks once more. "Uppercut him. Now." It says. After taking a short moment to look at Antinous, Telemachus notices he's vastly over-extended his blow, and is extremely off balance. He decides to do what the voice suggested and, taking a chance, uppercuts Antinous, knocking the older man to the ground. Telemachus, shocked, can only look down at his fist, amazed he was able to knock Antinous down. "Woah. How did I do that?! Is time now moving slow?" He asks, as Antinous seems to be floating slightly, not having hit the ground yet, though that should have happened in seconds. Suddenly, the being behind the voice appears, flying down from the rafters of the palace, where it had been hiding. It's an owl.
The owl transforms, and in its place, now stands the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena. She smiles gently down at Telemachus. "No, I just made your thoughts quick." She says, causing Telemachus to look at her in shock and excitement. "Whoaaaa! That is so sick!" He says, as Athena lays a hand on his shoulder, walking behind him. "Alright, now. Let's try this again." Athena says, smirking as she seems to bless Telemachus. Antinous had finally stood up from being knocked down, though he's still in shock for a moment, until pure anger enters his eyes and he snarls, charging at Telemachus. Athena begins to speak once again. "I've no respect for bullies! Those who impose their will! I've seen plenty enough to truly understand this kind of filth!" She says, as Antinous runs towards Telemachus. "Let's teach this dog a lesson in front of all his kind! One young wolf has a larger heart than all these men combined!" She says, right as Antinous tries to tackle Telemachus. However, Telemachus takes the chance to dodge the attack, leading to Antinous landing face first on the ground, as he'd jumped into the tackle.
"Fight, little wolf, fight!" Athena says, as Telemachus then takes the opportunity presented to kick Antinous right as he finishes standing up, the kick landing in Antinous' ribs, causing all the suitors to become shocked at what they're seeing. "Show them that you've got some bite, little wolf, bite!" Athena continues, and as Antinous finishes standing and tries to kick Telemachus, but he overextends himself, leaving him off balanced as Athena gives Telemachus a bit of advice. "Take advantage now and strike, little wolf, strike!" She says. Telemachus follows this advice, and uses the opportunity he's been given to hit Antinous right in the jaw, following it up with three punches to Antinous' gut, leaving the older man gasping in pain and shock. "Don't go down without a fight, little wolf! Fight, little wolf!" Athena says, giving Telemachus just enough time to notice that Antinous had recovered and was trying to punch him. Telemachus blocks it, causing him to wince in pain due to how bruised his arms already were, ending up on one knee as Antinous tries to punch him with his other arm. "Get up and fight!" Athena says, letting Telemachus notice the second punch and not only dodge it, but use the opportunity to break Antinous' hand by letting him punch a pillar of the palace. The suitors begin to talk again as Antinous grasps his hand in pain, their words and Athena's mixing together. "Fight, little wolf, fight! Wanna entertain us?" They ask, as Athena calls out a warning of sorts to Telemachus so he can dodge a kick from Antinous. "Oh!" She yells, her warning allowing Telemachus to not only dodge Antinous' attack, but also leave the older man off balance yet again. "Bite, little wolf, bite!" The suitors say, as Athena's warning mixes with their words, though the suitors are now merely trying to distract Telemachus so Antinous can win their fight. "Let's see how you take this strike, little wolf, strike!" They say, though at the same time as they first taunt Telemachus by saying strike, Athena joins in, letting Telemachus know Antinous is off balance. "Strike!" She yells, knowing Telemachus will hear her.
Telemachus ignores the suitors and listens to Athena, kicking Antinous' knee, making the older man become even more unbalanced. The suitors try taunting him again. "Wanna be a man, then..." Right between their words, Athena encourages Telemachus. "Oh! Fight!" She says, Telemachus trying to get another punch to Antinous' face. The suitors, though, use the glare of a polished bit of armor to temporarily blind Telemachus by using it to direct the light of a torch into his eyes as they speak again. "Fight, little wolf! Fight, little wolf! Fight!" They taunt him, right as Antinous uses the chance to punch Telemachus in the face with his uninjured hand, leading to Telemachus landing on the ground. "Ooooohhh, maybe I pushed you a bit to hard..." Athena says, wincing slightly as she sees Telemachus hit the ground. "Ow..." He groans out, as Antinous stands above him, panting, as even though he may have technically won, Telemachus clearly injured Antinous more than Antinous had injured him. Antinous begins to speak. "Go back and cry in your corner. Make sure your mother hears. If she won't choose a man to adorn her, we'll bring blood and tears." He says, before walking away, still panting, some blood from his broken hand dripping to the floor. Telemachus gets up, walking away as well, limping slightly as he returns to his room, Athena following him, invisible to everyone else. When Telemachus returns to his room, he stands on the balcony of it and speaks. "Tell me, Athena, why you came to my aid..." He asks, turning to look at her, confusion upon his face.