Chapter Text
Odysseus was overjoyed to start their journey home; but that didn't mean he was unaware of what laid ahead of them. Even though the trip from Troy to Ithaca was only supposed to take two weeks, that could not be guaranteed with the dire amount of supplies the crew had and rest that they would need in-between. But, these were all risks he was willing to take. All to get back to his family.
The first risk they needed to take, obviously, was hunger. They wouldn't be able to raid an island close to Troy because over the ten-years of war, the Achaeans had already sacked every island close to it. So, they would have to wait until they came upon newly, un ravaged land. There was no telling how far out the next island was, for the sea always held unexplainable mysteries. Some mysterious, though, were held in the hands of a select few of people, such as prophets and seers.
Lucky for Odysseus and his crew, they had a seer on the ship. Mnason. Just like Odysseus, Mnason stayed on the main ship, the ship that sailed in front of the others and the ship that held all of their best warriors. Being on the main ship allowed Mnason to guide the other eleven ships to where they needed to go. He guided them to Troy, and now it was his time to guide them back to Ithaca. Despite every member of the crew growing up on the same, rocky place, Mnason knew the waters better than any of them.
Odysseus trusted him for this reason. He knew that Mnason would have the answers to if there were any upcoming islands. Any island that would be able to supply them with the proper materials.
Mnason was standing on the helm of the ship when Odysseus found him. This is where he seemed to be constantly, as it was the front of the ship and gave the seer clear view of what lay ahead.
“Mnason,” Odysseus said, holding a firm but calm tone as to not startle the man. But Mnason did not seem startled. Rather, he turned his head in the captain’s direction as if to urge him to continue. And Odysseus did. “I trust you know if we are going to be nearing any islands soon?”
The seer turned his head back towards the sea, seeming to ponder the question for a moment. “Two days.” Mnason replied with no further elaboration. Though, Odysseus didn’t need it. He already understood what the seer meant. It would be two days before they arrived on the next island.
Odysseus smirked. It was his signature expression he found himself doing often, for it matched perfectly with his wily personality. “Thank you,” The tactician replied before he was gone.
As Odysseus walked among the ship, he thought about what Mnason had told him. That they had two days. Two days until the next island. According to his calculations, their food would only last until tomorrow morning, so his men would only have to survive for a day without food. That would be easy.
In a war, there wasn’t always food lying around, especially with thousands of men. So, at Troy, there was periods of time where the soldiers went without anything to eat. Sometimes it lasted for a couple of days. A singular day was nothing.
Despite it being a normal survival tactic, Odysseus shouldn’t have even been thinking this hard about their food supply. He knew his men could handle it, and he especially knew that he could handle it. But ever since yesterday, he’d started feeling more hungry than usual. He used the excuse that the excessive amount of food they had at the feast to celebrate victory over Troy had messed up his metabolism. But Odysseus knew that could not be a probable answer. The man has had feasts at his kingdom before, plus he barely consumed a large amount of food during the feast.
Odysseus decided to ignore it. Acknowledging his change in hunger would only make it worse. Plus he didn’t need to focus on himself right now, he needed to make his crew his top priority.
On the ship, the crew weren’t separated into ranks— unless it regarded their strength— because it seemed pointless that any man should have more than another. The same rule applied to Odysseus. Even though he had the title of captain, and his men treated him as such, he didn’t feel it was necessary to put himself above his crew. That’s why he put his crew as top priority.
Around the ship, it was evident that Odysseus’ men didn’t pay any mind to Odysseus’ effort at fairness. They still treated him like a higher power. For example, when Odysseus walked to the lower deck of the ship that afternoon, he was met with Eurylochus, scavenging through the crew’s food supply. The man noticed Odysseus, turning around to greet him at his presence, “Ah, Captain, I was just about to come get you,”
Odysseus raised his eyebrow in response, “What is it?” He already knew what the man had to say to him. But he would give Eurylochus his patience.
“It’s our food,” Eurylochus said, pointing the barren crates behind him, “we don’t have much to last us.”
“Yes, I assumed as such,” the captain replied, making sure to hold his head high to show there is no need to worry.
“Since there is only so much to last until tomorrow, would you like to have the majority of it, sir?” There it is. Making Odysseus feel like the captain he is supposed to be instead of the equal member he wishes to be seen as. It was especially weird hearing this come from Eurylochus’ mouth since he was Odysseus’ brother-in-law.
“No, there is no need for that. Divide it evenly among the men as best as you can.” Even if Odysseus’ stomach was churning in hunger at the mentioned of food, he ignored it. Like always, his crew was his top priority.
Eurolychus looked unto the older man with doubt for a second, before giving a quick nod and turning back to divide the food supply.
Now, only a day and a half until their next restock. They could make it until then.