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Odysseus pulled his cloak closer around him as a cool night breeze came in off the ocean. Sand slipped into his sandals and stuck to his feet as he trudged down the beach, and he paused to shake it out of his shoes before continuing. He passed some men drinking by a watch fire and, because he was in a good mood, waved cheerfully to them and said hello. He did not linger too long though; his feet knew the way to Polites' tent quite well.
“Hey Polites, are you in here? The moon is gorgeous tonight, and I thought we could go to that one hill and-”
Odysseus had seen a lot of weird things, but this was probably one of the weirder things he'd walked in on…well…there was that one incident with Achilles. This was a close second.
Polites stood on the far end of the tent, holding an empty wooden bowl which slipped from his hands and clattered to the ground with a dull thud. His face was slightly red and flushed, and sweat beads glittered on his tanned skin in the dim lamp light.
“Odys…seus?” Polites panted out with some difficulty, chest heaving like he'd just run several miles.
“Um…are you okay…?” Odysseus mumbled cautiously, knowing something was very off.
Polites looked down as if he hadn't heard Odysseus and finally noticed that he had dropped the bowl. He leaned down to pick it up but his fingers shook and he struggled to pick it up. He winced, biting his lip. Odysseus saw blood begin to trickle down his friend's lip and he quickly moved over, generally alarmed by Polites' state.
Odysseus picked up the bowl for him and set it down on a nearby table. He grabbed his friend firmly by the shoulder and pulled him up.
“Poli, what is going on, what–”
Odysseus nudged Polites’ head up with his hand to get a good look at his face. The man's lip was bleeding, his teeth looked strangely sharp, and his pupils were narrowed in wild panic. Odysseus pulled back sharply. Polites retreated a few steps himself and put his faltering hand up as he shook his head.
“Odysseus, you're not supposed to be here…” he stammered with something like the sound of clearing one's throat, but far more strange and disturbing.
Polites winced like he had a horrible headache and took a step away from Odysseus again. The sound of rattling metal against the ground made Odysseus' eyes drift to a rusty bronze shackle around Polites' left ankle, which chained him to the main tent post.
“Polites, what the heck are you doing…? Why is your leg chained up?!”
Polites didn't answer and let out a suppressed groan of pain and stepped back, reaching for his cot behind him. He misjudged the distance and slumped to the ground next to it, leaning against the bed while trying to breathe in and out slowly. Odysseus instinctively moved closer to his friend and tried to touch his shoulder gently, worry etched into his face.
Polites snapped his head towards Odysseus and raised his voice through tightly gritted teeth, “Stay away from me!”
Odysseus scowled, unused to being denied such things by his best friend.
“Polites, just tell me what's going on!”
Polites jumped to his feet and lunged forward at Odysseus. In the blink of an eye he stood in front of his captain, staring down at him with shuddering breaths and thin pupils. His hand clawed at the fabric of Odysseus' chiton and yanked him close. Had Polites gotten taller in the last few minutes?
“Odysseus, for your safety and mine, I am begging you to get out of this tent and not come back until this is all over,” he hissed.
Odysseus blinked and slowly pried Polites' solid grip off of where it was fisted around the fabric of his tunic. His chiton looked like a wild beast had tried to attack him. He inched back a little from what he guessed was Polites' immediate attack zone.
“Until what, exactly, is over? Polites, tell me what's going on. That's an order from your king…and a request from your very confused and concerned friend.”
Polites grunted in annoyance and began pacing back and forth in the small area that the chain allowed.
“It's been happening ever since I was teenager, every fricking month…”
“So like a period?” Odysseus tried to suppress a smirk.
“No!” Polites snapped with uncharacteristic anger.
Odyseus flinched ever so slightly. Polites sighed and stopped talking for a moment. He stood still, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
“Odysseus, I turn into a monster every month.”
“So does Penelope…” Odysseus mumbled.
“It’s not a period! I mean I literally turn into a monster! It usually happens on nights with full moons, which is handy actually, cuz then I can predict it pretty well and prepare myself.”
“You turn into a beast once a month and I've never noticed…?” Odysseus mused.
Polites gestured to the chain around his ankle emphatically.
“Yeah, I turn into something else for a night, and then I kind of don't remember anything afterward. I get violent and hungry and– I don't even know how to describe it…”
“Are you worried you're going to accidentally hurt me when you turn into this…creature?” Odysseus asked, taking the whole thing a little more seriously now.
“Yes!” Polites shouted, retreating with every step Odysseus took towards him.
Polites gestured to the empty bowl on the table with a shaking hand and Odysseus glanced at it.
“I devised a pretty strong sedative over the years from the medical supplies. That stuff should kick in soon and knock me out all night so I don't hurt anybody, but…”
Odysseus seemed to be thinking very deeply for a few moments. He stopped moving closer to Polites.
“Why didn't you ever tell me…?” he finally asked.
“I was scared that you wouldn't like me anymore. I was terrified of that outcome, actually. I still am,” Polites replied, sitting down on the ground and gritting his teeth as his hair grew shaggier and thicker.
“Why would I not like you anymore for having to go through something hard like this? Of course I'll still like you!”
Polites' head jerked up to look at Odysseus, pained tears rolling down his cheeks.
“But you don't know this part of me! How can you know if you like all of me if-”
Odysseus came over, sat down in front of him, and grabbed his hand firmly, even though Polites tried to move away.
“I just know. Polites, it's not even a question in my mind. There's no version of you that I can't or won't love, okay, that's how this works, so stop being stupid…I liked you when we were kids, I like you now, and I won't stop liking you cuz you turn into a monster every once in a while. You're still you.”
Polites sniffled and buried his head against Odysseus' shoulder.
“It's okay man…I got you…shhh…” Odysseus whispered.
He pushed his weight against Odysseus as he twisted and pushed against the floor and slowly shifted into something no longer human.
“I'm scared, Ody… I don't wanna hurt you…”
“It's okay. I'll be okay. Just take it easy…”
He looked up at Odysseus, now very much a massive thick-furred wolf with no trace of Polites left. Odysseus took a deep breath and scratched behind his giant ears hesitantly. Polites growled low in his throat and leaned into the scratches happily. The big beast curled up beside Odysseus as the medicine kicked in and trustingly set his large head in Odysseus' lap. He dozed off quietly and Odysseus wondered what in the world Polites had been so worried about.
Odysseus was now stuck under a giant fuzzy wolf. This was definitely not how he envisioned his night going, but he wasn't just going to leave Polites alone in this state!
When morning finally came, crisp and chilly from the air coming over the ocean, Polites awoke to glimpses of sunlight filtering through the tent flap. He was laying in a makeshift nest of blankets and pillows, human once more, and covered in Odysseus’ cloak. Odysseus was gone, probably to an early morning war council, but he had left a large plate of food and a jar of water nearby to satisfy Polites' post-shift appetite and Polites' ankle had been carefully unchained. Polites cried briefly, still a bit emotionally turbulent, and smiled as he sat up and scooted over to the food, shoving it into his mouth hungrily.
This was one of the easiest shifts he'd had in a long while. For once he didn't feel cursed, he felt seen and loved and cared for. Why had he ever doubted Odysseus' care for him?