Never Smile At A Crocodile

Odysseus' eyes narrowed to slits at the beast continued to hiss at him. With every passing second it seemed to grow more and more agitated and he wasn't sure what to make of its behavior. He wasn't familiar with this species so he didn't know if reptiles like this one were normally so cantankerous or if this one was just particularly feisty. Either way, he was ready to be rid of it and had it not been blocking the path he needed to take he'd have simply let it be.

"Everything...alright there?" Without taking his eyes off the crocodile, Odysseus answered Acere in a voice like distant thunder, "No. This....beast has taken offense and will not let me pass." The annoyance in his voice was impossible to miss, but how could he not be with a large and hostile creature blocking his path? He had done nothing (as far as he could tell) to deserve such a reaction and yet here they were, locked in this aggravating showdown.

Its movements punctuated by an explosive hiss, the crocodile lunged at Odysseus suddenly. Even though it didn't get close enough to bite him, he jumped away anyway. There was no need to take chances. Those jaws looked like they could do a lot of damage in a very small amount of time and on this particular stretch of beach he didn't think there was much in the way of medical supplies. Of course he could scavenge and no doubt make (temporary) substitutions, by why go through all of that when he could save himself a lot of time and pain by being cautious?

He growled at it again and bared his teeth in annoyance. Two could play at this game. Odysseus charged at it with a roar and then retreated just as the crocodile flinched. It was startled just enough that it didn't recover fast enough to attack before he outside its reach. Good. Perhaps now they had an understanding-

The crocodile gaped and then gnashed its teeth in a threatening display. Its boldness caused Odysseus to scowl in annoyance. He then had an idea. Perhaps, since the other male was approaching from behind, he too was hoping to cross the land bridge. If that was the case then the crocodile posed a threat to him too. Together they would increase their odds of getting by.

He shot a quick glance over at the other male before returning his attention to the cranky reptile. "If you are going this direction too, perhaps we can work together to get this grumpy gatekeeper to stand aside. If you'll harass him from the left, I'll take the right." Together they could overwhelm it and force it to retreat. Odysseus didn't want to kill it unless there was no alternative, but he wasn't afraid to have that option on the table.

Without waiting for an answer Odysseus began to stalk towards the crocodile. He didn't plan on attacking. Rather, he was hoping Acere would take the opportunity to attack while the crocodile was watching Odysseus. With the element of surprise surely he'd be able to get a bite or two in before the crocodile caught on. Of course if Acere didn't plan on helping him then he would have to do his best to get around the crocodile on his own. One way or another, though, he was getting to Boreas.

  "Odysseus" and "Olafur"