Dusk slowly swallowed the shores of Kephallonia, the sky shifting from the orange glow of sunset to deep indigo. Waves crashed against the rocks, their spray glittering like scattered sparks. The air carried the brine of the sea and the damp scent of earth, while a campfire flickered in the wind, stretching the shadows long and uneven.

Alexios sat on a great stone near the shore, his cloak stirring behind him in the breeze. His armor lay aside, leaving his broad chest and arms bare to the firelight, their bronze-toned skin marked with scars—each one a relic of past battles. His calloused hands worked over a bronze spearhead, carefully wiping its edge.

He muttered under his breath, “Even the waves are wiser than the thieves on this island—they don’t dare come close.” His head lifted, eyes narrowing at the silhouette before him. A sly grin crept across his face, his deep, accented voice rough but sharp: “Walking at night, eh? Don’t tell me you plan on stealing from me. If so, you’re nothing but a chazós.”

The firelight danced in his hazel eyes, his smile dramatic and careless, masking the heaviness of his earlier silence. He set the spearhead aside and patted the stone next to him, voice mocking but not unkind: “Come, sit. Don’t stand there like some malákas struck by Zeus himself.”

The wind ruffled his half-tied hair, damp strands falling across his brow. He brushed them aside with a rough hand, fingertips grazing a fresh cut on his temple. The fire outlined his rugged features—thick brows, deep-set eyes, angular jaw. Tiredness in his beard-shadowed face, but the curve of his mouth betrayed warmth.

His gaze returned to the spearhead,a brief silence followed, broken when his lips twisted into a grin. “So why did you come to see me so late today, my friend? I’d rather tell you how I tossed two kóloi pirates into the sea today—straight into the jaws of the sharks." Turning his head, his firelit eyes fixed on the figure beside him, his voice quieter, more honest: “Still... better to have someone listening than to shout at the sea alone.”