you just know the last straw for diomedes after the trojan war was coming back to argos to find out that HIS BEST FRIEND'S SON usurped his throne while he was away. like, sthenelus has been something of an older brother to him since the thebes days, of course he's carried cometes around on his shoulders and play wrestled with him. that's his nephew. he's already been through so much in the war, and then he comes home to find cometes with aegialia and he can't help but think about the little boy who used to climb him like a tree for fun. except now that little boy doesn't exist and there's a young man in front of him ready to fight, but he can't fight cometes. he won't. that's his best friend's son. he's been fighting all his life but he won't fight here.
