Some arthritic Telemachus headcanons, because I love projecting
His first flare happened when he was two, and it scared the daylights out of Penelope. She spent hours poring over Polites's old medical texts and writings for any solution (because I'm definitely in the camp of him being a healer)
I know they didn't have immunosuppressants in Ancient Greece, but they also didn't have jetpacks, so let's say the combined brain trust of Polites and Penelope managed to figure something out. Telemachus's fevers came further and further apart, the aching in his joints became manageable, the fatigue no longer kept him bed- bound, but things were never the same again
For one thing, because of the aforementioned immunosuppressants, Telemachus got sick all the time. He felt increasingly guilty about it the older he got, fearing it was keeping him from being able to defend Penelope from the suitors. Penelope, however, just spread rumors that everything from a cold to an infected toenail was actually a deadly and very contagious illness that only she should take the risk of tending to, so those episodes actually ended up being a defense of their own
In addition, while Polites had notes on some things that helped with symptom management- stretch and strength exercises, warm blankets and baths- fatigue and pain were common enough in Telemachus's days that learning how to fight proved difficult
That is, until Athena showed up
Telemachus had absolutely no plans to tell her about his condition, having hidden it from the suitors his whole life, until he walked into his first day of training with her and she handed him a spear with a grip she'd designed specially to help his fingers
He'd fully assumed she wouldn't want him as her warrior if she knew. But she not only did she continue to train him, she put all her goddess-of-wisdom prowess into doing so in the most accommodating way possible. She hounded Apollo about what exercises Telemachus should be doing to warm up and cool down, always kept their sessions short, and crafted his Warrior of the Mind outfit with his joints in mind: boots with extra arch support, wrist and knee braces built in, gloves to protect his fingers, etc
That's how he became such a competent fighter so quickly between Little Wolf and Odysseus: for the first time, he had a teacher that knew how to work with his limitations
Training with Athena was a major confidence boost, but when Odysseus came home, Telemachus still begged Penelope not to tell him
Obviously she refused, never having lied to Odysseus and not about to start now, and never having seen arthritis as a weakness the way Telemachus had growing up trying to keep up with the suitors
But the argument was rendered moot when Telemachus got an infection from Melanthius's blade, because come on, the man definitely never cleaned that thing
Obviously, Odysseus freaked ("this is Poseidon's fault, I know it, he still hasn't gotten over the stabbing thing-") but Penelope was just like "don't worry this happens all the time"
"What do you mean this happens all the time"
Odysseus didn't leave Telemachus's bedside until his fever broke, lying next to him and singing the lullabies he used to sing to him when he was a baby. In his delirium, Telemachus just assumed he was dreaming Odysseus was there the way he often had in years past, and he cried with relief when he was well enough to remember that his father really had come home
Then he wiped his tears away and saw the way Odysseus was looking at him
"Mom told you, didn't she"
He waited for the disappointment that was surely coming, for the legendary hero to bend under the weight of realizing that it was impossible for his only son to ever measure up to his legacy
Instead, Odysseus took his face in his hands and said he couldn't believe how lucky he was to have a son stronger than he ever could have imagined
It still took a while for Telemachus to stop trying to perform around Ody, trying to be the son he thought he expected even though they both knew it was a struggle
But there came a day when they were at the base of one of the palace stairwells and Odysseus could just tell it was a bad enough day for Telemachus that they would cause him a lot of pain. He could also tell that Telemachus would insist no matter what that it was fine
So Ody just. Scooped him up and carried him up the stairs
When he set him down, Telemachus was blank-faced, and Odysseus began to worry he'd overstepped. He started to apologize, but Telemachus cut him off. "It's okay," he said, and then, "thanks, Dad."
It was the first time he'd ever called him dad. Odysseus cried for half an hour
After that, Odysseus became the first person that Telemachus was fully able to let take care of him. He'd grown up trying to protect Penelope, and he never totally stopped wanting to please Athena, but Odysseus was so genuinely delighted to be a caretaker that it was easiest for Telemachus to fully relax when he was with him
He knew he'd never be the warrior Odysseus had been, never be able to stand the relentlessness of war, but his parents and his patron were doing everything in their power to make sure he'd never have to. By the time he took the throne, he was the king the new world needed: able to lead with empathy and to keep his battles short
