She’s done this so many times now, lived this same day so many times, she’s already bored. She knows deep down that she needs to play her part though, so she leans into her best friend Nagaveni's ear and whispers, “Looks like he rolled out the red carpet for us, thus securing his place on the throne as the King of the Party? Or as the King of Chaos for the dramatic grand entrance?” The first time, she had whispered this to Nagaveni with a mischievous raise of an eyebrow and a giggle, and it had been nothing more than a joke; now, she questions if he does have something planned. He must have if he’s the one behind this time loop, though she can’t be sure that it’s Dysnomi behind it just yet.
“WELCOME… TO… TARTARUS!”
Calliope almost wonders how her friend can even make his voice do that – sound so loud and commanding, even being heard through the loud music and crowd… but then, ‘Just don’t even question it,’ she thinks.
Nagaveni rolls her eyes, though she’s careful to keep them aimed toward the floor while she does. “A+ for the theatrics, sure, but did he have to draw so much attention over here? He couldn’t have, like, waited until I wasn’t right next to you?” She sighs and picks at the thin green strap of her skin-tight bodycon dress nervously, the way she’s done all night, every night since the time loop began the week before. She’s never been good in crowded places, and this place is packed-in-full; at least, it feels that way to her. Her anxiety soars to new heights when she notices all the attention she and Calliope are drawing. Strangers let their eyes linger on the fabric of the women's dresses, especially down the deep v plunge that runs down between their breasts. She feels self-conscious again, while Calliope seems to be thriving under the attention. But Nagaveni figures that’s just part of Calli’s siren abilities. She has to admit though, the sparkly purple dress does look amazing on Calliope, and she’s happy they decided to get matching outfits in the colors that compliment them each the best.
“Hey… just try to relax,” Calliope reassures her. “Remember, no one even knows who you are tonight except your friends, and you don’t have to worry about keeping your head hidden from anyone because the Serpent Tamer concealment amulet that I had Salem make for you is going to work all night long so that you can just be you.”
Nagaveni does feel a little better after hearing that. She remembers when Calliope first hooked the necklace onto her – the way two of the snakes on the back of her head had hissed at her. Calliope had simply called them stubborn and nicknamed them Julius Squeezer and Fhangis Khan. That had made Nagaveni laugh, and it was then that she knew her roommate would also be her friend.
Calliope finally looks at the man directly across the room from them, near the crowded nightclub’s high-top bar. He’s tall and skinny, yet very muscular. For years now, she’s found him extremely hot – with his shoulder-length pale blonde hair, pale skin, and hazel eyes that have golden specks in them.
Nagaveni looks at him as well. She feels as if she knows this man – ‘he just seems so familiar’ – yet she’s sure she’s only ever seen him on the day he invited them to the opening of this club. He had been behind the bar making drinks when they came in, but now, she can see that he’s in front of the long, sleek high-top bar directly across the floor with his arms outstretched like he’s just done something divine.
His face forms a disarmingly enigmatic smile as Calliope and her friend cross the only clear path through the dark, crowded dance floor – purple, blue and pink lights dancing over their faces and bodies. He takes a moment to peek at Calliope the way he has every night since the repeating day began, admiring her wild turquoise hair and the way it falls in loose waves down to her chest. ‘Just like a siren calling you out to sea,’ he thinks. He thinks this every night, but feels helpless to stop himself from it when he sees her. He looks at her face, the way her eyes match her dress, glowing purple and getting brighter from all that energy she has. The dress sparkles and reflects the bouncing lights of the club, commanding everyone’s attention, giving her even more energy. The fabric clings to every inch of flawless rosy skin that it touches as if it was made for her. His breath hitches in his throat when his eyes glide back up from where the dress clings to her perfect, round thighs and wide hips – her curves keeping the fabric from covering anything other than the bare minimum. Then his eyes roam up at the bottom of the deep v that plunges into the middle of her chest to allow a more… complete view of The dress clings so tightly that it could make any man jealous of the fabric itself.
He’s so wrapped up in his lustful thoughts, he doesn’t even notice when she appears in front of him. She’s just suddenly there, and he's scrambling to regain his composure.
“Truly looking like a vision, Dysnomi – or… an early-2000s goth’s idea of the perfect vampire haunting their dreams,” Calliope says to him, and he eagerly watches her full, dark pink lips curling into the absolute sexiest smirk he’s ever seen.
Calliope makes a show of roaming her eyes over his body from head to toe, while he – ever the good sport – holds his arms out and slowly circles in place, throwing sensual looks toward her the whole time. Despite not being able to control him with her siren abilities, he’s still completely enamored with her.
“I mean it, Dysnomi,” Calliope starts, throwing her hands up as if she’s showing him off to the world, “You look like a dream.” She makes a small, wistful sigh, glancing up at his flushed, pale face then. Her heart skips a beat the way it does every night that she allows herself to be close to him.
For the first time, she thinks the ever-so-confident Dysnomi looks nervous… He gazes down at her then, and for one second that somehow feels like forever, she gets lost in his eyes, comforting her like a chocolate bar after a hard day, the golden spots hinting at something more on the inside, like little, ‘…sprinkles of mischief.’ Startled, she realizes that she had just told him all of those thoughts; yet, she doesn’t feel embarrassed.
“I almost forgot how soft your hair looks up close,” Calliope whispers, with a hint of disdain in her voice from living the same day for a week. She lifts her hand above her face to reach Dysnomi’s soft, plump lips. She lightly traces her thumb across his bottom lip, causing him to inhale sharply in a vain attempt to control the intense desire he suddenly feels. She traces a line up his cheekbone, leaving the ghost of her touch along his skin, only ending when she finally reaches up to play with a fallen strand of his hair. “You have the most gorgeous blonde hair… each strand looks divine, almost as if the gold was woven by Rumpelstiltskin himself… It has the beauty of a dozen rays of sunlight bouncing off a rain puddle to create a beautiful rainbow…” She whispers this softly in his ear with a serene sigh.
‘Well, sketch everyone here happy. Ire has to be something weird. That part wasn’t so hard, was it?’
Dysnomi stares at her longingly for a time, but she stiffens when she hears that voice in her head and then feels Dysnomi’s emotions washing over her. Then she realizes how sensually she had just been talking to him – right in front of everyone.
‘I guess it’s a good thing we’re at a bar – perfect place for awkward situations or, you know, accidentally letting things go too far and accidentally using your emotional manipulation abilities on someone who’s supposed to be your friend,’ she thinks, though she isn’t even sure if her abilities work on other supernatural beings. She steps back and clears her throat, internally cringing at Dys’ obvious disappointment. She grabs a shot of whiskey from the bar and tries to start over, attempting a joke, although she’s useless in uncomfortable situations. “Hey, I mean… you should know the only reason I’m here is to make sure you don’t get a big head. I can’t let you get all the attention…” She stops joking for a moment to say, “But seriously, Dys, you do look good.”
“WHAT?!” He yells out, jumping up from where he had been leaning against the bar, uncharacteristically offended. He stops and catches himself, adjusting his tie and smoothing his black button-down shirt. “I look good? Calli, I am one of the most attractive men alive, and we both know it.” He steps forward and lowers his head to look down at Calliope, giving her his chocolate eyes to melt into, with a glint of roguish sparks behind them – like lightning.
‘Thor’s promise of a storm is upon us.’
“Your choice is yours alone, with serious consequences – and still, he’s wearing that damn smirk on his face.”
‘Two voices that time? And neither the first voice?’ Calliope thinks. The first voice was female, but this time there was a separate female voice along with a deep, commanding male voice.
Without warning, lightning storms down from above! From the sky, it crashes through the roof of Tartarus, aimed right at Calliope. She catches a glimpse of a ginormous black bird when an excruciating pain suddenly washes over her and – everything goes dark.
Opening her eyes, Calliope takes in a familiar scene on the private balcony in the VIP section of Tartarus, but she can’t quite place when it happened. She’s looking up at Dysnomi, who’s wearing the same black button-down and giving her an arrogant smirk while watching her manicured nail run along his arm before resting on his bicep.
‘I… think I remember this,’ Calliope thinks. ‘Does this mean I never actually got struck by lightning? If I didn’t, then why can I not remember anything?’ She watches as the world goes dark around her again.
…And she comes back to the balcony, one hand resting on Dysnomi’s arm while she speaks, looking up at him with feigned sad eyes. It only lasts for a second before she abruptly takes her hand away and steps back, smiling and leaving him wanting for more.
“Hey, don’t even joke about that! You know Loki’s my hero,” Dysnomi replies, smiling. “And you want me to live up to him? I don’t know… I normally would never leave a lady unsatisfied, but…” his voice becomes husky and drops low before trailing off completely, unable to keep up his flirty, teasing façade any longer.
They burst into laughter at the same time and Dysnomi finally steps forward and wraps Calliope into a big hug, his arms completely enveloping her small frame. For a second, Calliope allows her head to rest against his firm chest, listening to his heartbeat – hearing it skip when he first pulls her close – and relishing the warmth from his chest against her cheek along with the feeling of his strong arms holding her.
When she finally pulls away, she takes one more second to look at him, and she notices new tattoos now, covering both of his arms. She’s shocked for a moment, wondering when he’d even had time to get tattoos; though, he could just change his appearance with his trickster abilities – ‘Wait, so… can he give himself tattoos with his magic? He can, right? If he can bend reality to his will, then he should be able to.’ Then another, more sinister thought interrupts the first… ‘What if… HE’S doing all of this? I mean, could he truly be that bad?’
“Uhh… Calli? Are you just gonna stare at my biceps all day, or do you wanna introduce me to your beautiful new friend over here?” She jumps at the sound of his voice. She didn’t even realize she had zoned out. Looking over Dysnomi’s shoulder, she spies Nagaveni staring at the ground. Dysnomi stands there with confidence, turning away from Nagaveni to smirk at Calliope.
Nagaveni's staring at the floor, blushing. She sneaks a peek up toward Dysnomi, only to catch him blowing a flirty kiss her way with a wink. She blushes bright red in her cheeks again and looks back down, too embarrassed to say anything.
“What?! Dys, you know who Nagaveni is! You met her when you gave out the VIP invites.” Calliope laughs, gliding over and draping an arm around Nagaveni's shoulders. “However, I’ve got her wearing this concealment amulet I bought her that we’ve been calling the Serpent Tamer, so the humans don’t freak out. You know how they are – they’d prefer just to believe that beasts like us don’t exist,” Calliope finishes, with a hint of disgust in her voice.
“Nagaveni?! That’s truly you?!” Dysnomi looks genuinely amazed for a moment before regaining his composure. “Damn. I knew you were beautiful, but I didn’t even recognize you. That gorgeous black hair disguises you well,” he pauses to cock his eyebrow at her. “And having a gorgeous woman like yourself out here for Tartarus’ opening night? Your beauty alone will bring in half of LA. And if it doesn’t, Calli’s siren song definitely will.”
