Chapter Text
On the rather bitterly cold December day, he watched the final six contestants as they were escorted off the short bus with bags over their heads. It was the day he had been waiting for for such a long time—the plans he had made for the past however many decades was finally coming to fruition.
No matter who 'wins' down there, Calypso is the true winner.
As he gave his Final Round speech, with Mayhem sitting behind him plotting on an escape plan, he felt tingles down his spine, but it wasn't the harsh wind blowing his hair around. The war he was about to unleash onto the Divided States brought him glee as he envisioned total world domination.
Only there was something missing.
Her.
She had been traveling by foot for days, and she could tell her sneakers were on their last few steps but she took a wrong turn and somehow ended up lost in the forest. She had figured out days ago that her compass was absolutely useless, and she couldn't fix it with her supplies and so she was on her own, in the forest, with sneakers falling apart at the soles.
Another twig broke against her step as she turned 90 degrees to see off in the distance…something.
Is that a well?
She walked towards it, the closer she got the more she saw and realized that this well was definitely out of place. It almost felt like it came out of one of her fantasy books she read as a girl.
When she finally reached it, she saw all the details of brick and vines against it; with steam coming up against the cold air in the forest. The water inside looked suspicious and when she scooped a handful of the practically black water she knew she wouldn't be able to drink it, or even clean herself with it.
She huffed, looking around the forest to figure out her next move.
"I wouldn't drink that!" she heard from behind her, and she gasped while turning around, tripping on her own foot and landed hard on the cold ground.
She made eyes with the voice, a pale man with long thin black hair looked at her with a bright smile and brown eyes that tried to dig into her soul as he looked at her. She grabbed her gun and pointed it at the stranger who put his hands up in defense, his smile turning into a smirk while he backed away slowly.
"Easy! Easy!" he called out, "I didn't mean to startle you, I'm sorry!" he said.
"Who the fuck are you?? Where did you even come from!?" she asked, crawling away from the stranger.
He remained firm in his spot, watching her have a mini panic attack as she stood up from the ground with her gun still pointed at him, using the well as a barrier between the two of them.
"Lets not have a cow, why don't we put the gun down and have a civil chat? Is that possible…?" he asked.
She didn't move.
He nodded in understanding, "Okay. That's fair. Random guy pops out in the woods. It's expected to be unnerved. What's your name?" he asked, trying to break the tension, but being absolutely horrible at it.
She remained silent.
He smiled at her, "You seem like a 'Lydia'." he said.
Her gun lowered slightly.
He gasped excitedly, "Did I get it right? Lydia?" he asked.
"How did you…"
"Lucky guess!" he interrupted her, "Why don't you guess mine?" he smiled.
Lydia looked him over before shrugging her shoulders, "I don't know…Brian?"
He laughed, it was unsettling to Lydia as she furrowed her brow at him before he suddenly stopped, "Brian. Okay. But, no. My name…is Calypso!!" he said, suddenly standing tall like some powerful figure.
Lydia thought she was looking at a crazy person.
He looked at her with an expectant look, like she was supposed to know who 'Calypso' was, but all Lydia did was shake her head.
"No?" Calypso asked.
Lydia shook her head more, "I don't know who that is…" she muttered.
Calypso huffed, "Damnit."
The two of them stood awkwardly when Calypso looked down at her shoes, the sole on her right shoe had completely torn off, "Your shoe's busted," he observed.
Lydia looked down and noticed the carnage, "Fuck," she muttered.
"I can help you…with your shoe." he offered.
Lydia huffed, "No. I just want to get out of these woods."
"Kinda hard without shoes, and a compass…"
"I had one!…but it broke."
Calypso nodded, "I can fix it."
She glared at him, "I doubt it."
"Lets me take a crack at it. What's the worst that can happen? I break your already broken compass?" he offered.
Lydia argued with herself, this guy was weird. Really weird…but he wasn't making any sudden moves, staying on his side of the well, she didn't see any weapons on him. What's the worst he can do?
She grabbed the compass from one of the pockets of her bag and tossed it to him; he caught it effortlessly and she watched as this 'Calypso' guy looked over her compass and played with it. He shifted the object in his hands and before twisting the mechanism in his hands and smiled to himself.
"Got it!" he said, smiling at Lydia while tossing the compass back to her.
She caught it, not believing him as she looked at the compass that pointed north. "What the…how did you do that?" she asked him.
"One of my many talents," he told her, "I can fix your shoes too. Besides, you won't get very far since the sun's about to set. Wouldn't want you getting hurt now, would we?" he asked her.
Lydia just stared at him.
"I have clean water. You can drink it, and maybe clean yourself up…" Calypso offered.
The offer was tempting, and Lydia went through the Pros and Cons of taking his offer.
He was right: the sun would be setting soon and it wasn't smart to walk around without shoes—that's how you get injuries or diseases even. She had run out of water several days ago, and was desperate to parch her thirst—plus a shower wouldn't suck either. But this 'Calypso' guy was fucking weird! Period.
This guy could be one of those cannibals you heard about in passing!
I have my gun though…just need to keep it close at all times.
"Okay," she finally said.
Calypso perked up, "Excellent! You can follow me, I'll get you taken care of!" he said, his smile genuine. Or this guy is a master manipulator!
Lydia nodded, putting her gun away but keeping it close within her reach if Calypso tried anything funny.
As the sun set, it started to seem like they were walking in a circle, and Lydia wondered if Calypso was just wasting her time when they passed a tree that showed a giant yurt in the middle of the woods.
"Ah! Here we are!" Calypso said, walking towards it.
Lydia was taken aback, that yurt wasn't there before—she would have noticed that against the back drop of trees. Right? Am I losing my mind? Am I dead? Is this Hell??
She walked with Calypso towards it, it seemed cozy and very put together on the outside, and as Calypso pulled back the drape to let her inside. She walked in, seeing the lights draping from the ceiling, it genuinely seemed bigger on the inside; like she had walked into a cabin instead.
"Take your shoes off, relax. Shower's in the corner. Let me get you some water first though." Lydia heard Calypso rattle off before disappearing, and then suddenly reappearing with a tall glass of water in front of her.
Lydia jerked at his sudden appearance, nervously staring at Calypso as he stared at her when she forced a smile before taking the glass and putting it to her lips, wanting to be delicate but ended up chugging the water as fast as possible.
"There is plenty of water, so help yourself." Calypso said, walking away.
She looked around the yurt, it was cozy and welcoming—and so she was automatically suspicious, but Calypso seemed unfazed by it. Lydia walked to the corner where a make-shift bathroom was created with a curtain partition, she sighed to herself at the sight while putting her bag down and rummaging through to grab her supplies and a new set of clothes to take a shower.
Her gun was in view the entire time, but she didn't hear Calypso approaching the corner once. She stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body and found herself looking at her reflection for the first time in a long time. She almost didn't recognize herself, getting lost against the scrapes and bruises on her body and how long her hair had gotten when a voice brought her back to reality.
"Lydia?" Calypso called from the other side of the curtain partition.
Lydia jumped, "Yeah?" she composed herself, wrapping the towel tighter around her body while reaching for her gun.
"I've made dinner. If you're hungry." he told her.
"Oh," Lydia murmured, "Yeah, I'll, uh…I'll be right there." she said, letting the grip on her gun go. She rushed to get dried and dressed before pulling the curtain back to leave the bathroom and walked out to see a make shift table in the middle of the room as Calypso rested two plates down.
He glanced at her, his crazy eyes yet again trying to peer into her soul before smiling and turning back to the table, "Come. Sit. I really outdid myself on this."
Lydia slowly approached the table, seeing the small spread of food. It was honestly the fanciest thing she had seen in the past several years since the apocalypse had occurred, she somehow found herself sitting across from Calypso awkwardly as the smell of pasta and sauce hit her nostrils.
"I know it's not much, but…" he trailed off, taking a bite while watching Lydia.
"Well, it's more than I've seen in a long time." she spoke quietly, grabbing the utensil and taking a bite, accidentally letting out a moan. "Oh my god, that's so good!" she chuckled to herself.
Calypso smiled, "Thank you."
Lydia glanced at a bowl of fruit, reaching out for a piece and realized what it was. "Is that a Fig?" she asked, astonished.
"It is." he smirked.
She glanced at him, "You seem to be very resourceful."
"As do you," Calypso said, putting his fork down, "But we all have our series of hiccups…" he observed.
Lydia stared at him, finishing her bite of food before taking a deep breath. What's his angle? She simply let out hum in agreement.
Calypso smiled at her, then went back to his food, "So, what's your story?" he asked.
"I'd rather not." she said, stonewalling the conversation as she took another bite of food while looking around the yurt, "…how long have you lived out here?" she asked.
He smirked, "No, no, no…you don't get to ask me about myself and not tell me something about you." he flirted, chuckling before taking another bite of food. "But, if just to humor you: I don't live here. Just doing some reconnaissance."
"On what?" Lydia asked.
"You first," he said, looking her over, "Have you been on your own for long?"
Lydia huffed, leaning back in her chair, "I've always been on my own."
"Even before?" Calypso asked, cheekily.
The corners of her mouth raised slightly at him, "I was tolerated before, nothing really changed after the attack…just more quiet, I could think."
He hummed, "I see." he took another bite, "What do you think about?"
Lydia smirked at him, "What are you doing out here?" she asked, shifting the conversation back to him.
Calypso chuckled at her, "Checking in on my well…"
"Your well?" she asked.
He nodded, "I have some big plans in the works…need to make sure it's up for the task."
She smirked, "Well, it doesn't seem to be in the best condition."
"You have no idea…" Calypso said before chuckling maniacally.
Lydia furrowed her brow at him, "Is that how you actually laugh, or are you trying to prove a point?" she asked.
Calypso stopped laughing immediately, "I mean, sometimes, yeah."
They looked at each other, and Lydia finally looked away and back at her food, Calypso watched her for a moment then cleared his throat gently to get her back on track, "If you could wish for anything, what would you wish for?" he asked.
She looked up at him and smirked, "What?"
"If you had one wish, no matter how impossible it seemed, what would you wish for?" he reiterated.
Lydia paused on the thought before shrugging her shoulders, "I don't know…" she muttered before taking another bite. "What would you wish for?"
Calypso pretended to think of an answer, then smiled at her, "To be seen."
She hummed, "Really? I would have thought 'World Domination'. You seem like the type." she said.
"Well, that too!" he agreed.
She laughed, he couldn't believe it—but she actually laughed. He was taken aback by it all with her teeth showing, the way her nose scrunched, and the sudden blush on her face. All of her humanity on display and he felt shivers down his spine and could not explain why.
"You have such a beautiful smile." he told her.
The compliment made her timid, forcing her smile to dull as she looked back down at her plate and finished her meal, "If I could wish for anything?"
He nodded, leaning forward at the table almost in bated breath waiting for her answer.
"And it wouldn't be like a monkey's paw situation, twisted into something literal or whatever?" Lydia asked.
"I'd make an exception. For you." Calypso flirted.
She nodded at him, then bit her lip, "To be loved." she said softly, "Unconditionally loved."
Calypso tilted his head at her, "That's all?"
Lydia furrowed her brow at him, "After everything I've been through, yes. It's a big ask, apparently." she sassed him.
"I don't think it is," he said, "It's quite noble and brave to admit what you desire. No matter how…vulnerable." Calypso commented before taking a sip of water.
They sat in silence once more, staring at each other with both of them refusing to look away in the strangest game of chicken that Lydia had ever played. She turned her head slightly at him and swallowed hard, "Where are your eye brows?" she asked.
"What?" Calypso chuckled.
"You don't have eyebrows…what happened to them?" she asked, reaching for the untouched glass of water next to her to take a sip.
He smirked at her, "Wouldn't you like to know…"
Lydia gently rolled her eyes at him, "Okay, well, on that note…" she slowly stood up from the table, "Thank you for dinner and the amazing conversation." she snarked, beginning to grab her plate when Calypso stopped her.
"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of the dishes. You should go lie down, get some rest." he interrupted, standing up as well and cleaning the dishes off. Lydia stood there awkwardly, still feeling compelled to help as she grabbed a dish but Calypso playfully hissed at her while taking the dirty dish from her hand, "I must be insistent on this, Ms. Lydia. Go lie down." he said, firmly.
She swallowed hard, nodding and accepting his insistence as she turned and sat on the cot beg and watched Calypso. Lydia was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, for him to show his true crazy side whether he was about to mug her or eat her, or whatever.
But it never came.
Lydia didn't even remember going to bed, her eyes shot open to the yurt quiet and clean, but more importantly empty. She sat up in a rush, looking around for Calypso but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Hello?" she called out.
Nothing.
She hummed, turning back to the cot to find her clothes washed and folded, along with her sneakers looking brand new and fixed. Lydia looked around once more, then grabbed her items to put away or on.
Before she left the yurt, she managed to find a notepad and a pen, writing a note to the mysterious man who was nowhere to be found in the morning.
I see you. — Lydia
She put the note on a table to be found later, putting her overstuffed bag on her back and sighed to herself before leaving the yurt and looked out into the crisp cold morning within the forest. Lydia looked behind her and saw that the yurt was gone, just forest once more.
"What the fuck?" she muttered, taking a few steps back. Lydia was disoriented, feeling like she was lost once again in the forest when she reached for her compass, fixed and pointing north. She couldn't dwell on the past 12-ish hours, she needed to get out of the forest and figure out her next move.