It had started to lightly snow, and the other girls were all either hard at work on getting parts for their project cars, or helping other girls do the same when we returned to the wrecking yard. Since we only had about another hour before I needed to head back to the club for opening, Melody and I quickly went to join Carmen and Bella while Mallory joined Clarice for an introduction to working under the hood and the various car parts to be found there. “How are things coming along?” I asked as I approached the car with the donor parts for Carmen’s project with Melody and took a long slurp of my slushie.

“Pretty good, actually, my Metal magic is helping to speed things along,” Bella replied as she and Carmen both looked up from their work. “We’ve got the engine and transmission mostly broken down, though the parts are all going to need a good cleaning and a quality inspection before she can put it all back together again. It all looks like it’s in good shape though. If we keep going at this pace, we could be done in half an hour or so.”

“How about you, Carmen? Are you getting the hang of things?” I asked as I took another long slurp of frozen goodness.

“Bella has been giving me a refresher on some of the things you showed me last time we were here. I remembered some of that stuff and what we’ve been going over in class, and I guess it’s not too different than anatomy lessons with my mom. Just like different Paranormals, there are some minor differences between different vehicle models. I think I’m starting to figure out the basics though,” Carmen said thoughtfully before stopping to stare at me. “Crystal, is that a slushie? It’s like fifteen below zero, what are you thinking?”

I took another long and noisy slurp and then grinned at her. “I’m thinking that it’s nice and cold and sweet. It’s not like the cold bothers me anyway.”

“Yeah, sure, Elsa,” Carmen said with a teasing smirk. “Not all of us are that lucky. I’m cold, even with these thermal gloves and coveralls, and just watching you drink that is making me colder.”

It was really too bad that she couldn’t let her Salamander, Blaze, out to provide some heat for her, but we needed to keep the Salamanders secret. It wasn’t like I didn’t trust our new friends with that secret, but I wanted to wait until Cinder, Blaze, and the other Salamanders were a little older before even thinking about sharing that secret with our friends. They needed to be able to stay outside of our bodies for more than a few minutes and produce a proper flame before I felt safe revealing their existence, even with people I trusted.

We did not want other people to see them either, normies or Paranormal, and Alex did occasionally get people other than us searching his wrecking yard for car parts and shit. Another reason not to reveal their presence was we would have to explain how dangerous the bonding process was, and how fatal it was for people not aligned to the Fire, Divine, or Death elements. That in turn would require explaining how I, a Snow Nymph, had managed to survive the process.

To tell our friends even one of our secrets would require us to tell them everything. While I felt bad about keeping things from my friends, they all knew that we had secrets we couldn’t talk about, and they all accepted that fact and didn’t press us for details. Most Paranormals are well aware that when secrets are kept by a Paranormal, there’s often a very good reason for it. We might have to bring Mallory and her mom into the loop if they came to live above the club, but Mom and Pandora wanted to take precautions to be sure they could be trusted first.

I quickly finished my slushie and then got to work helping Bella and Carmen while Melody kept an eye on the time for us. Having three people rather than two under the hood didn’t help us to get the work done any faster, but having both Metal and Ice magic available for the half-frozen parts was a big plus on our side. We managed to finish in just over half an hour and took the broken-down parts to Alex so he could assess them and take their value from Carmen’s parts budget.

The others seemed to be mostly finished, at least what they were trying to get done today, and we all stayed in Alex’s heated workshop for half an hour. It gave those of us who were cold a bit of a chance to warm up, and we all chatted about what we had gotten done while we shared the snacks I had bought at the convenience store. I knew for a fact that Selina and Nova were both shivering from working outside for over an hour and most of the others seemed to appreciate the chance to warm up as well.

During that time, Nova helped Selina to set up a Discord account on her phone so she could be added to our group chat and the pair could talk whenever they wanted to. It was a positive step for Selina, one that I was glad to see as the others all sent her welcome messages and emojis in the group server. Melody, Camen, and I managed to convince Mallory to come along with her mom the next day since she had the day off as well.

I figured that there was a good chance that her mom would be hired and that it might be a good idea to introduce her to Lou, Carmen, and some of the others who lived above the club, and she could come upstairs while her mother had her interview and audition. If things went well, they could both stay for lunch and get to know the rest of the Pandora’s Box family better. The time passed quickly, and it seemed all too soon before I needed to head back to the club, and Mallory and Clarice had to head to the café for their shifts.

It turned out to be a good time to leave because the snow had started coming down harder while we were in Alex’s workshop, and it was only falling heavier and thicker as I drove us home. By the time I got the car into the secure garage beneath the club, visibility was getting pretty bad. I may love snow and ice, but that didn’t mean I liked driving in it in close to zero visibility more than any other person. I was relieved once we were parked safely inside the garage.

It didn’t take me long to get Selina settled upstairs and she was playing dolls with Sorcha with Carmen watching over them both when I headed downstairs with Jess and Melody. I wasn’t the only one working from open to close tonight as my sister would be tending one of the bars all night and my girlfriend would be acting as a bouncer alongside Aunt Merry. My aunt and Melody would be taking turns staying by the main entrance in case of trouble and walking around the club to keep an eye on the entertainers and patrons.

As for me, I didn’t have my first big show until six thirty, right in the middle of the dinner rush. That didn’t mean that I wouldn’t be on the main stage until then though. Like the other dancers who weren’t on the big stage or entertaining a patron upstairs, I would be taking turns dancing on one of the mini stages alongside the bars or pole dancing on one of the poles to either side of the main stage. Each set would last about twenty minutes and then I would have a ten-minute breather to relax or talk with patrons of the club before going to where I was scheduled next, unless I ended up giving extra services.

Thankfully, the schedule in the back would tell me which stages I was assigned to at any given time, and the bartenders had a digital copy behind their bars as well so I wouldn’t have to go backstage between each set to find out. I also only had to worry about clothes, or rather costumes, when I was going up on the main stage to do one of my big acts. When dancing on the poles or the mini stages, the dancers were usually just naked the whole time.

It would be nice to be able to go without clothes for most of the time that I was working. Not having that annoyance and the desire to take my clothes off constantly nagging at my willpower and distracting me sounded wonderfully liberating. The only thing that I really needed to worry about was keeping a towel nearby so I could pat myself dry of any perspiration after each set.

That wasn’t a huge concern though since each full-time entertainer had a couple of personalized towels and an ankle-length satin dressing robe with a soft and cozy inner flannel layer in the back on our costume racks. Mine were all a nice powder blue with white snowflake patterns and had my name on them in silver, cursive embroidery. Even those of us who preferred to walk around naked usually wore the robes when on meal breaks. They prevented awkward wet spots on the seats and having our boobs get in the way while eating, or so my mentors told me.

I was probably as prepared as I was going to get for my first night as I headed to one of the mini stages for my first set, to the right of where my sister would be serving drinks, ten minutes before the club was due to open. Oh, that was going to catch people’s attention. Except for the bunny ears and tail, Jess was identical to me. Well, I guess that I was naked while she was wearing a bartender’s uniform too, but that didn’t mean people weren’t going to imagine her naked. Especially with me baring it all while dancing nearby.

Jess was checking the stock for her bar and making sure that everything was where it was supposed to be when I approached and put my towel in the little alcove built into that back of the mini stage where customers wouldn’t see it. “So, tonight’s the big night, Sis. Are you nervous yet?” she asked.

I could see the concern in her eyes and tried to allay it with a cheerful smile. “I could get used to not having to wear clothes all the time. I’m a little nervous about my shows on the big stage still, but honestly, I’m not all that concerned about my sets on the mini stages or the poles. I’ve got my pole routines down, and on these mini stages I’m just going to be moving to the music and showing off my goods. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

Thankfully, my sister understood me well enough to determine what I was trying to ask with that vague question. “It’s hardly going to be the first time I’ve seen you naked since you Manifested or had people staring at me because we look so much alike. The regular patrons know that the bartenders and waitresses are off-limits. If anyone does or says anything I’m uncomfortable with, they’ll get the standard warning. If they do it a second time, I’ll get Aunt Merry or your girlfriend over here to kick their ass for me.”

“Okay, good. We probably won’t get many customers until the early dinner rush hits around five thirty anyway, I guess. It might be quiet tonight too, with the way that snow is falling outside,” I said as I glanced toward the entrance. The forecast had predicted light flurries, but what was coming down when I was driving back to the club had me concerned.

Sometimes, I hate being right. By six o’clock we hadn’t seen a single patron enter the club yet. The snow outside was getting steadily worse too and the updated forecast on the weather network was saying that we were probably going to see record amounts of snow overnight. We’d also had most of our part-time waitresses, kitchen helpers, dancers, and bartenders call in to say they wouldn’t be able to make it through the snow for their shifts.

Those of us who were at the club and supposed to be working were now all eating dinner since we couldn’t do much else and the mood was getting pretty glum. Annika wasn’t even outside; she was watching the entrance through the video screen by the door that showed the view of the cameras over the front doors. Pandora said that was too damn cold and there was too much snow whipping around to have her stationed outside like usual.

I was wearing my robe and eating solemnly along with everyone else when Stella joked, “You know, Crystal. If you really didn’t want to start tonight, there were probably easier ways to get out of it than burying the city in snow.”

“Don’t look at me, this isn’t my doing,” I grumbled back. “Just my luck, I’m ready to perform for the first time and we get the biggest snowstorm in over a decade.”

“Regardless, this unexpected snowstorm is keeping people indoors and off the streets. It’s probably for the best if we just close up for tonight, I don’t think we’re going to get anyone coming through that,” Pandora pointed out grimly as she glared at the screen of her cell phone. “The weather network is expecting this to keep up until early morning. We could get over sixty centimeters overnight.”

Mom nodded sadly. I think that she was looking forward to seeing me do my first show in front of an audience. As nervous as I was, I was kind of looking forward to it too, and now I found myself disappointed as Mom said, “We’ll give it another ten minutes. If no patrons show up by then, we’ll close up the club and have a quiet night in.”

We all watched the front entrance where Annika was watching the surveillance screen and counted down the minutes in silence. Unfortunately, nobody came to relieve our boredom and give us a reason to stay open during that time. Mom and Pandora called it, and we started closing up the club.

The few part-timers who had been able to make it through the snow were all long-time employees of the club and were offered rooms to stay the night in, but none of them took Mom and Pandora up on the offer. All of them lived nearby, two in the same apartment complex, and the third was a half-Demon like Melody. She offered to take the other two home by teleportation since she lived just down the street and passed the building often enough to be familiar with it. That seemed to keep Mom and Pandora from worrying about whether they would get home safely through the snow.

As for the rest of us, after making sure that the closed sign was in place and the club entrance was securely locked, we all planned on a quiet night in. Dr. Diaz, Aislinn, Jack, and Jill all came downstairs with the kids and brought along some board games and a couple of decks of cards. Brock and Cindy made some hot cocoa and snacks before coming to join us as well, and then we all settled in to spend the remainder of the evening playing games, snacking, and watching the local news and weather reports.

I know that some of us were checking our phones regularly too. Selina, Carmen, Jess, Melody, and I were all regularly checking and sending messages on the Discord channel for our group of friends. It looked like the café belonging to Clarice’s parents was in a similar situation and had to close up shop due to the weather as well. Mallory was probably going to be stuck there for the night and Clarice’s mother was setting her up in their guest bedroom. Thankfully, everyone else was safe and sound at their respective homes.

Power to large portions of the city went out around eight o’clock and I was suddenly very glad that we weren’t on the city power grid. Fortunately, we had Jenny providing power for the building and Ashe keeping things toasty warm despite the chill outside. Some of our friends weren’t so lucky on that front.

Clarice’s place, and the café beneath it, was hit by one of the power outages and so were Alison’s and Nova’s places. They had no idea when the power would be restored, but it probably wouldn’t be until sometime tomorrow morning. Since their places all had electric heating too, it sounded like they were probably screwed for the night.

Mom caught us all staring glumly at our phones while we were supposed to be playing monopoly and sipping at hot cocoa and slipped over to ask, “What’s wrong, girls?”

“Some of our friends were hit by the power outages, Nana Tiffani,” Selina explained. “Alison, Nova, and Clarice’s places were all hit, and it looks like they’re without power and heat until it gets fixed.”

“Yeah, and Mallory is snowed in with Clarice’s family, so she’s affected too,” I added. “She said that her mom is trying and wait it out at the convenience store, but if this storm is as bad as they’re saying, she might have trouble getting here for her interview at eleven.”

Mom went to talk to Pandora and the pair had a brief and quiet conversation before they both got on their phones. I knew that they both knew Alison’s mom and Clarice’s parents, going by the conversations at the birthday party last week, so maybe they were phoning to check up on them. Nova’s family was new to the area, having just moved to Edmonton from Crete last summer, and neither her family nor Mallory’s mother had many connections in the local Paranormal community.

A few minutes later, Mom and Pandora joined us, and Pandora asked, “Melody, do you think you’d be able to get to the homes of your friends without power and bring them and their families here? Are you familiar enough with the convenience store Mallory’s mother is at to get her too?”

Melody considered the idea for a moment, nibbling her lower lip sexily as she thought. “It’s probably going to wear me out, especially if the families are bigger than three or four people. I know the girls well enough to teleport to them though, and I can probably teleport to Mallory’s mother too, if we can make sure she’s alone and out of sight of any normies.”

“I know that Heather isn’t married, it’s just her and her two girls. Raul and Sarah just have Clarice,” Mom informed her. “We have seven spare dorm rooms upstairs right now, some might need to share, but we can probably manage. Some of the adults could even use the rooms on the second floor if they don’t mind what they’re usually used for.”

I knew that I, personally, wouldn’t have issues sleeping in a room that was usually reserved for sex, but I was a Nymph. Still, they were rooms with warm beds that our guests could use, if it came to that and it wasn’t like any of them had been used for their usual purpose tonight. They were also cleaned daily, so I didn’t see a problem with it.

A few minutes later, we informed Nova what was going on so she could pass it on to her family. Her parents were thankful for the offer and for the chance to meet other Paranormals in the community. Soon, Melody was off making her first trip, first returning with Nova and her father, a large man with classical Greek features who I thought might be a Water Mage, going by the hint of magic I could feel from him. After a moment to rest, she was gone once more.

Melody returned with a Nereid woman who bore a striking resemblance to Nova and who was carrying a swaddled infant in a pink blanket. I let out a long sigh of relief, glad that we had sent Melody to get them. The baby was fussing a bit, probably from being teleported, but she would at least be safe and warm tonight.

It took almost half an hour to get everyone to the club since Melody needed to take brief rest breaks between trips to not wear herself out. After Nova’s family, she got Alison’s, first retrieving Alison and her younger sister, Phoebe, a pretty blonde girl close to Nova and Selina’s age who hadn’t Manifested yet. Then Melody went back for their mother, Heather. Practically every girl at the club knew Heather, of course, since we all went to her salon, Shear Bliss, to get our hair and nails done.

Next came Clarice and Mallory, followed by Clarice’s parents who profusely thanked Melody for the transportation and Pandora and Mom for arranging things and allowing the family to stay the night. They seemed to know Pandora and my mom pretty well and quickly joined the pair at one of the tables hosting some of the dancers for a steaming mug of hot cocoa. Brock and Cindy had already made up a new batch for our guests, figuring that they might be cold.

The last trip Melody made was for Mallory’s mother, after Mallory had called her and warned her about what was going to happen and that she should be away from any normies. As soon as everyone was present, Melody slumped into the booth beside me and I snuggled up against her to whisper, “Thanks, my love.”

“Anytime, Babe. It was the right thing to do anyway, I wasn’t going to leave our friends and their families to freeze overnight.”

I smiled and kissed her, and my smile grew once I saw that Mom had already taken Mallory’s mother in hand and started introducing her to everyone else present. The poor Efreeti woman seemed a little shell-shocked, both at the invitation to stay the night and the whirlwind that was my mother when she took charge. I can’t say that I blamed her for being a little overwhelmed.

Mallory, Allison, and Clarice had joined Carmen, Lou, Jess, Melody, and me at our booth and were sipping hot chocolate as we decided on teams of two to start another Monopoly game. Nova and Clarice’s younger sister had claimed a booth with Selina and the three of them were getting to know one another as they started a game of Life with little Sorcha and her mother, Aislinn. The various parents were all settled in now as well, as they conversed with the adult members of the Pandora’s Box family and either started or rekindled friendships.

It was storming outside, and it sucked that a good portion of the city was without power and being snowed in, but this was nice. I was still a little peeved that I didn’t get to perform tonight, but spending the night with friends and family wasn’t a bad thing. We were all safe and warm, and that was the important thing as we all settled in for a long night.