sanctuaryrpg | And the station opens...

Entry tags:

And the station opens...

There were no flashing lights, no alarms. The doors to the quarantine chambers simply opened, the whoosh of seals breaking was the only fanfare.

Quarantine was on a quiet level of the station, a gently pulsing light set into the wall leading the chamber's temporary residents out into the station proper. Outside, station officials wandered by but paid no particular attention to the newcomers; new arrivals were nothing new to them, just a fact of life on Sanctuary. New people arrived in the chambers, station staff logged them, and the computers arranged everything else. So they went about their business, eyes glued to the screens they held.

Of course the newcomers weren't aware of any of this. Anyone who called out to the station staff was greeted with a wan smile and directed toward one of the many terminal screens lining the walls of the large open space between the central tower and the rest of the station.

The terminal screens asked for a fingerprint before offering any additional information. Their names flashed up with a map to their new home in the living quarters and some basic information on the currency contained in the chip in their hand and what it might buy them. A brief explanation of the silver communication unit followed, and then the news of the past twenty-four hours played. War on planets in a neighbouring system, the weather on a vacation world, sports scores for a game that seems a cross between lacrosse, hockey, and quidditch. Nothing of use, of course, nothing that could get them off the planet.

The quiet entrance to the living quarters was on one side of the atrium, and the sounds of a bustling marketplace that could not be contained came from a much wider opening on the other. People of all shapes, colours, and species walked through the space along with station officials and technicians using their tablet like screens, dark uniformed security officers chatting as they strolled their patrols.

The station carried on obliviously while the newcomers watched, each with only their credit chip, a place to live, and a basic outfit. Clearly that was all the welcome they were to expect; what happened next would be up to them.

[[Gathering post and opening of Sanctuary RPG. Put in your characters coming out their quarantine]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Remus nodded, and he felt sympathy for Marie again, the idea of going through that change and puberty all at once sounded horrific. He'd had his own issues, of course, but he'd been going through his monthly change for years before he'd hit adolescence, so it was only the added hormonal changes that he'd been forced to struggle with.

"This probably sounds daft, considering what I am," he said, answering Marie's return question, "but I don't know if you can. Be born one, I mean." He offered a sheepish smile. "I was bitten when I was five years old," he told her, and he was thankful that he'd been so young, because he doesn't remember much about the bite itself, or the first few times he'd transformed. "But, where I'm from, werewolves aren't very kindly accepted. Most of them stay in hiding, and those who don't are killed or captured."

He paused then for a moment, so many old questions and worries rising to the surface again now in light of this conversation. The truth was Remus didn't know what his life would or could be beyond where he was now. He didn't know if anyone who truly knew him could ever fall in love with him, knowing what he was and what he could do, didn't know if he'd pass the curse on to any child he fathered. He didn't even know if his condition would, one day, kill him, tear him apart from the inside out.

"There's a lot I don't know," he said after a moment with a nervous, breathy laugh. "But I'm thankful for the things I do."

"Yes - yes, I know." It was best to keep that answer vague, to which comment she's replying to. Because how to explain 'Yes I know that people are super rude towards werewolves in Hogwarts world because I read it in a book considered fiction' without sounding like she needed a very different outfit. One with sleeves tied behind her back.

"Five years. That's .." Hopefully more than ten years ago. Marie's never been great with ages. "Damn. That's extreme, Remus. Don't feel sad for me, feel sad for yours- or don't do either. All up to you. I just - I just decided that I'm not a victim of what my body does. I'm Marie, not a mutation. I hope it's similar for you, even with so many people thinking you're nothing more than something they wrongfully fear."

"To be super dramatic", she added with a laugh that came out much more awkward than desired. "Want to go explore a bit with me instead? See how far our kingdom reaches?"

Edited 2016-05-26 01:46 (UTC)

Marie's words stunned Remus into a momentary silence; she'd so succinctly put so many of Remus's fears into words, and then, amazingly, assuaged them. Obviously he still worried and he'd still always have to be careful, but knowing Marie understood what he was going through, that she'd experienced something so similar, was a comfort unlike any Remus had ever known before.

"Yes," Remus said after another minute's pause. "I would love to go exploring with you," he clarified with a smile, offering the crook of his arm for her to take.

Edited 2016-05-27 05:54 (UTC)

"Rookie mistake." He was awfully gallant, but that was probably just the accent. Remy had had the same power, stupid accents. And Marie was only thinking about Remy because his jacket was in her living space for some reason, and hopefully it was an I'm-here-as-well-shaped reason. She could do with some bravado.

Instead, she checked if her arm was covered before accepting, keeping the touch as light as possible like you're used to when everything you touch dies. "I don't know if we can use wind directions in space, but to the west we go?"

The gesture wasn't a mistake, as Marie had called it, but rather a way to show her he wasn't afraid of her touch. It was only fair to return the favor, considering she didn't seem to be afraid of what he was on the inside. He liked her, felt comfortable with her, all the way to a point where he wondered if there would ever be a way he could kiss her, even just briefly. She was sweet and pretty and kind in a way that reminded him of Lily, though her personality was certainly a little more that of the American South than English.

"West it is," he agreed with a nod. "If you lead, I will follow."

"Oh, I'm the one in charge now? I didn't sign up for that. I'm a bad leader, a horrible leader. I'm the one person to the side that makes snide comments and curses a lot as soon as things seem to fall apart."

She nudged him with her elbow. "So is this a feminist move or a ploy to avoid responsibility?"

"Em, neither?" Remus replied cautiously, his face going just a little hot. "I thought maybe you had an idea where you wanted to go," he explained. "Or a preference, anyway. And I'm agreeable, so it doesn't matter to me which way we go."

He paused and bit his lip before he added, softly, "I'm just pleased to be spending more time with you."

"Agreeable." Remus was more than that, but she didn't want his brain to overheat. All this was probably a coping mechanism, shallow flirting to not acknowledge being in space in unknown space, but hey, was Marie hurting anyone with it?

.. by the sounds of that, she wasn't. "Well, I'm not going back into my room and a tall blond lady told me that behind me isn't worth my time either. Sometimes you just go for the only yes in a sea of no's, right? Or like, if you want to do things the easy way. And I think it's best if we start out like that."

"That does seem to make the most sense," Remus agreed with a soft smile and a bit of a blush. "I've not looked around here at all yet," he admitted. "Not even at the map, which isn't very sensible," he added with a laugh.

"This is why you're in charge," Remus decided, patting Marie's gloved fingers where they were tucked into the bend of his elbow. "Because I'd get us lost otherwise."

"Map. Oh! Sorry, that was probably a bit too loud. Do you have like..sensitive hearing? Always? Even on not-moon days? Or how do you call that?"

He was only this fearless because he hadn't seen what she could do, Marie knew it, but still, it felt so good to have someone so close in a not violent manner. Although in some way.. no, she had to drop the weird idea at the back of her head that she was cheating on someone. Marie was alone, and always would be.

"I do a bit," Remus replied, blushing a little. "But it's not as sensitive when the full moon isn't coming," he told her, hoping to calm her worry that she'd shouted too loudly.

Of course, saying it Remus began to wonder about full moons here. Did this planet have a moon? Or more than one? Would a full moon here do the same thing it had back home? And, if it did, how would he protect the other residents from himself? Not knowing caused an unease to begin forming in Remus's belly, but he swallowed it down.

"Usually, about a week before the moon will be full, my senses sharpen," he explained to Marie instead. "But right now they're only a little stronger than they would be otherwise."

"Then I'm sorry I yelled. I'm so used to being by myself that I don't have to worry about my personal volume. Until the neighbors start to complain, of course. I live on campus, after all. But you probably know how that goes." Right? Wasn't Remus Lupin one of the Hogwarts fellas that always slept over? Why didn't J.K. give more background on the guy? Or was that cheating?

"Maybe we should find an astrological map instead. See how your moon schedule is going to be?" She was talking to a werewolf, one that had to worry about moons coming and going. Was her life ever going to be less weird?

"No need to apologize," Remus replied with a soft, genuine smile. "I shared a room at school with three other boys. Shouting was the least of my problems," he told Marie with a fond laugh.

"That is a very smart idea," he said then, remarking on Marie's very clever idea to see if they could locate a starchart of the galaxy they were in. "Though it you're hungry, we could do that after we eat," he offered.

Sharing a room sounds enough like dorm or campus. Points for Marie. "I don't have to know about other problems involving sharing a room with three other boys, just saying", she winks, immediately regretting it because Remus somehow seems to proper for innuendos.

"If they have food here. Or did you already smell someth-" She turned to him. "Do you mind, the werewolf related comments? I'm not doing it on purpose and I'm so used to accepting being viewed as nothing more than my mutation but ..I can bite my tongue if you think it's less than great, seriously."

Remus huffed a surprised little laugh and he shrugged his shoulders. "One of the downsides of the augmented hearing, let me tell you," he offered with a wink of his own, recalling some of the unfortunate things he'd been unintentionally privy to, sharing such a small space with teenage boys and able to hear much more than he ever wanted to.

"I don't mind," he said then, replying to Marie's question. "My mates used to do it too. Mostly I'm just still glad you're not too afraid of me," he added. "But no, I can't smell food, not so far, but I assume they must have some somewhere. Or I very much hope so."

"Oh, God." There's a difference between fantasizing about sharing a room with hot people getting off and having to experience it. "I'm not even going to try to imagine."

"Should I be? You haven't growled once yet, nor do you look particularly hairy right now. I can use my fists, and if things get really shit, I can use me and see if it works on werewolves at well. Maybe you should be afraid of me." She glanced at him. "Please don't be afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of you, Marie," Remus replied easily. "Actually, I am a bit," he amended. "But only that your power would cause you to be like me. I wouldn't want you to end up with the curse I carry," he explained.

"And you needn't be afraid of me today," he went on. "I get very ill before I change, and I'm feeling just fine at the moment." He paused, offering her a smile. "But I would like to look at a starchart. It would make me feel better if I had an idea of what to expect as far as lunar cycles," he added with a soft, nervous laugh.

"It's never permanent, Remus." Even when it looks like it, like with Carol, and it had taken her a month to get rid of her powers, and of the guilt of thinking she had killed someone. Raven had been such a wonderful maternal figure in any way. It was a good thing sarcasm existed, even if your head.

"And if I had it, you wouldn't have it for a while. You probably can't even remember a time when you were without it, were you? I can, there's a Marie Before. Almost more alien to me than this entire situation." She really was sharing too much for a first date. First day.

"We're going to find a lunar chart. I would appreciate one as well. I totally turn into a beast once a month as well." She glanced at him. Too much?

Remus wanted to argue, to tell Marie that she'd never touched a werewolf before, and what if it was permanent this time, if it was different because what he had wasn't a gift but a curse. But he held his tongue as Marie went on, and the idea that she could take his illness from him, leave him without it, he couldn't say there wasn't a part of him that didn't wish he could just take a break from it, to see a full moon and not associate it with fear and pain. But he wouldn't even think of allowing Marie to do that, intentionally or accidentally.

"Oh, I em," he fumbled when Marie made her joke, and it wasn't the first time that someone had equated his 'furry little problem' with a girl's menstrual cycle, but it was the first time a girl had done it. He was a little embarrassed by how flustered it made him. "Maybe we can eat ice cream together? When it's our time of the month?" he suggested after a beat, offering a little smile.

Usually she left the word adorable solely for Billy and Teddy and shit, Billy was going to be so angry about her going incommunicado, hopefully she could vibe him in some way to let him know that it wasn't her fault, but Remus was angling for it, repeatedly.

He handled the period comment not that badly, but imagining him on the rag kind of killed Marie's libido. Which was probably for the best, because he didn't seem to be the guy that allowed himself a relationship or even any kind of sexual fun. But still, it had been nice imagining his naked body.

She had probably been silent for too long. "Ice cream. You think they have such an ordinary thing here?"

"Oh, you're right," Remus replied, and it appeared his attempt at being unaffected and clever had fallen flat. "Maybe they've an alternative?" he offered, hoping she wasn't about to leave him behind, as uncool as he was suddenly behaving. "Or chocolate at least. I don't think I could live in a world without chocolate."

"Because chocolate helps out when traumatized and frazzled." Did she really just quote J.K. at him? Had it been a complete quote? If he was young, at least he hadn't said it yet, probably?

She rubbed her face with her free hand. This was weirder than she was acting on, and Marie thought she could do the 'rolling with the punches' thing pretty well.

"An alternative to ice cream." She shot him a grin. "Martian Milkshakes? Frozen Jupiter Juices? If that's even the galaxy we're in?"

"Chocolate has more healing properties than most people realize," Remus replied, nodding sagely in agreement. "It's a pity they took my clothes; I'm pretty sure I had most of a bar in my pocket before I ended up here."

He grinned at Marie waxed poetic about what things they might find here on the station instead. "Well, whatever they've got, I just hope it's tasty," he told her, wondering idly if there was a way to procure things from home.

He hadn't been thinking of it at first, but he realized then there was likely no way for him to make the wolfsbane potion here. And, without his friends to keep him calm when he changed, he was going to have to find a different way to protect the rest of the population from his werewolf form. It had been a long time since he'd last had to chain himself up or lock himself away for the transformation, and he wasn't anxious to do it. It did work to keep him from hurting anyone else, but he certainly came out at the end worse for wear.

"You seriously walk around with a bar in your pocket. Bar of chocolate." There had been enough unrecognized innuendo for the day. "That's ado- so sweet." She winked. "Badum, tss."

"So do I. There's a difference between eating for energy or for enjoyment, and I rather always go for option B. Especially now with the b-" Suddenly her mind was crowding her, like there were two roads to go down on. Where the fuck was a telepath when you needed one? What was going on inside her head, and was is space station related? "Especially when you don't know where else you can find comfort, being on a space station somewhere in nowhere, right?"
Sloppy catch, but Marie was sure that Remus would allow it.

Remus laughed abruptly at Marie's pun, feeling truly happy for a moment, caught off guard by mirth. He was sobered, however, by the way Marie tripped a bit over her words, and he couldn't help the curiosity that rose in him. Still they were new friends, and prying felt incredibly rude, so he bit his tongue.

"I'm rather the same when it comes to food," he told her. "My mother was a wonderful cook. Unfortunately I did not inherit her talents. I've lived off sandwiches and noodles for the last few years, since I've been out of school."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject