sanctuaryrpg | And the station opens...

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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]]

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"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."

"Your mom's not around any more?" J.K. really should have gone with the Marauders' background instead of that Cursed Child bullshit. Maybe this was the universe telling her to interact like a normal human being, instead of an omniscient one. Hey, Marie liked being in the know, for once.

"I still do that while being in school, dining hall's food isn't as good as yours always sounded. I mean - English dining halls always seem to have been on another level." So much for having omniscience work in your favor. "Scones, and stuff."

Remus shook his head sadly, a sad smile on his face. "She passed away," he said softly. "She was sick when I was away at school, really sick. There was nothing that could be done." He took a breath, remembering how his father had tried to explain it, a Muggle malady that couldn't be cured, even by magic. It had seemed unimaginable at the time, and Remus still had trouble believing she was gone.

"I wonder if they have scones here," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "I could murder one right now, if I'm honest."

"Oh. Oh no, I'm so sorry." Marie had grown up so used to not having a mother that she always just assumed that everyone else did have one around, good ones like Jean's or Billy's. "I'm -"

"Murder a scone? Better be careful about the words you use here, sweeth- Remus. Maybe scones are sentient here and you just got yourself jail time." She accepted his attempt with a crooked smile. "And I might risk being viewed as an accomplice."

Remus nodded softly at Marie's condolences, giving her an appreciative smile. It had been a few years, and he'd lost enough other people since he'd lost his mum that it had all settled into a place in his heart he tended to keep locked away, allowing himself to speak about the matters without digging all the feelings back up. He was grateful, however, that Marie took easily to the topic change.

"You know, that is a good point," he agreed with a grin of his own, blushing just a little at how she'd nearly called him sweetheart. "And I'd hate to implicate you in my crimes. Maybe if I nibbled just a bit for starters, made sure the scone was, in fact, not living?"

"Risky ..risky.. I don't want to become cell-mates before we become any other kind of mates." Oh, God, Marie was seconds away from best friends forever bracelets. Was she this lonely? Or was Remus just so easy to like?

"You would have to do it when I'm not around. Near vicinity. And not tell me about your attempts. If the scone turns out to be lifeless, although we might have to consider yeast if they use that for those, you may come find me for a scone related feast." She was babbling.

To be fair, Remus had been wondering for a while if Marie was flirting with him or not. He'd never been good at being able to tell when girls liked him, even back in school, much to his mates' delight. Left to his own devices he often needed things spelled out for him, and, luckily for him, Marie was kind enough to do just that.

Or maybe she just meant friends. That made a lot more sense, the more he thought about it; he could never seem to remember where certain vocabulary lined up between British and American English.

"The more we talk about this, the less interested I am in eating one!" he admitted with a laugh. "Would maybe a piece of fruit be safer?"

"Do I look like I'm all-knowing?"

Not that she was necessary as a source right now, having finally walked into a place with more people than just them. And eh - creatures. In a market place? Marie tried not to stare, but this was very Star Trek come to life, and she was glad she had someone close to cling to.

"Eh, well, we found a place of commerce. Now just the lunar chart?" She told herself to relax her hand on his arm, let it even drop completely. Do not get attached.

Remus, who had always been patient and understanding of almost everyone, was starting to wonder if Marie either liked him, or didn't like him at all. Or maybe she was afraid of liking him? She was clinging to him tightly for one moment, then let him go immediately the next. He didn't know her well enough to read her, to be able to tell what the nervous expression on her face meant, so he decided to try to not take it personally, to be patient while she worked out how she was feeling.

Nodding, Remus squared his shoulders, crossing to the nearest vendor he could find and asked if there was, perhaps, a library on the station. He was directed to an information center on the other side of the station, and, after expressing his gratitude, he made his way back to Marie.

"There's an information center, just over there," Remus told her, pointing across the marketplace. "I'm hoping they'll have a star chart there."

"Information center. Now they tell us. Well, let's go? Or do you want to be by yourself when you discover all the possible impacts this location is going to have on the hairy side of you?" It was a bit too much bite, but right now the situation had firmly landed inside Marie's mind and she couldn't do shit about it.

"Maybe I can find a tutorial on how to build space ships that will bring me back home. Back to ordinary, human craziness instead of locked away in space for no clear reason craziness."

"I don't mind if you come along," Remus replied, again having so much trouble telling if Marie wanted to go there with him or if she hoped he'd leave her alone. "I'm enjoying your company, and I'm sure all I'll find out is if there's a moon or two here to worry about or not." He offered her a smile.

"I'll understand if you'd rather go look for schematics on your own, though. I've taken up so much of your time already."

Wow, talk about a punch covered in velvet. Was she being dismissed? Marie tried to keep her face in place, because you never showed weakness, but had she been that annoying? Too clingy? Too flirty? Because she could apologize both.

No, why the fuck would she apologize to this stranger? "Taken up so much of my time already. Because I'm clearly in a hurry here, of course, being alone in a strange world with no clue what or how. Yes, my schedule is packed." He had said he enjoyed her company, though?

"I want to have a look at what else the information center offers", was her weak come back. "Afterwards we can go separate ways, if you want to."

"I don't need to," Remus hurried to say, blinking a bit wide eyed under Marie's reply. Clearly he'd upset her, which had been just what he'd been trying not to do. "I just, I thought maybe you'd had enough of me and were too nice to say, is all," he explained, wringing his hands in the hem of his unfamiliar shirt, wishing desperately he still had his jumper.

"That is to say, I don't want you to go," he amended, nodding once decisively to chase his nerves away. "I'd like it if you stayed."

This is what you get when your life is fifty fifty on studying and hermitry. Basic human interaction dies in the Grand Canyon between the two.

Look at him, he was a frustrated tear away from footie pajamas. Sad thing was that Marie somehow didn't seem to mind all the softness in the guy, which was -

She shook her head. It was probably all jet lag from waking up in unfamiliar space surroundings. "Too late, I'm going to the information center. And don't kill your shirt before you discover if there's more of them."

Remus couldn't tell if she was planning to stay with him then, after they'd gone to the center, or not, if she was mad at him or if he'd sufficiently explained himself. But rather than trying again (and possibly stuffing it up again), he just offered her a smile and, once again, the bend of his elbow.

"We'll go together then, yeah?" he asked, nodding toward the opposite side of the market.

Oh, fuck her. Could he stop being chivalrous and everything? It had been over five - let's just call it eight - eight years since Johnny and therefore eight years since any close contact with cute guys. Should she savor it or just cut all ties before she found his room and hid in his bed?

"Would be sensible, wouldn't it?", she replied, an hour later, to his innocent comment. "Who knows what we will have to fight off to get to a lunar chart, and there's no moon visible yet to help us out."

Remus grinned at her reply, and he reached out for her hand this time himself, tucking it into his arm before she could object.

"Brilliant," he exclaimed, still beaming as they began crossing the marketplace. "You're my knight in shining armor, you are," he told her, blushing softly. He wasn't teasing, being a bit silly yeah, but not making fun. He just hoped she could see it that way.

Fuck_her. Marie was not going to start smiling because he played along with the silly game, nor was she going to plan future dates together. When had she turned so soft, why did she care?

"Don't tell a girl she shines, Remus", she replied with a crooked grin. "You might be offending her make up skills, or her skin care. This isn't a world where shining is good. Can we just recognize the Information Center by it looking Information Center-ish? Name plates?"

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And the station opens...

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