om_main | Remus & Eames - Dated March 30

Shortly after Remus arrives at Xavier's, he meets his new roommate, Eames.

The day that Remus Lupin arrived at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters was probably the best day of his life.

To be fair, this was not a very high bar. Which even Remus realized was incredibly depressing, and it was not something that he would say to anyone, but he couldn't help but think it. Even before the Change had started five years ago, he hadn't had a terribly happy childhood. Though now he looked back on that with nostalgia. Before.

But now he was here, and the school was... amazing. It was huge, and by far the nicest house he'd ever been in, probably ever even seen in person. There was art on the walls, and everything was so clean and nice, and oh... oh, the library. He'd only even seen in through the window and he was about to bounce out of his skin in excitement to go inside and read the spine of every single book on the shelves.

This was almost enough excitement to make him forget the rest - the way his muscles still ached, and a fresh claw mark on his neck still stung. It was less than two days since the full moon, and normally he'd probably still be in bed. Though the more he thought about it, maybe the timing was perfect. Assuming he could find something to cover up the fresh mark on his neck (a scarf, maybe?), he could go almost a full month before the other students found out about him. Maybe he could even hide it longer. Though somehow he thought it would be much more difficult here than in his old school, where they simply accepted that he was sickly and missed a lot of school, and no one really cared about him enough to notice anyway. Plus, Professor Xavier had promised him that they had a secure place to keep him here during the full moons, and that they might even be able to figure out ways to make the Change less painful for him. He'd take what he could get.

He'd been given a room number, and he walked there with some trepidation, his very small bag thrown over his shoulder. He didn't have much by way of personal belongings, not even clothes - he had just a few outfits that he would wash frequently, and other than that his only personal effects were his journals and a few books that he actually owned. He was already wearing his coat, which was warm at least though patched up in several places.

When he got to the room, the door was slightly open, and with some trepidation, he pushed it open a little more, peeking his head inside.

It hadn't been very long since Mal moved back home, all very teary and heartfelt. Eames couldn't get much luckier when it came to roommates, and he was very sad to see Mal go. He didn't expect to have the room to himself for long and surprise, surprise he'd gotten warning that someone would be coming this week. Mal's half of the room was completely cleared, save the sheets and blankets on the bed. Eames side on the other hand was a complete disarray. Eames was currently sitting on the floor in front of his bed with some magazine pictures fanned out, a large sketchpad opened up, and a pile of charcoals next to him as he sketched idly. Eames glanced up as the door opened.

"Hello, there," he greeted, trying to figure out the best way to untangle himself from his work.

At the greeting, Remus pushed the door open wider. He immediately looked as if he was terribly afraid of being a bother. Even if he was a little heartened at hearing the familiar accent. Considering Professor Xavier as well, it seemed so strange that he should come to America and everyone else was English too. "Hi, I'm - I'm Remus." He awkwardly pushed some hair behind his ear, even though as usual a lot of it was falling in front of his face - purposeful, a pointless attempt at hiding some of the scars on his face. "I'm - to live here, I think."

"I'm Eames. The roommate, and terrible slob although I promise to keep it on this side of the room." He managed to at least kneel up without getting a pencil somewhere uncomfortable. He offered his hand but prefaced, "Is touching okay? I know it's not for everyone, so pardon me if offering is a faux pas."

And better yet, his hand was covered in charcoal. Whoops.

"Oh, no, it's fine," said Remus quickly. "Totally fine, I don't mind at all." Remus was, of course, incredibly neat, if only because their house was so small and could get cluttered quickly, and it was kind of gross to begin with because of the leaks and occasional mold and that kind of thing so the only way to keep it liveable was to be very clean. But he didn't mind was Eames did, he just couldn't believe that he got to live with someone else who might actually talk to him.

At the offered hand, and the question, his reaction was immediate - "No, it's totally fine!" Even though it took him a second to take the hand. He wasn't used to people touching him. It wasn't bad, not at all.

Eames shook gently, offering Remus a smile. He hadn't gotten a leaflet on Remus' background, but he'd been warned that his power would mean that he have to be out of the room once a month. The scars across his face told much more of the story. Eames wasn't surprised that they would stick someone skittish in here with him. He didn't need telling not to stare. He simply took all of Remus in in a quick glance, filed away his posture, his tone of voice, and the world full of insecurities that were flush through his demeanor.

Tread lightly with this one. He was tough enough to deal with whatever had mauled him, and recently again from a look at his neck--mostly hidden by his collar. Didn't mean the poor kid didn't look like he wasn't going to snap like a twig.

"They show you around yet? I was going to head down to the kitchen once I unearthed myself. If you want to get settled and then head down with me I can give you the tour."

"I've only seen a little," Remus admitted, and offered him a shy smile in return. He actually seemed to light up a little, as if this bit of kindness turned his face to the sun. "I walked past the library..." He paused. "I would like to see the kitchen. Are we allowed to wander as we like?" He put his bag down on the bare bed and then added, a bit sheepish, "I'm settled."

Eames' grin amped up. "I consider it an art. There's very few corridors that are limited access considering how big this place is. You'll know you're somewhere you don't need to be if the door is locked. Otherwise, world is your oyster. Library type, huh?"

"It's so big," Remus said, and it was unclear whether he meant the entire place or just the library. "I like to read, yes. We can just read whatever we want? And there's a kitchen that just has food? Can we cook?"

"Yes, yes, and yes. Dining hall prepares meals, but if you want to cook for yourself the kitchen is free. School gets some basic supplies but keep an eye out for anything labelled by other students because we share the fridge in there. And yeah, library seems a star attraction around here." Eames climbed to his feet. "You might see me about in there--generally napping. My partner in crime is a book fiend, I just go for the peace and quiet."

As much as the nice library was a little overwhelming, so was the idea of just being able to walk into a kitchen and have all the food he might want. Remus was so used to the careful budgeting, to cooking with whatever happened to be on sale that week, and some weeks (the weeks his father's gambling caught up with him, usually) barely having enough at all. He wrapped his jacket a little tighter around himself. "I think maybe I'll like it here."

"I hope you do," Eames said amiably. "Also, were you warned for my powers? Headmasters probably asked if you were okay with a shapeshifter I'm guessing? Seeing how I'm not always a guy."

"Oh, it's fine," Remus said hastily. Endlessly accommodating. "Really. I don't mind. I mean, I've never... I haven't met anyone with powers before. Yours seems..." A million times better than his own. "Neat."

He snorted softly. "Yeah. I get that. Seems to be rated higher than death touch and laser beams. You'll hopefully get used to the rotation of people coming in and out of the room. At least you'll know if they have a key, then it's me."

"Other roommates?" Remus said, confused.

"Just me. Different bodies. I have two defaults, but I do others as well at whim." Eames shifted over to his female form, not bothering to shift clothes at the moment, and everything sagging on a frame that was way too petite. "The other standard me."

Remus went a little wide-eyed. "Oh, you can just... whenever you want? And it doesn't..." He swallowed. "Hurt?"

File that comment away. "It doesn't. And yes. I've been doing it for a while, so it's a lot easier now. Anything human shaped you can imagine, I can probably do it and then some. Just the physical changes, no powers."

"Only human?"

"Humanoid, I guess," he amended. "After meeting Warren, our resident angel, I was able to master wings. Also, Kurt has a prehensile tail, and it's frankly amazing. Everything i do is mostly human--full human is easier, but I've been working on some physical mutations. Feathers, fur, wings, tails, claws--not my forte. People make much more sense."

"Is there anyone who shapeshifts into an animal?" Remus asked, not thinking that his questions were probably kind of telling.

"Not yet. Only two shifters have made introductions. Curtis just has a male and a female form right now, and I do people in general. We have a student that has permanent reptilian features, and another that's blue and furry and adorable."

Remus was quiet for a minute and then said, "You're probably wondering what I do."

"Don't feel pressured to share anything you don't have to," Eames told him. "But yes, I am wondering."

Without even thinking, Remus reached up to his neck, the fresher mark that was there. Healing, no need for a bandage, but still angry and red as opposed to the white scars on his face. "I don't suppose you have a scarf I could borrow?" he asked tentatively. "Or a turtleneck?"

Eames headed over his closet and pawed through the eccentric collection of clothing. He held 3 scarves out to Remus--the first three he'd grabbed--one was a bright orange and yellow knit pattern, another was violet patterned cloth, and the third was a simple soft grey flannel. "Uh. There's probably more in here." He extended the grey one over for now.

"Oh no, this is fine. It's lovely." He took it and admired how soft it was. A glance in Eames' closet revealed... ah, dresses as well as trousers. Also a lot of scarves. Though it was all a lot nicer than anything Remus owned. "Thank you very much." He wrapped the scarf loosely around his neck, covering the wound. Then he looked back up at Eames and hesitated. "I'm... I guess I'm a shapeshifter too. Only it's not a good power like yours."

Eames gestured gently to his throat. "Something a bit sharper?"

Remus swallowed and nodded. "I turn into a wolf. Only I don't have any control over it, and it hurts so much, and when I wake up in the morning I don't remember anything."

"Oh, darling," Eames said in surprise. "Is it every night?" If so he guessed that Remus wasn't sleeping in the dorm.

Remus shook his head, his hair flipping across his forehead. "Only on the full moons," he said. "Professor Xavier... they said they'll have someplace safe to keep me contained. I had... I mean, I just locked myself in a cage..." He realized as he was saying this that he'd never really just told anyone this before.

"Full moon just passed right? Hopefully they'll figure out something more comfortable for you. Maybe the telepaths can help? Keep you sedated or something?"

"Maybe." He was trying not to be too hopeful. Just being here seemed like enough already and he just didn't want to muck it up. "This is all new to me. Do you think I'll have to tell everyone? That I turn into a monster once a month?"

"Hey," Eames said gently. He gave Remus' shoulder a brief, very soft squeeze. "Hardest lesson you have to learn here--there's no monsters in this school. There's just kids with mutations that they never chose to have. Maybe you can't control it right now, but that's why you're here. And no, you don't have to tell anyone else if you really don't want to. I'd recommend not hiding though. It's a lot easier."

Remus looked a touch skeptical. "Have any of the other students here tried to eat people?"

Eames considered that. "Honestly? It's possible. I haven't pried. We have a student that withers anything and anyone he touches, and a few others that have some dodgy history. I highly doubt Laura's ever eaten someone, but when you meet her it might be odd. She has better animal instincts than people instincts right now. She learns very fast, but she's a bit of leopard trapped in a woman's body. Claws and everything."

"Oh," said Remus, and felt a little better. Even if he probably shouldn't. "Okay." He tugged at the scarf around his neck and added, "I've never been someone's roommate before, but I'll try not to be any trouble."

"Ah, yeah--well, let me know if anything does bother you too much. I don't think the headmasters realized how often I'd be someone else with the freedom to shift all the time. And you think you'll mind overnight guests? I have a couple of friends that sleep over on occasion, generally just crash with me."

Remus blinked at the question. "I... no. I mean." He paused, awkward. "The sort of guests where maybe I should not be here?" He then added hastily, "It's fine, I don't mind..." Eames was, after all, so like... well, normal looking and attractive, and smiling a lot, just like the type of boy who ought to have a lot of girlfriends or something. At least, he was kind of how Remus imagined those kind of boys might be, from books.

"Not always?" Eames said with a sheepish grin. "If you're up for meeting new people tonight, I will introduce you to Pietro--frequently he just sleeps over like a fidgety teddy bear. I will try to put a tie on the door if we're talking naughty sleepovers--but I'm not going to do anything like that overnight unless you have somewhere else to be, so no time soon, kay?"

Oh, he liked boys, Remus thought at first - but then remembered that Eames was sometimes a girl, which made it more complicated. His face went a little pink. "It's fine," he said hastily. He just wanted Eames to like him. He smiled hopefully. "Full moons, at least? Doesn't that make me a good roommate, being gone sometimes?"

"You poor darling. If I horribly scandalize you, pipe up eventually, okay?"

"What?" That only made Remus blush more. "Oh no, I mean, I'm not... I've just been a little sheltered, I guess. But." He paused. "I read a lot!"

"Well at least I don't have to worry about you having a limited imagination. We should get on just fine then." Eames grinned. "C'mon. Tour of the kitchen. Possibly some introductions if you're feeling adventurous."

"Okay," said Remus, and tugged at the scarf a moment, smiling at Eames and looking rather like an overeager puppy.