Those that the beast is looking for | listen in awe and you'll hear him

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

WHO: Sirius Black & Moonyfolks
WHERE: Moonybase
WHEN: RIGHT NOW
WARNINGS: Marauders
SUMMARY: Sirius is back and he needs his bros.
FORMAT: I like the paragraphs but I will do ALL OF THE FORMATS for you. :>

Sirius never bothered to get off of Buckbeak and just rode him right out of the Lachesis's room, through the building and out onto the street. He was half a heartbeat away from just apparating the two of them, but the hippogriff would never have taken that without pitching a fit, and it would not do to appear in Remus's backyard with a panicked horse-eagle tearing up the place and likely anyone who got near.

The animal was certainly not as fast or as fun as his beloved flying motorbike (Miranda! Miranda was here!), but there was something to be said for riding free through the skies of the city, whooping with unreserved glee. Gesturing behind him, Sirius summoned a tail wind to ensure Buckbeak was traveling at top speed, but the few short moments it took the house to come into view still felt like forever.

Remus! Remus and James!

"There Bbeaky! That house there, take us down!"

The hippogriff had been extremely alarmed to suddenly appear inside a room, and didn't much care for the City either. He had never been specifically trained to avoid cities, but nor had he ever been allowed anywhere near one, and he wasn't sure what to make of it. He'd had a month to get to know Sirius, however, and the wizard knew how to sit a mythological creature. His utter confidence was reassuring, and while the house that he was guided to had a disappointingly small paddock in the back, there was room enough to land.

Sirius swung off almost before Buckbeak had touched down, fantastical mount momentarily forgotten as he looked for his friends.

Comments

[thelionharted.livejournal.com]

So what if he was at work. He was on lunch, technically, and he had all rights to pop home for a bit. Especially when one's best friend turns up, looking half-mad and like he'd been dragged about in something horrible for the past few years. James apparated in as soon as he saw Sirius' network post and ran over to smother him with the tightest hug ever.

"Hello, you look like hell ran you over, ate you, and vomited you back up." He's grinning, though, the first actual real smile he's had since Sirius and Lily left a few months ago.

[natureinblood]

Remus had beaten James to the punch, but that has more to do with how he hadn't bothered to reply to Sirius's post at all. He isn't smiling, just giving Sirius a vaguely quiet look that speaks of a hundred things he won't dare to say or let himself feel openly. It's physically painful to see him like this, but there's a part of Remus that's relieved nonetheless, even as he realizes exactly what that means.

Either way, Sirius doesn't get a chance to hug him, because Remus has beaten to him to it, embracing him like a brother tightly, the entire situation echoing back to the Shrieking Shack. At least it was James here and not a single Dementor or full moon in sight.

"What do you remember last?" he asked, pulling back finally.

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

Sirius smiles like it's Christmas and half falls, half flings himself at Remus with a wordless cry. He is as painfully thin now as he was back in the shack.

"I was on my way to London with Buckbeak here. The children freed me-"

And THERE you are, James. Sirius reaches out without letting go of Remus, needing the extra crush of James's hug. They squeeze the air right out of him, but who needs air when the men you love better than brothers are here, NOT dead, NOT monstrous, just as you remember them.

NO ONE IS TO COMMENT ON THE FACT THAT HE IS CRYING. HE'S JUST...GIVING HIS FACE A BATH OR SOMETHING BECAUSE HE'S ALL DIRTY AND REMUS IS SO NICE AND CLEAN AND HE NEEDS TO SET A GOOD CIVIL EXAMPLE FOR JAMES WHO EVERYONE KNOWS IS A TERRIBLE REPROBATE. HE'S JUST BEING THOUGHTFUL OKAY BECAUSE THAT'S THE KIND OF GUY HE IS.

But then he starts laughing because Prongs is smiling and having a go at him, and it's so right. He must look completely mad, he knows, but in truth this is what it looks like to go sane.

"Well they got a bit tetchy after I tricked the devil into giving me complete control over the place and I instituted summer holidays to Purgatory for everyone. Apparently that goes against the nature of the place."

[thelionharted.livejournal.com]

"That does sound like you," James agrees, and gives him one last tight hug before pulling back. He gestures at Buckbeak vaguely, then looks back at Sirius.

"That's Buckbeak, then? How'd you manage to pick him up?" He takes a moment to look at Sirius, properly look, now. He'd been too distracted by hightailing it over to Moonybase to pay attention, apparently, and he settles back on his heels. Sirius looks older. A bit madder, loads thinner. Clearly, the best way to fix this is to make jokes.

"Look, you've got a new four-legged friend and you're older. Shall I be getting you a cane and a rocking chair too, then? I already owe you some dog biscuits."

[natureinblood]

"Bloody hell," he mutters, searching Sirius's face for some answer, but not quite able to find it. Settling for this for now, he puts a hand on Sirius's shoulder and squeezes, not saying anything about the tears, because well, there's probably a few of his own.

The jokes are either perfectly timed or something, because they get the first crack of a smile out of Remus since he got back to the house, pulling away from Sirius to better examine the animal. Bowing his head slightly, Buckbeak returned the gesture, eyes flashing with warning as the animal fully realized what he was, before allowing Remus to pet him.

"There's food inside."

Because, he is all too aware of just how hungry you probably are, Sirius Black.

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

Buckbeak allows the contact but not much more. It was not very long ago that he and this werewolf had fought...but there was no fear in the air here. The great eagle head looks between the three men, assuming that at some point one of them was going to produce a stoat or something for him to eat.

Sirius keeps his hands on both of their shoulders, leaning on them to keep himself on his feet physically and emotionally. "Only if you want me to shove them both up your nose. Wouldn't say no to the chair though, to be perfectly honest."

"Harry was brilliant, James. Chip off the old block, no denying it. He stole this hippogriff and broke me out of a tower to save me from the Dementors. Remus, too, of course. We almost had Peter, he and I. Almost got him back for your...for..."

Losing coherence, Sirius breaks off briefly, stiff and insane before seeming to shake it off. He turns to Remus, a smile twitching back onto his face.

"You're alright though, Moony? Dumbledore mentioned...he said what Snape did..." Sirius searches Remus in return, then shakes his head again and laughs. "Oh, listen to me. As if it wasn't years in the past for you. Forgive me, mates, I've got two sets of memories now and am too hungry to sort them all out."

He gives Remus a more genuine, grateful smile, but underneath it all he just looks...lost. There are years of despair behind his eyes that seem to suck the light out of them if you look too closely.

[thelionharted.livejournal.com]

"Let's get some food in you, then," James says, wrapping an arm around Sirius' shoulders. He may not be Molly Weasley, but he can at the very least make an amazingly good sandwich.

"And some food in Buckbeak, too; what do hippogriffs eat anyhow?" The worry for his friend is rather outweighing his desire to hear more about his son, but it'll pop up again later.

"Then you two can tell me what in hell Sirius is on about," he adds, with a bit of a helpless shrug. This is one event that he can't help with, no matter how much he hates seeing both Sirius and Remus like this. This is after his time, and it hurts to know he can't do anything about it.

[natureinblood]

Remus actually looks a bit confused. He'd been in the City for so long that the events Sirius was talking about seem faded and long forgotten.

"What Severus did-?" he starts before cutting himself off as Sirius continues, shaking his head a bit, but appreciating the concern nonetheless. "Ancient history is more like it."

But he stays close to Sirius, giving him worried looks when he thinks no one will catch him. It might have been years since he'd been around Sirius like this, but those memories are fast to return now that he's putting his mind back to them.

"They eat smaller animals, James. Rodents, mostly. He'll have to make due with whatever we have now. I'm not keen on feeding him the dog."

Giving James a mild look of amusement, he half shrugs as they move toward the house. "It's a bit of a long story. One I'm sure we can tell."

[dragony]

It was some time later, conveniently after the bulk of the Marauder Reunion and thus all the crying, hugging, bad jokes, and possibly more crying, that Ruka finally arrived home. For the most part, everything seemed completely ordinary.

Well, except for the mythological beast hanging around the back yard. That was certainly new. Curious, and in not checking her communicator that afternoon perfectly ignorant to this newest arrival, Ruka left her bag on the floor against the wall before venturing back outside. Because really why is there a thing like this outside anyway.

lol posting with phone HOW DOES IT WORK

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

It smells like take away inside, and as Ruka gets closer to Buckbeak she will see that this is probably because the great beast is hungrily devouring most of the meat in the house. Even laying down with his wings folded he was large, about the size of a Quarterhorse, with the face, wings and claws of an eagle supersized to match. That meant one BIG beak.

It looks up as she draws near, making a soft but very deep qwork of...not alarm but acknowledgement. He sees you, Ruka.

[dragony]

And yet, despite the dangerous and probably somewhat-menacing-to-some face, Ruka does not feel afraid. She grew up with a dragon, okay. A dragon that occasionally tried to eat people.

"Hello," she greets, which may sound a bit unusual to the beast than wrods from anyone else. For Ruka, though a human, and certainly not possessing any sort of true 'magic,' has been granted an unusual adaptation to a skill she once possessed: the ability to understand monsters, and be understood by them, as though they spoke the same native language.

Whether such will work on the hippogriff is not something Ruka knows -- not was it something she considered when she spoke. It is just something she does.

She stays close to the house, because she knows better to get near any sort of animal while it is eating, and her hands are empty, folded against one another against her lap. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you."

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

The ruff of feathers crowning the creature's head smooths out, and with her ability to commune, she would get the sense that the hippogriff was calling bullshit on that statement. Possibly because she just walked over and started talking, an obvious interruption.

But his belly was more or less full, and she was a rather small human who was otherwise acting appropriately timid. He sensed that she was just chattering as humans often seemed to do, rather than challenging him, so he need not get up.

With a cock of his head, Buckbeak invited her to continue chattering - she did it differently, and he was curious.

LOOK WHO TOTALLY SUCKS AT TIMELY TAG-BACKS that is right it is loli

[dragony]

Hey, she came in from a bad angle, she couldn't tell that right away. Give her a break! Despite the inviting gestures from the hippogriff, Ruka was a little hesitant to continue at first. She wasn't sure whether this creature was in its natural form -- perhaps a recent imPort that hadn't been transformed into a human by the Porter? -- or if someone had been turned into this form.

That seemed far more likely, to be honest. Especially around this house. Assured by the brief silence that the creature wasn't desperate to get back to its meal, she continued. "Are you a friend of Remus'?"

SLOW TAGS ALL AROUND. >__<

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

Hippogriffs are proud and haughty by nature! Buckbeak can't help but be easily offended. It's unorthodox for him to put up with some little human who hadn't even bowed to him in the first place!

"You mean the Werewolf who attacked the Dog Man and the Brave Fledgeling. We are staying at the werewolf's nest, so I will tolerate him. ...This is your nest as well." It isn't quite a statement or a question.

/gathers them all up

[dragony]

She isn't sure what exactly the hippogriff is referring to, but she's pretty sure she would have heard about Remus breaking out of the basement and attacking people if it had happened recently. Or, at least, would notice if Remus became more withdrawn than usual for guilt.

So, more likely than not, he's from the same world as Remus -- though of course, with the matter of timelines, there's no way for her to know whether that was something in his past or his future. (She really hopes he hadn't hurt either of those people.)

But from the way he speaks, Ruka picks up on that mood and demeanor, and the word choice is a clue in itself. It probably wouldn't be wise to to make any sorts of defenses; he's not human, after all, and beasts and monsters don't like being challenged by children.

She's not sure who he means by "we," either.

So for response, she gives a small nod--for both who she means and for the not-question, affirming truth. It's followed by a polite bow; a little tighter and more formal than her often-relaxed gesture, for the way he speaks.

"It's an honor to meet you," she says, voice steady and words unforced; honest, "and to have you staying with us."

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

The hippogriff makes a pleased noise...which is probably good because it accompanies the beast getting up and trotting rather quickly over to her. He is big, and those are big claws and that is a big beak, but there's nothing aggressive in his actions. Instead, Buckbeak returns her bow.

"And I am honored in turn." Feathers re-fluffed with pleasure, he leans forward, inviting her to touch him.

"Well done, Ruka," says another voice. Older once again, and so much more worn this time, Sirius Black leans against the door into the kitchen, smiling with quiet pride. It does a lot to soften his gaunt features and matted hair (a bath has also helped) but he's barely recognizable as the handsome teenager she knew before.

"I don't know a single other person who discovered the key to greeting a hippogriff without being taught. You are as remarkable as ever."

[fastest-tool.livejournal.com]

"...I am 80% certain you weren't here this morning."

That was all Rua could think to say as he stared at the beast that currently seemed to be chilling out in his backyard. To say he was shocked to come home and find it would've been a bit of an understatement, but he still didn't, pardon the phrase, find his feathers to be that ruffled. At least, he was pretty calm about it after making sure there weren't any green pigtails or barettes that may or may not have been around some green pigtails covered in blood anywhere in the hippogriff's vicinity.

After staring at it long enough to ascertain it wasn't sayin' anything in any language he was going to understand, he decided to just go inside and find out what the hell the deal was.

"Hey," he called as he came in through the door, loud enough to be heard throughout the house. "I got the mail. And there's a big beaked demon thing outside."

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

"That's Buckbeak," an unfamiliar voice calls from somewhere upstairs. "He's a hippogriff, probably best to leave him alone until I introduce you proper. Or Ruka, she's got a way with him."

warning: my brain has not quite stopped being pudding yet and i make no guarantees of coherence??

[donttasemebro]

Bruno came home fairly early, all things considered. "Early" meaning, over the past month or so, "before the sun sets." Recall the fact that this is now late June. Still, his arrival around this time wasn't so unusual that it would really catch any Moonybase resident's attention.

Except for if, say, any of the aforementioned residents happened to have recently been absent from the home for more than a few weeks, and therefore had not yet become accustomed to the somewhat... unique throaty growl of the (only barely muffled) engine of Bruno's newly completed hand-made personal ride as it pulled up and parked in the house's driveway. In that particular case, said resident(s) may be anywhere from highly puzzled to vaguely alarmed.

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

When Sirius had been here before, he'd gotten pretty good at identifying engines by sound, but that was quite a long time ago subjectively. That is one weird-sounding engine, though, and it inspires him to at least look out the window.

...Oh hey it's Bruno.

Sirius is in an odd sort of fugue state after the whirlwind of emotion and relief that comes of being back in the city, but he's smiling as he comes up.

"I am the ghost of wizarding future, ooga booga, what have you done to that poor innocent motorbike?"

[donttasemebro]

Fortunately by the time Sirius walks up Bruno has already parked his bike on its kickstand and clipped his matching helmet only its hanger, because he probably would be dropping anything he'd have been holding right now as he shoots Sirius a pair of looks that should really be placed in the dictionary next to the word 'double-take'.

"... Sirius??!"

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

"More or less."

Sirius is far too busy examining the bike in question to notice that he is being gaped at. Mostly because he is being gaped at for looking old and horrible, not because he suddenly dislikes people paying attention to him. Maybe Bruno will believe he looks like a deranged hermit on purpose...

[donttasemebro]

In actual fact, Sirius's deranged hermit look is peripheral at best to the reason Bruno is gawking. He's seen Sirius looking both unhinged and hobo-esque on more than one occasion in the past, occasionally even at the same time.

The real reason is... well, something that doesn't have a whole lot to do with Sirius himself at all, per se. Between him, and then Franziska and Yuusei all being ported out within the space of a couple of weeks, lately Bruno has almost sort of... stopped bothering to hope that his ExPorted friends will ever come back. After all, hasn't that always been a little selfish of him? Most people aren't like him, they actually have their full lives waiting for them back home; important things to remember and to do. Most of them haven't been here longer than they've... been anywhere else. At least, that's what he's been reminding himself in between burying himself under the last loose ends of the D-Wheel development project and keeping busy at his motorcycle workshop until all hours of the night.

In short, he hadn't ever expected to see Sirius ever again. He hasn't really let himself expect it.

So old and grubby and in the middle of admiring his bike or not, Bruno's suddenly going to give Sirius the biggest hug he can manage without actually hurting him.

[purmoncul.livejournal.com]

"Oof! Ha ha ha! Alright, Bruno?"

Sirius hugs him back and gives him an amused couple of pats.

"It's good to see you too, mate."

[donttasemebro]

"Yeah."

It's clear from his voice that he's smiling now. "Yeah, I'm good."

Bruno mercifully releases Sirius and pulls back to beam that watery smile right at his face. "It's really great to see you, Sirius."

Turning his personal little bubbling pot of emotions down to a low simmer for the time being, Bruno shifts his focus fully to Sirius and gives him a good looking up and down. His smile gets a slight kink in it and the whole "What happened to you?" question is pretty clearly written across his face, but what he actually asks when he glances back up is:

"When'd you get back?"