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

Entry tags:

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

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"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."

"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.

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.

"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.

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."

"I don't think he'd go for Pess, but you'd best keep her inside, then."

Going inside is like walking into heaven. It smells like home. And there's the dog in question, bowling into Sirius until he wobbles enough to plop onto the floor despite James's efforts. Sirius is laughing though, hands ruffling behind her ears, and seems perfectly content to settle on the kitchen floor to let her investigate all the strange smells he's brought home with him, and lick his face.

"Hello, gorgeous! What a good girl she is, what a love! Who ate all my treats, then? Was it you? Did you eat them all, you greedy thing?"

"They have been donated to the cause of 'red-headed ladies with new puppies what need controlling,' James says cheerfully. "Gemma got a puppy for her birthday, it was running around chasing monkeys. I offered to stop by with treats." He ruffles Pess absently and heads towards the kitchen.

"Do you want a sandwich? Take-out? What?"

"I'll have to walk her later than if she's to avoid the yard."

He just lets James and Sirius talk, waiting for Sirius's answer to the food question, though he's at the ready to get anything, considering the kitchen for a moment and trying to remember what they even had in the pantry.

"You'll be all right to stay for lunch, James?"

Sirius just shakes his head. "Anything. As long as there's a lot of it. And I'm not even going to ask about the monkey thing." He doesn't want to tell James that he's been living off of what Padfoot could scrounge in bins and handouts for the past few months, though he suspects that Remus knows. Really, anything that was actually specifically made for him to eat will taste fantastic.

Pess settles down right on Sirius's lap, covering him in big heavy dog. Which is wonderful. He's ragged and dirty enough that it's hard to tell where man ends and dog begins, except that the dog smells better. "We'll introduce them, and he'll leave her alone. Hagrid had him chained up by his hut and he never had trouble with the other animals."

Hagrid had a particular way with animals, but it didn't seem to occur to Sirius that he might not have the same success.

It is quiet for exactly thirty seconds before Sirius speaks up again. "So tell me...tell me how your girls are, my lads. Ruka and Lily."

"I should be, I think Tonks will cover for me. Told her where I was going, anyway." He glances at Remus. "Do you want to order in or something? I can't remember what we have at the moment." He sprawls down in a chair and runs a hand through his hair, then turns to face Sirius.

"Lily's, er, not here," he replies, sighing. "She went back home around the same time you did." It hasn't been a pleasant two months or so for James, unfortunately.

"Then she will," he says, assured that Tonks would do what she could. "Most of what we have will take a bit to start, but there's cereal and sandwiches."

Without hesitating, he opens the fridge, considering its insides with an unusual amount of concentration.

"I'd suggest ordering in.

"As for my girl, her brother, Rua, came back shortly before you did. I assume she's doing better because of it. School is over, so they'll both be around a bit more," he answers, without fail, his children always managing to bring a smile to his face.

"Oh James. She'll...she'll be back. It didn't all happen at once. She'll be back again." He didn't really believe it - he knew better than anyone save James and Lily themselves what had been happening when Lily had been ported in here, and that there was no escape from that fate, but he would have said anything to lift James's spirits. And who knew? He'd just gotten his friend back from the dead, maybe Lily would blink back before the final spell was cast...

He was grateful for Moony and the beam of light that were his children. Sirius watches Remus's smile, it made him feel better than seeing his first sunrise after his escape. There was something in Sirius that knew that he would feel better if all the world was on fire, if only Remus smiled. He could weather anything. Could have. Anything...

"I could eat General Tso and all his chickens," he answers, hoarse. "And it sounds like we'll need them, if Rua's back too. Merlin, I barely remember him. Just how sad Ruka was when he left." Thinking about Ruka made him realize just how much he wanted to see her and make sure she was alright...and just as suddenly afraid of what she'd think of him now. She took it hard when everyone left, and Remus...

He'd make it up to them. Somehow.

"I hope so," James says quietly. "You did, anyway, even if you're all old now," he adds, with a teasing grin. "Are you trying to make me feel out of place?"

He stretches a little and looks thoughtful. "Alright, ordering in, then. Pizza? Chinese? I don't mind, but Sirius, you choose. It's your food anyway." He chances another glance at Sirius, slightly worried now. It was odd, having both his best friends older than him. One moment he was planning new motorbikes with Sirius; the next Sirius was old, and different, and at the very least James could see that something was not entirely right, even if his best friend wasn't admitting it.

Remus closed the fridge at James's question, leaning against it for lack of anything better to do because he couldn't quite bring himself to calm down enough to sit.

"She'll be back. This place is rather fond of her," he remarks. "I'll remind you both that I'm still the oldest in the room, so all age jokes should still be in my direction."

At the very least, the good mood could hold for a little while longer.

"Your own son made you feel old, Prongsie, there's no hope for you." He leans back, closes his eyes, thinks of Harry and smiles.

"I want all of those things, and five hamburgers, and an entire bucket of spaghetti. And to never move again. ...Except to have a shower. I can't...heh heh heh heh, I believe I am sitting in your very nice kitchen getting dirt and hippogriff sweat all over your floor, Moony. That you can stand for such disgrace." He shifts Pess off of himself and wobbles to his feet.

"Alright. Shower. Now. Remus, I believe the good General called China home, you are in charge of summoning him here, because apparently the bloody convict is the one giving orders tonight. And get those little rangoon things, those are brilliant. Ha ha HA HA HA oh god I am going to choke on nostalgia for this Spring I cannot weather this intact! James, you help a rickety old man down the stairs so that I can go mad in the privacy of our own shower."

He'd...almost asked Remus but he was already coming apart at the seams.

"Yes, well, I was sixteen, shut it." He moves over to help Sirius to the stairs -- hopefully his worry isn't showing too much. Dammit, Sirius, what happened.

"As long as you don't make me shower with you," he adds, with a little grin. "I may've seen all your bits before, but I am a married man, thank you, and you'd probably like the shower all to yourself so you can wallow."

"I see what I can do, Sirius," he murmurs, more to himself, as the two of them made their way downstairs, watching James assist Sirius, hurt that he hadn't been asked.

But now isn't the time for that sort of thing, he decides, stepping over to the telephone and picking up the receiver and putting it to his ear. Pulling open a nearby drawer, he shuffles through the menus that have collected there until he spots one that looks like it might be offering to deliver something vaguely like Chinese food.

The call doesn't take long, Remus putting the phone back into its cradle before James has even returned.

Edited 2011-07-03 00:18 (UTC)

Sirius looks over his shoulder at Remus as he follows James, for just a moment. "My bits are not fit for men nor beast, James. ...Or women." Wow, yeah, great save there Pads. "So I've been in prison for the past twelve years, do me the favor of not listening to anything I say."

He isn't entirely sure how the stairs go, but he is suddenly successfully in the basement, so we will assume 'well'.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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

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