Unchained [Open]

[grimbiker]

Sirius Black was no longer in Azkaban. He had spent but a few months there, a small fraction of the time he would have spent had Stacy not ripped him free, but it had left its mark on him. He knew his mind had fractured, he could feel the pieces as surely as if he were holding them in his hands, but he couldn't fit them back together. He didn't know how. He couldn't do it on his own. He needed James. But James was dead.

He should talk to Remus. He'd always been the most sensible and resilient of them. Remus knew what it was like to break apart and then put yourself back together. He'd done that every month since before Sirius met him. But Sirius couldn't go to him, not yet. Not when he could barely string together a few sentences.

Sirius had gone to the city first but it was strange to look out across all those buildings, places that should be full of life hauntingly empty. He turned away and wandered more until he found somewhere full of life. He could forget that he was on board a- what had they called it? Spaceship? It seemed like the four walls around him had fallen away and finally, finally he was free.

He stood still, eyes closed, arms spread, feeling the air.

He remembered his life. There had been bad times, yes. Horrible, terrible times but he had endured. He'd survived. And James had always been there for him. James...

So many happy memories now bittersweet. They flowed over him like waves, each one threatening to take him under but each one he cherished. Life was hard. Life hurt. Knowing that the person who'd brought so much happiness into his life was gone, knowing that Sirius was responsible for his death, it was a pain he could not describe. A pain he never expected or wanted to diminish. But through the pain there was laughter. Through the pain there was love. And that was worth living for, no matter how deep he hurt.

It's what James would have wanted.

"I'll look after him, Prongs. I promise."

Comments

[linsha-majere.livejournal.com]

"Hello," a woman's voice sounded next to him. "Are you all right?"

Well, what would anyone ask seeing a man standing with his eyes closed and arms outstretched?

If Sirius opened his eyes and see who addressed him, he would be surprised to see a woman remarkably similar to Lily Potter: auburn red hair, grassy green eyes, freckles above her nose, a definitely magical ring on her right hand. This woman, though, was much older than Lily had been - about thirty perhaps - and her hair was curly and short cut. She was dressed in a rather nondescript clothes - a worn tunic, pants and boots - and had a sword on her hip. All her stance told about her being a warrior, and an experienced one.

[grimbiker]

Sirius started at the sound of someone's voice and he did open his eyes to be sure this wasn't an enemy. Apparently satisfied, he closed his eyes again and kept his arms out.

"Oh yes." He replied lightly, though his voice was still rough from disuse. "I am becoming one with nature. I do this all the time, you know."

[linsha-majere.livejournal.com]

"I see," the woman smiled. "Then I won't interfere." Perhaps he was a druid or something. He didn't look well, but nature, even this hydroponic one, had powerful healing properties.

[grimbiker]

Sirius opened his eyes and let his arms fall by his sides. "That was a joke. Must be out of practice."

[linsha-majere.livejournal.com]

Linsha laughed. "You look rather pale. Some communing with nature would do you good." She offered him his hand - hard, callused by a sword hilt. "Linsha Majere, of Krynn, wife of Councillor Bight. A newbie here. Just looking around, making acquaintance with the ship. I definitely like it here in the hydroponics, and you seemed to enjoy it, too."

[grimbiker]

Sirius hesitated a moment before shaking her hand. "Sirius Black. It's good to have- well, I suppose it isn't fresh air but it's close enough to it."

[linsha-majere.livejournal.com]

Linsha continued to smile. Somehow she liked this man, he reminded her of her brother, though she couldn't say why. He had definitely endured a lot, perhaps here in this ship he'd find some respite. Though war was war.

"Glad to meet you, Mr.Black," she said. For her, the name Sirius didn't mean anything, just a gracefully sounding word. "Have you already decided what you're going to do in this ship? I hope to be engaged in the very next fighting mission. I want to get my world back as soon as possible."

[grimbiker]

Sirius did not return the smile. He knew that if he tried it would only look as hollow as he felt.

Now there was a question. What he was going to do? Funny, all this internal reflection and that thought had never crossed his mind. He knew that he was going to look after Harry and apologize to Remus (again) but beyond that...

"I'll see where they need me. I've been in a war but it wasn't anything like this."

[linsha-majere.livejournal.com]

Linsha wasn't a great psychologist, but somehow she felt this man needed action. Perhaps even more than respite. Perhaps she could help him with this. The ship was huge, there were a lot of people in it, and waiting while someone finds him and offers him some job could be very long.

"So you've a war experience, right? Which kind of experience, if I may ask? A fighter, a healer, a magician, a war vehicle driver or something else?"

[theboywhodied]

After a few days of exploring the ship, Cedric thought he he had a fairly good working idea of where things were. He'd explored just about every main area, noting the places that weren't so wise to visit, and then set off for Hydroponics---whatever that meant. It wasn't exactly a word used too often.

He was surprised but delighted to see what was actually here---rather than a sterile world of rushing water (that was hydraulics, he reminded himself) it was almost like the earth! Plant and animal life abounded, bright and beautiful under a light that almost resembled the sun. Heartened by this discovery, he grinned and set off for lands yet unexplored.

Strange creatures and vibrant plants didn't stop him in his tracks, but a human shadow did. Sirius Black. Harry's godfather, the innocent man who'd been framed. And that Cedric had tried to attack, immediately after all the poor man must have been through. This warranted an apology, he would never turn away from that, but the circumstances were slightly...awkward.

Taking a deep breath, he raised his voice just a little. "Mr. Black?"

[grimbiker]

Mr Black. So strange to hear after all these months.

"Call me Sirius." He replied evenly, getting a good look at the boy in front of him for the first time. "Cedric, right?"

[theboywhodied]

"Sirius," Cedric amended, nodding faintly at the sound of his name. How odd, he thought, still trying to feel out what this was. It was easy with Professor Lupin and Harry: one was a mentor and the other was his acquaintance and friendly rival, but Sirius was a falsely accused man. And friend to both of the previous two. And person he had gone and attacked. Right: apologising was the first order of business. He folded his arms behind his back, looking up awkwardly.

"I wanted to apologise for attacking you. I'm sure that was the last thing you needed, on top of everything else."

[grimbiker]

Sirius shrugged. "Don't apologise. You were trying to protect Harry. I'm not going to blame you for that, quite the opposite. I'm glad he's friends with someone like you."

[theboywhodied]

Phrased that way, Cedric didn't feel quite as guilty for his hasty action. His smile was still slightly uneasy as he came to stand nearby. It was hard to resist looking at everything at once, or trying to.

"We're not actually friends, just...friendly rivals. First in Quidditch, then we were in the Tournament. But I've never had a problem with him. He's a great guy. I was a little surprised, actually."

[grimbiker]

So he wasn't even friends with Harry and he'd put himself in front of him the moment he saw a supposed mass murderer. Sirius liked him even more.

He raised his eyebrows. "A little surprised?"

[theboywhodied]

Oh, that was right. Sirius hadn't been around to see the rise of the legend around Harry, the way everyone treated him with awe. Most people thought he was this great saviour of the wizarding world.

"Well...Harry's pretty famous. He's the one who stopped You Know Who last time, and rumours about him spread quickly. I didn't think he'd be cruel, but he doesn't behave like a famous person at all. It seems to bother him---but after all the stories Rita Skeeter ran about him in the Prophet, I've started to see why." He wrinkled his nose. Those stories were so obviously false to anyone who had spent more than five minutes with Harry.

"Anyway...it's beautiful here," he almost smiled, gazing at a little pink creature rolling in front of them. "For a while I didn't think I'd see something like this again."

[grimbiker]

Sirius frowned. Of course Harry would be famous but he'd never stopped to think about that. To Sirius Harry was his godson, the boy he had orphaned,not the Boy Who Lived.

"Me too."

He followed Cedric's gaze and thought vaguely of turning into a dog to chase the creature- he could use the exercise and and excuse to do something silly like that but it was best that he didn't tip his hand. Never knew when being an unlicensed Animagus would come in handy. Or land him in prison. It might not have been listed as illegal in the constitution he read but illegality hadn't stopped people before.

"What's he like? Harry, I mean."

[pretty_lethal]

Rachel actually liked Hydroponics. It was one of the only places that actually felt kind of outdoors-y, even if she wasn't as big on the whole 'one with nature' thing as, say, Cassie. But still, it beat the gross, sticky humidity of most of the rest of the ship.

Of course, you also sometimes ran into some weird people there, if you asked her.

"What's with you?" she asked of the guy mumbling to himself with his eyes closed, raising an eyebrow at him.

[grimbiker]

Sirius wasn't feeling particularly polite at the moment, not in response to that question anyway.

"Spend several months in Azkaban and then you can ask me that question." He snapped.

[pretty_lethal]

"Right," Rachel said, eyes narrowing on this guy a little. "Don't count on that happening." A beat, then, "New here?"

[grimbiker]

"Then you best shut your mouth, shouldn't you?" He shoved his hand into the plantsuit pocket, clasping his hand over his wand. He was vaguely aware that he was probably overreacting but didn't particularly care. "I just woke up covered in alien snot if that's what you mean."

[pretty_lethal]

"Whatever." Rachel glared a little more, feeling like this guy was doing some kind of self-pity party. But whatever, that wasn't her business, anyway. "Figured as much. You get used to it."

[grimbiker]

Sirius glared back. "'Whatever,' truly a clever retort. You must have been top of your class with a keen mind like that. I am humbled."

[pretty_lethal]

"I don't see why I should waste anything better on a guy who seems pretty set on being an ass no matter what," Rachel snapped.

[grimbiker]

"Oh, another gem! Don't let me stop you." He gave her a rather nasty smile. "Keep going, I'm stunned. Your eloquence with the English language knows no bounds."