thedressingroom | (no subject)

[There's a pile of books beside the beanbag this wolf is sitting in, a collection that seems to dip into some fairly advanced magic. Remus frowns as he flips through the pages. He's decided that he really ought to take advantage of his time here, and this little studying session promises to be the first of many. He seems preoccupied, though, and occasionally stares off into the corner of the room instead of at the pages before him, thinking about all he has to look forward to when he heads back to the cottage.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

novumlupine

[Remus is doing something similar while walking in a wide circle around their cottage. More than just hiding it from view, which would invite a mad werewolf to crash into it unawares, he has to keep himself away from it entirely.

It never gets easier. Taking precautions against himself. Especially when it's rather Dark and his wand hand is already a bit shakier than usual.]

From:

thirdtimelucky

[Following along behind him to add another layer of "eh, I want to be elsewhere" to the wards Remus is building.] ...alright, there?

From:

novumlupine

Hm? Fine, fine. [Shakes his head, half to affirm and half to clear it, then adds the time limit on top.]

From:

thirdtimelucky

You're lying, Moony of mine, but it's okay. I still love you.

[Lacing their fingers together, palms touching.]

You ready for the perimeters?

From:

novumlupine

[It's sort of lovely, both that he notices and that he doesn't mind. Remus squeezes the hand in his, maintaining and building that connection, since they will certainly need it.]

When you are.

From:

thirdtimelucky

[Sirius doesn't mind a lot of things, not when it means Remus can have the relative safety he needs during the moon they thought they wouldn't have.

There's something very comforting about the way Remus' hand fits in his.]

On three.

From:

novumlupine

[He looks into Sirius's eyes and intends to continue doing so for as long as possible. If he can communicate silently across that gap the complex cocktail of emotions he's wading through, then this will all become that much easier. He's about to go Darker with his personal magic than he's allowed himself to before. Convincing an entire forest's worth of entities that they need to be elsewhere for a certain length of time is a rather intense intrusion into their will power and he would be lying if he didn't silently admit to himself that it's frightening. He'll get his strength from Sirius and, ironically, from the oncoming moon, whose dull predatory ache makes every part of him eager for a hunt.]

One.

From:

thirdtimelucky

[Trepidation. Unease. Fear. All this and more, Sirius can see lurking behind the clear sky blue of Remus' eyes. But behind those? Knowledge. Determination.

...and love.

Sirius holds Remus' gaze with intensity, his irises shrinking to thin rings of grey around pupils that only get darker. His breathing settles into a rhythm to match Moony's, and his pulse has almost, but not quite, caught up to the one he can feel in their joined hands.]

Two.

From:

novumlupine

And three.

[When he lifts his wand along with Sirius and looks out into the maze of trees, he lets the strength of that predatory instinct fuse with his constant need for tight control. The wand movement is almost identical to the Imperius, though the words he whispers are new. It moves through him with a deep down cold thrill and Remus shakes a little as his mind races alongside Sirius's tracking spell, searching for something to command.]

From:

thirdtimelucky

[Easy to release his magic with Remus', natural as breathing. His blended track-and-perimeter spell winds warm and golden around the clean edges of Moony's modified Imperius - and he knows what it is, it's not something that can be hidden - seeking out the living creatures within their sanctuary and encouraging them elsewhere.

Small animals, squirrels, rabbits, mice and the like are audible as they bound and scurry elsewhere, and a brace of deer can be seen between distant trees, their tufted tails a signal of departure. Behind this, in an ever-growing sphere, is the new magical boundary of their forest. For three nights, nothing living will crawl, walk or fly here, except themselves.

Easy to release the magic, but sweat beads on Sirius' forehead from the effort of controlling spells of this magnitude.]

...nearly-- and we should link this physically-- so a code spell will reset it--

From:

novumlupine

[He can't speak to reply; it's taking everything he has to stay on the proper side of the line he's walking with this spell. Remus nods and his fingers laced through Sirius's tighten again. He wants to touch the minds of the forest denizens as lightly as possible, leave them only with the vague impression that they have many better places to be. But in the moment, with all of that power and hunger, it's surprisingly tempting to make them run out of fear, to flash sharp teeth into the corners of their minds and send them skittering. Sirius keeps him grounded, and his voice is a welcome intrusion. Code spell. Sirius will have to seal it.]

From:

thirdtimelucky

[He moves right into Remus' space, linked hands becoming a meld of two bodies, their wands pointed outwards as conduits for the magic flowing through them. Breathing in time and heartbeats aligned, Sirius gives his strength to Remus, and adds the final wand movement required to seal the spell.

The key word he uses to trigger and set is "sanctum".]

This's harder than th'map was, fuck.

From:

novumlupine

[Gods, does he want to stagger and lean against Sirius once the spell is done, rest against him until he can see straight. He can't bring himself to right away - that magic was so very close to very wrong and Sirius knows it now. Remus separates from him, hand slipping free and moving to the center of his own chest as he steps uncertainly away with his head hanging down, weak as a foal.]

Only. Two of us.

From:

thirdtimelucky

...kind of heavy.

[He's panting heavily, as though he's sprinted for his life, and a flicker of hurt mingled with understanding darkens his eyes when Remus steps back.]

Don't-- don't do that.

From:

novumlupine

[After swallowing and taking one more breath in and out, he finds he can put together a stable sentence, though he still directs it toward the leaves below him.]

I just need a moment.

From:

thirdtimelucky

...alright.

[He's not looking at the leaves. He's looking straight at Remus.]

From:

novumlupine

[That excuse will only hold for so long, unfortunately. Remus takes a few more breaths before he straightens, his hand going to his collar and adjusting it. His wand then slides into his pocket before he finally turns to look at Sirius with (hopefully) an unclouded expression.]

Well, that was certainly an experience.

From:

thirdtimelucky

[Not completely clear, but it's obvious he doesn't want to push the issue.]

...we're good at this.

You.

You feel okay? Think it'll hold?

From:

novumlupine

It will hold. [It has to. After all of that, it has to. Remus frowns and holds the side of his head with one hand and fishes in his pocket with the other. Of course, today would be the day and now would be the moment that that his fingers find no chocolate.]

From:

thirdtimelucky

[He nods, solemnly.

Then grins.]

I already thought of that-- [In his pocket is a small block of Honeydukes finest.]

From:

novumlupine

[Remus blinks at Sirius for a moment and then allows that threatening smile to pull visibly at his lips.]

Really. You-

From:

thirdtimelucky

-are utterly brilliant and really, really ridiculously good-looking?

From:

novumlupine

[Fine, make him chuckle why don't you.]

We'll go with that. And you have chocolate.

From:

thirdtimelucky

Not just chocolate. Chocolate specifically for you. And it's possible I stocked the kitchen earlier with tea and sugar and milk, so you can have liquid sugary death with your chocolate.

From:

novumlupine

[He holds his hand out, finally. He may still be twitchy with the aftermath of that spell, but at this moment he really does need that little bit of physical contact.]

Come here.