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[blackdogstar]

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[pawntakesking]

[Regulus isn't sure what he expected, but it definitely wasn't this, and he's not at all sure what to do with what might actually be pride. Or, for that matter, with Sirius claiming he's being hard on himself, when he's not. He's really not.]

[His shoulders aren't quite solid under Sirius' grip, the freezing shadows giving a little under the pressure, lapping at Sirius' fingers like dark water. He sags, biting his lip.]

It was bloody stupid, anyway. I'll take your word for it on brave.

Anyway. Now you know, I suppose. Better late than never.

[blackdogstar]

[Sirius sighs, his own shoulders sagging. He's better now about knowing when to stop, so stop he does.]

Allright well, we were both bloody stupid and now we're somehow both alive, so... I guess it could be much worse.

[He pulls a crooked smile.]

Thanks, for telling me.

[pawntakesking]

[Regulus actually does smile back, although it speaks more of weariness than of any actual happiness or humour.]

Thank you for listening. [Even with his flares of anger at some of Sirius' responses, this has honestly gone much better than he'd expected.]

Bellatrix has it now. The Horcrux. Or... well, something that looks like it, at any rate. I didn't entirely manage to control myself when I saw that.

In any case, she knows a little more than I was hoping she would, by now.

[blackdogstar]

[Regulus gets one last squeeze to the shoulder in acknowledgement of that thanks. His brotherly smile doesn't last long at that mention of Bellatrix, though. He looks, frankly, horrified.]

You don't think... the thing still has a piece of Voldemort in it, do you?

[Please Merlin, no. The last fucking thing they need.]

[pawntakesking]

No. No, I think...

I think it might have a piece of her in it, actually. Have you met any liches here?

[blackdogstar]

[... Is that worse? That might be worse.]

Can't say that I have, no.

[pawntakesking]

Well, they have phylacteries. Not unlike a Horcrux, though by all accounts easier to destroy.

Unless I'm much mistaken, Salazar's locket is hers.

[He's not entirely sure why he's sharing this information. Definitely not in subconscious hope that Sirius or someone else can use it against her. Definitely not. He's loyal to family.]

[blackdogstar]

[Sirius blanches just a little bit.]

Okay. Right, phylacteries. I think I read about that somewhere- it's like an external heart or something? And hers is Salazar Slytherin's locket.

[pawntakesking]

Yes. That's more or less the shape of things.

On the bright side, it no longer actually has Him in it. On the less bright side...

[...It might as well, for how it feels to look at it.]

...she's definitely not going to let blood be a barrier to getting some kind of revenge if she finds out what I originally planned for it.

[blackdogstar]

[Sirius' face is wrinkled with disgust, when all at once it forms into a snarl much like the lion of Gryffindor house, bared pointed teeth and all.]

If she thinks she's going to lay a finger on you, she has to get through me first.

[pawntakesking]

[Regulus flinches a little at that look - it's just a little too Black, just a little too furious, to be comfortable, and he's still not exactly on an even keel anyway - but, at the same time, it's almost... nice? Yes. Nice, to have Sirius defensive over him. It feels like it's been a long time since that was the case.]

Don't be ridiculous. I'm stronger than you are.

[blackdogstar]

[Regulus flinching is more than enough to get Sirius to calm down, relaxing his lips so he isn't snarling at the least, though his eyes are still cold as ice.]

You're not. But LaStrange is certainly weaker than both of us combined.

[pawntakesking]

[Regulus is very tempted to retort that actually, yes, he is. Maybe not in their own world, maybe not in the place where Sirius is so well-liked and talented, but here? Where he's spent years getting to know his new - and complete - monster form, and where he has powers through the Fog that most monsters do not? He is, objectively, stronger than Sirius.]

[But he's self-aware enough to know that saying so would just be picking a fight. And, really, it's not the point. His smile is genuine.]

It's been a while since that was an option, hasn't it?

[blackdogstar]

[His eyes are still chilly, but they warm slightly with something bittersweet and nostalgic.]

It has.

[Longer, in fact, than Sirius is even aware of. It's hard to track the passage of time in Azkaban, practically impossible.]

I'm going to have your back this time, Reg.

[pawntakesking]

[It's an impulse, one he wouldn't usually give credence to. Right now, though - right now, for once in either of his lives, he actually does feel the need to offer a hug. It's clumsy and awkward and brief, but it's still a hug.]

Thanks. And I...

I'm sorry I didn't have yours.

[blackdogstar]

[Sirius has no verbal response to that, because he fears anything he says will either take them down a road of arguing about who let whom down more, or ruin the moment. He just returns the hug with a tight squeeze, far less awkward about it than Regulus.]