Hey guys,

Sorry it's been so long since I last updated, but I was finally able to put this chapter together for you.

It's been rather difficult to follow up on my last chapter; things have been hectic in real life. Hopefully after this, my writer's block will also go away. It seems that I've developed a habit of planning out the main idea for the next five or so chapters, but with no way to connect them to what I left off on this site. Rather annoying, right? After this, I hope things will pick up pace and you guys won't have to wait for so long to see the next part.

Thanks to everyone for following, adding to favorites and also to Wulffe, GRX3m0m, Byakugan 789, Gavoon, ZylerLee and Guests for the reviews. It's all greatly appreciated.

Here's part 14.

…..

Cellmates

The cell fell into a more uncomfortable silence after the question was asked. Sirius glanced around, hoping to find whoever it was that had spoken. It didn't take him too long, the other prisoners turned to stare in their direction as well. It was difficult for him to tell what they looked like at that moment, since his eyes were still struggling to adjust to the sudden light change less than ten minutes beforehand.

From what he could tell from the dimly illuminated room was that it was a young man, short and scrawny, who couldn't have been much older than Harry. It was depressing to think that this Horde even deigned it necessary to capture teenagers amongst their regular, older prisoners. He winced, wondering how he'd have been able to handle such a revelation if the boy had been Harry instead. If anything, Sirius was sure that he'd have tried to break the two of them out by now. The only thing stopping him at the moment was the fact that he wasn't sure what these people would do. Were they the type to rat each other out if they tried anything, or would they actually be alright to turn it all into a team effort?

The teenager stared at Sirius expectantly. He stared back.

"Who's asking?" Sirius called back calmly.

The boy's eyes narrowed at him in response. Sirius doubted that the kid would say anything, and he wondered if this discussion would ever get anywhere because of it. He sighed in exasperation. It seemed as though none of the other prisoners wanted to say anything to him either, and he wasn't about to force them to do so. Sirius would just have to deal with the silence for a while longer, although to be honest, it was getting rather tiring. He didn't want to think about all of the times he had been forced to sit in absolute silence during his long incarceration, not to mention the lengthy stretches of boredom. It was enough to drive anyone up the wall, and Sirius was lucky that he had even the slightest semblance of lucidity left in him after his experiences. He hated to think that the boy in front of him could go through a similar situation, though. The kid was far too young for that, just like Harry was.

"I asked you first," came the reply. Although the answer had taken a while, the boy seemed a little too smug; sitting there with his arms folded defiantly, a challenging glint in his eye. It was as though this kid was itching for a fight. Sirius would refuse, of course. Who was he to do such a thing to someone his age? That would be as bad as trying to take on his godson Harry or his friends, and he would never do something like that to them. Of course, he had to disqualify the first time he'd seen Harry since he was little; that one didn't count, and neither had known the full situation yet…

"That may be, but how am I to know that I can trust you?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow and leaning back against the cell bars.

"I could ask the same of you."

The kid was infuriating and he knew it. Of course, even though they both raised a very valid point, Sirius wasn't sure he wanted to butt heads with a child who had an obvious attitude problem. He really didn't have time to deal with that; there were much more important things for him to consider at the moment, like how he was going to be able to escape from his current situation, amongst other things. Unfortunately for Sirius, though, he was left with little choice in this matter.

I can't believe I'm thinking this, but I kind of understand my parents now; I was such a brat…

Sirius shook his head. It was not the appropriate time to be dwelling on his own childhood, especially when he had a group of people staring at him like they were.

"Look, kid," he began, frowning. "I really don't have time to sit here and listen to you smart-mouth at me all night long. You tell me your name and I'll tell you mine; then we can get on with our lives. All right?"

The kid just sat there and stared at him. Sirius sighed in frustration at the audacity of the boy's behavior. Was it really that hard for him to be polite, or was it a normal thing for the youth here to back-talk like this? Sirius had a feeling he didn't want to know. The other adults in the cell gave him sympathetic looks, which gave Sirius the feeling that he wasn't the only one who had to put up with this so far. It made him wonder why none of them deemed it necessary to chime in and help him out. Maybe they were testing him?

Sirius' eyes narrowed, but the boy's expression didn't change. Talking to these people was almost like pulling teeth. He huffed to himself quietly and stared up at the ceiling. Hopefully that kid would take the hint and tone down his attitude. It was really giving him a headache. Sirius was suddenly glad he'd never had children, there was that possibility that one of his own would have been worse than this. He winced internally at the sudden image. Merlin, he'd have gone crazy years ago…

The kid sighed after a few more moments of silence. Sirius glanced over at the boy from the corner of his eye; he was shuffling around, nervously fidgeting with his hands. Good, the silent tactic was working. A few more minutes and hopefully they'd be getting somewhere. This always used to drive him crazy when Remus would pull it on him when they were in school; not that he'd ever openly admit it to anyone, especially not Remus. Sirius was surprised to find that it actually worked on someone else.

The boy huffed in indignation, folding his arms and glaring at Sirius as if he'd just been insulted. Sirius had to stifle a grin at the juvenile behavior, this kid was practically pouting at the lack of attention he was getting. A quick glance around the room found the other prisoners were also trying to hide their amusement, although some were failing.

"Fine," Sirius heard him mutter almost angrily. He finally turned back to face the boy, who was currently scowling. Sirius just looked at him in response, and the boy's scowl deepened before mumbling something incoherent.

"What was that?" Sirius craned forward slightly in hopes to catch it.

"I said Liam," the kid repeated, glaring at the floor.

"And I'm Sirius," he replied, smiling slightly. "Now, was that so hard?"

Liam scowled again and refused to comment. Sirius glanced around the cell at the others in there with them. The Horde didn't seem to care where they put their prisoners as the cell had an interesting mix of men and women of varied race and age. Apart from the kid, Sirius was the only human in the room.

The two other men sat off in one corner, where they had watched Sirius' exchange with Liam in silence. The dwarf appeared to be having difficulty keeping a straight face, while the worgen openly grinned. Liam followed his gaze and glared at the pair, which only seemed to make things worse.

"Don't take it the wrong way, lad," the dwarf bellowed good-naturedly. "I'm not laughing at you; it just reminded me of something similar when I was young." He smiled at the youth, whose expression didn't waver. "It happens to everyone, right?" He looked to Sirius for confirmation.

"Certainly," he replied. "I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name?"

The dwarf blinked and slapped his hand over his face. "By the light, you're right." He leaned back against the wall behind him with a laugh. "I'm gettin' forgetful in this place." The dwarf met Sirius' gaze. "I'm called Cormack."

Sirius inclined his head politely. "Pleased to meet you."

Cormack tapped his companion's shoulder. The worgen stared at him for a moment, shrugged and then settled back against the wall.

"Well, you're no help, then," Cormack muttered indignantly, rolling his eyes. "Sorry 'bout him," he said. "He likes to mess with people sometimes, especially the Horde guards."

Liam frowned at Cormack. "Why does he get to keep silent when I had to talk? That's not fair!"

"Don't complain, boy," the dwarf shot back. "You're younger, and need to learn to respect your betters; didn't ye learn that at home?"

Liam folded his arms again, turning away to face the wall. Cormack harrumphed at him.

"If ye were my boy, ye wouldn't be actin' up like this, no sir! I-"

"Cormack," a voice called out exasperatedly from the opposite corner. "Will you shut up, please?"

"And what have I done this time, lass?" he asked, throwing his hands up indignantly.

"You always rant when Liam doesn't agree with you; is it any wonder he won't respect you?"

"He needs to work on his attitude!"

"So do you!"

Cormack harrumphed again, crossing his arms and glaring at the floor. He glanced back over at Sirius, who hadn't said a word. The dwarf gestured towards the other corner.

"Do ye see what I have to put up with?" He cried, earning a glare from the other two prisoners. "Light have mercy when I'm always up against two stubborn women about the boy."

"Cormack," the voice called a second time. "You are overreacting – again. It's not as bad as you make it out to be, so stop saying that."

"I'm not overreacting, Dalrae," Cormack growled. "This boy needs to learn some manners!"

"No," Dalrae retorted, tapping a hoof impatiently on the floor. "He has good instincts. A warrior must know when to keep his guard up, since it's better to be cautious."

Liam grinned at the draenei's compliment. She smiled back.

"You can't trust everyone, you know?" A much lighter voice piped up. "Anyone can be a potential enemy if they have reason to."

"Thanks, Katri," Liam said.

The gnome grinned at him. "Maybe I'd prove my point better if I had my daggers with me, wouldn't you agree Dalrae?"

Dalrae laughed, and soon after, Katri, Liam and the worgen all joined in while Cormack scowled. Sirius felt an answering smile threatening to spread across his face as well. It was a relief that the ice was broken; he had no desire to return to that agonizing moment of awkwardness when he'd been tossed into the cell.

"So – Sirius, was it?" Katri locked eyes with him, Sirius nodded. "How did you end up here, if you don't mind my asking?"

He stared at her. "I thought you would have heard all of the whispering by now."

She smiled. "Of course I have. I just want to hear your version, since that's the real story."

Sirius sighed, wondering how Maura and Selena were doing since he'd been gone. Astara would be unimpressed with him as well. And Harry… He shook his head to clear it, glancing over at the others in the room before he answered the gnome's question.

"It's not much of a story," Sirius began, drawing his arms around his knees and she nodded for him to continue. "I was exploring Darkshore after staying in Lor'danel for a couple of weeks before I was suddenly hit from behind. When I woke up I was here, in my own cell, for who knew how long…"

"Is it true that you're a civilian?" Liam blurted out. Katri narrowed her eyes at him, making his widen. He mumbled a quiet apology and promptly shut up.

Sirius blinked at the question. After a moment he looked over at the kid, who had opted to stare at the floor again. Liam glanced up suddenly and started when he realized Sirius was watching him. Sirius sighed, dragging a hand down his face. He smiled.

"Yeah," he replied. "You could say that. I haven't decided what to do yet."

Cormack opened his mouth to speak, but Dalrae beat him to it.

"Please don't try to convert him," she warned. "Let him decide on his own."

"He's a priest," Katri explained, taking pity on Sirius' bewildered expression. "It's what he does."

"Not all the time!" Cormack snapped. "We have other important duties to fulfill as well, but I won't waste my time – "

"We understand that," Dalrae interjected. "I'd just rather you didn't scare Sirius away."

"I wasn't going to!" Cormack growled, glaring at her.

"Can we move on?" Katri asked. "I've had enough of the arguing for now."

Liam sniggered at the look Cormack had at that comment.

"It sounds like you've all been here for a while," Sirius said. He guessed that it had to be true, since the group seemed to get along well enough, apart from a few squabbles.

Katri snorted. "It didn't take much to figure out, did it?"

He shook his head. "Not really; it's the vibe you give off."

"I can see how that would do it…"

Cormack pat the worgen on the back. "Ross and I have been here for nearly two months. The lasses over there arrived about a week later. Liam came the one after that."

Ross nodded in agreement. "We weren't put in the same cell as a group for most of the time we've been here."

"We tried escaping a few times already, but they would just separate us for a few days before throwing us back in the same spot again." Cormack grimaced. "The interrogations weren't entirely pleasant either."

"We were caught because you wouldn't adjust the plan when something changed," Dalrae muttered, rolling her eyes. "Besides the fact that you insisted on being in charge of everything each time."

"What kind of plans were they?" Sirius asked, looking over towards Cormack.

"It would take too long to explain right now," he replied. Appearing to take careful note of all the eyes on him he added: "If you have an idea, it would be easier to tell us; we'll let you know if it's been done."

Sirius stared at him for a moment, and then realized he wasn't the only one. Cormack's statement was met with a few nods of approval. He had an odd urge to laugh at the situation but he decided to refrain, at least to save Cormack from any more embarrassment. After a few moments of thinking and hoping everything would work out, Sirius straightened and glanced around the room a final time.

"I'm not sure if it would work just yet, but here's what I think we could do…"

…

I know it's a little short, but writing this scene was a lot like pulling teeth. I just had to finish it and get it out there so that I can move on to the next part, which has been swimming around in my head for a while now. Anyway, to save on words, I'm not going to answer any reviews this time around.

Until next time, peace out!

Shadowcaster01