Orion stared at him, not quite realising what had been said and the meaning behind the pain filled words.
"Who caught you?"
He moved towards his brother, guiding him to the settee again.
Sirius sat poker straight, trembling slightly, which as the long silence grew, increased tenfold, his eyes flickering wildly around the room, as though searching for a way to escape the confined space.
"Sirius..." Orion's gaze flickered worriedly to Regulus, who was staring wide-eyed and open mouthed at his brother, looking as though he expected the worst. "Who caught you? What…what did they do to you?"
Sirius gave a whimper, before his gaze snapped back to Orion, again not really seeing him.
"They caught me."
A gasp from Regulus caused Orion to look quickly to his brother. In an instant Orion had yanked Regulus towards him by his collar and was glaring into the fear-filled gaze.
"What do you know Regulus? Tell me…"
When no answer was forthcoming, he pushed Regulus back roughly, sending the taller boy reeling. He then moved across to Sirius, sitting beside him and gently pulling him to his chest in a brotherly comforting hug, massaging slow circles on his back, offering what reassurance he could.
He felt Sirius relax a little more against him, burying his nose in the folds of his shirt, which he knew smelt of his aftershave as the girl he had had with him had already complimented him on it that evening.
"Reg…" His voice became threatening. "What…do…you…know?"
Regulus bit his lip, his gaze fixed on Sirius, before he began to speak.
"On the way back from the club we went to tonight, James and me, we went a short cut through the back streets. We saw a…gang. They followed us, but we got away, but not before Greyback…"
Orion felt Sirius tense at the name, his hand suddenly reaching round and clutching at Orion's, the trembling, which had slightly abated, reappeared tenfold.
Regulus fell silent, staring at his brother, but Orion waved him on, increasing the pressure on Sirius, whispering comfortingly,
"Hey, little bro, I'm here. Nothings going to get you while I'm here. Shhh…Calm down."
Regulus continued.
"Not before he shouted something at us. He said that he knew Sirius would be coming along soon. That he'd get him instead…I…I didn't think Sirius would get caught. He's clever. He's escaped worse. But…"
Orion shook his head, rocking Sirius slightly; overcome by the pathetic bundle that was normally his overly confident, handsome and fearless brother. Anger coursed through him that a member of his family, which he cared about over anything excluding his Mother and a few cousins, was reduced to this.
The door of the living room sliding open, caused a needed distraction from the tension within the room, James entering with the mugs floating beside him, magically held in the air.
"Here we go…I made hot chocolate…I know it's Sirius' favourite…What's happened?"
James glanced around the room, noting the tension, before handing out drinks to each allotted person, reaching Sirius last.
He was still clutching onto Orion, his hands looped around his muscular waist, the trembling even more obvious as his hands were so close to him.
As Orion reached up to take Sirius' drink as well, shifting slightly to reach for it, Sirius' hands sprang from around his waist, to around his neck, his fingers lacing together to stop him from going any further away from him.
"Don't leave me…"
Orion gave him a soft smile, more love hidden behind his gaze other than a familial kind.
"I'm not going anywhere."
He glanced pointedly at Regulus, who climbed to his feet, motioning for James to follow him.
James, who had been sipping his drink, climbed to his feet and moved out the door which Regulus was holding open for him, closing it softly behind him, both moving to the kitchen, sat facing each other across the kitchen table, hands laced around their cup, each lost to their own separate thoughts.
Orion, leaning forwards whispered lightly in his brother's ear,
"Don't worry…I'll get the bastards that hurt you. I know exactly who it is."
Sirius gave another whimper, before leaning away slightly and whispering in a tremulous whisper,
"Thank-you."
Orion held him close again, before whispering again,
"The bastards will pay for hurting you like they have."
Sirius' eyes filled with tears, his lower lip wobbling as he fought to be strong, but failed miserably. Tears eventually coursed down his face, causing Orion to wipe them away with his thumbs, cupping his brother's face in his hands.
Staring into the chocolate gaze of Sirius, he moved closer, allowing their lips to connect for a few seconds, before pausing.
Sirius gaze was cutting into him as he leant forward and kissed him properly, putting all the love and comfort into the kiss he could, making silent promises to not leave him alone and to get this sorted for him.
Breaking away, Orion eventually handed Sirius his drink, grinning slightly and saying,
"Come on anyway, you get this down you…"
Sirius took the mug, raising it to his lips and taking a deep swallow of the warm, milky drink.
A sweet taste filled his mouth, cut through with a slightly bitter twang, which he swallowed down, eventually finishing the whole mug.
As Orion set the mug down, he saw Sirius yawn widely and his eyelids droop, before his hand was raised to his eyes, rubbing at them to try and wipe the sense of sleepiness away.
Orion smiled and pulled Sirius to him, not caring when Sirius wriggled up onto his lap like a little girl, wrapping his arms around his shoulders again, his breathing becoming deeper and calmer as the dreamless sleep potion took effect.
Pulling himself up using the arm of the sofa, he lifted Sirius as easily as if he weighed nothing, moving to the door and up the stairs, calling for Regulus and James to follow him.
James raised his eyebrow at the strength of the eldest Black brother, following Regulus up the stairs to Sirius room, where Orion lay him on the bed, pulling back the covers and tucking Sirius under them as he did so.
Turning suddenly, he fixed a threatening gaze on Regulus, before snapping,
"You," He stabbed his finger at Regulus. "Are going to stay and watch him. Make sure you're there for him if he wakes up and he doesn't hurt himself."
His gaze remained on Regulus until his younger brother had sullenly nodded before rounding on James.
"And you will make sure, he stays awake…"
With that he turned, pausing once at the door to say over his shoulder,
"I'll be back. Make sure nothing happens to him."
He left the room, leaving James and Regulus to stare at each other, both looking anxious and worried before both turning to take seats in the room.
PAGE BREAK
Orion stormed into the warm room, not caring that his Scottish friend was, at this moment in time, getting down to business with the blonde woman he had been wooing earlier, not to mention the one that Orion himself had intended to have some fun with.
"Macnair…get up now. We've got some off duty jobs to do…"
A head emerged from the tangle of naked limbs, the two girls giggling and eyeing Orion up excitedly, both clearly wanting him to join in the fun.
He ignored them both, his gaze fixed on Macnair's, willing him to understand the message he was trying to say without words, his gaze narrowing further when Macnair dropped his head to one of the women's mouths, kissing her deeply and waving Orion away.
"Macnair! Get out of bed before I drag you out, otherwise you'll get chucked out of my house with your whoring wenches! Get up, dressed and in that dining room within five minutes or you'll regret it."
He turned without waiting for a reply, ignoring the offended looks on the women's faces, banging into a room a few doors down, grabbing Lutisse's foot and yanking him pointedly out of bed.
Lutisse's retort was lost as he noticed the foul look on Orion's face, and so clambered to his feet, not caring that he was naked in front of him.
"Come on. Get ready to do some off duty jobs in five minutes." He turned away slightly before noticing the questioning look on Lutisse's face. He carried on. "I'll explain in a minute. Can't really do so in here."
Understanding filled Lutisse's features as he turned and quickly began gathering his clothes together, pulling underwear on as Orion left the room.
Sighing heavily, he made his way to his own room, threw open the room and strode across the room to his wardrobe, pulling one of the doors open.
Pulling out some worn leather sheaths, he slipped the blade of his 15th century arming sword out, holding it up in the light of the candle the maid must have left for him.
Light glanced off it, highlighting the deadly point and razor sharp sides which, when given to the right person, could slice through bone as easily as if it was butter.
He slipped it back in the sheath and notched it around his waist, attaching a dagger of the same ilk there as well, checking it in the same way.
The door opened, revealing Lutisse and Macnair, their heads limned in the light from the chandeliers hanging in the corridor.
"Now what was so bloody important that you had to drag me away from the lovely company that I had in there? It had better be bloody good!"
Orion ignored Macnair's irritated Scottish accent and cinched the belt of his dagger and sword on tighter around his waist before turning and snapping,
"I'd say it was. My brother…Sirius…he's been had by a gang."
Macnair rolled his bloodshot eyes.
"You know we can't go after a bloody gang…we'd have to have a different reason for doing it."
The last words were cut off slightly as Macnair tried to stifle a yawn, but failed miserably, adjusting his own broad sword which was cinched to his back, the strap going round his broad chest, two daggers attached to each hip, and two more underneath the edge of his kilt, just in case, unseen by anyone until the sharpened tip was buried within a part of their body.
"Yes we can Macnair."
Lutisse's eyes suddenly widened as he grasped what it was Orion was meaning.
"How badly was he…"
He couldn't go on, searching Orion's gaze for answers, not wanting to push his friend. His gaze fell on Macnair's sword, rolling his eyes for a second and snapping,
"Go and get your real sword, you arse."
Macnair sighed and wiped blearily at his eyes, before disappearing from the room and returning with his swords switched, bringing the other one in from before held in his hand which he chucked to Lutisse, who deftly caught it and attached to himself the same way as Macnair had before.
The sword Macnair had now was quite plain, not needing any finery to cut away the sheer quality to it.
With shining steel honed perfectly to a tapered deathly point, it was perfect for the tall and strapping Scotsman, the hilt the right length for him to hold it two handed, using his strength to send heads rolling, literally.
Lutisse now had a finer and more lavishly decorated broad sword, the basket hilt littered with small gems encrusted round the hilt, a few missing from where they had protected the user's fingers from being severed from their hand.
"Explain now, Orion."
Orion took a steadying breath and nodded, his gaze fixed on the hilt of his own sword, talking somehow in an incredibly level voice.
"Sirius was caught by a gang as he was walking home from a night out with his friend and Reg. I don't know the major details, only that he was caught and beat up and raped by Fenrir Greyback and his lackeys. Now, do you see the importance? We are going to hunt them down and kill them like the dogs that they are. No survivors permitted. I promised that to my brother. Either you come with me, or I go alone. It's up to you. Either way, they are going to regret what they did to him..."
The dark rage in his normally warm gaze, fired the other two men in the room, the instincts of a bounty hunter kicking in, the bloodlust for a fight shining in Macnair's eyes as he growled, sounding more like his animagus form than normal,
"You should have said something sooner…What are we waiting for?" A feral grin suffused his features, which eventually caught on to Lutisse, who gave an excited giggle, which turned into a low gravelly laugh.
So here it is. Chapter five. Tell me what you think and I'll keep writing some of chapter six. Will hopefully be up soon. Sorry for the non existent pattern to when I post. I'll try to make it a lot more regular, but I can't promise anything at the minute. Review! Thanks for everyone who has read it and reviewed so far. Lauren. : )