[ there is absolutely nothing weird about padfoot, jumping and licking and barking, nearly knocking james to the ground in his excitement, turning in the most fluid and easy movement possible directly back into james' best friend. it's a status, a relationship, that they've gotten familiar with - just as it's familiar for them, as a stag and dog, to run wildly through any field or forest or, sometimes, towns. instincts could be honed, tamed, habits learned. this? this was just james and sirius, prongs and padfoot, no matter if one or both had tails.
but then he's sirius again, sirius sirius, and james watches the shift with the casual curiosity he believes he'd always have for magic. he knows he can do it, that everything he sees is just part of the animagus form they'd do diligently studied for so long, but to see it happen each time still caught his eye.
and then, sirius. thinner than james remembers, with longer hair, a taunter face. more and more details add up as james sees him for the first time since the ice, a weird amalgamation of that same guilt, but also relief, excitement, happiness. having his best mate here automatically made it all feel a little easier to carry, a little lighter of a load. physically, james relaxes seeing him, a dip to his shoulders and a breath of tension, exhaled. ]
Padfoot.
[ but then sirius smiles, then sirius just about laughs, and james feels his own smile break his face and grow - just as bit - as they both move to stand. he dusts off his knees a bit when he gets to his feet before fully straightening. when he does, there's an almost hesitation in the way he looks at the other - unsure, momentarily, of what exactly he's even supposed to say.
that, on its own, is too alien and entirely too uncomfortable, so james lets out a puff of air to push himself past it. ]
Looking a little worse for wear there, Pads. [ and then whatever had been holding that off, whatever had been holding it back, snaps. james just about surges forward, closing the distance and throwing his arms around sirius' shoulders and burying his face into whatever kind of space clothes sirius is apparently wearing. ]
no subject
but then he's sirius again, sirius sirius, and james watches the shift with the casual curiosity he believes he'd always have for magic. he knows he can do it, that everything he sees is just part of the animagus form they'd do diligently studied for so long, but to see it happen each time still caught his eye.
and then, sirius. thinner than james remembers, with longer hair, a taunter face. more and more details add up as james sees him for the first time since the ice, a weird amalgamation of that same guilt, but also relief, excitement, happiness. having his best mate here automatically made it all feel a little easier to carry, a little lighter of a load. physically, james relaxes seeing him, a dip to his shoulders and a breath of tension, exhaled. ]
Padfoot.
[ but then sirius smiles, then sirius just about laughs, and james feels his own smile break his face and grow - just as bit - as they both move to stand. he dusts off his knees a bit when he gets to his feet before fully straightening. when he does, there's an almost hesitation in the way he looks at the other - unsure, momentarily, of what exactly he's even supposed to say.
that, on its own, is too alien and entirely too uncomfortable, so james lets out a puff of air to push himself past it. ]
Looking a little worse for wear there, Pads. [ and then whatever had been holding that off, whatever had been holding it back, snaps. james just about surges forward, closing the distance and throwing his arms around sirius' shoulders and burying his face into whatever kind of space clothes sirius is apparently wearing. ]