Climbing down into his suitcase is much easier said than done, especially while balancing an egg in one hand that hinders his line of sight. He manages to make it to his shack without injuring himself or the egg in his hand. He leaves the shack, and immediately feels apologetic. All of his babies are wanting attention, but he doesn't have time to greet each one now; the egg in his hand is growing colder by the second.
"Mummy will be back, I promise," he says as he heads to where he once kept Frank.
The desert-like habitation he had for the thunderbird is warmer than the rest of his habitations; it's not quite warm enough for a dragon egg, but it's not in life threatening temperatures anymore which he is thankful for.
He sits the small pink and blue egg down as gently as he can. He pulls out his wand from his coat pocket, and assures the egg, "Nothing's gonna harm you, little one."
In a series of spells, he closes off the desert habitat, leaving only a closed door, and raises its temperature. He summons mulch and hay to build a proper nest, conjuring a fire underneath to keep it hot. Finally, he brings the egg from where he set it and places it on the hay and mulch nest.
He doesn't know how long it'll be until it hatches. He hadn't stayed after the small egg was transferred to his care by the Aurors. Australia could have been the ideal place to hatch a dragon, if it wasn't in the middle of fall. The temperatures are far too cold for any dragon hatching.
The only indication of the egg's age is the hardness of the shell. However, the only thing that told Newt is the dragon egg wasn't recently laid. It could be days or months before it hatched. He wants to get the dragon back to its homeland in the deserts of Peru, but it can be dangerous to leave it alone, at least until he leaves food for it.
The heat in the habitat causes Newt to sweat. He leaves to shed his overcoat and tend to the other creatures. He argues with Pickett about staying with the others before he heads back into the desert to check on the egg. He wants to check if the egg is warm enough and to leave food so he can take it home.
As he approaches, he watches in complete amazement as the egg violently shakes. He rolls up his sleeves and sits.
He spells open the door and summons a bucket of meat before shutting the door again. Sweat is pouring off him as he watches. For all his travels and adventures, he's never actually seen a dragon hatch.
Excitement courses through his veins with each shake and every crack - more of a rush than his Quidditch games ever gave him. He doesn't know how long he sits there, watching, but his back is aching and he's itching to get up and move. He doesn't move, however, because he doesn't want to risk accidentally missing this beautiful moment.
Finally, the dragon manages to break its shell. It's a pretty copper colored dragon, with tiny horns. It's no bigger than the size of his arm. Within one heartbeat and the next, Newt swears he falls in love with this creature, just as he's fallen in love with every creature.
The dragon stretches its body and looks around as it makes a hissing noise. Newt snorts at the lack of patience the dragon has. He levitates a piece of food to it.
In an instant, it is gone. He floats another one and it, too, is gone in a blink of an eye.
"Why did I bother?" he asks himself as he levitates the bucket over and dumps it on the nest. The dragon makes a pleased sound as it preens and starts to inspect its food.
Newt is dying to get closer, to stroke a finger down the copper colored hide, to feel the dragon relax at his touch, but mostly to find out if it's a male or female. However, he hasn't studied the Vipertooths in their youth, so he has no idea if they are born with their poison breath or if they grow into it.
He stays a good distance away, observing the dragon safely. Eventually, he'll leave the dragon in the Peruvian desert with the rest of its kind. For now, he's content to use this opportunity to learn more.
Assignment 1: Sex Ed, task one
Stickers: Broom - Write about a known Quidditch player
Insane house challenge: Creature - Dragon
365: Creature - Dragon
Resolutions: Write 50 stories, write a fic set in Dumbledore era, and write a fic set in one of the spin-off eras (Fantastic Beasts), write about a Quidditch player, write a story outside England
Dragons: word count
Bath bombs: Love Nest - Write about a mother 'nesting' in preparation of a new baby.
Days of the Month: Appreciate a Dragon Day - Write about a dragon
Buttons: "why do I bother?", pretty
Book club: Little Pete - (word) game, (action) balancing something, (word) accident
Showtime: To Break in a Glove - (word) Patience
Thanks to Amber for beta-ing!