Catherine is my own creation, I have at least twenty some drawings of her (she's my big bat baby) so I'd appreciate that no one take her design or try and use her without asking me first.
That, and she'll officially become her own character once I get around to publishing my novel (I'm aiming for at least eighteen chapters and over 50,000 words). So y'know, in the next year keep an eye out for Cathy's ugly mug on a book.
X X X X
Newt had been keeping busy since the events of New York. He'd gotten new inhabitants for his case (two unicorns rescued from poachers, a blinded swooping evil, and an Obscurial he really shouldn't have kept), he'd helped in finding the real Mr. Graves, and had become a consultant for the MACUSA on request by Seraphina.
And now he was faced with a very daunting creature, one that had been reported to have aggressive behavior and capabilities to eat a whole car.
It was terrifying.
It was exhilarating.
And this beast was simultaneously beautiful and horrible. A body not unlike a large bat mixed with a dragon, the creative's angular head was attached to a long, thin neck, with in turn led to a broad chest covered in sharp, white tipped quills, and a dusting of the same quills decorated the sides of the creative's face, which had a sharp, snubbed snout and hollow cheeks. It's front legs doubled as large leathery wings, tipped with long, serrated claws that the beast would likely use to catch prey or climb vertical inclines without falling.
Newt Scamander could hardly believe it. He was standing in front of a Snub-Nosed Nightmare, which was possibly the last of its kind, and he wasn't dead yet.
People who met these creatures either died or killed the beast, so no one knew how to capture one alive. In all honesty, Newt had only read maybe a paragraph of information on Nightmares. Last he had checked they'd gone extinct back in the eighteen hundreds due to humans encroaching on their natural habitats.
The Nightmare moved like cat, he realized, slow and cautious, with its claws curled to keep the sharp edges from striking the ground. It had a long, whip-like tail that thumped against the ground every now and then, accompanying the movement with a hiss or sharp jerk of its head.
The paragraph also mentioned that only females had horns. Newt held his hands up, watching as the Beast lowered its head and - ah, he could see a single pair of silvery horns atop it's - her - head, just after the ridges above her angry, red eyes.
"Pretty girl." He crooned, hyper aware of Tina behind him and more aurors creeping up along the sides of the room. The Nightmare chuffed, the quills on her chest quivering as she moved her head to look down at Newt. Ah. He had her attention.
"Good girl, pretty girl, it's alright." He inched closer, one hand raised a little higher and going towards her lowered head. She tensed, snorting and chuffing almost as if she was questioning him, but other than the lashing of her tail, she gave no display of aggression. So far so good.
Behind him, he heard Tina tell off an auror that almost got too close, and he took the momentary lapse in the other human being's attention to inch even closer to the female beast in front of him.
"I'm not going to hurt you, pretty girl. Such a pretty, pretty girl. This room is much too small for you, isn't it? I have more room in my case, you'd be happier in one of the enclosures. Wouldn't you like that, mmm?" The Nightmare chuffed, tilting her head and clicking her teeth together. She seemed interested enough, and her stance was less aggressive than before. If he could get close enough to get her into the case...
There was a screech of claws against stone, and suddenly the Nightmare had reared up on its powerful hind legs, wing-arms spread wide and mouth open in a deafening screech. Someone had knocked over a bucket and the crash had startled her.
"No no no, no one touch her! Pretty girl, come back to me, oh please pretty girl?" The Nightmare hissed, teeth now bared as she touched back down, head bobbing and weaving like an aggravated snake.
The Snub-Nosed Nightmare was a variant of dragon. Easily mistaken as an actual dragon, Nightmares were actually closer related to thestrals and other beasts (included in this was the wampus and the nundu). They're diet often consisted of anything that could fit into their mouth or catch in their claws. They were fast flyers and were mostly nocturnal. When born they had grey-white skin and it darkened into black once they reach adulthood.
They could, also, spit a toxin that while not lethal, could cause blisters and temporarily blind someone.
"Pretty girl, aren't you hungry? I've got lots of food..." Moving as slowly as he could, Newt laid his case on the ground, slowly opening it and hoping it looked somewhat enticing. The Nightmare raised her head, eyes narrowing as she watched him. Still, she seemed to have calmed down from her scare, quills laying flat - and oh good lord she was coming closer.
Her claws clicked against the stone ground and her tail rasped over the ground. Newt tried not to look as scared as he felt (honestly, this was his first encounter with a creature like this, one who was just as intelligent, if not more so, than any human being alive and about forty times more dangerous). He couldn't help but wonder what his permanent guest would think of her.
There was the sound of air being sucked into his case and he realized with a belated sigh of relief that the Nightmare had taken a chance and gone inside. He snapped the case closed and turned to look for Tina. She gave him the go ahead and he was gone, racing for the apartment he rarely used.
He had a beast to settle and probably every animal to calm down.
X X X X
Despite Newt's desire to immediately see the Nightmare, it takes him over an hour to finally stumble down into his case, having had to report to the MACUSA about the smugglers that had somehow been in possession of a creature once thought extinct.
What he finds in the case is both fascinating and slightly disturbing.
At first, he thought that perhaps the Nightmare was trying to harm Credence, but than he saw the hesitant smile on the boy's face. The Nightmare had settled down next to the Obscurus, snuffling and chuffing happily at him, her tail wagging every time Credence stroked his hand over her flat snout. Newt stood very still, smiling as he watched the two.
Credence looked up to see Newt, and instead of immediately retreating as he had in the past few months, he smiled and patted the Nightmare's long neck.
"C-can we call h-her C-Catherine?"
The Nightmare chortled, wriggling her long body and happily (gently) nosing the shy boy in what Newt could only describe as her being pleased with the name. How could Newt say no?
"Of course, Credence. Do you want to help me feed her? We need to get her habitat too - mountains, or forest?"
Newt started walking, intent on getting the Nightmare - Catherine - fed and settled in an enclosure. He glanced over his shoulder, waving his hand at the two dangerous creatures behind him.
"Come on, Credence, Catherine. There's still a lot to do today!"