Note: I haven't read the companion book, so any details about beasts in this chapter and further along in the story are purely from my own imagination. Forgive me if I get info wrong. Its fun to speculate, anyways.
Shorty, and maybe sort of filler-y, but a long chapter is coming next with lots of meat. *throws flowers at all of you* Thanks for being awesome!
-O-O-
She showed up in a dress, tugging at the bulky sweater she pulled over it, coat unbuttoned like she wanted him to notice, yet felt entirely uncomfortable about being in public like this. Her hat was fairy-egg-blue, and obviously borrowed from her sister's wardrobe. Her shoes were sensible and ill-fitting with the outfit, but he said nothing, not even in compliment, for fear of embarrassing her. He set a hand at her waist when she met him at the entrance to his hotel, but swiftly removed it. He just wasn't sure what to do; what lines to make or to cross. If there was something he'd never felt before, it was hesitation.
She led him to a tiny coffee shop, and they drank outside as the morning sky brightened to a diluted grey-blue. He introduced her to tea with cream, and she hesitated at first, peering at him over her teacup in suspicion, but had two cups in the end.
She invited him for dinner, and he agreed gladly. She apologized for having to spend an entire day of his visit at work, but discussed weekend plans and even asked to help him feed the beasts at some point.
A church bell somewhere far off rang out seven o'clock, and she jumped, wiping at her mouth and fumbling to button her coat. "Work," she blurted, "Can't be late."
He hesitated a moment but stood with her, decidedly reaching for her hand. "I'll walk you."
She glanced down, partially stunned. "Do you think its such a good idea to let MACUSA know you're in New York again?"
He gave a grin, but didn't let go of her hand and stepped closer. "Probably not. Then again, their extensive security probably already knows."
She gave him a wry sort of smile. "See you at dinner," she assured him, drawing away. She stepped to the edge of the curb, glanced both ways and dashed across the cobblestone. On the other side, she turned to wave and disappeared into the bustle of people, skirt fluttering about her knees.
He grinned to himself, patting his pocket where Pickett chirped quietly. He wished he would've worked out a way to tell her how pretty she looked. Always looked.
-O-O-
"Careful…careful…"
"Wow…"
"Sshhhh…don't frighten the mother."
Tina cupped her hands gingerly, cradling the pinkish-gold egg between her palms. A tiny beak poked through and she gasped. The entire shell shivered and shook until finally it burst into a thousand tiny flecks, and she held in her hands a minuscule, bloated Snidget chick covered all over with pure white fluff.
"It white!" she whispered, peering up at Newt who was on his knees beside her, overseeing dutifully. He shifted, reaching to cup a hand under hers, directing her to bring the chick down into the nest, near the mother. Their tiny tweets of greeting were almost inaudible.
"Yes. Soon he will go through molting, and gain his gold feathers. Look now…"
She watched with him as the chick bravely jumped from their hands into the tiny nest. The mother rotated her small yet beautifully colored wings, and waited for the chick to reciprocate. He tried, stubby wings fluttering quickly until he was barely an inch off the crowd.
Tina laughed behind her hand.
He tried again, propelling his fat little body up just a few feet, his mother following closely. Steadily, the little bird got the hang of it after lapping a few circles around Newt and Tina's heads and mother and chick took off into the high depths of the expanded case.
"That's amazing," Tina breathed, settling back on her thighs, knees folded underneath her decorously.
"They're highly endangered in England. They were used in Quiddich early on, and their eyes are apparently incredibly valuable to hunters. Just a firm squeeze from a human could easily kill them."
"That's horrible," Tina said.
"Unfortunately. But she's had six chicks since I've cared for her." Newt twirled his finger towards the dark, seemingly endless faux firmament. "You can spot them sometimes, fluttering around, if you're keen." He stood, brushing at his trousers.
Tina followed, tugging at her blouse. "What now?" she asked, but clamped her hands over her ears when a loud woosh sounded overhead followed by a terrible screech. She dared to glance up, catching the end of a spiked tail before the beast, whatever it was, flew into a part of the case that she could not see. She looked to Newt curiously, and at least a little petrified.
He seemed unphased, yet put out. "Norwegian Ridgeback. Just a moment, please," he said, turning over his shoulder to grab a bucket of some unidentifiable raw meat before jogging off after the dragon.
She hustled behind, catching up in a portion of the case magicked with jutting rocks and boulders and a good sized lake seemingly some distance away.
Newt was tossing handfuls of meat from the bucket up to the dragon's unforgiving jaws just three feet over his head. Tina got the impression that given the dragon's length and appetite, it could've swallowed him whole if it really wanted.
"This is Orion," Newt said, hefting a length of what looked like rib meat up to the beast which it caught instinctively between shining teeth.
"Charmed I'm sure," she muttered, keeping her distance.
"When I'm writing, sometimes I'll take a walk through the countryside to organize my thoughts," Newt continued.
Tina shook her head. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I found him as an egg in Dorset just this past January, abandoned by his mother. Shrewd things, female dragons," Newt recited. "He's blind in one eye. I assume she could tell something was off, and left him behind."
Tina noted one eye, cloudy blue and unmoving while the other one, bright yellow, never darted from its watch on the bucket.
"He's only a baby still, of course. He'll grow to be twice as big as this within the next year. Then I'll have to find a safe place for him to go, where he'll have plenty of friends and space to fly freely."
"And what is that?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at the foul-smelling meat he tossed towards the creature.
"Sheep," he answered casually.
"Sheep?!"
He laughed over his shoulder at her. "Come here."
"Are you crazy?"
"Quite." He tossed another cut of meat to the Ridgeback. It munched happily, bones and all. "Now, come here." He beckoned her.
She inched forward, hesitantly. "Out of all the ridiculous things to keep in a suitcase…" she muttered.
Newt crouched deeply, stretching one bowed leg in front of the other, approaching the dragon slowly with hands at his side.
The creature rumbled, belly glowing warm orange. The ground beneath her feet trembled. "Newt," she hissed, tightening her fists.
She watched him, reaching up slowly, ever-so slowly towards the dragon's snout. She noticed his face was turned away, as if in reverence, with his hand still outstretched, his eyes closed.
The dragon moved sharply, and she had to swallow her gasp. It ducked its stubby snout towards Newt and for a moment she feared it might actually snatch him. But then she realized…it was bowing.
Finally, as gingerly as could be, Newt set his hand flat against the dragon's snout. Then it turned, rolling onto its back, long wings unfurled and flat to the ground.
"There we go," she heard Newt whisper, and he trotted around to the dragon's flank, reaching a hand to rub it's fleshy belly. The dragon seemed to laugh, or rather hiccup, and sparks darted from its nostrils towards where Tina stood.
"How's that, old boy?" Newt was grinning openly now, scratching generously at the soft skin. The dragon twisted anxiously.
"Come here," he called to her once more.
Making a wide circle, she studied the dragon's long and thin wing, two little horns at the fold. It was a beautiful and intricate creature, but that didn't make the butterflies in her stomach rest.
She stood beside Newt, and he took her wrist, bringing her hand up to the surprisingly soft and invitingly warm dragon skin.
"It tickles...to him," he said softly, resuming rhythmically scratching.
"H-How did you do that?" she asked, hesitantly stroking.
He paused, half a smirk at his lips. "Trust."