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Fantastic Tales of Maggick (and Other Adventures)

by: Janelle Borbank

'for those that need a touch of Maggick'

Newt x OC


Chapter Seven


Janelle

Newt and I planned to stay in town that night. There was something about the place that bothered me, and it wasn't just the straw man hanging outside. It was like a weight was being placed on my shoulders. A tension was in the air; straining against my very being.

Since we had arrived I was having nothing but headaches. I was dizzy and even had to take a rest for a few hours. My dreams were dark, but I woke with the sense that I had been running from something, with my limbs locked and tense. When I awoke a while later it was almost time for dinner, and I felt a bit better, but I had a feeling that a walk would help clear my head. So I let Newt know about it and promised not to wander too far before meandering away.

I may not have had a clear understanding with Newt about what 'far' was, but I had wandered for quite a while. As I did my head cleared considerably, which was a good thing since I didn't want to bother Newt with a nightmare, especially when he looked completely distracted. There had been a hesitation before my hike and I almost considered hiding away in the case for the night, but Newt had made it lear that we couldn't open the case until we left. Which was extremely difficult when I worried for the Hippogriff we picked up earlier. He was quite timid once he trusted you and very easy to be around. His wing was almost on the mend, and the beautiful creature had taken to travelling the desert next to the Graphorns. They got along well enough for the time being, though it was obvious the beast was ready to be freed once it healed up.

I walked a little bit further into the wilderness, enjoying the lowering heat as the sun had begun to set. Stopping for a little while, I took a deep breath in while closing my eyes before letting it out slowly. Feeling much better than I had just a little while ago helped my resolve to return to the village. That is, until I heard the snap of a twig.

I flinched and forced myself not to spin around too fast. Rather I turned very slowly to where I had heard the noise. While I wasn't family with all of the types of plants in Africa I was fairly familiar with seeing the tall grasses by now, which were lined up along the side where I heard the twig snap. My initial reaction was to slowly vacate the area without alerting whatever was lurking in the tall grass that I had become aware of their presents. Those ambitions were dashed when I heard the faint sound of giggling from the same direction.

Perhaps I was cursed to forever be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Regardless, there was no way I would leave a child to the jaws of whatever was lurking. So I plucked up my courage and listened for the giggling again. It appeared, and guided me as I made my way into the tall grass.

This was so stupid….

I'm such an idiot…

Yet I ventured through anyway. Thankfully I made it to my destination in one piece, but was extremely shocked at who I found.

It was the same girl from before. The small girl that had been covered by a loose dress. The same colourful array as earlier in the day adorned the cloth. Her face looked so much brighter though, a light was in her eyes that I had not seen dominated them. She was giggling right up to the point that I had popped out of the grass and into was looked to be a tiny clearing where the grass had been either plucked or flattened. Here eyes looked right up to me and I was entranced by the startling depth of her black eyes. She had the darkest skin I'd ever seen, and in the setting sun it looked beautiful.

It took a moment for me to focus, but when I did it dawned on me that a child- and judging by the crutches set next to her that I had witnessed being used before, a cripple- was the one swooning. She stared at me for half a second with the mirth filled orbs before the lips pulled back over her teeth in a grin slowly lowered. The warmth in her eyes cooled significantly; it was as though I had intruded on a special moment.

"Are you alright?" I blurted out suddenly. The intensity of her dark gaze on me mimicked the sensation of ants crawling all over my body. I was shifting my weight around quite a bit in discomfort, yet at the same time trying not to look threatening as the tiny girl looked like she was ready to turn tail and run- erm…. Hobble….. Away.

The small girl just stared at me with an untrusting gaze as I remained my distance from her. She didn't say anything, just sat there like a stone statue, practically willing me to leave with her eyes. I calmly settled down on one knee so as to look smaller and less intimidating. Like I was trying to near a wild animal.

"I'm not going to hurt you, but you're awfully far from the village. Would you like to come back with me?" I asked, slowly raising a hand and gesturing for her to come with me. The little girl looked startled suddenly, and looked to the sky. Perhaps she hadn't realized how late it had become? She attempted to jump up before wincing and falling back down. I fought my instinct to run to her, and instead asked to come closer.

"Can you understand me? I can help you, if you want." I said, looking at the dress she wore and noting only one leg sticking out the bottom of the hem. My mind wandered to it, and I wondered what the story behind this girl was.

"I'm late. I'm late!" The girl cried in English. She tried to get up again, this time succeeding. I slowly followed behind her, careful to not scare her, though the girl seemed to have practically forgotten me. I reached out to her on reaction when she fell yet again.

"I can help you-"

I was cut off when something leaped overtop the girl and knocked me to the ground. A scream died in my throat as the air was knocked out of me. I couldn't breathe and so I closed my eyes and tensed up. When I opened my eyes I was greeted with jaws and a low growl that made me want to sprint off into the distance. It's breath was awful, and the drool dribbled down onto my neck as it let out a deafening roar. It's neck puffed up, the spines all over it's body prickled me as it's huge paws rested on either side of my shoulders. If it had landed on top of me it would definitely had broken something.

Perhaps this is what it felt like, staring death in the face. In this case it felt like I was about to be swallowed whole.

"NANA NO!" I heard from behind the beast. The tiny voice of the girl shouting could barely be heard above the blood pounding in my ears.. Almost immediately the creature backed off of me, but it certainly had no problem glowering and giving one more warning growl. It took me another moment to get off the ground and ease my pounding heart. I took in a slow breath before touching myself all over to be sure I hadn't died from the fright.

The little girl hobbled up to me, looking at me from the ground. Her eyes were wide with worry, and I was beginning to understand why she was so wary in the first place.

"Did….. Did you just-" I began but stopped when I couldn't figure out the exact words I wanted to use. My breathing was still ragged, and it took a minute for me to regain my bearings. I nearly lost it again when I watched the little girl hobble over to the the beast and settle a hand on it's head. The beast purred like a giant cat and gently pressed into the palm, despite the hand hardly covering any of the creature's head. It was only a moment later, as I tried to stand up again, that I realized exactly what this animal was.

Large cat, expansive neck, sharp spines all over… Sweet Jesus…

"That's….. Tha-that's a Nundu….." I began before feeling dizzy and sick all over. But the Nundu's breath was supposed to be poisonous. Or was it an option?

"Her name is Nana," the little girl explained as she looked to me. "She's really friendly, but not to strangers."

I remained a ways away from them, just staring at the massive beast turned house cat as the little girl scratched behind one of Nana's ears. She was practically a pet! The most dangerous animal I had ever read about- a pet! I paled at the thought of Newt attempting to make a pet out of one of these beasts. He would do it too…..

"How? When did you….? I…. I don't understand…." I began, confused. The little girl tilted her head at me.

"You called her a….. Nundu?" She asked. I nodded, gesturing to the large kitten that settled down beside the girl. Curled up around the girl like a cat around her kitten. I marvelled for a moment at the sight, not quite believing my eyes, before explaining myself.

"A Nundu is a type of mythical creature. They're usually quite ferocious- so I've heard….. How exactly did you…. Well…. Tame her?" I asked while taking a curious step forward. The Nundu glanced at me, but otherwise did nothing. The girl sat with her back against the belly of the beast, looking completely comfortable and relaxed. The sight was still alien to my eyes.

"Nana's mother died when she was very young. I found her with her mother's corpse. She was sick and I thought she was going to die, so I took care of her until she was strong enough. Then….." The girl trailed off and pulled up the hem of her dress. I could see clearly now that just beyond the knee she was missing her left leg. It was wrapped, but there was no blood or anything on the bandage, so perhaps it was getting old.

"I was attacked by a lion, and I thought I would die, when Nana saved me. She's protected the village since then." The girl explained while looking fondly at her companion. Nana rested her head as I sat on the ground a distance from them. The story was fascinating. The only things I knew about a Nundu were the stories I had read in Newt's book. I was curious to know more about this massive beast who scared the life out of many witches and wizards.

"You look to have a great bond." I said with a small smile. The girl looked at me, then mimicked my smile.

"My name is Asha." She said before half bowing. I did the same back.

"Janelle."

She paused and looked at me before quirking her brow in curiosity.

"You…. Said she was…. Mythical? What does that mean?" She asked. I froze, not certain what to say to her. Should I mention magic? Surely this little girl wouldn't be upset with the concept? But what if she said something to the villagers? If Newt got hurt…..

"It's….. Well, it's something that has to do with magic." I said, diving right in. Surely someone who was currently petting a Nundu wouldn't be so perturbed by the notion of magic…. Right? The little girl looked suspicious, but not closed off as she looked at me.

"You believe in magic?" She asked. I smiled at the undertone of curiosity. There was no hostility from the girl at all.

"Believe? I've seen it." I explained. Her eyes widened, an excitement took over her.

"So that means you're a witch?!" She asked. I laughed at her awe but shook my head.

"I'm just a muggle- um…. Normal person. But I do know a few witches and wizards." I explained. She looked to be practically bouncing in her seat. Even Nana looked at her curiously as she wiggled happily. To my surprise something cold touched my nose. I looked up to see snow slowly falling from the sky. On closer inspection it was only happening above the two of us. I looked at it before back to Asha. She looked at the pretty snow falling too before back to me. I smiled in awe.

"Did you just…?" I began to ask, but I didn't need to finish as she timidly nodded. I grinned, catching a few snowflakes in my hands. Asha giggled as I closed my eyes. "This is amazing Asha."

This whole day had been truly amazing.


I helped Asha get back to the village not too long after. She and I had made a pact to not tell either of our secrets to the rest of the village. Nana, after giving me another glare, turned and ran off before we got to the border of the village. Asha had done well to teach her friend to stay away from the village. No doubt the villagers would've been terrified.

When we arrived back in the village the man who has spoken to us earlier rushed to us. He spoke in a different language briskly to Asha before she timidly bowed her head and walked up to him. The man looked to me, nodded once as if to thank me, before turning on a dime and taking the girl with him. I was going to stop him, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me from saying anything.

"That is their chief's daughter, you don't have to worry about her." Newt said from behind me. He immediately removed his hand once sufficiently stopping me too. Normally that would've brought relief, the thought that a parent had worried enough about his daughter to come in and swoop her up.

However this only made me turn pale as the repercussions played down on me. I felt cold as reality set in and watched the duo walk off. The chief had picked up his daughter to carry her as she looked to be exhausted. She cuddled to him, and the picture might've moved me under different circumstances.

Asha, a witch, was the daughter of the chief in a village that hated witches.


AYYYYY Look at who updated in a decent amount of time?!

Again another short chapter, but that's mostly because next chapter is a lot of Newt and Jay moments. It'll be a bit cuter, I hope. I personally want this story to start off with a lot of Jay figuring out a lot of the magical world first and then progressing to more about her and Newt's relationship. Already have a super cute scene idea for the first movie. Which, if anyone is curious, will be in about 10 chapters... If that. 5-10. There's a few small arcs we need to get through first.

Really considering your guy's opinions of my story, and I'm so thankful for suh an awesome batch of readers. You guys rock!

So I read a quite a bit on the Nundu before this and really found the reature to be just downright amazing. I think it's such a badass creature, and we never did get the story of how Newt got one into his case. So I thought I would make up my own version of it.

Now the Nundu's breath is meant to be poisonous, but for my story I'm taking a minor creative license and saying it is a voluntary action to make itself poisonous. I thought of Asha and this arc even before Jay was thought of.

Again, a big thank you for dropping by, and apologies for such a short chapter.

Iland Girl