Firstly, I'd like to thank all you who have read my work and a special thank you to Iloveyourfreckles for the sweet comment.
He quickly lost track of time as he lay there waiting for the bowtruckle to finally come back. By the time the small stick creature came back Newt had nearly slid back to sleep. Though was quickly aroused by the smooth wooden handle sliding into his hand, warming his arm up to his shoulder. 'At last, a way out of his predicament' he thought, cringing inwardly at what he was about to do. If only he didn't let Bundy go on vacation.
Newt sighed, knowing that his first course of action should be to find shade; the artificial sunlight burning his fair skin terribly. He could feel the large blisters spread across his face and chest and exasperatedly thought of the extra freckles that he would have to deal with after this. He smirked softly to himself; of all the worries to plague his mind at this moment freckles shouldn't be the most prominent. What he knew he should be worried about was the dry feeling in his mouth indicating dehydration. He needed to move now; but despite the urgency of the situation the small nagging voice in his head wanting him to stay down was being very persuasive. Newt re-gripped the wand in his hand feeling a new burst of energy cut through the lethargy, and he sat up.
"Damn! That hurts." Newt mumbled sharply to himself. He felt him self-start listing a little to the left and closed his eyes as the movement coursed pain down his side. After a few minutes of labored breathing the fire in his side subsided and he cracked open his eyes again, deciding that straightening up was not a priority. In his new position he could see he was facing the rain forest habitat and the trail back to his basement office, he blinked. Then he saw him, a slight distortion against the backdrop of the surroundings was a dead giveaway, and instantly he knew who his visitor was.
"Dougal? Am I happy to see you." Newt rasped, smiling happily at his oldest helper and friend. The demiguise for his part just stared back slowly gaining opacity, looking concerned, and a little confused, surveying the human with large round eyes.
"Dougal? Can you help me get back to the office please?" Newt asked politely, giving his best approximation of a smile. Dougal nodded, and rested the feeding bucket beside the pare of them, Newt realized that Dougal must have notice Newts absents, and started feeding the others for him. "Thank you for taking care of them Dougal." The chimp like creature nodded happily and offered out his hands to Newt. Newt braced himself for what was about to happen as he took the proffered hands. Dougal began pulling and Newt who was already struggling for breath before was gasping by the time he was on his feet again.
The world was spinning, and black dots started to fill his vision as blood rushed to his feet, his left leg started shaking violently underneath him. He blinked; the black spots clearing from his vision and he became aware for the first time that his left knee was throbbing violently. He looked down slowly, still trying to maintain balance; but the offending join looked okay, at lease in his trouser leg. His exposed stomach and chest however where a different story; the skin which had always been pale, and pasty, was now tomato red, displaying the large puffy liquid filled blisters that he had thought about before.
Newt sighed; blistering sunburns were never fun, but he had to say they were much easier to deal with then a rogue knee. The mother must have thrown him on his leg wrong and damaged the tenants, but the knee in question was always somewhat of a problem anyway, after being burned and broken in a dragon skirmish on the Eastern front. That night the Axis wizards invaded their camp and scattered the large herd of Ukrainian Iron Belly's that he and his platoon had manage to save from the muggles.
The next week he was discharged due to his injuries leaving him unfit to fight even after they were healed; and the rest of his platoon was dissolved and relocated. Newt had healed it back then with a very novice attempt at a healing spell in the aftermath of the fight, but did not do a very satisfactory job, but then again even the professional healers at the army hospital could not help much due to the nature of dragon burns. It still gave him trouble here and there and he was never able to walk normally again, it was a wonder that his knee hasn't given up sooner really.
Dougal pulled gently on his right arm getting his attention, pointing with his free hand at the direction of the office. "Alright Dougal lets go. Though I think we will have to take this slow." And with that the pare began to hobble slowly on their way picket chattering away on the demiguise's head.
About halfway Newt felt his knee start to buckle, and with the next hobbling step he lost his fight to stay upright. He crashed down moaning as the impact send shock waves to his ribs and knee. Thinking as he laid there that the aspen forest was a good enough place to lay down and take a nap. Right? Newt's head was pounding with every heartbeat; and he just wanted to sleep for a few minutes. Dougal made a defiant hooting noise in protest as he saw Newt close his eyes. "mm alright Dougal, just leav'me here for a bit." Newt mumbled rolling to a more comfortable position on his back with a groan.
The creature looked at Newt panicking for a moment before a flash entered his mind. Another man taller than his friend with slightly darker hair. Pounding on the outside door he wasn't allowed to open – then the vision vanished. The demiguise blinked coming back to the moment; he remembered the other humans face; he had seen it somewhere but was unable to place it. Then hope filled the little chimp like creature, he reached up and lightly grabbed the little stick off his head and sat him by Newt. Satisfied that the stick was out of harms way, he began to run on all fours to the door he was not allowed to open. His friend was part of the other human's herd! He remembered! Surely the other human would help.
Dougal slid to a stop in front of the door and held his breath, waiting, waiting for the visitor to knock. Then sharp rapping echoed through the empty part of the house. Quickly Dougal opened the door to the sight of a rather furious looking man, that didn't even seem to notice Dougal as he thundered through the house's entry way.
"Newt! When are you going to answer me! I had been sending you owls for the last 12 hours trying to ask you for help dealing with that rogue kelpie near Cock Island! It tried to kidnap 6 kids, and I am about to have to send in the kill squad if you don't help me now!" Theseus huffed turning to look back at the door and what he expected to be his little brother. He was surprised and even more irked to see his brothers demiguise instead. He sighed, of course his brother was not going to open the door for him, he would not even send him an owl at the moment. Speaking again in a calmer tone after noting the poor creature was nearly transparent with fright, he asked. "Do you know where he is?"
To Theseus's relief the chimp like animal returned to its original opacity and excitedly grabbed his hand and began nearly dragging the surprised man to the basement. There was so much urgency in the short mammals' actions that Theseus couldn't help the sneaking dread that something was terribly wrong. Though he felt himself relax as he and the demiguise ran down the stairs to his brother's so called 'office' and the normal sounds of happy and well cared for animals hit his ears.
Casting his eyes around the equivalent of a research cabin he didn't see his brother, but the creature that was leading him never let up on his arm, so he figured that his brother was probably in the maze of habitats. Theseus was always amazed at his brother's basement and the amount of hard work and magical talent that it displayed. Leta had told him about how it was her fault that Newt got expelled and how terrible she felt about it, but the fact that his brother could create this with only five years of wizarding training was astounding to Theseus.
Thoughts of his brother's passion project continued to roll around in his mind, as he and his odd guide entered in a strange looking forest full of trees he'd never seen before; he saw is brother. Newt lay shirtless in in the middle of the trail. His eyes were closed, and his breath came out in ragged huffs. It did not take a detective to tell why his brothers breathing was so ragged; a large array of bruising spread across his chest on the left side, and to put butter on the breakfast cake it seemed every inch of exposed skin on his brother's torso was bright red and blistered.
Quickly Theseus knelt next to his brother's head and gently tapped his temple, trying his best not to hit the spectacular sunburn. After three taps he felt his brother begin to move his head away from his insistent tapping. "Newt. Newt, I need you to wake up for me and tell me what happened." Theseus felt his already racing heart began to speed up at the lack of alertness from his brother; memories of head injuries from the battlefield playing in his mind. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Newt opened his eyes, until he heard him say.
"I'd appreciate it if you would quit tapping me."
"Newt! Thank goodness." Theseus said in relief lowering his head. "Where are you hurt other than your chest?" Newt's eyebrows drew together. "My knee but that isn't anything I can't handle myself. What are you doing here?" Newt said while trying and failing to sit up; very pointedly avoiding eye contact with his brother. Though, Theseus still saw his brothers cringe at the movement and was quit to help, sitting his brother up and leaning him against him.
"You didn't answer my owls about a kelpie problem." Theseus said feeling slightly ashamed at the anger he felt at his brother before seeing him. "That's by-the-by now though we need to discuss it later. I trust you have Skel-E-Grow in your 'office'." Newt nodded in reply and Theseus carefully positioned Newts' arm over his shoulder ignoring his brother's winces.
"Ready?" Theseus asked; without waiting for a reply, he began to count. "One. Two. Three." Theseus lifted his brother. He could tell Newt was trying to take more weigh off him but between the ragged breathing and his left leg immediately giving out beneath him he was fighting a losing battle.
"Newt, I got you."
Newt just nodded and gave up trying and let his brother take most of his weight. Slowly the brothers made it to Newt's office. Dougal and picket in-toe behind them like spectators to a strange three-legged race.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity to both brothers Theseus and Newt crossed the threshold to the wooden building. With out a word Theseus laid Newt on the cot next to the staircase. The younger let out a contented sigh as the pressure was taken off his aching joints. Theseus pulled the folded blanket off the end of the cot; doubling it over two more times before sliding it under the younger man's lower leg. Much to Newts grunting protest at the sore limb being moved again.
"You'll be fine," Theseus said in the slightly playful tone only a brother can master. Then rubbing his hands together and looking far to comfortable with the situation for Newts taste, asked. "Now, where is that Skel-E-Grow?"
Exhaling through his nose and throwing his arm over his eyes Newt said, "In that tallest cabinet on the second to top shelf, first bottle to your left."
Theseus nodded walking over to the wall of dressers and cabinets, opening the tallest and finding the bottle clearly labeled as Skel-E-Grow. Pausing to admire a picture of a very young Leta on the middle shelf. Theseus was puzzled by the picture knowing that Newt and Leta where not on very good speaking terms, but a sharp inhale from his brother brought him back to the task at hand.
He quickly unstopped the vial, pressing it into Newt's hand that was not covering his eyes. Without a word Newt swallowed the whole thing before pulling a sour face and handed the vial back to Theseus. "Thank you, Theseus." Newt said softly, still keeping his gaze covered. Theseus just hummed in affirmation before asking. "Do you have any Essent's of Mertlap to put on those sunburns? You look like an overly boiled beet."
This elicited a small smile from Newt. "That bad?" He asks before adding "same cabinet as before; bottom shelf, second bottle on the right." Newt heard his brother opening the cabinet and the slight tinkling noise of bottles tapping together. Newt was starting to feel the effect of his first potion; feeling the pins and needles in his chest; which was uncomfortable to say the least, but he knew the worst of it would be over in twenty minutes or so. His breathing was far better at any rate as the bones slowly shifted back into their original positions.
His knee was a different story, with the pain in his chest abating; the pain in his leg was growing steadily more persistent and was beginning to throb in time with his head. He could sense his brother leaning back over him. "Are you ready for the Mertlap?" Theseus asked in a softer voice then before noticing the fact his brother was using the crook of his arm to press harder on his eyes, an undeniable sign that his brother had a headache coming on. Newt nodded in affirmation ready to get all this over and done with.
Theseus opened the fragile stopper and put is thumb over most of the opening; and began to drop droplets of the foul-smelling liquid all over his brothers exposed chest, stomach, and arms, before gently rubbing it in. The effect was instantaneous, and his brothers skin regained its usual pale complexion, though his freckles seemed more pronounced. Theseus continued working in silence for several more minutes until he had to ask for his brother to let him see his face and other arm. Newt did so, never opening his eyes, and after Theseus finished, he moved his arm back not saying anything.
Twenty minutes later both brothers were still sitting in a quiet silence neither one of them wanting to break it. Newt out of the fact he was tired and hurting, and Theseus knowing that it was because until the rest of the potions did their work it would be risky to give his brother more. Finally, Theseus saw the last distorted rib in his brother's chest pop back into place; cringing at the gross sight. Quickly he stood; turning to look through all the shelves for a headache draft; though he was frustrated to see the vial already drained. Theseus lent his head against the cabinet door; his brother seemed to never have that potion in supply.
"Well I guess you are going to have to live with that part then." Theseus thought turning back to his brother. "I guess that leaves the knee than." Theseus said more to himself then his pretty much out-of-it brother. "Please forgive me for what I am about to do to your trousers." With that he pointed his wand at the seem of the pant leg and watched it split apart revealing his brothers' leg.
Theseus was shocked to say the least. Large ropy burn scars started beneath Newts sock and traced there way up his leg to vanish under the remnants of Newt's trouser leg, leaving the leg disfigured. Theseus noticed the shuffle his brother adopted after the war but never stopped to think about why he walked that way. The burns were from dragon fire no doubt; only that and a few other cursed fires would leave magic impervious scars like these. Theseus turned his attention to the knee, which was puffy, swollen, and certainly out of his healing capabilities. Even with army medic training the added damage from the burns would prevent lesser healing spells from working properly.
A soft snore roused Theseus from his musing, he looked up sharply at his little brother. Seeing that the man was fast asleep Theseus smiled; that was the best thing for him now. Even better it gave him time to figure out what he was going to do about his new dilemma.
Okay folks, this is were I am going to leave it off tonight. Let me know if you'd rather see Newt go to St. Mungo's or have Leta come fix it; I have ideas for both. I just want to say thank you again, and I hope you all enjoyed the story so far! Go check out Iloveyourfreckles new story, it is fantastic!