Sorry, two super exciting announcements:
YOU CAN LOOK INTO MACUSA, THE BLIND PIG, AND THE GOLDSTEIN'S APARTMENT ON GOOGLE EARTH'S STREET VIEW! AAAAAAAAH.
Okay, I'm sorry but I got really excited. I kept searching for pictures of their flat because we never really get to see the lay out of the total apartment without people in the way. AND YOU CAN DO THAT ON GOOGLE MAP/EARTH! I don't know what its called any more, it was Google Earth when I was in school but now I think it's Maps?
Any how, this will be the last update for the next two weeks as I'll be doing Christmas things and going to Universal Studios (I'm so excited for Harry Potter world guys, you have no idea!)
If you reviewed this is for you,
heyitsellibear: I'll make sure to try that! :)
4: Hiya! I noticed you read my Sirius Black/OC fic, thank you for taking the time to review it! Also, yeah a lot of writers tend to read what people say but don't respond to it. To be honest, I generally don't either-unless there's specific comments or questions that I wanted to address. I think that having someone respond to whatever you write gives you the same feeling if its a review of a story or a response to that review. :) Alsoalso! As for Ara's mental abilities and why she couldn't block out her ex-boyfriend...I'M NOT TELLING YET! (Heh, I love doing this.)
bored411: I had fun with trying to detail the mental side of insecurity, especially for someone who comes across as being rather sure of herself.
Ivana bocanegra: I think this will be a bit of said intimacy that you were looking forwards too! Enjoy :)
TheWonderfulShoe: They're such an odd pair! I just saw the Crimes of Grindelwald movie and that whole scene between Newt and Tina was just awkwardness incarnate.
GreyMoon-Huntress: I actually giggled a little when the troll joke came up! I just see Tina having a really abrasive sense of humour that slips out when she isn't in her super serious 'auror-mode'.
Guest: Sorry guest! I couldn't post this yesterday but I hope that the fact it's almost twice the length of a normal chapter makes up for my lack of posting. :) Also I'm not sure who the yellow people are, maybe the Minions? Do they have a ride? I can't recall.
KaylaWilton/Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967/Love_Fiction_2018/najamuzen/nameword: Thank you all for reviewing and leaving me your thoughts! I hope his POV is all that you expected it to be (and maybe even more?)
If you didn't review last chapter, feel free to skip this!
This is in NEWT'S POV.
While I'd made peace with the fact that I couldn't open the Goldstein's window, that didn't stop me from trying my best to peer out of it. I was hoping that maybe some of the creatures that had gotten out could smell the trail I'd left behind at the Muggle's apartment and were now trying to find us. It wasn't a guarantee of course, Kowalski continued to just bloody vomit every where we'd gone, completely overpowering my scent.
A soft quilling told me that Pickett found this situation to be rather agreeable with him as I glanced down to see his head poking out of my coat. I sighed, wishing I could fully communicate the many emotions I had running about my head without feeling as though I'd lied somehow.
The irate and dazed Muggle was ruining our time in New York, ironic considering this was meant to be merely a short stop until we could climb aboard the train that would take us to Arizona in less than three days. This would be a short stop, I'd told her.
Just a week and a half to travel there from Equatorial Guinea, then we'd go to Peru which she'd been so excited for. Who knew a witch could almost vibrate from the thought of seeing a Dragon?
"So you're a baker, Mr Kowalski?" I couldn't stop my eyes from wandering over to Ara each time she'd spoken behind me. The four of them had been sitting in the Goldstein's sitting room since dinner had finished, talking to the Muggle. Queenie, the flashy blond witch, had found his stories incredibly fascinating; even oohing and awing at the most opportune times in an effort to turn Kowalski's cheeks red for her own amusement.
"Ah, just Jacob is fine." Kowalski waved off Ara's formalities which she seemed to take as vaguely amusing. "I'm not special enough for a Mister," he shook his head bashfully.
"Well," I observed as she subtly raised one pale eyebrow before nodding with a practised pleasant smile for him. "Jacob, you've got to allow me to try some of your creations some day. Aurelius obviously thinks you're spectacular." Her immediate acceptance of his requests irked me in the slightest. He'd made this so much more difficult for us and here she was, just nodding along with what ever he wanted!
"Aurelius?" The Muggle didn't even remember her Niffler's name. He'd been the one absolutely shocked to see him climbing up her leg for food at the table and he couldn't even remember it when she'd called the little bugger's name several times over. I turned back to the window, annoyed again that she'd pick their side over mine, but I couldn't seem to stop my eyes from trying to peer at her against my will.
"This little guy." She nodded, pointing to the Niffler who'd proudly sat on her shoulder and was now listening to their conversation since his nap in the case.
"I guess if a rat likes my food, it can't be that bad." Ara let out a low chuckle while he awkwardly laughed at her perceived insult.
"He's a Niffler," my ear hung onto the crispness of her correction with a hint of delight spreading across my chest, she was becoming annoyed. "Niffler?" He was confused, of course he was. He didn't know nor care about any of our creatures, so why was she giving him the time of day right now?
"They're a burrowing creature, native to the UK, and attracted to expensive jewellery. If you knew about his taste in earrings, I doubt you'd feel he was a rat." I chuckled lightly to myself at that, recalling when he'd attempted to nick her earrings for the shiny rubies and gold in them when we'd first met.
"Ah, he is listening." Ara's 'narky declaration forced me to involuntarily turn and involve myself in their dull conversation.
"I'm not wilfully ignoring you, there just doesn't seem to be space for me to sit." I shrugged, it wasn't a complete lie.
I stared at her while her eyes seemed dart towards the sofa, which the two curious sisters sat on. She didn't respond still when she eyed the blue wooden chair near the fireplace which held the sweaty Muggle that'd gone silent. I knew her mind was likely running as fast as a train right now and decided that I'd just wait for her to focus back on me before speaking again.
She stood up and leaned down, patting the place she'd vacated, "there is now."
I almost sighed aloud but bit my tongue to abide by her wishes nonetheless, in the back of my mind I found myself hoping that she'd noticed my attempts at apologising during dinner. I'd fixed her plate just how she liked it and pulled out her chair, though I'm not entirely sure she realised what I was doing both times.
She'd stared at me with her brows slightly pinched when I tried to pull out her chair for her, her expression was confusing enough that I paused in my quest to apologise for sulking earlier. But if she wanted me closer now, I don't believe I could've found it in me to deny her-even if I wanted to. Though of course, I'd have to endure the lacklustre company by joining their little group for sitting near her.
To be fair, I'd gotten us into this mess by stupidly leaving my case with the Muggle and-what was even better-she hadn't rung me for it just yet; I definitely wasn't about to push my luck. Plus, I decided that if my creature's hadn't sought us out by now, they weren't going too. So what was the point of my lingering?
"Where are you going to sit then?" I raised a brow, coming over to the chair she tarried by.
Her mouth gave me a modest smile while the look in the brown of her eyes informed me that she'd already thought of the solution by the time I'd asked. Uneasy, I sat down in the tan velvet lined chair and waited to see what she'd do now while the two sisters shifted down the couch to give her some space.
"You can have a seat by us." Queenie supplied happily, I rubbed my jaw wondering what Ara was thinking about, she had a choice now. Idly, I found myself considering when I'd need to shave again. My scruff had been accused of tearing up the pillow cases on a few seperate laundry days.
She waved them off, "no need." I stifled the ecstatic smile that cropped up when she'd waved them off and didn't move away from me. "I've already got one," she nodded, confusing me with the lack of open seats.
I couldn't stifle the grin that my smile had morphed into when she promptly sat on the arm rest and choose to hide it behind my hand. A firework of excitement shot up to my chest, she wanted to sit near me. She didn't have to but she'd chosen too, interesting considering that she'd darted away from my grasp only a few hours ago at the Muggle's apartment.
"Ah," Queenie smiled knowingly at her, sparing me a short glance before leaning down to the table between us, "would you like some tea, Mr Scamander?"
"I'm fine," I shook my head, leaning my elbow on the bit of arm rest behind her arse. I liked the spot as I could see the others while still being able to observe her actions and reactions.
"I'll have some more," Ara held up her cup before reaching up to grab the Niffler.
My brow raised when she turned towards me with him in hand, "hold him for me?" I surmised I didn't have much of a say in it when she gently slipped the Niffler into my lap, "sure." I nodded, keeping my eyes on the Niffler who appeared to care very little for me right now with his eyes firmly on Ara.
She didn't appear to stop and listen to my answer before leaning forwards slightly to slide her cup under the teapot that had floated up. It'd began refilling her cup and I noticed how still she'd kept her entire body as it did so; almost chuckling at the fact that she couldn't differentiate between keeping only her hand still and the rest of her body.
My eyes lingered on her hands, I marvelled at the fact that they looked almost as large as mine wrapped around the delicate glass cup. At the feeling of movement on my leg, I turned my eyes down to see the Niffler as he rearranged his position on me. He glanced up at me before settling to simply sit on the knee closest to her and I almost rolled my eyes, feeling that a small challenge had just been issued between him and I with that look.
I kept my eyes off her arse out of respect but shifted my elbow on the arm rest just enough so that it'd barely touch her whenever she leaned back from the table. I didn't feel threatened by the tiny beast, yet there was an air of mutually acknowledged competition between the two of us.
We both knew that Ara's attention was a precious commodity, one that seemed to dwell on either the Niffler or me but never both at the same time. He did too good of a job in derailing any serious conversations of ours.
I glanced back as the teapot landed softly on the Goldstein's coffee table. I imagined she'd be adding her customary three spoons of sugar; sugar was something I'd begun to keep more of for her tea in the mornings when she appeared to be a permanent addition to my life.
"Thank you." She slowly leaned back to her position with her cup in hand and I waited, wondering if she'd try to shift away from me when she felt my elbow.
I wouldn't try to readjust my position, of course. I'd put my limb there simply to be as close to her as she'd feel comfortable with while I observed the back of her for any tension at my proximity. This was just one of my many on-going studies concerning the witch and her habits.
When we weren't in the middle of a creature-centric situation, I spent a good bit of my time observing her. At first it'd just been out of curiosity, what sort of woman willingly decided she'd rather sleep in a shed and roll around with beasts rather than get married to a respectable man?
But then the questions only grew in numbers, and our relationship turned only more muddy to grasp. I'd found myself wondering what her hair would feel like between my fingers, or what she was dreaming about when she kicked in her sleep. She spoke in her sleep-though I'd never inform her-and talking to her when she was unconscious felt far easier than when she was actually awake.
Even if we never found the chance to actually discuss our relationship, I'd decided that observing her reactions was a tried and true strategy. A strategy which included carefully manoeuvring my way closer to her person while she was distracted by something to give me a better idea of her feelings than relying on her words.
Just as comfortably as she'd leaned down, she shifted back into her original position and I waited for a change in her body. After reaching for the Niffler, I found that she sat in almost exactly the same place she'd been in before getting her tea.
The Niffler and I stared at each while he journeyed from my knee up into her careful grasp again. He'd gleefully slid back into her hand with a particularly smug look for me was thrown over her hand when she'd pulled him back towards her. It'd been a look that I didn't care to try and understand even though he'd thrown it at me yet again while he settled into his place on his favourite witch's shoulder.
I rubbed my jaw again, while the rest of the sitting room spoke to each other about something I didn't care to listen to. I was just happy that she'd not shifted away from me after settling into her seat of choice.
Actually, I think she may have even sat on the arm rest a little farther back than she'd been before. My elbow wasn't lightly grazing her but was now firmly against her backside, not that I was complaining.
Though, perhaps I'd miscalculated the distance? I hadn't done that in a long time, typically my depth perception was acutely correct, it had to be. If it wasn't then I might end up injuring Ara, myself, or even a creature by accident and that sort of mistake on my part was unforgivable.
"Any how, this little guy's expensive taste was how I caught him." She jerked her thumb towards me, gaining my full attention while she stirred her tea. I hadn't been listening but it seemed that I might have been a topic of conversation though she was still addressing the room with a relaxed tone.
"He scampered up on my shoulder somehow and tried to stuff an earring back into his pouch," Ara chuckled, her shoulders shaking lightly as they did when she actually found something genuinely funny.
I'd noticed she could mimic an emotional response rather well, though I wasn't sure why she'd bother faking one when she could just be honest. It was only authentic when her entire frame reacted to whatever was making her happy or sad.
I often gauged her words by how she moved when she said them for my own peace of mind. She'd proven to be a skilled liar by all means, even when stressed, and the thought of her lying to me caused the strangest sensation of tightening in my belly.
She was a serious person most of the time-talkative when she wanted to be but quiet when she was deep in thought, those were the best times for me to study her. Whenever she genuinely laughed and I mean really laughed, she let out something of a howling cackle that made you think it's source was the funniest thing she'd ever seen in her life.
Listening to her genuine laughter, especially until she cried, was actually quite refreshing once I'd gotten over the novelty of a well-to-do looking woman cackling at a clumsy Niffler like a loon. Sure, it was loud and rather disconcerting if you weren't in on the joke-at first I sincerely wondered if she'd snapped.
However nearly everything Ara did was naturally loud, which took some getting used to but now I think I preferred that instead of the soft chortling she favoured with other people. Her laughter was a sound that rendered me with little else to do or say but to try and hide my grin.
"It was still attached to my ear when I stopped him in the middle of his thieving, mind you." I felt myself smiling at the sounds of laughter she'd elicited in the room while her hand came up to finger the earrings she had in now, as if she were trying to subtly make sure they were still there.
I'd imagined the earrings were quite expensive, the small diamonds she wore now as well as the more attention grabbing pair she'd worn months ago. I mean she'd looked quite the lady: pale with her hair curled precisely so and a silky peach dress that cut across her figure when I first saw her handling the Niffler.
She was less pale now, of course, but still just as clean and soft feeling in her trousers when compared to me with my odd tan lines and ugly scars. I'd simply assumed she was just another girl trying to disappoint her parents by taking off with a man in a flight of fancy; that she'd come to her senses after our first hike in Switzerland. But she hadn't, she was still here even after my blunder with her personal safety.
"That's how you met?" Queenie spoke up after the girls' laughter and Kowalski's jeering had quieted down. I glanced at her and saw she was peering curiously between the two of us with a small smile.
Ara nodded, "Mhm. I caught Aurelius and him in one move." I averted the woman's eyes in an effort to not have her pilfering through my memories of my companion, we'd discussed the partial bits of a plan and it wouldn't quite work if Queenie knew.
"That's sweet." Her smile grew, I pursed my lips feeling as though she'd peeked into my mind for a moment against my wishes.
"So uh. Mr Scamander, Jacob, Miss Maximae, we were thinking you guys should take the bedroom for tonight." Goldstein spoke up, motioning behind her with a hand.
"There's only two beds, so maybe you guys can figure it out between yourselves?" She frowned, looking as though she felt bad for us having to all share one room. It was rather spacious looking though, two twin beds and a good bit of space between them; it was much larger than my shed.
"Ara, you're completely welcome to sleep in here with me and Teenie if you'd like." Queenie spoke up, genuinely extending the invitation despite her sister's look of muted panic. I felt my own worry spike for a moment, uneasy with the idea of her sleeping out here while I was over there but not willing to speak up just in case she actually did want some space from me.
"Oh! That's kind but no, I'm fine. Thanks." Ara shook her head, declining the invitation and easing some of the tension in my shoulders that I hadn't noticed building up. I almost jerked back when she stood up abruptly and watched as she went over the Muggle, leaning down and pressing the back of her hand against his forehead.
My eyes narrowed when his eyes drifted down from her face, trailing down her neck and landing on her chest in front of him. "I think we really need to get him to bed, he needs rest." She declared to the Goldstein's over her shoulder, resulting in both of them standing up quickly and darting about as sheets came and pillows came out of their cupboard in the kitchen.
"Oh, of course! You should have said how tired you were, honey." Queenie nodded, frowning while she whisked the teapot and tray back into the kitchen with her wand.
I began to feel the same peculiar feeling I'd gotten when the Indian bloke kept paying too much attention to my companion, but this wasn't quite the same. I'd felt the need to force that bloke backwards, that he'd been trailing too closely to what was my territory.
This, however, was a different sensation and settled in the back of my throat and spine. I didn't want to shove him away from her while trying to shield her from his eyes as if that'd make him forget her memory. No, this wasn't the same rudimentary gut reaction to the possibility of a man trying to flirt with my Ara, rather I felt insulted for her.
He couldn't even recall the name of her Niffler, calling it 'the rat' was an ignorant choice-I was 70% sure she could name everything the little cretin had eaten today! I found it vaguely insulting that he'd even wondered if she'd give him the time of day.
He'd only ever hold her back if he tried to appeal to her intelligent sensibilities, . The Muggle wasn't trolling near what was mine nor did I think he was likely to try and fish around, Queenie was far more than the Muggle could handle already.
Ara hadn't shown any interest in people other than me for the last few months, something that I wish he'd understand instead of stalking her every breath. He hadn't tried to touch her-which was a good thing for him-seemingly only watching her as she felt his forehead, he was watching her too much. Something I apparently didn't enjoy other men doing either.
It would seem that his neck had suddenly gotten tired as his head began to slowly lean forwards after her hand fell away from his forehead. She leaned down to his face, using her hands to balance herself atop the arm rests on either side of his frame.
She evidently hadn't noticed his leering, still inspecting his eyes and neck now with a look of concentration. "He definitely needs rest or I suspect he'll flop onto the floor soon."
So I ended up having far too much text for a single chapter! Which means that the next chapter (in a maximum of 2 weeks) will have some of Newt's POV