They say you never truly know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes. Although nobody was wearing each other's shoes, it was safe to say they had walked quite a few miles.

"It shouldn't be too far now," Newt said. Everyone groaned.

"Newt, I love ya, but you said that three hours ago." Jacob wiped his forehead with his arm.

"I know, and I'm sorry, but I can feel it now. He's got to be here."

Newt continued walking, staring at the tracks that packed down the soil.

Newt had slept poorly the previous night, flashes of lightning plaguing his dreams until they forced him awake. He had gone outside hoping the fresh air would clear his head. When he sat down, he found more than he bargained for. In the dry dirt, tracks of what looked like the largest eagle to ever roam the earth led into the darkness. He knew what it was before he took a second breath.

It took everything he had not to wander alone into the darkness, but he knew better. Yes, it was dangerous, but there was something else that kept him next to that tent. Tina. Newt suspected that the kiss was one of the many things that kept him awake. He wished he could stop thinking about it, but he couldn't. With every waking breath, all his mind would allow was the memory. Her soft lips against his, the way she smiled that took his breath away. Them dancing in the soft glow of the night, wishing the night could've lasted forever. It was something you could only think of seeing in a movie, but there they were. Of course, he had stuttered like an imbecile afterward, so that was another factor to his insomnia, wishing he could have been calmer about it, but it could have been worse. So much worse.

Once everyone woke up, they left promptly and followed the tracks (which would sometimes cut off as Frank flew). Though it was handy having many tracks to go by, it concerned Newt greatly. Thunderbirds aren't creatures that walk long distances unless they're injured. If Frank had flown, it would have only been for thirty-second intervals at the very most. Newt made these observations as he continued leading the caravan through the dry heat. Tina had called it, "The complete opposite of a New York November," and he had to agree. Newt had taken off both of his coats due to the heat, leaving just his vest and shirt. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before, but experience can never immune you to harsh conditions.

"Newt, maybe we should take a break," Tina offered. Newt was about to say something when she added,

"I think some of us really need one."

He stopped and looked back. He hardly registered just how miserable everyone looked. Everyone's hair stuck to their beet-red faces, Jacob even had sweat physically dripping down his. Newt looked down.

"Sorry."

"You're fine, honey," Queenie said, fanning herself with her hand. "None of us were expecting this sort of heat."

Newt looked at Tina, who nodded her head as she pulled out the map again. He waited anxiously as the scanned it.

"Says he's still in Greenland, so we don't have to worry about an ambush anytime soon," she concluded. Newt breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey guys, am I seeing things, or is that water over there?"

Jacob pointed into the distance. Amidst the rocky terrain, there was just a hint of bright blue. It was nearly covered by the green plantage surrounding it but was still there. Everyone regrouped their items and made their way over. As they got closer, Newt could see the water-hole in its entirety. The red-orange rock broke at a steep angle and went down nearly fifty until ending in a pool of crystal water. It was an amazing sight, considering they had been walking for miles without any containers to hold water.

"This is nuts," Jacob said, walking to the edge. "This water looks cleaner than tap."

"I-"

Newt was cut off by the sound of Tina yelling as she ran past them, jumping off the edge. Queenie followed as well, laughing. Newt and Jacob stared as both disappeared, then entered the water with a splash.

"Wait up!" Jacob yelled. Without asking for any sort of change of clothes, Jacob ran down and around into the water.

Newt walked up close to the edge of the rock, peering down at the girls and now Jacob who were swimming. He sighed.

"I thought this was a search mission, not a vacation," he murmured to himself.

"Come on, Newt! The water feels great!" Jacob called up to Newt, who gazed uneasily at the water below. Though they didn't bother him a ton, Newt was never a fan of heights.

"I… don't swim really," he said truthfully, backing away.

"Newton Scamander, if you don't get in I will push you!" Tina yelled. Newt laughed nervously.

"That won't be necessary."

"You have five seconds, or I'm coming up there!"

Newt shook his head as Tina began counting down. As silly as it sounded, the counting was actually frightening.

"Three, two…"

She wouldn't…

"One!"

There was a Pop! And Tina, who was still soaked appeared. Newt whipped around, only to have her grab him by the front of his shirt.

"I gave you your chance, Mr. Scamander," she said, nudging him slightly closer to the edge.

"Tina, please," Newt grabbed Tina's forearms, now growing terrified. He had no doubt she would not hesitate to throw him off.

Tina laughed as she forced him closer still. He glanced backward. He only had a foot between him and open air. He tried to push back, but she had him in such a way he was basically helpless.

"Any last words?"

Newt felt where the drop off was now, he gasped as the felt the weightlessness of air behind him. He stood rigidly, the only thing keeping him from falling was the grip Tina had on his collar. He looked into her eyes one last plea.

"Tina, please reconsider," he said. She laughed.

"I have, the verdict is still the same. You can swim right?"

"Well- yes- but-"

"Great," she said, then let go.

Newt yelled as he plunged backward, freefalling. He hit the water, almost painfully. Everything became muted as he swam to the surface, slightly angry about the whole ordeal. He broke the surface.

"Feels good, right?"

"Yes, considering I didn't want to swim in the first place," Newt said, unimpressed.

He moved his wet hair from out in front of his face.

"Hey now, you would'a probably croaked if you went much further," Jacob reminded him, even though had felt perfectly fine. He shrugged.

"You're welcome," Tina said, now back in the water.

He looked at her and realized he'd never seen her with her hair wet. It gave the appearance it was just slightly longer and lay flat instead of it's more voluminous style. She splashed some water on his face and chuckled again.

"Look! Over there!" Newt suddenly said, pointing the opposite direction.

Tina, Queenie, and Jacob all looked in the direction where Newt had gestured. He quickly wrapped his arms around Tina, then dunked himself and her under the water. When they resurfaced, Newt laughed.

"Scamander!" Tina exclaimed, her dark hair veiling her face. "This means war."

Newt wasn't ready when Tina basically tackled him, forcing him back into the water before he had a chance to catch his breath. He had accidentally taken one underwater instead. When he resurfaced, he started coughing and gasping for air.

"Newt? Hey, you okay?" Tina asked, suddenly concerned. Newt nodded, still hacking up his lungs.

When he finally stopped coughing, Tina watched him as if waiting for him to say something.

"Yes, that is definitely water." He said. Everyone laughed as he smiled unconvincingly, his bangs covering his eyes.

Everyone resumed cooling off. Whether that meant swimming, splashing their faces or splashing everyone else, they all seemed to have fun in the process. After a while, they made their way back onto land to dry off. While Tina, Newt, and Queenie dried off with magic, Jacob insisted he would rather air dry to stay cooler longer.

"You sure honey?" Queenie asked, fixing her hair. "We don't mind."

"Naw, that's alright. The breeze feels nicer when you're still wet."

They continued on the path of tracking Frank. Newt, who still led, made sure to glance behind him more often. After walking for a while, his mind wandered back to thinking about the kiss. Completely unaware, he glanced back again and saw Queenie looking at him with a knowing smile. His face flushed as he quickly turned away.

That's personal, he said to Queenie internally.

"I'm sorry, it's just that's all you two have been thinking about since this morning," she said.

"Queenie…" Tina said warningly. "We talked about this."

"Oh, I know Teen, but the feelings so strong… I can't help it."

Newt didn't look back as the sisters talked and instead tried to focus on something else. He stared at the tracks longer, looking for some new indication of why Frank would've walked such a long way. He considered it was purposefully, and that he knew perfectly well Newt was following him and was trying to lead him somewhere. It was still a possibility, actually, but he was completely oblivious as to where. As Newt pondered, a red glint caught his eye. He stopped abruptly, causing a very disgruntled Tina to run into him.

"Newt, what are you-?"

Newt crouched down, peering closer. He gingerly touched the red liquid with his finger and held it up, inspecting it in the sunlight.

"What is it?" Tina walked up next to him, crouching alongside him. Newt frowned.

"Blood. Frank's been injured."

"Is that why he's been walking? Instead of flying?" Tina asked. Newt nodded.

"I'm afraid so," Newt said, standing back up. "I have a feeling we're finally catching up to him, though."

"What are you going to do when we find him though?" Tina stood up as well. "Since you don't have the…"

She trailed off. Newt pressed his lips together.

"I don't know," He replied honestly. "Do whatever I can to help him."

"How would he have gotten hurt in the first place though?"

Newt suddenly came to a horrible realization.

"When I had left -before you found me- I had gone a village Oianek had told me about."

Newt ran a hand through his now dry hair.

"It was completely destroyed. There was nothing left, nothing larger than a pebble. Everything was turned to dust. What if… Grindelwald had Frank play a part in it… to… destroy it against his will?"

He looked back at Tina, whether for confirmation or consolation, he didn't know. Her eyes fell to the ground and she knitted her brows together.

"His first step in waging war without actually starting it," Tina said quietly.

"Maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves," Queenie reasoned, sounding skeptical even at her own words.

"Grindelwald wouldn't have taken the case unless he saw some use for it. He also wouldn't be hunting Newt down if he could get by without it."

Tina put her hands in her pockets, nudging a small rock with her foot.

"This might truly mean war," Newt said. "And the creatures will be to blame."

Jacob cleared his throat awkwardly, about to say something.

"Say there was a war, a war between, No-Majs, Muggles- whatever and Wizards," Jacob paused. "They would win, wouldn't they?"

"Theoretically… yes." Newt said.

There was a long silence before the group decided to hit the road again. As they walked, there was little to no conversation. Everyone too engrossed in their own thoughts of what was just discussed to say anything.