AN- so so very sorry with taking forever on this chapter. my son's birthday turned into birthmonth and it's been crazy for me here. I hope you enjoy and continue to follow my updates!

A golden falcon glided around the room as a dopey, golden basset hound clamored over furniture, knocking a chair on its side in an attempt to get to Newt.

"That's it. You've got it now," Charles said, happy with Newt's ability to quickly latch on to his instructions.

"The basis of this spell is that it draws from the echo of its owner's personality that lingers around an object. Simply fascinating," Newt said as he watched the shimmering animals. "If I can match that with the species recognition spell I created and simplify the two together to follow the blood instead of the echo of character, then maybe we'll be able to track the Wendigo!" Newt's eyes lit up, his brain began churning with ideas.

"I'm going to inform Winema where we've arrived in the hunt and see if she has any advice to offer." Sahale got up out of his chair leaving Newt, Charles, and Tina to work while Machk and Mika sat talking in their native language about the kids that were about to enter spirit training.

"Hey, Mika," Tina called over. "Can you teach us some words in your language? It sounds beautiful."

"Sure," Mika turned in her seat to face the others. "Well, you use olibamkanni with the crystal, that means 'travel well'."

"Nidobak means 'friends'," Machk added. "My nidobak are sitting in Pules' yehawkans."

"Yehawkans means 'house'?" Newt asked.

"Yup!" Pules smiled as she joined the group. "And all of our names indicate what spirit we command. So, Machk is 'bear', Mika is 'raccoon', Hassun is 'stone', and so on."

"Oh wow, that's neat," Charles said as he absorbed all the new information.

"We have single words for phrases too. Like pyas means 'come here' and kuwumaras is 'I love you'." Mika said as Newt and Tina awkwardly locked eyes on the latter phrase, quickly turning to avoid prolonged eye contact in their embarrassment.

"So what exactly is a Wendigo? You said it escaped from a cave and eats people?" Charles questioned fearfully.

"When our people first came to this region, an evil being made of fear and hatred ruled over this valley," Machk began to explain to the newcomer. "This creature only attacks at night and feeds off of those he steals from their sleep.Our ancestors developed the ability to tap in to our spirits and they were able to trap the Wendigo for centuries."

"How are we supposed to stop something like that?" Charles looked worried for what this task entailed.

'We've had centuries to develop our magic. If we can actually find it, then trapping it should be easy." Machk leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.

"Good attempt at being humble," Mika teased.

"Any other creatures I need to look out for up here?" Charles asked.

"The Pukwudgie drove out the Giants so at least you don't have to worry about being stepped on," Tina laughed.

"What do you know about them?" Pules seemed surprised that an outsider would know about such a pest.

"My sister, Queenie, was in the Pukwudgie house at Ilvermorny. They had a feud with our founder and continued to take it up with the new students. Everyone had to have a vial of anti paralytic to counteract the poison the Pukwudgie dipped their arrows in. They didn't bother putting that in the brochure," Tina laughed again.

"What did you learn? I've never heard of this creature," Newt leaned his chin in to his hand and stared adoringly at the woman who continued to amaze him as she detailed the appearance and habits of the Pukwudgie. They all laughed as she attempted to act out their lopsided gait, falling forward when she tried to drag her arms on the floor.

"Merlin's beard!" Newt suddenly jumped back as Dougal flew out of his case and circled the room before climbing up on Newt's back. "That's the last time I attempt to give you a snack," he said as he pulled the Demiguise to sit in his lap like a small child. Tina shook her head as she caught herself imagining Newt's parenting skills to match the level of care he awarded his creatures.

"Is that dangerous?" Charles leaned away from the odd, ape-like creature with bulging eyes.

"No, of course not! The Demiguise is a calm and loveable creature that enjoys caring for others," Newt answered and turned to Dougal. "You couldn't hurt a fly, could you? My little snuggle muffin," Newt said in a baby-like voice as he nuzzled his face in between Dougal's eyes.

"Alright there, Newt?" Sahale questioned as he sat down among the others.

"Oh, um, right then. In you go Dougal, Mum's working," Newt guided the Demiguise back into the case by his feet.

"So what did Winema have to say?" Machk asked.

"She praised the idea and wants to be updated with our progress but she mentioned something a bit troubling," Sahale said as he brought his ankle up to rest on his knee and he settled into his seat. "She is asking us to keep an eye on Hassun. Winema was reinforcing the wards around the village when she noticed that they had been disrupted each night by Hassun's spirit and again when he arrives back after dawn. She doesn't want us to question him but just offer another set of eyes in hopes that her theory is proven wrong."

"Oh wow," Mika said as she processed what Sahale had said. "You don't think he could be…" She trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud.

"No, that's why Winema doesn't want us to confront him. She doesn't want us losing our heads over something that could end up being nothing. We'll keep working on this spell and find out for ourselves." Sahale instructed everyone.

"We have managed to create a blend of each spell. It may not be able to lead us directly to the Wendigo but it will show where the creature has been. Show him, Newt," Charles said as he stepped back to allow the man more room to perform the spell.

"Trahentium Revelare," Newt pronounced clearly as he flourished his wand through the air with a sharp whip at the end. The vial of Wendigo blood sat unchanged on the table for a moment.

Sahale looked up, disappointed. "We'll keep trying to-" his sentence was cut short as a thick black smoke began seep out from behind the cork in the vial.

A clawed hand pushed at the surface of the glass as the sludge like form attempted to escape from the bottle. The miniature Wendigo seemed to notice that the cork was the only barrier and began to claw wildly at the stopper but it's claws liquified on impact and oozed down the glass and back into the blood pooled at the bottom. Noticing the futility of its actions, the creature calmed slightly in hopes that it would be freed by outside means.

"We've been chasing after that puny thing?" A voice asked incredulously from the doorway. Everyone whipped their heads around to see Hassun leaning against the frame, wearing a confused expression at the sight of the minute beast contained within the glass.

"Well, no. But we're hoping this muck version can lead us to it," Tina gestured to the vial.

Hassun approached the slimey recreation of the Wendigo and bent down to inspect it closer. The sludge began to thrash against the glass towards him, clawing and beating against the glass in every attempt to get to the boy.

"Shit, what's his problem?" Hassun yelled as he jumped back from the table, the creature calming again as he got further away.

"Hassun, where have you been?" Mika asked and Sahale shot her a pointed glare. "Uh, you missed lunch," she said, trying to sound less accusatory.

"I'm sorry I stormed off earlier," Hassun rubbed at the back of his neck as he shuffled one foot against the floor. "I've just been so angry lately and, now that Chogan's gone, I feel like I've lost who I was before. He always called me out when I started acting this way so now I have to figure it out on my own," Hassun looked up to see concerned faces staring back. "Like I said, I'm sorry."

"The angel on your shoulder," Newt said as he stared out the window and smiled softly.

"What's an angel?" Machk asked, "they native to Europe?"

"It's a muggle thing," Newt chuckled. "No maj, sorry, not used to that yet." He corrected after noticing the blank looks of confusion.

"Right," Sahale looked back to Hassun. "You know I'm always here for you, Hassun. You've been like another little brother to me from the start, you know this."

"I know, I've just gotten swept up in all this anger, then frustration and grief over Chogan, and I'll try harder to get back to how I was. I promise," Hassun looked up in Sahale's eyes and offered a hand to seal the deal but Sahale pushed it away and drew the young man in a tight hug.

"Alright alright, enough with the mushy stuff," Rowtag said as he and Istas appeared in the doorway. "Sahale said you were ready to test the tracking spell?"

"Yes! Charles and I merged our spells as his was able to latch-" Newt began to explain but was abruptly stopped.

"Ah ah ah," Rowtag held up his hand to stop Newt from going in to his magical rant. "I don't understand your wizard stuff. Just show me."

"Right, um, well, right this way," Newt said and picked up the vial of Wendigo blood where the miniature creature was still trapped inside. He sent a quick "Finite Incantatem" to return the muck back to it's original state and set off towards the door.

The group followed Newt out of the house and to the edge of the village where they formed a semicircle around the vial that Newt had placed in the grass. He uncorked the glass and backed up, taking out his wand as he waited for everyone to be ready.

"Well," Rowtag sighed, "give it a wave."

"Trahentium Revelare," Newt brandished his wand towards the vial and waited for the spell to take effect.

Once again, the blood began to produce a thick black smoke that seemed to congeal into the tiny Wendigo form. The creature oozed from the bottle and it's body began to grow as it absorbed the oxygen around it. The miniature creature had grown to be human sized and was dripping its muck on the ground. The black sludge spread in a trail that split in two directions and began to encircle the village edge.

"So, which way do we go?" Mika asked while turning her head to look in each direction.

"Let me see which way they lead," Sahale said as he leapt into the air and his falcon form ascended high above the village.

"Newt, this gooey thing is really creeping me out," Charles whispered from the corner of his mouth.

The sludge continued to drip from the faux Wendigo as it's chest rose and fell like it was still drawing breath. The beast was still, save for the steady rhythm of it's chest, it's unwavering gaze fixated on Hassun.

"Can you make it move or do something? I feel like it's about to eat me." Hassun crossed his arms while shifting his feet and turning the other way.

"Don't worry, it's teeth are made of goo," Machk said while clapping his large hand on Hassun's shoulder.

"Plus," Rowtag appeared on Hassun's other side. "You could probably break a few teeth by turning into a boulder. Maybe even scare it a bit if you wet yourself." The older two laughed harder as a deep blush spread over the teenager's cheeks.

Their teasing was cut short as Sahale swooped back to the group, his feathers smoothing back into skin as his feet made a heavy thud on the ground.

"It's been trying to find a way in," Sahale said while panting from the hurried flight. "The trail is thickest around the village as if it has been pacing here every night."

"What are we supposed to do with that information?" Machk asked.

"Sounds like a useless spell to me," Rowtag scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Let him finish," Istas smacked her brother's arm.

"Right. From what I saw, there's one trail that leads to your town, Charles, and another that takes you deeper into the mountains." Sahale concluded what he had scouted from the air.

"So let's go after it!" Hassun said enthusiastically then settled back down when the recreated Wendigo began to stir at his movement.

"The sun is going to set in about an hour," Tina said as she squinted toward the horizon.

"That gives us enough time for dinner and to prepare," Newt replied.

"You want to go after it at night?" Rowtag looked mildly scared for once.

"Wouldn't we be in the Wendigo's element then? It only comes out at night," Istas said, matching her brother's trepidation.

"Precisely!" Newt perked up. "The beast will be distracted by the hunt and that's when we catch it off guard." His excitement was brimming with the promise of adventure.

"Well, let's go have dinner in the hall then everyone meet back here around eleven and we can start the hunt," Sahale instructed the group and they nodded in agreement before heading towards the center of the village.

oOoOoOoOo

"Should I bring a change of clothes or just stick to the potions?" Tina asked from the loft of her cottage.

"Bring whatever you want, it will all fit in my case," Newt called back up to her as he set the case on the floor and opened the clasps before climbing inside. Tina came down the ladder with a small bag and walked over to the open case.

"You're going to traipse through the woods with this bulky thing?" Tina called down to him. Newt's head abruptly popped into view.

"Of course! I thought they proved to be invaluable during Sahale's rescue," Newt said before going back to tinkering with his many vials of potions.

"Can't argue with you there," Tina said as she crossed over to the sofa and sat down with a sigh. "Oh wow, this is nice. I could fall asleep right here." Tina unlaced her boots and sank back deeper into the cushions.

"Oh, no you don't," Newt chuckled as he handed Tina one of the potions in his hands. "It's a pepper-up potion, this will surely keep you going." Newt looped his arm around hers and held his vial just below his lips. "Bottoms up," he said before they both tipped the liquid back over their lips.

"Wow, you weren't kidding! I feel like I could take on the world," Tina exclaimed as she jumped up from the sofa. "Or at least a bloodthirsty nocturnal creature," she laughed and Newt pulled her back down to sit on his lap.

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself," Newt chuckled and tucked a stray lock of hair behind Tina's ear, softly brushing his fingertip across her cheek in the process. "We've got an hour or two before we have to meet back up with the group."

"I think I know a way we can entertain ourselves until then," Tina said with a mischievous look in her eye.

Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Newt gulped loudly and replied "We can play a few rounds of exploding snap or I believe I still have a wizard's chess set-"

His rambling was cut short as Tina silenced him with a vigorous kiss. She shifted her weight on Newt's lap until she was straddling him and grasped both sides of his face in her hands. Their tongues danced passionately for a few moments before they separated to gasp for breath.

"Yeah that works," Newt said in a breathy voice before flipping Tina to her back on the sofa. She let out an "oof" as her back made contact with the cushion. "Too much?" Newt questioned worryingly.

"Just come here," Tina demanded and pulled his face towards hers once more. One boot fell off of her foot as she wrapped her legs around his waist but the noise was ignored as they enthusiastically waited to meet back at the village later that night.