Fantastic Beasts And The Trials of Scamander

Everybody needs Somebody

That night, the camp was quite a subdued affair. The Chimera had travelled further than they could pursue in a day where they had already traversed miles, so after he had stuck a stick in the ground to remind them of their end point they had then put the last scrap of effort they had into heaving up the unwieldy military tent. It had taken the last scraps of their effort while Bunty and Lally set to assembling a campfire but they were now sat around it blinking at the flames. They'd decided to sit outside in the Turkish wilderness, the sky decorated with a sunset that was one of the most spectacular he had ever seen; he could already see swathes of stars appearing above. It was what he missed being in New York the past few months. The sense of freedom so far away from the normality of everyday life, the beauty. Here the world hummed, there were creatures in every tree, hiding in bushes and crawling beneath their feet. All a completely untapped world, working independently of any human interaction. It was as if he could feel the life of the world around him.

However, New York had a different feeling of activity. Instead of the whisper of crickets, it was the feeling of walking down a quiet street at dusk knowing every illuminated window was another life, a family, a whole other story. Instead of the quiet chitter of creatures as they awoke gently lulling him awake it was the unforgettable sound of thousands of people beginning their mornings. And for some reason Newt found, he didn't miss the whisper of nature quite as much as he thought he would. Whenever he yearned to stretch his legs so to speak he'd explore the city or the surrounding country, cataloguing what other mysteries he could solve. But unlike when he was in the wild and would settle in his case with some soup and a book he would come home and begin dinner which would be eaten day across from a wildly gesticulating Tina as she talked through her day.

However, there was very little gesturing and conversation tonight. Queenie and Jacob had worked their magic yet again and they were eating something stew-like as they sat staring at either the campfire or their food. Lally and Theseus were sat to his left on a blanket his brother had gotten out of the case, talking quietly about something Newt couldn't hear enough of to understand, and to his right sat Tina. She was wearing an old jumper that he could swear used to be his as she sat cross-legged on her leather coat. Her narrow feet were covered only by wool socks as her boots lay beside his between them.

Bunty was opposite him, talking to Jacob while Queenie chipped in occasionally and once again Newt found exhaustion weighing down his shoulders. He dropped his spoon in the bowl and while Pickett chirped tiredly and leaned against his neck he took a deep breath. A breath that seemed to be caught by Tina as he saw her concerned look as he leaned back onto his palms. She cocked her head and he offered up what he hoped was a comforting smile before he busied himself with poking the embers of the fire with a stick he had been fiddling with for the past hour.

Seeing everyone continuing in silence, Newt summoned the well-worn book that supposedly Albus had stolen. Part of him hoped his hunch was wrong, to remove the ingredients required would cause such great suffering to the creature if they survived at all...Newt liked to class himself as a forgiving person but pain to creatures at the expense of personal gain made him feel sick in the base of his stomach. Pulling out his notebook he began to make notes on everything Albus would require. He would need two claws ground to a powder, a snake tooth and the horn as well as a sample of pelt from the goat head. This would mean that to prevent infection and diminish pain for the creature he'd need antibiotics...

He began mumbling under his breath, scribbling down notes and nibbling on his quill. Completely unaware of how substantially he had zoned out until he felt Jacob peer over his shoulder. He blinked and realised he'd started drawing the campfire underneath where he'd circled several times 'Why would he?'
"You okay pal?" Jacob whispered and Newt turned slightly to give him a tight-lipped smile. He hadn't noticed but it was just him and Jacob sitting around the fire now and he faintly realised that the random squeeze to his shoulder was probably Tina saying Goodnight.
"I'm okay..."
Jacob sat beside him and they remained quiet for a second until Jacob spoke up again.
"Crazy, huh? All this stuff with Dumbledore" He hummed in agreement "I mean, we were talking about a vacation but I don't think this is what we meant"
"No... I believe it was intended to involve more beaches"
"And less potential homicide?"
"Preferably"
He remarked drily and they chuckled. Then Jacob patted his shoulder
"Newt it's okay to be uncomfortable with this guy you've idolised suddenly not being the guy you thought he was"
It was at that moment Newt realised his eyes were feeling slightly wet and he wiped them with the heel of his palm as he stammered
"It's because of him that I managed to keep my wand,d-do my exams. I wouldn't have met you, or Queenie o-or Tina. I've spent most of my life trying to- its daft..." However, Jacob was looking up at him encouragingly "to pay him back and it's like he's..."
"Like he's betrayed you, huh?"
He nodded, rubbing his eye again and Jacob patted his shoulder again while Newt remarked bitterly
"Just proves how little I know about human nature still, doesn't it?"
"Hey, don't say that..." He murmured, "You know what to do when Queenie and I have our fights?"
"Well..."
"And you're the only one who can get Tina out of her funks"
"I mean-"
"And who's got us out here, kept us safe and led us after him?" Jacob ducked to catch his gaze "We all have our weaknesses pal, but you trusting people ain't one of them."
"Do you think?"
"'Course not, it's like your case or your bow ties" he gestured to his neck "It's part of you"