(Book Two)
Tegwen Gittins has dodged Death on more occasions that she can count on both hands. Her time in New York City only added to the count but it allowed the woman to heal as she came face to face with an old classmate, Newt Scamander. Old wou...
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Tegwen had trouble focusing on all the details when it came to thinking about the incident that led to her eye, but Newt remained quiet allowing her a few minutes to think to herself. She continued to sit in Newt's lap, her fingers playing with his hair, completely unaware of the affect it was having on the man in that moment. But it was the only thing that was helping her concentrate at the time. She had to bring herself back to the incident, even though she really didn't want to think about it, but she figured she owed Newt the story behind.
"The Ministry sent us to the Amazon Rainforest," she began. "On the hunch that there were plenty of plants and shrubs to be discovered that were left untouched by human hands. They weren't wrong by any means, there are species upon species of plants and animals, all waiting to be discovered. Well, there are those not waiting to be discovered as well. They don't want human interaction for a reason and I guess you would understand why better than anyone else I know."
She turned to Newt who gave her a small understanding nod of his head, urging her to continue on. Tegwen inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly before she looked down at her feet, trying to focus her unsteady gaze.
"The plants and animals that didn't want to be bothered normally kept hidden and the tribes located in the forest knew this and respected that. They kept to themselves and anyone who was stupid enough to go against that...well...it was natural selection at its finest."
She rubbed her hands against her shirt as they began to heat up and become sweaty.
"When we arrived, we were going against everything that their people had told them for generations and generations. They told us not to disturb anything, to just leave it be. For the mot part, I was willing to agree with them. I mean, they were the natives to the land, we were foreigners, we had no idea what we were going up against. But when you have the idea of coming across herbs or anything that can assist a potion or draught to become stronger, especially with healing....I guess it drives you forward. At least, it did with our group."
Newt was beginning to feel bad about pressuring her to tell him the story as it seemed to make her become more and more uncomfortable with every passing second. He wondered if he should have waited until she sobered up and asked her. But he wasn't so sure if she would be willing to tell him in that moment. He allowed her to speak at her own pace, even when she took the long pauses in between. He could imagine how difficult it was bringing up a harsh memory along with trying to recall everything while being drunk.
When her hands began to play with his hair in a nervous manner, he couldn't help but enjoy it, but he kept his expression calm so that she wouldn't become distracted by him. She moved one hand to rub at her face and occasionally rub at her bad eye. It seemed she had no idea what to do with her hands while she spoke, leading to him grabbing her hands and holding onto them to keep them still. It seemed to calm her down a bit as her voice became steady.
