The Scars On The Skin

The Grindylow

Newt gently led Tina down the stairs of his case, smiling at her look of wonder of the small room.
"You don't have to look impressed everytime I bring down here, you know." He said with a small chuckle.

"I know...but I can't help it - this place never ceases to amaze me." She says, looking around at the shelves and pots hanging around the tiny room. Plants and tufts of leaves poked out of buckets and cabinets, messy but seemingly organized in its own way.
Newt subconsciously hung his coat on the holder next to the stairs, rolling his sleeves up. It was habit at this point, especially ever since he once caught fire from an ashwinder snaking into his sleeve. He took a small, sealed clay jar into his hands and a lantern made entirety out of thick glass as he moved about the small room. Tina's eyebrows furrowed as she caught sight of him gathering the items.

"Newt... That's for the grindylow, isn't it?"

He nodded. "He's got a nasty burn on his arm from mistaking that ashwinder for a lightning bug... I'm hoping this time he might let me finish treating him. The burn isn't going to get better if he keeps scratching at it." Tina frowned.

"Newt, its not safe to be down there with one... You even said so in your notes!" He looked back at her as he grabbed a tiny roll of bandages and gave her a slight shrug.

"...I'll be fine." He said simply, then backed out of the room and into the outer room of the case. Tina stayed put, fidgeting for a second before finally deciding to follow Newt to the pond. She heard of this grindylow before. Newt enjoyed spending his time telling stories about his creatures, but out of all of them, this one seemed to give him the most trouble. She walked around the corner, seeing Newt put the items down a few feet from the pond. He had kneeled down, extending a hand out to the pond.

A small ripple and a glow could be seen from among the reeds of the pond, a mischevous giggle confirming the grindylow's presence. Tina watched from afar, slowly walking around as she heard Newt speak with a soft, but amused voice.
"Excuse me... Would you mind helping me?" He asked, offering a hand to the grindylow. The giggle deepened, almost becoming a growl as it stared at Newt's hand. The grindylow peered up at him, then took a step back into the pond. The lantern in its own hand swayed, showing small but shining blisters covering its upper right arm.

Newt stayed in his position. "I'm lost, you see...and it's awfully dark..."

The grindylow squinted, then grinned maliciously. It raised the lantern, swinging it slightly.

Newt pocketed the bandages and small cream, and stepped into the pond. The grindylow giggled, watching as Newt began to approach, who had eyes on the lantern.

Tina watched nervously, unsure whether to stop him or not. Newt want specifically cautious when it came to treating the creatures, bit when he did things like this... It made Tina awfully nervous.

Newt raised a hand, now knee high in the pond and seemingly transfixed on the lantern, when three things happened at once.

Tina shifted forward, accidentally upsetting a small pile of dung that a large dung beetle was fixing.
The sound of the thud made the grindylow start, dropping the lantern into the lake. Without the light source, the habitat went dark.

Tina nearly screamed as the lake erupted into sounds of splashes and squealing, followed by an overly loud splash.

Newt must have fallen in.

Tina was about pull out her wand and get him out herself when she heard him burst through, gasping. "Alright, alright, here we go- ow... no, don't be like that. Come on now..." Newt seemed to be trudging out of the water, loud squealing and sound of teeth could be heard snapping from his direction.

Tina watched as a drenched Newt limped towards her and into the lights of the rest of the habitats, hauling a squirming and slashing grindylow in his arms.

She quickly waved her wand, the grindylow calming somewhat before completley knocking out in Newt's arms.

"Thank you.." He said, looking very pleased that it had fallen asleep. His leg seemed to have a deep scratch on it.

"You could've done that in the first place, Newt!" She said, helping him back to the small room.

"I know, but I wanted to give it a last try to approach him on my own... maybe it'll help him trust me." He said sheepishly.

"After this? We can consider it lucky if he surfaces again." She said, smiling at him in amusement as she helped him up the stairs and into the small room.

More to come!