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[Mia stops in her tracks while walking her dog.] ...Why?

[Here, have someone from Star Wars. This could be epically hilarious.]

Edited 2016-12-04 01:50 (UTC)

[He holds up a finger.] You absolutely mustn't move. Stay exactly where you are.

[Newt treads delicately over to her, eyes trained on the ground around her feet. He lowers himself to a crouch beside her, shares a quiet little look with her dog as he bends down -] Hello, fella. [- and allows it a cursory sniff of the unruly mop of his hair as he sinks low to the ground, almost eyeline with the pavement.]

[He sighs with relief.] Oh, thank goodness. Another step and you'd have killed them.

[Jackie literally freezes in place, cringing as if something were about to drop on him.]

What? What is it?!

Still as you can, please. [Like Jackie, Newt's attention is fixed firmly on the space above him, a sheepish little smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.] Wouldn't want to startle them.

You're being hunted, you see.

[Jackie excels at freezing in place, but he can't help it as his eyes wander skyward. Still his body stays perfectly poised, his balance is impeccable. At least he drops his voice.]

Hunted? Why? By what?

[Oh, he could think of many reasons, but most people dismissed the idea of magic...]

Oh, not to worry, they're quite harmless. [Though the way Newt slowly reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket to retrieve a bottle of something liquid and silvery doesn't necessarily bode well.] If anything, they're punching a little above their weight today. They must be very hungry indeed.

[If Jackie listens closely enough, he might be able to hear the faint flutter of wings nearby and, for the first time, Newt lets his gaze fall onto him, trying for a reassuring smile.] Can I give you this? [He gives the vile a little shake, the liquid inside surging brighter for a moment at the upset.] Should make for a sufficient distraction.

[He doesn't appear to be reaching for a weapon or making any threatening movements, but the moment he does, Mia will be most definitely moving.]

Stay. [Her dog is a very friendly yellow lab who sniffs the stranger very enthusiastically, especially since there's scents on him she can't place, but she stays in place.]

What, there's insects under us? [Mia rolls her eyes. Greeaaaat.]

[Jackie keeps his hands over his head as he watches Newt. He's trying to ignore the buzzing sound, and he blinks curiously when that vile is shaken.]

What does it do?

[Uncle has given him a few too many potions in the past with strange results.]

What? Why not!?

[The figure in a red cloak and blue tunic freezes in his steps.]

Oh, no, no. Insects have their place, of course, but this -- [Ignoring the mess he's making of his suit - which has, in all honestly, seen better days - Newt carefully arranges himself so that he's lying prostate on the ground, easing the little thing he'd been searching for slowly into his palm.] -- this is something really quite special.

[In the palm of his hand is a cluster of tiny opalescent spheres, each no larger than a grain of rice and almost invisible where they'd been on the street.] There, do you see? Just a few survivors. Must have been carried here by the wind.

Whatever you do, don't open it. [Newt holds it up a little higher for Jackie's inspection.] Liquid fairy dust. The creature that's hunting you is an augurey, several of them actually. [Newt chews his lip for a moment, letting his gaze wander back to the sky, clearly concerned.] Which isn't at all like them. They're quite shy, usually. There must be something the matter.

[Remembering himself, Newt shakes his head and sheepishly tries to hand Jackie the vile.] Take this and, when you're ready, throw it and run. They'll soon lose interest.

You'll frighten her away. Please, stay exactly where you are. [Newt breezes past him, paying Strange almost no mind at all as he reaches into his pocket to retrieve a few small pellets, clucking his tongue in a calm, soothing manner.] Come on, girl. You're alright.

[Jackie uncoils from his cringe very slowly, holding a hand out to take the bottle. He won't open it but he inspects the bottle carefully.]

They like fairy dust?

[He looks up slowly, to see what's been hunting him. His eyes grow wide when he sees the vulture-like birds but only for a moment.]

As far as I'm aware, I don't think I've been around fairies lately. I'll throw it, but if they're not usually like this, it might be worth finding out what made them follow me.

They eat fairies, yes. Whole nests sometimes. [Newt can protect these animals from wizard and mankind alike the best he can but, naturally, he can't do much to protect them from each other.] They must be in short supply at the moment.

Throw it whenever you're ready and I'll follow you to be safe.

Alright, here goes.

[Jackie may not look like much at first glance, but he has quite an arm on him. He gives it a pretty good toss and just before it hits the ground he bolts in the opposite direction, fast.]

[Oh.

Oh dear.

They pause quite suddenly, staring blankly at Newt with wide, alarmed eyes.

THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING. IT WASN'T THEM. They even raise their hands a bit to show tehy are, indeed, not carrying anything.

Not a trouble maker!]

What the hell are those?

[He stays completely still, but he turns his head to try to see what the other man was looking at.]

You lost your dog or something?

[Link stopped immediately. When someone told him to "stop" it was usually for a darned good reason.]

[Graves froze the second Newt warned him. His already stiff posture becomes even stiller, if that were possible. And he'd been on edge since returning from his captivity had ended, so he was not in the mood for games.]

Mr. Scamander...this had better not be a joke...or a game.

Edited 2016-12-04 19:06 (UTC)

These - [He straightens up, cupping his find protectively and grinning his shy, enthusiastic grin.] - are fairy eggs. The mother uses her saliva to glue them to the underside of leaves to keep them safe.

[Newt spins in place, his coat tails swirling, searching for a tree or bush that might be a likely candidate for fairy activity.] Hm. These must be quite far from home.

[The vial smashes against the pavement and the birds react precisely as Newt predicted, swooping down what they think might be the chance of a good meal. Newt watches Jackie disappear down the street - the man can certainly run, that's for sure - before waving his wand and apparating.]

[He reappears with a loud pop around the nearest corner.] Nicely done.

[Newt quirks a sheepish little smile, glancing briefly over his shoulder.] If only.

[He directs his attention back and holds out his hand.] Come on, darling, it's only me. That's it. [And from around the corner trots a very odd little creature, about as tall as Newt's hip, that vaguely resembles a sort of sheep. Except that it has wide, flat feet in place of hooves and comically large, owlish eyes that take up most of the space in its skull.] There's a good girl. I knew I'd find you eventually.

[Newt turns slowly to Strange so as not to startle the creature, slowly easing himself down into a crouch.] No sudden movements. This is a mooncalf and they're incredibly shy animals.

[The silence is helpful, the lack of questions, the unnecessary babbling. Newt can work with this.] No, no, you're alright.

[He too raises his hand, twisting his wand between his fingers so that it's pointed away.] You're alright. I just - I don't want you to get hurt, that's all.

Can you stay still for me?

[They can, yes. Do they want to? Not really. They've seen wands before, so they keep looking back and forth between Newt and the wand.

What are they staying still for anyway?

There's... a confused sort of gesture, questioning. WHAT IS GOING ON]

Aaah!

[Jackie startles when Newt appears, skidding to a halt and putting a hand to his chest as his eyes grow wide. It's only a moment though before he catches his breath.]

Sorry. So....how long will that distract them? I don't think Uncle would appreciate them following me home.

You know about fairies? [Well, all right then.]

...Are you a fairy?

[He slowly turns, without any sudden movements, so he was facing the animal and the man. His cloak rustled a bit of its own accord.]

Shh. Don't move.

[Yes, he was talking to his cloak.]

That's incredible. I've never seen it before. Where's it from?

Stay absolutely still. [Newt stalks closer, wand raised.] Don't move so much as an inch.

Stupefy. [A flick of his wrist and a spark of blue from the tip of his wand and something heavy and dull collapses to the floor just behind link. Newt sighs in relief.] There, that's got it.

[Behind Link is the prostrate form of a large, mannish sort of creature, covered in short, wiry fur and an overlarge head.]

[Newt holds up his hands for Graves to see, his wand tucked away in one of the pockets of his coat, approaching him carefully.] No, of course. I just - it's nothing of the sort, I assure you.

[He shuffles a little in place, sheepish and uncomfortable under Graves' uncompromising stare.] But if you go much further you'll tread on something really rather important.

[Link turned to look at the creature, blinking.]

..that's not a monster.

What is it?

Me? [The question makes him smile and he ducks his head to hide it beneath his unruly mop of hair.] Uh, no, nothing of the sort. Just me. A man, I mean.

Fairies are, erm... If you saw one you'd know it, I think.

Oh, a good long while, I'd imagine. They'll be searching for the nest now they think there's one near by. [Newt tries to smile with something like reassurance, confident in his own knowledge of these creatures. Really, it's a good thing he came across Jackie when he did.]

They originate from the Middle East and, at one time, you could find them in almost every part of Europe.

This one - [Newt pauses as she steps cautiously towards him and nibbles a little something out of his hand.] - came from a glen in Scotland. I rescued her when her burrow collapsed on top of her. Didn't I, Hilda?

Well the one I saw looked like a regular person, so... Those might be a different kind of fairy.

[Or he's just crazy. She's still not sure.]

Environmental reasons or hunting? That's too bad.

[The cloak rustles a bit and tries to tug him forward.]

No, stop. I don't want to scare it off.

[Percy does his best to relax slightly while not moving. He has no desire to be the death of anything innocent after everything Grindwald had managed to do. Relaxing, however, has never been his forte so other then a slight slumping of his shoulder there isn't much of a change in his posture.]

I do hope you plan on fixing the situation quickly before I do step on something?

But if they're that hungry, they might try to follow someone else when they don't find one.

[He looks back worriedly at the way he'd run.]

They could be hurt if they try following the wrong person around here.