newt x august [lxngdon + King]

[lxngdon]

@King​

Newt had always liked Egypt, though he had never been particularly fond of the sun. It didn't help that he was so pale, either. He could definitely feel a sunburn coming along.

Dressed in a bright blue shirt and white shorts, he had tried his best to blend in with the Muggle tourists that were perusing through the crowded streets of Cairo, but the well-trained eye could easily pick him out as a wizard from the swarm of people looking at scarves and watches. The Bowtruckle peeking out from under his collar, for example.

Newt was walking behind a taller man as he tried to locate what he was looking for. A man dealing in illegal Occamy eggs, which Newt wanted to buy, so he could raise the creatures correctly.

What he hadn't accounted for was his Niffler jumping out of his case and attaching itself to the man before him's bag, trying to tear off the shiny buckle.

 

[King]

Trying to find the bus that took you to the Nile was hard when you didn't speak fluent Arabic. The Nile Sunbird was only spotted out of its nest before sunset and August wasn't very quick with all of his luggage strapped to his back. He desperately walked around the crowded streets trying to locate a bus. In one hand was his compass, the other a book of Arabic. For a well traveled man, August never took the time to learn the language. Instead he sort of, winged it.

August spotted a bus with the number 4 painted on it. He decided to keep his pace going so he could jump on and hope for an English speaker to help him out. Just as he got to the bus stop, he felt a tug on his backpack. August frowned, turning his head quickly. He spotted what looked like a fuzzy duck pulling on his bag. They locked eyes for a second, "Hello there little fellow." August said, more curious than confused. He had never seen such a creature, "What are you?" He kept walking, but wasn't quite watching where he was going. The small animal looked at him, before looking down to the shiny chain around his neck. August laughed as the creature darted around his neck, tugging at the shiny compass chain. "So you like shiny things hm?" He observed, making his way onto the bus, "How about a coin?" August pulled out a dirty grey bag which he kept all his coins in. He never sorted them, so it took him a second to find the Egyptian currency.

"Nile? River?" August argued with the bus driver, ignoring the creature pouring the remnants of his coin bag into his pouch. August shuffled around with his bag, pulling it forward so he could get his map. On opening it, the small creature must have caugh a glimpse of his magnifying glass. Not wasting a second, the animal dived into his bag. August fished out the map and pointed towards the blue line, running through the centre. "River!" He said, the bus driver nodded, repeating the word back in Arabic.

August sighed as he sat down, "Finally." He put his bag on his lap, momentarily forgetting about the fluffy hoarder he just met.

 

[lxngdon]

Newt tried to catch the Niffler before it attached to the man's bag, but it was no use. The small creature tried to steal a variety of shiny objects from the poor man in front of Newt, and all the ginger-haired wizard could do was follow the man to his bus. He couldn't exactly grab the Niffler and run away.

No, he would need to Obliviate the poor man.

Newt never liked doing that, but after the fiasco in New York, he couldn't afford to let any more Muggles go with knowledge of the magical world. Sighing, Newt sat down beside the man on the bus, having paid for his own ticket, and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"I'm terribly sorry," he said to the brunet man, reaching over and taking the Niffler from his bag. "He can be quite mischievous."

Since there was no one else on the bus beside the driver, probably couldn't even understand what they were saying, Newt reached into the pouch of the Niffler and pulled out all the shiny objects he had stolen from the man. He returned them to the brunet with a shy smile.​

 

[King]

The hand that dived into August's bag made him jump a bit. He didn't have much to steal, mainly fossils, junk, exploring equipment. His new fuzzy friend had taken all of his coins. August was snapped out of his day dream, about to say something until he saw the man fish out the animal. August just watched awkwardly before realizing he must be the owner. "Ah - No problem! I'm always enthusiastic to meet new friends!" He smiled lightheartedly. August observed the man, he just looked like a simple tourist, a Brit. He was glad to finally speak to someone speaking English.

When the items appeared from the pouch, August wondered how they got in there. "I've never quite met a duck with a magpie's personality." He mused, collecting his items back, just sticking them back into his bag. The little creature looked pouty, the whole situation amused him. August wasn't even aware how strange the events were, in fact, he had only just noticed what a weird duck it was. No wings. August tried not to stare, instead, he made eye contact with the shy looking man. "Well, since we're going the same way, I'm August, nice to make your acquaintance!" It had been some time since he had conversed with somebody, being an extrovert, it had it's tolls. August was no stranger to coming on too hard, but the ginger man seemed to have no choice. "Is this little guy your pet?" August pointed at the duck, hoping the man would give him a little bit of information. He slipped a hand into his pocket, ready to get his notebook to do a little drawing.

​

 

[lxngdon]

"He's not a duck," Newt said with a nervous chuckle. He glanced up at the man -- August -- before opening his case and carefully putting the Niffler inside. Newt figured that since he was going to have to Obliviate August anyway, there was no harm in explaining the creature to the poor man.

"He's a Niffler. I suppose the closest thing to it is a platypus." Newt brushed his fingers through his messy red hair, scared to make eye contact with August again. "They're quite fond of shiny things, which is why he took it upon himself to rob you of all your shiny belongings."

Newt bit his lip and forced himself to look at the man. He was quite handsome, a fact Newt completely overlooked as he had never cared about such insignificant, trivial things. What did grab his attention, however, was the notepad in the man's hand.

He would have to destroy it, if the man tried to draw or write anything about the magical world.

"My name is Newt," he said once he realised he should introduce himself to August, out of sheer politeness. "Newt Scamander."​

 

[King]

August quickly flicked through the notebook. It was full with his quick observations, sketches, feathers and other items he's collected on his way. He quickly wrote the time and date and place in the corner before writing 'The Niffler' at the top. He nodded, a smile on his face. He lived in a world where nearly nobody in his home town had seen a Lion in the flesh, or a dolphin in the water. So there was no beast too strange for August. He sketched the beak and beady eyes of the niffler, making notes around the sketch with his pen. He looked up to Newt when he introduced himself, "Mr. Scamander." He repeated, smiling at him widely.

As the bus started driving, August looked out the window, it would take some time before they got to the river, so he decided to make some conversation with Newt. He spent some time drawing the Niffler as detailed as he could, whilst occasionally looking up to Newt, "Are you interested in animals too?" He asked hopefully, "From Britain?" He added, recognizing that Newt might be a bit shy. August tried to accomodate that, but he was so excitable and almost intrusive. Maybe he'd try to focus on his notes a little more, instead of looking at Newt hopefully.

​

 

[lxngdon]

"Um, you could say that, I guess," Newt said with a nervous chuckle. He kept his eyes fixed on the back of the seat in front of him as he was nervous, obviously, and he didn't want to look August directly in the eye. He did, however, steal occasional glances at the other man's drawing. It was quite good.

"I'm a zoologist," Newt elaborated. A magizoologist, to be exact, but even though he was going to wipe the man's memory, he would rather drown himself in the Nile than reveal that to a Muggle. "Considering animals are literally my profession, you'd think I should be at least a tad interested in them."

Newt chuckled nervously again and looked up at August. He had to force himself to do so, but he managed. "And, yes, I'm from Britain. Westminster, to be precise." Newt's slender fingers were clenched around the handle of his suitcase. "Where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"​

 

[King]

He added a few extra details to the notes, writing a couple of estimated dimensions, and Newt's name at the bottom. Then when he heard Newt say he was a zoologist, August perked up. He closed his notebook, showing it back into his bag to listen. When their eyes met August laughed as well. He nodded happily, listening along to the accent. August found it particularly nice to listen to. Once asked the question, August turned eagerly to reply. "I'm Canadian!" He said loudly, "I'm actually a zoologist too! Well, I never actually got a degree..." He said shamefully, swallowing before continuing, "I just try to discover as many animals and log them, especially ways to help protect them." He said. Most of his time was spend looking for birds, but he had logged many other creatures too.

"Do you like birds?" August wanted to quickly move on. He didn't want any questions on why he didn't have a degree, it made him feel astoundingly stupid. "I've logged over 5,000! And actually discovered 120." He said proudly. If Newt showed even an ounce of interest, August would pull out his Egyptian bird book and show him each drawing and note.

​

 

[lxngdon]

Newt found August ... interesting. He had never understood extroverts and their fascinating ability to socialise with anyone and everyone, even people they had just met. Sure, Newt would do it out of politeness, but never of his own will, and never to the extent of animation this man was displaying.

At the mention of birds, Newt's eyes it up and he looked over at August curiously. "I love birds," he said with a small smile. He had discovered quite a few species as well -- not that August could know that. Magical birds weren't exactly a Muggle-safe topic of conversation.​

 

[King]

August's face lit up when Newt commented on the birds, "Really?" He grinned. Oh boy was Newt in for a show. "Well you gotta check this out!" August dove into his bag, searching for his bird notebook. Feathers fell out of his old rucksack as he pulled out the notebook, named "The handbook to the Birds of the World. - By Augustus Quimper." He liked to pretend he was a famous zoologist, but that was just pretend.

"Have you ever heard of the Red Indonesian Songbird?" He asked, opening the pages to find the notes on them, "I discovered him on the coast of Indonesia! He sings so loud, I was surprised he wasn't in any encyclopedia!" He pointed at the picture. Ther was neon red feathers stuck to the page, along with a little music chart, noting the rhythm of the birds song. If August was in a private space, he would have probably sang it for him.