Newt had finished his rounds, and was looking through his books for information about American creatures when Graves climbed back down the ladder, a faint smile on his lips. Graves made his way over to him, standing close, and Newt reached out with one hand to brush his hand against Graves'. A spark of warmth fired inside of him for a moment. A natural reaction to being near the alpha he was bonded to, he knew that. But it was not ... not something he could explain solely in terms of physiological conditioning.

Graves looked at Newt in a strange way. Not as though Newt himself was strange - that was a look that Newt was already intimately familiar with. Just in a way that was different from what he had seen before. It was a look that left Newt feeling almost shy, as though he had done something well. He pushed the thought aside after a moment, not wanting to get too lost in those thoughts.
"Paperwork done?" He asked, and Graves nodded.

"I have a week off work. I know your priority is Arizona..." Graves looked fond as he said it. "And we will get Frank home. But I thought you might want to wander a little further afield. See if we can find anything that you haven't read about."

"I...I think I would like to see a wampus cat in the wild." Newt said, honoured that Graves seemed willing to consider his desires and interests. "Ideally, I'd like to see all of the Ilvermorny houses in their natural environments. It's a hobby really, I've been making a list of creatures and traits and those that are reflected in the housing system of schools. A worrying amount of it is based in muggle myth and religion, and not entirely accurate - and of course in cases like Hogwarts it depends on the choice of the individual creator and their own affinities. But I suppose it's the same for Ilvermorny-"

Graves paused for a moment and then nodded.
"You are the only person in the world who would make a hobby out of that." He murmured, sounding almost awed. Newt shrugged a little. "I can't promise we'll be able to find the horned serpent. But we will try. As for snallygasters, well, if you can find a way to get them to stay in the areas they are meant to MACUSA will probably give you a medal."

Newt felt himself blush slightly, amazed that Graves would have gone to the trouble of finding out about the various creatures for him, and showing an interest in what he knew. He reached out and gently squeezed Graves' hand.
"You are sure you don't mind if we... if we stick to last night's sleeping arrangement?"

Graves pressed his lips together, and Newt felt his heart thumping in his chest, but after a moment Graves smiled.
"Well, is there any way of keeping the mooncalves from stealing my blanket?"
"I'll see what I can do." Newt answered, smiling back. "Frank's really glad to be going home you know?"
"Good." Graves answered. Newt could tell he believed what he said, that he wasn't just trying to be polite or gain something to hold over him, and Newt wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

***

The sun rose over the desert. Newt stuck his head out of the case, shivering a little at the cold night air. Returning Frank to his natural home would be hard, but it was the right thing to do, and Newt was sure he wanted to do what was right for his friend. He knew the creatures which remained in the case would be safe, that Graves wouldn't hurt them. But Frank needed to fly free.

It would be hard to let Frank go, but Newt knew what it was like to be caged, and he couldn’t do that to someone he cared about. When the moment came, Newt watched as Frank soared up into the air, his wings spread, and then dived back down towards Newt, stopping for a moment just ahead of him, leaning in so that Newt could pat his beak.
"Go on." Newt murmured, and Frank soared up into the air again. Graves was watching, and as Frank flew from sight he walked over to Newt, holding out a cup of tea.
"Thirsty?"
"Thank you." Newt whispered, lapsing into silence beside him.

"It's alright." Graves said after a few moments. "And we can come back here one day, if you'd like that. Maybe we can even do it regularly - I've been thinking about your travel."

Newt couldn't help tensing a little at that, in case the next words shattered his hopes. Instead, what he was told was a mercy. Graves smiled at him a little. "I'm not planning to stop you Newt. You need your freedom, same as I do. But I will want regular contact, and if you're going somewhere dangerous - not the creatures, but the humans - then I want to come with you and keep you safe. In return, if you help me find out where you are interested in going, I'll see what I can do to try and get you out there. I'm guessing visiting England's a priority?"

"I want to see Theseus." Newt agreed. "If you don't mind."
"Theseus is my oldest friend." Graves said simply. "Even if he wasn't, I'm hardly going to keep you and your brother apart after everything that's happened." Graves spoke so simply, so calmly about these things. As though anything else was unimaginable. Newt appreciated that gentle patience.

"Ready to leave?" Graves asked after a few more minutes, staring up at the seemingly endless blue sky. "He'll be okay."
"I know." Newt nodded. "You said about the Appalachians?"
"For the wampus and the pukwudgie, yes." Graves nodded. "But we can spend a little longer here first. It's still early, and you never know what you might find."

Newt found a few small magical and non-magical creatures during his and Graves' searches, and he sat down to write them up as Graves moved the suitcase from the desert to the forest. When Newt emerged, it was to late afternoon sunshine and cool air, Graves leaning against the trunk of the nearest tree.

"Hello."
"Hello." Newt replied. "I don't know about you, but before we do any more looking around, I'm dying for some tea."

Graves laughed a little but nodded. "Coffee for me please." He picked up the case. "I'll take a quick look around, see if there's anywhere suitable to stash it this evening."
Newt cast a quick aguamenti and filled the pot, setting about heating it. As the water warmed a little he heard leaves crunch behind him. Rather than jump or attack, he moved slowly, startled to find that there was nothing there. He could feel something staring, its eyes burrowing into his chest.

Thanks to Dougal, it wasn't an unfamiliar sensation. Demiguise lived half the world away, but there were rumours about other creatures that were similar.

He realised it was a hidebehind, and swung out with his kettle. It collided with the air with a thunk, and he quickly threw up a shield.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Graves shouted as he returned to the scene, staring in surprise at the large white-haired figure.
"Hidebehind." Newt explained. "A man made creature, and one of the very few that will hunt humans. But he'll be alright in the morning as long as we aren't in his territory."
"Did you just hit him with your kettle?"
"It worked." Newt pointed out.

Graves cooked that evening, so Newt could add to his notes, and then the two of them slept peacefully. In the morning, Newt fed all the creatures before beginning the human breakfast. He was just using his wand to spell butter onto the toast when Graves approached, his hands stained with ink from the reports he had been working on.
"Are you always that busy in the morning?"
"Yes. Aren't you meant to be on honeymoon?" Newt asked, clapping his hands over his mouth a moment later to try and stop his rudeness. Graves just smiled.

"I need to get it done-" He paused as a creature howled, the sound reverberating through the air. It was the unmistakable noise of an animal in pain.
"Outside of the case." Newt said, and the two of them clambered up the ladder, Graves leading as he had been closer to it initially.
"Careful." He warned Newt as he climbed from the case, and Newt found himself face to face with a large cat. His first thought was that it was a cougar, but the intelligence in its eyes revealed what it was. A wampus.

"Stay back." Percival instructed, and Newt obeyed. He had spent enough time around creatures to recognise how a predator looked at its prey. She moved closer, and another howl split the air. It was only then that he made out the shape of her paw, a trap digging into the soft pad between her claws. It was stained red with her blood, and she limped closer.

He watched as Graves walked out to greet her, then crouched and persuaded her to raise her leg. He examined it gently, making soft noises of encouragement, before removing the trap and casting a quick healing spell. She darted away, and Graves smiled at Newt.
Newt smiled back, walking over and pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek.
"Thank you."

It occurred to him at that moment how many people would have refused to help. Graves hadn't refused. Graves, he was starting to realise, was someone that he could work with.