Prompt Post #1

[fantasticbeasts_kinkmeme]

 ROUND 1

FUCK IT WE'LL FIGURE OUT SPECIFICS LATER

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Fill: Would You Stay 4a/4c

[(Anonymous)]

Graves wanted to make this trip as quick as possible, because while Newt was certainly convinced he was up to the task, Graves knew that the second the man was on his own two feet that things would only go downhill from there.

After all, it had only been a day since he was first stung by the manticore, and maybe ten hours since his fever was high enough to have to chill in a snowy tundra to keep his brain from boiling.

He apparated them to the subway entrance and carried Newt down the stairs, earning shocked stares from the Aurors waiting underground. He could already hear the angry screeching of the hippogryph, and felt Newt stiffen in his arms.

“Sir, is he alright…?” one of the Aurors asked with a nervous look at Newt, who definitely looked like he’d recently been knocking on Death’s door. Graves grunted and moved past the Auror without a word, stepping into the main chamber of the subway tunnel.

The hippogryph was a marvelous creature, even in its somewhat sorry state. Its feathers were dull, and there was a bald patch around its neck, the skin there red from rope burn. Anytime an Auror got too close, the creature spread its massive wings and screeched loudly, flailing its claws in warning.

“Put me down now,” Newt said, more a request than a demand, and Graves took in a deep breath before carefully setting Newt down on his own two feet. The redhead swayed dangerously, grabbing onto Graves to stay upright, and Graves frowned.

“There’s no way. We need to think of something else,” he said, but Newt held up one hand, closed his eyes for a few moments, then opened them and straightened up.

“Let me save this one, Percival,” he said pleadingly, and without waiting for an answer, he turned toward the panicked, furious beast.

Graves wanted more than anything to pick him back up and carry him right back to his case, but he held himself back, his heart thudding heavily against his ribs as Newt took unsteady steps toward the hippogryph.

But once the half bird creature actually focused on Newt, everything changed.

The signs of illness were still there in the wizard- the paleness, the sweating, the slight trembling- but the awkward nervousness and the lack of confidence were completely gone. Once Newt made eye contact with the hippogryph, he held it unerringly.

Newt took slow steps forward toward the beast, and the hippogryph watched him, settling down on all fours with wings partially flared. Graves had to remind himself not to interfere as Newt came well within striking distance of those claws.

The entire room seemed to hold its breath as Newt bowed slowly before the creature, his eyes not breaking contact, not even to blink. The hippogryph screeched softly, but Newt didn’t waver, didn’t budge.

And slowly, ever so slowly, the hippogryph mirrored the wizard, lowering itself into a bow.

“That’s it,” Newt said with a bright smile that lit up his freckled features like the sun. “That’s it, girl. No need for fuss. You’re safe now.”

Beast and man straightened up, and Newt stepped forward without fear, holding up one shaking hand palm-out. The hippogryph butted its head against the wizard’s hand with a low rumble that sounded like a purr, and Newt chuckled and scratched the hippogryph’s feathers.

“I’ll bet you want to go home, don’t you?” he asked, and Graves immediately turned to Tina.

“Go get the case,” he said softly, and she apparated away, returning moments later with Newt’s case in hand. Graves took it from her and cleared his throat softly, and Newt glanced over his shoulder, smiling gratefully when he saw the case in Graves’ hand.

“Bring it here. It’s quite safe now,” he said, and Graves slowly walked toward the pair, eyeing the hippogryph nervously. Newt turned his attention back to the beast, still petting it like an overgrown cat. “It’s alright. He’s a friend.”

That seemed to appease the hippogryph, at least. Graves handed over the case, trying not to be unnerved by the beast’s intense golden stare as Newt set the case down and opened it up.

“In you go. We’ll get you cleaned up and back to France in no time,” he said, and the hippogryph seemed to chirp like a hatchling- and then leapt right down into the case. There was a collective sigh of relief in the room- that is, until Graves looked up at Newt and saw the dazed, unfocused look about him.

“Newt-!” he said in warning, but then he had to leap forward to catch the redhead as he collapsed, narrowly keeping him from hitting the ground. Newt was burning up again, his condition of course aggravated by the movement and the stress, and Graves cursed under his breath.