𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

Magical creatures are what he generally preferred, but he loved non-magical creatures all the same. It was simply that his area of expertise ranged in the magical creature field, and admittedly magical creatures were much easier to handle than non-magical creatures.

It may have something to do with a magical creature's intelligence being far higher, but Newt had not had a chance to prove that. Rather, he was only halfway through his year-long expedition of documenting and learning about magical creatures in their natural habitats.

Of course, he may have taken a few with him—magical creatures who needed his help in some way. He would never take a fully functional and happy creature from its natural place in the world. Rather, he took creatures that were wounded in some way and in need of care.

Some animals were wounded to the point that they would never be able to be released back into the wild. Others were only temporary additions to his sanctuary and some he had rescued from poachers and was bringing back to their natural habitats.

Arya had been a prime example of this: a Polar Owl-Bear locked away in a hot cell in the desert. A forgotten trafficked animal who was on the brink of death. Thankfully, Newt arrived in time to save her.

And so, he had spent the last few months nursing her back to health before releasing her back into the snowy forests of Alaska. Really, he could have released her anywhere from Alaska to Upper Canada, but he personally thought the forests of Alaska were the most beautiful.

All this to say that Newt was rather knowledgeable and adept in the ways of most creatures on the planet. He had always had a way with animals. But he did not know everything—and at this moment, he was utterly perplexed as to why a seemingly normal wolf had manacles locked on all four of her legs.

The speckled blond wolf had been in Newt's care for no more than a few days: he could tell it was a 'she' by certain characteristics about her body and face. Of course, he would like to check the sex on her to confirm he was correct, but he was 99% positive it was a female wolf in his care.

For obvious reasons, the wolf would not let him touch her—he'd yet to earn her trust. Therefore he was unable to remove her manacles. Not without spelling her unconscious which Newt would only do if he absolutely had to.

With most new creatures it could range from days to weeks before they would begin to trust Newt enough to let him near them.

He had never met a creature that he was unable to win over in the long run; however. All it took was patience and effort.

Newt was keeping the wolf in a blocked-off habitat that resembled much of where she came from, a snow-filled brush of forest. He made sure to leave plenty of food and water for her at the entrance in hopes of reversing the effects of starvation.

He watched the wolf from a distance, and she seemed to watch him back through oddly golden eyes. Other than the odd eye color and size (she was massive for a wolf) Newt could not pinpoint any other oddity about her.

She seemed to all, a normal wolf.

Normal or not, Newt did not much care as he took her in to help her. Although, it would be a bonus if she proved to be a new creature that he was able to study.

"Mmm, I'll need a name for you..." Newt mused while watching her from the edge of the blockade into her sanctum.

He swore for a second that the wolf's lips seemed to curl, but she only proceeded to lay down in the snow tiredly and watch him through lazy hooded eyes. He hoped that she would learn to trust him soon as he wanted to check her out as quickly as possible—he did not notice anything that put her health at risk, so he did not cast her to sleep so he could check.

"Jane?" He questioned only to receive nothing in reply. "Yeah, a rather boring name..."

"Luna?"

There was a thunderous growl that had Newt looking at her eagerly. Only magical creatures could understand wizards and witches to a degree, and if this was not a sign that the wolf could potentially understand him, then he did not know what was.

It was a sign that something about her was magical—he was now incredibly curious if anything visible would happen when he was finally able to get those damned manacles off of her.

"You're right that name is far overused for the canine species..." Newt responded, guessing as to why she did not like that name.

Mavka was internally surprised that he managed to guess the exact reasoning behind why she did not like that name.

While she did not think he would do anything to harm her—Mavka was still very cautious. Especially seeing as he had all but forced her into his enchanted bag that turned out to be some sort of haven for animals.

She had to say that she was rather impressed with the habitat he had created for her, she only wished should could shift into a jungle cat so that she might get a change of scenery and weather. She was sick of the snow after having been in it for a decade.

He was trying to earn her trust, standing by the entrance to her habitat whenever he was not busy tending to the other creatures. She learned that his name was Newton Scamander, and he was on a year-long traveling expedition of sorts.

He talked to her a lot—he talked to all the creatures a lot. Speaking to them like true friends and taking care of them as though they were his own. He'd even refer to himself as 'mummy' to the baby animals without mothers.

"Ruby?" Newton questioned earning another growl, but it caused an almost invisible smile to grace his lips. "Well, what's your reasoning for hating that one?"

Mavka wanted to say that she thought it was an ugly and tacky name. Not to mention, it did not suit her in the slightest—she already had a name.

She supposed it did not matter what he 'named' her, she would not be responding to anything other than Mavka.

As much as she hated to admit it, the few days she had been in this habitat had been the best days she had for a long time. Mavka had been lonely for far too long—to be around a man who constantly spoke to her and other loud creatures without the pressure of hunting was a beautiful thing.

She hoped that he would not take her back, but then again he would not take her back until he managed to get the manacles off of her. There were two reasons that she did not want the manacles off just yet (despite a decade of wanting nothing more).

She did not want to give Newt a reason to take her back to the lonely snow forest and she also did not want to chance him finding out what she truly was. As long as he thought her just a normal wolf with a few oddities (maybe a hybrid magical creature) then Mavka was safe.

But, Newt was slowly proving to be one of the kindest individuals she had ever come across. To be fair, it was not like Mavka had much to base it on seeing as the only other magical men she'd come across killed her mother and burned her tribe to the ground.

Mavka did not think that Newt would do that, or at least, she hoped he wouldn't.

She listened boredly as he spouted off names.

"Darling, there needs to be at least one that—" Newt stopped his words as the wolf suddenly perked up, her tail wagging just the slightest.

What had he called her? Darling?

"Darling..." He tested only to receive an approving yip that had a bright smile lighting up his freckled face.

Mavka liked that. It was not a real name—only a pet name that would hold no attachments. There was no way that Newt was ever going to guess 'Mavka' as a name so this was the next best thing.

"Okay, I suppose I'll need to call you, Darling, then..." Newt said before a familiar black ball of fur ran by his feet, pocketing a shiny golden item that it certainly should not have. "Oh, absolutely not—Teddy, get back here!" Newt exclaimed before chasing after his mischievous pet Niffler.

Mavka watched him go before letting out a loud yawn and leaving the spot near the entrance of her suite. Rather, she walked to where a makeshift den made of rocks sat. It was made by magic but comfortable enough.

Funnily enough, Newt had even added a fur rug that served as a dog bed of sorts inside. Mavka, of course, used this to sleep on as it had been years since she slept on anything even remotely similar to a bed.

She had never been able to sleep as much as now. Usually, she was out hunting through the day and ensuring that predators stayed away from the territory near her old den. It was typically only foxes that she had to worry about stealing her den.

But now, she did not need to worry about anything.

Not when she was going to eat next, not about if a storm would be too big for her to safely hunt, and certainly not if she was going to be attacked.

Well, maybe not that last one—she could not take a chance with Newton as much as she was starting to trust him.

Newton returned to his previous spot a few minutes later, mumbling about Teddy being a pesky pilfering pest. This time he had a small notepad with him, a self-filling quill held tightly in his other hand.

He frowned upon seeing the wolf gone, looking around her sanctuary from the entrance to try and spot her. Unsurprisingly, he found her where she typically was: lying down in her little den.

Newt could not help but smile when he noticed her lying on the rug he'd placed there.

She truly was a sweetheart, an animal that was quickly growing on Newt. She had growled at him when he got close to her at first, the first few hours of her being in the sanctuary she watched him like a hawk.

It was chaotic when he first came into the case after spelling the wolf inside, and it was not easy to lead her to the sanctuary either seeing as she ran from him every time he got close. Eventually, he let her be, going to create her sanctuary before mimicking the cries of another wolf.

He had remained hidden as the wolf ran into the snowy habitat, him exiting the habitat and locking her in it just as she entered.

While she no longer growled at him when he approached the barrier of snow, he could only enter the habitat to place her food and water down—she still would not go near him. She would stay clear on the other side of the habitat while he placed her food down, only coming to eat when he was well outside of it once again.

Despite this, the progress he had made in three days was remarkable: often sitting near the barrier in an attempt to garnish more of her trust. Now she would only watch him through bored golden eyes.

Otherwise, she ignored him in favor of sleeping in her little den.

Newt huffed and clicked his tongue, attempting to draw the wolf back near the entrance and toward him. He noticed the way her eyes opened from where she had been resting in the den, the wolf standing up only to turn her back to him and collapse on her rug once more.

For a wolf that seemed so outwardly normal, she was so odd.

"Come here, Darling!" He tried and proceeded to make kissing noises with his lips as though calling over a dog.

It was worth a shot even though this wolf was no dog. She continued to ignore him, and based on the heavy rise and fall of her chest, Newt realized that she was actually asleep.

With that, his shoulders sagged in disappointment but he walked toward another habitat to check on the moon calves.

He was currently residing at a small Inn somewhere in Italy—the case resting in the small room he was renting for a few days.

His initial plan was to remain in Italy for a few weeks with the intent of studying ashwinders. For whatever reason: Italy tended to have higher volumes of magical arson which in turn caused the birth of ashwinders.

It was Newt's goal to study both the creatures and the volatile eggs that they laid.

Of course, he had not had a chance to explore such beings yet as his attention was currently elsewhere.

"Hello, Dora..." Newt cooed at a young mooncalf who immediately nuzzled herself against his legs.

Mooncalves were shy magical creatures that, in the wild, only came out of their burrow on the night of the full moon.

Therefore, Newt Scamander made their habitat reflect that of having a full moon at all times making it so the mooncalves were less shy and often running about.

He was quick to spread feed around the herd, giving loving attention to those who wandered up to him with big hopeful eyes.

It was not until a few hours later that Mavka opened her eyes and let out a loud yawn. Standing up, she was quick to stretch her body before hesitantly leaving her little den.

Newton was gone and he'd yet to leave her dinner.

Mavka walked circles through the snow finding herself bored. There were no other creatures in her habitat, no creatures that Newt deemed similar enough to a wolf that he would safely put in there with her.

Mavka had no shame in beginning to whine and rolling through the snow like an actual wolf, jumping around to burn energy and boredom. She jumped a bit too high and was suddenly rolling through the snow.

A moment later, she popped her head up and sneezed causing snow to fly out from her nose.

Her head snapped to the entrance upon hearing a chuckle, lips curled into a snarl as she saw Newt standing at the edge of the barrier. However, she noticed that he had managed to leave her food. Two large bowls: one with water and another with meat of some sort.

It annoyed her that she was so caught up in playing in the snow that she had not noticed Newt approaching, blocking out his sound and smell. It meant that she subconsciously trusted him enough that his sound and scent no longer startled her.

They remained staring at each other for minutes, a stare-off of sorts as Mavka stubbornly stayed in her spot and Newt patiently remained standing near the entrance.

Mavka refused to eat when Newt was near the entrance, always waiting for him to leave before she would go to the border of her habitat and fill her stomach. Unfortunately, this time it appeared that he was not going anywhere.

Mavka knew what he was doing, taking steps as to garner getting closer to her. However, she was stubborn and was perfectly fine with keeping her distance... but she was also hungry...

She whined, lying down in the snow as her stomach grumbled. Newt stood patiently knowing exactly what he was doing. He was not going to move from his spot, even when she inevitably came over to eat, he would remain standing without moving to show that he was a friend.

Mavka could not believe she was about to stoop so low, but she even tried flashing him soft 'puppy eyes' as a means to get him to go away. Newt's face softened for a second but hardened a moment later.

"Darling, come eat your food!" He whistled, pointedly ignoring her attempt at begging.

Mavka growled lowly, her soft facade disappearing as she turned her head away. She too could wait, but Newt knew she might be stubborn so he planned to stay here as long as it took to draw her out.

He'd already cared for his other creatures at the moment, he had a few hours before anything else had to be done to any of the other habitats.

A very slow thirty minutes had passed with Mavka beginning to whine more often as the time passed and her stomach growled. Newt remained strong: his face patiently neutral as he did nothing but stare at her.

He liked to consider himself a professional at caring for magical creatures, and this was simply one of those things where if he wanted results, then he had to be more patient than the animal standing against him.

Mavka suddenly got to her feet, pacing back and forth in her spot as her golden eyes continuously darted to her food bowl. Her sight went from Newt and her food.

Was this a set-up? A trick?

Was he luring her over so that he might strike?

Mavka had no clue of this, it very likely could be a trap. But he was just standing there—he had not moved at all. And he was still on the other side of the barrier: Mavka would just be closer than she had ever been to him if she went over.

Typically when he stood on the other side of the barrier, Mavka kept her distance from it—remaining near the middle of her habitat or the other side.

How far away would he be from her if she went over though? 15? 20 feet maybe?

It was close but still far enough that the second he tried to move any closer to her she would hear and then she'd be able to run. If she went over she could just eat and keep her ears solely on him.

As her stomach gave another noise of discomfort, her decision was made.

Slowly, very slowly, she inched her way over to the edge of her habitat, eyes unmoving and trained on Newt. His face remained blank other than the small twitch of his lips—it was working.

He did not move so much as a hair by the time she made it to the barrier, now on edge as this was the closest she had been to Newt since he'd taken her. His hands rested in his pockets casually, the man only tilting his head and quirking a brow at the odd wolf before him.

Mavka quickly began scarfing down her food, keeping her ears trained on Newt as she did so. He did not move. Not as she ate her food and not as she all but dunked her head in the water to slurp up as much of it as she could.

After all, she would not be coming back over here until Newt was gone.

As soon as she got her fill of water, Mavka was scrambling back to the middle of her habitat and ignoring the 'good girl' praise that cheerily fell from Newt's lips. Despite it all, even she had to admit that her faith in Newt skyrocketed when he made no such moves near her while she ate.

With Newt still watching her from his place, she no longer played—settling for staring back at him.

Newt himself decided to take a seat, pulling out his magical beast sketch pad and a quill. His lips began moving just as fast as his quill, the wizard beginning to speak with the wolf.

"So, Darling, most people don't tend to like me, they find me quite annoying. And I realized this during my fourth year at Hogwarts, in Care of Magical Creatures actually and my friend at the time—Leta, well she..." Newt was talking to her and Mavka listened to his story earnestly.

She had no clue if he knew she could understand him or not, but then again—all creatures with magic could understand people to a small degree. Not necessarily based on their words, but based on emotions and body language.

Mavka figured Newton was a lonely man; however. Of course, he had his creatures, but she noticed right away that there seemed to be a lack of people around him. There were certainly no people other than him in the sanctuary, and the stories that he told her all consisted of things that seemed to have happened a while ago.

She wondered if he was still friends with this girl 'Leta Lestrange' as he called her. Or his brother whom he appeared to have not spoken with nor seen for a while.

Mavka did not know, and she wished that she was able to ask him this. Alas, she simply lay down and listened to his story—allowing him to sketch her with his quill.