As someone who can pick up a Diricawl just by going out for a stroll, Newt's biggest trait is that he's never short on unexpected surprises.
Since tomorrow is the first day of school, Kael had planned to head back after dinner.
But he'd barely taken a bite of the freshly baked caramel potato cake when Newt came barreling over, grabbed Kael by the collar, and hauled him into the case.
"Wha—what's wrong?" Kael followed Newt, looking thoroughly bewildered as he stuffed the remaining half of the caramel potato cake into his mouth.
"The Nundu is about to give birth—tonight," Newt said without even turning his head, seizing Kael by the arm. "We've got to hurry."
"Huh?" Kael's mouth twitched.
The Nundu is a fantastic beast that looks like an American puma, all black, with a massive poison sac at its neck, which means even its breath is laced with deadly venom.
Though it can keep the poison contained intentionally, that's not always the case.
Kael doubted it'd have the strength or presence of mind to worry about accidentally poisoning others while it's giving birth.
No, actually, a Nundu in labor is probably the most dangerous kind.
Labor saps a lot of energy, so to get through this vulnerable period safely—and keep other creatures away—they instinctively flood the area with a huge amount of toxic gas.
Heading over now is basically suicide.
"Can I not go?"
Kael tried to refuse.
"I'm not scared, it's mainly that caramel potato cakes don't taste good once they're cold..."
"It's fine, Tina can make more."
"But that's so much trouble..."
"Tina loves making them... She bakes a ton every day. Sometimes, the Nifflers have to help finish them off."
"But..."
Kael wanted to say more, but Newt suddenly slapped his forehead, then pulled out something about the size of a Golden Snitch.
"Dumbledore helped me make this. There's a stone from a Re'em's stomach inside—if you wear it, those toxic fumes won't affect you."
"..."
Why didn't you take out this kind of good stuff earlier?
If he'd known about this before, there would have been no need to wait until now.
Kael took it at once.
It was a small ball woven from silver threads, with a fine mesh wrapping a golden-yellow "stone."
Kael picked it up—he could faintly smell an earthy, fresh fragrance...
He nodded to himself.
Yep, this is legit bezoar.
It's the same type of thing as a dung stone from a goat's stomach—both are super effective antidotes.
It was just a brighter color; normal bezoars are brownish, but this one was golden as a Galleon.
Kael grabbed a leaf nearby, morphed it into a string, and threaded the ball to hang around his neck.
Just to be safe, he even made the string really short.
After all that...
"Ready, Kael? We've got to move quickly."
…
Newt grabbed Kael's arm and Apparated them to the eastern meadow in the case.
The very second they arrived, Kael sensed something was off.
Just like a foggy London morning, there was a visible haze of pale green mist hanging over the meadow.
But on the edge of the meadow, it seemed like there was some kind of invisible wall keeping the poisonous gases from escaping farther.
That was probably Newt's doing.
"Is just wearing this really enough?" Kael couldn't help asking, eyeing the poisonous fog ahead.
After all, people usually have to hold a bezoar in their mouth for it to work as an antidote.
"Yeah, just wearing it is fine."
Newt nodded. "Re'em can resist almost any toxin—their bezoar naturally counteracts Nundu poison. Oh, and here's this too."
Newt flicked his wand, and a transparent bubble appeared over Kael's head.
He conjured one for himself as well.
"All right, let's go in."
Newt strode straight into the toxic mist.
Kael hesitated for a moment, then looked back at Fawkes, who'd followed them in.
"Fawkes, try to think of something sad—make yourself cry a bit. I might need some tears soon.
Doesn't need to be much, just a pint will do."
Always best to be prepared—Phoenix's Tears can cure even Basilisk venom, so Nundu poison shouldn't be a problem.
At Kael's words, Fawkes couldn't help whacking him with a wing.
He's a Phoenix, not a tap.
A whole pint of tears—seriously? What, you planning to chug it?
Even if you really wanted to drink it, is that not kind of overkill?
Peeved, Fawkes grabbed Kael by his robes and marched him straight into the mist-filled meadow.
The Bubble-Head Charm plus the bezoar necklace worked perfectly—the nearby toxic vapors all parted automatically around him.
They hadn't gone far before the two of them and the Phoenix found the Nundu atop a giant rock.
She was lying on her side, belly swollen, letting out soft, pained groans every now and then.
Newt stepped forward, gently placing his hand under her chin and rhythmically massaging back and forth.
"Doing this helps her relax a lot," Newt explained.
Kael watched his movements, puzzled. "But if you're that close, won't the smell of the bezoar bother her?"
"A little, but it's not too bad."
Newt glanced down. "It's sort of like someone who doesn't like vegetables catching a whiff of carrots."
Kael nodded, getting Newt's point.
It isn't pleasant... but it's still bearable.
Kael sat nearby watching Newt rubbing the Nundu's chin.
Under his practiced hand, the Nundu's breathing gradually steadied, and she stopped making those anguished sounds.
But, just as they'd said, this was bound to be a long process.
Kael originally thought Newt was bringing him along just to let him experience something interesting.
But after two hours—when even Newt's technique stopped working—Kael realized he'd been brought in as a conversation partner.
Yep, literally: his job was to chat with the Nundu to distract her.
It was just that from her tone, it was obvious she didn't want to talk, and at one point, she actually tried to bite Kael for being too chatty—luckily Newt calmed her down in time.
"Don't stop, keep talking!" Newt urged.
With no other choice, Kael braced himself and continued chattering away to himself.
Problem was, Kael had already run out of comforting words—he'd been repeating the same things over and over, and if he kept going, the Nundu really might bite him.
And not even Newt would be able to stop her.
No choice, Kael could only switch the conversation to talking about all the Fantastic Beasts he'd seen.
From Fluffy the Three-Headed Dog to Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback, and mixing in stories from Hogwarts, he started narrating it all like a storyteller.