goldsteins | elnysa ic inbox

I saw it. [And from the look on her features she's less than pleased about it, but then she's less than pleased about a number of things here.] Unfortunately, there's not much we can seem to do about any of it unless the problem actually arises.

Yes, I agree. [ quietly. ] But it's our responsibility to be ready, should the problem arise, isn't it?

[ ready to detain someone who disdains muggles, who are, incidentally, the majority of refugees. he thinks of sansa, melancholic over her torn dress. of poe, offering the clothes on his back to others. of his flatmates, who may become targets if grindelwald's parting words signal a continued interest in one newt scamander. ]

I was thinking we ought to speak to the other wizards — or, at least, Mr. Lupin.

I don't think we could be fully ready, Newt. [Her answer is grim, the former lightness gone.

It's true it's their responsibility, in far too many ways, but neither of them compare to Gellert Grindelwald. She may have dueled him and managed, but she doesn't think she could manage it again. Just the same as she can't imagine the same circumstances of his capture being able to be repeated, not by them.] We've spoken about Grindelwald before. He's said he was defeated long ago in his time-- [A beat.] I would think he's well aware of his potential return.

[She draws a breath.] We're more powerless here than we were at home, Newt.

I know, Tina.

[ said as a commiseration. he feels helpless. and like a bit of his optimism has been stolen from him. ]

But we're a good team, if you recall. I have faith that we'll — we'll spend our chances as best as we can. Together.

[ in finding purposes here and protecting those around them, too. no point in worrying over it. action is what will soothe their troubles. ]

[She's not convinced. Far from a lack of trust in Newt-- He is the only one she trusts here, in any sense of the word, but she can't fully believe it's possible. Truly, she's too stubborn to give up but she's logical and serious by nature-- And none of this seems something they can so easily manage.]

Let's just hope that will be enough, then.

[ His wording had been very careful. They'll spend their chances wisely, even if they ultimately fail. Newt has experienced the deepest failures before, sacrifice and loss, and knows that there is the potential for it here. ]

It will be more, if we find common cause with Mr. Lupin and, ah, Sirius. [ he clarifies. ] Explicitly, I should say. To minimize risk.

[ All the muggles in his life now seem awfully fragile or, perhaps more dangerously, they're like the dragon queen, who might treat Grindelwald as she has Newt to differing results. ]

[She scowls at that, obviously uneasy with the suggestion. Sirius who she still thinks is unsafe, Remus who disconcerts her by knowing even something about her future.]

I don't know about that. [Her voice quiets and she shakes her head. For a moment her eyebrows knit together and she looks like she wants to say something, but thinks better on it.] Sorry-- I just don't think it's gonna get any easier any time soon.

[ His mouth thins, just as it did in the alley and in Jacob's flat, twisting downward. He disagrees with her, and it shows on his face, as all his emotions do.

This is the man who ran away when she wasn't looking, who would have pursued Credence on his own without a second thought. When he speaks, his tone remains even, firm. ]

Tina, I have to try.

[ to make it easier, to prepare, to do something — anything. with or without her support, unfortunately. ]

I'm not saying you shouldn't. [Her answer is swift. It's not like her natural instinct isn't to help people regardless of what trouble it gets her in. He should know that, limited though their time was together.

But she's also logical and serious. It took a full team of Aurors against Grindelwald and even that mightn't have been enough. She may have dueled him, but she's not crazy enough to say she could best him-- Or even Newt. They'd gotten lucky.] You know I'll help you when you need it.

[That part is earnest enough as she debates before adding:] But he's asleep for this minute and I'm sure you'll be wanting to get back to your new friend.

[...also known as he can hang up if he wants.]

[ Newt's case is in custody, his brother sleeps on the station, and all that remains of where they're from is himself, Tina, and the two other wizards. Grindelwald is asleep for the minute, but every following second is a gamble, isn't it? He won't allow a situation like New York to happen again (where he missed the signs of an Obscurus, preoccupied with his own messes), so inactivity and even pleasant diversions (like his new friend) can only warrant a fraction of his attention. They've had little to do since arriving in Olympia, at least by his standards.

Although Tina's words sound final to his ears, he sighs. ]

You must know that I think highly of you. [ more than highly, even if he holds back information and pieces of himself from her, even now. He knows she cares. ] After all, it's you and Jacob who — [ a stutter. Jacob is a loss which keenly aches in the pit of his chest, which might always ache. ] — who reminded me that you needn't always act alone. [ softer. ] So, I'm going to speak to Mr. Lupin. I'd like to trust him.

[ not only with Grindelwald but in a broader sense. Their shared home will bring them crashing together at one point or another. Why not sooner, on their own terms? ]

[He's scolding her and something in her bristles. It's Newt, of course, so it's not a true scolding-- but one nonetheless. She has half the mind to shut the feed off then. It's Newt, but that doesn't change the itch under her skin. The instinct that something isn't right among the other pair of wizards. And she trusts those instincts, it's those that led her in her job whatever may come of it.]

It's not necessarily him who is the problem. [Her answer is sharp. He'd been forthcoming in many respects about things, but there's still unease there-- No, it's the other one she remains wary of.

Tina shakes her head, lips forming a thin line as she continued:] You can say what you like, Newt, but we both know you'll run off on your own with or without me.

[After all, he'd done it before.]

[ Newt arches his eyebrows, completely taken aback by disbelief. He has no idea where she got the idea that he'd run off from, except — ]

Because I ran off when you were trying to arrest me? And then you actually arrested me?

[Is he really going to ask that?] I arrested you because you were breaking the law. [Pointed, simple.]

How about when you took a no-maj out on your adventure instead of waiting or saying just how many of your creatures were out when I might've helped you get all of them, eh? [She says it quickly, voice thicker when she adds in:] Don't forget the rooftop when you went off and handed me your creatures like you expected to run off and die without letting anyone help.

You're not the one who should be lecturing me on acting alone, Mr. Scamander.

[ His pitch rises as he grows more upset, and his words come faster than before. ]

You were trying to arrest me then, too! And you worked for MACUSA, which exterminates creatures like the ones in my case and — and Jacob is not just a no-maj. [ He cards a hand through his hair. ] He understood. [ that the creatures mattered; that Newt only wanted to help. When she mentions him handover over the case, he stops and sucks in a sharp breath, like she managed to land the killing blow. ] Once you showed me that you understood, too, I trusted you with my creatures. [ his voice cracks. ] On that roof, I trusted you.

[ and her holding up that moment as one of abandonment or foolishness or distrust — whatever she means to communicate — wounds him more than anything else. Does she feel that he intended to burden her or, worse, that he's untrustworthy, even now? ]

Edited 2017-08-07 17:52 (UTC)

You didn't give me a chance. You were lying from the moment I met you. [She's not wrong there, at least. The Pygmy Puffs, him not turning in a wand permit form. Only saying that one creature was loose. She followed the laws, but it didn't mean she wouldn't have helped. She'd had genuine concern for Jacob and eventually Newt. Especially, Newt.]

You think that's what the problem is? [Her question is sharper, voice thicker than before and the usual lack of hesitation wavers with the sudden wash of emotion.] You ran off thinking you were gonna die and expected me to sit back and hold your case for you while you did.

You wanna talk about teamwork, but you didn't stop and think that maybe I woulda helped even if it wasn't Credence-- [And her voice shakes there, truly, because there's still more she thinks she should have done for Credence. He wasn't a simple Obscurial to her like he was to Newt. He was truly human in her mind, first and foremost, and the boy she lost her job for-- More then, she should have-- could have-- lost her life protecting him by her laws.

And Newt thinks this is about trust and that she won't do what needs doing, she closes her eyes exhaling before speaking:] You weren't the only one who cared about what happened, Newt. And no matter what you think I care about your creatures, but it's you who I cared for more.

[Give.

Her a moment to realize what she said there, but she's trying to drive a point home: He expected her to just sit back and let him run off alone to die.]

Edited 2017-08-07 18:09 (UTC)

[ He wants to say I didn't think I would die, which is true. He thought it would be rough and close, but that he would make it back to her, if worse for wear, and didn't want his creatures in the cross-fire. He wants to counter with I cared for Credence, too, though he didn't know the boy as well as Tina. He wants to mention all the ways he's been hurt before, leaving him unable to trust her easily. So, he listens and waits until she's finished.

But he cares for Tina more than he wants any of that. ]

Tina, I don't want to go off on my own, I don't want to do something foolish and leave you — I want to be with you. Now. Here. [ wow. that sounds more intimate than he intended. ] Can we go back a bit? Please?

[ to before they were yelling and tensing and feeling too much. ]

[ Tina sucks in a breath all but glaring at the screen. Her heart racing in her chest its betrayal; She doesn't want to care as much as she does about his wellbeing, but she does. And he doesn't seem to get that. This would all be better if she never bothered with this device to begin with.

She doesn't linger on any implication in his words just as she hadn't her own before answering more sharply than she intends to: ]

What is it then?

[ He looks at her, winded and wounded, for a long moment, as he searches for the words to explain his feelings. ]

I'm sorry. For not trusting you then. For running. [ a minute for that to sink in. ] At the start of this conversation, I only hoped to tell you what I was thinking and what I wanted to do — to avoid leaving you out of things, if you can believe that. [ unlike when he did run and assumed she was like most Americans, particularly those working for MACUSA. ] But I'm not good at this.

[ One might think he means arguing or explaining himself but he means people, full-stop. ]

It's not like you aren't the only one.

[Her response it's pointed. It's clear to anyone which of the Goldstein sisters is the more people friendly one.] I trust you, Newt. You're the only one I do around here-- [It's true and earnest.] But I don't think just trusting anyone we meet will do us any good. Just look at Mr. Graves.

[That is, Percival Graves had been her boss-- had a hand in training her at one point-- and who they thought was the second in command of MACUSA was someone else entirely. Truth be told, she didn't trust so easily before, she doesn't trust more easily now. Especially with some of the reactions she's seen.]

[ Newt has his suspicions about Mr. Lupin, ones that amplify his desire to connect. Those scars...but it's not his place to voice such thoughts, not about something so personal. ]

I've trusted people who — perhaps I shouldn't have trusted. [ the wording's jumbled and ends up being more noncommittal than he intended. Oh, Leta. ] But I trust you, too, Tina. You're the only one.

[ and that's enough for now, though he intends to broach the topic again eventually. ]

[She sighs in response.] You know I'll help you.

[She said it once before, earlier, but it seems prudent to say now. As long as he wasn't breaking any laws for foolish reasons she would always help. Her shoulders sag with the words and she gives a small shake of her head all the same.]

Thank you.

[ He sighs, too, tension seeping from his shoulders. This experience is taking its toll on them, isn't it? ]

I'm lucky to have met you.

[She flusters too easily at these particular kind of words, but she's far from used to them. Queenie is the only one who'd say such a thing, and even they needn't-- They knew they loved each other, they had no reason to defend it all the time.

It's unexpected, as is most of his trust and kindness to her.]

Now what's got you saying something like that, eh?

[ He might say because we're good together or because you push me to be better, if he could find the words to do so. Instead, he only smiles privately, looking down.

Finally: ]

You, of course.

[ what else is he supposed to say, porpentina goldstein!! this has been an emotional roller coaster!! ]

[Why are you like this!!!

She can't keep her features plain like this and she wonders why anyone would want to use video to talk-- It's as nervewracking as in person. Biting down on her lower lip, she tucked her hair behind her ear before answering:]

I certainly don't know about all of that.

[Given she just yelled at him and all.]

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