goldsteins | for melanie

It would be far easier to simply apparate, but the woman doesn't trust her knowledge of the surrounding areas yet to do so. Besides with so little to fill her days with she might as well accept the travel from the city to the Nook. At least it was peaceful-- Something she very much needed these days. For as much as Newt would say she has a good head on her shoulders, she feels anything but such these days.

She's returned to her habit of forgetting to eat-- she always had before when she was too busy or stressed. And without Queenie there to scold her and shove a plate of food under her nose she wasn't doing very well in that department. She's only driven to eat when her stomach growls in protest, an act of rebellion it had started minutes prior.

Tina had been quick to dismiss herself from Newt's presence, it was drawing late in the day and she couldn't impose any longer (at least that''s the excuse she gave).

She'd known that others lived in the Nook with him. The strange other wizard, James Potter, and to her understanding a young girl Newt had taken in. Despite that the few times she'd been there had been scarce of any other occupants. So when she leaves today she doesn't expect to stumble across the young girl coming out of the forest.

Tina had known the girl to be young, but it's rather different in person. For as tense as she's been she softens, if only slightly, with the smallest of smiles. "Ah," She managed, "hello there."

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Melanie is on her way back to the Nook from visiting Sara for more lessons. A lot of it has been review, at least so far. Sara's trying to figure out what Melanie still needs to study, and the only way to do that is for Melanie to tell her what she's already learned, which is a lot. But the reviewing has been nice, Melanie thinks. It helps get her into the mindset for proper lessons, which she hasn't really had since she arrived.

She's going over the periodic table in her head, but that isn't enough of a distraction to stop her hearing someone else clumping through the woods. Melanie slows a little, moving more cautiously. She's no longer as nervous about running into strangers -- and she can tell by the scent that it isn't anyone she's met before -- but she hasn't entirely convinced herself that strangers won't be nervous about running into her.

Except when Melanie steps out from around a tree, and actually sees the woman, she can tell by the look on her face that she isn't even that surprised. She looks at Melanie as if she already knows who she is. And the list of people who might know that, and be coming from the Nook, isn't very long.

"Hello, miss," she responds politely, venturing a little smile in return. "Are you Tina?"

As an Auror Tina's seen plenty of danger and horrors. As a person she had a tendency to throw rulebooks out the window when it came to helping people. That same tendency was the very reason she'd lost her job in the first place-- troublesome though it was it's not something she regrets. Not when she's seen first-hand children being taken advantage of and abused by the whims of adults. It's much more difficult to stomach than anything else about her job.

That's why when Newt had told her about taking in Melanie, and whatever little else, she hadn't balked or been at all surprised. This was the man who thought creatures that could kill need to be protected, helping a child wasn't so foreign. It was something she would do quicker than a heartbeat herself. She didn't ask too many questions, but she'd taken his word for it all the same.

And if Newt was looking out for the girl before her there's an automatic trust that lends her to do the same.

"That's right," She responded quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear-- but she doesn't step closer, "and you would be Melanie." It's not a question, but it's not a harsh statement either.

"It's very nice to finally get to meet you."

"Yes, miss," Melanie says, brightening. "It's very nice to meet you as well." She's glad she learned good manners in the bunker, even if it still feels a little strange to be exchanging pleasantries while standing freely on her own two feet and not strapped to a chair for safety.

There are a lot of things she doesn't know about being a normal girl, but at least she knows how to be polite.

"Newt talks about you a lot," she offers. "I think he's missed you." Which makes perfect sense to Melanie. She misses Miss Justineau, and she knows if her old teacher came to Darrow, she'd want to tell everyone she knew about her.

"Does he?" Tina addresses mildly, brows pulling together as she tries not to think too much on the thought. She's still very much of the mind that she's not the kind of person to have such an impact on someone's life. Especially not in a week and with an eccentric Magizoologist.

She shakes it off, shifting back to glance toward the direction of the Nook. "He should still be inside," She offers quickly, "I'm sure you were on your way back." The sentiment of her not further intruding goes unsaid.

Melanie nods. There's no reason to lie about it -- at least, not as far as she's considered. Tina seems a little confused by it, though. Maybe it's because Newt has been here for so long. But if Melanie was here for a year, she's pretty sure she would still miss Miss Justineau, and be happy to see her, and want to tell her friends if she'd arrived.

"I was having lessons with Sara, because it's not safe for me to go to school," Melanie explains. She follows Tina's glance toward the Nook, hearing the dismissal, but not entirely understanding it. "Are you leaving?" she asks, looking dismayed in spite of herself. It's rude to keep Tina if she wants to leave, but it's hard not to be disappointed that she's leaving just as Melanie's finally met her.

"I see," Tina murmurs in response, brows furrowing somewhat. She doesn't know who this Sara is, but it's to be expected given her relative newness to Darrow. The woman can only expect that Newt knows and approves of the encounter, but doesn't linger on it-- Not when the girl gives her that sound and she looks up apologetically.

"I was," She says shifting her gaze back to the girl with a nod, ignoring the way she can feel the heat growing in her cheeks, "Newt had some things he needed to do and I was getting in the way." Or more like something embarrassing happened and it's better to leave now rather than to stay and continue to flounder. But that's not something she's going to tell a ten-year-old.

That doesn't sound right. Newt can be busy, that's true, but he's almost never too busy for Melanie. Even when she thinks he probably is, he'll tell her that he isn't, and then he'll show her what he's doing, if she likes. And Melanie's just a hungry child, not someone from Newt's home, not a friend that he's been missing.

"I don't think you could be in Newt's way," she says frankly. "You're his friend, and he likes you. I think if you asked him if you were in the way, he'd say that you weren't. That's what he tells me whenever I get worried that I'm bothering him."

Tina raises a brow at the girl's frankness. It's amusing in a way, given she was nearly always as frank herself. The only thing stopping her now was not explaining more adult situations to a young girl, especially one that Newt was looking after.

"It's a little bit different," She counters evenly, shaking her head, "I'd agree he would usually say as much, but I have been here most of the day. You live here. Eventually, non-residents should leave."

"I suppose," Melanie allows, though she doesn't look entirely convinced. Part of her wants to suggest that Tina just move into the Nook as well. It would make sense for all the magical people from the same world to live together, and if Newt and James will accept her, she doesn't doubt they'd welcome Tina, too.

But that's not her place to say. The Nook really belongs to James, so if anyone invites Tina to stay, it should probably be him.

"Maybe, next time you visit, I could be there, too," she suggests instead, looking both intensely shy and hopeful. Maybe Tina visited while she was away on purpose. Melanie couldn't really blame her for that. But it still saddens her to think that a friend of Newt's might be avoiding her on purpose.

Tina wouldn't be the Auror she was if she couldn't tell Melanie was unconvinced, but nonetheless, she didn't feel the need to explain herself further. It was private affairs and not something she wanted to touch on, much less to the child Newt was fostering. So her features remained as impassable as ever until Melanie says that.

"I'd quite like that," She responds easily, softening. Though, of course, it would be some time before she visited again-- far from what the girl was worried over. "I'm sure Newt's currently back to attending to his creatures right now, but if you would like...?"

She doubts that whatever awkwardness or uncertainties may lie between them now, Newt wouldn't begrudge her speaking to Melanie in his home.

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