36. the qilin and the mirror

                                    

                                          

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they told him the animal was special. 
they were legendary creatures known mostly from spoken myths and incredibly rare to come by. they were supposed to be a magical crossbreed between dragons and horses, inhabiting deep woods of kweilin hills in china. 
aurelius had never traveled past america and europe, and even so, the journey was not thrilling. the two females whose names he didn't quite remember led the way, stomping over thick roots of jungle trees. one of them must have been vinda rosier, who was grindelwald's favourite female acquisition from france. the other's name might have came to his ears but he was not in much mood for remembering such things. 
again, he was on a mission. this one was supposed to be important. 
they stayed in the shadows, following traces of magic a wizard left behind. they were not the only ones searching for a new-born animal. just how special could it be? aurelius didn't know. to be honest, he wasn't even that curious. what mattered was to get the job done and go back to his corner where he could close his eyes again. 
wand in hand, he stopped. vinda and the other also stopped, listening closely. low huffs and groans of an animal came from not so far away. if he outstretched his neck, he would see a huge deer-like creature lying on the ground with a swollen belly and evident discomfort. it was said that qilins could live hundreds of years but only ever give birth once. tonight was first in over five hundred years. but it was not the animal that caught his attention.
it was the man who assisted the animal in birth. 
his auburn hair looked very sweaty and dirty, as if he crawled his way through the forest. only one kind of madman would do that willingly. 
as vinda rosier's hand rose, aurelius grabbed her by the wrist. with one look at her face, the woman grit her teeth and lowered the wand. maybe it was good to be feared sometimes. it did make him the boss of this entire journey and a judge of whose life to take and whose life to keep. newt scamander was not to die. 
not when aurelius still remembered who the man was.
soon, the qilin let out a final growl as something tiny and ugly plopped on the ground. the fluids splattered on the ground as a baby qilin emerged. it made a few confused noises and blinked blindly before its mother came to greet him. aurelius watched numbly as the new family took their first steps together, before he closed his eyes in an exhale.
"kill the mother," he ordered quietly. 
shots of green lights flashed across the darkness and collided with the animal's body. the qilin let out a loud groan before stumbling to the ground. newt scamander's reaction was incredibly fast. he waved his wand, casting a thick shield between himself and the ambush. as he grabbed the baby qilin, aurelius stepped ahead of his companions, turning the wand in his hand. he dragged it over the shield, cutting it open like a piece of cloth. sparks burst at the contact of two spells clashing, but it gave newt enough time to gather his things and run. 
wordless now, the three of them followed. spells kept enlightening the dark forest like an ominous sort of fireworks. vinda didn't spare killing curses flying around until she remembered that killing the qilin by accident would bring doom to all of them. they followed right behind, dodging the spells newt scamander sent their way. 
"he's too fast," the other woman huffed. "aurelius, why don't you help a little?!"
he glared at her, but pushed in front of the other two anyway. the two women instinctively took a step back as he craned his head up to the sky and closed his eyes. he called for the storm inside him, feeling it rip through his body like poison-infested blades. and just like that, he exploded in a burst of dark, charging mass. within a second, he was blocking newt's way. the fear on the man's face increased as he dodged, running sideways. the dark hands of smoke were pulling at his shoulders. he stumbled, ripping himself away and jumping.