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Thunder shook the earth and lightning struck so close in the skies, one could hear it sizzle. A family of thunderbirds were flying through the atmosphere. There were two, much larger, adult ones. Their bodies were the color of melted gold. Then there were two, much smaller birds. They were just old enough to fly. Their feathers had yet to change color and were still the dull gray shade of burnt ash. The family was always together, watching over each other. They never separated until their young was well old enough to live on their own.

The thunderbird closes his eyes slowly. He is fully grown. But his feathers don't have the beautiful and shimmering hue his parents had. His is more speckled and white rather than the rich gold most creatures like him had. He shifts around in his cage. It is much too small for a creature like him. It's only large enough for him to stand and expand his wings. He'd been captured some time ago when he was sleeping. Traffickers were keeping him for side shows as a way of making money.

He hates it here. They hurt him if he didn't do as they wanted him to; and they starve him. It has been a good 2 days with no food and almost 24 hours without water. His countless wounds are all infected, but hidden by his feathers. He fears people. All they ever do is hurt him or torment him. When it comes time to perform, they shine bright lights at him, making sure he was seen by everyone.

They pull on a chain around his foot were his skin is raw from it rubbing against him for months. He lets out- what the people call- majestic caw, that's really from pain. He slowly expands his wings for the crowd, his entire body trembles in fear. Children start to laugh and giggle, tearing handfuls of his precious feathers out, making him "caw" again.

After performing, they shove a bowl of muddied water into his cage and lock him away in the darkness of a train car, just as usual. He misses the sky and being free. He longs for rain and clouds. As his stomach aches for food, he lays in his cage, attempting to drift into a light sleep.

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Newt Scamander steps back, pushing his hair out of his eyes as he hexed the last of the traffickers and tries to catch his breath. There was a light sheen of sweat over his face due to how hasty he'd been, trying to find this said beast. He'd heard there was a thunderbird here, but had never seen one with his own eyes before. Newt walks over to the train car and holds Pickett up to the lock.

After retrieving the little bowtruckle, Newt pushes the heavy door open with a loud creak. It's much too dark to see anything. He sets his case down gently, then takes out his wand and whispers, "Lumos." Suddenly lighting up the entire area. The beast quickly caught his eye. The sight of the thunderbird shattered his heart. No creature should be treated the way this one was. He had very visible wounds that needed instant treatment, not to mention how thin he was.

Newt moves quickly, setting Pickett to work on the locks. The thunderbird lifts his head in confusion, squinting his golden eyes at the sudden light. Newt slowly steps in front of him, cooing to him sweetly. "Hello there. You're... very beautiful." He says with a sad smile, creeping closer.

The thunderbird jerks back, crawling away in pure terror, letting out a soft whine. It's probably a plead to be left alone. Newt stops, holding his hands out calmly. "No, no." He says softly. "I'm not going to hurt you... I promise." The creature shrinks back as far away as he could.

Newt takes his time, cooing to him sweetly, working his way closer to the sickly creature. "I'm going to take you away from here. You'll be healthy and happy again." He says with a small smile, tilting his head as he watches the thunderbird. "I believe I'll call you Frank."

Newt gives him fresh water and a few fish to eat, to which Frank ate quickly, not sure when he would eat again. Newt slowly reaches out to pet him and Frank jerks away again, watching the strange copper-haired man closely. "No petting... Well, note taken." He says to himself. Newt slowly sits and starts cleaning his wounds the best he could with Frank sinking away from him.

After a bit of Newt desperately trying to get close to him, Frank slowly lays his head down on the bottom of his cage, much like he was giving up trying to fight. Newt slowly pets his head slowly. "I'll fix you up. You will be free again, Frank. I swear it. How does Arizona sound to you?"