During the events of Old World Blues, the Courier and Roxie go to Higgs Village and find… a tiny Deathclaw? 644 words.
Ashton had taken extra effort to go through every building in Big Mountain. It was unknown whether this was due to her disdain for the doctors of the Think Tank, who seemed to get worse with every new find, or simply because she had repeatedly lost all sense of direction and accidentally ended up in places that she hadn't meant to be.
Surprisingly, Higgs Village was not one of the worst places she had been to, despite being where all of them had lived.
"Oh dear," Ashton muttered, blinking. "Roxie, do you think this is what the world looked like before the bombs?"
Roxie barked, glancing up at her. Ashton frowned.
"I dunno. It seems nice-ish, though, doesn't it?" Roxie barked again. "Yeah, you're right. I can't imagine it at all."
In mostly silence, Ashton went through each building, Roxie trotting along behind her happily. It was odd to go through their houses, as it made it obvious that the doctors had been human at some point. It was odder still that despite having been human at some point, they still acted like monsters.
They encountered only minor (major, if she was being honest) inconvenience with a mini Deathclaw that had been waiting to strike the second she opened the back door to Dr. Borous' house. Roxie let out a confused, 'aroo?', beginning to approach it, as she had never seen a Deathclaw before- so Ashton picked her up and slammed the door shut. The Deathclaw clawed at the wooden door, and Ashton anxiously put Roxie down."Shh!" She whispered, and Roxie, curious, followed behind her as they went back to the front, slowly opening the door and being especially quiet as they began to approach the backyard.
The mini Deathclaw was still clawing at the door, growling. Ashton slowly raised her gun, shaky hands doing nothing good for her aim. Just as the shot would've been perfect, though, Roxie let out an excited ruff, apparently assuming that the Deathclaw was a friend. Ashton squealed, dropping her gun as the small Deathclaw lunged, small claws held high. Roxie barked again, tail wagging excitedly. The Deathclaw sniffed a bit in the air, claws still up, and Ashton reached out, grabbing Roxie again (stupidly, not her gun) to pull her to safety.
Instead, Roxie licked a big streak of a doggie-kiss on the mini Deathclaw's tiny face. The Deathclaw roared confusedly as Roxie did it again. It raised its claws higher, but Roxie playfully knocked it to the ground, nuzzling her snout against its belly. Confused, the Deathclaw lowered its claws again, simply accepting its role as Roxie's cuddle buddy.
Ashton, similarly bewildered by Roxie's behavior, released her hold on her, letting Roxie yip happily as she cuddled with the small Deathclaw.
"Um. Does this mean we're friends now?"
The Deathclaw roared, flashing its claws at her, but stopping between Roxie nuzzled against it again.
"Sorry, sorry. I get it. You and Roxie are friends. Not me and you. It's not like I wanted to be friends with you anyway." Ashton put her hands up defensively. "Well, that's not true. I did. But it's okay. Not everyone can get along, I guess."
A bit sadly, she left the duo alone, sulking off to where the Deathclaw had come from. It'd been hiding in a small house with the name 'GABE' written on top. Ashton frowned, reaching down to pick up the dog bowl just outside of it, similarly tagged with the same name.
The Deathclaw from before let out a growl, watching her intensely. "You're not Gabe, okay, so you can't get mad at me. I think I know someone who'd appreciate this more."
It growled again, but stopped abruptly when Ashton whistled, and Roxie sat up to follow. Quietly, it trotted behind Roxie
."So, we are friends?" Ashton asked, happy. It growled again. "Nevermind. Sorry."
