#deathclaw brian

[definitelynotadeathclaw13]

To Be Free

@inthisfire-ifindrain

Brian didn’t know much, but what little he did know, he knew.  He knew, for instance, that the only place he hated more than The Cage was The Table.  He knew he hated every one of these people that put him in The Cage and on The Table.  He knew he hated the guards.  He knew he hated The Doctor.  He knew he hated their “Enclave”, whatever that was.

He also knew he wasn’t alone.  He had never met the other little torture victim, but he had seen her once or twice when they transferred him from The Cage to a test room or The Table.  They were keeping her in some kind of big tube thingy.  He didn’t know who she was, what those white fluffy-looking things on her back were, or why she was in all that green stuff, but he knew she didn’t deserve to be there.  Whatever it was, it was just another Cage.  Nobody deserved to be in The Cage.

The guards had just opened The Cage to lead him back to The Table when it happened.  There was a loud BOOM that reverberated throughout the base, causing everyone to stumble and for the guards to raise their guns and look around in panic.  It was but a moment of laxity, the barest instant where they forgot that Brian existed in the face of this new unknown threat.

A moment was all Brian needed.  He grabbed the guard closest to him, lifting him off his feet (power armor and all) and using him as a club to clobber the other guard.  With them both thus concussed, it was child’s play for Brian to tear off their helmets before doing the same to their heads.  His claws freshly caked in blood, he quickly took off down the halls.

Free!  Finally, finally free!  He could finally get out of this place!  No more experiments!  No more Table!  No more pain!  But as he ran, he passed by the room with the girl in the tube, and he stopped to stare at her.  He was free, but she didn’t look like she was awake in all that green stuff.  She was still trapped.  Saving her would slow him down, possibly get him caught, but could he leave her like this?  Could he sacrifice her freedom for his?

No, he found.  No he couldn’t.  Brian quickly ran into the room and looked between the tube and the metal box in front of it.  Brian recognized the box.  What was it called again?  A “Cohm Pew Tahr”?  The Doctor loved the stupid things, but for once that was good; Brian knew that those weird metal boxes were somehow connected to all the other weird medal doohickeys around this place, so if he could figure out how it worked, he could probably free the girl!

He ran up to the Cohm Pew Tahr, staring at it for a moment before poking at the weird shapes in little squares attached to it.  The first time he did so, nothing happened.  The second time he did so, nothing happened.  The third time he did so, he accidentally put too much force into it and shoved his claw straight through the square and into the thing’s guts.  He howled more in surprise than in pain as a shock of electricity rain through the offending claw.  He let out a frustrated roar at the Cohm Pew Tahr, grabbing the stupid box on either side and forcibly wrenching it out of its proper place before smashing it as hard as he could against the tube.

That glass tube was built for many things, but the frustrated tantrum of an angry deathclaw was not one of them.  It shattered into a thousand tiny shards, all of which found their ways back to Brian as a veritable tidal wave of green goop carried them out of the tank.  His skin was tough enough that he was poked and prodded instead of stabbed and sliced, but it was still pretty damn uncomfortable, and he was knocked back a couple steps from the unexpected green tide.

With that excitement over and sirens still blaring obnoxiously in the background, Brian looked up quickly to check if the newly freed female was alright.

[definitelynotadeathclaw13]

New Arrival

@torntruth

The Mojave wasn’t exactly the most normal of places, what with its gangs worshipping pre-war pop stars and cooking-obsessed raiders and cazadors.  The outpost on the border was no exception; all sorts of people wandered in and out of the area as they travelled to and from New Vegas.  Today, however, even the long term veterans of the border had to stop and stare at the massive figure in brown robes that came lumbering up that evening.  

He was used to the staring.  He was used to the whispering and the glances and the pointing.  It was normal, he’d learned.  Normal people weren’t big like him.  Normal people were small, tiny, itty bitty things.  So when someone bigger than them came to town, it made them nervous, made them pause, made them wonder.  It made them even more nervous that he’d found a robe that was somehow too big even for him, completely covering his body from sight.  He knew that better now than he had when he’d first started his wandering.

It was still uncomfortable, though.  He made himself as small as his massive frame would allow as he quietly asked around for where he could get a drink, maybe some grub.  He was pointed towards the bar, and with a thanks, quickly made his way out of the spotlight.  He was glad the bar was out back.  Meant less people, less staring.

It did mean, however, that he needed to get through the door.  He ducked his head low, grimacing as much as his fangs would allow at how low he actually needed to go to keep his hood from getting caught by the frame.  When he finally squeezed through, he stepped slowly to the bar, taking utmost care not to accidentally break a part of the floor.  That was another thing he’d learned; if you break the floor, people get mad even if you didn’t mean to.

Once he’d arrived at the counter, he finally spoke, his words coming out in a deep and guttural growl.  “Hello.  Can I have...water please?”

[definitelynotadeathclaw13]

A Different Friend

@lotuskissed

Brian walked up the road under the starlit sky, the cold of the Mojave night not really bothering him due to his thick skin and massive robes.  The night sky was pretty, what with all the little dots up there with the great big shiny circle.  The ceilings in the base had never been as pretty or as interesting.  They also were a lot closer than the sky was.  Why, Brian had never bumped his head against the sky!  Not even once!

He was taken out of his admiration for celestial objects when he heard a loud BANG shatter the evening’s tranquility.  He was right near Goodsprings, he noticed; he’d been here before.  Nice town.  They’d been understanding of his size and not a single one of them ever tried to look under his hood.  Even their doctor was nice, and he was a doctor!  Brian hadn’t even thought that was possible before coming here the first time!

He noticed a trio of men walk down from the graveyard, one of them putting one of those “gun” things back into his shirt.  Brian felt his stomach lurch as he smelled the blood on the wind, and he hurried past the trio as they walked the other way down the road.  He just barely noticed they seemed to be in a hurry; they probably didn’t want to have any more delays from...whatever they were doing.

When he got up to the graveyard, he saw one of the graves was freshly dug, with blood splattered across the ground next to it.  Brian hurriedly dug the grave back up.  He didn’t know who was in here or why they’d been shot, but Brian didn’t like seeing people hurt if he didn’t know they’d deserved it.  If he could help this person, whoever they were, then that’s what he’d do.  He was a good boy, and good boys don’t leave people to die.

The victim was a girl, and a quick glance showed she was still alive.  Her breath was weak and getting weaker, and she was losing a lot of blood, but she was still very much not dead yet.  Brian picked her up, taking great care not to cut or crush her tiny, frail human body in his claws, and ran back to Goodsprings proper.  Quickly making his way to Mitchell’s house (he was too darn nice for Brian to call him the D word), the frazzled deathclaw gave the wooden door a quick headbutt.  “Mitchell!  Mitchell!  I need help!”  When the door opened, the good medical man didn’t even have time to say hello before Brian showed him the injured girl.  “She is hurt!  Please fix her!”

Mitchell was many things, and “professional” was thankfully one of them.  Now fully awake thanks to the sudden crisis on his hands, he directed Brian to put the new patient on one of the beds.  Brian gently did so before walking over and sitting down against the opposite wall, doing his best to stay out of the way as he watched the operation.  He couldn’t leave until he was sure she’d be alright.  Maybe it was weird that he was so frantic over a total stranger, but he couldn’t help it.  He just hated people getting hurt, and he couldn’t live with the thought of being able to do something to help and then just...not.

The operation seemed to last forever and five years.  The days after it ended without her waking seemed even longer.  But at last, roughly 4 days after the incident, he heard Mitchell say “You’re awake!  How about that?  Whoa, easy there, easy!  You’ve been out cold for a couple of days now.  Why don’t you just relax a second?  Get your bearings.  Let’s see what the damage is.”