I wrote this drabble when I was feeling sad this week. Someone on tumblr sent me the prompt of 'adopt a baby deathclaw', so I thought I'd give it a go. My followers seemed to like it, so I thought...why not post it here and see what you guys all think?
Just a light-hearted bit of fun, with no real connection to the main plot of By No Constraint.
I hope you enjoy!
Spuds
"Quinn."
"What?"
"Quinn."
"What?"
"Put the deathclaw down."
Quinn stared at the paladin while the small, leathery creature squirmed in her arms, a weak growl gargling in its throat. Grinning at Danse, she tickled the lizard-like monstrosity under its chin, and then yelped when it bit her finger. Danse stepped forward, gun raised, eyes wide with alarm, but stopped when Quinn waved him away.
"It's fine. You're just a lil' bit excited, aren't you, boy? Aren't you?" She scratched the top of the deathclaw hatchling's head, keeping her hand out of biting range this time.
"Have you gone crazy?" Danse asked incredulously.
"Probably."
To be fair to the paladin, this was bat-shit insane, even by her standards. But in Quinn's defence, she hadn't intended on adopting a tiny reptilian nightmare when she had woke up that morning either. Yet here she was, making cooing noises at the mutated horror cradled in her arms.
It continued to wriggle in her grip, snapping its surprisingly powerful jaws at her fingers, glittering black eyes watching her every movement. Strange, that such a young animal could hold a keen awareness of its surroundings. Then again, it was destined to be an apex predator.
The body of its mother lay a few feet away, a fresh pool of blood spreading out around its massive, scaly form. Quinn shivered – that fight had been a close one; the aches in her body confirmed the ferocity of the predatory mother. And when the gunfire had settled, and the urge to piss her pants in fear had gone away, the harrowing cries from the depths of a pile of leaves had drawn Quinn in.
She'd nearly lost her hand clearing away the covers of the nest, the little hatchling inside taking a frantic swipe as its first glimpse of sunlight had burned down upon it. Croaking and mewling, it had pulled itself clumsily out of its home and dragged itself in the direction of its mother, sniffing the floor. Its claws, a symbol of terror all across the wasteland, were soft and malleable, bending as they pressed against the hard, dusty earth. So Quinn had done what any sensible individual would do.
She had picked the deathclaw up.
"Put. It. Down," Danse hissed, eyeing it with great unease. "It's already bitten you once, soldier. The risk of a repeat incident increases with every passing-"
The deathclaw nipped her again. Quinn swore, almost dropping it. When she looked up, Danse was wearing the most infuriating 'I told you so' look that had ever graced the human race. Glaring at him, Quinn clung tighter to the new object of her affections. It rewarded her by nibbling on her ear, gently.
Danse frowned at this. So did Quinn. Had she really expected the deathclaw to not try to eat her? It made a small rumbling noise from the back of its throat and butted its head against the side of hers. The small horns on its forehead dug uncomfortably into her cheek, but Quinn held on anyway, shooting Danse a shit-eating grin.
"We're keeping him." It was a statement, not a request, and Danse knew it.
He opened and closed his mouth several times, searching for the words as his colour slowly worked its way through various shades of red. Then Danse slumped his shoulders and sighed. "Fine. If you want to do something as stupid as this, on your own head be it."
"What are we going to call him?"
"What?"
"What are we going to call him?" Quinn repeated impatiently. "If he's gonna be my pet, he's got to have a name."
Danse shook his head in disbelief, but then paused, his brow furrowing. "What about Valiance? Or-"
"Spuds."
"You are not naming the deathclaw Spuds."
"I thought you wanted to get rid of him?" Quinn said sweetly, rocking Spuds from side to side as she batted her eyelashes.
"I don't! I just – but – it doesn't..." Danse spluttered, turning scarlet as his voice awkwardly trailed away.
He glanced from Quinn, to the deathclaw, and back to her again, and in that moment Quinn knew she had won. Danse turned on his heel and stomped away, muttering to himself.
"Welcome to the family, Spuds," she said, just loud enough for Danse to hear her.
Spuds bit her on the nose.