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There was something odd about the courier's dog.
He was a strange sight by himself, no behavioral input was needed to reinforce this. He had three mechanical legs and a transparent case that held his brain. He was a completely normal dog… all things considered.
What was otherwise abnormal was the faded Bull painted on his side and his excitement when he saw anyone wearing Legion red. To Vulpes, it wasn't hard to come to the conclusion that he used to belong to the Legion. It was strange that Rex was so loyal to the courier if he had Legion blood coursing through his veins, but that could be explained away by the new brain that had been implanted into his head. Perhaps his old memories of the Legion hadn't yet resurfaced.
Vulpes stared at the dog, and it stared at him. Rex was watching over the courier's sleeping form, sitting as close to them as possible without waking them up. The courier was sleeping in a vacant bedroll in a tent near the arena, making it easy for Vulpes to monitor them in case they decided to act against Caesar in some fit of foolishness. Vulpes watched them from the entrance to Caesar's tent, curious.
He wanted to test how much Legion was still in the mutt's blood.
Bringing his thumb and pointer finger to his mouth, Vulpes whistled a specific call taught to all Legion dogs. A simple three-note whistle, high-low-high , had Rex trotting over to him. He stopped right at Vulpes' feet, his metal legs creaking slightly as he sat down and waited for his orders. Vulpes stared down at him curiously, noting his wagging tail and wet nose.
"Hm, I suppose you're not entirely useless," Vulpes said to the dog. "The Legion still has a hold on your mind. Antony will have to take a look at you before we hand you over to Caesar. You may be a bit beyond saving," Vulpes said as Rex's head turned away from him and looked to the courier's tent. Rex was loyal, that was certain. To be loyal to the right cause and the right people, certain adjustments had to be made.
Vulpes snapped his fingers once, and Rex's attention was back on him. "Good," Vulpes said. "Up." Rex stood. "Speak." Rex barked. "Speak softly." A little huff left his mouth, barely loud enough to be called a bark. He still remembered how to listen to a legionary, which was good. That, or the courier was well versed in training cybernetic dogs. "Well done, Rex." Vulpes bent down slightly and scratched Rex behind his ears, combing his fingers through his soft fur until he was scratching behind his brain casing and down his neck.
Rex's tail wagged so hard it was hitting the ground and making loud thumping noises as it made contact with the earth. One of his legs was slowly starting to lift up and down behind him, hitting the ground along with his tail. His mouth opened and his tongue stuck out, panting happily at the attention he was getting.
Vulpes felt himself smile slightly at Rex's happy display. Legion or not, he was still a dog, and Vulpes thought of the Old World saying and chuckled to himself at the truth of it.
Dogs are a man's best friend.
Rex's happy wagging stopped immediately as soon as he turned his head and saw the courier shift in their sleep. He was on high alert, his tail stiff, his body tensed and his hackles raised. His attention was no longer on Vulpes, but fully on the courier. He lifted his paws, ready to walk back over to the courier, but Vulpes snapped his fingers and slapped his thigh- an order for Rex to remain by his side.
He sat back down, but he was still on edge. Vulpes kneeled down and ruffled Rex's back until his tail started to wag again, his attention on the courier forgotten for the time being. "Good mutt," Vulpes said quietly. He stiffened as Rex sat up, ready to call him back to his side again, but was struck dumbfounded when Rex walked into his chest gently and knocked him down onto his backside, promptly sitting in his lap.
Vulpes' mouth was slightly agape with shock. Whoever his previous master was, be it the courier or someone before them, spoiled Rex with affection so much that he would happily push someone over to sit with them, or on them in Vulpes' case. He was very pleased that it was the middle of the night or Caesar's legionaries would find him snuggling with a cybernetic, mutant mutt that was wagging his tail so hard that he was creating a small dust storm behind him.
The Fort remained still and silent, no legionary to be seen, so Vulpes stayed on the ground and scratched Rex behind his ears.
His eyes drifted back to the faded paint on the mutt's side. Paint wasn't a common thing to come across in the wasteland, and whenever Vulpes or one of the legionaries under his command found a tube of the pre-world junk it was hard as a rock and irradiated.
He knew he was supposed to stop his men from immature, childish, profligate actions, but after a long day, he rewarded his men by turning a blind eye to their antics.
The screams of irritated rangers that rang out in Nelson and Camp Searchlight after they were pelted with hard rolls of paint and other wasteland junk were music to his ears.
Soft paint they kept, and had the slaves paint Legion symbols in the areas they conquered to show the Mojave their power. It was rare, but on occasion, they would find full cans of spray paint and paint the Bull on any surface they could.
Including Rex, as it would seem.
Vulpes moved his hand away from Rex's ears and dragged it down his side, lightly slapping the Bull and frowning at its faded appearance. "If the courier proves to be loyal," he said to Rex, "then we can adorn you in red once again. Only loyal mongrels have the honor to wear the colors of the Legion, former mongrels included. You- oof! "
Without any warning or prior indication of wanting to move, Rex launched himself off of Vulpes' lap and lowered himself into an attack position at his side. Stomach and hip bones now sore, Vulpes stood up and glowered at Rex, who was staring at the empty tents to the right of the fighting arena. The tents were filled with sleeping legionaries, completely still and silent.
"You untrained mutt, " Vulpes hissed angrily, gently touching his hip and wincing when pain blossomed in his pelvis. He reared his leg back and kicked Rex's right leg, huffing when the hard metal hurt his foot more than it punished Rex. The dog was unmoved, still staring at the tents like he saw a deathclaw that was ready to strike. "There's nothing there, stupid canine!" He moved to kick him again, but his attention was pulled away from the audacious dog and to the tents where he was looking.
It was a bird. A simple black bird, perhaps a crow or raven, is what enraptured Rex so much that he used Vulpes' lap as a vaulting ramp to get closer to it. Vulpes tsked and put his head in his hands wearily. "You may be beyond salvaging," he told Rex. He bumped Rex again lightly, no malice in the action, and snapped his fingers to summon him to his side.
Rex looked back at him, huffed, and grumpily trotted back to Vulpes, keeping all of his attention on the bird. He remained standing, still ready to attack.
Perhaps to obey without question, he needed to let out some steam. Humoring Rex's instincts would act as a reward for his loyalty to the Legion, and it would set him on the path of wanting to obey anyone wearing red.
"Rex," Vulpes said, "come." He tapped his leg and started to the lower training grounds where the mysterious bunker lay in wait for the courier to explore. He pushed his thoughts of the future away, focusing only on the soft sound of Rex's paws trailing behind him. He and Rex made their way down the hill and stopped in the middle of the training clearing, Rex's tail wagging eagerly as Vulpes turned to him and scratched him behind his brain casing.
"Before I send you to Antony tomorrow after you assist the courier, I will reward you. Stay," he said. Rex sat down, waiting for whatever Vulpes was going to give him. Vulpes walked to a small footlocker and opened the rusty lid, shuffling its contents around to look for something specific. "Ah," he said triumphantly as he found what he was looking for.
Standing up from where he was crouched on his haunches, Vulpes grasped what was in his hand tightly and stopped right in front of Rex. He opened his hand, showing Rex what was hidden by his fingers.
Rex's tail started to wag quicker than he had ever seen it.
In Vulpes' hand was a pre-war ball, faded neon yellow in color with peeling white stripes curving along the surface. He'd seen enough pre-war propaganda to connect dogs with the small yellow sphere, even though he didn't fully know its original purpose. Years and years ago, before he rose in the ranks of the Legion, he remembered the Malpais Legate telling himself and several other young legionaries what some of the pre-war objects they found were, the ball among them.
Tennis. It was a strange word that held no meaning to Vulpes.
"Up!" Rex eagerly got to his feet, his front arms bent and ready to run. "Go!" Vulpes threw the tennis ball as far as he could, the small object landing where Antony would normally stand in the daytime when he wasn't training the dogs. Rex took off like a bullet, tail wagging behind him as he bounded up the small hill he and Vulpes walked down. Vulpes watched, amused, as Rex pounced and landed paw-first on the tennis ball, sending it flying further into the upper part of the Fort.
Vulpes smiled when he saw Rex flying back down the hill, the ball in his mouth and tail wagging excitedly. He skidded to a stop in front of him, the ball falling out of his mouth and onto the dusty ground below him. Vulpes bent down and grabbed the ball, cringing at the warm drool on its surface. He threw it again and watched with the same amusement as before as Rex ran up the hill with even more ferocity.
It was clear to him that Rex was enjoying the attention and action. He continued to throw the ball up the hill while Rex slowly ran out of steam. It was a needed moment of peace from his chaotic day-to-day life. From bending over backward to find a suitable doctor for Caesar to gathering information on the other factions in the Mojave through his own ears and lips or from others, Vulpes was worn thin and exhausted.
This simplicity was… nice.
He was smiling, he realized. His cheeks and jaw were sore from the use of unfamiliar muscles. Rex came back to him, the ball rolling on the floor, and Vulpes paused to stoop down and get it. He wondered how he looked to outsiders, a feared Frumentarius in his full set of armor, smiling and playing what could possibly be something called "tennis" with a cybernetic dog. Rex huffed in front of him, urging him to pick up the ball and throw it again.
"This is the last time," he said to the dog. Vulpes palmed his shoulder and rolled it around in circles, hoping to loosen the muscles and ease the slight wear that throwing the ball caused. "I expect you to be at your best tomorrow when I present you to Antony, and possibly even Caesar himself if Antony deems you worthy. Ready, mutt? Go!"
Vulpes threw the ball with all his might, watching as it disappeared from his field of vision and landed somewhere amongst the sleeping Legionaries. Yapping happily, Rex sprinted up the hill once more and began his search for the tennis ball. Vulpes watched him go, kicking up a trail of dust behind him.
Unless his exhaustion and duties prohibited him, he wouldn't mind this leisure becoming a regular occurrence.