In the game the proximity of these Deathclaw to the shack was explainable by simple world population mechanics but in reality? It meant there was something else afoot. These Deathclaw weren't hunting Raul clearly because they hadn't ripped a hole through the thin metal shacks walls to get inside. If anything it almost looked like they were pets guarding a yard. That wasn't as unlikely as it may sound. In the game Raul himself comes off sarcastic but in an almost chipper way during conversation. If you paid attention to what he says about himself however it becomes easy to understand that he is VERY resourceful.-
He has one of the best repair skills innate to any character in game and makes no attempt at hiding the fact he's been around for a long while. As a result it wouldn't actually surprise me all that much that he managed to strike up a balance with the Deathclaw near his shack. Maybe he left them a bit of meat regularly so they wouldn't eat him or maybe he'd helped an injured one at some point and they just stuck around afterwards. It wasn't impossible since in Fallout four there's a quest where some idiots steal a clutch of eggs from a Deathclaw nest.-
You as the player come across them and the either mother or father Deathclaw that chased them and murdered them for it. After killing the beast you'll find one intact egg. You can then either return it to the nest or sell it to the wealthy robot that ordered it to begin with. If you return it to the nest the remaining parent Deathclaw becomes permanently neutral to you. Anything short of attacking it or taking the egg again won't cause it to react at all.-
Like I said the creatures weren't stupid. It was entirely possible for the things to show gratitude or even tentative alliance with people. At one point there was even an entire population of Deathclaw that were so smart they could talk and barter. They got killed off by the Enclave eventually but the potential for that sort of intelligence existed still in the species. I only pondered this for a moment before shrugging it off as it had nothing to do with me. Instead I followed the highway north to the overpass that was crumbling and eventually to the gap in the rocky walls that house the airforce base.-
There was a dark skinned man standing near the road that lead to the base. I stopped right in front of him and dismounted my bike.
"Well now there's a sight you don't see everyday. You must be here for the folk in that airforce base up the ways. Friendly warning but you'll die before you get anywhere near it. Not that that'll stop you. With that in mind how's about a wager? Let's say six hundred caps? Three from me and three from you. I'm betting on you not making it but if you do the pots yours." The man said with a grin.
"Shame, I don't have even a single cap on me." I said honestly.
"Ah, well how about that bike of yours? That's gotta be worth quite a few caps right?" he asked eyeing the machine with clear desire.
"Nice try but three hundred caps ain't nearly close to what that's worth. Still if nothing else you can be glad you aren't going to lose money either." I say before putting my bike away mysteriously.
With my fun messing with the guy done with I started my walk up the hill to the absolutely RUINED mini town that once stood outside this airforce base but has long since been blasted into barely recognizable wall supports and craters. Immediately a deep resonate "THOOM" echoed from the base and a whistling sound accompanied the artillery shell falling right towards me. I looked up at it and then continued my walk. It struck behind me and I was thrown forward by the impact and explosion but picked myself up off the ground and continued without a care.-
The Boomers can't be said to have been stupid as after the next two shells hit me and accomplished nothing more than charring the armor no more came. Thankfully I had the foresight to put away Sunny's gifted coat before this so it didn't get shredded. I casually took it out and slipped it over the armors shoulders before walking up to the chain link fence around the base that had four people standing on the other side nervously. Two were young men with rocket launchers leveled at me. The other two were both woman. One an elderly lady with white hair and a vault suit that had a necklace of strung together bullets around her neck and a pipboy on her wrist. Only two had pipboys.-
The other was a woman who looked about my age with dark hair tied back in a pony tail wearing a full set of dinged up combat armor along with her pipboy.
"Wait, let me guess. Master-at-arms, leader figure, grunts." I say pointing at the younger woman, then the elder and finally the two with the rocket launchers.
"Want do you want outsider?" the elder asked while the other three bristled.
"An alliance of sorts. An important battle will be happening soon at the great dam several miles from here. I and my partner would like to discuss you bombing our targets rather than indiscriminately. Naturally we have much to offer you. Parts for equipment you would need to leave to acquire, food that would supplement your poor diets, or perhaps the wreckage of a certain bomber in lake Meade?" I said smoothly.
They all stiffened as I spoke and paled.