Prologue

	The sound of the horse's hooves on the dry dirt soothed your weary soul as you entered the town for the first time in months. You'd been out exploring the new frontier when an injury caused you to think otherwise. You ride up to the local saloon and step down off your horse, tying him down. You look over to the old horses sitting on the bench in front of the tie down and grimace.
“Sorry.” You say quietly before one of the spits into a spittoon.
“Oh, don't mind Lester.” One of the old-timers says. “He's just a salty old dog.”
“I'm a horse you two-bit pinhead!” Lester shouts back.
“Whatever. Welcome son.” The old horse tells you.
You tip your hat to him and walk through the saloon doors. You look around at the mixture of anthros sitting around drinking and eating various things. A piano is playing some kind of ragtime tune while you walk to the bar table. You sit on one of the stools and an older looking fox lady of thicker persuasion approached you.
“Hey there hon, what will it be? Whiskey, beer, or some of my own moonshine?” The lady asks.
“That moonshine sounds tempting, but I gotta make it back to my own town without a headache. I'll take a couple shots of whiskey please.” You tell her.
She smiles warmly and grabs a bottle from the bottom shelf, along with two shot glasses. She fills them up with whiskey before setting the whiskey back on its shelf. She slides them over to you and you pull out a dime.
“Will this cover it?” You ask.
“Sure thing hon.” The old fox says.
You grab one of the shots and bring it to your nose, smelling the alcohol and feeling it clean your nose up. You down the shot and smile.
“Haven't had a drink in months. Feels nice to finally get some alcohol in me.” You tell her.
You take the other shot and down it too, clearing your throat a bit as it stings you.
“Strong stuff.” You say with a smile. “Just what I needed.”
“Glad I could help you, sweetie.” The old fox tells you.
You hear the shutters slam open behind you and the fox's face goes from calm and friendly to worried in the span of a second.
“Alright boys, let's go get ourselves some drinks!” A man shouts behind you.
You pull your stetson down a bit, keeping your eyes covered as one of the rowdy men sits down beside you.
“I'd like a bottle of whiskey.” The man says. “On the house of course.”
The fox lady takes the bottle of whiskey she just gave you off the shelf and sets it on the table.
“T-there you go, sir. Have a nice day.” She says to the man.
“Thanks, gorgeous.” He says, uncapping the bottle and downing half of it. “Put it on my tab.”
You take a quick glance over at him and see he's a wolf with a scar over his eye.
“H-have a nice day.” The poor old fox stutters.
“Oh don't worry, we ain't going nowhere yet. Boys! Grab the girls from the back!” He shouts.
You don't want any part of this, so you get up and turn around, walking for the door. At least, that's what you would've done if someone hadn't grabbed your shoulder.
“Now hey there bud, where you think you're going?” The man asks menacingly.
“Hey now, I don't want no trouble. I'm just passing through.” You tell the man, hoping he'd let you go.
“Like I haven't heard that one before. Sit your ass down friend.” He tells you.
You do as you're told and sit back on the stool.
“Good, now you're gonna sit there and-” He begins.
“Challenge you to a duel at dusk.” You finish. “You win, I stay here and become your hostage. I win, I get to go free and your boys stop pillaging this poor town. That sound fair to you?”
You stare the wolf in the eyes, not blinking for even a second. He stares at you in disbelief before smiling wide.
“Do you know who I am?” The man asks. “I'm the Nevada bandit. You ain't gonna find a better shot than me in the entire west. Who exactly do you think you are?”
“A man who just wants to get back home.” You say simply.
He just chuckles.
“I've never heard of a man so eager to die before in my entire life. No sheriff or marshal is able to match me, what hope do you think you have?” The bandit asks.
“I just hope I get lucky.” You tell him.
“Well then mister, I'll leave you here to have yourself a final drink before dusk. See you there friend.” The bandit says. “Boys! Pack it up! We're gonna have some fun before dusk!”
You watch as the 3 other bandits leave the back room and go out the shutters. You look back to the fox lady who looks about ready to faint. You grab the whiskey bottle and pour two shots, one for you and one for her. You slide the bottle and shot over to her and she just takes the bottle, gulping down the burning alcohol like it was the clearest, coolest water on earth. She then downs the shot and you down yours.
“Mister, I don't know if you know, but that man is the quickest shot in the west! He's never lost to anyone and has killed over 20 men in his exploits!” The old fox says, worried about you.
You just pull out a dollar and set it on the table.
“This should cover the bottle, right?” You ask.
“W-well, yes, but aren't you scared?” The woman asks.
“No, I'm terrified.” You tell the woman. “Any man in my situation who isn't is either drunk, stupid, or a combination of the two. But I'll do my best to save this town and your, uh, girls, from his clutches.”
Her face lightens up a bit.
“Your heart is in the right place stranger, but your head isn't. You could die.” She tells you.
“So could you, but that doesn't stop you from serving drinks every day, does it?” You ask.
“Well, that's, oh fine. Just don't go trying to run off on us. The last time someone did, the bandits shot two people and raped some man's wife.” She says.
“Don't worry, I have no intention of leaving this place until after dusk.” You assure the old fox.

5 hours later

	You stand out in the middle of the street, with the bandit to your front and his gang to the side. Everyone was watching through windows or from rooftops when the bandit spoke.
“Now you listen here, stranger. Because you decided to play hero, I'm gonna go ahead and kill that old barkeep after I'm done with you. How does that make you feel?” The man asks.
“I ain't here to talk, I'm here to duel. Get one of your boys out here to call for the draw.” You tell the bandit.
“You should've let me talk stranger. I'd have spared that lady if you let me say my piece.” He says.
You sigh and he waves over a weasel.
“Both shooters ready?” He asks in a jittery voice.
You nod and so does the bandit. The weasel puts both of his hands up and looks at you both.
“DRAW!” The weasel yells.
You draw quickly and a bullet rips through the sky, striking its target. Everyone gasps in shock as you look at the bandit. He hadn't even cleared leather before you had shot him. He looks down at his chest and grasps at it, falling to the ground. The weasel looks at you and tries to draw his gun, but you fire 2 shots into him before he can even free the gun from its holster. A dog anthro tries to draw but you put 2 shots into him as well. The last bandit, a feline anthro of some description, drops his belt and puts his hand up.
“I ain't shootin' nobody.” The cat says.
“Good choice.” You say, walking towards the Nevada bandit.
You see him grasping his chest and smile to him.
“W-what the hell are you? That draw wasn't possible!” He says. “Who are you?”
“I don't have a name. I'm a stranger, a passerby, anonymous.” You tell him, flicking the hammer back. “But to scum like you, I'm the reapers, right-hand man.”
You aim at his face and pull the trigger, a click being heard. You smile and twirl your gun a bit before putting it back in its holster. The bandit lays his head back down on the dirt and you walk back into the saloon. You go back to the counter and see the fox lady smiling brightly at you.
“Thanks for the drink ma'am. I'll be going now.” You say politely.
“Wait!” She yells after you. “What's your name?”
You turn around and think for a bit.
“Don't have one.” You say simply. “Just an anonymous man who was born in Arizona and joined the Texas Rangers. Guess that makes me an Arizona ranger.”
The lady chuckles at you.
“Well, thank you ranger, we're all in debt to you.” She tells you.
“Don't mention it.” You say, walking out of the saloon.
You untie your horse and pet it's mane before hopping on it. You continue your journey back to your ranch, whistling an old tune you heard a while back.
“Just a sheriff with a big iron on his hip.” You sing to yourself, believing that's how it went.
Guess you're an Arizona ranger with a big iron on your hip.

Chapter 1: The ranger with no name

	You finally make it back to your ranch in Oklahoma, seeing a small rabbit anthro come from the ranch house.
“Hey, your horses are all fed and watered!” The rabbit yells. “You gonna pay me!?”
“I dunno McCoy, is the house the way I left it?” You ask.  “What about the fences, are they all in good shape?”
“Yep and yep! Now, where's the money?” He asks.
You pull out 40 dollars from your pouch and hand it over to him.
“There's your payment for the 2 months. Had to come back early.” You tell him.
“Thanks, friend!” The small rabbit yells as he takes the money from you.
“Don't go spending it all in one place now.” You tell him.
He nods and hops off down the road towards town. You smile and decide to do something you haven't done in a while.
“Alright boy, you wanna try and jump the fence?” You ask.
The horse doesn't respond and you smile.
“That's what I like to hear.” You tell the horse.
You ride back a ways from the fence and smile wide, turning around to face it.
“HIYA!” You shout and the horse is off like a locomotive.
You hear the hooves stomping into the rich Oklahoma clay as you go faster towards the fence. Before you hit it, the horse leaps into the air and time seem to slow. The horse tucks its legs into its body and clears the fence before pushing its legs back down and landing with a loud clop. You feel a sharp pain in your back and cringe, remembering why you came back in the first place. You hurt your back when you fell off a cliff and slammed into the side while holding a rope. It still hurts when you put pressure on it, but maybe some bed rest and honest work will fix that.

	You finish putting away the saddle and grab your rifle, shotgun, and pistol from their respective holsters and take them all with you into your house. When you get inside, you see nothing is out of place, and that McCoy was telling the truth. You smile and walk into your room to see the bed isn't made, but it's not a mess either. Guess he slept on top of the blanket. Not something you could do yourself, as it gets cold at night here.
Suddenly, you hear yelping through the open window and grab your rifle, fearing Indians may be coming to take your land. You run outside and rack the lever back and forth, facing towards the yelping. You then see a single person come over the hill, running at breakneck speed. You then see why, as they're being chased by 3 buffalo on horses.
“HELP! THEY'RE GONNA KILL ME!” The person says.
It's a woman by the sounds of it. You take aim at the Indians and fire a warning shot, the boom echoing throughout the valley.
“Anagisdi owenvsv!” You shout, telling the Cherokee Indians to go home.
They start yelping at you, raising their bows into the air.
“Naquu!” You shout, aiming at the Indian closest to the woman.
They yelp again before riding back over the hill, screaming and hollering the whole way. You see the woman collapse on the ground and you run over to her.
“Miss, are you okay? Did they hurt you?” You ask.
You look her over and see she's not very big at all, in fact, she was probably only 5 feet tall. But her most striking feature was her face. She was a beautiful looking dog anthro of some description with golden fur and some short brown hair.
“H-huh? Where am I?” The girl asks. “Are the Indians gone?”
“Yeah, they're gone. Are you hurt?” You ask again.
“No, I'm fine, just a bit tired is all.” The woman says feebly.
“Well, I can take you back to your town if you want me to.” You offer her.
“Well, that's the thing. Those Indians took me away from my home and brought me all the way back to their site with a bag on my head. I don't even know the name of my town.” She tells you.
“Do you know your name?” You ask.
“D-Darlene, but you can call me Darla.” She tells you.
“Hey Darla, my name's, uh, hold on just a second.” You say.
Fuck, you don't have a name. You're anonymous, never having a real name besides Texas Ranger and friend. Wait, that's it! Your name could just be Anonymous.
“My name is Anonymous. You can call me Anon.” You tell her.
“That's a very strange name. I like it.” She says.
You smile and offer her a hand. She takes it graciously as you help her to her feet.
“Can you walk?” You ask.
“Yes, I think so.” She tells you.
You watch her try and walk but have to catch her when she falls.
“Here, let me carry you, ma'am.” You tell her.
You pick her up into a bridal carry and she holds onto your neck weakly. You walk back to your house with the rifle across your back and a weak girl in your arms. You make it inside and the girl starts rubbing against your chest. You get to the guest bedroom and pull the covers back to the foot of the bed, setting Darla down on the bed. She looks up at you and you smile gently at her, pulling the covers over her body. She smiles back at you and relaxes into the bed, probably not having slept in one for a while.
“Thank you for this Anon. When I wake, is there anything you want me to do? I can even do, things, for you.” She says, looking down at herself.
“Now ma'am, there's no need for any of that. I know it must've been hard for you.” You comfort the poor girl. “If you really want to, I have to feed my horses tomorrow. You can help by hauling some of the buckets of oats to and from the barn. But that's only if you really want to help. Otherwise, you're free to stay as long as you'd like.”
“Are you sure? I can do more than that if you need.” She tries to tell you.
“No, really, it's fine. I've worked alone on this ranch since my pa died. I'm just happy to have some company after all these years.” You tell her. “Do you need some water or some food? I can make you something.”
“Just some water please.” She says simply.
You nod and walk back to the door. When you open it, a buffalo is standing there in traditional Indian clothing.
“You have something that belongs to my tribe, human.” The Indian tells you.
“Are you implying that I stole something from you?” You ask.
“Yes, you took Shouting Wind. She is going to wed me.” The Indian says.
“Shouting Wind? You mean Darla?” You ask.
“Yes, that is what she calls herself. Return her to me and your ranch shall remain. Refuse, and we will raze it to the ground.” He threatens.
“Look here friend, I don't want no trouble. This here, is my land.” You say, taking your rifle off your back. “And you have no right to force that girl to marry you.”
“That is not your place to decide human.” He tells you.
“Oh, I think it is. I don't know how it works around your parts, but where I come from, kidnapping is considered a crime. So is trespassing.” You tell him.
You rack the lever back and forth, hitting the buffalo with the spent casing.
“What are you saying?” The buffalo asks. “This is not your land, it is land you stole from us.”
“No, you sold this land for shiny beads.” You correct him. “I just bought the land from the government.”
“This is, true. I am ashamed of my people being tricked so easily. However, this is not relevant. Give me back my future wife.” He demands.
“I will not let you kidnap this girl again.” You tell him.
“She is mine human.” The buffalo says angrily.
“Get off my land right now.” You say, getting close to his face. “Or I will bring her back to watch your village burn.”
His eyes go wide and he steps back.
“Y-you wouldn't!” He tells you. “There are women and children there!”
“Didn't you just threaten to raze my entire ranch to the ground not even a moment ago?” You ask.
“You have no family here!” He shouts. “It's just you and your horses!”
“My horses are my family, and so is Darla. Now you can go on back to your tepees and dance around a fire while I go and get Darla some water. Or you can join your gods in the sky for daring to hurt my family.” You threaten.
“W-we will be back!” He shouts, running off towards the hill Darla came from.
“I'm planning on it!” You shout back.
The buffalo runs back over the hill and starts yelping as soon as he's out of sight. You walk over to the well and grab the bucket, pumping water into it. Once it's full, you take the bucket back inside and close your door. You bring the bucket over to the counter and grab a glass, scooping some water up with it and dry your hands off with a rag. You dry the glass off and bring it over to the room, where Darla is looking down at the end of the bed.
“I'm sorry I'm causing so much trouble.” Darla tells you.
“It's fine.” You tell her. “You're a guest, and I take care of my guests.”
You hand her the glass of water and she takes it weakly.
“Thank you.” She says before bringing the glass to her lips.
She drinks the water quickly, as if she hasn't had a drink in days.
“I'll go get the bucket.” You tell her.
You get the bucket from the kitchen and set it on the nightstand beside her. She grabs the bucket and begins to drink straight from it.
“Whoa, now be careful. I've seen what happens when people drink too much water.” You tell her. “You end up throwing it all back up.”
She stops drinking and wipes her muzzle off before smiling weakly at you.
“S-sorry. I'm just really thirsty.” Darla says.
You take the bucket from the bed and set it back on the nightstand, filling her glass with water.
“Keep it to single glasses.” You tell her. “Or you'll make a mess of yourself.”
“I will. Thank you, Anon.” She says, laying back down in the bed.
You go back to the living room and check your clock. It's about 8 o'clock. Time for you to head off to bed for the night. You walk into your bedroom and see your grand pappy's old blunderbuss sitting on the rack. You set your rifle down and grab a box of shots from your nightstand. You load a fresh 45-75 into the rifle, closing the box of shots and putting it back in your nightstand. You set the rifle by you and take off your clothes, closing the window and your bedroom door. You sit down on the bed and smile at how soft it is compared to your sleeping bag. You lay down and face away from the door.
“Oh my!” Darla shouts. “This is not okay!”
You get up and grab your rifle, fearing the Indians may have gotten in. You rush over to the guest room and see Darla looking at the bed.
“What is that!?” She asks loudly, pointing to a stain on the bed.
You walk over to the side of the bed and look at the stain a bit closer. You put your finger in your mouth and wipe it along the bed. It was rough, like a liquid had been spilled there and dried. You sniff your finger and are immediately greeted by a disgusting mixture of fish and man fluids. You wipe your finger off on the bed and clear your throat.
“I'm sorry ma'am, I had no idea.” You tell her. “I hired some help and I guess he couldn't contain himself.”
“Well, I guess I can sleep in an easy chair.” She tells you.
“No, I'll let you sleep in my bed.” You offer. “I don't mind the company, unless you prefer to sleep alone.”
“I-I'd like that. Thank you, Anon.” She tells you.
You lead her to your bedroom and allow her to sit down on the opposite side of the bed. She gets under the covers and begins to throw various bits of clothing from the bed.
“Uh, are you sure you're comfortable sleeping next to me with so little clothing?” You ask.
“Yeah, I'm fine. I don't see anything wrong with it.” She tells you.
You nod and get back in bed, pulling the blankets over yourself. Just as you're about to fall asleep, you feel something wrap around yourself and a soft mass behind you. You smile as you feel the rise and fall of Darla's chest on your back. You slowly let sleep take you into its vast expanse before dreaming of the days ahead.

	You awaken with a start and look outside, seeing it's still dark outside. You immediately knew what was happening. You wake up Darla and put a finger to her muzzle before grabbing your rifle. You weren't going to let some cheap Indian bastards take this poor girl.
“Lay in the middle of the bed.” You whisper softly.
She nods and slides herself over slowly. You get up slowly and thank your lucky stars that you built your house on a solid foundation, as the floor didn't creak when you tiptoed across it. You make it to a corner behind a case when you see the buffalo open your door slowly. The door opens all the way and two buffalo come in with knives drawn. They make their way to Darla without even looking around any corners. You tip toe back to the door and slowly close it, the click alerting them both to your presence.
“Have a seat.” You tell them, pointing to the two chairs by the window. “And put those knives away. Don't want to poke your eye out.”
One of them runs at you and you fire at him, blowing a hole in his chest. You quickly work the lever and aim at the other one. He's holding his ears and Darla's holding the blanket tightly, scared out of her mind. You point to the chairs again and he nods, putting his knife away and walking to the chair. You smile and walk to your nightstand, grabbing a glass and filling it with the bucket of water. You step over the now dead buffalo and set the glass down on the table between the chairs. You point to your ears and he nods.
“You know, stealing is wrong, right? Especially when you steal a person. Drink some water, as I doubt you've drank anything tonight.” You tell him, pushing the glass towards him.
“I should not drink water from a human. It could be poisoned.” He tells you.
“Why would I have a bucket of poisoned water sitting by my bed?” You ask. “I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon.”
“We were ordered here by Raises Water to take back Shouting Wind. I can see now this was a mistake.” The buffalo tells you.
“Well, are there any more?” You ask.
He takes the water and drinks it.
“No, we were confident that we wouldn't need a raiding party. We would come in and grab the girl, stabbing you if you tried to intervene, but I can see now that we should've prepared.” The buffalo says.
“Well, I'm gonna let you live because I don't like killing people, especially if I don't have to. Now go on back and tell them that your friend here refused to sit on my chair and that's how he died. Speaking of which, did he have a wife or child of his own?” You ask.
“No, he was alone, like I am.” The buffalo answers.
“Well, go back and tell them what happened here. I am not to be trifled with.” You tell him.
He gets up and walks to the door.
“Thank you for sparing me.” The buffalo tells you.
“No problem. Now go, I want to go back to sleep.” You tell him.
He nods and leaves the bedroom, closing the door behind him. You hear the front door close and see him run off towards the hill in the moonlight. You look back at the dead body on the floor and sigh.
“Why do they never listen?” You ask yourself.
You set your rifle down and heft the buffalo off the floor, carrying him outside in your under shirt and under pants. You take the buffalo over to the softer clay away from the well and set the buffalo down, grabbing a shovel. You then spent the next 2 hours digging the poor Indian bastard a grave.

	You awaken the next morning to a rooster crow. You feel Darla's arms wrapped around you and smile. She removes them and you frown a bit.
“You okay after last night?” You ask.
“Why? What happened last night?” She asks.
“Didn't I shoot an Indian in front of you last night?” You ask.
“No, not that I remember. Why?” She asks.
You look down on the floor and see no blood on the floor. Your rifle is exactly as you left it last night. You pick it up and eject the entire tube onto the bed, seeing not a single round was fired. You load all of the shots back into the rifle and rack the lever back and forth before hearing your stomach groan.
“I'll be right back, gotta go get some eggs.” You tell her.
“I can cook them if you want.” Darla offers.
“No, I can cook the eggs.” You tell her. “Thank you for offering though.”
You get out of bed and get your clothing on as well as your holster. You load your revolver which you had completely neglected to do on the ride back. You set the empty casings on the nightstand before twirling the gun around a bit, putting it back in it's holster. You go outside and grab some eggs from the chicken coop, walking back inside with enough for a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and eggs. You get back inside and see Darla sitting at the table, dressed in her own clothes. It wasn't very befitting of a lady to dress like she does, but it was better than nothing. You finish cooking the eggs and bring her some oatmeal and eggs to eat. She smiles and takes them graciously, using her silverware to cut the eggs into manageable pieces.
“Thank you for all of this Anon, are you sure there isn't any way you'd like me to repay you?” She asks. “I don't have money, but I have, other things.”
“Yes, like a good set of hands. You can help me by hauling buckets of oats to the horses.” You tell her. “But only if you really want to.”
You don't want this poor girl forcing herself on you. You're just doing what you'd do for anyone in her situation. Giving her a place to sleep and some hot food. The only thing you expect in return is some company, which she has provided.
“I can do that.” She says, a bit disappointed you didn't take her offer.
You get done cooking the eggs and get yourself some oatmeal before sitting across from Darla. You never noticed before, but her eyes were baby blue. She really was a very pretty girl. You finish eating and get up from the table, seeing Darla had finished everything on her plate and in her bowl. You take the bowls and plates off the table before bringing them to the basin you had filled with water earlier. You stick them inside and see she's been watching you the whole time, wagging her tail. You hear a knock at the door and draw your pistol. You walk to the door and stop.
“Who's there?” You ask.
“Human! We need your help!” The buffalo from yesterday tells you.
“And why would I help you?” You ask.
“Because if you do, we will leave Shouting Wind alone. Now hurry!” The man says.
You sigh and open the door, seeing the buffalo running off towards the hill.

	You make it back to a small camp they had set up outside your property and see a horse laying on the ground.
“You take care of horses, no?” The buffalo asks.
“I do, what happened?” You ask in return.
“The horse just fell and our shaman can not help it.” The Indian says.
You walk up to the horse and see it breathing heavily.
“She's in labor.” You tell him. “Give her some space! Adanvsdi utsatina!”
You go behind the horse and see the head of the foal poking out of the vagina. You move back to the front of the horse and try to comfort her as she breaths heavily. The horse convulses a bit before the foal slides out the back. You watch the mother get up and turn around, licking her foal. The Indians look at you and back to the foal. You smile and pat the mane of the horse.
“Congratulations girl. You're a mother now.” You tell the horse.
It doesn't respond and you chuckle. You know they can't understand you, but you like talking to them anyways.
“What do we do now?” The buffalo asks.
“Now, we wait to see if the foal walks.” You reply back.
He nods and you sit on the ground, waiting.

	After waiting for about half an hour, the foal is still not able to stand. You frown and the mare is starting to get flustered.
“Don't worry mama, I'll help your baby.” You say, getting off the ground.
The horse doesn't react and you walk over to the foal, crouching down on the ground. The Indians watch as you begin lifting the foal off the ground. The mare is alarmed, but doesn't do anything except wait. You feel the foal squirm in your grasp as you lift it slowly. The foal attempts to stand up and once you get it to its feet, it locks itself upright and stands up. It then falls down again and the mare is very alarmed at this point.
“It is lame, we should kill it.” The buffalo says.
“No, we should let it try again.” You tell him.
“Why? It is not strong enough to get up on its own after all this time. It is not going to survive.” The buffalo says.
“What would you think if I was to shoot your baby because it didn't start hunting fresh out of the womb?” You ask, starting to get irritated with his disregard for life. “These things take time. Time you aren't giving it. So let it stand up again.”
You get back down on the ground and help the foal to its feet. It whines a bit and locks its legs, standing up on its own. The mother starts getting excited that her baby is able to stand. The foal then takes a cautious step forward before locking its feet again. You step back and the foal begins walking and then begins to run around its mother. You look back to the buffalo and smile.
“I thought you Indians were supposed to be all for the animals and things like that.” You tell him.
He doesn't respond and you watch as the foal begins to nurse.
“Let it nurse for a while before taking the horse back to your village. Give it a day and go back slow. Now I have some horses to feed.” You tell them, walking back to your ranch.
“Wait!” The buffalo yells.
You stop and turn around.
“Thank you human. We are in your debt.” He tells you.
“Yeah, just leave Darla alone.” You tell them.
You walk back to your ranch, feeling relieved that they won't try and come inside your house to take Darla.

	You make it back and Darla is already hard at work feeding the horses. You see her fall and get back up, trying to heft the heavy bucket of oats to the feed trough. You smile at her willingness to work and walk down to the barn. You grab a hay bail from the massive pile of them and heft it over to the cart. You repeat this until the cart is completely full. You take the cart out to the feed trough and cut the bail ties. You set the bail down inside the trough and do this until the troughs are full. Meanwhile, Darla brings buckets of oats to mix into the feed. You smile as she dumps the last bucket inside the trough.
“Do you have anything else you need to do?” She asks.
“No, not today.” You tell her.
“Where did you go anyways? You left with that Indian and came back almost an hour later.” She tells you.
“I had to deliver a foal for the Indians. They promised they won't bother us anymore.” You tell her.
She smiles at that.
“You want to come to town with me?” You ask. “I'm gonna get some supplies and other food stuffs.”
“Sure.” She replies simply.
You smile and go to the stable to grab a couple saddles and the horse cart.

	You ride into town with Darla and see it bustling as usual. You take the horse over to a tie down and tie the reigns of the horse to the pole. You help her off the cart and walk her to the shop you usually go to. The bell on the door jingled and the old coyote looks up at you.
“Hey there Ranger, haven't seen you in months.” The shop keep tells you.
“Went out west to explore the frontier while it's still just that. A frontier. How you doing Clarence?” You ask him.
“Doing just fine. Did ya hear? They invented something over in Europe called the 'horseless carriage'. What a time to be alive.” Clarence tells you.
“Eh, I hope it doesn't catch on before I can get my hands on a few. I'd like some time to say goodbye to my horses before I start selling these horseless carriages.” You tell him.
“Wow, you're the first person who I've told today that thinks these contraptions will actually catch on.” He says.
“Well, of course. Anyone who's ever had to take care of more than one horse would probably buy one as soon as they arrived.” You tell him.
Clarence just chuckles.
“I know how that feels.” He tells you. “Just had to clean all the shit out of the stables yesterday. Damn things are sick I tell ya.”
“Just let 'em out every once in a while ya lazy bastard.” You quip. “They probably have nowhere else to go.”
“Eh, I'll think about it. Just got a new shipment of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as a new ice chest. They say the chest will keep your things cool for up to 5 days with a single load of ice.”  He tells you. “Mine is still holding all my whiskey.”
“I'll check it out. Thanks Clarence.” You tell him.
He just grunts and gets back to reading his newspaper. You walk around the shop and see Darla looking at some fruits and meats.
“Pick out anything you like. I'm gonna get some corn, molasses, and bread. Maybe one of those ice boxes too.” You tell her.
“Okay, I will.” She says.

	You haul the ice chest over to the counter as well as a few loaves of bread, some ears of corn, and a tub of molasses. You get rung up and put the money on the counter.
“That'll be 20 dollars.” Clarence tells you.
“Well, wait for the little lady to get back here.” You tell him.
Darla comes back and puts a gun on the counter as well as a box of ammo for it. You look at the ammo and see it's way too big for the gun.
“Darla, that's 45-70. Too big to put into a pistol. You also don't wanna buy a pistol from this bastard. He never cleans 'em.” You tell her. “I'll take the 45-70 Clarence.”
“Hey, fuck off. I cleaned that gun a month ago.” He tells you. “Also, that'll be 23 dollars.”
You put 23 dollars on the table and Clarence snatches them up. You grab the bags and carry them out to the cart, loading them up before going back inside for the ice box. You heft the icebox up and carry it to the cart. You load it up into the cart and feel a sharp pain in your back.
“Agh! Fuck.” You say under your breath.
“Anon! Are you okay?” Darla asks.
“Fine, just felt something in my back pop.” You lie.
She seems satisfied with this answer and you help her back onto the cart. You feel the pain again but keep the grunt suppressed.

Winter, 1890

	You're sitting with Darla next to your fire place, keeping warm under a blanket. The pain had been getting worse, but you kept it under wraps by having Darla do a bit more work. She helped you toss bails into the cart, carried buckets of snow to the fire place, carrying oats to mix with the hay, that kind of thing. The Indians even came over every once in a while to say hello. Today was different though. The cold made everything worse. Darla pulled you into an embrace and you cringed.
“AGH!” You shout. “Fuckin' sparks.”
“Anon, you're not okay. You need to see someone about this.” Darla tells you.
“I-I'm fine dammit.” You lie. “Stop saying, AH!”
“Anon, you need to go to the doctor. He'll fix you up.” She says, getting out from under the blanket.
“Ah fine, I'll get the c-AH!” You shout in pain. “Fucking Christ.”
“I'll get the cart hooked up with some hay and a blanket. Don't you dare move until I come back in.” Darla demands.
“N-no problem.” You tell her.
She runs off and out the door. She became close to you over the past few months. She was more than just a friend, but you don't know if you should call her a lover. You fear she doesn't reciprocate the feelings and are too afraid to ask. Not to mention that if she leaves, you'd be out company that you've come to rely on. She comes back in and you smile gently.
“Alright, give me your hand.” She tells you.
You do so, and she pulls you off the couch. The pain is unbearable, but you don't want to hurt her ears. You just grit your teeth and hiss as she helps you to the cart.
“They just built that clinic in town right?” You ask. “Take me there.”
“Alright. You okay back here by yourself?” She asks.
“Yeah, I'll manage.” You reply.
She smiles warmly at you and helps you up, laying you down on the hay. She covers you with a thick down blanket. You watch as she jumps up onto the horse and wags her tail.
“Hiya!” She shouts and the horse runs off.

	You make it to the clinic and the doctors help you out of the cart.
“What's hurting?” A fox doctor asks.
“My back. I don't know what happened, but about 6 months ago, I hurt it in a fall. It's hurt ever since. Can you fix it?” You ask.
“Yes, let me take you to our specialist.” He tells you.
You get inside and are met with a dog who you don't recognize the breed of.
“Hallo zere, my name is doctor Rheinsted I will be your surgeon today.” He tells you. “Here, take this.”
He gives you a bar of chocolate and you eat it, feeling dizzy before passing out.

	You wake up to a metallic background when you feel an intense pain in your back.
“FUCK!” You scream. “WHAT THE HELL?!”
“Excuse me Anon! I would like you to smell this cloth.” Rheinsted says, putting a cloth in front of your face.
It smells like chloroform. Wait, fuck. You black out again.

	You wake up again, laying on a cot as you begin to wake. You feel a piercing headache as you wake up and grunt, alerting the doctor.
“Oh, you are awake! Can you feel your legs?” Rheinsted asks.
“All I can feel is this headache.” You tell him. “What the hell did you do to me?”
“Fixed you! I had to replace some things and repair some things. All very technical. Now, can you feel zis?” He asks, poking your foot with a needle.
“OW! Fuck, yeah I can feel that.” You tell him.
“Good! It means I didn't sever your spine. Keep large loads off your back for the next few weeks or so and you should be fine. Oh, and don't worry about payment, this was an experiment for me as well. So all I needed was you! Have a great day Anon!” The doctor says in a cheerful German accent.
He sounds like a quack. Well, a quack that just fixed your back pain, so there's that. You get up and out of the bed, standing up and feeling the stitches in your back. Darla comes walking in and she seems shorter than before.
“Anon! D-did you get taller?” She asks.
“I, uh, maybe? Doc, did you make me taller?” You ask.
“Nein, it was just a damaged disk that was causing you to hurt. I only replaced, not added.” He says, not looking up from his papers. “You may notice you are now back to your previous height, but you are not any taller than you were before the injury.”
You smile at that and rub your back.
“AH AH! Nein! Do not rub the bandages or they will become dirty!” The doctor yells.
You rub your head instead before Darla offers you some water.
“They have plumbing here. I got you some water from the sink.” She tells you.
“Thanks Darla.” You say, taking it and drinking the whole glass.
“I vill take zat.” The doctor says, taking the glass. “Now go, go back to your house and, uh, have fun or whatever.”
Darla turns back to you and gives you a look you've never seen before. You're confused by it, but brush it off as anthros being weird.

	You get back to the house and Darla takes the cart and horse back while you lay in bed. When she comes back in, she closes the door and begins to undress herself. You smile gently at her before turning away, letting her strip.
“You know, you can look at me if you want.” Darla offers.
“I don't know about that ma'am.” You tell her. “I just don't feel comfortable looking at a lady when she's undressing.”
“That's awfully kind of you Anon.” She says. “How are you not married yet?”
You frown deeply at that. You knew exactly why you weren't married yet. Before your venture into the frontier, you were cold and unwelcoming. You didn't like people all that much and kept to your horses most of the time. It took you a while just to find someone who didn't piss you off to take care of your horses. When you did venture into the frontier, you found that the further you got from civilization, the more lonely you felt. The more lonely you felt, the more you regretted being a heartless asshole.
You feel the bed shake and creak before feeling a soft mass press itself against your side. You look over and see Darla pressed against you, her tail wagging slightly under the covers. You know what she wants. You turn over and for the first time in a long time, you don't feel any pain in your back. You pull her into a hug and she reciprocates the gesture, putting her arms around you gently as the air under the blankets gets warmer. You just lay there, reveling in how you can finally embrace your friend without hurting yourself. The clutches of sleep come soon after, taking both of you into the land of dreams.