"A wolf in sheep's clothing is the one you have to fear the most."

- Colleen Wing

"There he goes boy! Git! Git!"

Trusty wasted no time in obeying his master's commands, immediately taking off with a speed unheard of in Texas. He followed down the dusty streets, running past a stack of barrels and the town's old saloon. The scent of the perpetrator and the sharp seeds of the air struck his nose as he ran.

By no means was Trusty, a young dog. The only other dog to assist the Sheriff was four years his junior and so most of the action went to him.

That didn't mean that Trusty didn't get his fair share of the pie. The Sheriff himself insisted to the townsfolk that not only was he still perfectly fit and active, but also that he by far and large had the best sniffer of any dog he'd ever seen. "Let him taste the glory, it's the least ya'll could do for the old thing."

The perpetrator took a sharp turn and wound up in an alley.

"Perfect," Trusty thought triumphantly, "Ain't no where to go now."

He followed after, letting out not only a sharp bark for intimidation's sake, but also a long and drawn out howl to let his master know that they had their prey exactly where they wanted him.

Paws ran over footprints at an unforgivable rate, as he quickly drew nearer to the alley. He threw his head back to try and get a glance of how much distance there was between himself and his owner, but couldn't quite see so far.

Turning into the alley, Trusty immediately locked eyes with the thief.

"Well, if it ain't the sheriff's dog," Rojo Ramón regarded him with a sneer. "So far as I can see, I've got the guns and the brains, so why don't you be a good doggie and run on back to your owner, huh?"

Not one to run in the face of danger, Trusty only crouched into a threatening stance and growled as he slowly got closer.

Rojo rubbed a hand on his leather strides and then let it float up toward his famed six shot revolver, "Now then, whenever you get to wherever you're going, I want you to tell the big man upstairs that I did warn you before I put a bullet in your head."

His revolver came out with immense speed and out of habit, he spun it by the trigger, before aiming it at Trusty.

"So long, them townsfolk are probably gonna miss you, but they'll get over it. A dog's just a dog after all."

"Rojo Ramón put the gun down! You're under arrest."

The Sheriff walked in behind Trusty, boots clanking loudly even against the sand.

"I've got you for six counts of theft, nine counts of inappropriate acts and now threatening to shoot my dog," he swiped his hand across the rim of his hat. "You wanna end this calmly and hand yourself over, or am I gonna have to add more charges to your record?"

Rojo smirked, "Now now sheriff, I never did call for violence, but I think you understand that this bag of gold here is worth too much to just hand back."

"You're stubborn ya know that? Surprising really, seeing as your kind is headed for extinction. How does it feel? Bein' one of the last cowboys here out west?"

"You say that like the cops ain't starting to show up more and more," Rojo snarled and spat on the ground. An action that made Trusty visibly tense up even further. "Talking to me like I'm not gonna be around anymore, you know the big city's are knocking on this town's door, you know your warrants are gonna dry up soon."

The Sheriff kept his cool, merely tipping his head with a small grin, "Maybe so Rojo...but not today," he brought out his own revolver and leveled it at the thief. "Now I'm only gonna tell you this one more time. Drop. Your. Gun."

Trusty, right by his owner's side, growled louder. He knew well enough that there wasn't much he could do when it came to weaponry like guns, lest he get himself killed, but that didn't mean he couldn't be of some help.

Bang. Bang.

Then, before he could even blink, two shots fired from east to west and left the atmosphere in an incredible silence.

Rojo stumbled back once, twice and then fell down, breathe slowing as the life left his body.

The Sheriff put his gun back in his holster and went to inspect the body. "Looks dead to me. What do you say boy?"

Trusty sniffed once and whined to confirm his suspicions.

"That's what I thought," he stood up, wiping dust from the knee of his pants. "C'mon, we best be getting the town mortician. And maybe a doctor too."

"Jock."

"Mhm?" the small, black Scottie in question looked up, fatigue on his face.

"You don't think there's any chance that Tramp might stay here do you?"

At that Jock raised his entire head from the grassy lawn. "Where does that come from lassie?"

"No where really...I was just wandering."

"Well," he said with a jaw-shaking yawn, "what have your owners said about the whole matter?"

With a sigh, Lady flopped down on the grass next to him, "Not much to be honest. They seem to enjoy his company well enough, but it only dawned on me yesterday that there might not be enough space for two dogs in their house."

"Oh no, I feel as though your house is plenty big enough for two dogs. Several dogs in fact," his voice darkened suddenly. "There's always the other possibility of course."

"Other possibility?"

"It is always possible that Jim Dear and Darling fear a wolf in sheep's clothing."

Lady gave him a bewildered look. "Jock...Tramp is neither a wolf, nor a sheep. Also, neither wolves, nor sheep wear clothes."

"No, no, lassie," Jock shook his head amusingly. "I mean to say that your chosen accomplice may not be all that he's claimed to be."

"Why, whatever do you mean by that?"

"No offense to your good judgment, but it's not as if we haven't caught him in a web of lies before."

Despite his assurance, Lady did indeed take offense, "That was the old Tramp. Before he met me."

"As wonderful as ye are lassie, d'ya really think that one good and pure and kindred spirit can change a mutt who's had to fend for himself on the streets all his life? He'd put himself first before anyone else. Perhaps Jim Dear and Darling fear that it's all a ruse that he's putting up. Perhaps they fear that once he's eaten all their food, accepted all their courtesies and spread all his fleas, he'll be long gone into the night."

Lady let her gaze fall away from him, feeling suddenly very moody. "If only you take the time to know him," she grumbled into the ground. "*Perhaps*then you'd see that he's none of the things that you're describing."

"I'm allowed to be suspicious aren't I?" he asked, a slight shrug in his shoulders. "And until he can prove himself a good and tame, I hold every right to remain suspicious."

"Saving the baby wasn't proof enough?"

"It could have been involuntary for all we know. He could have had completely different intentions up there that night. And if all that wasn't bad enough, just look at what's happened to Trusty's leg."

"Trusty said that he regrets nothing," Lady countered.

"That old hound will say anything if it makes you feel better. I've seen him, limping sadly from one spot in the sun to another. No dog should have to lose a limb, even if it's for another of our kind. And for this to happen with his nose depreciating! It's an outrage if ye ask me. And it's all because of that no good, untrustworthy-"

Whatever derogatory words Jock would have used to finish his rants were prevented by Trusty's wet nose bumping into his side. As were the angry comments Lady would have had in defense of her 'chosen accomplice'.

"W-wha...oh. Sorry partner," he ducked his head at Jock shamelessly. "I didn't realize I was all the way out here. Could've sworn I was just in the dusty winds of Texas."

"Ah," Jock sighed tiredly, but showed no signs of disappointment. "Another dream eh Trusty? What was it about this time?"

Trusty considered his words with a confused grimace, "But this time wasn't a dream. I had his scent right up between both of my nostrils and I'll be darned if Ol' Reliable ever lets me down. Say, have I ever told you the story of Ol' Reliable?"

Ignoring the question, Jock instead asked, "Let me guess, this time the perp was dressed in brown leather and had a scar running down his left eye."

"Yup, exactly!"

"Sounds more like some old western than a true story. Ya know it was just a dream don't ye?"

"It felt real," he shifted uncomfortably beneath Jock's penetrating stare, "Felt like I was back there. Not the like one from yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that."

"You've been dreaming lately, Trusty?" Lady inferred, before Jock could get another word in.

Trusty nodded vigorously, "A great deal as of late Miss Lady Mam. All sorts of dreams too, but in most of them I have my nose to the ground."

"Well, I think that's lovely, unlike a certain someone."

Jock shrunk slightly under her piercing gaze, but otherwise did not move from his comfortable spot.

"Why, well you're here Trusty, perhaps you could help settle a qualm between Jock and myself."

"It'd be my pleasure," Trusty said with a grin, before joining them with a great exhale onto the grass. "What exactly does this qualm between you two entail?"

"It has to do with Tramp-"

"Oh!" Trusty cut her off with a half-sigh, half-groan, "Don't tell me Jock here has been spreading his nonsense of wolves and sheeps like it's a truthful fact."

"Not nonsense man," Jock snapped. "All I'm trying to do is protect our dear lassie here by pointing our that a mutt that goes by 'Tramp' may not exactly be the most orderly of our kind."

"You gotta loosen up around him a little, probably not even his real name," he looked to Lady, "right Lady?"

"I don't believe so. It's just what he prefers to be called on most days."

"Doesn't change the fact that such a name entails a vagrant and a beggar and worst of all a wolf in sheep's clothing. And I've had quite enough of this debate!" With that, Jock took his leave, trading comfort for solitude.

"Don't worry about him," Trusty tried to reassure Lady with a gentle smile. "He's just a little concerned for you is all."

"Surely there are better ways to show said concern," Lady remarked ruefully and dipped her head down. "You have no qualms with Tramp, do you?"

"Me? No, I could never. If anything, I learnt to trust him after the whole rat incident, but you know uh, Jock didn't go breaking his leg for a dog that you're convinced is all good on the inside."

"What would that have to do with anything?"

"Well, I would think that going out of your way to save a dog in need would mean that you have a fairly set perspective of that dog."

"Huh...you don't think there's any chance that Tramp might stay here with us, do you Trusty?"

Trusty's face grew even more gentle, "It isn't really my place to say, but I've seen the way he looks at you a couple of times before. If there's any sort of softness in his soul, you're definitely the one that brings it out."

Lady didn't respond, sinking into the warmth of the afternoon and feeling just a little better about herself.

Thanks again for reading! This one was a blast to write, especially that beginning bit. That is something I might turn into a full story one day.

Hope to see you all for the next one!