A/N: I bet you thought I forgot about my longest running story, didn't you? :P

Well, here I am, with some more Blazin' Trails stuff. And this one is Vulaan Kulaas' fault, since she wanted an angsty chapter for the next chapter. So, here you go, buddy! :) I figured that since Ric got the spotlight for most of the chapters, it'd be cool to do a Droop-a-Long centered story, although our favorite long-eared sheriff's still going to have a role in it.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-a-Long, folks. Just more OCs again ^^


Story 28: Solemn Oath, Sworn Duty

"Hey, Droop-a-Long, are you in here?" Ricochet called, walking inside the office.

"Comin', Mr. Ricochet. I'm just cleanin' a few guns in the back," Droop-a-Long answered. "And don't worry, I'm not usin' soap and water this time around."

"That's good to hear," Ricochet answered. He walked over to his deputy and handed him a telegram. "This came in for ya today."

"Wonder who it could be from," Droop-a-Long murmured, opening the telegram. "I don't get mail from anyone other 'n Denise." His mouth dropped open in surprise. "Oh, wow, it's from my ma..." He paused as he read the rest of the message and swallowed hard, his mouth setting into a small line. "Oh...shucks, I plumb forgot about that..."

Ricochet turned to his deputy in surprise. Droop-a-Long wasn't one to suddenly change moods like that, so something was up. "Forgot what, Droop?"

Droop-a-Long looked up at him. "Ricochet, is it alright if I took the next few days off? I have somethin' important I have to do," he said.

Ricochet blinked. He hadn't expected that. "Is it an emergency, Droop-a-Long?"

"Yeah. My family wants me back in Shadybrook for a memorial service that's bein' held this week," the coyote said. "It's for a neighbor of mine who died years ago when I was a boy."

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that, Droop-a-Long. Well, of course you can take a few days off for that," Ricochet said. "I'd be right heartless if I didn't let ya. Jeb can help me with a few of yer duties."

"Thanks, Mr. Ricochet. An' it's okay," he replied.

"You sure you'll be okay?"

Droop-a-Long gave his friend a small smile. "I'll be fine, Mr. Ricochet. This isn't the first one I've been to."

"Mm-hmm..." Ricochet sat in his chair, although he couldn't help but get the feeling that there was more to the story than what Droop-a-Long was telling him. "Hey, Droop-"

In the time it took him to turn around, Droop-a-Long had already left.


Droop-a-Long sighed as he sat on his bed, the telegram in his hand. "Twenty years since then, huh?" he muttered, reading through the telegram. He frowned. "It's been twenty years since then an' I'm no closer to keepin' my promise."

He closed his eyes, memories filtering through his head. It wasn't that he had no happy memories of his hometown; quite the opposite, to tell the truth. But the bad ones stuck out like a sore thumb. He still remembered the day when the sheriff of the town was murdered by a passing gang in broad daylight. He remembered the first time his brother and his no-good friends committed vandalism. He remembered the day his brother had left town, claiming that the next time he came back, he'd bring nothing good with him.

And he remembered the day his best friend died.

He wiped his eyes, which were burning with tears. "Iffin' I'd done somethin'...I-I could've saved 'im," he muttered.

"Droopy?"

Droop-a-Long's head snapped upwards to see Ricochet standing there, a glass of lemonade in his hand. He looked concerned. "I was comin' in to offer ya some lemonade...but you look like ya need somethin' stronger right about now," he said.

"Aw, ya know I don't drink much, Mr. Ricochet...that's kinda yer style," Droop-a-Long answered, trying to keep his voice light.

"You don't have to fake in front of me, Droop-a-Long," Ricochet said, setting his glass into Droop-a-Long's hand. "I get it if ya don't want to tell me, but I don't think cryin' alone's gonna help."

Droop-a-Long stared into his cup, and then looked at Ricochet. "You remember when we first met, right, Mr. Ricochet?"

"Of course I do! I wouldn't forget somethin' like that!"

"You remember when I talked to ya after you woke up in the hospital, when I said why I wanted to be a deputy?" Droop-a-Long continued.

"Hmmm...I remember you sayin' you wanted to leave your hometown an' explore," Ricochet replied, scratching his chin. He sat next to his deputy on the bed. "Was there somethin' else?"

"Yeah. I didn't tell ya since I didn't think ya'd care back then, 'cause you didn't take to me at first," Droop-a-Long said, averting his eyes upon seeing Ricochet wince. "But there's another reason I wanted to become a sheriff...but it's kinda hard to explain. I-I haven't told anyone, not even my pa about it, 'cause he was the one dead set against me bein' a sheriff...or your deputy for that matter."

"It's alright, Droop-a-Long. I'm not goin' to shame ya or anythin' for it," Ricochet answered. "I shared some of my darkest secrets with you. Reckon if you need to get it off your chest, you can tell me."

Droop-a-Long nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Ricochet." He sighed shakily. "You know how sometimes I say that you're my only best friend? Well...that's not really true."

"I know that. You made friends with Jeb."

"Well, I haven't been really honest. The reason I say that is 'cause I lost my best friend," Droop-a-Long said.

"What was his name?"

"His name was Jacob," Droop-a-Long answered. "Everyone called 'im Jakey, so I did too. Thing was, he was human. In Shadybrook, humans are kinda wary of us, so even though there are humans that own the shops, they live separate from us, i-in another part of town. Jacob's family, though, ended up livin' at our neighbor's old place. Although we were supposed to avoid each other like usual, I ended up helpin' him out when he was chased outta the baseball field by some of the older coyotes." Droop-a-Long gave a small smile. "Well, I didn't get away unhurt, but I think after that he warmed up to me."

"Come ta think of it, that's kinda how you made friends with me," Ricochet said. "Not to mention Denise, too, before she became your girl."

"Y-Yeah," Droop-a-Long replied, smiling nervously, like he always did when he talked about Denise. He cleared his throat. "Well, after that, we slowly started becomin' friends, an' through that, my parents started to warm over to them too. We always saw each other every day of the week, but Sunday was our favorite day."

"How come?"

"Well, durin' the week, there's no time to really have fun. An' like I said, humans an' coyotes usually don't mix in Shadybrook. But the one day that nobody really fusses or fights with each other is on Sunday, 'cause on that day, everyone goes to church an' gets to talk to each other," Droop-a-Long replied.

"That's the only day?" Ricochet asked, incredulous.

Droop-a-Long scratched his chin. "From what my pa told me, the mayor did it as an...er, what's that word again...designated?" he said. "Yeah...he did it as a designated day for the townsfolk ta come together, or somethin' like that. It was kinda weird..."

"I'll say," Ricochet said. "So, on that day, that's the only day ya could talk to each other in public, right?"

"Yeah...like I said, it was my favorite day of the week," Droop-a-Long answered. "We'd go fishin' an' stuff afterwards, an' sometimes, my folks would cook dinner for 'em. We'd chat all night long an' everythin'."

"Sounds like ya had a lot of fun, huh?"

"Yeah..." Droop-a-Long's smile faded. "M-Mr. Ricochet...what I'm gonna say is kinda hard for me in explain, so..."

"Take your time, Droopy," Ricochet said. "You don't have to rush on my account."

"Thanks..." He took a deep breath, and sighed. "It happened when we came home from school one afternoon. The streets were empty, an' my ma was screamin' at me to get in the house. I didn't have time to do much 'fore I heard hooves on the dirt." He wrung his hands together. "I look over 'n that's when I see a gang ridin' in on these big horses. The leader had this huge black horse I ain't ever seen before or since. I grabbed Jacob's arm, an' dragged him up the steps...b-but that was when the leader turned to us with his gun drawn. Ma screamed, and I stood there, s-starin' at that gun..."

Ricochet leaned forward, his face filled with concern. "What happened next, Droop-a-Long?"

"N-Next thing I knew, I was shoved into my ma. An' then...there was a gunshot...a-an' Jacob, he crumpled to the floor, a bullet in his head. T-The leader laughed an' took off with all the gold," Droop-a-Long said. "I-I tried ta wake him up...but i-it was too late." He sniffled and wiped his nose. "I-It was too late..."

Ricochet stared at his friend, tears forming in his eyes. "Droop..."

"Pa told me Jacob s-saved my life. I-I would've been shot if he hadn't shoved me. T-That only made me feel worse," he said. "I-I thought it was my fault. I-I thought h-he died 'cause of me. P-Pa told me it wasn't, but I thought so for the longest time. D-Drag-a-Long made it worse, an'...a-an' I've never gotten over it."

Ricochet watched his deputy lose his composure. The story had brought up memories, memories of his older sister, Rose, when he was fifteen. The burning in his eyes intensified as he got down from his chair and hugged Droop-a-Long tightly. "I-I had no idea you'd gone through that, Droop-a-Long..."

"I-I also learned the sheriff had died, too. J-Jacob's killers were never brought ta justice," he said. "T-That's when I decided then and there that I would follow through with bein' a sheriff. I-I swore I would."

Ricochet released his friend. "You've always wanted ta be one?"

"Yeah. Y'see...Shadybrook always had crime, an' we had ta get a new sheriff every week 'cause he either died or quit." Droop-a-Long's expression was somber. "The longest sheriff we had was that feller; he was there for two weeks, an' my ma an' pa were gettin' hopeful."

Ricochet was shocked. He remembered hearing from Droop-a-Long's father, Drag-a-Long, Sr., that the crime rate was bad, but not to that level. It made their tenures in Gopher Gulch and Hoop 'n Holler look like child's play. "That's terrible, Droop-a-Long...no wonder you'd wanna be a sheriff," he said.

"Pa didn't like it, though. He didn't think that I could do it, but he also didn't want me to die. Drag-a-Long, though, told me I was too stupid."

"You're not stupid, Droop-a-Long. You're smarter than most people take you for," Ricochet said. He had a few more choice words for that, namely for Droop-a-Long's no-good brother, but he didn't want to go off on a rant. "I know that for a fact."

"Yeah...b-but for a while after that, I stopped thinkin' I'd be sheriff. I jus' settled for a regular job like everyone else," he said. Despite his sad tone, a small smile came on his face. "An' then I met you, Mr. Ricochet. You told me that you didn't think my dream was stupid. In fact, ya told me the only thing that's silly was me sayin' I'd never be able to do it. You encouraged me to go for it, even when we didn't really like each other much at first." He sighed. "When I swore to do my duty, I also swore to m'self that I'd work hard at becomin' a sheriff...and maybe one day, I could get justice for Jacob's killer."

"If that's your goal, then I'll stand behind you the whole way, Droop-a-Long," Ricochet answered. "I'd be a hypocrite if I stopped you from doin' somethin' like that. I became a sheriff not just because of my pa's work, but also because of my sister, bless her soul. You said that the memorial service is when?"

"This week-Saturday, from what my ma told me," Droop-a-Long said.

"Jeb and I will handle things while you're gone," Ricochet answered. "You can give your mama an' daddy, an' Jacob's mama an' daddy, my respects."

Droop-a-Long smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Ricochet."

Ricochet patted him on the shoulder. "No problem, Droop-a-Long."


Several days later...

"Droopy?"

Droop-a-Long snapped to attention at the sound of his sister's voice. He turned to look behind him, and saw his mother and sister standing there, still in their mourning clothes from the memorial service. Betty wore all black, while his mother wore black and white with ribbons and lace. She was wiping her eyes with a handkerchief.

Droop-a-Long's frown deepened, and he walked over to his mother. "Ma, you don't have ta keep cryin'."

"T-That boy..." Selena wiped her eyes and sniffled. "H-He was a good kid. Those outlaws were the most heartless bunch'a men I've ever met."

"Yeah..."

"I thank the Lord everyday that you're still here," she said. "B-But still..."

Droop-a-Long said nothing, instead turning his eyes back to the grave.

Betty walked over to her older brother, putting a hand on his arm. Sorrow was present in her brown eyes. "You okay?"

"I-I thought I would be," he answered shakily, his eyes locked on the small wood marker in front of him.

"Pa figured you'd still be here, so that's why Ma an' I came ta get ya." Betty's eyes narrowed as she looked down at the grave marker. "I'm still mad 'bout what Drag-a-Long said to you. I'll never forgive him for it."

"I can't blame you," he replied. "Although sometimes, I think he's right. He would've been alive if'n I'd done somethin'."

"Now don't you get ta thinkin' that way." And then, his mother was right beside him, her dark green eyes blazing with conviction. "It's not your fault. An' nobody can say they would've run away if they'd seen somethin' like that."

"I know...an' I'm right lucky that I'm still alive," Droop-a-Long said. "But he still..."

His mother's gaze softened and she put her hands on his shoulders. "No matter what you think, you are here for a reason. You told everyone yourself that you wanted to be a great sheriff one day. You're not going to quit now, are you?"

Droop-a-Long shook his head. His mother patted his shoulders.

"Then don't get to talking like that. You're not a failure. And you're not a burden or anything like that. You did what you could do. But don't let what you didn't do get to you."

Despite himself, Droop-a-Long smiled. "Thanks, Ma. I needed that."

She patted his shoulders. "It's alright. Now come on. We're going to Jacob's folks' place for dinner," she answered. "I think we should let Jacob be for now."

"Yeah..." Droop-a-Long turned to go, but not before giving the marker one last look. "You jus' wait, Jacob. I'll become a sheriff jus' like I told ya I would be. And when I do...I'm gonna find the outlaw who did this to you and bring him to justice."

With that vow, the three made their way back to Shadybrook, fighting back tears of sadness.

The End


Finally, I have one chapter out of many done! Now it's on to some other fics *eyes I'll Never Abandon You and Sodor Magic Crusaders*

Reading over some notes I wrote on the Blazin' Trails wiki is what brought about this idea, as well as some chatting between me and Vulaan Kulaas. In the original notes I had, witnessing a robbery-turned-murder is what drove Droop-a-Long to want to become a sheriff. Because his family didn't agree, especially his father and Drag-a-Long (although in Drag's case it was more like pure spite), he buried it, although he planned to do it anyway when he somehow left town. He told Ricochet that story about how he'd wanted to explore the rest of the state for this reason. Needless to say, Rick wasn't too happy that Droop-a-Long held this back, but he understood it, having lost someone close to him as well.

A part of the conversation between Droop and his mom was inspired by a conversation I had with Vulaan Kulaas a while back. She's been a super awesome and very helpful friend, giving me a push of encouragement and pep talks when I need it. It's always wonderful to have friends when you feel down. :)

I do have plans to introduce Droop-a-Long's family into the series, though. In fact, I do have another chapter that does formally introduce them, taking place in between "Breaker of Barriers" (namely before Droop becomes Ricochet's deputy). Betty and Droop-a-Long's mom are supposed to have major roles in that chapter, though, and I'm looking forward to writing them in that chapter, and future installments!

The next story to get updated will probably be one of the stories on my Writer To-Do List. I'm halfway done with Sodor Magic Crusaders' 15th chapter, stuck on I'll Never Abandon You, going back and forth with the Zula Patrol chapter, and I've put the Heroes of Time on hold due to news about KH3. And then I'm working on a couple of other stories, too, two of which are ones I haven't worked on in a while and also need to be finished. *sighs* I'll probably rotate stories whenever I finish with one chapter so I don't get too burned out.

Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter! Until then, I'll see ya when my next update shows up!

God bless,

iheartgod175