Chapter 3

Clara struggled as she carried Tennessee back to the hideout; she was still worried that she hadn't made it in time. Quickly she laid Tennessee down on his bed. She bit her lip when she saw his bloody shoulder; she knew before she could treat it that she needed to remove the bullet first. Quickly she grabbed a knife off the table with a shaky hand, a bit nervous about what she had to do. Taking a deep breath she inserted the knife into the gunshot wound.
The male raccoon yelped out in pain, revealing that he was still alive. He clenched his hand tightly onto Clara's arm, clenching his teeth tightly as Clara continued to cut into the wound. Finally she was to make enough room to pull the bullet out with her fingers. She cleaned off her hands before she began soaking a rag in a bowl of alcohol so she could prevent the gunshot wound from getting infected. Once the rag was soaked enough she sat down on the bed, seeing how weak the male raccoon's face looked from how much pain he had gone through.

"Don't worry, the pain will be gone soon." she insured as she gently lay the alcohol soaked rag on the wound.

Tennessee squeezed his eyes shut as Clara treated his wound, the stinging pain coursed throughout the entire wound. Once Clara had finished that wound she gently cleaned up the wound on his ear.
It didn't hurt as bad, but Tennessee still felt the stinging pain like before.
After Clara lift the rag away she began running her fingers through Tennessee's fur, silently trying to comfort him after all the pain she had put him through in order to get the bullet out of his wound.

"Your wounds are disinfected now." she said.

Tennessee's eyes began to droop as he felt Clara's fingers continuously run through his fur, without thinking he reached out his hand and placed it on Clara's cheek. He was a bit surprised when the female raccoon didn't flinch like she usually did.

"Thank ya Miss Clara, if you weren't there I believe my thieving days would have been done." he said.

The female raccoon gave a kind smile as she slowly started bandaged Tennessee's shoulder.

"Ever since my pa died I always thought all outlaws were no good." she started, a bit unsure if she should tell the male raccoon this, "The reason why I can't go back to where I'm from is because there is nothing left to go back to."

Tears streaked down her face as she began telling Tennessee her sad tale. She once lived in a small town with her mother and father; everything was fine until a group of outlaws came into town. Clara remembered seeing the dead bodies, hearing the screams of death, it was all burned into her memories. Her father tried to stop them but one of the outlaws managed to throw a rope around his neck, drag him through town, and hung him on a tree. Clara clenched her fist as she thought about seeing her father kick and struggle as he was dangling off of the ground by a rope before finally dying from suffocation. She and her mother tried to flee from the scene, but the outlaws managed to catch her mother, doing unspeakable and terrible things to her before finally killing her.

"I kept running, fleeing from my former home. Eventually I bumped into Jeanette and her gang where they made me a hostage. You should know the rest." Clara finished as she wiped away the tears streaking down her face.

Tennessee was shocked at the female raccoon's confession; he couldn't believe what happened to her town and her parents. In fact it made him feel guilty for keeping her against her will. He sighed as he used his thumb to clean away some tears that were trying to escape her eyes, he knew what he wanted to do.

"Miss Clara, you don't have to stay here anymore." he said, "It wouldn't be right to keep ya here against your will. So you can go ahead and leave, don't worry about me, I'll do fine since you bandaged me up.

Clara's eyes widen in shock; she couldn't believe that Tennessee was actually allowing her to leave, making her see that she was right about him being a gentlemen toward women. Her head glanced at the exit way, the moment of freedom she had finally awaited for had come but the idea actually began to make her sad. She knew that with the time she had spent with Tennessee she had actually grown to like him. So instead of leaving she hugged the male raccoon tightly, burying her face into his bare chest.

"I don't want to leave Tennessee, I want to stay here with ya. In fact I think I..." she started.

Tennessee shushed her as he lifted her head up to his, without a word he gently placed his lips on top of her's.
Clara moaned as she kissed Tennessee, wrapping her arms around his neck, being careful not to hurt the male raccoon.
Tennessee wanted to do more than kiss Clara; he wanted to show her how much he appreciated all that's she done but he couldn't in his injured state and the fact Clara might not be ready for that kind of commitment. So they remained sitting on the bed for the longest time, enjoy the bliss of the sweet kiss they both shared. After a while the two raccoons pulled apart, needing to breathe after their long kiss.

"Maybe I will like the idea of being with an outlaw." Clara said with a smile.

Tennessee smiled back as he continued embracing her, a smirk grew on his face when he saw Clara blushed from being pressed up against his bare chest.

"Ya know I think I understand how you feel after that story ya told me." he started.

He began telling Clara how he actually came from a family line of thieves, dating as far back as ancient Egypt. He remembered the day he turned eight was when his mother handed him the ancient book passed down in the family for generations. His father was supposed to be the one to teach him, but he was murdered before Tennessee was born, leaving the male raccoon to teach himself up the Cooper's thieving ways. He did admit he hadn't followed the family's code of honor by stealing from other thieves only since he ended up finding the idea of stealing fun. He taught himself about all the techniques in the book, all the way from Slytunkhamen II's Shadow power technique to Rioichi's Spire Jump. At age fifteen he developed the Rail slide or Rail Walker technique when he managed to outrun the sheriff who was trying to place him under arrest. At age twenty he ended up meeting Sheriff Wiley Fox who despised being called by his first name and told everyone to call him Sheriff Fox or just Sheriff. He encountered the male fox many times during heists, but always managed to escape him. Tennessee never knew what happened to his mother; when he went home one day he found the house a mess and his mother nowhere in sight, but he managed to spot large talons marks on the door

"Then there's my nightmares." Tennessee said.

"You mean like the one that scared ya so much ya almost shot me?" Clara asked.

The male raccoon silently nodded before explaining to her that ever since his mother told him that his father was murdered by a mysterious being, he's had the same nightmare almost every night. It always showed him wandering around in the darkness, unable to see anyone or anything in the darkness. A white moon would slowly appear in the darkness but it would change into a blood crimson color when a silhouette of large mechanical wings would appear. He would always try to run in his nightmare, but no matter where he would run he would find himself snatched up by large deadly talons. The mysterious being in his nightmare would lift him up to it's face, forcing him to stare into it's red glowing eyes full of hate before the talons started crushing him. Tennessee wished he could always wake up before the pain and the blood pouring out his body would start, but his nightmare would always end with him being thrown down by the mysterious being and plummeting to his death. The male raccoon shivered at memories of the constant nightmare. He didn't know why he had them; he just wanted them to end.
Clara laid her hand on Tennessee's shoulder, feeling guilty how at first she believed all outlaws didn't have a heart and that none of them could know the pain she had gone through. Now with her time with Tennessee she was able to see the side of outlaws she had been blind to for so long.

"Tennessee, I'm really sorry that ya lost your pa, that's a sad thing that you never got to meet him. I think I understand why you're so lonely now, your family is gone but don't worry Tennessee I promise not to leave ya." Clara insured.

Tennessee laid his hand on Clara's before replying "Thank ya kindly, Miss Clara."

Strongheart clenched her fists tightly as she watched the warriors prepare for battle. Indian warriors painted their faces in war-paint; they sharpened the tips of their arrows and loaded their guns. The female buffalo tried to consult with Chief Thunderhooves that he would be making a mistake by moving forward into battle but the male buffalo refused to listen to reason. She stared up at the sky, wondering why her own people chose to believe a stranger over her. Sometimes she wondered if they wouldn't listen to her because she's not pure of blood and they fear that this might have corrupted her. She didn't know the reason, but she knew she needed to do the right thing. She slipped off of the rock she was sitting on, silently making her way to the horses. She stroked one of the horses' snouts to calm them down; she didn't want any of the people of her village to know she was going to warn the town of the attack.

"That female skunk is planning something. I do not believe her lies of the people of the town coming to attack us. If I can warn them and convince them to make the right choice then perhaps it will ruin what that skunk may have planned." she thought to herself.

She climbed up on the black horse's back, getting a firm grip on the long black-colored mane. Once she was set she tugged on the horse's mane, making the horse start running off. As Strongheart rode away on her horse she glanced back at her village, watching as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance. She felt a little guilty on turning her back on her and her mother's people, but she knew she had no choice. With a sigh she continued to ride off farther on the horse, hoping her plan will go off with a hitch.

Jeanette paced back and forth as a line of coyotes and longhorns stood before her; she knew the time for her big heist was drawing near. She explained to the confused men, ignoring the fact they thought she had called them over for another reason, that she needed muscle for her job to steal from the town's bank which had more gold than anyone could imagine inside

"Um Miss what do we exactly get from this?" a coyote asked out of curiosity.

Jeanette grinned at this question; she knew she could seize the opportunity to manipulate the men more. She swung her hips as she walked in a slow stride toward the coyote, smirking when she saw him back up a bit. She pulled him in close, tracing her index finger down his chest.

"What ya name?" she asked in a seductive tone.

"Red Eye. Sharpest shooter around there here parts." he replied.

Jeanette batted her eyelashes at him as she swished her tail, accidentally bumping it into the other coyote's face who fainted from the stench. Red Eye smirked and without warning he forcefully pressed his lips against her's. The female skunk felt like gagging but she managed to endure throughout the entire kiss. Jeanette never did like when the men were like that around her which is why she considered her technique a slight double-edged sword. It's get the job she wants done but also gets her into situations tough to get out of. Once the kiss was over she shoved Red Eye from her with a hint of disgust on her face.

"Ya do some pretty good lip wrestling." the coyote commented.

The other coyotes and longhorns glared at Red Eye with jealously, wishing they were the ones who got to kiss Jeanette. The female skunk pushed away Red Eye a bit, not wanting him to be close enough to try other things. She handed out guns to all of the longhorns and coyotes before setting up empty glass bottles on the fence.

"Alright boys start shooting." she said after she had backed away from the fence.

Bullets flew through the air, the sounds of gunfire filled the once silent dessert, glass bits went flying upon shattering from the bullet hitting it. Jeanette wanted the men to have top aim just in case someone tried to stop them in the big heist, she grinned in victory, feeling nothing could go wrong.

Tennessee ran his fingers on his bandaged arm; he wanted to thank Clara in a very special way now that he had healed a bit but he wasn't sure if she was ready for that kind of step. He sighed as he put back on his orange shirt and black vest, deciding to take a look outside at the night sky. His boots clicked on the wooden floor as he walked out on the balcony. He leaned against the railing, his black gloved hands gripping it firmly. His brown eyes glanced up at the sky; he always found nightfall calm and comforting. He figured it was because of his thieving instincts. Because he was too busy staring at the night sky he didn't notice a small delicate hand lay on his shoulder and trace down his arm.

"How's your arm?" a female voice asked.

Tennessee turned around to see Clara smiling at him.

"It's doing pretty fine though looks my ear is stuck with this bullet hole." he said as he rubbed his right ear, feeling the part of his ear that is gone due to the bullet.

Clara hugged Tennessee's firm chest, resting her head on his shoulder, staring up at the stars that sparkled brightly in the night sky. She sighed in content, happy that she managed to get rescued by the kind and charming raccoon that she thought of as a good for nothing outlaw at first. Her brown eyes glanced up at Tennessee, finding the features that once annoyed her now made her heart beat faster in anticipation.
The male raccoon ran his fingers through her brown ponytail.
Without warning Clara shoved Tennessee against the wall as she began kissing him passionately.

"Miss Clara?" Tennessee muttered, surprised by the female raccoon's action.

"Tennessee, I need to thank ya for being so kind, please let me do this." she said as she rubbed her hands all other his chest.

He moaned at this action as he guided her back inside the clock tower. His hands ran up to her shoulders and pulled off her brown jacket, revealing her blue button up shirt. After he had done that he reached for her pony tail and untied it, letting her hair fall to it's true length. Tennessee began kissing down Clara's neck as they both fell down on the bed.

"Are ya sure you want to do this Miss Clara?" he asked, wanting to make sure if the female raccoon was ready.

Clara only slowly nodded as she began taking off Tennessee's black vest. She wanted to thank for all that he's done for her and she figured that this was the best way to do so. Without a word their lips met once more as the kicked off their boots, continuing their activity.

Later that night Clara lay on Tennessee's bare chest, watching as it slowly rise and fell with his calm breathing. She had never imagined she would receive so much pleasure from the male raccoon. She smiled as she made her tail brush against Tennessee, causing the male raccoon to smirk. They both had lost their families and managed to find comfort in each other.
Tennessee pulled Clara closer to his body, still feeling the warmth of her body from the activity they both had performed.

"Thank ya, Miss Clara." he whispered in her ear.

Clara smiled and gave Tennessee a quick peck on the lips before replying" Just call me Clara."

Tennessee grinned at this as he nodded his head in agreement. He had never imagined that one little event would actually lead to him finding someone he would end up falling in love with. He watched as Clara's eyes began to droop with drowsiness. The male raccoon kissed her head as she rest her head against the crane of his neck and let sleep over take her. Tennessee let out a yawn as he began to feel tired as well; he took on last look at the female raccoon resting on his chest before falling into a deep slumber of bliss. For a first time in a long while Tennessee did not have a nightmare that night. The two raccoons managed to sleep peacefully throughout the entire night in each other's embrace.