AJ, the Dingo Cowboy in the Old West
#9 of Slices of Life
A Slice of Life written for AJTexasRanger.
The Slice of Life is a commission experiment aimed at capturing a glimpse of someone's character in action. The idea is to see if a quality piece of writing can be made in a short length of time, and if someone would be amenable to paying for such a thing. They involve four prompts, ten minutes of writing, and five to ten additional minutes of finalization.
The prompts for this story were
Name: AJ
Species: Dingo
Descriptor: Cowboy
Setting: Old West
Other: Wears a cowboy hat, he's neutral/goodish, and he's kind of stubborn.
AJ, the Dingo Cowboy in the Old West By Finn Panther
A whiskey on the rocks. It was a simple pleasure, but out here in the West it was the best you could get. After a long day of riding it was a pleasure to take a sit in a loud, crowded saloon and stick to yourself. It felt just like being home.
AJ hadn't bothered to shake any dust out of his fur, and his tail was a little mangy and matted. He'd get to it later. But for now he sipped on his drink. Another town, another saloon. And surely there would be a little trouble to find. Rather, trouble would find him. It always did. All he had to do was wait...
It was moments later when the signature doors burst open, with that signature jingle of a cowboy's boots. Well look at that, trouble was right on time.
The entire joint ran silent as a figure draped in black walked in as though he owned the joint. He had a cheeky grin on his muzzle and he tossed his finished cigar butt on the floor as though to make a statement. AJ smiled at this, wondering exactly who this mystery wolf thought he was. He decided to wait and let things develop. That always seemed to make things more interesting.
The wolf stepped coolly and confidently up to the counter.
''Evening barkeep.''
AJ tried to keep a calm and uncaring face, but when the grizzled old goat gave his terrified answer it made AJ want to take care of this wolf asshole right then and there. But he decided to wait, let the situation develop. Once again, those always made for the best stories, didn't they?
''W-we, w-we d-don't n-ee-ed y-our b-b-busin-ess h-here, L-L-Lone-St-tar.''
Ah, Lonestar. I wondered when I'd run into him.
''Now hang on there, barkeep.'' Lonestar pulled out a six-shooter and rested it on the counter. Man, this guy couldn't get any more cliche. ''I don't think that was the right answer. How's about we try that again?''
AJ had to stifle a sigh at this. This wolf really thought he was a badass, like he was something special. It was going to be a pleasure, he thought, to put him in his place. It wasn't for the people, nor for the town. It was just for him. AJ loved to see justice done. Well, more accurately, he just loved seeing assholes get what's theirs. It was his favorite pastime. Just thinking about it was getting him excited, and while he could stifle a sigh, he just couldn't stifle the excited twitch of his tail.
''Well what do we have here?'' Lonestar had turned to face AJ and motioned to his tail using the end of his gun. ''That's some special tail you got going on there kid. What, you got the hots for me or something?''
Well, I think I've let this go on long enough.
AJ stood and looked at Lonestar coolly in the face. ''Actually, kid, I was kind of thinking you were the one who had the hots for this barkeep. I'm not into older men myself, but hey, to each their own.''
Somehow the crowd had fallen more hushed than before, and the expression on Lonestar's face was exactly the sort of thing that AJ lived for. Clearly the man had never been stood up to before.
''What was that now? This is Lonestar you're talking to, here, and I don't respect that tone of voice. Maybe you ought to try that one again, or I might do something I'm gonna regret.''
''Oh, right, Mr. Lonestar. I should have known. Please forgive me, I just didn't recognize you. But... don't you recognize me?''
Lonestar huffed. ''No I ain't recognize you. What, you think you're something special, boy?''
AJ gave the widest shit-eating grin that he could.
''Nope.''
In one fluid motion he pulled his shooter from his hip and fired all six right into the wolf's chest. He fell to the floor in the most satisfying thwump he had ever heard. The bar remained hushed as AJ went back to his whiskey on the rocks. It's the simple things, he reminded himself. Hushed whispers began spreading through the bar as AJ sat uncaring. One more asshole down.