Advent Of A Gunslinger

Axel went upstairs to find Martha sitting on her couch with an ice pack on her head.

“...Ma’am?”

“That you, boy?” Martha replied in an annoyed tone as she adjusted the ice pack, “In all my years’a business, I ain’t never been attacked like that. That tom was pretty skilled’ta take us on, I’ll give him that much.”

“I s’pose he was,” Axel replied as he took a seat on the couch next to her, “But you ain’t gotta worry about him no more. He won’t be able’ta hurt ya or anyone else with his shenanigans.”

“That’s good’ta hear,” the faun lady chuckled half-heartedly, “Clara and the girls were worried about all of ya. I think we should start givin’ ‘em more trainin’ so nothin’ like this’ll happen ever again.”

“I’m just glad yer okay, Ms. Martha,” Axel added, “Ya’ll didn’t deserve none’a that. Speakin’a which…where is Clarabelle? Ya seen her today?”

Martha pointed to the window that led to the farmland behind the building. “She’s out over yonder. She’s been relaxin’ herself by workin’ the fields ‘til you recovered. I think she’ll be happy’ta see ya.”

Axel took solace in the fact that someone else out there would genuinely be happy to see him. At long last, his new family had come full circle. “...That’ll be great to hear. I’ll be seein’ ya ma’am.”

“Be sure’ta enjoy yerself now,” Martha said with a sarcastic smile as Axel left the room.

Outside…

True enough, just as Martha had described. Clarabelle was outside working the farm and tending to the crops in her modest blue sundress and sunhat.

Axel would greet her with a smile. “...howdy, Ms. Clara.”

“Eeek!” Upon hearing his voice, Clarabelle dropped the basket of corn she had been carrying and quickly turned to face him. But when she laid eyes on him, her expression quickly changed from that of fear to relief followed by joy. “...Axel? Is that you, dear?”

“...Yeah, it’s me.” In order to approach her, Axel had to fly up to her level and caress the side of her face with his claw. “...I hope I didn’t make ya worry too much.”

His embrace quickened her heartrate, putting a big smile on her face as she pulled him in close for a tight, yet comfortable hug against her bosom. “...I was worried, but I’m just so glad that yer back now. I’ve been missin’ ya. And to tell ya the truth…I can’t stop thinkin’ about ya.”

“...You feel the same way too, don’tcha?” he asked with a bashful smile as he nuzzled against her chest. “Well..I suppose that works out, don’t it?”

Clarabelle looked down at the hippogriff whom she sandwiched between her chest and looked at him with an innocent tilt of her head. “Wait…are ya for real? I was worried ya’d say no, cuz…”

“Cuz I wouldn’t wanna tie myself down?” he replied with a grin, “Well..this old gun’s ‘bout ready’ta be hung up for as far as killin’ goes. I wouldn’t mind stickin’ around with ya for a bit more.”

“That’s great! My friends and I would love it if ya did…we kinda been hopin’ ya’d stay,” she replied bashfully as she let him go.

Once free, Axel continued to hover next to her in midair. “I ain’t got no reason to leave ya’ll behind. Though at this point, I’m not quite sure what I’d like’ta do next…”

“Well I’m sure you’ll have a lotta time’ta figure it out, hun…” Clarabelle encouraged him with a pat on the head, causing Axel to squawk happily under his breath.

“...eeep!”

Which earned a small giggle from the minotaur lady. “...You get more adorable every day, hun.”

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a surprise interjection from Roseanne.

“Hey ya’ll. Got a minute? Axel, we need’ta get goin’.”

Axel faced her with a more neutral expression after clearing his throat. “Ahem--uh, yeah? What’s goin’ on?”

“We need’ta head on over’ta Abyssinia so we can give our testimony against Topaz,” the young taurette explained, “Then she’ll be locked up for what she did and the role she played in mah pa’s death.”

Clarabelle frowned. “...I’m so sorry to hear that. It was always a joy when Tony visited us…”

But Rose brushed her words off. “It’s fine…I’m just ready’ta put all this behind me and move forward with mah life. You ready’ta finally end this chapter of our lives, Axel?”

After a momentary pause, he replied with a smirk. “...Thought you’d never ask.”