[SFW, Cowboy Lesbians]
“Why do you keep on following me.”
The sun shone down on two girls standing in the middle of what looked like a western ghost town. The wooden buildings around them creaked with age as the dust kicked up around them, a tumbleweed tumbling by their side, silence continuing to hang around them until one of the two dared speak up.
“I could say the same thing about you, Downer.” The blonde girl standing with the sun against her back, keeping her illuminated as she adjusted her poncho ever slightly, started speaking. “You keep turning up when I’m in the middle of busting another gang, and always try to claim the kill. You think you’re some sort of hot shot, don’t you?”
The other girl, both black haired and wearing all black to contrast her enemy as the sun cast a shadow behind her, scoffed as she reached down to grip one of her holstered firearms. “I’m a Lawkeeper, more than a glory hound. You take too long to deal with the issue, I clean up your mess.” She dryly remarked, using her other hand to pull the rim of her oversized hat over her face…
The truth of the matter was that both of the leather-clad girls shared something between them. A power that they had been granted as they picked up their very first firearm. This world, the Frontier, was endlessly stuck in the age of the Wild West, and it needed Lawkeepers like them, young lasses with enough justice in their hearts, to keep it tamed just enough for people to live their lives in relative peace. In simple terms, they were cowboy-themed magical girls, but that didn’t mean they always saw eye to eye, since justice came in many different forms.
For the blonde, commonly called Sun Dancer by the people she saved, her justice took the form of something filled with spectacle. That’s why she commonly wielded weapons that could backfire on her, like dual-barreled revolvers that could jam if she didn’t shoot them properly. That element of danger was just what she needed to keep everything entertaining for the people that she saved. Fighting baddies that acted against the law of the land was like a dance to her, one that she tumbled her way through with the grace of a bull. Still, she got the job done, and that’s what mattered to her.
The black-haired girl, on the other hand, was known as Sun Downer. It was a reference to her ruthlessness in combat, and the efficiency at which she pulled the trigger. She preferred the simplest kind of revolvers, the ones that she had used ever since she started this gig. She took care of them, polished them and kept them in perfect shape, as she tore down gang after gang with just enough shots. Her personal sense of justice… was a dark one. She had lost her family to these gangs, and she wanted to make sure nobody would end up like her again. Gang after gang, who all threatened the lives of children that could turn out like her, all fell at the muzzle of her revolvers.
It was obvious that these two Lawkeepers were directly opposed to one another, because one saw joy in her Justice while the other only did it out of necessity. This was why the two had ended up at odds again and again, yet it was also why the two ended up saving each other time and time again. Because they felt that, in some part of their hearts, they couldn’t just let the other go down without a proper final duel.
Today would be the stage for that duel, as Sun Dancer whipped out her twin-barreled revolvers and spun them around by the trigger. “Cleaning up the mess, huh? So that’s why you’ve shown up here, in this ghost of a town?” The blonde said as she spun around one of her guns and tossed it through the gap between her legs, only to catch it and holster it safely. “I don’t see the point in cleaning up a mess, when the mess is part of what makes life fun.”
“If you actually bothered to clean up after you, we wouldn’t end up with more Lawkeepers patrolling these lands.” Sun Downer shot back as she pulled out her own revolver, gently wiping the dust off the sides of the barrel with her own poncho before pointing it straight towards the other Lawkeeper’s head. “I want nothing more than to deal with you, right here, right now…”
The blonde cracked a smile as she pointed her own firearm in turn, both barrels aligned perfectly with her opponent’s. “But your inner pride won’t let you shoot me if I haven’t shot first. Good thing my pride won’t let me do it either, or you’d be looking at a nice hole right between those pretty eyes, Downer.”
Her black-clad opponent subtly blushed as she stepped closer, with the blonde coming closer in turn. “I want to do things the proper way, as the Lawkeeper code tells me. Otherwise, I’d be no better than a common crook that’s trying to ruin another child’s life.” She said firmly, raising her barrel and pushing her hat up in the process, revealing her coal-black eyes. “I’d be no better than you.” She concluded, a subtle fire burning in her eyes…
“You hurt me, Downer!” Sun Dancer laughed as she spun her revolver around a couple of times before pulling down on her hat, keeping her eyes covered by the shade it provided. “But if you really wanna do this, I ain’t about to stop you. You wanna deal with me, we’ll have that old fashioned duel. Ten paces, turn, shoot. Just like it always goes.” She lowered her voice an octave, showing that she wasn’t as dumb as she normally seemed.
Sun Downer nodded as she spun her own revolver once, showing a slight bit of respect for her opponent by doing so. “Backs to each other, don’t forget.” The black-haired Lawkeeper remarked, as she turned away from her opponent.
“Shame, I like looking at that lean back of yours. When it’s not covered up, of course!” The blonde got right back to her jokes before she turned around, keeping herself firm for one of the first and potentially last times in her life…
As the two finished their banter, silence fell over them. Not a single extra word needed to be said between them, as the two knew what came next. They needed to take the first step, into what would be the last duel they’d ever have. And only one would step out on top, taking everything the other Lawkeeper owned as a reward…
One. Two. Three.
Sun Dancer could feel the sweat running down her brow as she took the fourth step, her grip growing shaky. Was she really about to fight a girl she had been so… well, affectionate with? Every time she stopped by, she offered her a nice quip and got a scoff in return. She had been shutting her out, but she wasn’t the type of girl to give up just from a bit of rejection. She’d try to shoot that door down, again and again. It’d break eventually, and then she could see the sun with her…
Five. Six. Seven.
Sun Downer took the eighth step, her grip firm as ever. She was finally going to get rid of the rival that had been causing all these messes. And yet, deep within her usually tightly bound heart, she could feel it beating. Not with adrenaline... but with a sense of worry. What was she going to do when she had dealt with her? Would she just return to everything else, carry on with another life added to her kill count… The life of a would-be-ally? ...She didn’t want to think about that too hard, because no matter how cold she tried to make herself seem, there was a bit of her wide-eyed childhood left in her. She didn’t want to snuff out the last parts of her inner kindness without a good reason…
Nine. Ten.
Both Lawkeepers paused for only a second, the wind blowing past their ears as they whipped around, pointing their guns straight towards their opponent. It didn’t matter if they were once allies, or could’ve been. What mattered now, was who fired the first shot.
*BANG BANG, BANG*
Three shots echoed through the air, and two hats fell to the ground. It had seemed like their shots hit their mark, whether it was Downer or Dancer’s bullets. On this day, two brave souls were snuffed out, leaving them to be buried by the winds and the dust around them…
Or rather, that’s what would’ve happened, if their eyes didn’t catch a glimpse of villainy around them. Their bullets had whizzed by each of their cheeks, leaving them with matching scars as a set of three screams filled the air.
“Well ain’t that the pits, looks like we’ve got a couple of unwanted visitors, Downer!” Sun Dancer’s wide smile beamed as bright as the sun she was named after, spinning her revolvers with glee as she.
Sun Downer scoffed as she pulled out her other revolver, turning around to point it in the direction of the two downed bandits that had been hiding in the alleyways between the abandoned buildings. “You’ll pay for what you’ve just disturbed.”
As the two girls reconciled their differences for just a brief moment, a roar of a laugh echoed throughout the town. Stomps aplenty filled the air as tons and tons of cow-horned bandit girls flooded out of their hiding spots, whether it was within the buildings, in the alleyways, in a barrel or on top of the roofs. Leading to a good 100 gals with each their own guns, ready to fire upon the two Lawkeepers that had been harassing their fellow unlawful gals.
“On the contrary, Sun Dancer! You’re the uninvited guests hanging around our little favorite town!” A loud and boisterous voice echoed throughout the small ghost town, as a large woman kicked the doors to the local Saloon open from the inside. A stomp later, and the head crook made her grand entrance.
If there was one woman that every Lawkeeper had heard of, it was Buffalo Betilda. Leader of so many gangs that it was hard to count. With a pair of horns larger than her favorite Chaingun, and a body that matched her oversized ego in terms of sheer girth, she definitely had the presence to back up her reputation. And that chain gun certainly helped, given how many bullets she had wrapped around her fat frame.
“Buffalo Betilda, ever the sight for sore eyes!” Sun Dancer laughed as she spun her guns once more. “So, this is your hideout? Thought you’d pick something more fancy, considering how much you’ve been robbing the poor!” The blonde was joking, yet there was the slight hint of outright hatred for the woman hefting that massive weapon.
Whereas her ‘rival’ kept her hate under wraps, Sun Downer wasn’t about to bother playing around. “You.” She said with a fire burning in her eyes as her gun turned towards the fat bastard of a woman who had no doubt caused her grief by association. “Dancer can wait. You’re the one that needs to be stopped..!”
Betilda laughed to the skies as she hefted up her Chaingun. “You two are a riot! But in case you haven’t noticed, you’re both surrounded! You’ll be buried six feet under in a couple of minutes, and I can go back to running the show like always. So, better get those prayers of yours in order before you eat it!”
The Lawkeepers shot a glance to each other, as they backed up against one another and prepared for the firefight that was about to go down. Each of them cracking a grin, ready for the worst.
A couple hundred goons was nothing to them, as both of them opened fire, kicking off the biggest firefight the Frontier had ever seen…
---
“You’re still following me…”
A laugh left Sun Dancer’s lips, the Lawkeeper covered in bandages. She had taken a good few hits during that last firefight, but she had taken down so many of those crooks in return that it didn’t matter to her. She had fun, and she had managed to help out her ‘rival’ get a bit of revenge in turn. To her, this was a good day.
“I dunno, seems more like you’re sticking by me instead.” The blonde chimed, wincing as the two of them rode side by side on their horses. “You really saved my bacon there, landing thath it on Betilda’s eye. I think she’ll be pissed at you while she gets it fixed.”
Sun Downer scoffed. “I just cleaned up your mess like usual.” She muttered, practically spotless compared to her rowdier ‘rival’. “Don’t think this means we’re friends or anything. I still want to show you that your Justice is nothing more than a farce.”
“I getcha, I getcha. That’s why you patched me up and keep riding this slowly, so you’re sure I won’t fall off my horse and bleed out. That’s totally not friendship or anything.” Sun Dancer was radiating with self-assured smugness, causing her ‘rival’ to blush in response. Which just made the smugness radiate harder, as she knew she was right.
The black-haired girl sighed as she looked up at the setting sun, letting a small smile form on her face. “...You can’t die yet, Sun Dancer. Not until we’ve finished things.” She said, turning her head to look at the bandaged Lawkeeper…
Only to be met with a pair of lips meeting hers. The blonde Lawkeeper pulled back seconds later, winking to emphasize the affectionate gesture. “You better not die either, Sun Downer. I wouldn’t know what I’d do without your grumpy butt covering me.”
The two Lawkeepers rode off into the sunset, letting that kiss hang in the air as the two grew silent. They’d probably try to duel each other in the near future, just to try and work out their feelings. They had done it so many times before, and they’d do it again and again until one of them really did get injured at the other’s hand...
But for now, they basked in the warmth of the sun, shining a light on their difficult relationship and its ups and downs...