Breaker of Barriers

Breaker of Barriers is the fourth chapter of Blazin' Trails.

Plot
Ricochet, then-sheriff of Gopher Gulch, is left without a deputy after his previous deputy, Sherman Sheep, left due to stress. Ricochet had to hire temporary deputies who all eventually left for various reasons.

Seeing as there was nobody else who was eligible for the job, Ricochet was told by the mayor that he had to pick a deputy from another town. The closest town near Gopher Gulch was the town of Shadybrook, which was heavy populated with coyotes. As a rabbit, Ricochet is uneasy around coyotes and has a dislike for them, so he isn't terribly happy with this news. Even so, he goes to the town regardless, hoping that he can find a deputy that isn't a coyote.

While in the town, he ended up bumping into a local, Droop-a-Long Coyote, who worked odd jobs around town. While he was nicer than most of the coyotes in town, Ricochet paid him no mind, instead interested in finding a non-coyote section of town. The only one he found was Carrot Top Taverns, but it was known as a bad area of town. Droop-a-Long, who used to be a guide there, told Ricochet that it was far too dangerous to go alone. Ricochet was determined to go anyway, but he decided to take Droop-a-Long with him so he could leave him alone.

That night, however, Ricochet and Droop-a-Long were ambushed a few miles outside of Carrot Top Taverns by outlaws. Ricochet attempted to fight, but he was knocked out by the outlaws. Droop-a-Long used one of his guns to send the outlaws running, and then he got Ricochet to a doctor. For three days, Ricochet stayed in the doctor's office to be treated for his injury, and Droop-a-Long came to visit him. Upon learning what Droop-a-Long had done for him, Ricochet felt awful for saying what'd he'd said to Droop-a-Long before, and apologized to him. Over the course of a few weeks, Ricochet and Droop-a-Long became the best of friends. This eventually led to Ricochet hiring Droop-a-Long as his new deputy, and the two of them headed back to Gopher Gulch.

Trivia

 * This chapter marks the debut appearance of Droop-a-Long Coyote in the Blazin' Trails universe.
 * This chapter marks the first mentions of Ricochet's previous deputies: Pablo Perez, Arnold Ox, and Sherman Sheep. All three left for different reasons: Pablo left to get married, Arnold was fired by Ricochet for his uncontrollable temper, and Sherman quit when the stress got to him.
 * Ricochet had a dislike of coyotes before meeting Droop-a-Long, but later comes to see them as equals after befriending Droop-a-Long. This explains his attitudes towards people such as David Reeves and Chuck Carstairs in the Protector arc, and he also comes to see his own behavior as awful.
 * Although the first chapter, No One's Perfect, had a darker theme, this was the first "serious" story overall, and the first in the series that touches on racism.
 * This chapter marks the beginning of Ricochet and Droop-a-Long's friendship and partnership as sheriff and deputy.
 * With the reordering of the events of how long Ricochet remained as sheriff, there is a continuity error regarding the events in this chapter, which the author is going to remedy soon.