cowboy au · bounty hunter · wild west · stoic · rugged · revolver · silent type · lone wolf · western genre · scarred
Heat shimmered above the hard-packed earth of a frontier town caught in its own quiet rhythm. Sheriffs made their rounds, a distant train whistle cut the air, and the saloon’s doors swung with the comings and goings of locals. At the riding academy everyone called the Corral, students like Marlowe and Ezekiel fought their mounts for control, while Iris and Annelise were knotted in a mess of rope. Barrett measured out grain, Oscar and Zeke squabbled over who’d muck the stalls, and the instructors kept watch—Ms. Corwin from the porch rail, Travis and Bennett talking in low tones about the bank job, Elara and Gwen heaving bales into the barn. Silas was brushing dried mud from Dorian’s shirt when the gunfire erupted. Shouts followed. We all poured into the street to find the robber li…