Jeb Forrest

**Jebediah "Jeb" Forrest** is a farmer who lives on the outskirts of Hoop 'n Holler. He's one of Droop-a-Long's few friends among the populace, and he later becomes Ricochet Rabbit's  deputy following the events of the *Protector* arc.

## Personality

Jeb is outgoing, friendly, and talkative, although even he admits that his mouth can get him into a lot of trouble. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and as such it's not hard to guess how he's feeling at the moment. He lacks Ricochet's short temper but it's admittedly shorter than Droop-a-Long's, and he won't hesitate to call people out on their behavior, even if it's someone he admires such as Ricochet. He is known to hold grudges against those who have wronged him or his friends, and is slow to forgive in that regard; he later admits that it was hard to speak peaceably to his older brother after everything he did in the Protector case.
Jeb admires many famous Western lawmen, but he's known to admire Ricochet and several members of the Rabbit family; he knew many stories of Ricochet's great-grandfather, and was excited to meet Ricochet's father when Ricochet returned to Carrottop Canyon for his marriage to Melissa. Because of this, he's nicknamed "the starry-eyed deputy" by the townspeople. He does have a bad habit of placing those he admires on high pedestals, however, which can lead to him being burned.

## History

### Early Life

Jeb grew up with his older twin brother on their father's ranch outside of Hoop 'n Holler; their mother died when the twins were six years old, and their father never remarried. Both of them went to primary school, but later dropped out to help their father on the farm. When Zeb got married, Jeb stayed behind to care for his ailing father, who could no longer run the ranch due to his arthritis.
Jeb first met Droop-a-Long when the coyote saved him from drowning after he fell into a rapid, and from then on the two became friends, although not as close as Droop-a-Long's friendship with Ricochet. Jeb, though he hadn't formally met Ricochet, was excited to be friends with the sheriff's deputy and could at least say that he knew someone famous.

### The Protector Case

Jeb soon became known for his involvment in what became known as the Protector case. He was one of the few who believed that Ricochet was right in beating up Dave and Chuck, as he had heard some rumors that the men were running illegal businesses. When Droop-a-Long is believed to be dead and his body is gone, Jeb is devastated along with the townspeople, but late that night, he asks Ricochet to get to the bottom of the case and get justice for Droop-a-Long, as he believes that something bigger is going on. Ricochet, although broken by what happened to his best friend, agrees to this after hearing Jeb's theory, and decides to appoint Jeb as his junior deputy in order to help him on the case.

Jeb's first time working with Ricochet is rocky at first; due to his grief over Droop-a-Long's death, Ricochet was snapping at people, and was also quick to accuse Jeb of attacking the mayor in order to release Dave and Chuck from prison, which sent Jeb over the edge and caused him to shout Ricochet down. However, he soon learns that his older brother Zeb was responsible thorugh an attack on the office. He learns that Zeb had a role in beating up Droop-a-Long and disposing his body, as well as attacking the mayor under Dave and Chuck's orders. Ricochet arrests him on the spot and Zeb gives up without much fight. Zeb tries to apologize to his younger brother, but Jeb refuses to talk to him, furious that he would do such horrible actions for money. With his name cleared, Ricochet and Jeb decide to find Dave and Chuck.

After an epic chase, they end up outwitting the criminals and arrest them.
Dave and Chuck, however, aren't going to start talking that easily and start harrassing Ricochet, mocking his hopes about Droop-a-Long being alive. Already emotionally raw, Ricochet loses his temper and almost strangles Dave to death in the cell, claiming that he'll make him regret harrassing Droop-a-Long. Jeb, although terrified, manages to talk him down from it, telling him that Droop-a-Long wouldn't have wanted him to kill his murderer in revenge. He later takes control of things, and successfully manages to get them to tell him their plan. When he and Ricochet discover that the rest of Dave's gang is in Youngsville, Jeb suggests that Ricochet take a posse with him to hunt the men down. Ricochet leaves Jeb in charge of affairs at the office while he leads the posse to round up Bazooka Bob and the rest of the men.  Dave, Chuck and Zeb receive twenty years in jail for their crimes, while Newly and Marcus are hit with ten.
When the case is officially closed a few weeks later, Ricochet makes Jeb his second deputy for his role in the case.

## Trivia

* Jeb is Ricochet's first human deputy.
* Jeb's character was inspired by the *Gunsmoke* character Clayton Thaddeus "Thad" Greenwood, who was Matt Dillon's part-time deputy marshal and considerably younger than Dillon's other deputy marshals (Chester, Festus and Newly).
* Physically, Jeb's appearance is inspired by the character Lucky Luke (a Franco-Belgian comic book character who also had a cartoon made by Hanna-Barbera).
* iheartgod175 originally intended to have Jeb betray Ricochet (in that he was helping his brother get rid of them both), but later scrapped the idea. Also in the original draft, Jeb received word from Ricochet that he was to be hired as Ricochet's deputy, but the scene was accidentally erased.
* Jeb is also a fan of Quick Draw McGraw.