based on the world of Firefly by J Whedon -----------------------------------------

I can feel them....I can feel them hunting....

It's dark on Serenity. Something I'm still not use to. Everywhere I've stayed, the lights have been bright. My cage was never dark. My creators too afraid that I'd find a way to use it to my advantage. Funny how well they knew me.

Something to my left as I lay suspended in the rough hammock Mal let me string up in the corner of the bay. It's my space in the dark, a spot to go when I needed silence, needed the security of the ship's engines and nothing more. Even high above, I could still hear everyone. Kaylee moaning for Simon to take the baby tonight, River dancing on the floor as Jayne cleans, yet another of his prize weapon's. Mal is in the pilot seat, the gentle rising and falling of his breaths telling me he has yet again fallen asleep. Kitty lays in my bed, the one room Mal gave me to store the research we have gathered over the months. In the kitchen, I hear Zoe and Inara, talking though I don't eavesdrop. The delicate scent of tea leaves pours over me for a moment.

Batha lay next to me, a feat I have still yet to learn as to how her mammoth form manages the jump, but she does. Her big paw bats the red hair that falls across my shoulders and I feel her low tail teasing the skin on my left leg. Everyone is content, everyone has found their place.

A presence, gentle and strong touches my inner self, and at first, I think it's River. She has gotten stronger and now can almost find where I hide the ball in my head. Last time, she had also brought out the beast in me. Thankfully, we have found a peaceful medium. I've found with Mal, blood and fights go with anything that's even remotely considered a job.

I feel it touch me, soft and first, exploring my memories, my thoughts, and then even the darker things that lay hidden. At those, I growl back a warning. River wouldn't dare go there. She had been told once before that those were left for me and me alone to know. What happened to me at the Academy didn't concern them and truthfully, it was a past I didn't want to relive.

Flashes echo in my mind, of a fight, of a chase...white walls, blades, bullets....the Conditioning Maze. It was a sight I hadn't seen in over four years. Their training grounds...pitting me against whatever force they could to see what results they could gather on my performance. No one knew about what they had done, not even Kitty. I had sheltered her from that knowledge. It wasn't something I shared either.

Another warning...the presence stops and seems to stay for a moment. Whatever it wants is deep inside and unlike this unwanted soul, I don't want it dug up. Still, if it's not one of the crew, who could it be? There is no one else out there any more. Falcon is dead, the project terminated and anything that went into the maze with me...well, they didn't come back out alive...everyone, but...

I hear Mal calling. A gentle sound, no need to yell, and I drop to the catwalk without a sound. Batha moves so she is now taking up the entire green netting, one of her paws hanging off as it swings gently. My feel begin to carry me to the bridge as I growl again at the darkness. With a gentle push, the presence leaves as it came, but for a single moment, I see blue eyes staring back at meet in the recesses. Somewhere, somehow...I've seen them....

Another call and I let the nagging feeling slide off to be processed later. If it's good, a nice surprise is something we could use....if it's bad, then it would meet the end of my claws and fangs. All I know right now is....the presence had reeked of the hell I'd come from and I'm tired of chasing demons.

----------------------------------------- AN: no, people, it ain't 'Ski. ;)His eyes are brown...LOL