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Description
"When the stars shine bright through the engine's trail
And the dust of another world drops behind
When my ship is free of the open sky
That's a damn good day to my way of mind
There's a barren planet you never can leave
There's a rocky valley where we lost a war
There's a cross once hung round a soldier's neck
There's a man's faith died on Serenity's floor

But I stood my ground and I'll fly once more
The last oath that I ever swore

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out into the black
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
You can't take the sky from me

When you see a man and he's standin' alone
Well you might just take him for an easy mark
And there's many a man has tried his hand
And there's worse than wolves in the borderland dark
From the savage men to the government hounds
Try to take what's yours and tear you through
But them that run with me got my back
It's a fool don't know that his family's his crew

Don't tell me what I cannot do
Don't think I've got to run from you

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out into the black
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
You can't take the sky from me

When you've walked my road, when you've seen what I've seen
Well you won't go talkin' 'bout righteous men
You'll know damn well why I want to keep to my sky
Never cry 'neath nobody's heel again
I've seen torment raked 'cross innocent souls
Seen sane men mad and good men die
I've been hounded, hated, married and tricked
Been tortured, cheated, shot and tied

You won't see no tears when I say goodbye
I've still got my family and my Firefly!"
-"The Ballad of Mal Reynolds" by Michelle Dockrey

I can't do that, she'd kill me. little Leeza Roimada lamented to herself as she paced the floor of her room, ears flattened in frustration.

Her master of less than 48 hours had been called off to a debriefing of the mission that had resulted in the presence of her unlikely friend in the training room the other day. She'd been given a number of options for occupying her time while Wielder was away. Holoflicks, meditation, library study. "Stay out of trouble, Shorty." had been her only mandate.

There was something she felt an insatiable urge to do. It shouldn't cause any trouble. Common sense had to play a role, though, and all the common sense in the galaxy was screaming that this was a bad idea. How would Wielder react? The Timber Wolf struck her as being something of a rouge, but most adults practiced the rule of "Do as I say, not as I do."

What harm would it really do? Not like she would be unsupervised, and Wielder hadn't come out and said "You may NOT do this..." Decisions, decisions...
**************************************************
That's about a 25 terawatt force field. Modulating at 5 cycles per second. That's like a light duty deflector shield. All that power for little ol' me? Guess I should be honored. Heh, there's a phase fluctuation about every third or fourth cycle, you dirt-worshiping space monks ought-ta think about purging your energy grids once in a while.

Laying on his bunk with his eyes closed, DJ pondered the force field that stood as a barrier between the interior of his cell and the outside world. Looking at the universe from an engineers point of view kept the mind occupied. A good thing, for if he were not able to analyze his surroundings and mentally pick them to pieces, he would quickly go out of his mind in his five by eight foot slice of hell. Honestly he wondered how some of his less mechanically inclined shipmates were keeping their wits about them.

"Mister Halfmoon." The voice belonged to a clone. Which one, the pirate couldn't say, they all sounded the fuck alike.

"Yeah." DJ lazily replied, opening his eyes and rolling onto his side. Every fiber of his mental being was fighting against the urge to use a derogatory pun when addressing the trooper. Somebody was looking out for him and he figured it best to at least try to behave himself.

"A visitor to see you."

Oh, this'll be good.... Sitting upright on the narrow bunk, the Alsatian steeled himself for whatever new test of his mettle might be coming his way. He was more than a little shocked when his eyes delivered the answer.

"Wha... What are you doing here, Kiddo??"

The little Aardwolf pup, Leeza stood outside the force field. Her ears were erect with curiosity, but there was a sorrow in her eyes. She didn't immediately respond to DJ's question about her presence, though she obviously wanted to. A slight nervous tail wag and weight shifting from one little paw to the other, and back again were offset by her big fuchsia eyes looking confidently into those of the larger dog.

Dropping to one knee, DJ met the child's gaze at her level. "You shouldn't be here, Pup." The pirate's voice was soft, almost a whisper. "You're gonna get your tail in a wringer."

Leeza's eyes never broke contact. She was a bold little thing, to be sure. "I had to come." she replied slowly, choosing her words with care. "I had to know you were alright. Wielder said you would be, but I had to see."

"I'm okay." DJ replied in a reassuring tone. "I'm glad you care, but I don't know why you're wasting your time on a guy like me."

"I'm not wasting my time, Mister Halfmoon. You shouldn't be here, either."

"What makes you say that?" the pirate lowered himself to the floor and leaned his back against the wall of his cell. "I'd rather not be here, but the fact is I plotted this course, now I've gotta fly it."

Having the pity of a barely adolescent girl did nothing for Halfmoon's Corrilean pride, yet he was flattered that she was investing so much of herself in what she perceived to be his well being. Especially after what he'd seen her do a couple days ago. He couldn't help to think what a fine spacer she'd make with guts like that.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Mister Halfmoon." The kid wasn't backing down. Obviously it wasn't in her nature.

"DJ"

Leeza cocked her head quizzically.

"My name." The big Alsatian chuckled, "As opposed to 'Mister'. No need to stand on formality, never been my style anyway."

A warm smile crossed the girl's muzzle and her tail wagged as she joined her strange friend on the floor.

"Why are you here, anyway? You're not an evil man, I can feel it. Wielder feels it too, I know she does."

Halfmoon threw his head back, stared at the ceiling, and exhaled heavily. "Eight years in space. Fire fights, asteroids, outrunning the law, cheating death, and here I sit on a detention cell floor spilling my life's story to a wet nosed whelp!" His tone was sarcastic, but he couldn't keep from smiling as he said it. The little Aardwolf sat cross legged outside the force field, ears forward and wagging tail sweeping the floor. Her eyes were bright and her innocent smile was broadening. Her diminutive size and sweet disposition were irresistibly endearing, and DJ decided he would indulge her curiosity. Conversation would be nice anyway. "Alright you little squeaker, exactly what would you like to know?"
***************************************
When Leeza wasn't in her room Wielder didn't even bother checking the library, nor the training rooms, or gardens. She had a strong notion as to where she'd find the young Padawan. Honestly, she wouldn't expect anything different. She'd felt the bond of friendship form between the child and the pirate. A bond that could easily last a lifetime.

CT-2749, better known as "Thrust" confirmed her hunch as she entered the detention center. Leeza was here, outside Halfmoon's cell. As she made her way to collect her charge her ears were tickled by a sound alien to a place like this. The sound of laughter. A man's and a girl's. The wolf slowed her pace, allowing the two to have their moment.

Halfmoon's cell was the last in the row. She approached slowly, stealthily, the image before her straining her heartstrings. Leeza sat on the floor of the aisle-way, listening intently as DJ spoke. Wielder couldn't see the pirate's face, but by the jolly tone in his voice she could picture his expression. That smile. That warm, boyish smile she'd first seen in the engine room on the Firebrand. It was good to know that his spirit was unbroken after all he’d been through over the past week. Wielder could feel a cheerful aura from the pirate and fascination from the young Padawan as he entertained her with some wild story or another.

“So unbeknownst to us, these crazy fools had six live gundarks in their cargo bay...”

Damn it, she’d stepped too close. Wheather young Roimada had heard her approach or felt her presence in the force was inconsequential, the girl looked down the aisle with slightly pinned ears and a sheepish expression on her face.

“Imagine our surprise when we opened the doors and stepped right into this writhing mass of....” the pirate’s voice trailed off as he noticed the change in Leeza’s posture and expression.

No sense trying to sneak around now, Wielder approached the cell. She could see Halfmoon rise from a seated position on the floor. Leeza stayed put, but her ears pinned further back as the wolf drew nearer.
“Don’t break up your party on my account.” quipped Wielder as she padded up in front of the cell. Her attempt at humor backfired. A low growl issued from Halfmoon’s throat as Leeza shrank away from her master.

“Master, I... I just...” The little aardwolf stammered as she submissively averted her eyes.

“I know, kid. I know. I would have done the same thing.” The timber wolf spoke in a soft voice, hoping to the force that her words were reassuring. “C’mon.” She offered a hand to Leeza, and was relieved when the pup took it.

“I always enjoyed chatting with him, too.” Wielder smiled weakly as she pulled her Padawan to her feet. “And on that note I need to have a chat with him now. I’ll meet up with you later, ok?”

“Yes Master.”

“Before you go, though...” Wielder tapped the keypad next to the cell door and the force field that had been seperating the two unlikely friends vanished.

DJ’s eyes widened in shock as the wolf stepped aside, allowing little Leeza to step inside the cell. Kneeling to the child’s level, the pirate offered her a friendly hand. He was again taken aback when his young friend bypassed his hand and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“I’ll see you soon, Halfzy.” The girl yipped, bushy tail starting to wag again.

“Thanks for stopping by, Squeaker.” Halfmoon replied warmly, returning Leeza’s hug. “Hard to find good company around here.”

Wielder turned her head to hide her misty eyes from the pair. “Damn you Halfzy.” She thought, "Damn you for being yourself."

------to be continued------

The above story was written by my good friend, DJ359 over on FurAffinity and features Wielder's padawan, Leeza Roimada, and a young and scruffy and ruggedly handsome (he'll know the reference) DJ. They grow to have a big brother, widdle sister sort of relationship, and this is sort of the beginning of it as each of them, in some way, buys the freedom and sometimes life of the other. Can't have better family than that.

Anyway, this is my Murry Crinbus gift to him. He's a super sweet guy, and a good writer, and SHOULD START POSTING HIS SHIT SOMEDAY. That was my attempt at being subtle. Feel free to critique that as well as the art.

Characters belong to their creators, blah blah blah.

Description
"When the stars shine bright through the engine's trail
And the dust of another world drops behind
When my ship is free of the open sky
That's a damn good day to my way of mind
There's a barren planet you never can leave
There's a rocky valley where we lost a war
There's a cross once hung round a soldier's neck
There's a man's faith died on Serenity's floor

But I stood my ground and I'll fly once more
The last oath that I ever swore

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out into the black
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
You can't take the sky from me

When you see a man and he's standin' alone
Well you might just take him for an easy mark
And there's many a man has tried his hand
And there's worse than wolves in the borderland dark
From the savage men to the government hounds
Try to take what's yours and tear you through
But them that run with me got my back
It's a fool don't know that his family's his crew

Don't tell me what I cannot do
Don't think I've got to run from you

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me
Take me out into the black
Tell 'em I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
You can't take the sky from me

When you've walked my road, when you've seen what I've seen
Well you won't go talkin' 'bout righteous men
You'll know damn well why I want to keep to my sky
Never cry 'neath nobody's heel again
I've seen torment raked 'cross innocent souls
Seen sane men mad and good men die
I've been hounded, hated, married and tricked
Been tortured, cheated, shot and tied

You won't see no tears when I say goodbye
I've still got my family and my Firefly!"
-"The Ballad of Mal Reynolds" by Michelle Dockrey

I can't do that, she'd kill me. little Leeza Roimada lamented to herself as she paced the floor of her room, ears flattened in frustration.

Her master of less than 48 hours had been called off to a debriefing of the mission that had resulted in the presence of her unlikely friend in the training room the other day. She'd been given a number of options for occupying her time while Wielder was away. Holoflicks, meditation, library study. "Stay out of trouble, Shorty." had been her only mandate.

There was something she felt an insatiable urge to do. It shouldn't cause any trouble. Common sense had to play a role, though, and all the common sense in the galaxy was screaming that this was a bad idea. How would Wielder react? The Timber Wolf struck her as being something of a rouge, but most adults practiced the rule of "Do as I say, not as I do."

What harm would it really do? Not like she would be unsupervised, and Wielder hadn't come out and said "You may NOT do this..." Decisions, decisions...
**************************************************
That's about a 25 terawatt force field. Modulating at 5 cycles per second. That's like a light duty deflector shield. All that power for little ol' me? Guess I should be honored. Heh, there's a phase fluctuation about every third or fourth cycle, you dirt-worshiping space monks ought-ta think about purging your energy grids once in a while.

Laying on his bunk with his eyes closed, DJ pondered the force field that stood as a barrier between the interior of his cell and the outside world. Looking at the universe from an engineers point of view kept the mind occupied. A good thing, for if he were not able to analyze his surroundings and mentally pick them to pieces, he would quickly go out of his mind in his five by eight foot slice of hell. Honestly he wondered how some of his less mechanically inclined shipmates were keeping their wits about them.

"Mister Halfmoon." The voice belonged to a clone. Which one, the pirate couldn't say, they all sounded the fuck alike.

"Yeah." DJ lazily replied, opening his eyes and rolling onto his side. Every fiber of his mental being was fighting against the urge to use a derogatory pun when addressing the trooper. Somebody was looking out for him and he figured it best to at least try to behave himself.

"A visitor to see you."

Oh, this'll be good.... Sitting upright on the narrow bunk, the Alsatian steeled himself for whatever new test of his mettle might be coming his way. He was more than a little shocked when his eyes delivered the answer.

"Wha... What are you doing here, Kiddo??"

The little Aardwolf pup, Leeza stood outside the force field. Her ears were erect with curiosity, but there was a sorrow in her eyes. She didn't immediately respond to DJ's question about her presence, though she obviously wanted to. A slight nervous tail wag and weight shifting from one little paw to the other, and back again were offset by her big fuchsia eyes looking confidently into those of the larger dog.

Dropping to one knee, DJ met the child's gaze at her level. "You shouldn't be here, Pup." The pirate's voice was soft, almost a whisper. "You're gonna get your tail in a wringer."

Leeza's eyes never broke contact. She was a bold little thing, to be sure. "I had to come." she replied slowly, choosing her words with care. "I had to know you were alright. Wielder said you would be, but I had to see."

"I'm okay." DJ replied in a reassuring tone. "I'm glad you care, but I don't know why you're wasting your time on a guy like me."

"I'm not wasting my time, Mister Halfmoon. You shouldn't be here, either."

"What makes you say that?" the pirate lowered himself to the floor and leaned his back against the wall of his cell. "I'd rather not be here, but the fact is I plotted this course, now I've gotta fly it."

Having the pity of a barely adolescent girl did nothing for Halfmoon's Corrilean pride, yet he was flattered that she was investing so much of herself in what she perceived to be his well being. Especially after what he'd seen her do a couple days ago. He couldn't help to think what a fine spacer she'd make with guts like that.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Mister Halfmoon." The kid wasn't backing down. Obviously it wasn't in her nature.

"DJ"

Leeza cocked her head quizzically.

"My name." The big Alsatian chuckled, "As opposed to 'Mister'. No need to stand on formality, never been my style anyway."

A warm smile crossed the girl's muzzle and her tail wagged as she joined her strange friend on the floor.

"Why are you here, anyway? You're not an evil man, I can feel it. Wielder feels it too, I know she does."

Halfmoon threw his head back, stared at the ceiling, and exhaled heavily. "Eight years in space. Fire fights, asteroids, outrunning the law, cheating death, and here I sit on a detention cell floor spilling my life's story to a wet nosed whelp!" His tone was sarcastic, but he couldn't keep from smiling as he said it. The little Aardwolf sat cross legged outside the force field, ears forward and wagging tail sweeping the floor. Her eyes were bright and her innocent smile was broadening. Her diminutive size and sweet disposition were irresistibly endearing, and DJ decided he would indulge her curiosity. Conversation would be nice anyway. "Alright you little squeaker, exactly what would you like to know?"
***************************************
When Leeza wasn't in her room Wielder didn't even bother checking the library, nor the training rooms, or gardens. She had a strong notion as to where she'd find the young Padawan. Honestly, she wouldn't expect anything different. She'd felt the bond of friendship form between the child and the pirate. A bond that could easily last a lifetime.

CT-2749, better known as "Thrust" confirmed her hunch as she entered the detention center. Leeza was here, outside Halfmoon's cell. As she made her way to collect her charge her ears were tickled by a sound alien to a place like this. The sound of laughter. A man's and a girl's. The wolf slowed her pace, allowing the two to have their moment.

Halfmoon's cell was the last in the row. She approached slowly, stealthily, the image before her straining her heartstrings. Leeza sat on the floor of the aisle-way, listening intently as DJ spoke. Wielder couldn't see the pirate's face, but by the jolly tone in his voice she could picture his expression. That smile. That warm, boyish smile she'd first seen in the engine room on the Firebrand. It was good to know that his spirit was unbroken after all he’d been through over the past week. Wielder could feel a cheerful aura from the pirate and fascination from the young Padawan as he entertained her with some wild story or another.

“So unbeknownst to us, these crazy fools had six live gundarks in their cargo bay...”

Damn it, she’d stepped too close. Wheather young Roimada had heard her approach or felt her presence in the force was inconsequential, the girl looked down the aisle with slightly pinned ears and a sheepish expression on her face.

“Imagine our surprise when we opened the doors and stepped right into this writhing mass of....” the pirate’s voice trailed off as he noticed the change in Leeza’s posture and expression.

No sense trying to sneak around now, Wielder approached the cell. She could see Halfmoon rise from a seated position on the floor. Leeza stayed put, but her ears pinned further back as the wolf drew nearer.
“Don’t break up your party on my account.” quipped Wielder as she padded up in front of the cell. Her attempt at humor backfired. A low growl issued from Halfmoon’s throat as Leeza shrank away from her master.

“Master, I... I just...” The little aardwolf stammered as she submissively averted her eyes.

“I know, kid. I know. I would have done the same thing.” The timber wolf spoke in a soft voice, hoping to the force that her words were reassuring. “C’mon.” She offered a hand to Leeza, and was relieved when the pup took it.

“I always enjoyed chatting with him, too.” Wielder smiled weakly as she pulled her Padawan to her feet. “And on that note I need to have a chat with him now. I’ll meet up with you later, ok?”

“Yes Master.”

“Before you go, though...” Wielder tapped the keypad next to the cell door and the force field that had been seperating the two unlikely friends vanished.

DJ’s eyes widened in shock as the wolf stepped aside, allowing little Leeza to step inside the cell. Kneeling to the child’s level, the pirate offered her a friendly hand. He was again taken aback when his young friend bypassed his hand and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

“I’ll see you soon, Halfzy.” The girl yipped, bushy tail starting to wag again.

“Thanks for stopping by, Squeaker.” Halfmoon replied warmly, returning Leeza’s hug. “Hard to find good company around here.”

Wielder turned her head to hide her misty eyes from the pair. “Damn you Halfzy.” She thought, "Damn you for being yourself."

------to be continued------

The above story was written by my good friend, DJ359 over on FurAffinity and features Wielder's padawan, Leeza Roimada, and a young and scruffy and ruggedly handsome (he'll know the reference) DJ. They grow to have a big brother, widdle sister sort of relationship, and this is sort of the beginning of it as each of them, in some way, buys the freedom and sometimes life of the other. Can't have better family than that.

Anyway, this is my Murry Crinbus gift to him. He's a super sweet guy, and a good writer, and SHOULD START POSTING HIS SHIT SOMEDAY. That was my attempt at being subtle. Feel free to critique that as well as the art.

Characters belong to their creators, blah blah blah.