Chapter 3

The trail was becoming cluttered with abandoned items from wagon trains that had passed before them. Chairs, dressers, pots, literally any item that could be spared had been tossed out onto the brittle grass, creating a visual for the group to see where they were headed. Yondu couldn't help but stop and rifle through each cluster of items as they passed, slipping a few small items that were seemingly worthless into the depths of his jacket. He and Kraglin had taken to riding well ahead of the train under the pretense of looking out for danger, but it mostly consisted of them sifting through the discarded items of strangers.

Perhaps they let their eyes linger too long on each other while they talked, maybe there were smiles that didn't quite match the conversation they were having. Possibly they found too many excuses to be in each other's space while searching for treasures. Weren't no one else around to witness anything, if it were happening Yondu reckoned. The rest of the group was just a cloud of dust a good ten minutes ride behind them, inching forward at a crawl due to the heavy wagons and tired oxen. If he noticed anything worth alerting his crew, he'd reach them quick enough.

Kraglin's thin frame was bending to inspect a chest that was halfway open and Yondu let his eyes slowly take in the other man's silhouette. He had foregone his riding jacket in the midday heat, instead wearing a simple button up shirt that he'd rolled up to his elbows.

"Well lookit this!" Kraglin said suddenly, causing Yondu to pause mid step.

The younger man looked over his shoulder at Yondu with a grin, his eyes wide with excitement.

"What you got boy?" Yondu asked, bridging the last few steps between them.

They both peered into the box as Kraglin pried the lid fully off, and the sun shot bursts of light off the silver tea set that lay within.

"Who'd be crazy enough to drop this out here?" Kraglin asked, picking up an ornate sugar dish.

Yondu let out a soft whistle as he shook his head. "Don't question what the universe chooses to give us."

A big toothy grin spread across his face as he picked up a large serving platter and inspected his teeth in it. When he pulled the silver back from his face, Kraglin averted his eyes and busied himself with rubbing off a spot on the sugar dish.

"We got some room for a few things. What you want from here?" Yondu asked.

As Kraglin turned back towards the chest, the silver began to clank softly. Pebbles started hopping along the worn dusty trail, clattering back and forth against each other. A lone oak tree off on the ridge lost some leaves as the ground beneath them began shaking. Yondu placed a hand on Kraglin's shoulder, steadying him as they both looked around. Suddenly Kraglin felt Yondu's hand tug him up onto his feet and shove him roughly forward.

"On your horse now boy!" He growled, swinging up onto his own horse in one fluid motion.

Kraglin rushed to his horse, who was snorting nervously as a deep rumble sound grew louder, filling the air.

Both men flew forward, urging their horses as fast as they could go. After a few minutes of riding up over the ridge that ran parallel to the trail, Yondu spotted the source of the disturbance. He slowed his horse gently, hearing Kraglin do the same directly behind him. From up on the trail, the land had looked mostly flat and barren, unchanging from mile to mile. The view from atop the ridge they had risen over allowed them a view of a large basin below. It was such a severe contrast from the harsh, dead landscape they had been passing through for weeks. Wild flowers bloomed in bright purple and yellow, their long stems blowing in the breeze. Swirls of colorful petals blew the shapes of the wind into the air, making their way lazily up toward the two stunned men.

The source of the rumbling came from the largest herd of buffalo that either man had ever seen. One after another the giant beasts trotted through the basin, their hooves shaking the ground like an earthquake as they seemingly moved all together in one motion. They let out pig-like snuffles as they ran, strangely graceful in their motion. Both men sat watching the migration for several minutes, side by side in awed silence. Yondu finally turned to Kraglin, appreciating the look of amazement shining on his face as he watched several baby buffalo try to keep up with the rest.

"I thought for sure they were gonna stampede right through our train." Yondu said.

"They don't even seem to know we're here." Kraglin said, still following the herd with his eyes carefully.

"We must be like a fly to them, something to swat at and nothin more." Yondu agreed, glancing back at the receding herd as they rounded a curve in the basin.

Both men watched as the herd moved further and further into the distance, the thunderous pound of their hooves dying off into the wind into a faint rumble.

"Tell you what though, it's too bad we left all that silver behind. By the time we get back onto the trail our group'll have caught up to us." Kraglin sighed, taking one last glance at the basin below before directing his horse back over the ridge.

An expression spread quickly across Yondu's face as a thought hit him. He gave his horse a soft kick and trotted up and over onto the trail. Kraglin took a moment to look back out at the basin before urging his horse forward to catch up.

The wagon train was slowly approaching as Kraglin reached the path. Yondu pulled up alongside Rocket as he rode in front of the train.

"Rocket, Imma need you and your boy for a minute." Yondu shouted, motioning for Rocket and Groot to follow him over to the side near the basin.

Kraglin waited for Yondu to look at him, give him any sign that he could follow, but for once the man seemed oblivious to his existence. He watched the three men ride off down the ridge, and he fought the strange bubble that always rose in his stomach as of late when he wasn't his leader's center of attention.

Yondu gave a glance over his shoulder right before he went out of sight. "Keep on the trail, we'll meet you up the road. You got this?"

Kraglin gave a firm nod, straightening in his saddle as he turned back to the cluster of wagons rolling by. He rode up to the front where Drax was steering the supply wagon, and rode alongside it.

"Any idea what they're up to?" He asked the larger man, tilting his head toward the basin.

Drax looked over thoughtfully. "He took the only two Natives in our group with him. My guess is they'll come back with some fresh meat, maybe something else useful."

"Where you getting that from" Kraglin asked, leaning back in his saddle to get a better look at the other man.

Drax let out a laugh. "We won't be the only ones who saw that buffalo herd."

Kraglin frowned as he looked back at the cloud of dust growing smaller down below.

The sun was casting long shadows across the ground, bathing everything in a rich orange glow as the group made camp for the night. Kraglin, Drax and Peter were still brushing down the horses when the sound of approaching hooves reached their ears. Giving his horse a final pat, Kraglin forced himself to walk calmly over to the three men as they returned. Groot and Rocket each had a travois dragging behind their horses, loaded with bundles. Yondu swung over the side of his horse, strutting over to the group with a big self satisfied smile on his face.

"Yall be happy to know that we're having fresh meat tonight. No hardtack nonsense, oh no." He flung a bundle at Peter, who caught it and quickly unwrapped a large chunk of buffalo meat.

"You were hunting just now?" Peter asked incredulously.

"Don't be stupid, we was trading. Had Groot here talk to that group of men who've been following the buffalo for days. Brought Rocket since no one can understand a word Groot says around here." Yondu said, unhooking the travois from Rocket's horse and laying it on the ground.

"Go give all the families some meat, they been looking weak." He ordered Peter and Drax, shoving bundles into both of their hands.

"You two finish unsaddling your horses and get some food. Ya earned it." Yondu said, clapping Rocket on the shoulder. Groot gave a small smile, his enormous figure looming over his small companion.

Yondu grabbed something large from the travois, folding it into his arms and taking it over to the supply wagon. Kraglin wasn't sure if he should follow, or sulk about being left out of the adventure. He stood chewing on his bottom lip for several minutes, before settling on drifting over to the wonderful smells coming from the fire. It had been almost two months since he'd had unsalted meat, since he'd had anything that wasn't dried and awful really. The roast that was cooking up smelled good enough to momentarily distract him from the hurt he felt from being excluded.

After ravenously shoving his dinner down in a few large bites, Kraglin allowed himself a look around. Yondu was seated off to the side, still holding the folded up bundle in his arms. He was distractedly gnawing on a large rib, his eyes a million miles off in thought. When he finally looked up, he eventually focused in on Kraglin. A sneaky, lazy smile spread across his face that showed every tooth. Flinging the ribs into the fire, he stood up slowly. Excessively slow, as if he was enjoying the fact that Kraglin was glaring at his every move. He strolled over to pick up a lantern before hopping up into the back of the supply wagon.

The dark silhouette of his figure moved across the canvas from within the wagon, and Kraglin could hear the crinkle of the map being spread out as Yondu studied their progress the same way he did most nights. Kraglin finished the last bites of his dinner hastily, still glaring at the man even though he couldn't see it.

"Oh just go in there already." Rocket said, breaking through Kraglin's thoughts.

They stared at each other for a minute, Rocket with his eyebrow raised and Kraglin with a frown.

"Kraggles, get over here a minute. Need you to take a look at this." Yondu called out, his head popping around from the back of the wagon.

Rocket wiggled his eyebrows at Kraglin, a wicked grin spreading across his pointy face. "Better hurry, he needs you." He added a wink at the end, letting out a snicker that Groot echoed.

Heat rose in Kraglin's face as he stood, trying not to seem too eager as he made his way over to the wagon. He refused to turn back and look at Rocket, though he was conflicted by what the other had said. That phrase 'he needs you' had caused an unexpected reaction deep inside his stomach as soon as the words were uttered. A little voice had muttered 'I wish' inside his head before he could hush it with other, more acceptable thoughts. He tried to push all of the hurt and pouting out of his voice as he came to stand at the back opening to the wagon and peered in at his leader.

"Well don't just stand there, climb on up." Yondu called, gesturing for him to come in.

The bundle that Yondu had been carrying was being unfurled as Kraglin crawled clumsily into the wagon, his long arms and legs almost knocking over the lantern as he moved. Kraglin settled himself next to it, realizing the bundle was a large buffalo skin. The soft thick fur just begged to be laid upon, but he tried to restrain himself by burying a hand in it instead. Yondu watched those long fingers disappear and reappear through the blanket before drawing both of their attention to the map that was spread out beside him.

"Wanna take a look at our upcoming route. The Platte is getting close, don't see a way of getting around having to cross it. Now it should be slower here, but that's an extra week's journey to get there. If we try and cross here, we might have a chance if the river ain't flooded." Yondu pointed out a few spots that were marked on the map. He glanced up at Kraglin, who was frowning as he inspected the locations, his mouth hanging slightly open as it had habit of doing when he was deep in thought. Yondu studied his face carefully, taking in all of the little details that he had grown so fond of over the last few months. There was a little line that formed between his eyebrows as he frowned, leaning closer to the map to read some notes that were scribbled lightly on it. He slowly chanced a glance at Yondu through lowered eyes, peeking at him through his eyelashes, and felt a jolt when he saw that the other man was staring directly at him.

"Well, do we risk crossing early?" Yondu asked.

"Guess we'll have to get closer to the river and see." Kraglin answered carefully.

He looked between the map and the fur blanket before settling back on Yondu's face. The sounds outside the wagon were dying down, it sounded as if most of the camp had settled in for the night. A few sleepy voices drifted in on a warm breeze, filling the otherwise still wagon with soft motion. Neither man moved aside from their eyes, Kraglin's continuing their dance from object to object while Yondu went back to studying the map. Kraglin couldn't help but feel as if they weren't really discussing the river at all.

While measuring out a distance with his thumb, Yondu growled "If you got a question to ask, get to it."

"Why didn't you take me with you to go trade?" Kraglin failed at keeping the hurt from his voice.

A smile ghosted across Yondu's lips before he could stop it. "Ya don't speak Lakota."

"Oh."

Kraglin continued to frown at him, squinting a little, which drew a sigh from the other man.

"I needed you to stay here, take charge of this lot." He offered, his voice softening slightly.

Those damn blue eyes were still squinting at him.

"Plus, I had to go back to get ya this."

There was a glint in Yondu's eye as he reached into his jacket to pull something out. He slipped the item gently into the palm of Kraglin's hand. Kraglin opened his hand slowly, a smile spreading across his whole face as he noticed that it was the sugar dish he'd been admiring. It shone in the lantern light, a distorted reflection of his pleased face spread across the curved side of the dish. A big smile spread across Yondu's face as he watched the other man examine his gift. Kraglin held the suger dish delicately in his hand, studying it with an appreciative gaze. When he looked back up at Yondu, there was something shining in his eyes that was more than the flicker of the lantern. Heat filled Yondu's stomach at that look, and he felt dangerously close to doing something reckless. Like letting him stay in that wagon with him, if it meant Kraglin would keep looking at him like that.

Instead, Yondu nudged him gently with his shoulder and uttered a soft "Go on, get."

Kraglin crawled back out of the wagon and curled up below it, unable to contain the dumb grin that kept spreading across his face.