Ok with it being Yondu week, and I'm way behind. The next set of stories are based on my "core four" OC characters, who are Peter's awesome uncle types. In these, Peter is four, veering on five, Horuz and Yarovesky are officially together. But something is happening they can't explain.

Theme: Rising

Raise Up

Ever since Peter came into the Ravagers lives, the routine had been installed, the crew had been hooking up, others were coming together as a family, and it was different. However, but no one could explain it, and it never got back to Yondu.

It all started, then Iztel was woken up by Proctom screaming in his sleep, causing Iztel to think that the young lad was having a seizure, until he calmed down, after he had woken up all terrified and sweat encrusted. Proctom described what he had seen in his own mind, it wasn't something for his past, or perhaps it was, he wasn't sure.

Hearing the twenty-one-year-old describing what had happened, Iztel just perched on the edge of his bed mused over the statement.

"Sounds like you had a dream, lad."

"A dream…." Proctom looked confused "What's a dream?"

Iztel thinking and with his one good hand ran his fingers through his hair and tried to describe it, it was a "Way of the brain processing everything, and there were good dreams, and bad ones were called nightmares."

For Proctom he just tried to take it in, and just grew confused, he didn't dream, he knew about them, but dreams required imagination…he didn't have one of those.

For Iztel he found this statement a bit disconcerting since that made no sense to him, but eventually and it took a few months, and more of his boy becoming more independent, that the dreams grew easier.

Iztel was pleased to see how smart and competent Proctom really was, and it was another reminder of how he should have really treated the boy better before he was cast into exile. He was so used to seeing Ravagers as bastards and was so embittered about losing his position when even he knew he should have been Captain, instead of Yondu and never once considered the mental state of the teenage Ravager who came on board.

Iztel passed on the information to the medics who were observing and the treating the Ravager but didn't make a big deal out of it but couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

A month later, two other Ravagers, came bursting out of their shared quarters, one with a look of panic and the other trying to calm him down, it had been affecting them both, for weeks, but now it felt like was getting worse.

Going to the mess hall, they searched and found bottles of beer, and threw it down their throats, waiting for the cold liquid to try to refresh their brains.

However, both just felt exhausted, and their minds in turmoil and they tried to process that.

"I have no idea what the hell is going on, I think they're dreams…I've heard about them, people have them," Jamsean said, trying to understand.

"I know that, but we don't, we don't have them...why are we having them?"

Neither of them could understand but made a vow to keep this to themselves, and in their haste hadn't seen Iztel standing I the pantry silently observing the conversation.

However, Iztel, since his job to was be the main cook, keep an eye on Peter and now he had the responsibilities of Proctom, began to observe what was happening.

It was no secret that the four Ravagers when they came on board, were hard workers, took orders, didn't have much personality of their own, and were quiet. He knew they were recently liberated slaves, but now.

Looking over at Jamsean, when he with no hesitation was drawing at the table, after helping Peter with his sketches, producing beauty and stunning work, and was often seen sitting there with books of the history of art, just marvelling at the works and techniques.

For Jeans he would never mention, but whatever went through his head, waking up in the night in a cold sweat processing that he was dreaming the unspeakable thing he couldn't discuss apart from Gunnsen, he just picked up some paper and pencils and just went to work, drawing and trying to understand, and it had become noticed that he was a lot calmer.

Jamsean didn't understand what was happening, but inside himself, he felt better. His relationship with Gunnsen was better, and his mate just seemed easier going and social. Even though Jamsean loved his mate with all his heart, he was hesitant at bringing it up too much, as if wherever was happening would stop. They had good days, and bad one but they were getting better, and they just had to focus on that.

The same thing was happening to Yarovesky, normally more of the introverted crew, however looking back, it was almost subtle, even Yondu realised much later on.

Yondu wasn't stupid, he knew his crew had issues and in hindsight should never have accepted them on, but they were young, hungry and he needed crew, desperation leading to a situation when it was impossible to say no to them.

The others managed to find their groove, but Yarovesky, it was either getting his knife and starting his collection, and perhaps the first hobby he ever had, or the realisation that he was into music.

It has started when Peter had only recently turned five, and the crew had slaughtered a load of Volrats, and the others were in the mess hall, when the stations were tuned into the frequencies from the colony planets.

It was always useful to have them tuned in and since it was Iztel and Proctom in the room for long periods of time it was essential for the younger Ravagers education, when the song came on, and since it sounded sappy, Jamsean sent to change the frequency, and Yarovesky spoke up.

"Don't change that, I love that song".

The song was in Darbian, and Yarovesky, just sung along gently, which got the interest of little Peter Jason Udonta, aged only four.

"What does it mean?" he asked and Yarovesky explained.

"It's an old song, it's called "Goodbye, forever", it's about two people who are separating and can never be together again". Yarovesky explained, his voice taking on a gentler tone which was remiss most of the time.

"My old master used to play it all the time", Yarovesky explained, and Peter spoke up again.

"I want to learn Darbian", Yondu was about to speak up since both he and Kraglin were fluent in the language, when then Peter spoke up again "But Yarovesky, you have to teach me, because you talk so good"

"I know how, I can teach you, shouldn't be too difficult, it's very similar to Xandarian"

Peter beamed at this, and Yondu and Kraglin who internally were a little bit miffed since it was something, they both wanted to do, then Yondu chucked to himself, since Yarovesky was putting all the challenging work in, it would make his life easier overall. Not too shabby, being Captain wasn't an easy job after all.

After that since he still had his drawing lessons, and everything else, Peter learned Darbian with Yarovesky, and picked it up easily, Yarovesky since he was taught things by a nice master, nice in the fact he had worked him hard but never beat him.

He managed to teach peter the basics, and with songs that Peter translated. It also helped that Yondu and Kraglin who normally read to stories to Peter each night begun to read the same one and just changed the language.

For Yarovesky it was nice to be able to converse with the small boy, who was sitting with him, and it was also nice for the Udonta family to see how settled their son was with their chief navigator and hacker.

But Yarovesky had never seriously considered music at all, until he was in the markets with. Proctom, Iztel and Jamsean. Yondu and Kraglin were on a mission together, and the others had been sent for supplies, and for Peter to try to expel some energy, and to try to get the others to buy him things. Of which they just placated the child but did give him a few small things. Knowing Yondu and Kraglin's rule at not letting Peter get spoiled.

It was then that he saw it, just in a table, surrounded by some assorted junk, a bit battered but still in good condition, and in the back of his mind he begun to imagine playing it, strumming the strings into a melody.

The idea shocked him for a moment, he wasn't known for having imaginations, none of them were, but he found himself compelled to buy the kithara.

It was when he was taking it on the ship, Yondu who was walking down the corridor gave it a second look about his hacker and navigators new toy, but decided not to say anything about it and

Horuz gave him a quizzical look, when Yarovesky brought the stringed instrument into their shared quarters, but in truth, since Horuz hobby was chilling out watching the data stream and playing online games, the fact that his mate, if you could call him that had something better to do, than sharpen his blades over and over again like he was in some type of trance.

There in privacy, Yarovesky, with the information he had gathered, begun to play the instrument, finding the melody, and though he had no one to judge him, he was a fast learner and picked it up quickly.

In the end, after a few months, the crew were used to the sounds of the kithara, and the sight of Yarovesky sitting there, with his eyes closed just humming a melody since he couldn't sing for shit and looking contented and happy to their surprise.

It was going well for Yarovesky, his relationship with Horuz was feeling settled, they were fighting less, and for the first time in a very long time there was a sense of peace running through him…maybe this was it, maybe this meant…

To be continued.