"Izzy come ov'r here n' help me with this." Kraglin calls.
Izzy, an 8 year old xandarian/some other species leans back to look at her older brother. She was small, only coming to Kraglin's beltline when standing next to the taller Xandarian. She has grease all over her. There were smudges on her arms and hands. Even a few light ones on her face and neck. She wore a pair of blue jeans that they had picked up on a job and one of Peter's old shirts from when he was younger. And a pair of ravager boots that the tailor made for her. Izzy was smart, even at 8 she could take something apart and build something completely different out of the parts. She loves following Kraglin around and helping him with the mechanics on the ship. Izzy wants to help in any way she can, but being 8 she can only do but so much. So, she follows people around like Kraglin, Tulk, Oblo, and Peter. They will let her help and show her how to do different things. It makes her feel useful and allows her to get her hands dirty and work on something.
Izzy stands walking over to her older brother. Kraglin is down on one knee, trying to fix the old engine that doesn't seem to want to be fixed. They've been working on this old machine for days now. Every time one thing seems to be fixed, something else seems to break down. Kraglin was starting to wonder whether they can even save the hunk of junk. But he's gonna try everything before he presents that bad news to the captain. Kraglin has his jumpsuit halfway off and tied around his waist. His white tank top showing underneath, smudges of grease clings to it. It shows off the small tattoos that line down his neck and arm. He asked Izzy if she wanted to help him as he had multiple things to do on it. And her small hands can fit better in certain places. Kraglin moves back, allowing the younger girl to slide between him and the engine he's working on. Kraglin wraps one gloved hand around her small waist.
"See that small nut and hose in there?" He asks pointing to the square hole that is directly in front of them. Izzy nods her head lowering it to get a better look inside, "I need you to see if you can tighten that and connect the hose to the back panel."
Izzy nods her head, pushing her hand through the small opening. She scrunches up her face as she grabs the hose. She has to stretch her arm, pushing her body against the cold metal to reach the housing on the back panel. It takes a moment before there is an audible click. She grins, moving on to the bolt. Her fingers wrap around it easily tightening it till she needs a tool. She drags her hand out and looks around at the tools that are scattered about between Kraglin and herself. Kraglin, as if reading her mind, hands her the small wrench needed to tighten it down. Izzy blinks her eyes a couple times, as the tool suddenly appears in front of her face. After several seconds she grins up at her brother, taking the small instrument. She finishes the job wiping her hands on the grease stained rag that Kraglin hands her.
"Good job Izzy. Thanks." Kraglin praises ruffling the little girl's hair.
"Can you come check my stuff Krags?" She asks, looking up at Kraglin from under his heavy hand.
"No need. I trust ya Princess."
"Yeah but I don't trust myself. Please Krags. I dont wanna mess it up." She begs pitifully.
Kraglin sighs. He knows that she's done a good job and there is nothing that she has messed up. She is a good mechanic and builder. But she is always second guessing herself. She lacks confidence in so much. That is something that the small family needs to work on with her. She won't survive in the galaxy or on a ravager ship. None of the men would hurt her or take advantage of her. Not without invoking the wrath of the Captain, First-mate, Peter and a couple other men. But they take on new recruits all the time. They think they know better and always end up getting themselves into trouble, kicked off the ship, or killed. And Izzy being a child and a girl becomes a prime traget for these dumb kids. Izzy is a spitfire, always ready to fight when someone pushes her too far, but then she second guesses the decisions that she makes. That second guessing can get her killed. He makes a mental note to talk to Yondu about it later on.
Kraglin stands, walking over to her small area to check on what she has done. He really sees no point in doing this, but if he doesn't then Izzy will bug him till he does. And by bug he means whine, complain and beg till he checks after her. Izzy follows him over, standing next to the taller man. She watches him closely as he bends down to examine the area. Just like he suspected, everything is in place and tightened down. Kraglin stands, placing his hands on his hips.
"Wanna go check mine for me?" Kraglin asks.
Izzy giggles, "I don't need to check after you big brother."
"Well ya made me come check yer stuff. So gotta check mine."
Izzy rolls her eyes, but walks over and examines her big brother's work. She grins pretending to find stuff wrong with it. She points it out, scolding him on how he needs to do a better job. Kraglin rolls his eyes, sighing fondly. He walks over, tapping her on the back of the head. She giggles, turning away from him. Kraglin jerks his head towards the far wall where the control panel for the engine is located.
"Stop it. Go turn her on Izzy."
Izzy's grin broadens, as she runs over to the lever on the far wall. She stands in front of it waiting for her brother to tell her that she can pull the lever. He takes a step back, checking over the two areas one last time. There is no reason to destroy everything they just fixed because something wasn't tightened or hooked up right. Both areas seem to be in order. Kraglin motions for her to pull the lever to start the engine.
"Do it slow Princess." He cautions.
She slowly pulls the lever down, hearing the engine start to come to life. So far, so good. By now normally there were sparks flying and things smoking. Kraglin smiles, twirling his wrist to inform Izzy to add a little more power to her. She does so very slowly, worried that it may be too much strain and cause more damage. But none of that happens. The old engine comes to life, purring beautifully, without any hiccups. Kraglin and Izzy exchange happy grins. Izzy runs her forearm over her forehead, causing a smudge of grease to stick there. Kraglin grins, stifling his laugh.
Izzy walks over to her brother to inspect their hard work. Kraglin pulls out a rag and tries to wipe off the smudges from her face. She turns her head, gently pushing the older's hands away. She scowls at her brother. She is not some little kid who needs her older brother to wash her face. Although every man on this ship feels like she is and tries to do everything for her. Izzy starts to pick up her tools, putting them in the old small toolbox that Kraglin got her for a gift. Kraglin mimics his sister, picking up his own tools. Izzy waits with an inpatient look. Kraglin ignores her long enough to stand and stick his tongue out at her. Izzy feigns shock, twisting her face into a small pout. She tries to smack her brother, only for him to slip by her hand. Kraglin chuckles as she levels him with another pout. He walks over, clapping his hand on the back of her neck, giving it a light shake. She giggles, dropping her head and allowing her brother to lead her out of the engine room.
They drop their tools off in their workshop. Yondu allowed them to turn an old storage room into a work area where Izzy could tear things apart and build at her leisure without her stuff getting in someone's way. Izzy spends more time in it than Kraglin. The room proves that as it is set up in the way she wants it. Izzy spends all her free time here, building small things and improving others. Kraglin was happy that she's able to have an outlet for her creative mind. Izzy sets her tool back on the second to top shelf, while Kraglin throws his on the top shelf. There was stuff everywhere in the small space, but everything still had it's spot. Kraglin grins down at his little sister. He places his hands between her shoulders gently pushing her to the door. Yondu is going to want an update and who better to give it than Izzy.
They make their way up to the command room and then the bridge where Yondu is at. Yondu is sitting at a table. He is looking over something on a holopad. Izzy grins broadly running up to her dad. She loves to tell him about her day and what she has accomplished. She somehow shoves her way between the man's legs. Which is a feat considering that Yondu was more or less facing the table. Izzy has squeezed herself between the table and Yondu's right leg. Yondu scouches his chair back so Izzy wouldn't be so squished against the table. She stands, resting each hand on his thigh. She waits for him to give her his full attention before she starts babbling away. Yondu makes one last adjustment before setting the pad down. He turns to face his daughter more, resting a hand on his hip. Izzy bounces on her toes as she tells him excitedly what her and Kraglin have done. Yondu listens to his daughter's exciting tell, before turning his attention to his eldest.
"Ya got her fixed then?" He asks his first mate.
"Yes Capt'n. With Izzy's help of course."
Yondu snorts, "I can see that."
Yondu licks his thumb, trying to wipe some of the grease smudges from his daughter's check. Izzy fusses, letting out an irritated huff as she pulls away from her daddy. She is not a little kid! The smudges are proof that she has done something today. They're her battle smudges from fighting with the old beast. He has no right to try to take them off. Izzy pushes the blue hand away, forcing a scoff out of the Centaurian.
"Daddy stop." Izzy huffs out, scowling at her father.
"You're gonna need a bath later on." He states to no one in particular.
Izzy huffs. Ignoring the comment in order to listen to the small conversation between her brother and Yondu. She soon decides that the conversation is of no interest to her. She doesn't really want to be here anymore. She has a small project that she's working on in the workshop and that's where she wants to be. Izzy leans into Yondu, resting her elbows and forearms on his legs. Yondu responses by lightly thumping her back with a heavy hand. After several minutes, Izzy couldn't take the boarding situation anymore. She pats Yondu's leg to get his attention.
"Daddy am I done? Can I go to the workshop?"
Yondu raises his eyebrow, "Ya git all yer work done? And done helping Krags?"
"Yep!" She says confidently, truly having her chores done this time.
Yondu glances up at his first mate, who nods his head in agreement. He checked to make sure her chores were done before he came to ask if she wanted to help him. Izzy does have a bad habit of pushing her chores off and then forgetting about them. She always ends up with too much to do in one day and Kraglin and Peter end up having to help her get them done. But this time she has been good and done them ahead of time. Yondu nods his head in approval. He jerks his head towards the door.
"Yea. Now git." He says, sending her on her way with a swat to her backside.
Izzy happily complies, running out of the command room and leaving the two men to talk amongst themselves. It would be several hours later that Yondu would come searching for the girl, finding her asleep upon her desk. Yondu shakes his head fondly, before hoisting the small girl into his arms and carrying her back to his quarters. He lays her down on his couch, massaging her scalp lightly before taking up a seat in his chair with his holopad. He settles himself in, ready to do some odd paperwork whilst his youngest sleeps. He glances over smiling proudly. He would have never thought he'd be raising another kid and that she would have stolen the hearts of many of the men. She had breathed life back into his small family, causing the 3 men to come closer together. Yondu shakes his head, she would never know how much she saved him and his two boys.