The Parting of the Ways

Chapter One

"So, you want to be a Ravager?" Stakar asked the young Xandarian, who with the grime and sweat of Hrax clinging to his skin, would benefit from a good shower, and from that matted hair, a damn good haircut.

Stakar was still surprised at this new addition to his crew but felt he didn't have a choice when Yondu Udonta finely contacted him, to let him know he had the units. And thanks to the associate he was meant to meet and who had turned up dead, Yondu had managed to get out with the help of the skinny Xandarian.

Stakar was relieved to have Yondu back since he thought his own mission, he was a bit too green for that, but it had been a success, and he had learned with the help of others. The fact that Yondu trusted someone for help was an achievement, even if Yondu had taken this moment to regress into himself and was looking more to the floor.

"I do, Yondu said you needed crew, and I'll work my ass off. I don't eat much, and I can and e anything you tell me."

There was a draw in his voice which could easily come across as sarcasm if you didn't understand the Hraxian tones. But most did, and know it was sincerity, as Stakar unfolded his arms.

"Fine you're in, we'll need to get you some new clothes, and a bunk…"

"He can bunk with me," Yondu said quickly, "I have a big room, he can bunk with me". Yondu's quarters were no bigger than the rest, but normally he wanted to be left alone, and now he wanted someone to bunk in with him.

Someone as Stakar leaned was called Kraglin Obfonteri "I'll even teach him to fly", Yondu said since, reaching out to someone was rare for him, but the days having to rely on Kraglin in the underworld, had seemed to have rubbed off on him.

Of course, since this was so against the norm for Yondu, the deck of the ship was quickly ablaze with gossip, and later on, after Yondu was back to work, and Kraglin was coming out of the shower, in his new quarters, where he couldn't believe his luck.

The air was recycled and cold and felt clean, the temperatures could be adjusted instead of the humid hellscape of his previous home. Kraglin looked out of the port window at all those stars and places he had never dreamed of.

Kraglin, he had seen the sky felt the wind against this face for the first time in one day, and now he had all this. Here he had to become a criminal, and that's not saying he hadn't in the past indulged in that, then so be it. This was his home now and Hrax was a long way away.

With a towel wrapped around him, and looking at the vastness of space, when there was a knock at the door, and before he could answer, four Xandarian Ravagers came in.

"So, this is the new guy", one of them laughed "Not too bad, not what I was expecting". Whilst the other standing next to him shook his head "Ignore this. This asshole is crappy at introduction. Hi I'm Regellen and this master of eloquence is my mate, Hoag".

The pair were similar with dark brown hair and eyes, and under their red coats was a clear muscley build, as they passed Kraglin some clothes "Manged to scoring this up for you, you won't be wearing the Red yet, that take a while". Regellen advised, as Kraglin took the clothes slipped off to the bathroom and dressed quickly, taking a moment to admire his new threads and boots.

"Not too shabby". Hoag stated that the others whom Kraglin learned were called Iztel and Horuz, agreed, as they filled him in on what to expect on the Star Hawk. Since no one had bothered to give him the tour yet, and the last thing he wanted was to make a prick of himself on his first day as Regellen spoke up.

"So, what is the deal with you and Yondu? I mean he came back with you and wants to live with you. Like he managed to get his dick wet". Which caused the others to crack up laughing whilst Kraglin was quick to deny it.

"No, we just met in Hrax, helped each other get out, and now we're bunking". Which even though Kraglin was learning Ravagers loved to take the mick, there was a nod of respect.

"Well, if I were you, I'd keep it that way, on this place anything goes, but Yondu. His ass has been officially dubbed scary and in assessable. Why he wants to bunk with you, but don't think that pretty head of yours is going to lead to something.

If you try, we'll be wiping your blue blood off the walls. Others have. Word of advice if you want to live longer than a week. Dunno what he was like on Hrax but getting him to speak is a miracle in itself".

Advised Iztel, who looked like he could rip your head off, but as Kraglin noted during the weeks occasionally dropped moments of wisdom that make him sound like a scholar.

However, Kraglin was intrigued by his new bunkmate, who just kept himself closed off and was more conversational on Hrax, but for Yondu it was self-preservation, and he didn't know what the was thinking when he asked Kraglin to bunk with him.

It wasn't just his presence, since Kraglin was always ready to talk and be social, at a level which confused Yondu, but Kraglin recognised that someone like Yondu needed time alone and gave him that with no question.

This made Yondu feel more conflicted inside since he was cold and aloof and he had to be. Can't show weakness, can't let them see you as weak. Those were the words that had gotten him through twenty years as a slave, why should this be any different?

Having Kraglin as a bunkmate, however, proved to be difficult when the young Xandarian managed to integrate himself into the crew with ease, and every time Yondu went somewhere he heard a casual "Yondu, come sit over here", or "Yondu have you seen this?"

Try as he might turn, Yondu couldn't turn away nor tell Kraglin to sod off, so he sat there in the mess hall, with Kraglin asking him about his day since he was new to being a Ravager.

However, Yondu was good at instruction, and Kraglin picked things up quickly since Yondu only said things once, if he said them at all. Which meant Kraglin was flying faster than most Ravagers and was already putting money into buying his own M-Ship.

Sitting there, with food that could have been better, but Yondu had grown up on worse or, in most cases, nothing. From anyone looking past, it looked like a motley crew, of a Xandarian who was a berserker and looked like he would rip your head off.

Another who was more subdued, but people were still cautious of, a Centaurian who had been through hell. A fresh new one and everything was still new and exciting and the obvious couple who held hands when they ate and indulged in playful acts not caring that people were around.

From his vantage point, Stakar was pleased to see this unfold, since Kraglin had come aboard. Yondu seemed more active and because of this, Stakar was happier to not worry about him as he normally did, however his wife as she surveyed the scene, had something more to say.

"They do that to spite you, you know that," Aleta stated to her husband who was just confused for a moment, thinking she was talking about Yondu. "Regellen and Hoag, acting like that, they know the stance on marriage to their rank, and they do that to wind you up".

It was a strange statement since the Ravager Code had no stance on hookups, or even living together, but these two just loved to flaunt their relationship. Hell Stakar had even walked in to hear them singing a love song together more than once, acting in a way that was so un-Ravager-like.

Ravagers were meant to be hard bastards, not saps. But he couldn't do much as Captain, and they knew it. However, the irritation grew like an inch between the couple, as the months went on. and the group of Ravagers consisting of Hoag, Regellen, Horuz, Iztel, Kraglin and the only non-Xandarian, Yondu became more like a group.

Whilst Kraglin learned the ropes, and thanks to Yondu's instruction, in which he only said it once, so bloody learn it. Kraglin became an ace pilot and trained in weaponry. Also, Kraglin had a good head for figures and was calm under pressure. Attributes they liked in a Ravager, and it was noted when Stakar presented the "Ceremony of the Red", in the Hanger Bay, that Kraglin was one of the fastest ever to get into it.

Yondu's ceremony was more reserved when it came to him since he hated being the centre of attention, and it was done privately, with Yondu almost mumbling a "thank you", before walking out to the cheers of the others, In a contrast to the man he had reluctantly trained to be a Ravager.

Kraglin, for a good few weeks, walked around admiring himself like a model on a catwalk, as everyone took the piss but he took it in good humour. And for Stakar watching Yondu seeming more relaxed than he had ever been, was more content to back away and let Yondu fully assimilate into the crew.

For Yondu however, being around Kraglin was forcing him to be more social, and in a way, he didn't mind it, however, it was when they were bunking in their adjoining beds.

The stars illuminating as they flew by, was sometimes the most challenging since Kraglin was a talker, and no one had ever bothered to fill him in as the first anniversary of this arrival on the ship came to pass.

"You know something I can't believe I'm here, thought I'd be stuck on Hrax forever if my parents could see me now…well, I would have brought them up too. Got them a nice home somewhere. The last thing they would have wanted for me was to be a criminal, but at least I'm having adventures. What about you, Yondu, what would your parents think?"

Kraglin not realising that this was a taboo subject, but Yondu couldn't say anything. Yondu turned and looked directly at the wall and not Kraglin, and thought it over, since this was a reminder, and managed to say "I wouldn't know" in a soft voice that betrayed so much pain, that Kraglin regretted asking.

Kraglin hastily change the subject, knowing there was so much about this man who was his friend and who he couldn't help but be interested in's life that he didn't know.

To be continued

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