The Young Life of Blaze Aster Emyrada/Quill (Raziah Quill Emyrada[deadname])

 "Cap, come on! I can help," I try again as Yondu's boarding his ship, the Warbird, and he spins to glare at me, making me waver slightly before I steel myself as I straighten slightly. Even though it doesn't make me look more intimidating since I'm only about three feet tall and still just three. "I remember the schedules of the guards shifting, their breaks, and when they tend to use the restroom in their sixteen-hour shifts. I'm one of the fastest people on this ship and I go undetected because I'm so small. And! And because I'm so small, I look helpless as shit which is always a good distraction! I can help and if I'm being honest and speaking freely-"

 "Ya usu'lly do, Girl," He growls and I just wave my hand slightly in agreement.

 "It'd be stupid to not take me," I say levelly and the hangar goes silent, heads turning toward me as tools get dropped. "And I have more balls than most of the men on this ship, excluding you, Kraglin, Tullk, and Oblo, of course."

 "'A course," He scoffs and I look at him.

 "Better the Devil that you know than you don't. I'm more reliable than Keiko."

 "Yer both comin' an' yer gon' shut yer mouth. Git it?" I nod and he boards the ship, jerking his head for me to follow. I quickly board after him and the gangplank slams after me.

 "Oh, joy. The brat's coming," Keiko scoffs and I glare at her. "Oh no. I'm shaking." Taserface snorts and I roll my eyes, sitting in a drop-down seat to strap in. "Hey, you finally learned how to shut up!" She laughs and I ignore her while Yondu listens. "This'll be a nice flight, then."

 "You should seriously try eating some of that shit you have caked on your face and put some on your pal. Make his outside look good and maybe give you a better personality. Oh, wait! You have to have a personality first for it to get better," I respond without looking at her and she's shocked into silence while I notice Yondu smirk slightly. "So, politely refrain from speaking to me until you gain a personality and the ability to speak to me civilly. Much obliged. And before you think of mocking me, Taserface, I've gotten quite good with a knife and hit my intended target often."

 "You threatening me?"

 "No. Simply... Informing you of something. Which I tend to have to do a lot because you have a severe lack of intelligence but you get jobs done well enough. So it's whatever." I shrug and cross my arms as Yondu pilots us toward the planet, the ship silent.

 "Ya know wha'cha gotta do, Girl?" Yondu asks as we float outside the planet's atmosphere and I look out the window, unstrapping.

 "Not a clue, Cap." His implant flares and I can feel his rage radiating off of him.

 "WHA'CHA MEAN YA AIN'T GOT A CLUE?"

 "I can-"

 "SHUDDUP!"

 "OK."

 "Tullk!" He moves to Controls as Yondu comes over to me and points toward the back. "Git movin'!" I go to the back and he follows, slamming the door behind us to the loading bay. "Go ova ta tha' area cuz 'M 'bout ta 'urt ya," He growls and I go over to where he directs, sitting on a crate to watch him pace.

 "In my defense, Cap... I was never told what I'd be doing, I just told you what I could do." He glares at me. "Shutting up would be the better choice right now. Got it." I lean against the taller crate behind me and watch as he continues to pace.

 "Yer gon' distract 'em, git it?"

 "Got it, Cap." He looks at me and comes over, cuffing me on the back of the head. "Ow!" I rub slightly and he looks me over.

 "Don'cha git 'urt now, ya 'ear? Ain't got no time ta take care 'a ya if ya do."

 "I'll do my best, Sir." He nods and goes to the door, looking at me.

 "Git!"

 "Right!" I hop off the crate and head back over to the seat I was sitting in. "So... Do I finally get a-?"

 "Ya ain't gittin' a blaster, Wee Lass."

 "Worth a shot."

 "Ain't even close ta a shot in the dark."

 "Agree to disagree, eh, Scottie?" He scoffs and I grin slightly, ducking the hand that tries to muss up my hair. "Nice try. We gonna cloak and land or just float outside the atmosphere the whole time we're here?" I snark at him smoothly and he looks at me, taking co-pilot up again as Yondu comes back over.

 "Git strapped in 'gain, Girl."

 "Got it, Cap."

 "The baby needs to be strapped in," Taserface snickers and yelps when a knife is embedded into the floor by his foot. They all look at the knife then at me and I sit back in my seat slightly, glowing eyes fading back to green as I do.

 "That was a reminder of the information I gave you earlier. Next time, it goes in your body." I open my hand and it soars into it before I sheath it at my wrist again. The two pilots say nothing as they take us through the atmosphere and I watch out the window, getting a feel on where we land. I look at Keiko as she gets ready and I see that she looked older than nine, probably looking about sixteen. "Hm." I slide out of my seat and look around quickly.

 "Wha'cha lookin' fer?"

 "You got a spare duster on board, Cap?" I turn when I feel his eyes on me and see he's confused. "I'm distracting them. What would distract people better than a little kid in a duster that's way too big for them?"

 "Git Taserface ta give ya 'is."

 "No offense but I'd like to be able to breathe without the urge to puke."

 "A'ight." He reaches under the bunk and pulls out a box, handing me a blue duster. "'Ere. Tha' good?"

 "Yeah, it's-" I cut myself off as I grab it, eyes glowing for just a moment before I snatch my hand back and he looks at me, one eyebrow just barely raised.

 "Ya a'ight?"

 "Yeah... Yeah, I'm fine..." I shake my head slightly to shake off the wave of memories that came and take the duster, shrugging mine off to toss it on the bunk. "I'm gonna head to the... Cathedral?" He shows me a picture and I look at it for a few moments before nodding. "Got it." I go past Keiko and Taserface, looking at them. "Try not to get lost, huh? I ain't got the time to go lookin' for ya," I say simply as I slide down the gangplank and take a deep breath as I summon my powers to the surface before bolting.

 I skid to a stop at the treeline before the temple and slip into the duster, feeling the coms come to life in my ear. "The fuck was tha', Wee Lass?"

 "Magic, Scottie. Now shut up. I gotta get into character. And if any one of you jackasses attempt to use this as blackmail, your corpses will become black. Mail to Dad. Other than Cap because I'm not stupid enough to threaten him." I take a deep breath and dim the light that tells me the camera feature is on. "Enjoy the show, folks..." I go over to the guard as I let the sleeve slip past my hands and nervously tug on his pant leg. "Ex-Excuse me, mister... Can... Can you help me, please?" I ask as I pitch my voice a little higher like a normal Terran child and hear someone snort in my ear.

 "What-" He turns and his eyes go wide when he looks down at me, instantly dropping to a knee as I rub away tears I had willed to fall. "What's wrong, little one?"

 "I-I-I-I can't find my Daddy or Mommy... Can-Can you help me?"

 "Of course! What do they look like?" I notice Keiko and Taserface sneaking past us and I stutter a bit, playing with the sleeves of the duster.

 "Um, um... Daddy looks like, uh... Daddy an' Mommy looks like Mommy...?" He chuckles softly and pats my head gently.

 "Well can you tell me what your Daddy looks like? Is he... Tall, short?"

 "Daddy? He, uh... He's super-duper tall! An'-An'-An', uh... Skinny! He can fit in super-duper tiny spaces cuz Mommy says he's all skin and bones!" He chuckles softly and I ignore the laughing in the coms. "An'-An' he, uh... He wears bouncy clothes a lot!"

 "Bouncy clothes...?"

 "Yeah! It-It's all one thing that he bounces into!"

 "Oh! A jumpsuit?"

 "Yeah, that! An'-An' he has hair just in the middle of his head on the top! It's super-duper cool! But Mommy says I can't do my hair that way cuz I'm too little! An'-An'-An' it isn't fair!"

 "What about your Mommy? Is she tall?"

 "Mommy? Uh... Mommy's taller than me but shorter than Daddy... An'-An' Mommy, um... Has red eyes! An'-An' they're super-duper pretty!"

 "OK." He picks me up and puts me on a counter, his back to where Keiko and Taserface are sneaking out now. "What are their names?"

 "Uh... Mommy an' Daddy?"

 "What do they call each other?"

 "Uh... Daddy calls Mommy, uh... Caaaaty...? Catty."

 "Catty?"

 "Yeah... Uh-huh. They're silly!"

 "I see... And what does Mommy call Daddy?"

 "What does Mommy call Daddy? Uh... Mommy calls Daddy, um... Kraaaabbby...? Crabby."

 "Crabby?"

 "They're silly!" I shrug and he looks at me suspiciously.

 "Where'd you get that coat, little one?"

 "The coat? Um... I found it in Mommy's stuff...?"

 "Uh-huh... What color clothes do your parents wear?"

 "Uh... Red...?"

 "Like this?" He shows a full-body mugshot of Yondu and Kraglin and I look at it. "Are these your parents, little one?"

 "What? No! Cuz-Cuz those are bad guys an'-" He backhands me and my hand goes flying to my cheek out of reflex.

 "Stop. You've been made, Ravager scum."

 "You're not nice!" He backhands me again and I fight the tears that come to my eyes cuz it hurts. "If you hit me again, I'll... I'll, um..."

 "You'll what? Scream for Mommy and Daddy?" He scoffs and I look at him. "Gods above, you are a freak of nature, aren't you? You scam people into falling for your height and making them believe that you're just a child? You're despicable!" He hits me again and I hit the floor, hurting my arm a lot as I cry out in pain. "Enough already! Or are you going to take it a step farther and cry for Mommy and Daddy?" He kicks me and I try to back away one-handed.

 "Stop! Cuz if you keep hurting me, you're not gonna like the outcome!" He scoffs and kicks me in the stomach.

 "Cry for Mommy or Daddy, then." I try to curl up and he kicks me in my hurting arm, making me cry out again.

 A whistle breaks through the air and I cover my head with my not hurting arm, hearing more sharp whistles before the sound of a body hitting the ground. "Git up, Wee Lass." Tullk's hand gently pulls me to my feet and I wince when the movement jostles my arm. "Ya a- Shit."

 "What?" He catches my head so I can't look and just smiles.

 "Le's git back ta the ship."

 "OK- Oww... My arm hurts... A lot... Every time I move..." Arms pick me up and I jolt, whimpering in pain when it jostles my arm.

 "Ah gotcha, Girl." He carries me back to the ship and holds my head against his neck so I can't look at my arm.

 "It hurts... Make it stop," I whine and he holds me closer, shushing me gently as we board the M-ship. He sits with me in his lap while Tullk takes us back to the home ship since I won't loosen my grip on his coat and so he can make sure I don't look at my arm.

 "Wha's the matta, C- Wha' 'appened ta the Kid?" Kraglin yells as soon as Yondu steps off with me and he takes me out of Yondu's arms, whisking me toward Med. "The 'ell ya do ta yerself, Raz?"

 "Wasn't me, OW!" A fresh wave of tears comes on from the pain and he barks orders at someone to come over as he sets me down on a cot. "Ma-Make-Make it stop hurting, Krags," I sob and he pets my hair gently.

 "It's a'ight, Kid... Lemme git Pete-"

 "No! OW! Don't-Don't get Dad, please," I plead and he looks at me for a moment before nodding.

 "What's wrong with the twerp? Oh, that's not how arms should look," Horuz says as he comes in and I scream when someone touches it. "Can't you give her something for the pain so she'll shut up?"

 "She's too small for them," The Medic says and he sighs, sitting on the cot.

 "Come here, Twerp," He grumbles as he pulls me to his chest and pins my left arm to my chest while crossing a leg over mine. The Medic doesn't move and he glares at her. "Hurry up! Twerp squirms more than a damned orloni!"

 "Just hold her still the best you can, Horuz."

 "Then do it quickly, Tanas!"

 "OW! STOP IT! IT HURTS," I scream as they touch my arm and just scream louder as they set it back in place, trying to get away.

 "Twerp, you need to hold still."

 "IT HURTS!"

 "I know it does but that's why she's trying to fix it. But she can't if you keep your squirming up." I whimper and he sighs, resting his chin on my head. "You are the most annoying little asshole I've ever met. And that's saying something since I was around when Quill was brought on board. If I tell you some stories of him being a dumbass will you stop your blubbering?"

 "Done," Tanas sighs as she finishes setting my arm and starts to get a cast and sling on, after getting the blue duster off and then cutting my shirts off at the shoulder. "Raziah, no trying to do any work. It's broken. Badly. Don't break it anymore and it should be healed within a lunar cycle. Got it?" I nod as I hiccup through sobs and she sighs again, handing Horuz a rag. "Help her clean her face off. Cuz her damned sister is nowhere to be found."

 "Big surprise there," He scoffs and wipes my face free of tears and some snot. "You're disgusting, Twerp."

 "And-And you're a j-jer-jerk," I hiccup and he scoffs.

 "Maybe I'll believe that when you can make it through the sentence." Tullk comes in and looks at us. "She wouldn't hold still. Shut up."

 "A'ight, wha'eva ya say, Horuz. 'Ere's yer duster, Wee Lass." He slings it around my shoulders and I smile slightly, sniffling. "'Ow's yer arm feel?"

 "Like it's broken...? It hurts... A lot... But, I got this thing, I guess... So that's kinda cool... How... How am I supposed to eat?" I take pauses whenever I have to hiccup and he hands me a glass of water, letting me down it as Horuz makes sure I don't spill it because he doesn't want water all over himself.

 "Ya use yer hands."

 "OK, duh... But... This is the hand I always use... And the one I do everything with..."

 "Shit."

 "Yeah..."

 "That is a problem for later. Now it's time for you to get some sleep," Tanas says as she comes back over and I look at her.

 "I can't move my arm without wanting to scream and you think I'll be able to sleep?"

 "What the Hell happened to my kid?" Dad yells as he skids to a stop in the med bay and looks at my arm. "You OK, Razi?"

 "Dad... My arm's broken... And I hurt... And I can't have any meds to help the pain because I'm too small... Why did I get your genes when it comes to growth spurts?" I yell and he looks at me, chuckling softly.

 "I don't know, kiddo. I don't know. You gonna want to scream if I pick you up?"

 "No clue..." He gently picks me up and I hiss, curling up slightly.

 "It's OK," He soothes gently and brushes my hair out of my face, similar to how Kraglin did earlier. "Try to sleep, OK?" Horuz leaves and Tullk and Kraglin hang around out of our sight. Dad lays down in the cot with me on his chest and gently plays with my hair.

 "Will you sing something? Please," I whisper and he holds me closer, starting to sing softly.

 "Ooh, child... Things are gonna get easier... Ooh, child... Things'll get brighter..." I breathe slowly and feel my eyes drift shut as I listen to his voice and his heartbeat. "Someday, we'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun... Someday, when the world is much brighter..." My breathing evens out as I fall asleep and he doesn't move, falling asleep underneath me.

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 Near the end of the lunar cycle, which I had to spend in the damned med bay, I get restless and sneak out, wincing whenever my arm gets too badly jostled. Dad had left about halfway through and I got to learn that Tanas has a nice voice when she sings since that's the only way I could fall to fucking sleep. Which, in my opinion, was kinda bullshit because it has now given people ammo to use against me when they screw with me.

 "Let's see... Can't go to Mess, the hangar, or the bridge to look at the controls... Hmm..." I wander deeper into the ship than I've ever been and end up lost. "Aw Hell." I sit by a porthole and watch the stars pass by, feeling exhausted enough to drift off.

------

 I jolt awake with a cringe at the shipwide intercom coming on and look toward the speakers. "Twerp went missing. Find her so we can get that fucking thing off of her and get her ass back to work. Captain's orders." I try to lift my hand to tap my wrist com and hiss.

 "OK. This is fine. I can probably get Cap's frequency pulled up on my wrist com." I bring my wrist up to my mouth and tug on my wrist com straps, unhooking them. "Ha! Yes," I cheer quietly and let it drop into my lap, scrolling through my saved frequencies with a little bit of difficulty. "Cap, here we go." I press it and listen to it ring for a bit.

 "Girl, where the 'ell are ya?" He growls as a holoscreen pops up above my wrist com and I rub the back of my neck a bit.

 "Uh, ya see, Cap... That, um... That's kinda the problem... I don't know..." He stares at me and I run my hand through my hair. "So, uh... Yeah... I'm kinda, sorta, maybe, a little bit lost in the depths of the ship..." The transmission ends and I nod. "I'm so fucking dead."

 Tullk and Oblo run past and I hear them run into something before Tullk runs into the doorway, catching himself on it then Oblo runs into him. "SHORTY!"

 "WEE LASS!"

 "Hey...?" Tullk comes over and looks me over before he hugs me tightly then Oblo does the same.

 "Ya eva do summin' tha' stupid 'gain, we's gon' kill ya," Tullk growls and I chuckle softly.

 "So... Cast can come off now?" Oblo snorts and they pull me to my feet, Tullk reattaching my wrist com.

 "C'mon, Shorty. Yer gon' be lucky if Cap'n don' kill yer silly ass."

 "Yeah, I'm aware." I follow them back to Med and Yondu was waiting. "Hey, Captain. Any chance I'm not going to die today?"

 "Ya ain't able ta die, Kid," Kraglin says from behind me and I tilt my head back to look at him.

 "You're freakily quiet. Y'know that?" I look down when something wraps around my ankle and see it was something from Tanas. "Y'know... You could just ask me to sit down and not-" I'm cut off when she yanks forward and I fall on my ass. "I hate you."

 "Likewise." Tullk hauls me up and puts me on the bunk. "Try not to scream bloody murder this time, will ya?"

 "Try not to make it feel like my arm's getting ripped off this time, will ya?" I snark back and she smirks slightly, starting to cut the cast off. "OW, damnit Tanas!"

 "Well, at least you aren't screaming this time. Calm down."

 "I swear to the Gods above, below, and walking this plane, I will kick your ass."

 "Gonna have to be a bit bigger than you are now. Maybe when you're... Fifteen to twenty you'll be able to kick my ass."

 "Well, whenever it is, I'll still kick your ass."

 "I'll hold you to that, Razi." She finishes cutting the cast off and I carefully move my arm, wincing. "We finally got some meds for you to take. One every shift if you need it for the pain. Got it?"

 "Got it."

 "And you can't do much because your arm got weak while in the cast."

 "Of course it did. How do I fix that?"

 "Just do what you do and have some patience. I know, it's difficult for you."

 "Bitch."

 "Short shit. You're good to get back to work, though."

 "Thank the Gods."

 "Git yer ass ta work, Girl!"

 "Ain't gotta tell me twice, Cap." I hop off the cot and bolt to the hangar, getting started with Tullk and Oblo helping me out occasionally.