Yondu looked at the scrawny little thing his Quartermaster and Guard dog had dragged back to the ship. He frowned. "Where is it son?")
"I don't know what you're talking about!" the kid bleeped.
Yondu backhanded him across the face. "I am the Captain of this ship and you WILL address me as Sir!" He shouted. "Now where the fuck is it?"
"Where is what?" The kid paused for a fraction of a second, but added "Sir!" when Yondu raised his hand again.
"That pretty little bauble you lifted off me! You got a light touch for sure, I never felt it leave my pocket."
"I didn't take nothing, sir!"
"There are two problems with that." Yondu pointed at Bralh and Tullk. "These boys tracked you by the smell your grubby little paws left on my jacket when you took it."
The boy sagged. Any traces for bravo leaving his body. Yondu almost felt a pang of sympathy for him. "Just give me back my trinket son, and we can forget this ever happened."
"Can't sir. My pa took it off me."
----
Yondu left the boy on the ship as leverage, in case this got ugly.
It got ugly.
There was no way in hell that "Pa" was related to the boy. The man was green and had a whole army of beaten juvies stealing for him. They were all scrawny, scared and most of them stank like starvation, even to Yondu's nose. Tullk was gagging from the stench. Brahl had refused to come into the hole.
Yondu killed Pa, eventually. The man put up with a bit of cutting before he gave up the location of the thing the kid had took. Yondu left him there, with a stern warning to the kids about what happens when you steal from Ravagers.
One of the little tykes as, "Did you do that to Kraglin?" Yondu turned to look at... her? "Only I say the man with the scars take him. Kraglin was my friend."
"I ain't hurt the boy none." Yondu said.
The sproat nodded.
"I'll give him back."
She shook her head. "Kraglin ain't got no family to go back to. He'll go into service if he gets caught 'round here."
Yondu told himself firmly, that weren't his problem. He headed back to the ship.
No. His problem was the kid was missing. He got out of the room they were holding him in. A search of the ship wasn't able to find him and the general consensus was the kid had made a break for it while they were still docked.
They left whatever shit hole planet that was and no one really thought about it again.
Food went missing. It always went missing, god damn lizard rats.
They seemed especially hungry this turn
Other things went missing too. Small items, the odd shirt or pair of pants. Crew were slobs. No real surprise
The carnies caught the kid stealing in the hydro gardens.
The dragged him to the bridge. He looked up at Yondu with watery eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry, sir."
Yondu sighed.
"Fuck it." He ran his hand over his head. "I ain't taking you back. I guess you're mine now."