Picking Up The Pieces

29. One More Lesson

 I wanted to gasp in shock when I saw the baby tree. He looked traumatized and ready to cry, his clothes torn and soaked in alcohol. I slowly stood up and limped over to the door, using the wall for support.

"I am Groot?" he asked me sadly, taking in my haggard appearance. I crouched down so that he didn't need to strain his neck to look at me.

"Yeah, they got me good," I agreed with him. "Don't worry, I put up a fight."

"I am Groot."

"I can tell they hurt you, and I'm sorry I couldn't protect you back there," I apologized, and the baby tree gave me a small nod of forgiveness, knowing I did my best.

"Hey, twig," Yondu greeted him. "You wanna help us get outta here?" Groot looked at me and nodded again, and I could see him rise a little from hope. Yondu gave the instructions slowly, pulling himself next to me so that he was in the tree's view. "There's something I need you to get, and bring back to me. In the Cap'n's quarters, there's a prototype fin, like the thing I wore on my head. There's a drawer next to the bunk. It's inside that. It's red. You got it?"

Groot smiled and ran off, and Yondu gave me a grin (I tried not to stare, but his teeth were gross). I turned to Rocket with a small smile, but the raccoon looked uncertain. A few moments later, I knew exactly why.

I turned around, hearing Groot's footsteps, only to see him holding a dirty pair of briefs.

"That's my underwears," Yondu muttered, and Rocket scoffed.

"Yeah, I was pretty sure he didn't know what you were talking about," he dissed, making his way to my left side. "You have to explain it more careful." Yondu sighed in annoyance.

"He's just a little kid, try using words that would work for him," I offered.

"All right. It's a prototype fin." A minute later, Groot came back with a wriggling orloni in his hands.

"That's an orloni," Rocket said in an annoyed tone. "It's a fin, Groot." If the situation wasn't as intense, I probably would have laughed.

"Well, you explain it to him this time," Yondu gave up, and again the tree was sent sway. He came back with a cybernetic eye, looking hopeful. When I saw it move in his hands, I gagged.

"That's Vorker's eye," Yondu sighed. "He takes it out when he sleeps. Go look again."

"But leave the eye here," Rocket added before Groot disappeared, and we all stared at him. The raccoon looked like he was about to burst out in laughter. "He's gonna wake up tomorrow... and he's not gonna know where his eye is!"

Groot came back, lugging a large piece of furniture to the front of our cell. "That's a desk, Groot," Rocket told him, rubbing his snout anxiously. How long was this gonna take?

"A fin," I said slowly, moving my hands over my head as if I was feeling one. I quickly moved my hands back in front so he could see them and made a measurement. "This big."

Groot held out a giant toe, roughly the size of my palm. We just stared at it in awe, not knowing how we had confused him this much. I dumbed down my words, and Groot brought me a toe.

"Tell me you guys have a refrigerator someone with a bunch of severed human toes," Rocket grumbled, and Yondu shook his head subtly. "Okay, then let's just agree to never discuss this again.

"Isabel..." I turned around to see Hugonyn standing behind the four of us. The Frost Giant didn't have any blemishes on his face, and he looked at peace. "They can't hear me; I'm too far to project my thoughts. The only reason I can reach you is because you're telepathic."