Notes: Now that we've got to Louis again I think this is a good enough time to share a bit of useless trivia about something from an early draft of this fic that ended up being scrapped. Initially, when I'd planned for Louis to move to Liverpool, Roddy was eventually going to join him there. But then Roddy father theory came about and I thought that was much more interesting, so I changed my plans to instead have Roddy move to London to be reunited with Hardy. All things considered, I think this worked out for the best. Not just for Roddy and the London Black Ravens (who very much need him there!), but also because it opened up some new plans for Louis, that are hinted at in this chapter.
Crow had written a letter back to Louis about Badger's plans to visit him, but Badger didn't wait for the reply to start getting ready to go. Knowing Louis, it could be months before their friend remembered to write back and Badger didn't want to wait that long. So he packed and packed again, until he'd repacked so many times that he decided anything he didn't remember wasn't worth taking. He should only be gone for a few days anyway.
Then one morning he decided it was time to head off. Crow waited for him by the door, shifting about awkwardly.
"I've called ahead, so 'e knows ya comin' today," Crow informed, "Wouldn't want ya to get off at Livahpool an' not 'ave someone there to greet ya. If 'e's not at the station then I'll clip 'im 'around the ears when I next see 'im."
Badger laughed, "There's nowt to worreh about, Crowlo. I'm sure that I'll find 'im."
"Right. Guess I'm just fussin'..." mumbled Crow, "Are ya sure ya don't want me to walk ya to the station? Those workahs that Dalston's sendin' probably won't be 'ere until this aftahnoon, so I've got time."
"No, I've gotteh do this on me own. I know it sounds weird, but I've decided," Badger firmly replied.
"It doesn't sound weird at all. I kinda get where ya comin' from," admitted Crow, "Though it doesn't stop me from worryin' all the same."
"Now yer know 'ow I usually feel," Badger joked, cruelly. But then he softened and added, "It's ganna be ah'reet. I'll get there no problem and soon yer'll 'ave so much work t' do around 'ere that yer won't even think of me."
"I'll always think o' ya," insisted Crow. This made Badger feel wibbly inside, but before he could say anything embarrassing, Crow went on; "So... this is goodbye for now then?"
"Just fer now. I'll be back before yer know it," Badger promised.
With that, Crow reached forward and gave him a hug. It was an odd sensation. The last time that Crow had hugged Badger was when he'd broken down back in London. Circumstances had been very different then though and this hug felt much nicer. Badger carefully put his arms around Crow as well and the two of them stayed there like that for a bit longer than they maybe should have done before Crow pulled away.
"...See ya soon, Badge'," he whispered.
"Yeah... yer will," concluded Badger.
He gave Crow one final nod before setting out. In his usual Badger fashion he didn't even make it all the way down the road before he turned to look back. Crow was still watching him, so Badger just waved at him once more then hurried on before he could change his mind.
The station was moderately busy, but not particularly overwhelming. Definitely not compared to how busy the stations in London had been. It didn't take Badger long to bumble his way through buying a ticket and being directed onto the right train. Perhaps he could have tried his luck with sneaking on without a ticket, like Crow would normally have done, but he both didn't feel particularly lucky today and didn't need anything else to test his nerves. A safe journey to Liverpool without the risk of being chucked off somewhere was exactly what Badger wanted.
And it turned out he got just that. It was a long journey and without anyone to talk to a very boring one. Part of Badger finally wished that he'd learned how to read, just so he had something to do to pass the time. Maybe when he got back home and everything was a bit more settled he could ask Crow about teaching him.
But eventually the train pulled into the station at Liverpool. The announcement of their arrival jolted Badger out of his daydreams and he hurried to grab his bags and get off before the train pulled away to its next destination.
As he stood on the platform, suddenly the panic that he'd done such a good job keeping away came back to settle in his stomach. Sure, he'd said to Crow that he'd be all right, even if Louis wasn't there, but now that he was here Badger realised that he was alone in a city he'd never been to with little idea of where Louis even lived. If he got lost then he had no clue what he'd do!
He bumbled off across the platform, trying to formulate a plan in his head. If he couldn't find Louis here in a few minutes then he could look around a bit outside, maybe ask someone if they'd seen anyone like him. Louis was a pretty unique-looking guy, after all. And if nothing came of it in about an hour then he'd find a payphone to call Crow and either get Crow to call Louis or arrange a trip back home.
Just as he was starting to settle himself into knowing what he was going to do, he noticed a large mess of black hair bobbing above most of the crowd.
"...Louis?"
"Badger! There you are, mate!"
The two of them rushed to meet each other. They were both taller than many of the people they were passing, so it didn't take much to convince the crowd to give them some space. And they must have looked like quite a pair. Louis was always the only Black Raven who could match Badger's height, but in contrast to how slim Badger had become over the years, Louis had panned out nicely. Back in Misthallery he used to joke that all the vegetables kept him in good shape, but a guilty part of Badger didn't think that Louis looks that great right now. It wasn't that he physically looked all that different to how Badger remembered him being, but something about him seemed a bit more... haggard? Exhausted? Badger wasn't good with words. He could see the deep bags beneath Louis's red-rimmed eyes and his shirt wasn't doing anything to hide all of the stains across it.
"Yer... yer ah'reet?" Badger asked, before he could stop himself.
Louis gave him a confused stare, clearly not understanding what he was getting at, then replied, "Yeah, doing fine. I was a bit surprised to hear that you were coming but not Crow, like. The Badger I remembered would deffo be too scared to head off on his own."
"I've changed a lot, Lozza," Badger proudly proclaimed, "Let's get back t' yer place so I can fill yer in on everything."
"Ah. We're not going to my place," mumbled Louis.
"What? 'ow come?" questioned Badger.
"Just 'cause my house is a bit of a tip," Louis said, "Besides, we'd have to squeeze in with Mam and Dad, which wouldn't be a lotta fun, eh? So I've booked us into a hotel for the night. That'll be much better, yeah?"
"I guess..." murmured Badger. Though he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this situation than Louis was letting on.
But for the moment, he let Louis lead them to where they'd be staying. As they walked through the city streets, Louis pointed out different places and talked animately about what they were like. At more than one venue Louis would say that they had to go there before Badger left, though secretly Badger wasn't too keen on the idea of clubbing. He liked Louis, but the two of them did have very different ideas about how to have a good time. All the same, seeing Louis this eager about Liverpool put some of his worries to rest. If nothing else, at least he could say that Louis had settled back into his old neck of the woods without much trouble.
The hotel they were staying at turned out to be quite nice as well. It wasn't too posh, but also a step up from what Badger was expecting. The only downside was that it seemed to be one of those newer places where all the rooms were exactly the same as each other. It shouldn't be a big deal, but part of Badger always found that a bit creepy. He preferred hotels like the Weathered Duke's, where each room was different and full of character.
However, all that this place needed to be was somewhere to rest their heads, so as soon as they were inside and put their bags down he turned to Louis.
"Tell me everything," he demanded.
"Nah, you go first," insisted Louis.
"Why do I 'ave t' go first?" whined Badger.
"It's only fair, like," Louis stated, "You're the one that's been everywhere and seen everyone. I've been stuck in the dark since I left and I hardly know anything about what's gone on other than what Crowlo's said in his letters."
"Then who's fault is that fer not keeping in touch?" scolded Badger, "But ah'reet, I'll fill yer in. Fergive me if I go oveh summit Crow's already said though, I dunno what 'e's written to everyone."
"That's fine, I don't mind," assured Louis. He gestured for Badger to go on as he took a seat on one of the beds.
"Okay, so afteh yer left things got a little weird at the auctions," Badger started, as he tried to whirl his memory back to that time, "Crow wanted t' kick it up a gear, so we made a lotteh changes. We brought Tony back in on it and Arianna came, too. Things went pretteh well, but Crow started t' get idle and wanted to try 'is luck elsewhere. We worked 'ard to prove that we could manage without 'im. It were a bit of a stretch, but eventually Crow, Scraps and me decided t' go."
"I knew you'd never leave Crow," Louis laughed.
Badger ignored the hot flush in his cheeks and continued, "Yeah, well we went t' London. Roddeh did as well, but we didn't know that 'til lateh. Found 'is dad and everything. But anyway, we started up the auctions in London along with some friends Crow 'ad down there from 'is first visit. Onleh... it didn't go as planned. I wouldn't say it went badly or owt, Scraps and Roddeh seemed to like it, but me and Crow couldn't cut it there."
"He's told me that much in his letters," admitted Louis, "Says you and him are trying to start up a shop in Southampton. How'd you end up there of all places?"
"It just kindeh 'appened," said Badger, with a shrug, "But that brings us up t' now. Me and Crow are starting anew, Roddy and Scraps are in London and as far as I know, mostleh everyone else is still in Mist'allereh. Though I 'aven't spoke t' Wren and Socket in a while. Crow says they're doing good from what the lettehs imply. It'd be nice t' see them again though."
"Then why don't you go?" Louis asked.
"One visit at a time!" dismissed Badger, "It's taken all me nerves just t' get up 'ere and see yer."
"Yeah, which means you're already, like, half way there," Louis pointed out, "It'd be easier to go from here to Northumberland than to go back down south then up again."
"I can't just do that," argued Badger, "It'd mean leaving Crow fer way too long."
"Well, if you're that worried about him, then it's probably not a good idea. I just think that if I were you then I'd want to get out onto the road and see as many of my mates as I could while I had the chance," Louis said.
"Then why don't yer then?" challenged Badger, "We've all been worried about yer."
"I've got... too much tied up here right now," Louis evaded, "But you don't. And if you wait too long then you will be tied up in that shop and not able to escape. You'll deffo regret it if you don't do this while you have the chance."
"I'll think about it," Badger concluded, "Now tell me what's gan on with yer good self, Lozza?"
"Not much. Wanna go out now?" asked Louis. He suddenly pulled himself up from where he was sat.
"Leave it off, I can tell summit's up!" Badger shot, not budging from where he was sat.
Louis growled. He actually growled. "This is why I didn't call you all sooner. You always pry in and need to know everything, especially Crow."
"We onleh do it because we care..." mumbled Badger. It was hard to ignore how much Louis's accusation had stung him.
"I know that! Really, I do! But... the world isn't quite that simple," sighed Louis, "Look, I know that Crow wants us to be, like, his precious crew forever and he wants to look out for us, but it can't always be that easy. We all have our own lives and sometimes we have problems that we don't wanna drag anyone else into."
"We want t' 'elp. That's why we stick our noses in. Especially Crow, yeah," Badger insisted.
"Then... be there when I ask you to, but don't pry until then," Louis concluded, "I'm not an idiot, I know when I need help, like. But right now it's not worth bringing anyone else into."
"Will it get that far? Whateveh it is," checked Badger.
There was an unsettling pause before Louis replied, "I dunno yet. But hopefully not."
"And I can't get yer t' tell me any more than yer 'ave?" Badger pressed.
"Nah. You can't," confirmed Louis, "But let's not fret over this. I wanted to have a good time with my best mate Badger, not get all worked up about stuff. Can we... just go out and have a good time?"
He looked desperate at this point. Even Badger's nervousness at being surrounded by strangers in unfamiliar places couldn't deny him this.
"Yeah, let's go then," agreed Badger.
With that, he got up and the two of them left the hotel to explore the city some more. It turned out not to be as bad as Badger was expecting. Most likely Louis could tell he was nervous and took them to very tame bars that were easy to leave if Badger got uncomfortable. And it seemed that wherever they went there was someone who'd know Louis and want to talk to him. So whatever his problem was it couldn't have anything to do with his social life.
They trawled from one place to the next until it got dark enough for Badger's confidence to finally give up and suggest they go back to the hotel.
"Nah, nah, I wanna show you the Albert Dock first, like," Louis slurred. Part of Badger was suspicious that he'd had more than a few shandies tonight, but then Louis was the oldest one of the group and if Badger was eighteen then Louis was well within okay to have a drink or two. Even if it did put Badger a little on edge.
So he humoured Louis and walked with him all the way down to the docks, which were beautiful. As he looked out on the ships and water Badger instantly found himself thinking of Southampton and how Crow might be getting on there.
They stood there together for a while, with Louis resting his arms on the railing. Badger was just about to suggest going back to the hotel once more when Louis spoke up again.
"You should do it, you know? You should deffo go visit Wren and Socket... and, like, all the others," he whispered.
"This again?" mumbled Badger, a bit tactlessly.
Louis turned to look at him. His glasses had misted up something awful, but behind them Badger could just make out the sadness in his eyes. And he felt very bad for him.
"You should do it while you have the chance," Louis pressed.
"Ah'reet, I'll sort summit out tomorreh," promised Badger, "And will yer tell me what's wrong with yer?"
Louis hiccuped; "...N-no."
"Yer so difficult, Lozza..." Badger grumbled.
But he knew that was that. Even if Louis might seem light-hearted most of the time, if he didn't want to do something then he wouldn't move on the matter. Badger wasn't going to find out what was wrong with him, at least not this time. But he could pick apart that whatever it was, it was stopping Louis from being free to go see the others. And if doing that instead of him was the one thing Badger could do for Louis then he wasn't going to turn away from it. Even if he wasn't exactly sure how he was going to explain this to Crow.
The two of them made their way back to the hotel after that and it didn't take much convincing for Louis to slump onto his bed and fall into a deep sleep. Part of Badger wanted to go down to the reception and ask if he could use their phone, but Crow would probably already be long in bed by now and it wasn't worth waking him up to worry him. Everything could be sorted out in the morning...
It surprised Badger to find that Louis had woken up before he did the next day. It did not surprise Badger to find that this was because Louis had his face down in the toilet, noisily throwing up.
"If yer make too much mess they'll charge us extra," Badger warned, from where he was stood in the doorway.
"It all went in the bowl..." moaned Louis, as he pulled the handle.
"That's more than I need t' know," Badger gagged.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Louis muttered, getting himself back onto his feet. It took him a moment to steady himself, but he seemed otherwise all right.
"Do yer remembeh much of last night?" checked Badger. He kind of hoped that Louis had forgotten their conversation from out on the docks.
"Yeah, I remember that I need to phone Crow to tell him, like, what's what before you lose your bottle and back out," Louis answered.
"Usualleh I'd argue with yer, but it'll be too funneh to 'ear yer 'ave a go at Crow," Badger admitted.
With that, the two of them tidied themselves up (which took a lot longer for Louis than it did for Badger), gathered their belongings and went downstairs ready to check out. Because they were quite prompt out of the room, the receptionist had no problems with letting them use the phone. Badger stepped back to allow Louis to do the talking.
"Hey there Crowlo, it's your old mate, Louis," hummed Louis, so breezily that you couldn't even tell he was hungover, "Just letting you know that Badger made it here safe and sound. ...Uh-huh. Oh yeah! We've had a great time, like! ...Yeah. ...That's good, yeah. Look, um, there's one other thing. Poor Badger says he feels cooped up in a cage right now. He wants to be free to fly."
Badger grabbed the phone from Louis; "I neveh said that!"
"...Badge'? Wot is 'e talkin' about?" Crow's voice crackled from the other end. Obviously he was confused.
But now Louis snatched the phone back to carry on; "Look, Crow. We've been talking, like, and it sounds as if Badger hasn't seen the others for ages. And I bet you haven't either. So I said to him, maybe it'd be a good idea if he goes to visit them while he's on the move anyway. Could be a good way to check up on them, yeah?"
It was clear what Louis was doing now, appealing to Crow's mother hen nature to make sure that all the others would be all right. There was no doubt that Crow would agree to this. Or at least that was what Badger thought up until Louis twisted his face and turned back to him.
"He wants to talk to you," Louis informed.
"Yeah?" prompted Badger, once he'd got the phone back.
"Are ya sure about this, Badge'? I know that travellin' makes ya nervous," Crow checked.
"I... I reckon I am," Badger replied, even if he wasn't actually sure, "Louis's right that I might not get anotheh chance like this soon."
"Then I think ya should do it," Crow said, "An' don't worry about me. The workahs turned up right on time yestahday an' I've bin crackin' the whip evah since. Kinda nice to 'ave some new faces to boss around. Though I 'ope that one guy was jokin' when 'e said 'e might go to 'is union..."
"Sounds like yer pushing 'em too 'ard, Crow!" Badger warned, though he was laughing when he said it, "But I'm glad yer fine with this."
"More than fine. So where's the first stop gonna be?" checked Crow.
"Probableh Wren and Socket, since they're closeh," Badger answered, "Wouldn't make sense t' go from 'ere, down to Mist'allereh and then all the way back up t' Nort'umbehland."
"That does sound like the best plan," agreed Crow, "Just make sure ya ring ahead to let 'em know ya comin'."
"Will do. And Crow...? Take care, yeah?"
"Only if you do, Badge'."
There was a lump in Badger's throat after that. He passed the phone back to Louis and let him talk to Crow for a while as he steadied himself. Being away from Crow for a suddenly unknown length of time made him nervous, but he tried to focus on how nice it would be to see the others again. Louis was right about that.
It didn't take long until Louis also bid Crow goodbye and hung up on him. Then he turned back to Badger. Perhaps Badger's worries were more apparent than he'd hoped they'd be, because Louis then said that he'd call Wren and Socket for him. Maybe that was a good idea though, since Louis did seem to be the one so desperate to check on the others. At least this way he'd get to hear another familiar voice.
Badger listened as Louis called. It went about as amusingly as he'd expected it would.
"Hello, is that little Socket? ...Yeah, it's Louis! Remember me? Nice to hear from you, mate! ...Look, can you put Wren on the line? I'd much rather talk to her. ...Nah, I'm only kidding! No need to get annoyed," Louis chuckled. Socket must have been yelling, because he briefly held the receiver away from his ear before going back to carry on, "...So she's not there? And your mam neither? ...I see. That's a shame. 'Cause I've got Badger here and he wants to come visit you all." After another pause Louis looked at Badger and said, "He wants to talk to you."
"Socket...?" Badger whispered, taking the phone from Louis.
"Carrotnose! It's really you!" Socket blared, "Is it true then? Do ya wanna come stay with us?"
"If that ah'reet with yer family," replied Badger.
"Well, they're not 'ere right now. Mum's workin' an' Wrenny's off at school, but I know they'd be fine with it. Is Crow coming with ya?" Socket said. All the words were coming out of his mouth in such a hurry that it was a wonder they didn't trip over each other.
"Nah, Crow's not 'ere right now, I'm in Livehpool with Lozza," Badger told him, "But yer realleh should check with yer mam before I turn up out the blue. And if Wren's in school then why aren't yer with 'er?"
"Don't get all borin' like they do," huffed Socket, "If I say ya can come over then ya can."
"This is serious, Socket," Badger pressed.
"I am serious. Come on, Carrotnose! It'll be great to see ya again without moody Crow an' Wren gettin' all annoyed about their crushes on each other," Socket went on. Even now he seemed unable to accept that poor Wren's feelings for Crow went one way only, "I wanna hang out like we used to."
It was difficult to say no to Socket.
"Fine, but you've gotteh tell 'em when yer can and if they don't like it then I'll spend the aftehnoon with yer then go back down south," reasoned Badger.
"They won't mind, everyone likes ya, Badger. But okay, I'll let Mum know when she gets back for lunch," Socket vowed, "So 'urry up an' get 'ere, okay?"
"I will, I promise," Badger laughed.
With that, Socket hung up before Louis even had a chance to talk to him again. But neither of them were surprised. Before Tony came along, Socket had always been the youngest Black Raven and was kind of a whirlwind in his actions. No doubt he was now off getting the place ready for when Badger got there. Hopefully he would remember to tell someone about it as well.
After a quick breakfast on the way, Badger decided that he'd be best sticking to the train for the rest of the journey, since it'd be the fastest way there. So him and Louis went back to the station before they parted ways.
"Doesn't feel like you've been here five minutes, but I guess that's just how it goes, like," mumbled Louis, once they were on the platform.
"Mebbe I'll stay fer longeh next time, if I'm lucky," Badger soothed, "And seriously Lozza, if summit does go badleh wrong then our doors always open fer yer down in Sout'ampton. We're yer friends and we want t' 'elp."
"Thanks, I'll remember that. Looks like this is your train though," Louis pointed out.
It annoyed Badger that Louis was being so dismissive when there was something clearly wrong here, but he was right that the train was arriving and if he stayed to argue his point any further he'd miss it. And it would be wrong to make Socket wait too much, lest he worry or think Badger was pulling his leg by saying he'd visit.
Badger climbed onto the step of a carriage then shouted back to Louis, "Call us!"
"I will!" Louis yelled.
After that Badger was shoved onto the train by the other passengers and didn't get another chance to say anything to Louis. As he found his seat and waved to Louis out the window, he hoped that his message had gotten through the wall his friend seemed to have built up around himself.
The train then pulled away and Louis's curly mop of hair disappeared from view. The voice of doom inside Badger's head planted the idea that he would not be seeing his friend again for quite sometime after this. Badger pressed his eyes shut and hoped it was wrong.