Notes: The character of Badger's dad comes entirely from Spectrumv's version of him. For more stuff featuring him, check out her Black Raven fan comic. Though if you like the Black Ravens in general and haven't read the comic already, then you totally should anyway.
The afternoon was settling into a dusky glow by the time Badger reached his house. It wouldn't be long before it started to get dark and Badger hoped that he could have everything sorted out by then. Not that he had that clear of an idea what everything even was or how to go about sorting it out.
When he got to the front door, he peered around the street. For some reason he always felt that he needed to check about when he got home, despite that no one would have any reason to follow him. But the old cobbled lane was free from any onlookers, so he quietly pushed open the door and made his way inside.
As soon as it clicked shut behind him, Badger felt as if he had stepped into another world. His house was an unfriendly place to him and not somewhere he ever wanted to be if he could avoid it. Which was why he spent as much time down at the market as he did. The market was full of friends and bright skies, not the stifling gloom that hung about the tiny rooms here.
Without really meaning to, Badger held his breath and tip-toed through the hall, knowing from experience where to avoid the creaky floorboards. As he past by the living room door he peered inside, checking to see if his dad was home.
Sure enough, the old man was splayed out across the sofa, snoring loudly into the hazy air. On the windowsill a radio was humming, the words too difficult for Badger to make out through the fuzzy crackles. But he didn't mind – the sound would act as a cushion if he made any noise upstairs that might risk waking his dad.
So he made his way up to his room, letting out a sigh as he got through the door. It was chillier in here than the rest of the house, since Badger had left the window open this morning, but Badger wasn't one to be too bothered by the cold. Least of all when he had so many other things on his mind.
Now let's see, what had he even come here for...?
Faced with the place he'd been trying to get to since finishing his talk with Roddy earlier, Badger's mind suddenly drew a blank about what he needed. A change of clothes would be a good idea, but Badger wasn't sure how long Crow's little trip was going to last for. All the same, he grabbed his rucksack and started to stuff in a few jumpers and jeans from his drawers, along with other clothes he thought he might need. Best to just pack for a few days, otherwise the bag would be too heavy. If they stayed longer than that, Badger could always find somewhere to wash his stuff or else just get a bit scruffy. He doubted that Crow and the others would be too bothered if he did. They could all be a bit scruffy at times.
Might be a good idea to grab food as well. The others would probably be bringing some of their own, but Badger had very specific tastes. Most foods didn't agree with him and he was happiest with plain fruit and vegetables. Which meant paying a visit to the cupboards downstairs...
He peered around the room, just in case anything else caught his eye. But there wasn't very much here that he could take. Badger had never cared much for material possessions. He'd come to Misthallery with little of his own and what he'd found there had been friends, not objects. As long as he could have his friends, nothing he could own mattered to him.
Maybe Crow felt the same way and that was why he was going to such lengths to get Wren and Socket back.
One thing he did take was his photo of his mam from his bedside table. Because he couldn't stand the thought of what dad might do with it if Badger didn't come back. Maybe he'd just throw it away. Mam didn't deserve to be thrown away...
Badger clutched the photo to his chest for a moment, before packing it into the bag. Best go get that food now, so he could head off without incident.
Getting back down the stairs was harder with a heavy bag, so Badger left it by the front door when he'd reached the bottom. It wouldn't do to make a lot of noise in the kitchen - the little room was so cluttered that he was bound to knock something over if he took the bag through with him.
Thankfully, he wasn't planning to take much. Fruit didn't keep fresh for very long and he wouldn't want to leave his dad without anything, given that Badger knew he would put off shopping until it was unavoidable. Sometimes Badger worried that he'd make himself sick.
As he hunted through the cupboards, that thought lingered in his mind. These days it was mostly down to Badger to make sure his dad got a decent meal. Or a wash. Or any other basic requirements. Without Badger around, maybe his dad wouldn't cope...
If Roddy needed to stay in Misthallery to look after his mam, then should Badger have said he needed to stay to look after his dad?
...But then who would stop Crow from getting himself hurt?
No, it was too late for second-thoughts. He'd already decided he was going and that was final. It wasn't as if his dad was incapable of caring for himself and without Badger there to do it for him he might pick himself back up. It was a naïvely optimistic idea, but it was all the comfort Badger could offer himself on the matter.
Arms stuffed full of the food he assumed would keep the longest, Badger made his way back into the hall. He was stuffing it into the top of his rucksack when a particularly loud snort came from the living room. Badger froze, silently begging that his dad would go back to sleep.
"Si...? Is that you?"
No such luck. It seemed that he'd woken himself up with his own snoring.
Badger didn't have to reply. He could wait until his dad had gone back to sleep, then slip out of the door and not be back until who knew when. Maybe he'd never come back. The whole trip had developed such a sense of foreboding at this point that Badger wouldn't be surprised. And heck, his dad probably wouldn't miss him either. Sometimes Badger didn't tell him when he was going to sleepovers and his dad wouldn't even notice until he got back.
It would be sensible not to reply.
"Y-yeah, dad?"
The words came out of his traitorous mouth before he even had the chance to stop them.
"Stop makin' all that racket, I can 'ardly sleep in 'ere."
That could have been it. He could have just replied saying that he'd keep quiet and that would be that. But somehow that didn't feel right to Badger.
"Dad, I'm... g-goin' out fer a-a while."
Another snore-like grunt, followed by, "All right then?"
His dad was probably just as surprised that Badger was telling him this as Badger was that he was saying it at all. Usually Badger just disappeared without a word and came back the next day. Part of him wanted his dad to think that was all he was doing, so he wouldn't try to stop him. But quietly he wondered if the man would even notice anything was amiss.
"S-see ya when I get back," Badger concluded, picking up the rucksack before his nerves broke.
"Si?"
"Y-eah?"
There was an awkward pause. Neither of them knew what to say to the other and they both suspected something was up. Eventually, Badger's dad seemed to resign to the fact that he just didn't know what to say about this.
"Shut the door on your way out. Wouldn't want t' let in a draft."
"Will do," promised Badger, "Um, bye dad..."
"Bye, Simon."
His dad didn't use his full name very often these days. He must know that something was out of place and this wouldn't be the usual sleepover at a friend's house. But he was also permitting Badger to go and Badger shouldn't waste an opportunity like that.
He hurried out of the door, quietly closing it behind him, like his dad had asked. Then without really knowing what he was doing, his legs seemed to move on their own away from the house and down the street.
Crow hadn't arranged a time or place for them to meet, but Badger knew that they'd have to go to the train station in the next town if they wanted to head up to Northumberland. Misthallery didn't have a train station of its own, since the hilly layout of the town made it unsuitable for most transport, but there was another town not too far away that had one. It was a common walk for kids who wanted to travel away for a while and one that Badger himself had taken a few times without even thinking about it.
Of course, he could have gone to stay with one of the others for the night, but somehow that didn't feel right. Because then he'd have to explain why he'd left his own house in such a hurry and Badger wasn't even sure that he could explain that to himself.
It'd be a good idea to at least let someone know he was gone though, lest they hang around waiting for him tomorrow. Or worse, go to Badger's house looking for him. So Badger made a detour through the market itself, since he knew Louis would be lurking there.
Sure enough, the lanky lad was loitering around the closed stalls, with his usual air of trying to avoid work. From the looks of it, Marilyn had long since finished her talk with Louis & Gus and headed home, so helping her pack up her parent's stall was one less job for Louis to avoid doing. And, as much as he liked Marilyn, Badger was glad of the prospect of less people to have to explain himself to.
"All right, Badger? What are you doing about at this time?" Louis called, as Badger drew closer.
"Just thought... I'd, well, 'ead out t' the station early," Badger replied. And before Louis could ask any questions he continued, "Could ya tell Crowlo? So 'e's not lookin' fer me tomorreh. None of ya 'ave t' rush down, like, but I'll be waitin' there wheneveh yer readeh."
If Louis thought this was at all strange he didn't let on, simply giving Badger a small nod; "I'll let him know. Chances are he'll wanna be off sharp and all, so we'll probably be joining you soon enough."
"I'll keep yer seats warm then. See ya, Louis," concluded Badger, as he started to make his way down the road again.
"Yeah, see you later," Louis called, sounding a little concerned. Badger couldn't blame him.
Word didn't stay with Louis for long, as he was a renowned gossip and would be bound to tell the others before long. It wouldn't surprise Badger if Crow, Gus and Louis ended up joining him on his walk soon enough. Part of him hoped that would be the case.
But by the time he'd reached the station without any sight of them, he'd decided that a quiet walk on his own had been for the best. Soon enough he'd have lots of time to talk with his friends, but not much time to reflect on things by himself. And there certainly was a lot to think about right now. Not that Badger had come up with any answers to any of these problems, but he was a champion at worrying about stuff.
The station itself was eerily silent at this time, as many of the evening trains had already been and gone. A quick look at the board determined there'd only be a few more before morning, probably filled with hapless commuters. So Badger resigned to take a seat near the entrance, where it would be easy to keep an eye out for the others. He plonked his rucksack down next to him, curling his spindly legs up into his chest and staring out onto the road.
Tomorrow was going to be the start of something, though Badger wasn't sure what it was yet. He knew that it'd be a long journey on the train, as Northumberland was even further up the country than Badger himself had come from. He wasn't sure why Wren and Socket's mam had decided to move there, but maybe they'd find out when they visited. Hopefully they wouldn't be too bothered by a surprise visit, but nothing could stop Crow once he's set his mind to something...
Speaking of Crow, Badger had been trying hard to keep the leader out of his mind as he'd been getting ready this afternoon, but now that he had so much time it was hard not to think of him. As is Crow's way, he'd come back home like a whirlwind and shaken everything up. Though he'd revealed very little about his own journey beyond that he believed it had made him stronger as a person. Badger still had no idea where he'd gone, what he'd done or who he'd met. And he probably wouldn't find any of those things out until Crow saw fit to tell him. Maybe that was for the best, but the curiosity still burned a hole into Badger's chest.
It would be better to focus on their new adventure, which Badger was going to be part of. Not that he's sure how much of an "adventure" this was going to be. But it involved going to new places and having no idea how any of it was going to turn out, so it was already more of an adventure than standing around the market looking out for tourists was.
His mind was an uncomfortable mix of fretting and failed attempts to reassure himself, not helped by the strange glances he got from travellers once the late night trains did start coming in. Thankfully, none of the station's workers asked him to leave, so Badger stayed on his seat, huddled up and looking out for the familiar faces of his friends.
It would have been good to keep watch all night and, given how bad Badger's sleeping habits were, on most nights he'd have been able to manage this. But it seemed that tonight, all of the stress and worry had worn him out. So, without meaning to, Badger drifted off into an uncomfortable sleep...
