Notes: With this chapter I'm announcing a short hiatus for new chapters of Grasping Liquid being posted. But don't worry, because it's for something related to this fic. For a long while now I've wanted to go back and fix a few things in the earlier chapters, such as making Crow and Badger accents uniform throughout the entire story (they did bounce around a bit earlier on when I was still trying to settle on a voice for them) and fix a few little grammar niggles. So I've decided to now is the time to start doing that. What will happen is that I'll go through each chapter of this fic and each of its side-stories to edit them, then upload the updated chapters onto AO3 as I go. Nothing will change about the story itself, so you don't have to read it again unless you want to, it'll purely be cosmetic cleaning up of the text. But the version that gets uploaded on AO3 will be "final" version, I suppose. I don't plan to update the older versions of the chapters on any of the other places Grasping Liquid is posted, just because between three different websites that would take a lot of time. So yes, that's what's going to happen next. I'm not sure how long it will take, but once it's done I'll go back to uploading new chapters like always.


The next day saw Crow and Badger headed back down to the underground base. They'd left it until later than usual, to give everyone else a chance to arrive, and sure enough when they glanced around the hall most of the others were there. However, there was one notable exception.

"Where's Marilyn? She said she'd be in today," checked Crow. He glanced towards the back room, in case she was through there.

"Mari was having a bad time with the baby moving about," Gus replied, "She wanted to come, but knew it'd be better to wait it out until she was feeling more up to it."

"That's a shame. But she's right to do wot's best for 'er an' the baby, especially this far along," Crow agreed.

"You two helping us out today then?" asked Tony, from where he was sat sewing up one Black Raven outfits that must have needed some repairs.

"That's the idea," Crow answered.

Badger hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actualleh, while I do want t' 'elp out, I were thinking of popping out on me own fer a while. I'll be back lateh though. That ah'reet, Crowlo?"

"Ya don't need to ask for my permission," assured Crow, "Everythin' is okay with ya though, ain't it?"

"Yeah. It's nowt bad. Just need t' stretch me legs. I know 'ow badleh yer want t' dive back int' this auction prep business Crow, so doun't let me 'old yer back," Badger said.

"Okay then, Badge'. Guess we'll see ya latah," concluded Crow.

Badger gave him a nod of assurance, then waved to the others and headed off back the way they'd came. He had no doubt that although Crow might fret about him for a while, soon enough he would bury himself so deeply in Black Raven work that by the time Badger got back, the others would be fed up with him. On top of that, he did also wonder how long it would take for Crow to realise that Arianna was the leader now, if he hadn't already guessed. Crow could still be hard to figure out sometimes.

Then again, so could Badger, he supposed. Since there was actually a reason for him leaving other than just stretching his legs. And that was to check in on Marilyn. While he felt bad for not telling this to Crow, the logic behind that choice was that he knew Crow would want to come along and then he'd only fuss about the baby again. Badger wanted to talk seriously to Marilyn, just as the two of them. Surely that wasn't too much of a crime.

The walk to Marilyn's house hardly took any time at all. It seemed as if both of her parents had already left for the market, so he knocked and let himself in. Usually he'd wait for someone to answer the door, but right now he was more worried about straining Marilyn in walking too far than about being rude.

"Mal?" he called.

"I'm through here!" Marilyn replied from the living room.

Badger headed through to where Marilyn was lying on the couch, looking as if she was two seconds away from seeking out a more comfortable lying position and had been tossing about all morning. But all the same, she smiled at Badger in her usual pleasant manner as he made his way towards the armchair next to the couch.

"No Crow today?" she asked.

"Nah, 'e's too buseh bossing everyone about in the base," Badger answered.

"Surprised he let you come without insisting on tagging along," said Marilyn.

"Well 'e... kindeh doesn't know I'm 'ere," Badger admitted.

"Ooh, that's brave of you. He'll fuss when he finds out," tease Marilyn.

"I'll just tell 'im t' knock it off. Crowlo's fussing doun't worreh me any more," Badger assured.

Marilyn laughed; "You've come a long way from the boy who flinched whenever Crow glanced his way. So... is there any reason you've popped in then?"

"Just t' talk," said Badger, "It's been kindeh a whirlwind since we got 'ere and we 'aven't 'ad a chance just t' sit down and talk. I know yer said that yer doun't want anyone t' make a big deal oveh yer, but this is definitely a propeh big deal. So if yer do need t' talk..."

"...then I know I can talk to you," Marilyn stated, "And I do appreciate it. Actually, you're probably one of the better people I could talk to about this. Crow means well, but he does make a mountain out of a molehill, and the rest of them all put me on such a podium. They all think I know what I'm doing..."

"Crow thinks yer do as well," admitted Badger.

"Well, he's wrong. I don't," Marilyn huffed, as she pulled a cushion out from underneath herself and flung it down onto the floor.

"So this weren't planned at all?" Badger asked.

"Planned! No, this was the last thing that the two of us wanted," Marilyn barked, with a sharper laugh this time, "We very nearly... well, anyway, we talked it through and decided to go through with this, but I still think that neither of us are ready. We're both still living with our parents, for starters."

"At least that means they'll be there t' 'elp," reasoned Badger.

"There is that," Marilyn agreed, "But even so, Mum's just got back onto her feet properly and now I'm putting this onto her. They say that they're happy to have a grandchild, but I can't help wondering if they're a little... disappointed."

"Why would they be disappointed?" Badger said.

"Because I... I have standards that people expect of me," replied Marilyn, "From them, from the Black Ravens and from everyone in this part of town. Ever since I was little I'd walk down the street and people would go, 'oh there's that Marilyn, always helping her family, such a good girl, so smart and knows what to do – reliable Marilyn'. They'd say it with their eyes if not their mouths. People just look at me and expect me to know the answers to their problems. Even you did back before you moved away."

"Y-yeah..." Badger confessed.

"And I liked it. There was something good about being the person everyone could rely on," Marilyn went on, "Only now... when people look at me it's different. They don't say it, but I can tell what they're thinking it. That maybe I'm not the oracle after all. Th-that maybe I'm j-just some stupid village girl w-who got... knocked up so young. Not like that elegant Arianna with her sharp wit or smart Wren who went away to c-college... Heck, she's just worked at a f-fruit stall her whole life, she'll probably never aspire to anything...!"

"That's not true!" yelled Badger. He scrambled off his seat and grabbed tight hold of her hand, "No one thinks badleh of yer! A-and why would anyone eveh compare yer to Wren or Arianneh? Yer nowt like those two. And that's fine! Yer all fine! Just because yer 'ad a baby and no one else 'as doun't make it any different."

"It does though, Badger..." Marilyn sighed, "Maybe not to you, but to a lot of people it does. And maybe we're stupid to even do this... The Black Raven money is good, but I don't know if we could move in together and raise a child on it. Heck, we weren't even thinking about anything like that before. We'd just been dating and fooling about... Neither of us thought that far about how serious it might get. Well... I hadn't, anyway. Maybe Gus had thought further ahead..."

"The two of yer are a good match," Badger reasoned, "Gus is sensible and 'e's liked yer fer as far back as I can remembeh."

"Yes... Gus is a good person..." agreed Marilyn, though it worried Badger how distant she sounded. However, she then shook her head and replied in a more usual Marilyn fashion, "...I'm sorry for putting all of this on you, Badger. I just started talking and it came out."

"It's ah'reet. Afteh years of the rest of us coming to yer about our problems, it's about time I returned the favour," he assured, "I think everyone needs t' talk about their worrehs sometimes."

"You're not wrong there," said Marilyn, as she reached down with her free hand to retrieve the cushion from the floor again, "I just wish I could see the future like everyone seems to think I can. I have no idea how this is going to turn out..."

"I bet I can take a guess," Badger said. He let go of her hand so she could tuck the cushion back under herself, "The two of yer will do a great job raising a little 'un. It'll be a realleh sensible and well-balanced kid, just like it's parents. Then if any of the othehs start 'aving kids they'll all come t' yer for advice, just like they do with everything else."

"Oh great, so I can look forward to becoming the oracle of parenting as well," Marilyn chuckled "But thanks, Badger. Hearing your confidence does make me feel better."

"Anytime, Mal," Badger replied.

"I'll remember that. But for now, why don't you head back off to the others? The baby wants me to sleep again, so I'm not going to be good company," she said.

"It doun't feel right leaving yer on yer own," Badger argued.

"The market isn't that far away and Gus does come to check on me every hour or so. I'll be fine," promised Marilyn.

"If yer sure," said Badger, as he pulled himself to his feet, "But if summit does 'appen, we'll all come running."

"I don't doubt that," Marilyn answered.

"Well... see yer lateh then," concluded Badger.

He saw himself out after saying goodbye to Marilyn. Though as he left he wished that he felt better about all of this. Even if Marilyn said it was okay, it sounded as if she was seriously worrying about all of this and Badger's reassurance had seemed flimsy to him. There had to be something he could do to help. Either to make her feel better or make the situation easier...

...Though before he could think any more on that matter, his eye was caught by Charlie, who was now no longer in the Black Raven base like he had been this morning and was wandering through the market. It looked as if he was holding something in his hands and as Badger came closer he realised it was Gus's notebook, which Charlie was too engrossed in to even realise that Badger was there.

"Curly, 'ey!" Badger called.

Charlie almost jumped out of his skin, then scrambled to hide the notebook away in his pocket. That seemed awfully suspicious to Badger.

"Oh, there you are, Badger," Charlie hurriedly said, as if he was pretending to have been looking for him.

"I said before that I were gan out fer a walk," reminded Badger.

"So you did," hummed Charlie, dismissively, "Well, I just needed to get some air myself. Listening to Crow cluck about is incredibly droll and everyone sides with him when I try to argue, because he's Crow."

"What yer doing with Gus's notebook?" Badger asked, ignoring everything else that Charlie had said.

"You saw that?" said Charlie. He looked nervous at first, but then a small smile crept across his face; "Well, Gus always lets me borrow it after he's finished a chapter. And today he finished the whole first book. Exciting, isn't it? Of course, in true dramatic fashion the story ends on a cliffhanger. But Tim and Si did share their first kiss, so it looks promising that they might get together in future. Even if Tim does still have eyes for his old flame, Hummid. Though what's a romance story without a little love triangle?"

"Hummid?" Badger echoed. He suddenly had a horrible feeling that if he read this comic he might have to have a serious talk with Gus about who the characters were based on; "Um, anyway, it sounds like yer done reading it now."

"I am indeed. Couldn't put it down for a moment," Charlie sighed.

"So yer ganna give it back t' Gus, yeah?" checked Badger.

"J-just heading to do that now..." Charlie mumbled.

"But the base and Gus's 'ouse are both in the otheh direction," Badger pointed out.

"Ah. Yes. So you're right..."

"Badgah! There ya are!"

Badger turned to see Crow rushing towards him. Crow running always put Badger on high alert, so he hurried over to greet him and find out what was happening.

"Everything okay, Crowlo?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's bettah than okay," Crow replied, "I 'ate to say it, but this lot 'ave picked up a few tricks that I think we could take back down to Southampton with us. Ya gotta come see wot they've done with the trapdoor. And the spotlight positionin'. They've got some great stuff goin' on in the auction 'all now."

"I'll be there in a second, just need to find out summit from Curly first," said Badger.

"Curly? Ya mean ya weren't done talkin' to 'im?" Crow said, "Kinda rude o' 'im to just take off then."

"...What?"

Sure enough, when Badger turned around he saw that Charlie was now nowhere to be found. If that didn't make the whole thing seem more curious then he didn't know what did. But even if there was the possibility that Charlie might have stolen Gus's notebook, Badger didn't fancy chasing him just now. After all, he might have just gotten the wrong end of the stick about it. Charlie and Gus were apparently good friends. So if Badger just told Gus he'd seen Charlie still had the notebook then maybe Gus would say it was no big deal.

He shook his head at Crow, dismissing the whole Charlie situation, then the two of them made their way back to the manhole cover. Luckily enough for Badger, when they got there it was just in time to catch Gus climbing out.

"Just going to check in on Marilyn," Gus told them, "Shouldn't be too long."

"Ah'reet, Gus. Did yer know that Charlie still 'as yer comic, by the way?" Badger checked. It hadn't been the most natural transition between topics, but even now Badger wasn't the best at conversations.

Gus looked exasperated; "He always keeps it for ages after I lend it to him. I only get it back when he wants more. Now that I've finished that one I'll probably never see that book again. I bet he'll just hand me a new one and demand I work on a sequel."

"Are yer ganna write one?" Badger asked.

"Um... probably someday. I have the story all in my head, but I've been working on this same comic for so long and now I want to try something else for a while," answered Gus, "High school backgrounds are so annoying, there's so many chairs and desks to draw... So I figured next I might do a one-shot about an astronaut and an alien having an affair on the moon."

"That sounds terrible," Crow flatly stated.

"Crow!" hissed Badger.

"It's fine, what I write isn't for everyone," Gus laughed, "In fact, I think Charlie might be the only person who likes it."

"Nah, I bet lotsa people would. I just ain't into romance much," dismissed Crow.

"Funneh, back when I were living with yer in Mist'allereh I used t' always find yer crouched oveh yer mam's Mills an' Boons novels," Badger mused.

"Ya must be mistaken!" yelped Crow, suddenly laughing loudly and falsely, as if Badger was telling a joke and he was in on it, "Anyway, we'll let ya get on, Gus."

Badger and Gus exchanged smirks with each other behind Crow's back, then each of them headed on their ways. One thing Badger always admired about Crow was how quickly he could mask his embarrassment sometimes, since once they got down into the tunnel he was talking away again as if nothing had happened. If it had been Badger in that same situation then he'd have been hiding his head for weeks. But then, Crow's confidence was something he'd always found attractive and it was nice to see it flooding back to him now he was in Misthallery once again.

When they got back through to the auction hall they were greeted by the remaining three Black Ravens - Arianna, Tony and Sean - who were all working away in companionable silence. Badger nodded to them, then joined Sean in sanding down a large table, while Crow jumped up on the stage to talk with Arianna about presentation techniques.

The five of them must have stayed there, cheerfully working away, for almost two hours. All so absorbed in what they were doing that none of them stopped to consider that Gus had taken a long time in getting back for what was supposed to be a quick check on Marilyn.

Their interruption came suddenly and not in a form that anyone was expecting. Uncertain footsteps could be heard pattering down the tunnel outside, then it sounded as if someone ran right into the large door that led through to the hall. As everyone's heads swivelled around to face the door, sudden banging on it began.

"It's not locked!" called Crow. He seemed confused to even have to say this and Badger couldn't blame him. Anyone who knew about the base would know that the door wasn't locked at this time.

The knocking ceased. There was a pause. Then the door was slowly and laboriously pushed open. And the person who came through it was...

"Finch!" Crow yelled. He got down off the stage and ran over, "Wot're ya doin' 'ere? This place is Black Ravens only!"

"It's coo', man! Don't get your feathers all ruffled," squeaked Finch, backing away as he spoke, "I didn't even know about this nest before today, I swear, but Gus told me where it was and he's one of your flock, yeah? So I can fly with you now, right?"

For a long time, Finch had admired the Black Ravens from a distance. At first he only admired them as a group of friends. Badger assumed that he wanted to be one of them, but because he was from the Great Ely crowd, he rarely came to the market and didn't talk much with them. Then he'd later found out about the mysterious Black Raven and thought that was the coolest thing ever. Rumour had it that he'd started referring to himself as Finch around about that time, hoping that he'd catch the Black Raven's notice. But unfortunately for him, he never did. It was a bit of a shame really, even after Charlie and Sean were adopted into the gang, Finch wasn't. And Badger doubted it was because anyone was ignoring him so much as he was just overlooked.

But for him to just wander into the base like this was a bold move. And Badger had no idea why Gus would tell him to come here without checking with the rest of them first. Unless...

"No, ya can't just be in with us like that," Crow snapped, harsher than he'd meant to be, "Why did Gus send ya 'ere?"

"Oh, right. Um... look, I think they were in a tight spot. Said he would've got Charlie to come get you all, but that guy seems to have flown the coop," explained Finch, "Not that I'm surprised to hear that. Since that turn-tail used to chill with me before he swooped off to join you guys. And after all the awful things he used to squawk about you all..."

"Just get to the point," Crow hurried. It wasn't like him to skip out on a chance to complain about Charlie, so he must have understood the urgency of the situation.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. So anyway, they were all out in the car park when I saw them. He told me to let you know they were going to the hospital. Looks like it's time for the egg to hatch," said Finch.

"What!"

It was hard to tell who said it first, not that it mattered. Everyone was equally stunned by the news. When Badger had seen Marilyn this morning she'd looked fine, but now she was...

"We're goin' there," Crow stated.

"No, let's be reasonable," corrected Arianna. And she stood her ground when Crow glared at her, "You and Badger can head along to the hospital. Gus has the only car, so I'm sorry to say that you'll have to walk. Tony can search for Charlie, since he should know about this as well. Sean, please escort Finch back to Great Ely and make sure he doesn't tell everyone along the way. Marilyn's family might not want the news to get out just yet."

"Right," Tony and Sean said in unison.

"Don't worry, you won't get a cheep out of me," promised Finch, "...But now I know about your nest, does that mean I'm in with a flying chance next time you need new members?"

"We'll see," said Arianna. Because it was politer than saying no.

This seemed like a good enough answer for Finch though and he gladly headed out with Sean after hearing it. Tony followed along behind them to look for Charlie, leaving Crow, Badger and Arianna in the hall.

"So wot are ya gonna do now that everyone else is gone?" Crow quizzed.

"Prepare for the auction," answered Arianna, "I am a Black Raven and we have a schedule to keep to. You two and Gus will be there for Marilyn, so I know everything will work out fine. She wouldn't want an auction to be stopped for her sake, so I'll carry on and the others will help me once they get back."

Crow smiled, "Ya know, I reckon everythin' 'ere is gonna be just fine as well. Ya make a good leadah, Arianna."

"Glad you think so," Arianna replied, pleased that the penny had dropped, "Now you two should hurry off before you miss anything."

"We will! Come on, Badge'," called Crow.

The two of them darted out of the door and off down the tunnel. They passed Sean and Finch not too long after they got out into the open air. It seemed that Tony had disappeared in another direction. As Badger and Crow sprinted by, they heard a 'coo'!' on the breeze from Finch. It was hard not to feel a little smug.

They both knew that they couldn't run all the way to the next town over, but right now they felt a sense of urgency, so they'd keep up the pace as long as they could manage it. Marilyn needed her friends by her side and she would get that soon.

"Babehs aren't born that quickly, are they?" Badger asked, as they made it to the rope bridge.

"I don't think so, but I ain't an expert," replied Crow, "Either way, once we get there I ain't leavin' until that little Black Raven is born."

"Even if Mal tells yer t' go," checked Badger.

"Even if every doctah in the 'ospital tells me to go," concluded Crow.

And with that, the two of them headed across the rope bridge and out of Misthallery. It was going to be a long day.