Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Author's Note: Got offered a job down at the comic book store that I've been going to every week for like ten years. Then the owner looked at me weird, asked how old I was. I had to tell him that I wasn't eighteen yet and he said "You finish school first." Gotta love guys who've known you long enough to be protective.

Rewatched The Thief Lord today. I have to watch it like once a year. It wasn't a great move—or even a great book—but I love it. It has charm.

-/-/-/-

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go.
~Dr. Seuss

-/-/-/-

Yuan studied by moon and firelight, huddled beside Kratos and Noishe because, apparently, they were going north and nights were getting steadily colder. Kratos read with him, even though he couldn't do magic.

Yuan snarled in frustration. "Why can't I do this?" Understanding the words, theorems and science on the pages wasn't difficult at all. But actually creating the magic was a bit harder. "I'm doing it exactly like it says in the book."

Kratos only shrugged. "I dunno."

Neither of them said what they knew the other was thinking. Could all half-elves do magic? Was it possible that, in Yuan, the human blood was stronger and he couldn't do magic at all, could only feel it, constantly just out of his grasp.

-/-/-/-

They managed to stretch their small amount of bread pretty far, all things considered. It was hard and somewhat tasteless now, but they ate it without complaint because it was all they had as they trudged down the road. Noishe would leave them every evening to hunt. His beak and occasionally his claws would be tinged red.

The first town they came upon was filled with soldiers, going door to door asking whether the townspeople had seen two teenagers, a half-elf and a human, travelling together. They had to sleep in the pigpen, praying that the soldiers didn't think to search there.

They hadn't felt falling asleep on each other, only realizing it when someone gave a little scream and jolted them awake. Noishe had squawked and flapped his wings, nearly trampling both boys in his panic while they scrambled to their feet, backs against the wall.

The woman had a hard, haggard face and her eyes were very wide as she stared at them. "You two are the ones them soldiers were looking for!"

"Please don't turn us in." Kratos pleaded, shifting slightly in front of Yuan. This woman was likelier to be nice to a human boy than a half-elven one. "We didn't do anything wrong."

"Bah! If soldiers like them are lookin' for you, o' course you did somethin' wrong."

"We really didn't!" Yuan said from behind Kratos, one hand on Noishe's neck as he tried to keep the protozoan calm.

The woman's eyes became disdainful as she looked at him. "We don't need no more o' your type in these parts."

"My type?" Yuan repeated. He knew exactly what type they meant (Half-breeds…filth…vermin…)

"Half-breeds've been poisonin' these lands for ages. The both of you need to get out of here 'afore I call them soldiers back."

Kratos saw the tension in Yuan and grabbed his wrist. "C'mon, let's go." He muttered. "We need to keep moving."

It was only once they were well away from the town boundaries that Kratos let Yuan go. "Why'd you do that?" Yuan asked.

"If you'd yelled at her, it would only have made things worse."

"You heard her, Kratos! I didn't want to just sit there and let her insult my people!"

"And then the soldiers would've arrested you! Or worse."

"Someone has to speak up for us! And since no one else seems to want to do it, it might as well be me! You heard her, I know you did. You heard what she said about half-elves. And she didn't even think twice about kicking us out. I told you, humans don't care about us."

Kratos bit his lip. "And you want to stand up to people like that? People that would kill you without a second thought?"

Yuan stared at him. As much as Kratos had grown—which wasn't much—and as much as Yuan thought that he'd changed, it seemed that Kratos was still very much the shy, quiet boy he'd been when they met.

"Some things are worth risking that for, Kratos."

Kratos shook his head. "Not like this. If-if you had spoken up to that woman, she would've called the soldiers and you'd be dead. You said it yourself—humans don't care about you. No one but me would've even known your name, or why you did what you did."

Yuan sighed and ran a hand through his tangled hair. "…Let's just keep walking."