Hello everyone. It's time to squeeze a new chapter in between bouts of homework, hurray. Oh, I'd like to mention the thing that Kazana had said in the last chapter about families selling their children into slavery. While he wasn't lying, the people in Sailand aren't just heartless and don't care about their kids, it's the law and there are serious consequences if someone was found housing illegal anima. Hurray for thinking these things out in way too much detailed.

Chapter 17 - Of Plans and Preparations

When Keane woke up it was midday and most if not all the animas who were with Kazana seemed to be awake as well. As he looked over he saw that Straton was still asleep, and decided to let him rest as he got up and made his way over to the older teen.

"Nice to see you finally awake," Kazana said, and Keane just nodded, not entirely sure what he wanted to say. He didn't want to stay with them very long, since it'd probably be catastrophic if they found out who they really were, and he also wanted to get to Asteria as soon as possible. Once they were there, they might actually be able to get a chance to just rest.

"Thank you for letting us come with you last night," he said at last, not wanting to sound ungrateful when he did ask what the best way would be to go if they wanted to cross the border and not die. Kazana just nodded, taking a small glance over at the still sleeping Straton before speaking.

"No problem, we anima have to help each other out," Keane decided that it would probably be best to agree, since what he said had to of been true. That thing that he'd told the redhead last night was still ringing in his head. How had he never thought about the consequences of mandatory slavery on things like family? And he was suppose to be king? Keane quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. He didn't need to be thinking about that stuff right now.

"It still saved us, we were… pretty lost," he mumbled, but Kazana just shrugged, still seeming to tell him to just forget about it.

"You should wake your brother up and eat something. There's fruit and stuff over in that cart," the black haired teen said, and Keane nodded before heading over to where Straton was still on the ground. He'd ask him about how to get to Asteria later. It'd probably be better to have Straton backing him up anyway. Even though he wasn't an anima, the blonde just seemed to be able to talk to them better than he could.

"Hey um, Sargon, wake up," Keane said, almost forgetting to use the fake name he'd made up last night. Straton slowly pushed himself up off the ground, looking around himself a bit befuddled before realization seemed to hit.

"Oh, what time is it?" he asked, and Keane glanced up at the sky before shrugging.

"No clue, two, maybe three o'clock?" the redhead answered, and Straton nodded before standing up fully. "Kazana said that there's some food in the crates over there that we could eat," Keane explained, and the two went over and each grabbed one of the same strange fruits from the night before. Keane wondered slightly if maybe Straton knew what they were, but didn't have a chance to ask him before the blonde was whispering to him.

"How long do you want to stay here?" he asked, and Keane had to think for a moment as he swallowed the strange fruit.

"I don't know. I was going to ask Kazana how to get to Asteria, but didn't get a chance yet. How long do you? I mean, it's not awkward or anything, is it?" Keane answered. He didn't want to stay too long, especially if Straton didn't feel comfortable. The blonde just smiled and shrugged though, not appearing too worried about it.

"I've always been the odd one out, don't worry about it. I think we should stay here until we get a better plan, and probably at least a little bit of supplies," Straton said, and Keane had to agree. They were lucky they didn't die the first time around going off with absolutely nothing, but then again, they didn't really have that much of a choice. They also hadn't really been thinking too straight either.

"That sounds like a good idea," he said quietly. Before they were able to say any more on the subject the raccoon anima that had spoken to them the night before seemed to nearly appear out of nowhere.

"Hi Kaveh, Sargon, finally up huh?" he asked, and the two boys nodded.

"Um, Nasir, would you know how long it would take for someone to get to Asteria?" Straton asked, and the blonde anima gave him a confused look similar to the one from last night.

"Asteria? Hmm, I guess it'd take maybe four days or so if you had a carriage or caravan, and a few weeks on foot," he explained, nodding a bit to himself at his answers. Before Straton was able to say anything back, he smiled and continued. "and if you had wings like Kazana, then somewhere in between." the smile was lost though as he looked the two over again. "but why would you want to go there?"

"Anima have been free there for much longer than Sailand, there's less prejudice. It'd be easier for Kaveh," Straton answered, although Nasir still didn't look too convinced. Keane couldn't help but wonder if it was because he genuinely didn't believe the answer was legitimate, or if it was because Straton was the one to say it.

"But you'd have to cross the mountains, isn't that kind of dangerous?" he asked, and both Straton and Keane were at a loss for an answer. Keane inwardly berated himself. How could he have forgotten about the mountain range? That was where the Kim-un-kur lived, and the area that separated Sailand from Asteria. It was also nearly impossible to cross.

"O-oh yeah…" the redhead said quietly. After a few moments Straton just gave a small half-smile and shrugged.

"I guess we'll just have to figure it out when we get there," he said, surprising both Keane and Nasir. His brother had all but given up at the mention of the mountains, and could barely believe that the blonde boy, who wasn't even an anima and was already weaker than himself normally, would shrug it off as easily as he had.

"St- Sargon, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Keane asked, stumbling a bit over his name, but Straton just nodded. Nasir didn't seem to notice, already starting to walk away from the two brothers, figuring that what ever was about to happen was none of his business.

"Of course," the younger boy said as Keane grabbed his arm very lightly and pulled him over to the edge of the stone swept clearing. "What's wrong?" Straton asked once they stopped and Keane just sighed before he started to explain.

"We can't cross the mountains, it's too dangerous. Maybe we should try something other than going to Asteria," he said, but Straton just frowned slightly and shook his head.

"What else is there? You know we can't stay here," he said. Keane had to think for a few seconds for an answer. He was kind of right, what else was there? If anyone found out who they really were, then they could be sold into slavery, and that was if they weren't just killed instead. Sailand was a big country though, they could hide…

"If we get far enough away from the capital we might be able to. We haven't even been able to get armies across those mountains, how would we be able to do it?" the red head tried. He wasn't sure if they were having an argument or not.

"Maybe it's because they're armies that they couldn't pass. Too many people. If we're careful, I'm sure we could find a path," Straton suggested, but this time it was Keane who started shaking his head.

"And if we can't find one? What's so bad with hiding out in Sailand anyway?" Keane asked. He wasn't about to let Straton get hurt because he was trying to do something to keep him safe.

"Then we'll keep looking until we do. I just don't think it's a good idea for us to stay here anymore after what happened. People will be afraid, if they let us grow up, they could think we'd want to try and reestablish the monarchy," Straton said, not about to back down in his view. Keane was now pretty sure that they were having an argument, and it was kind of strange. It seemed like Straton was probably going to win, and once again Keane couldn't help but wonder if he fit the title of older brother in any way besides just being a few years older. It didn't seem like it.

"It wont be that easy," the redhead tried, but it didn't seem to deter Straton any.

"And just getting to the mountains will be? Lets just focus on that first, then we can decide what to do, once we get there," Straton said, and Keane just nodded, not sure what else he could say to that. He really wasn't a very good leader.

"A-alright, but I still don't think it'll be worth it," he mumbled, and Straton smiled slightly.

"I promise it'll be alright," the blonde said, and Keane shrugged, still trying to figure out how his father could have possibly chosen him as the next king. Even if technically he didn't, and Myrrha had been his first choice, he still shouldn't have been so high up on the list. Then again, there was no way Straton should have been as low as he was either. Shaking his head, he tried to just forget about it. He wasn't in line for anything now, so he shouldn't waste his time thinking about it.

Before he was able to think of anything else to say, the older boy caught sight of Kazana walking over towards them, and suddenly wondered if maybe they shouldn't have been talking about this kind of stuff with any of the others even remotely nearby. They were all anima after all, and Keane didn't know what kind. He had superior hearing now, it was very possible that one of them might as well.

"Hey, so is everything okay?" the teen asked, and Keane tried to not show the relief at the fact that he apparently hadn't heard anything, and nodded. "Are you two still thinking about going to Asteria? Because if you want, you could join Wish instead," Kazana offered.

"Wish?" Straton asked, and the teen nodded, a slightly smug smile on his face.

"I haven't explained to you yet? We're Wish, a group fighting for freedom for +anima, and with recent events, I'd say it's going rather well," Kazana said rather happily, and the two boys just barely managed to nod, each trying to keep any unwanted memories of just a few days ago time from resurfacing. Inwardly gathering himself, Keane started to speak. It'd probably be better if he did than Straton after all, since it was a group fighting for anima's freedom. Kazana might take it as the younger boy trying to control him or something if he decided for them.

"I'm sorry, but yeah, we are still planning on Asteria, but we hope that anima get full freedom as soon and as painlessly as possible," Keane said, and Kazana nodded, not appearing too upset at being declined.

"That's fine, you said you'd only became one a few days ago, right? Well, if you ever change your mind, you're always welcome," the hawk winged boy said, and Keane nodded, trying to ignore the fact that he'd been looking exclusively at him during the invitation, not including Straton. He guessed it made sense, but it didn't change the irritation he felt.

"Kazana, do you think you could tell us the way to the nearest town east? We don't want to impose on you any longer than necessary," Straton asked, and Kazana smiled before pointing off in the distance.

"It's about a two day's walk that way on foot. If you want to go soon, I'd suggest tonight. You seemed to at least get that's it's easier to travel at night than during the day in this heat," Kazana explained, and the two boys nodded. "If you want, Nasir could show you the way, he's been there a few times," the teen offered, and Keane nodded.

"That would be very helpful, if he wouldn't mind," the redhead said, and Kazana just smiled and shrugged.

"I highly doubt it. We'll help you get a few supplies ready before you go too, and don't mention it. Like I said, us +anima have to look out for each other," the teen said, and Keane nodded appreciatively. He couldn't help but glance over at Straton though. He wasn't an anima. If they'd just found him alone in the desert, would they have left him there? They really seemed like nice people, but so did his father, who issued for there to be kids ripped away from their families all because they'd gained these strange powers.

Actually, thinking about it, he really didn't want to know the answer.

And yay, the chapter's finished. Sorry that not too much happened, it was more of a transition chapter than anything. I'm just glad I was able to get it done before the weekend ended, since school's been very rough this year with homework. Keane's not liking the prejudice he finds in the world, especially the fact that it's not just a one way thing.

Well, I hope you liked this chapter, and please review.