Hello people with internet access. I have to say, it's interesting how a lot of you assume the worst is going to happen. I don't blame you, not with my records. Anyway, here's the new chapter.

Oh, also, hurray. We're almost at the one year anniversary mark. It doesn't really seem like it's been that long, but it also kind of does. Either way, I'm going to have to either make a very exciting chapter or something bonus for the occasion, wont I?

Chapter 18 - Of Traveling and Concern

Keane and Straton spent the rest of the day in between bouts of sleep mostly trying to come up with some sibilance of a plan on what to do once they were on their own again. When night finally did come, the red head wasn't really too proud of what they'd managed to achieve. Really, it was basically nothing except directions to several towns as they went farther east. If they would be able to completely follow those directions once left to their own accord, Keane didn't know.

"So, you two ready?" Nasir asked, calling over to where the brothers were looking over the small packs of supplies Kazana had given them. It would be enough to last them the two day trip to town, as well as just a bit of money for food once they actually got there. They had apparently managed to stock up on quite a bit of supplies during and up to the day after the storming of the palace…

"Yes," Keane said, swinging the sack over his shoulder. He was still in his anima form, if only for the extra protection on his feet. Straton had tried to give his shoes back again, but he wouldn't take them. If he had a way of coping without them, then their wasn't any sense in wasting it and making Straton suffer. Walking over to the blonde anima, Keane made sure to stop when he caught sight of Kazana. They'd both already thanked him what seemed like a million times, but once more and a goodbye for saving their lives wouldn't hurt.

"Thank you again, we'd be goners if you hadn't found us," the redhead said, Straton nodding in agreement a few feet behind him. Kazana just shrugged though, and Keane couldn't help but wonder if he was always in this good a mood, or if it was just because of the recent political news.

"Like I said, don't mention it. Make sure you don't get yourselves killed out there," the black haired teen said, and Keane nodded before starting off to where Nasir was still waiting.

The three children started walking off into the desert, none of them really saying much. It wasn't until they all decided to take a short break on a patch of sandstone like rocks that any sort of conversation started. Neither Keane nor Straton were the one to start it though, each too wrapped up inside their own heads to really think of anything to say, or if they even should try and start talking.

"So, did you two ever figure out what to do about the mountains?" Nasir asked, bringing the two out of their individual thoughts. Keane nodded, even though he still wasn't too sold on their current plan. If it was up to him, they wouldn't even try to cross the mountains, but despite all evidence pointing to the fact that it actually should be up to him, it really wasn't. He had to wonder just how much of a disgrace he would be if the king could see him right now, and not just because he was an anima.

"Yeah. We're going to go as far east as we can and decide what the situation looks like once we get there," he said, and the blond anima nodded. Straton didn't say anything, and Keane had to remind himself that he was never really that talkative to begin with. It did worry him though, but now wasn't a very good time to try and ask him about it. Once they were alone again he would.

About ten minutes later they started walking once again. It wasn't until they could see the eastern horizon starting to turn a light shade of blue grey did they decide to stop again, this time for the day. Keane was surprised that he was already starting to get a bit used to the flipped sleeping schedule. He still felt a little drowsy most of the time as well as frequent headaches and just a general loss of appetite. Of course, all of that was probably due to a whole lot more than simply a disturbed sleeping pattern.

"We should be able to reach town by tomorrow morning, so I think it'd a good idea to stop and rest for now," the raccoon anima told them, and Keane nodded while he brushed the ground before sitting down. Straton never seemed to do that, actually, just picking a spot and sitting without any real commotion about it.

"That's good, thanks again for agreeing to take us," Keane said, and Nasir just flopped down onto the sandy ground without a second thought.

"No problem, it's really not that far away, plus something about you two just kind of screams that you'd need all the help you can get. No offense," he said, and Keane scratched the back of his head sheepishly, glancing over at Straton. He was already lying down, although the ginger haired boy couldn't tell if he was asleep or not.

"None taken. We've never traveled alone before, so it's probably true," he said, and Nasir just nodded before going to lay down himself.

"That's fine. It's hard when you first become an anima, your whole life's pretty much uprooted, so don't worry about it. We've all been there," Nasir said, and even though their was a casual and easy going tone to his voice, Keane couldn't think of how he could possibly respond. His whole life really had been uprooted, but he didn't want to think about that right now. "You should get some sleep," the blonde anima told him without looking up, and Keane nodded, brushing the ground behind him again before laying down like the other two had.

It was late afternoon when he woke up, and Nasir was already awake. Looking over though, Straton was still asleep, so he didn't attempt to wake him and went over to where the other boy was.

"Hey," the blonde said, handing him some of the food from their pack. Keane nodded and wordlessly took the fruit, actually knowing what this one was this time, and started eating. The two sat silently for a few moments, Keane really not sure what to say. He still wasn't used to talking to people from outside the palace.

"How'd it happen?" Keane's head perked up at the words, and he looked over at their current companion in confusion. Before he was able to ask what he'd meant though, the boy started talking again. "Your anima, I mean. I was lost at night and there were coyotes after me. The night vision helped me escape," Nasir explained.

Keane started shaking his head, trying to keep any of the details of the attack from resurfacing, although he wasn't doing a very good job. "I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled, and it was true. Even if he could tell the other boy without fear of being turned in, he wasn't sure if he would be able to. Nasir just nodded though, not looking like he was going to try and push the subject.

A little while later the raccoon anima said he was going to rest until nightfall, but Keane decided to stay up a bit longer and wait for Straton to wake up. After another hour and a half of waiting though, he was starting to get worried. He knew that he'd just gotten over being insomniac for a few days, yes, but something still just seemed off. He hadn't really seemed like he was all there yesterday, while they were planning on what to do and traveling.

"Hey, Straton?" he whispered, now at the younger boy's side and shaking him softly. Always softly now, he was afraid to grab him too hard, especially with his claws out. He didn't want to hurt him again, the shabby wrapping of cloth still reminding him of the last time.

"Hmm?" Straton groaned slightly, pushing himself into a sitting position and rubbing his eyes before finally attempting to focus on whoever it was that woke him up. "What's wrong?" he asked after a moment, looking around as if he wasn't really sure where they were exactly, and Keane couldn't blame him. He still wasn't used to waking up in a new place all the time either, not when your bedroom hadn't changed since practically the day you were born.

"Nothing," the red head answered, trying to think of the reason why he'd woken Straton up in the first place. Sure, because he was worried, but he couldn't just say that. "I was wondering if you wanted to eat anything, since it's getting pretty late in the day and you haven't eaten yet," he said, and after a few seconds Straton nodded.

"I suppose so," the blonde decided, and Keane went over to grab the packets a few feet away before returned backs, brushing the ground with his foot again before sitting down.

"I already ate," he mumbled as Straton grabbed his portion of food. After a few minutes Keane decided that it would probably be best to just ask and get it over with. "Is everything okay, you've seemed kind of out of it lately," he said, and Straton looked over at him before nodding.

"I'm fine, don't worry," the younger boy answered, and Keane sighed slightly. He couldn't tell if Straton was telling the truth or not. Well, they obviously weren't fine, per say, but they weren't as bad as when they first started off, which he guessed might count as fine in comparison. He was still worried though, but maybe he was just looking too far into things. Of course he'd be tired after everything they'd been through so far. Straton was younger than him, and now he wasn't an anima either. Of course he'd be at a bit of a disadvantage.

"Alright," he said at last, and neither boy said much of anything after that. It was partially due to the unease that was starting to set into both of them. By tomorrow morning they'd be in another town and all on their own again. Keane wondered if it would be anything like Stella, but even if it was, it wouldn't of mattered that much. He'd never exactly gotten the chance to explore the streets of his old home. The other part was because they didn't want to wake up their guide. Keane had already realized he'd made the mistake of calling Straton by his real name when he'd woken him up, and they didn't want to chance any more slip ups like that. It was lucky that Nasir had been asleep.

Both boys had managed to fall back to sleep before night came, waking up once the sun had nearly finished it's decent. Gathering their things, which Keane couldn't help but notice was still a very small amount, they started following Nasir towards the town.

This night was almost as silent as the one before, none of the boys truly in the mood to talk. Once Keane managed to see the subtle sight of something abnormal coming over the horizon he couldn't help but get just very slightly excited. "Is that it?" he asked, still not quite sure if what he was seeing was really a town. Nasir nodded though, quickening his pace a bit.

"Yep, that's it. The sun'll be up any time now too, we're right on schedule," the blonde said happily. Straton just squinted towards the grey and black line of the horizon, unable to make out anything that would indicate civilization or the sort without the advanced night vision his companion's animas gave them. He stopped trying to strain his eyes after a few moments though, figuring it would be best to just trust in their judgment. That was the entire reason Nasir was even there, after all.

Once Straton was able to see the beginnings of the next town come into view, it wasn't much longer at all until they found themselves at the very outskirts, both former princes trying to keep themselves from appearing too intrigued or out of place in something as simple as going one town over. They apparently already stood out enough, looking like they just screamed needing all the help they could get, after all.

Before they actually managed to enter the town, Keane made sure to draw in his anima, the strange shifting feeling still not completely comfortable. Nasir nodded, but didn't make any move to try and hide his animal appendages.

"Good idea. Kazana doesn't really want to admit it, but just because the king is dead it means people wont stop trying to capture and sell anima as slaves. It'll probably just be more chaotic until the new government gets set in place," the blonde anima said, and Keane nodded. He hadn't even thought about how the country would be in such an unbalance with no ruler… and they were a sitting duck right now. It'd be the perfect opportunity for another country to attack.

He quickly tried to rid these thoughts from his head. There wasn't anything he could do about that now. He couldn't even begin to think about trying to protect the whole country anymore, he'd be lucky if he could get himself and Straton somewhere safe. Before he was able to really say anything, Nasir started speaking again.

"Well, good luck. If you ever need any help, don't hesitate to try and find us," the blonde offered, and Keane nodded once again. They really did seem like nice people.

"Thank you for everything. My brother and I owe you our lives," Straton said, and Keane was almost positive that was the first thing he'd said since they started traveling. The raccoon anima simply smiled and shrugged though, already starting to head back in the direction they'd only just came from.

"Don't mention it. Well, later," he said, and the two boys watched for a moment as he started running off back towards the west. Sighing, Keane turned towards the town. Well, they were on their own again. Hopefully this time they wouldn't go wondering off into certain death.

"It'll be okay now," Straton said quietly, and Keane nodded as he started walking down one of the dirt streets that lead into the town. It had to be okay now, they'd already gone through so much, maybe their lucky streak could hang on just a little bit longer. Just until they were able to make it to Asteria.

They didn't have much of a chance at surviving if it didn't.

Yay, chapter done. Nope, raccoon boy was perfectly innocent. Sorry if anyone was disappointed. Not much action or anything in this chapter yet again, but don't worry. Like I said before, one year anniversary, something's gotta happen. (also, I will try everything in my power to update on that day, I've managed to be successful with all my other stories so far, so hopefully this one wont disappoint me)
Well, I hope you still liked this chapter, and please review.