Hello everybody. New chapter time, because I feel like it, and I'm in a good mood. I'm kind of excited for this chapter. Well, I really can't think of anything else to say, so I'll stop taking up your time and get on with the chapter already.

Chapter 21 - Of Desperation and Worthlessness

"L-let go of me! Please, he's my brother, let go!" Straton struggled against the ever tightening grip of the fruit vender. The child didn't care about the stares he received as he pathetically attempted to escape. It wasn't until Hakeem slammed Straton to the ground did anything concerning his surrounds start to get in past his panic. Even that still took a few more moments than normal, his mind throbbing from the sudden pain at hitting the compact dirt. As his swirling vision began to focus, he noticed that he was alone with the older man, who was glaring daggers down towards him.

"You little brat! Do you have any idea the amount of money you cost me?" he yelled, and the blonde was just barely able to shake his head in the negative. He figured it was probably quite a bit, anima slaves weren't cheap, but that didn't change the fact that he'd still gotten all of the money from selling Keane into slavery.

It felt like someone punched him in the gut as he realized that this was the second time that the redhead has saved him from slavery, and he'd done absolutely nothing to help Keane.

Before he was able to continue his thought, a sharp pain in his side knocked him over on the ground about a foot away, the seething vender kicking Straton in his frustration. The blonde actually hadn't stopped crying since he'd first been forcefully dragged away from his only family, but his tears quickly strengthened at the unfamiliar pain. He always ran away from fights, whether is be with the other princes or someone else, and even when the palace had been attacked, he had almost instantly been captured after he and Keane were split up.

"What do you have to say, you filthy street rat! Do you have the money to repay what I lost?" he yelled, and Straton attempted to keep himself calm. Usually he was content with staying on the sidelines and out of the conflicts, but not always. Like when they others had pushed Keane into the lake, he couldn't just sit by then, and he wasn't able to this time either. Despite the searing pain radiating from his side, the blonde managed to push himself into a halfway sitting position and glare up at the man with the innate fire that seemed to exist in all of his family. Or at least, it used to.

"What about the money you just got from selling my brother into slavery? Isn't that enough for you?" he yelled, but his answer was another kick sending him flying a few feet away. Straton gasped at the ground as he struggled to catch the wind that had been completely knocked out of him.

"Shut the hell up! You're a rat, just like that beast you call a brother," Hakeem threatened, and if he could actually speak, the blonde boy's uncharacteristic rebellious streak probably would have persisted. He was still recovering from the shock to his insides, and instead could only just barely glare up at the man out of the corner of his eye. He looked absolutely pathetic, and the vender just scoffed before kicking up a plume of dirt and dust onto the boy, causing his ragged breath to transform into strained coughing.

"If I ever see you again, don't think you'll be allowed to live. No one would notice a street vermin like you going missing," Hakeem threatened before he started walking away from the child, who didn't even acknowledge the fact that he was leaving. When Straton could finally find that he was able to concentrate and move his body without flinching and grabbing at his stomach too severely, he looked around to see that he was in fact completely alone. Again.

The tears that had somehow managed to dry themselves began to make their way back, and really he wasn't sure how long he just stayed there curled up on the ground. He… he really was completely and utterly worthless, wasn't he? What had he managed to do the entire time he and Keane had been traveling together besides lead them to a near death in the desert, prove himself completely useless when with the other animas and not stop the man that managed to capture them and split the two up after selling Keane into slavery.

When he finally managed to gain control of himself, although not quite completely, since he was still crying despite some logical part inside of himself saying that he was wasting fluids, it was nearly sundown. He'd been there practically the entire day, and although he hadn't been sobbing straight through the entire time, it actually managed to surprise him.

Still not thinking quite clearly, he managed to push himself up until he was eventually standing, and began walking in a basically random direction. There… there had to be some way to fix this. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't just sneak to where they were keeping the older boy and pick the lock and they'd be off like it'd been with saving him the first time. Even if he could pick a lock, he doubted that he'd get as lucky as Keane had been with finding a time when he wasn't being guarded or kept in the safety of the indoors.

The sun had finished it's decent when a feeble plan finally managed to form inside of his mind. There was no way for him to know if he could find his way back, but those anima… they had said that if they ever needed any help, then they could come to them. It was the only option he could even think of at the moment, and he it wasn't long before he was actually able to get back to the place where Nasir had left them just the other day. Things really had taken a turn for the worst quickly, hadn't they?

The blonde tried to find his way back from memory in the dark night, but really he had no clue if he was going to right way. Neither he nor Keane had thought they were going to be coming back this way, so they hadn't really been paying any attention to specific path markings. Straton wasn't sure how far he'd managed to go before the exhaustion from the horrible day combined with the beating he'd suffered from earlier finally got to him and he allowed himself to stop and rest, if just for a moment. That moment quickly turned into the blonde passing out on the dessert floor, not caring about any sort of dangers that might end up finding him while he slept.

The first that that he acknowledged as his senses started to return to him as he woke up in the morning, or at least what he assumed was morning, was the sharp pangs that shot through his body, centering around his left side. Soon, other things began to make themselves aware to the boy, such as the bright light shining behind his eyelids and the searing heat that beat down on him from the sky.

After a few minutes, Straton managed to work up the energy to open his eyes and push himself into a sitting position, cringing as the movement caused spikes of pain to shoot through his body again. Well, he still had no idea where he was, how long he'd been asleep, or if he had any real chance at all to actually find that band of anima and possibly getting some help for Keane. That was all he wanted, to not to useless and actually help Keane for once, not the other way around.

"Oh good, you're finally awake. I was worried there for a while," Straton sprang to his feet and turned 160 degrees around to see just who had spoken. Once again the pain radiated through him, but he simply ignored it. He was positive that there wasn't actually anything broken, but his skin was probably a nasty shade of purple and blue underneath his tattered brown clothes.

Relief almost instantly flooded through the blonde haired boy when he caught sight of just who it was that had apparently been watching him, and trying to keep himself from crying again. First explain what had happened and see if they would help, and then he could cry. Maybe. Hopefully he wouldn't, at least.

"N-nasir. How did? I… I really need help," Straton managed to stutter out, and the raccoon anima just nodded in what seemed to be agreement before pushing himself off of the high rise rocks he was sitting on in order to be on a slightly more even ground with the other boy.

"I was still in the area when I though I smelt you guys again. It was weird, since you'd said you were going to head east, so I came to see what was up and found you asleep all alone. What happened to Kaveh?" Nasir explained, and Straton tried to not allow himself to shrink inside of his mind at the question. This was the whole reason he wanted to find them, in order to get some help. He didn't want to be completely alone, and despite how nice the anima group seemed Keane was the only person he could actually trust when it all came down to it.

"When we were in town… and we got caught… They sold him to some slave trader and dragged me away! P-please, I need to get him back. I don't have anyone else, I'm desperate…" the blonde told him truthfully, and Nasir just looked at him, a combination of shock, anger and pity all mixed into his face at once. Finally, he sighed before nodding firmly.

"Don't worry, Kazana will help your brother. We told you, we'd never leave an anima in need, after all," the other boy said confidently, before starting off in what seemed like a perfectly random direction to Straton, but Nasir seemed to be completely confident in his decision. "Let's get back as fast as possible, the longer we wait, the higher the chances Kaveh might get sold, and then it'd be a whole lot harder to find him if that happens," he explained, and Straton quickly nodded in agreement and practically trotted after the anima boy.

It wasn't until past nightfall when they finally managed to reached another settling that the rouge anima group had set up. Straton quickly noticed the surprised and suspicious look in the large hawk anima's eyes at the sight of the lone, human child.

"What happened?" he asked, standing up from where he'd been resting and making his way over to the two. Straton drew in a deep breath as he tried to steady himself enough to explain everything to the older teen. He had to help them. Even if Straton was just a normal human, Keane was still an anima, and they said that they'd help any anima they could be free from slavery.

"K-Kaveh was captured. Please help," he managed to get out. It wasn't the most descriptive explanation in the world, but from the look on his face, it actually seemed like that was all Kazana really needed to know.

"How, what happened?" he asked, and Straton started to explain the failed thievery attempt and being locked into the cellar, all the way up to Keane spilling the truth on that he wasn't really an anima and the blonde boy being dragged away and beaten before he finally managed to think straight enough to come and try and find the animas. All the while, Kazana kept silent, just the fact that he nodded every so often and that his eyes were glued to the blonde proof of the fact that he was actually listening to him.

"I… I can't do anything right, let alone save him all by myself…" Straton mumbled after he was finished, and the large hawk anima just sighed deeply before starting to speak.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back. I already told you that slavery isn't going to be a reality in this country for much longer, and this will just help stick it to them all that it's time to stop," Kazana told him, and Straton just nodded halfheartedly. Yes, his goal was noble, and the blonde supported the anima teen completely, but right now he didn't really care what happened as long as Keane came back and he wasn't alone anymore.

The teen actually suggested they fly back to the town, since it was faster, although Straton didn't actually understand what he meant by that at first. When he explained that he'd carry the small child and fly, it was actually hard for Straton to keep himself from getting at least a little bit excited. He shouldn't he excited right now though, he had to focus.

Once he was being carried so high above the ground though, despite all the desperation that was clawing at his insides, he couldn't help but be a bit awestruck. It really did seem like they were going much after than they would having to make there way by feet over the uneven and rocky ground.

He just hoped that Keane wasn't sold by the time they got there. He didn't care what the older boy had said about going to Asteria by himself. He wouldn't be able to make it, he was a weakling both mentally and physically.

If it wasn't for Keane saving him that night after the ambush, he would probably be dead right now, and he was going to try everything he possibly could to return the favor.

Wooo, wrote this all in one sitting with hardly and distractions. Not sure why. I was a little worried about this chapter though, it's just Straton. No Keane, Straton. An OC. As the focus, for the entire chapter. I hope no one minded. I know you've all said that you like Straton, so I was a little more acceptable to the idea, but still, there's that bit of worry. Never fear though, Keane will be right back in the next chapter.

And as always, I hope the chapter was enjoyable, and please review.