Hey people, time for new chapter. I'm a bit excited for this story to start to get on the move again, and so hopefully this chapter is the start of that movement. I feel it is at least.

Oh yes, and before I forget, Bine., thanks for the review and concern, but no worries. I'd never drop this story, not until it's done, and even then it's full speed ahead with the planned sequel. (haha yes, in case anyone didn't know. More details about that the closer we get to it though)

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now and just get on with the chapter.

Chapter 27 - Of Clothes and Transportation

Straton nodded, listening to Keane repeat for about the twelfth time what he should do once he got into town. They'd both woken up about an hour ago, and from what the blonde could tell it was maybe eight or nine in the morning now. He didn't say anything as his brother continued to ramble on, just shifting the strap of his bang slightly, which hung off his uninjured shoulder.

"-and make sure to come straight back after you're done getting supplies. Oh, and don't get too much stuff, it might make someone suspicious, or they could try to mug you or-" Straton smiled slightly, deciding it would probably be for the best to cut off the nervous boy now before he started making himself even more worried. If that happened, he would probably end up making some excuse to try to come with him, and they couldn't have that. His leg was still healing after all, as well as the simple fact that Keane was just much more recognizable than he was.

"Keane, I'll be fine. I should probably start going before it gets too late in the day and the town gets even busier," he said, and reluctantly the redhead nodded. It was clear that he didn't want to be separated from the younger boy again after everything that had happened, but it wouldn't be any longer than a few hours at most.

They didn't have much choice in the matter either. They desperately needed some new supplies, not to mention something other than the rags they were wearing now.

"Okay, just be careful," the older boy sighed, and Straton smiled and nodded once again. That was something he really didn't have to worry about. There was no way the blonde was going to put himself in anything higher than the absolute bare minimum amount of risk he needed to.

"I will, and I'll be back soon," he said, starting off towards the outskirts of the town. It wasn't long before he could no longer see Keane or the place where they had set up their tiny makeshift camp, if it could even be called that. Really, they had just barely managed to clear a few rocks away, and their only sort of possession was the bag the blond had strapped over his shoulder.

The walk had ended up taking almost twenty minutes, and he was thankful when he found himself in the main area of the town. Even without Keane's paranoid ramblings to worry him, he wanted to try to get everything they needed as fast as possible so that he could get back to the older boy.

The town itself didn't seem to be anywhere as big as Stella, and for the life of him Straton couldn't remember its name. Wandering around, the boy tried to find the area where the markets and venders would be. Probably where most of the people would be centered around.

Luckily, it only took him about ten minutes before he managed to find what seemed to be the main market area of the town. He didn't let himself linger on that thought though, slightly afraid that if he did he'd just end up jinxing himself somehow. Keeping a hand clamped tightly on the bag strap so that somebody couldn't end up stealing it from him without his noticing, he started up to one of the food carts to see what they were selling.

He didn't really know what would be the best kinds of foods to buy if you were traveling, so instead he just decided to stick to things that didn't seem to need any cooking and were cheap. No one seemed to look twice at the child as he shopped, something Straton was feeling extremely thankful for.

Once he had paid for the food and stashed it away in his bag, he tried to think of what else they would need. Clothes were the next major thing, since both boys desperately wanted to get out of the worn and bloody outfits from that horrible night.

Straton didn't take very long picking out two outfits, one for himself and one for Keane. He also made sure to get a pair of gloves and some shoes for the redhead. They needed to hide his anima markings, and he couldn't be walking around barefoot all the time either.

The last thing he bought was a pair of canteens, filling them up with water before heading back out into the desert to meet up with Keane once again. He was impressed that they still had about a third of the money Basim had gave them left, but then again +anima slaves weren't cheap.

The blond was almost back to their hideout when he noticed something stopped alongside the road farther up. Quickly veering off to the side to stay hidden, he made sure that he stay slightly close so that he could get a better look at what exactly it was.

Peaking out from behind a rock, it appeared to be a couple of merchant carts. Not large enough to be a whole caravan, but bigger than the single uncovered cart that Keane had been in with that Ed man. A few men were walking around leisurely, and it seemed that the only reason for their stop was probably to rest the horses. With one last glance Straton started away again. It seemed far enough away that he and Keane wouldn't have anything to really worry about.

"I'm back," he called as he came up on the clearing, not expecting the relief that flooded him when Keane came into view. He hadn't been gone long at all, but with everything that had happened to them since leaving, it felt justified to be just a little paranoid. Keane was by his side in an instant, quickly looking him over for anything wrong.

"I got us some food, water and clothes," he said, rummaging through the bag to pull out the outfit he'd brought the older boy. The two canteens hanging off of the side kept swinging in his way, but soon enough he handed it over, placing the shoes and gloves on top.

"Thanks, this should be able to last us a while," he said, looking the clothes over slightly and slipping the gloves on. Glancing back up at Straton, a slightly confused look was on his face.

"You didn't get yourself any shoes?" he asked, to which the blond simply shook his head.

"I'm fine wearing your old ones. Don't worry about it," he said. Keane stared at him a second longer before shrugging slightly and turning away. Both boys quickly changed, and Straton couldn't help but be relieved that everything he'd gotten managed to fit.

Both outfits were rather simple, seeing as they were trying to make sure they didn't draw any extra attention to themselves, not to mention save their money as best as they could. Straton had gotten a white shirt for himself, with short sleeves and a high collar with a few buttons up at the top. Grey pants were tucked into his borrowed shoes, making it so that they felt slightly less loose than before.

Keane came out from behind a large rock now in a short sleeved brown top. An amber trim was around the bottom and ends of the sleeves, as well as a small buckle at the top of the shirt. His shorts were a lighter shade of brown than the shirt, almost closer to tan instead, and the gloves looked almost more like a fabric wrap than a single piece, not completely covering his fingers and the same amber shade as the shirt trim. He hadn't put on the shoes yet, not wanting to mess around with the still painful slash in his leg.

The redhead sighed in relief before sitting down again, not wanting to be on his leg for too long in case they needed to start walking again some time soon.

"I don't feel as disgusting anymore. I thought we'd never get out of those blood covered rags," he said, causing the younger boy to chuckle slightly. There wasn't really anything funny about what though, but it did feel good to be out of that outfit the ones who'd attacked the palace forced him into.

"I know, same here," he answered. It actually felt a bit odd to be talking about something other than how in the world they were going to survive until the next day, but it definitely didn't make that a bad thing. Of course, it didn't stay that way for very long, since they were still facing an ever growing mountain of problems that seemed to be trying to keep them from moving forward at all costs.

"There has got to be an easier way to get to Asteria besides walking the entire time," Keane mumbled, sounding a bit annoyed. Straton simply nodded, not looking too bothered in contrast.

"There's lots of ways that are easier than walking. Carts, horses, caravans, boats, wings," he listed off, "We just don't have any of those things," the blond finished. Keane stared at him for a moment, not exactly pleased with the way that he cut out any other option so effortlessly. Straton always did just get straight to the point though, so he shouldn't really be surprised that he was just being practical about their situation.

Reluctantly, he nodded in agreement, before glancing back towards the direction of the road. All his ideas seemed to be pretty bad so far, but it seemed like they'd never get there if they continued this way.

"Yeah… hey, did you see that group of merchant carts on the road when you were coming back?" he asked after a moment. Straton nodded, a look of slight confusion passing over his face while he did. He didn't see what would cause Keane to be interested in that. As long as it didn't see them, they should be safe out here. He didn't ask though, instead just waiting for the older boy to continue on his own instead.

"Right, well um, when you were gone I went out and listened to them. It turns out that they're actually heading out east…" he said, looking up at the blonde boy to see what he thought. He couldn't tell though, Straton just staring at him without any clear expression readable on his face. He didn't make any move to say anything either, clearly wanting Keane to continue on with whatever he was trying to suggest instead. Scratching the back of his head nervously, the redhead did.

"Um, well, the carts are covered and looked really full so I was thinking… if we snuck on and managed to um, hide, we might be able to… hitch a ride?" he practically asked. He was already well aware of the risk of his mashed together plan, but he couldn't help but think that it might be worth it. They seemed to be moving at a snail's pace now, and even if they had food and money at the moment, it would only be a matter of time before they ran out again without any way to get more.

They needed to get to Asteria before that happened.

"Keane," Straton practically sighed his name. The redhead knew that it wouldn't be very easy to convince the younger boy of his plan. He was much less rash after all, which was more likely than not a very good thing.

"You know what could end up happening if we got caught. I'm not going to lose you again," he said simply, and the redhead just nodded. That wasn't something he could argue with after all. He was not planning on losing Straton again though, that was for sure. The simple thing was that they still needed to move faster, and right now this was the only way he could figure how to.

"I know, but if we manage to stay hidden it could seriously help us. We're going way too slow, we'll never even make it to the mountains at this rate," he said, glaring down at his injured leg as he did. It wasn't Straton's fault they had to keep stopping and just generally move slower now. The blond easily noticed the self blame however, and started shaking his head instantly.

"We'll reach the mountains and make it across them into Astaria when we do. It's not your fault you got hurt," Straton insisted. The redhead didn't whole heartedly believe him on any of those matters, but wasn't going to try to fight about it. That didn't mean he was going to completely back down either. He still thought his plan was, well, not a good plan, but a better one than what they had at the moment.

"I still think we should give it a shot. If they're still here tonight, we can sneak on before they leave in the morning, while everyone's asleep. And if they leave before nightfall, then we'll just keep walking like you want. How about that?" the older boy said, waiting to hear what Straton had to say. He was obviously thinking, weighing the risks of each option. Despite the constant throbbing pain in his shoulder from where Kazana had clawed him, he could think a lot clearer having actually gotten a bit of sleep and food.

"Alright," he said at last with a sigh, "but only if they're still here in the night, it's way too dangerous to try it during the day. We should only stay until they get to the next town too. The longer we're hiding, the higher the chances are that they'll find us," he finished.

Keane couldn't help but smile slightly that he'd decided to go along with his idea. Now, as long as it didn't get them both killed or separated or a huge number of other things that could go horribly wrong, it should be okay.

Of course, the rest of the day decided that it would be a great time to crawl along at a snail's pace. Both boys hid as best as they could in what shade the large rocks gave them, although Keane frequently went out to check on the merchant carts.

When the night finally did arrive, the two were both tired from actually staying up for most of the day. Before he headed out to check the carts this time, Straton coming along with him, the redhead made sure to put on the shoes the younger boy had bought. They fit, although they weren't quite high enough to completely cover the gash that Kazana had gave him. At least it was a good thing at the moment, since that meant the bandages weren't bothered by the shoes too much.

A bit to both boy's surprise, when they finally made it to the carts they were all still there. The redhead wasn't sure if they were extremely lucky right now, or extremely unlucky. Straton looked over at him, an expression of uncertainty on his face.

"You're sure this is a good idea?" he whispered, to which Keane immediately shook his head.

"Not at all, but it's the only one I have," he answered in an equally quiet voice. Straton just sighed, but didn't say anything else as he looked back over to the large covered carts. No one seemed to be guarding the one closest to them at the moment, slightly near the back of the line. There were only three in total, which made it easier for both boys to lock their sights on the same one.

"Should we just go for it?" Keane asked after a moment of silence. Straton squinted into the darkness for a second longer before nodding. It wasn't really like there was much else they could do if they were going to try the older boy's crazy idea, after all.

Without another word the two scurried along to the back of the cart. Keane wasn't able to keep himself from flinching when one of the horses grunted and sniffed at them as they went past, although it didn't seem to bother Straton much at all.

Standing as tall as he could to look inside, Keane couldn't help but be slightly relieved. There was stuff everywhere in there, piled much taller than he was sitting down. If they stayed down and didn't make much noise, no one should have any idea they were there.

"C'mon, I'll help you up," he whispered to the younger boy. Straton nodded, attempting to pull himself up into the cart. Before Keane could try to help lift him farther, the blonde let go with a small hiss of pain.

"What's wrong?" Keane asked almost instinctively, having to remind himself at the last second to stay quiet. Straton offered him a small smile before answering, although he was holding the shoulder Kazana had attacked gingerly and obviously trying to keep himself from voicing any more pain as best as he could.

"It's nothing. My shoulder still hurts a little, I'm fine," he answered, barely audible with the tone he spoke at. Reluctantly the redhead nodded before turning back to the cart.

"Only use the one arm. I should be able to push you up the rest of the way," he suggested. Without any arguing Straton nodded, starting to pull himself up once again, only using his good arm this time as Keane had instructed. The redhead managed to lift him up by his feet until he was fully in the cart. Straton immediately turned around to look back down at where the older boy stood.

Keane immediately started lifting himself in as well, not wanting to be out in the open a second longer than was necessary. Straton attempted to help pull him in, but wasn't very effective with only one arm. Despite this, it wasn't long before they were both inside and starting towards the back as fast as they could without making any sounds.

Sitting down against the side of the cart behind some boxes of miscellaneous goods, neither boy was about to look through them to see what they were, the two sat down. Curled up as small as they could, Keane made sure to pull a nearby tarp up over them, further shielding the two from view.

It was extremely hot under the thick, stuffy tarp, but they didn't bother to complain at all. If this could get them to safety sooner, than it would well be worth a little bit of discomfort.

By the time the carts started off towards the east in the morning, the two brothers were fast asleep in their little hiding place.

And the two are off once again. Also, yay, a much needed costume change. Poor boys had been wearing nothing but bloody rags for the longest time it seemed. Oh, and this is kind of random, but I absolutely love the fact that Straton wears Keane's old shoes. I don't mention it much, but it's just really adorable to me. Slightly part of the reason why he kept them.

Anyway, I do hope you liked the chapter, and as always, reviews are love~