Hey y'all people, new chapter time. This one took a bit longer to write than I originally thought it would. I think I'm still adjusting to the OCs. It's like a balancing act, I need them, but I don't want it too much too fast. I'm probably just being overtly paranoid. Anyway, how about we just start the chapter and you see how you like it instead.

Chapter 32 - Of Family and Being Civil

The rain continued to pour on for nearly an hour longer before finally starting to ease up slightly. It was still too hard to actually leave without getting soaked, but was much better than the near constant wall of water that it had been before.

In that time, the four children inside the cave had said practically nothing to each other. It was clear that none of them knew quite what to say after the slightly hostile first meeting had finally seemed to calm slightly. Straton noticed that it looked like Naira was going to try to speak several times, but would then glance over at her brother and apparently think against it instead.

Keane had decided he didn't really mind the silence all that much though. The redhead found himself staring absently at the fire as he tried to figure out what he and Straton should really do now. Once the rain stopped he wasn't sure what those two Kim-un-kur kids would want to do with them, but they needed to get across the mountains somehow. He doubted that Akule would be too thrilled to help them out, but maybe the girl would. At least maybe set them in the right direction of an actual trail or something like that.

"You shouldn't stare at fire," Akule said, breaking the redhead out of his thoughts and startling everyone just slightly. Looking up at him, Keane had to blink a few times before he could actually see the older boy past the discolored dots taking up most of his line of sight now.

"Why not?" Keane found himself asking before actually thinking about it. Akule frowned, immediately rolling his eyes at the question.

"It ruins your night vision. Don't you two know anything?" he asked, so far obviously not very impressed by how they'd been handling themselves. Keane quickly glared at the teen, but managed to keep himself from snapping at him when he went to answer, trying to have everything stay as civil as he possibly could.

So yeah, while Akule rubbed him the wrong way, he was not going to try to fight with him. He didn't particularly like the idea of fighting with anyone anyway. It reminded him too much of home. Back before anything bad had started to happen.

"We've been trying our best. We managed to get all the way from the west coast by ourselves, so I guess we must know something," he said. He'd purposefully hadn't said exactly where they were from. Giving out their real names had been a risk, he didn't want to place any more connections between then and the royal family if he could help it.

"And besides, it's not night anyway, so I don't see why it would even matter," he added on after a moment. Akule simply stared at him, as if he was actually thinking over what he said before scoffing slightly and turning away. Naira just sighed at his reaction, but didn't actually say anything.

"Um, it looks like the rain's pretty much stopped now," Straton broke in after a moment, pointing towards the opening of the cave. Looking over, Keane saw that it was indeed true. Several large drops still seemed to be falling every so often, but he was pretty sure that was just the water that had been caught on tree leaves and branches. Naira smiled and nodded, quickly standing up afterwards.

"Yeah, looks like it's safe to head out finally," she said.

"What are you two going to try to do to us now?" Keane asked, still seated on the cave floor. Just because he was going to try his best not to argue with him, didn't mean that he exactly trusted Akule not to try to drag them off the mountain or something like that.

"We're going to take you back to our tribe and let the chief and other adults decide what to do with you two," she told them simply, surprising both Keane and Straton, even though what she said actually made a lot of sense. The one who seemed most taken back by her statement however was actually Akule though, who swiftly turned towards the girl.

"We are?" he asked, Naira nodding without any hesitation.

"Of course we are. They said they can't go back to Sailand, and we can't just leave them wandering around out here either," she said. Akule opened his mouth as if he was about to argue with her, before quickly snapping it shut again, standing up in a huff and snuffing out the small fire.

Glancing over at each other, Keane and Straton hesitantly stood up as well. It'd probably be better to just try to go along with them for now. Even if they were taken to their tribe and they decided to try to kick them off the mountain, they could just leave and then try to cross some other way. Sure, it'd be a huge waste of time and resources having to go through that, but there was always the chance that they might actually try to help them instead.

With that the two boys started following them down a seemingly random pathway. Keane wondered just how far away they actually were from their tribe. He tried to think of anything he actually knew about the Kim-un-kur, but that knowledge was extremely sparse. Just like with +anima, he hadn't really been told anything about them beyond their place in the slave trade.

Just how was he supposed to rule people if he didn't even know the first thing about them again? Even with the possibility of him ever being a king long in the past, it still boggled his mind slightly with how things could have been.

"Um, do you think your tribe will be able to help us?" Straton asked as they continued to walk.

"Well, most of the paths to Asteria are blocked off, but I'm sure they'll try to find some way to help you. We can't really force you to leave if you'll just end up getting caught by slavers after all," Naira explained. Keane nodded, slightly relieved by that. Even if the paths were blocked like she said, it was good to know that they probably wouldn't be immediately escorted out of the mountain.

A bit to his relief, Akule didn't say anything against this as well, actually staying silent during the walk instead. He didn't even look back at them as he continued to lead the small group through a narrow path in the rain soaked undergrowth.

After a while though, Keane couldn't help but wonder if they were even going in the right direction. Everything around them seemed to be getting even more overgrown and devoid of any signs of settlement, not exactly what he would expect if they were getting any closer to where they lived. Despite this, about ten minutes later the dense trees and bushes seemed to just open up to reveal what looked a lot like a little village.

Lots of large, dome shaped buildings filled the cleared area, with many people walking between them and to a river that was just visible in the distance. They all had the same orange colored beads in their hair as Akule and Naira, and Keane found himself wondering if they meant something.

Looking over, Naira saw the surprised and impressed looks on the two brother's faces.

"Being so close to Sailand, our best defense is to just stay hidden," she explained. The two nodded, letting the information soak in. That did make a lot of sense, after all. Sure, Keane and Straton had been in the mountains for nearly two days before being stumbled upon by the Kim-un-kur, but that was still well within reach of slavers if they wanted to try to attack.

"What's going on here?" someone asked, and Keane turned to see a tall grey haired man walking over to them. Even with the reassurance Naira had given them, the redhead found himself getting increasingly worried as he made his way closer. Things just really didn't like to work out for them it seemed, so he felt it was a little bit justified to be paranoid that this would end up going badly as well.

"Who are these two?" he asked, having now reached them. Much to Keane's unease Akule was the one who started speaking first, instead of his sister.

"A couple of kids we found when out hunting. A +anima and his brother, they said they're trying to get to Asteria," the older boy said, surprising both Keane and Straton slightly. He hadn't attempted to twist the story in any sort of way or say what he thought they should do with them. The man nodded, looking the two over carefully before speaking again.

"Alright. Shikoba should be back in a few hours, I'll talk to your father and the others then. Can I leave you two in charge of them until then?" he asked, the siblings quickly nodding.

"Of course, thanks Quidel," Naira said, Quidel leaving them after that. Keane and Straton exchanged glances nervously, still unsure about what was going to happen to them exactly.

"Uh, now what do we do?" Keane asked after a moment. Akule sighed loudly before answering him, any of the politeness that had been there when talking to that older man almost instantly eradicated.

"We wait until the chief comes back and decides what to do with you, that's what. Now c'mon Red, you're with me," he said, roughly pulling on Keane's arm to get him to follow. It happened to work for a few steps, before Keane swiftly managed to pull himself free, glaring at the older boy when he turned back to look at him, clearly irritated.

"What are you talking about? Why can't Straton and I stay together?" he demanded, instantly not liking the idea of getting split from the younger boy at all. Even though he didn't want to fight, if he had to he definitely would. Once again though Akule just rolled his eyes at him, but at the very least he did answer.

"It's easier to make sure you two wont try anything if you aren't together, and besides, it'll just be for a few hours," he said. Before Keane could argue about what in the world could they try to do? Didn't he think they were hopeless anyway? Straton quickly cut in.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry," he said, clearly trying to keep the two from falling into another argument. The redhead couldn't keep himself from hesitate slightly however. This wasn't the slaver's though, they really didn't have any reason to distrust them. Of course, they didn't have any reason to trust them either. Akule had pretty blatantly shown how he felt about people from Sailand, and it seemed like being a +anima didn't really matter to him either.

Really though, they weren't exactly in any sort of position to be demanding things. Not when they needed all of the help they could possibly get. At least Straton would be with Naira instead of Akule, although Keane wasn't entirely sure how long they would be able to stay civil to each other alone. Hopefully they could last a couple of hours.

"Alright, fine, but just until we can talk to your chief," he conceded. Akule simply nodded, already starting away from the group, assuming that Keane would just follow him now.

"If anything happens come and get me, alright," the redhead said, quickly turning towards Straton before leaving. The younger boy quickly nodded, although more so just to keep Keane from worrying than actually thinking that anything would really go wrong. Or at least, he really hoped that it wouldn't.

"Okay, I will," he said. Taking one last look back, Keane quickly started across the clearing to where Akule had finally stopped to wait for him. Once the two were out of sight Straton sighed softly under his breath. He could understand why Keane was so nervous about splitting up, but it'd be in their best interest to listen to what these people wanted them to do for now.

That didn't quite make him any less nervous about the whole thing though.

"Um, sorry about everything. Keane can just be really protective sometimes," the blond said after a moment. Naira quickly shook her head though, starting to lead him in the opposite direction from where the other two had gone. As they walked, Straton couldn't help but try to soak in as much of everything around him as possible. It was all so different from anything at the palace or the towns in Sailand.

"Don't worry about it. Akule had been the one starting most of it, anyway. He can be pretty rude, but he doesn't actually mean anything by it," she said. After a few moments, she added, "But you know, brothers can be like that sometimes."

Straton found himself stopping as he thought about what she just said. Brothers can be pretty rude, huh? Sure, while Keane was never really that way with him, the blonde's mind immediately went to how all of the other princes had treated each other. Even before Myrrha's suicide Keane had been the same way. Dang, that had been the cause of the old Crown Prince's suicide, apparently.

Really though, it had just been the politics of the situation they were all forced into. It wasn't really like any of them actually hated each other or anything.

Straton frowned slightly as he hand absently went up to the back of his head. Or at least, he hoped no one had really hated each other. His mind started turning towards the night of the palace attack, after he'd been separated from Keane but he quickly pushed any of the memories away.

He guessed he'd never really know for sure. Even if anyone else was still alive, he was never going to see anyone but Keane ever again.

Naira had stopped now as well, looking back at the younger boy curiously. Straton quickly offered her a small smile, nodding his head in agreement.

"Yeah, they really can be, can't they?" he said.

…

Keane had finally managed to catch up to Akule, the teen having started walking away again the second he saw that he'd been coming. The redhead had no idea what they were going to do for an hour, but he wasn't really sure if it would be the best idea to ask. So far, they seemed to be getting farther away from the center of the little village, heading towards the river.

It wasn't until they were a ways up the river did Akule actually bother to speak again.

"I'd take it you don't know anything about fishing, being from the desert and all," he said, that condescending tone back in his voice. Much to his annoyance, all Keane could do was shake his head. The closest he'd ever been to a fish that wasn't already cooked had been the ones in the garden pond, which he liked to avoid, and even if he didn't, they certainly weren't allowed to try to catch them.

"Then just stay out of the way," Akule commanded, walking over to the edge of the river. Keane rolled his eyes, but did as he was told, sitting down on a large rock at the base of a tree as he watched the older boy.

A bit to his surprise, he proceeded to pull a rather large net out of the river, quickly starting to check it over for any sorts of fish trapped inside. Despite his annoyance with Akule, he found himself watching intently as he pulled several fish out and placed them in a bucket. It didn't look too hard, if he and Straton were able to make a net they'd just have to figure out how to cook the fish and they could have some sort of way to get some food for themselves. There were probably rivers like this all over the mountains, after all.

"So, that blond kid's your brother?" Akule asked, startling Keane slightly. He hadn't exactly expected him to be the one to try to start a conversation.

"Yeah, and…?" the younger boy asked. Akule just shrugged though, throwing another flailing fish into one of the buckets with ease.

"You don't exactly look like it," he said, the skepticism in his voice clear now. Keane found himself frowning, unsure of what to say next. He doubted that the Kim-un-kur boy would be as accepting as the merchants had been with a vague explanation.

"I look like my mom, Straton looks more like our dad," he said. It was pretty much true, after all. He did look almost exactly like his mother, after all. Sure, Straton wasn't quite the spitting image of their father, they were both blond, but Straton's hair wasn't as light as their father's had been. He also had a different eye color, but Akule didn't need to know about any of this.

"Sure," the teen said, although he still didn't quite sound like he believed him. Keane frowned, but decided to just let the subject drop for now. Even if they didn't believe they were really related, it didn't matter as long as they didn't try to split them up or something like that. Which really, there wasn't any reason for them to do that, unless of course, they had a problem with the fact he wasn't a +anima.

"Hey, Akule?" he asked, figuring it would probably be best to just find out right now if it would be an issue.

"What you want Red?" the Kim-un-ker asked back, once again using that bothersome nickname.

"Keane," he instantly corrected, not that Akule seemed to care any.

"Whatever." Keane just rolled his eyes at the comment, but decided to just continue with what he was trying to ask anyway.

"It's not going to be a problem, is it? That Straton's not a +anima," he asked. Akule stopped messing with a fish desperately attempting to get out of the net for a moment, looking over a him instead. He actually seemed a bit taken back by the question, staring at the redhead in confusion.

"Why would that be a problem?" he asked back, and Keane found himself shrugging as he attempted to explain. He didn't really know why people would be bothered by it himself either, but sure enough, it was either people didn't accept +anima, or they did and didn't know what to do with Straton.

"I don't know, but we had some trouble while we were traveling because of that. I just want to make sure he wont be in any danger since he doesn't have an anima," Keane said. Akule stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head and turning his attention back towards the fish.

"+Anima are respected, yeah, but there's nothing wrong with not being one. I doubt anyone would care he's not one, so it'll hardly be a problem," he said, and Keane actually found himself sighing in relief. At least that was one less thing he had to worry about now.

"Here," Akule said, knocking Keane out of his thoughts as he placed one of the buckets in his hands. The redhead just stared at it for a moment, several of the fish inside still wringing about furiously.

"It's a bucket of dying fish," he said blankly, not having any clue what he was supposed to do with it. Akule actually seemed amused by his bewilderment, a smirk making its way onto the older teen's face.

"Good job, you can see. Now come on, you're gonna help me gut them," he said, picking up his own bucket and starting away again. The redhead quickly started after him, ignoring the quip and making sure to keep the bucket as far from him as he could.

"Gut?" he asked, unable to keep a bit of the hesitation and worry out of his voice. Gutting fish… that didn't sound like fun at all.

"You heard me Red. You're not in the desert anymore," he said, once again sounding full of himself, obviously talking down to the redhead. Keane's slightly blank look of disgust quickly transformed into an annoyed frown. He couldn't fight with this kid, and it would be for the best to just do what he said for now so that they could get some help.

That didn't mean he had to like him though. Not one bit.

Yay, finally done. I like writing Akule's and Keane's interaction, it's interesting. Keane might not want to admit it, but he's still got a bit of that pampered royalty in him. Oh yes, and this is officially my second longest story in terms of word count now. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter, thanks for reading and please review. Everyone who does gets their own bucket of dying fish!