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“Chief, we have a problem, the usual one.” One of the cooks Thatch sent to take regular inventory pokes his head into the kitchen and whispers. It seems they are running low on fresh and frozen meat again. While there is still plenty of preserved meat, Thatch prefers the crew not to eat that much unhealthy food on a daily bases.
Thatch makes a face, he knows this is coming. Ace, for someone his size, somehow can eat as much as Jozu if not more, and they are joined by several newcomers after they last stock. Not to mention the continue bad weather they encountered last week greatly reduced their catch. "That's what I'm afraid of. How long do you think it can last?”
The man hums, “A week or so, maybe two, if we further economize.”
“Okay, thanks,” Thatch says, wiping his hands on a nearby clean towel. “I'll go tell the others to change course. And maybe if Oyaji can stop scaring off the animals nearby, we can try to stock up a little more on the way." Who is he kidding, the only time this ship is properly stocked is the moment when they just finish restocking. Feeding a crew this big is already a challenge, doing that while making sure the food reserve is enough to last until they can get the next supply is a totally different level of difficulty.
“Hey, you need a hand?” Ace asks when he sees one of his siblings, Ace recognizes he's from the 4th although he has no idea what the guy's name is. The man is struggling to maintain his balance while moving with two large crates stacked in his hands. There is also a bunch of ropes dangling from his arm.
“Oh, thanks.” The guy is more than happy to shove one of the crates in his hands, and Ace follows him to the deck. Several boxes of fishing rods, nets and weapons are already placed in the corner they place the crates.
“Do you know why are we docking? I thought it takes another week to get to the next island?” Ace asks as he lowers the crate.
“Don't worry, Commander Thatch will explain it. I still need to grab a few more things. See ya.” The man hastily answers while rushing to somewhere below deck.
“Okay people, we're running a bit low on food reserve, more specifically fresh meat.” Groans from all over the deck almost cover Thatch's voice. “I know, I know.” The Commander of the 4th raises his voice slightly. “Preserved meat sucks. And frankly, I don't want you to eat that on daily bases. So go and catch something back if you don't want to have dried meat for the next few weeks. I'm sure most of you know the drill. A short recap for the newcomers.”
He pats one of the crates next to him. “Take whatever hunting tools you need, work with someone and get us some food. Get back to the ship before sunset. Come back on time, we all know Marco’s opinion on being used as a guidelight.”
Thatch pretends to lower his voice and continues, “He will be very grumpy and I'm sure none of you wants to deal with an angry bird fussing around you.” They all snicker as Marco gives Thatch a long-suffering glare. “Jokes aside, stay safe and signal others if you need any help. Remember, safety first yoi, we want you all to come back in one piece, ok?” The ship doctor adds.
“If you have any questions, stay and ask. Otherwise, I see you later.” with that, the crew gradually disperses to different parts of the island.
Thatch is on the beach giving instructions on how to handle the animals the others have hunted, and that's when he sees Ace coming towards him behind the bushes on the outskirt of the forest. “You didn't burn it this time, do you?” He teases the fire logia.
Ace scowls at him, “It was that one time.”
“Oh, are you referring to that time you punched a fiery hole in a sea king or that time you burnt that poor sea beast to crisps?”
“The sea beast. The sea king startled me! And it hardly calls as hunting when it attacked us first.” Ace increases his pace to argue with Thatch so he doesn't need to shout across the beach.
“Um, Ace, what is that?” When Ace and his catch are finally out in the open, Thatch can only stare at the giant creature Ace drags behind him. The thing looks at least six meters long. How does he bring it through the dense forest? And somehow he still moves unbelievably quite.
“? Crocodile. There's a bunch of them sunbathing by the river.” Ace points at the direction slightly on the left behind him, which is not the direction of the plain.
“I know what a crocodile is. But why are you carrying one...” He remembers Marco mentioning a river on the opposite side of this island that inhabits some large crocodiles when they first discovered the island, but so far Thatch doesn't recall any of their siblings actually finding said river, the part of the forest that holds the river is ways too dense to venture into without getting lost. And there are enough animals for them to choose from in other parts of the island, people tend to catch the herbivores inhabiting the plain since they're in large numbers and easy to find.
“? What do you mean? It serves good with rice.”
“If you say so.” Ace's expression is so genuine that Thatch doesn't think Ace is joking. But it's like calling any creatures that move food, how the hell did Ace learn what to eat? Then again, they would hunt the Sea Kings that dare to come near them for food. Pot, meet kettle. But seriously, who the hell would look at that ferocious animals and think of food instead of danger?
“I can help you cook it if you don't know how.” Ace's tentative voice causes Thatch to snap out of his contemplation.
“Of course I know how to cook it, stop trying to steal my job.” Thatch sighs, “It's fine, great even. Just, I was expecting maybe a deer or a boar, something less ferocious. What if you get hurt trying to catch this thing?" He knows Ace can look after himself, but Thatch can't help but worry, devil fruit users and water don't mix. What if Ace drowned without anyone noticing?
“Don’t worry, I won’t let them eat me alive.” Ace let out a soft chuckle. It sounds like there are stories behind it, which is NOT comforting at all. “Please tell me it’s just a joke...” Thatch moans.
“Well, Luffy got eaten by a croc once. He's fine, by the way, we managed to get him out later.” Ace shrugs. “What?!” Thatch absolutely does NOT want to know that, what the hell is wrong with this guy’s childhood? And more importantly, how the hell did Ace and his little brother live through that? From the stuff he heard of, it’s a miracle that they are still alive.
Ace just whirls the pipe in his hand, of all those weapons and tools for him to choose from, why is he hunting with that? “Relax, I’ve been hunting crocodiles since I was a kid. It's not that hard once you know the tricks. Besides, it's winter and early, crocodiles aren't that active when it's cold.”
Why would someone let two kids run around hunting dangerous creatures, like crocodiles, for food? Then again, who would let their children become pirates? Maybe it's just another proof of how messed up the world is.
Despite the teen clearly knows what he's doing, Thatch can't help but worry. Damn these devil fruit users and their tendency to fall into the water. “At least tell me you didn't hunt it alone...” Thatch moans.
“Kotatsu was with me until he discovered where I was heading.” Ace shrugs again. “Meow?” As if on cue, said feline appears behind another rustle of bushes, dragging a bison almost twice its size.
Ok, he is definitely sending someone to go with Ace next time. Damn it, he asks them to hunt in teams for a reason.
“Just out of curiosity, what did you usually hunt before? When you still a kid.” Thatch asks after he asked Ace to help with the food, partly to save time, and partly to prevent the guy to go on a solo hunt again in such a short time.
Ace hums, “I used to catch bison or boars since they provide more meat if you manage to get one. After Luffy tagged along, we caught crocodiles more often. That idiot's too loud for us to catch deer. Always tried to pounce on the prey when he saw one, and never learn how to stalk properly. And to be honest, hunting deer is kind of boring.”
“How about birds? I've seen you catch them before.” Ace makes a face. “Too troublesome, that idiot always gets caught by the birds instead.” Thatch almost asks exactly what kind of bird were they catching, however, he decides against it. It's probably better for his mental health this way.
“Your childhood is full of surprises.” At this point, Thatch doesn't even know how these two manage to grow up. Probably either because they're extremely lucky or it's a D thing.
“Maybe. Oh, and we sometimes went for bears. But we mostly stick to crocodiles or boars. They're easier to find. And bison.” These animals are also less likely to run away when noticed themselves being stalked, Thatch muses.
“But why would you go after crocodiles and bears for food in the first place?” Thatch moans.
“Cause it's good training?” Ace shrugs, “What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.” Said the man who repeatedly tried to take out the Strongest Man Alive. It seems the guy always has something akin to a death wish, not that Thatch will ever say that to the teen's face. “If you say so. Now that you’re here, help me start a nice, warm fire.”
Before Ace makes a face at the implication that he can’t go hunting anytime soon, Thatch adds with a smirk, “Who knows, maybe I’ll let those who kindly help me control the flame ‘test’ if the meat is ready yet.”
“Fine, how large do you want it to be?” Ace huffs and lights a small flame on his hand.