Sons of Beasts

An Explanation!

Finally getting an explanation in this chapter as to Ace and Luffy's family. Some cute fluff and important information. Enjoy~

The building of the tree house was difficult. Not because it was labor intensive. No, that part was relatively easy since both boys were fit from their training and constant exploration and fighting. It was keeping Luffy safe that was the hard part. And the dragon wasn't doing them much favor as he wandered off multiple times, trying to catch bugs.

Luffy was never taken the Gray Terminal. It was assumed that Luffy could easily be stolen from the six year olds as they carried supplies. Luffy, as something that wasn't supposed to exist, would probably sell for a high price.

So Ace and Sabo took turns going to get supplies that others saw as junk. They had hollowed out a part of the trunk, which was extremely difficult, and then put makeshift wooden bars across the entrance so Luffy would stop wandering off.

But the baby dragon got bored easily in there, and would keep calling Ace's name to come and let him out. Ace told him, kindly, that it was for his own safety and protection, and once the boys were done for the day, they would join him or take him exploring some more.

After the third week after Luffy's hatching, Ace let him explore by his side instead of in his arms. Of course both boys were on either side and holding out their weapons to fight at a moments notice.

They went bug hunting many times for breaks during building. It was Luffy's favorite thing to do, since he hadn't been allowed to chase after bugs by himself, which was why he was kept in the little pen, like a human child would need.

Through the weeks after Luffy's hatching, Ace was happier than Sabo had ever seen. He grinned a lot, and played with Luffy often, sometimes zoning out so much Sabo had to touch him to get his attention. Sabo was happy for him, but it also made him sad he couldn't talk with Luffy like Ace could, and only heard half of the conversations with the dragon, so Ace would need to narrate what Luffy was saying.

But, the good thing was that Luffy liked Sabo. Not as much as Ace, but enough that Sabo considered Luffy as a baby brother as well.

The boys had fixed up the weapons shed outside of the bandit's hut but still on the property, and had to clean out many bugs, which Luffy enjoyed. He was allowed to chase them around the yard, but not to go near the bushes leading to the forest. None of the bandits had touched him or even gotten close, due to fear. Which was just ridiculous. Luffy looked less harmless than a damn rabbit.

When the day finally came that the three could move out of the bandit's property completely, Sabo gathered his things from his old home and hurried the the treehouse that Ace and Luffy were waiting at. Luffy was pacing back and forth in excitement.

Both boys were needed to get Luffy up the rope ladder to the top of the tree where their house was nestled. Sabo tied a rope as a harness securely around Ace. The dragon wasn't afraid of the heights as he looked down from tied to Ace's back. And thankfully, Luffy didn't move at all.

The tree house was all decked out, feeling very homey. There were bags of supplies and tools tied to the ceiling wood, and there were blankets folded in the corner for sleeping on. Luffy had to be explained what the pirate wheel was since the boys had both decided they wanted to be pirates. Then there was a ladder up to the little crow's nest that Luffy wasn't allowed to go on yet. The dragon loved it.

And, for his safety, a retractable railing was around the open parts of the treehouse so Luffy couldn't fall off and hit the ground, surely going to die. He ran around the little space, sniffing things he didn't recognize. He hurried to the side, sticking his head over the side to look at how high they were.