And that was exactly what he did—making a simple fishing rod from a tree branch and pulling thin threads from scraps of cloth he could find. Lucas also dug up worms from the soil in the nearest forest, using the seawater to bring them out.
He sat on the rocks close to the cliff, holding the roughly made fishing rod while the eagle kept him company. If other people saw this scene, they would probably stare in both confusion and amazement.
"Hey, I'm not sure we can get a catch easily using such incomplete equipment. So don't blame me if you end up starving in the end, alright?" Lucas said without changing his expression.
Truthfully, he himself didn't know what he was doing—treating an animal as if it were a human. Yet from the way the eagle let out a small growl in response, yes, Lucas apparently could treat this accidental companion of his like an human being.
Call him crazy or whatever, but his instincts seemed to be telling him that there was something unique and different about that eagle even though Lucas himself couldn't understand it.
"You know, I'm really grateful for what happened back then." Lucas began, recalling the first time he met the eagle.
"My grandpa was truly insane—tying Luffy and me to balloons and letting us fly freely."
Lucas let out a sigh. He was truly fed up with his grandfather who always forced him and Luffy to train.
They were only five years old at the time, for heaven's sake. Honestly, Lucas was exhausted dealing with Garp antics. He had already felt strange and like a monster for having awareness since birth and knowing things before being told or learning them.
On top of that, there was the sense of emptiness that constantly lingered in the back of his mind. Lucas felt like he had forgotten something and this feeling came from many conclusions he had drawn from various knowledge about the mind.
There a chance that the hollow and empty pieces inside his mind that has always been existed for as long he realize or remember was a sign of forgotten memories that were supposed to be there.
As for his awareness since birth, Lucas suspected that he might be somehow reincarnated. How did he know? Honestly, he didn't understand it himself.
Yet the word always existed in his mind, along with various foreign words and even languages that were very different from those of this world. Then occasionally, random pieces of information would appear without cause, leaving him utterly confused.
Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Lucas didn't know. He only knew one thing—if that information could make his life easier, then he would gladly use it even if it made someone saw him as a monster.
"Lucas!"
The shout snapped Lucas out of his thoughts. He turned around, seeing two figures—one large and one small—walking toward him.
"You—why are you here?" Lucas asked in surprise, not expecting that the pirate captain would follow his older brother.
Luffy let go of Shanks's hand and ran up the rocks toward Lucas, hugging his younger twin tightly and rubbing his face against him. Lucas simply accepted it without letting go of the branch he was holding.
"You're not mad at me anymore?" Lucas asked with a mischievous smile while looking at Luffy.
Luffy snorted. His twin clearly knew the answer. "I refuse to answer," he replied shortly, his attention immediately shifting to the branch Lucas was holding.
"And I refuse your refusal to answer." Lucas shot back that made Luffy pout and responded back. "I refuse your refusal to refused my right to refuse to answer."
Shanks who heard their arguments feels like he slowly getting an headache with every words they throw at each other, the banter is ridiculous, it's the first time Shanks witnessing a fight like this.
"I refuse your right to refuse to answer." Lucas words came and while doing so, he finally notice where Luffy eyes locked on and only handed the fishing branch he had been using to Luffy.
Lucas smiled softly when he saw the sparkle in Luffy's eyes when he take the branch from his hand, instantly forgetting their banter as he focused his attention to fishing, 'Cute....'
Lucas then shifted his attention to someone who had been silent all this time, watching him while staring at the eagle with clear interest. As if reading the red-haired man mind, Lucas immediately parted his lips. "You can't take Hypher away," Lucas said, looking at Shanks with a threatening gaze.
Shanks was momentarily stunned by the sudden statement. Looking back at Lucas and chuckled. "I don't intend to take it anywhere. I'm just curious." He replied.
"It's not common to see a creature this big in the East Blue. Did you know that the sea you live in is considered the weakest?" Shanks asked, trying to gauge how much knowledge this child possessed.
"What's wrong with being the weakest? I heard quite a few strong people came from the East Blue—my grandpa is one of them," Lucas replied casually. He knew a thing or two about his grandfather and his terrifying raw strength as he became one of its victim.
"Garp… I clearly remember how he used to chase our pirate ship relentlessly whenever he saw us," Shanks chuckled. A drop of sweat slid down his temple as he recalled those old days with his former captain—and even now, not much had changed.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you got traumatized," he commented sarcastically before adding, "I don't think I know your name yet." Because if this man truly knew his grandfather to that extent but still show no malices, although there's still a chance that he want something from both of them so Lucas doesn't want to be careless.
But then again, if this person exactly want to do that he doesn't need to be buddy-buddy with both of them and instead can just kidnapped them after Lucas exposed both his and Luffy identity in front of them, which now that he's thinking about it clearly—that's a reckless move from his part.
Lucas made mental note to be more careful in the future, because even now half of his decision is still based on instincts that Garp train from early age to detect danger or malicious intent from their surroundings and Luffy is also no different, his elder twin always rely on their instincts instead of thinking it through.
Both of them never get taught properly how to survive, their way of learning is always by getting thrown to the wilderness and expected to survive while honing their instincts by the situations they manage to get themselves into along the way.
"Shanks. Don't you want to introduce yourself?" Shanks asked back after introducing himself and the question manage to snap Lucas back into reality.
"Lucas. You've probably already heard my name from Luffy or the villagers, but to make it official, I'll say it again," Lucas said while glancing at Luffy, keeping an eye on him so he wouldn't get into trouble.
"Aren't you a bit too formal for a kid?" Shanks couldn't help but sweatdrop at Lucas's attitude, wondering what exactly Garp had done to be blessed with two grandsons—one is sun incarnate and the other mature enough to balance him out.
"There's no such thing as too formal. And Luffy, pull—" Lucas cut off his own sentence the moment he saw the hook move and Luffy grow slightly distracted. He quickly grabbed the branch and pulled it back to lift the fish up.
Hypher—the eagle's name—who had been silent all this time, nudged Shanks with its beak, urging him to help. "Alright, alright, I get it. Be patient," Shanks said as he took the branch and pulled it up easily.
The fish thrashed and swung wildly, trying to escape the hook that held it, but it failed. Shanks carried the large tuna onto the rocks, and the three of them gathered around it. "Woahhh…" Luffy looked amazed, not expecting that he would catch such a big fish. Lucas himself was also fascinated—who would have thought his brother would be so lucky?
"This fish is pretty big. What do you want to do with it?" Shanks asked, placing his hands on his hips while looking at the two boys.
"I actually wanted to grill it for Hypher, but since Luffy caught it, then let Luf decide," Lucas said, glancing at Luffy.
Hearing that, Luffy froze for a moment. "Then let's grill it!" Luffy decided, following his younger brother's wish. After all, it could be considered that both of them caught it together.
The fishing rod itself had been made by Lucas—without it, there would be no fish.
Lucas nodded, understanding what his brother was thinking. Shanks simply followed the wishes of the two children.
Carrying the fish, he asked, "Alright then, where do you want to grill it?"
Lucas stood up and extended his hand to help Luffy. Then he looked up at Shanks.
"There are some dry logs I gathered earlier under the coconut tree. Let's go." Lucas said while guiding them towards the place he spoke of.
Hypher pecks at the handle of the bucket full of shells of varying shapes collected by the little human, picks it up and carries it while following those humans.