This is for phoenix0725 for the drabble meme, and she got cavemen au... Special thanks to imperialmint, my wonderful animal consultant and beta for this. It is her fault it is nowhere near drabble length. I hope you all enjoy; I had lots of fun writing this one.
Ace wrapped his furs tighter around himself. It might be spring, and they might be moving to their summer hunting grounds, but in the mountain pass the air was still bitterly cold. He drifted to the back of the line, alert for any threat that might be foolish enough to try their luck with the Foosha tribe.
Shanks and Garp argued about something at the front, Shanks's laughter echoing throughout the pass, while Makino tried to calm down Dadan, who was yelling at Luffy and Sabo for some misdeed or other. Ace grimaced in sympathy. He'd done well to escape that. Regardless of their seeming inattention, Ace had no doubts that they could handle anything the mountain threw at them, but it never hurt to be aware. Besides they were driving him crazy.
So while he told himself he was falling back to be a rear guard of sorts, he didn't really expect to hear anything, but as soon as the chaos that was his family had faded to a background noise, he heard a desperate trumpeting noise. Curious, he looked longingly toward the sound. It had to be more interesting than trudging behind a bunch of insane people. Still, he really shouldn't leave his family. They'd worry if he disappeared.
Ace glanced up to where Benn was attempting to prevent Garp and Shanks from getting into one of their "friendly" brawls, the entire village coming to a halt to watch the show and make bets. Seriously, how did they expect to get anywhere at this pace? Ace snorted. Who was he kidding? They'd never notice he was gone. The sound echoed mournfully through the pass one again.
He tried to signal Luffy and Sabo to slip off with him- they were always up for an adventure- but stopped when he saw Dadan still had them cornered. He met Sabo's pleading gaze and felt a bit guilty as he slunk off towards the ridge that the sounds came from without them, but if the hag had them, there was nothing he could do. They'd be fine. Maybe.
Once over the ridge, he found a narrow passageway in the rock where the sound emanated from. Now that he was closer, he could tell it was a young, distraught mammoth, the trumpeting sound growing weaker even as Ace got closer.
Ace hesitated briefly, common sense warring with curiosity and empathy, but when the cries were suddenly cut off, he was already halfway through the crevice. It was just wide enough for his shoulders, occasionally making him twist to get by, but Ace hardly noticed as he rushed through it. He blinked when he came out into a narrow canyon, his eyes having to adjust from the dim passageway.
A low keening noise drew him further into the canyon, and he rounded the bend. The source of the noise was immediately obvious. The gully had narrowed here, and, with the recent thaw, snow and ice mixed with rocks of varying sizes had come crashing down. He immediately started climbing the slick, unstable pile, hoping the poor creature wasn't underneath it all. Once over the edge he saw a baby calf in a narrow alcove, the debris too steep and slick for him to climb.
There were obvious signs that the adults had tried to dig him out, but they must have eventually given up the futile effort and moved on. The calf was throwing himself at the wall of ice, crying desperately for his mother, and Ace felt his heart wrench at the sight, especially when the calf collapsed in an exhausted heap, utterly spent, still struggling to force himself to try once more, crying breathlessly to himself.
He slid down the other side without a second thought, looking around the small niche where the mammoth was stuck. Luckily water ran off here, so there was a pool of meltwater that took up most of the space. He cautiously approached the oblivious calf, trying not to startle him. He was far too small to do any serious damage to anyone but himself, but that was more what Ace was worried about, given that he dealt with his larger brethren all the time.
Despite his efforts, the calf remained unaware until Ace gently stroked his ear. He shot up in surprise, hope obvious at the tender gesture.
"Shh... little guy. It's just me." Ace chuckled as the mammoth visibly deflated. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here and back to mama. First, you got to drink some. I don't know how long you've been stuck here, but you got to take care of yourself."
He coaxed and prodded the tired, annoyed mammoth, who wanted nothing to do with him if he wasn't his mother and was quite peeved he took him from his goal, towards the water. When he stumbled into the water, the little mammoth perked up and began drinking hungerly.
"See, little guy? I know a thing or two." Ace laughed as he slurped up water in his trunk, turning to examine the mammoth's prison. He had some rope, and while the little guy was too heavy for him to lift up without Luffy and Sabo, he could rearrange the rocks and snow so they were less steep and keep the calf steady with a rope harness. From the signs left by the herd, they couldn't be that far away, probably abandoning the calf less than half an hour ago. They could probably catch up, provided the calf didn't tire out too easily.
A shower of cold water interrupted his thoughts, and he turned to the cheeky mammoth with a glare, only to receive another blast.
"Oh, you'd get it good if we weren't in a hurry, brat. It's far too cold for such games," Ace said, not allowing any threat to slip into his tone. The poor thing was so unbelievably happy to have some company, ears wagging like mad. Ace sighed, unable to keep his scowl, and turned to level out the debris a bit.
He'd almost finished when he sensed something was wrong. Ace turned back toward the now dozing mammoth but saw nothing amiss. He drew his hunting knife and listened. Ace lunged just in time to prevent a sabertooth from pouncing on the calf from a ledge on the alcove wall, tackling it head on. It was stupid, he knew, but Ace couldn't stand by and watch.
The cat was still lean from the winter months, probably desperate for food when he'd heard the mammoth cry, but still powerful enough to give Ace a problem. They wrestled on the ground, Ace slashing at it with his knife, but not scoring anything deep enough to dissuade the sabertooth. Claws bit into his chest, and he cried out, vaguely aware of the poor mammoth trumpeting again, this time in alarm.
Suddenly there was a burst of light, and all Ace could see was fire. The sabertooth released him and he lay there, stunned and panting. He sat bolt upright when he realized it had probably gone after the mammoth, which would be less trouble, only to see it frantically running away. A tall blond man, who was wielding a torch, stood over Ace, looked him over and reached out a hand to help him up.
Ace grasped the warm palm and allowed himself to be pulled up, grimacing at the sharp pain knifing into his chest. The man immediately pushed aside the tattered remains of his shirt, tearing most of it off and inspected his wound. It bled freely but was fairly shallow; it would leave a scar, but it was nothing to be too concerned about. He applied pressure with the shirt he'd forcibly removed, making Ace hiss in pain. Ace shuddered lightly when the man's fingertips brushed across his chest.
"Umm... Thank you. For saving me. Not that I couldn't have handled it. But you know, I..." Ace took a deep breath, making himself even more aware of the stranger's hands firmly pressing against his chest. "Thank you. I'm Ace, by the way."
"Marco," he said, his smooth voice caressing along Ace's senses, not looking up from his task, "Are you an idiot? Tackling a sabertooth in midair with only a knife is not something a brat like you should be doing."
"I could have taken it!" Ace retorted, glowering at Marco.
"Were you trying to prove something stupid? Pride is not worth throwing your life away!" Marco said, before suddenly being bowled over by the little mammoth, who had taken their argument a bit seriously, trumpeting a challenge at Marco as he stood proudly in front of Ace. They stared in shock at him for a few moments in shock, before Ace burst out laughing at Marco, still gaping at the calf from the dirt.
When he finally got himself under control, Ace said, "It's okay, little guy. He doesn't mean any harm." Ace pet him gently, and he smiled as the mammoth wrapped his trunk around his arm affectionately. Marco's expression cleared, and he got up from the ground brushing himself off.
"You really are an idiot, yoi," Marco stared at Ace in amazement, "You tackled a fully grown cat to save a mammoth." Ace blushed.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, ignoring the heat in his cheeks. Marco sighed.
"Fine, let's get you fixed up. I passed the herd on the way here; we should be able to get him back if we hurry," he said, and Ace was unable to hold back a grin at the implicit offer.
Somehow Marco managed to bandage him up in record time, despite a disgruntled mammoth doing his very best to nudge him away from Ace. He'd stopped trying to knock him over when Ace reprimanded him, but apparently nothing would prevent him from always being just in the way. Afterwards, Ace put on proper clothes, shivering in the chill air, aware of Maro's careful watch as he eased his shirt on over his recently closed wound.
Ace was impressed that Marco never lost his temper with the calf, even when he kept tripping Marco up while they finished levelling out the rockslide enough for him to cross. They figured it would be easier on the calf than hoisting him up and less difficult with only the two of them on the slippery, unsteady pile.
Ace fashioned a quick harness, attaching it to his new friend with ease. The mammoth followed eagerly behind Ace, though it was obvious its energy was fading. He needed to be reunited with his mother quickly. They made it over the debris with little mishap, once it became obvious that Marco would not be allowed to touch the rope. Ace bit back a grin at the feisty actions of the calf.
"Something funny, brat?" Despite the fact that Marco looked completely impassive Ace could tell his patience was wearing a bit thin, as he watched their progress from the other side, where he'd fallen, admittedly gracefully, when the mammoth had made his objections known a bit forcefully.
"No, of course not," Ace said, struggling to keep his amusement out of his tone as they made their way down the otherside and failing miserably. Marco shook his head, chuckling slightly, a warm sound.
It was a difficult trek, the little mammoth, struggling to keep up as his strength flagged. Just as Ace was sure his mission would end in tragedy, Marco smiled at him, pointing out the mammoths headed toward them. Ace untied the calf quickly, causing the exhausted mammoth to look up. He must have caught scent of his mother, for he trumpeted enthusiastically and took off toward the herd, stumbling in his rush.
The sound caught the attention of the others, who took up the call, one rushing ahead of the others to greet the baby with ecstatic sounds, checking him all over with her trunk. Ace smiled at the sight, glad he had taken off to find out the source of the noise. He met Marco's eyes, seeing his own joy reflected in them, and grinned, warmth spreading through him when the stoic man smiled in return.
"Do you have a place to go, yoi?" Marco asked suddenly.
"Oh, yeah, I really should catch up! Sabo might get worried soon." Ace looked up at the position of the sun, wincing when he saw it was past midday. "We're taking the pass to the East side, but I got bored and found the calf and..."
"I see." Ace told himself firmly he was imagining the hint of disappointment in Marco's voice.
"Are you around here often?" Ace asked, trying to act nonchalant. Since Marco smiled at him, he probably failed.
"My family lives in a small valley on the west side of the pass, so often enough."
"Oh, maybe I'll see you again sometime," Ace said airily, watching the calf suckle hungrily, "I really have to go now."
"I'll go with you. Your tribe can stay with us for the night. It gets dangerous up here."
The herd moved off again, the calf happily scampering around his mother, and Ace watched as he tried to imagine what could possibly be dangerous when all of their village was together and once again found himself restraining a laugh. "They'll probably agree. They do love a party."
"Let's get going then, yoi." The warmth in Marco's smile kept the cold at bay all the way back to where Shanks and Garp were still fighting, not having moved an inch since Ace had left.
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