Chapter Text
Law hated him. Hated the scent of cigarette smoke that clung to his clothes, hated the stupid clown makeup, the fake facsimile of a smile painted with bloody red. Hated how he would trip over literally nothing.
He hated his wings, most of all.
They were massive, almost obnoxiously large.
Ruffled black feathers curled and hunched over Corazon's back. The way the neglected, unpreened feathers flared out only made them look larger. Far-too-long ebony primaries drooped down, and would often drag on the ground if the wings weren't held high enough- they never were. They might have been larger than Doflamingo's. Really, it wasn't even possible to see the man hiding behind them.
They were unnerving, only serving to prove how the bastard had everything Law didn't. Strong, healthy, and with wings that could probably let him soar for days.
Law's own mangled, bony, twig-thin wings shifted uncomfortably beneath his shirt.
He deserved this. Law's side still twinged in pain when he moved, courtesy of the last time Corazon threw him off a building.
He readied the knife with a death grip, blood rushing in his ears as he lay in wait, gaze unbreaking from the back of Corazon's plumage. The man still hadn't noticed him.
Surely... Surely it couldn't be that easy.
Law lunged anyway, racing forward even as litter clattered behind, loud and obvious, but the knife still plunged deep.
Maybe it was that easy.
Black wings flared, knocking Law back from the knife still embedded within the man. Buffalo shouted from somewhere above, and Law didn't look back as he scurried away to quiet the other boy.
Behind, Corazon cursed, and the telltale sounds of frantic wingbeats told Law he must've fallen over from the attack, his oversized wings decidedly unhelpful. Clumsy idiot, Law scoffed, wishing death to the man.
♡
Corazon didn't tell.
Why?
Law turned over in his sheets, the pressure in his skull a sign of an incoming headache. He had just been accepted into the Family, but the only thing he could think of was why the hell didn't Corazon tell.
♡
Compared to his brother, Doflamingo's wings were glossy with a healthy shine, maintained and preened. They framed him well- swooping around his sides, crowning his shoulders. They were broader, and their wingtips didn't extend unnaturally long like Corazon's. He held them high, and they never touched the ground.
Doflamingo himself was taller than Corazon, though. Both slouched, but Doflamingo did it with uncaring confidence, while Corazon hunched uncomfortably, as if hiding himself away.
The way Doflamingo grinned, far too wide, with teeth just a bit too sharp, might have unsettled Law, had the boy valued his life.
Instead, he began to settle into life with the Family, miserable as it was. Death hovered anxiously above, lying in wait. Body aches and migraines, sharp splintering pains from within, and a wavering weakness to every action he took a constant reminder of the amber lead inside him, nestled deep within organs and lining his veins.
h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶i̶e̶ ̶y̶e̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶u̶n̶f̶a̶i̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶i̶e̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶a̶i̶n̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶i̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ ̶s̶o̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶
♡
There was something wrong with Law's wings. There had been something wrong with them since the day he was born.
It was probably a genetic defect caused by the amber lead, though he hadn't known anyone else that had wings such as his.
He couldn't fly. He was twelve now, and he still couldn't.
s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶s̶m̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶h̶o̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶'̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶f̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶t̶ ̶l̶e̶a̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶f̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶no h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ now c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶h̶e̶
♡
"C'mon Law, we wanna see!" Baby 5 whined out, Buffalo waiting eagerly beside her.
Whatever. It would be more trouble to fend them off than to just show them.
"Fine. But don't start crying that they look scary, got it?"
He pushed up the back of his shirt, slowly shuffling the appendages out, wincing as pain shot through his horribly unused wings.
They were a spotted dusty brown, darker where they sprouted from his back and got lighter at the ends. They weren’t spared from the amber lead, either, mottled with white splotches. He could feel their joints creak as he unfolded them from their tightly curled position. Still impossibly thin and skeletal, and they had no feathers, either. Just skin wrapped over bones.
At a glance, it was just as they appeared- a sick boy with bird wings thin from muscle atrophy, and feathers must have fallen out from stress and illness.
Until Law stretched out their ends, revealing several long, spindly fingers, like the wings of a bat. Small claws poked out on the tips of each digit.
The two other children gasped.
A translucent webbing stretched across the gaps between each finger, sickly blue and green veins visibly running through it.
Maybe the wing membrane was supposed to stretch taught and flexible, thick enough to support his weight.
Maybe his wings should have been wrapped with powerful muscle, and should have been able to flap with enough strength to take off.
Maybe Law was supposed to be able to fly.
But he couldn't. The webbing hung loose and wrinkled, long since torn in some places, and so paper thin you could puncture it with a fingernail. The limbs hardly obeyed his commands, instead shivering and twitching, screaming in painful protest as he curled them back up.
Law huffed and pulled the extra limbs back under his shirt, his skin crawling at the sight of his own wings.
They were no more than dead weight.
♡
There was something wrong with Law, in general. Something wrong not caused by amber lead or the severe trauma of losing one’s entire family, entire country, even.
No, it was something Law didn’t understand. It was how his fingernails grew concerningly quick, naturally forming hardened sharp points. It was how his adult teeth, his canines, were growing in far too long and sharp to be normal. It was how his eyes adjusted to the dark just a bit too well. It was how he had to snap his mouth shut when startled unless he let out a hiss.
It was how, sometimes, his body felt too small and soft, and the urge to somehow break out of his skin, sometimes, got overwhelming.
But Law ignored it. Denied it. Chalked it up to just odd body functions caused by lead poisoning. Just changes to his psyche caused by trauma.
What did it matter if it was anything else? He’d be dead soon enough, anyway.
♡
Law fell back against his wings as Corazon tossed him down, hissing curses under his breath at the unnecessarily tall man.
"Those wings..."
Law startled and looked around, but there was nobody but Corazon who could have spoken.
Corazon turned to look at the boy over his shoulder, wings pulled down, their feathers pooling on the ground of the alley. “Law… Your full name, what is it?”
Law stared in shock, unmoving.
“Do you have a D in your name, Law?” “I- what? You…”
Corazon swiped a hand over his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment before sitting down. It irked Law, how even sitting, he still had to crane his neck up to face the man.
“You can talk? Since when can you speak?!” Law shot out.
“Always could.”
“So you’ve been lying to your brother this whole time?”
Corazon huffed, taking a drag from his cigarette before replying. “No, he just assumed that on his own.”
“But that's-!”
“Silent.” A snap of fingers. And then Law couldn’t hear anything. Corazon smirked, “You were being loud, so I created a soundproof barrier, you can’t hear sound from the outside, and nobody can hear anything from within. I ate the Nagi Nagi Fruit, and became a silent man.”
Law took a step back, eyeing the man warily. “You’ve been a devil fruit eater all this time? How much have you been lying about? Everything?”
Taking another drag, he said, “I’ve lied about enough.”
“Like being clumsy, too?” “Of course,” Corazon replied, even as the lit tip of his cigarette began to singe the feathers of his wings. With a jolt, he swatted out the emerging flames. “Fine, no. I've always been clumsy- that much will never change. But that’s unimportant. Law.”
Law squeezed the rim of his shirt between pinched fingers, slowly edging away. “...What?”
“Do you have a D in your name?”
“Why- why does it matter?”
Corazon paused, and any humor from before dissipating. “Because you can’t stay here if you do. Those part of the family of D are considered the ‘sworn enemy of gods.’” Law’s eyes widened and his fingers dug harshly into the fabric of his shirt. “What does that mean?”
“It means-” Corazon paused to consider his words. “It means those with D in their names oppose the gods, or, the Celestial Dragons. That perhaps the purpose of them might be the ‘destruction of the world’. Well, it doesn’t matter what the D means, but just that it doesn’t align with Doflamingo’s goals. He’d kill you, if he found out. He’s a monster.”
“What the hell are you talking about?! How do you even know I have a D in my name, I- I never said it!”
“I saw your wings.”
At their mention, Law’s wings twitched, their sharp-clawed tips scratching the skin of his back.
“They’re feather-less. Not like bird wings at all. More like a bat’s. Those, are the wings of D.”
Law released his shirt and balled up his fists, the beginnings of a snarl forming in his throat. “Who cares? My wings don't matter, they can’t even-” Law snapped his jaw shut with a glower, cutting himself off. “Whatever. I’ll be dead in a year anyway, so I don’t care. But you’ve been lying this whole time, and your brother’s not going to like it when I tell him!”
“No, Law, stop!” Corazon shouted from behind as Law bolted. “He can’t know!”
♡
There was an odd thing about Doflamingo. And maybe Corazon, too- it was hard to tell. But Doflamingo had little pink feathers poking out of his hair. Not shed from his wings, no. They were pink downy feathers growing right out of his head, mixed in with his hair.
He couldn’t tell if Corazon had them too because of his hat, and to be fair he didn't spend a lot of time looking at the man, either. It just wasn’t worth tilting his head back so far just to see the man’s painted face. But earlier, when he was sitting, Law swore he saw soft black feathers poking out of his messy blond hair.
Maybe it was something everyone else with bird wings had, but they all just took the time to pick them out.
It’s not like he would know.
♡
Corazon took Law.
Law snapped, struggled, and shouted the entire way there. Throughout the boat ride, and throughout the walk, his tiny hands scrabbling uselessly at his kidnapper’s hold as Corazon hauled him to the doors of a hospital.
It was entirely predictable. They refused to even consider treating him. But it's not like there would have been a cure.
Corazon was surprised at it, though. Law didn't really understand why- in the eyes of the world, Law was nothing more than a monster of pestilence. A contagious pest out to spread his incurable disease.
So they went to the next one. And then the next. And the next.
He didn't understand why Corazon yelled at the doctors and set fire to the building. It didn't matter what he said or did. They wouldn’t care.
He didn’t understand why the man dragged him to hospital after hospital, every try as hopeless as the last. There wasn’t a cure.
He didn’t understand why Corazon kept trying. Law was just going to end up dead.
A splinter of pain shot into his heart, sharp lead particles leaching toxin into his flesh.
That's right. It didn't matter. He was going to die.
♡
“You- you stabbed me that day… but it didn’t hurt at all… because it was you. You, who was in more pain than I could imagine. To hear you say you’ll die soon is just… It’s heartbreaking.”
♡
“Hey, Cora-san…”
Corazon looked up from his maps with a lopsided smile, eyes crinkling at the edges. “Aw, Law-”
Law glared, crossing his arms. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’ll stop calling you that if you keep acting so surprised every time I do it.”
“Eek! No, Law please, don’t, you know how much it warms my heart whenever you-!”
“Oi!”
Corazon dutifully quieted down.
“Well… I’ve been meaning to ask, but. Do you- know what’s wrong with my wings..?”
Corazon cocked his head to the side. “Wrong with them?”
“No, like, why are they so… Why do I have bat wings? You said back then that it had something to do with the ‘D’ in my name, right? So explain.”
The man turned his head away, eyes drifting to a distant point, obviously debating over something in his mind. “I don’t know everything, but when I was a kid, I was often told about ‘D’. Beyond the usual, ‘D’ will eat you if you don’t behave, there’s one story I remember.
“A long time ago, the Gods gave a gift to the people. They shared a little bit of their power and gifted people flight. Wings.”
“Gods?” Law asked. Corazon chuckled nervously, “Ah, the gods stand for the Celestial Dragons, in the story.
“Everyone accepted the gift, all except D. D refused anything from the Gods- they said they could fly all on their own. So the gods challenged D. ‘If you are so mighty, they show us. Show us you can fly without us,’ They said.
“D was clever. They hunted down songbirds, eagles, hawks, and all other sorts of birds with their wicked claws and sharp fangs.”
“Why does ‘D’ have claws? Aren’t they another human?” “Um. No… D is a monster? Sort of? None of the stories ever actually explain was D is, other than that they eat misbehaving kids and oppose the Celestial Dragons.”
Law gave him a flat look. “So I’m a monster, too?”
“No! No, it’s just stories. You’re not a monster, Law. Anyways,
“D stitched together the dead bird’s wings, creating misshapen wings. They strapped them to their back and went back to face the Gods. ‘Look,’ they said. ‘I have created my own wings!’
“‘Then show us, and fly,’ The Gods said. D was brash and would never back down from a challenge, so they threw themself from a cliff. And flew.
“But with every beat of their wings, the feathers from the dead bird wings fell off, in the end leaving D with scaly, naked, featherless wings.”
Law was silent for a moment, then, “What was the point of telling me that?”
“I- it’s just the explanation for why those with the name D have wings like yours. It’s… obviously untrue. But the point is-” Corazon stopped. “Actually, sorry, the point of the story really is just to mock ‘D’.”
“So is that all you know? Just some stories?” Law grumbled, resting his chin on his elbows as he sat.
“...No. It’s… Look, Law. I don’t know what, but there’s something the people of D have, that they keep hidden. That people don’t talk about. I have an inkling of what It might be, but it’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous how? Just tell me even if it might not be right, I want to know!”
“I think that maybe… The people of D can turn into dragons.”
Corazon’s den den mushi rings before Law can process what he just said.
Law turns to look over his shoulder as Corazon speaks. His wings remain the same as always; weak and useless. Turn into… a dragon? The thought is ridiculous. Someone like Law doesn’t get to have things like that.
Dragons are beasts of myth, of legend, but no doubt they exist.
They aren't attainable. They exist in faraway lands, as beasts who tip the scales of war, as tyrants and liberators, and- and everything Law isn’t. Strong. Important. Meaningful. They’re monstrous creatures capable of true freedom, not bound to islands by wings too small to soar over the open sea. People were lucky if their wings were able to support them for a few hours of continuous flight, let alone the weeks ocean travel takes, with human wings only evolved for short bursts of altitude and speed.
Why, if Law was a dragon…
Well.
It wouldn't actually change anything, would it? It didn't matter if he could fly across the world when he was still trapped within his own skin-
Doflamingo had called. He’s found the Ope Ope Fruit.
…
Corazon was silent for a moment, carefully setting down the receiver. And then,
“Law! If we can get the Ope Ope Fruit, we can cure you from the amber lead!”
Law blinked at the exclamation, shock freezing him in place.
Corazon’s face broke into a huge grin as he swept Law up into his arms. “If this works, you're going to live, Law!”
“Put me down, Cora-san!” Law whined, but he couldn't smother the hope that rose in his chest at Corazon’s words.
Would it actually be possible?
♡
Really, it was just Law’s luck. Fever wracked his body as the amber lead reared its ugly head just as he had begun to hope.
The dinghy shook and trembled at the waves, trying its best to flow with them even as they crashed and foamed.
If they survived this, the whole world would turn against them. Part of Law sickened at the thought- was Corazon truly going to sacrifice everything he built up, just for him?
The man had denied being a marine. But Law knew, he wasn’t dumb. Corazon would be throwing everything away. For Law.
He rolled onto his side and buried his face in the unruly black feathers. They smelled faintly of soot and cigarette smoke.
For once, Corazon held his wings high. Not a drop of rain hit Law.
♡
Law curled tight into himself, bony wings pressed flush to his back, carefully hidden away beneath several layers. Snow fell in cold, white sparks, fluttering softly through the air as Corazon’s winged form quickly disappeared into the snowy ruins. Even still, Law’s fever burned incessantly, drilling its way into his skull.
His gut writhed with dread. Nothing ever went Law’s way. It just couldn’t be possible for Corazon to get the fruit without something happening.
♡
Damn it, Corazon, why? Clumsy idiot, Law hissed to himself, black cylinder clutched within pudgy, trembling hands.
But Corazon said he wouldn’t die. The bullet wounds would have marked sure death for anyone else, but… Corazon was strong. He was tall, and, Law supposed, had more blood he could afford to lose than the average man did. He wouldn’t die.
So Law set out, cautiously approaching the first Marine he saw, offering up the cylinder so important to Corazon. ‘This will save a faraway kingdom known as Dressrosa!’
The man had a piece of sausage cut into the shape of an octopus stuck to his cheek.
♡
Vergo beat Corazon bloody. Shiny, black-coated fists pulverized his chest, beating into his ribs with horrifying force. Blood sprayed and dripped, staining white snow pink. The chink of a tooth knocked flying.
Law watched.
Utterly useless.
Worse, even.
It's all his fault.
Bloodied black feathers scattered in the snowy wind as Vergo’s fist smashed into Law’s skull.
♡
Law was cold. So cold. The chest may have hidden him from the falling snow but it didn’t stop the chill creeping through him.
“Ah, don’t worry. Doffy won’t kill me. We’re still brothers, after all.”
His breath came out as little white puffs. He could hear voices outside, but they were too far to make out.
“Calm.”
Blood trickled down his head from where Vergo had hit him. He didn’t bother wiping it away, even as it clung to his eyelashes.
“Hey, Law.”
Something was happening outside. They were getting closer.
“I love you!”
…
The chest jolted. Something had bumped into it.
No, someone.
Corazon.
…
He said they wouldn’t kill him.
Would Corazon lie?
…
Yes.
He would.
…
Doflamingo. Doflamingo was here.
And Corazon was a damn liar.
“Commander Rosinante, marine code 01746,” he coughed out through labored breaths, and Law could hear the grimace of pain in his voice. He told Doflamingo about his betrayal and came entirely clean.
Liar. Liar.
Doflamingo was saying something, something about the navy, something important.
Law didn’t care.
Corazon was a liar. Corazon was going to- to-
Corazon was-
No!
Law hammered his small fists against the chest, a sob escaping his throat, though it sounded more like a caterwaul, shrill and animalistic. Liar, Liar, Liar, Liar, Liar, Liar-
“I know you won’t shoot me, Rosinante. You’re soft, just like your father.”
No, god, please no. He said he’d be fine, he said they were brothers, he said he wouldn’t- That Doflamingo wouldn’t-
His skin writhed as if stinging ants were dancing across it.
“Law is nothing like you, Doffy! He’s overcome the amber lead, and he’ll overcome this too!”
lairliarliarliarliarliarlairliarliarliarliarliarlairliarliarliarliarliarlairliarliarliarliarliarlairliarliarliarliarliar
Law screamed, his voice trapped soundless, but the shriek still tore itself from his throat, wild and agonizing.
“Leave him alone!”
Hard-tipped nails dug into the wood below, wood scrapings getting caught beneath his nails. Even his wings rebelled, and though shaky and weak they strained against his shirt, spindly clawed fingers flexing.
“He is free!”
And the chest to Corazon’s back burst open.
♡
Dusty brown scales swathed in dark, cloudy spots lunged serpentine over Rosinante, draconic wings unfurling protectively above the man’s prone body. Snarling soundlessly and staring down Doflamingo, lips peeled back to reveal dark gums.
You might have thought time was stopped if not for the incessant falling of snow.
“L-Law! You…” Rosinante gasped, eyes blown wide.
The dragon… Law… twitched an ear at the voice, but otherwise didn’t move.
Doflamingo let out an awful, squawking laugh, though stepped back cautiously. “That boy was a D all this time? What I would have given to know that sooner,” he mused, deceptively thin string curling maliciously in one hand, and gun pointed in the other.
Finger twitching on the trigger.
Rosinante stumbled to his feet, grabbing at Law’s scaly hide. “Don’t fight him Law, just run! You can’t,” he pleaded, voice quivering, “you can’t die.”
Dragon-Law ignored him, continuing to snap his jaws at the threat, spiny tail lashing behind him.
Even as a dragon, Law still wasn’t taller than Rosinante. His shoulder only came up to the man’s midriff. So small.
Rosinante swallowed thickly at the sight of tattered wings. They barely had muscle on them, and by their trembling, he could tell it was taking all of Law’s strength to even keep them up.
Doflamingo’s golden gun glinted, its wielder planting his feet, preparing for the recoil of a shot-
t̶h̶e̶ ̶b̶o̶d̶y̶ ̶s̶l̶u̶m̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶,̶ ̶h̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶l̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶g̶u̶s̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶d̶,̶ ̶e̶y̶e̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶o̶p̶e̶n̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶d̶d̶e̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶g̶l̶a̶z̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶-̶
He couldn’t- he couldn’t let that happen to Law, not to his boy, not to his son.
…
Inside his heart, there was a monster screaming to be freed.
You can save him, it purred, all the while gnashing its teeth and clawing him open, desperate to escape.
Rosinante didn’t have the strength- or the heart- to try and stop it.
…
He erupted into a mass of feathers, bone splintering as it re-grew in seconds, flesh wrapping itself around them as tendons and ligaments snapped into place. He couldn’t help but scream at the pain, but the only thing he could hear was a terrible demonic screech.
Wings flared out, though uncertain and cumbersome they provided at least some balance as he locked his limbs to stand steady.
And they were all so small.
Law whined sharply at his sudden transformation, wide golden eyes staring up at him, slit pupils dilating.
Rosinante shook himself and puffed out his feather coat, regretting the action instantly as the bullet wounds and deepening bruises sent shooting pains up his body. All around him, Doflamingo’s crew clambered back, crying out in fright. Doflamingo himself said nothing, eyes hidden behind glinting sunglasses, but the dangerously visible veins on his forehead revealed enough.
Protect Law.
protectprotectprotectprotectprotectprotectprotect
Rosinante snapped his- his beak? At them, shaking his head as he clacked menacingly.
Law.
Law wasn’t safe.
The smaller dragon was hiding behind his legs, back hunched up to look bigger.
Inside, he cooed at the sight. Even as a dragon, Law was just too cute! But ahead, Doflamingo was barking out orders, and the crew- no, the threats- had begun organizing again. His crest feathers raised instinctively at the sight.
He had to save Law. There was no other option, no other choice.
So Rosinante pushed through the web of pain in his chest and raised his wings, talons reaching out and grabbing the young dragon- his son, his hatchling- to tuck Law close. The threats shouted, and Rosinante spotted a flash of movement from Doflamingo.
No time.
His legs sprang, jumping across a field of white snow, the impact of his leg hitting the ground sending a fresh jolt of pain through his bones, but he went on, unsteadily bounding away. Law cried out, but Rosinante ignored the whelp, carrying him securely with one arm. It took all his effort and focus to not trip while running three-legged. He wouldn’t let his clumsiness kill Law.
He bounded one last time before whipping his wings down. He wasn’t ready for the sheer force they exerted, eyes widening as his body suddenly lifted away from the snow. And damn, the wings were heavy too, and he heaved to pull them up to flap again.
Long primaries curled every wingbeat, wind sluicing over shimmering black feathers. Law shivered against his chest, no doubt awed by the sight of the ground shrinking below them. The full moon cast everything in a cold white hue, illuminating the snow drifting alongside. Bloop dripped down his feathers, coating them in slick red.
The birdcage fell.
Rosinante swung his head, eyeing the coast. Blasts of warm light, distant yelps of fear. Two marine warships approached, heading straight for the pink flamingo ship. Tsuru. What luck.
He could not let himself be spotted.
n̶o̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶S̶e̶n̶g̶o̶k̶u̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶p̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶l̶d̶ ̶g̶o̶v̶e̶r̶n̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶t̶a̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶i̶m̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶o̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶i̶z̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶h̶a̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶m̶a̶r̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶C̶e̶l̶e̶s̶t̶i̶a̶l̶ ̶D̶r̶a̶g̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶p̶a̶l̶m̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶c̶t̶u̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶r̶a̶n̶s̶f̶o̶r̶m̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶d̶r̶a̶g̶o̶n̶
Rosinante turned and swooped low, wind shrieking past his beak. Long wings carried his glide, carrying him away. The ocean was dark and black, choppy waves looking as small as ripples.
Law. Law. Law.
He was all that mattered. There was an island not far away. He had to make it. Law couldn’t fly.
Its dark outline looked like a bird. A swallow.
Rosinante soared.
-
Law as a dragon,
And Corazon as a dragon!
