Sons of Beasts

Differences Or Not, They Are My Brothers

This is a more leisurely chapter, though there are important parts regarding Sabo and how he feels about the situation. Plus, a cameo of someone who NO one could ever not like! And I'm sorry it's such a short chapter after over a week of waiting. The second part I think has longer chapters. Enjoy~

Luffy watched from the sidelines as Ace let out the biggest and most controlled fire tornado he'd been able to do, lighting the leaves and branches of the forest above them on fire, but sucked the flames right back after they burnt for only a second.

Sabo cheered for him, tossing him a water bottle. Luffy stood up and trotted over. That was cool! The three year old dragon said. It had been a couple years since Luffy hatched, and he was now the size of a medium sized dog.

The two really shouldn't have been surprised by Luffy's slow development. Despite him being a full dragon, he still had human blood in him. So he aged like one. As he grew, he lost the cute, baby look. Slowly, he was looking more like one of the dragons in children's books. His snout was becoming more angular than rounded, and his eyes were getting more proportional to his face, instead of the wide eyes he'd had for so long.

The wings were now big enough to start learning to fly, but he had a lot of trouble with that. They tried their best to help him learn, but it just wasn't happening. Ace and Sabo made sure not to convey disappointment to his slow progress.

Ace and Sabo were now nine, Ace turning ten soon. The freckled boy had grown exceptionally with his fire ability. After Garp had dropped the bombs on him, telling Ace not to leave the island unless he was a Marine, he was filled with determination. He would not do what the man said to do. Ace would leave the island. With his brothers. They had agreed to be co-captains. Ace and Sabo did. Luffy had no interest in being in charge of anything. He just wanted to be able to see the world with his brothers.

Sabo was considered a brother, too, now. Though he still couldn't communicate with Luffy like Ace could, they all were equal in their affections for each other.

"Thanks, Luffy," Ace said, slightly out of breath. It was still difficult for him to make long lasting attacks while still being in control. Ace had burned many places in the forest due to lack of control over the years. "Phew. Now it's your turn," Ace said.

Ace and Luffy trained specifically with their dragon powers. Ace's flames and Luffy's flight. Though Ace was making steady progress with his powers, Luffy was not. Even though they thought his wings could carry him now, he still was having difficulties.

The two children were afraid to take him up high to practice, since he was getting too big to catch below if he fell. Just jumping off of a branch was nerve-wracking. He had fallen before and hurt his front wrist, and it reminded the boys of how young Luffy was, dragon or not.

He was still a young child, and exposing him to any sort of danger made them uncomfortable. Luckily, Luffy still listened to both boys as they were older. So when they told Luffy he needed a break, he trusted their decisions and opinions.

Luffy stood on the edge of a cliff face, where they'd been practicing lately, because it was over a large pond. The only water source in the forest that wasn't infested with crocodiles. The dragon looked down at the water below him. He shook, afraid of falling. He didn't want the other two to know he was afraid of heights, and that's why he probably wasn't doing very well because of the fear.

The young dragon took a deep breath through his nostrils and spread his wings. He closed his eyes and then jumped, making a high-pitched squeal as he flapped once but then hit the water with a big splash. He didn't surface for a few long seconds, alarming the children.