SPACE CADET [open + horns]

[Luca]

For a moment, there was peace. Dappled light filtered in from the treetops above him and coloured the grass with shades of dancing gold. The only sounds that accompanied him were the melodious birdcalls above, the slightly harsher rustling of leaves in the breeze, and clacking of his own claws between his teeth. He was chipping the polish from them, he could taste the bitter flakes on his tongue, so perhaps the sudden chittering of another animal was exactly the kind of distraction that he needed. He glanced up from the pile of miscellaneous plants in front of him to spot Masie, and his paw fell from his lips to rest back at its rightful place on the ground. His gaze quickly zeroed in on the offering in her jaws, and he found himself narrowing a luminous rose eye. It wasn't that he was frowning at the raptor herself, but rather at his inability to recognise the blossoms clamped between her teeth. Perhaps if he weren't so emotionally exhausted the gesture would be enough to make him question his raptor bias, but at the moment he seemed too engrossed in his plant hunt to even recognise her. Without a word he would turn to the encyclopedia to the side of him. The glossy pages lit with a soft pink glow as he grasped them with his telekinesis, staring intently at the pictures as he flicked though them. "Flowers..." he mumbled, the tip of his spaded tail twitching in an obvious display of irritation. "Why are there so many fuckin' flowers?"

But alas, he would get no answer, for no sooner could he utter the sentence than others were upon him. First came Bakugou, with words so blunt and sudden that it made his abilities flare, paper tearing beneath the sudden strength of his power. He didn't have time to process the loss of his page on hydrangeas. "H-horns?" Perhaps his attack on Bakugou had caused more harm than he originally thought. Luca was quick to write him off as crazy, and was ready to shake his head and go back to his study when Lucifer's voice joined them as well. Confusing, why were they all being so confusing? Didn't they know that three's a crowd? "What're you talking about?" He demanded, a hint of snappiness in his voice. He was busy, too busy to deal with a sudden rush of crewmates going on about horns and other topics they pulled out their asses. He was so intent in staring the pair down, cheeks puffed with air in a childish reminder of his short temper, that he completely missed the signs that he was being hunted. It was only when CCLIV flung herself upon him that he became aware of her presence. Her paws brushed over the scars on his back and his breath caught violently in his throat, an audible choking noise tearing itself from between his teeth. For a second his mind was free of Junji and herbs and horns, a burst of cold panic squeezing his chest and consuming his thoughts. But then the darkness fled from his vision as quickly as it arrived, and he was back. He blinked once, twice, and then began to pray that the horror hadn't shown on his face.

"What're you doing?!" He asked, fear turning quickly into faux, embarrassed anger. He whipped his head around to attempt to pry CCLIV off him with his teeth, but it only took half a second of distraction for another child to ambush him. Soon he was reeling back as Technopaw clambered up his chest, rocking back dangerously far on his haunches before miraculously righting himself. If that weren't enough, soon Beck saw it fit to join the party. The child clinging to his chest was going on about nubbies. What the fuck are nubbies? Luca tried to ask, but the words never reached his tongue. His throat felt like it was closing in on himself and he swallowed rapidly, his heart beating frantically in his chest. Beck's tongue was the last straw. The sight of something shooting towards him, the children smothering him, the many pairs of eyes watching him, and the pre-existing stress all combined inside him. The hellish combination of stimuli boiled over in his mind, sending his mind into a frenzy. "STOP IT!" Luca cried, raising his voice in a rare yet unpleasant occasion. His blood rose rapidly in temperature under the strain of his emotions. If those making contact with him didn't draw away, it was likely that the fire in his veins would scorch them something nasty. "What's going on, why are you touching me!? Leave me ALONE!"

[mobile qwq]