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 [right][b]Interactions:[/b] Sloane [@Atrophy], Ken [@AtomicEmperor], Lynn [@NoriWasHere]
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[color=6B8E23]”Luca,”[/color] Luca said quietly, grimacing at the raw pain in his throat when he tried to talk. 

Luca was unable to look away as Sloane was healed. He forced himself to watch the gruesome process of all her flesh regrowing, the sick feeling in the pit off his stomach barely dampened by relief. Then she looked at him with pained eyes filled with condemnation. She shook her head at him. He understood. It was all his fault. He should've been more careful. He shouldn't have gotten so close to her. If he hadn’t gone near her then she wouldn’t be hurt like this.

[color=6B8E23]”I'm sorry,”[/color] Luca whispered again, voice hoarse. [color=6B8E23]”I'm so sorry, Sloane.”[/color]

His heart sunk further, to depths he didn’t even know were possible, when Jasper approached Sloane first. Of course. [i]Of course[/i]. It all made sense. Jasper’s ‘hatred’ was just a coverup… he was straight, after all, and Sloane liked him too. They would be good for each other. Sloane, under all that harsh exterior, was a [i]nice[/i] person. She wasn’t dying, like he was. They could have a future together. Luca would take his leave like he should’ve long ago. 

He shouldn’t have come back. This - hurting someone - was always going to be the result.

Luca painfully pushed himself to his feet, arms flapping to the side to balance himself. It was like there was a heavy weight pulling him down, a constant burning against his skin… But it was fine. The physical feelings were normal, just worse again. It was what had happened that hurt more… and the hope for something more, something that couldn’t be. 

He’d just need an hour alone to recover, then he’d be fine again.

Luca looked around, lips twisting into a pained frown as he caught sight of Lila. She looked… bad. In so much pain. She needed help - but he couldn’t help her right now. He’d just hurt her more. Maybe later, they could talk. Hopefully someone like Britney could actually help her, and Sully would at least help with the pain.

He took a step backwards, head tilting and catching Jasper’s gaze as it moved towards him. His heart thudded painfully in his chest… He couldn’t talk to Jasper right now. Not after all of that. Luca shook his head slightly, turning around and fleeing as quickly as he could towards the edge of the trees. He ignored the pain in his legs and the burning in his lungs. He needed to go home… to get out of the way. 

With that in mind, he changed direction slightly… Approaching Ken and Lynn, still away from the group. He paused far enough away from them both that there was no chance of his aura catching him. Lynn was… crying. She wasn’t in a good state either. Luca bit his lip, before forcing what he hoped was a comforting smile. As if [i]he[/i] was fine.

[color=6B8E23]”Lynn…”[/color] he said softly, trailing off. He didn’t know what to say to her. He could only imagine what she’d seen in that hallucination. Right now, what was there he could say to help? [color=6B8E23]”If you need anything, you know where to find me.”[/color] 

Luca then turned to Ken with an attempted brighter smile. It wasn’t quite possible to cover up the distress in his eyes or the rotting green flecks floating across them, and the festering wounds across his bare arms. [color=6B8E23]”Ken, when you have a moment, can you take me home? I need… some time to get things back under control. It’s too risky for me to stay.”[/color] 

Hopefully Ken would be able to do just that without hurting himself - he was the best option, in Luca’s mind, since he had ways of separating them physically with magic. He couldn’t go back in Jasper’s car. He might hurt any of the other three, and he really needed that time to himself.

[color=6B8E23]”I’ll just wait over here!”[/color] 

[color=7B81B3]"You certainly won't. You'll not be crying without my company, dear one."[/color]
There was a ripple, and an unkillable, unrottable wall of nothing but pure pressure that Luca would've nearly slammed into were it not for its elastic nature errupted around him. The gentle stretching sensation turned into a hammock of air, with a calm and consistent stream blowing upward into the air. After that, all the voices would be a little bit muffled, but Ken still spoke to him through the thin veil.
[color=7B81B3]"You will stay with me where you won't be consumed. I'll only be a moment."[/color]