Chapter Text
The three space caterpillars Pidge had brought back from the nebula stared at her as she read aloud from the Altean Encyclopedia Galactica.
“Space Caterpillars live in colonies of several dozen and are often found in starship graveyards. Individual members of this species are covered in thick fur that is either bright pink, yellow, blue, or green in color. The smooth, tan underbellies of these creatures are furless, with four short crimson legs on bottom of either side of their segmented torsos.”
“They are cute little guys, aren’t they?” Hunk observed. The yellow one had floated away from Pidge to stare at him with its large, unblinking eyes. It nuzzled Hunk’s cheek as he stroked its furry back. “You are a sweet fella, aren’t you?” He asked it rhetorically, knowing that the affectionate little creature could not speak.
”These particular naiads might actually be the larvae of some previously uncatalogued species of space vermin, similar to the Pholoxian Scavenger Beetle, which is also capable of thriving in areas of zero gravity, with or without an atmosphere.” Pidge continued. ”This eight-legged beetle, like the Space Caterpillar, has the ability to cling to solid objects, to avoid floating away into deep space.”
“So they are basically fuzzy trash bugs that are going to morph into scavenger beetles one day,” Lance said with a grin. “Pidge, you just infested the castle with space roaches.” He laughed at his own remark. Pidge stopped reading and frowned at him.
“Lance—“ Shiro began with a glare. The blue Space Caterpillar, which had been floating closest to Pidge, flew to Lance and head butted him.
“Take it, easy, little guy,” Lance said to it as he gently batted it away from his face. “I was just joking around,” he added, glancing at Pidge with a soft smile. “They actually are kinda cute—in a creepy-crawly, grotesque sort of way.” The blue one’s cheek marks glowed slightly, as if blushing and mimicking Pidge’s emotions. Then it head butted Lance more aggressively than before.
Pidge snickered. “They are intelligent enough to understand what we are saying.” The green one’s cheek marks glowed brightly, as if agreeing with Pidge’s assessment.
“You’d better watch your mouth then, Lance,” said Keith. “If they do morph into disgusting beetles of some kind, I say we quarantine them in Lance’s room.”
“Hey!’
“Boys,” Shiro warned with a stern glance.
Pidge sighed. “They do understand what we are saying, but Lance misinterpreted what I just read. The entomologist who wrote this entry merely speculated that the Space Caterpillars are a species analogous to the Pholoxian Scavenger Beetle—“
“Ugh, in English please!” Lance whined.
“The trash bugs understand what Pidge is saying better than Lance does,” Keith added with a chuckle.
Pidge ignored them and continued reading. ”On either side of the caterpillar’s tiny mouth are a pair of glowing pale blue triangular-shaped markings that increase and decrease in luminescence as a form of communication, and are similar to Altean markings in appearance.”
“That part is fascinating,” said Allura. “Only creatures who have the potential to manipulate quintessence have such glowing marks. I can see why this scientist took such an interest in studying these gentle creatures.” The green one floated over to Allura and stared at her unblinkingly, its marks glowing warmly as if to affirm her hypothesis. Allura gave it a little pat, stroking its soft, thick fur.
Smiling, Pidge continued to read the entry. “For thousands of years, space travelers have had few opportunities to encounter this elusive species, so it it unknown what kind of sustenance these creatures thrive upon. It is assumed that they usually subsist upon the dust particles, hydrogen, helium, and other ionized gases that are found in emission nebulae...”