Izuku hasn't slept that night.
It's early in the morning -- the sky is colored with purple as the sun begins to rise. Izuku's breath fogs in the air before him, and he shudders as a chill runs through his pelt. Unlike his old group, there's not a lot to distract Izuku when he's kept up late at night, haunted my memories and 'what ifs'. There's no -- library, or just ... anything. All Izuku is left with is old books and herbs and crafts. The books in question are textbooks -- herbs and medicine or training. It's all rather informative, but Izuku's almost done with them. He's already restocked his medicine stock, too -- Izuku doesn't claim to be anything but a field medic, though, and he doesn't have a major need for his medicine anymore.
Either way, it's the lack of entertainment that drives Izuku out of Snowbound territory. He's not far from the territory, of course -- with how little he knew about the territory and the surroundings, he can't afford to get lost. The frosted grass gives away with a soft crunch under his paws, and Izuku ruffles his feathers with a sigh as he stops in place. He can't just -- keep walking in circles. He'd go positively mad if he did so, especially with the way his head was spinning and he can't focus. He's tired, and he's stressed, and he really can't help but miss Todoroki. The bicolored feline had been Izuku's last connection to home, especially with how his quirk had been acting up lately. And then just one wrong turn, and Izuku is suddenly unable to track him. It's just -- so, so stressful.
"Bet I'm the only one who would have had so many problems," Izuku murmurs, grimacing as he thinks back to his classmates. He isn't coping. And even more than that, the many little scratches and scars on his legs and arms told him that much -- who's idea was it to let him have sharp things on his paws? Not to mention, something had fundamentally changed about the way he viewed and interacted with the world around him. But -- this is besides the point. The point is that literally any of his classmates would have fared better than Izuku has been. Todoroki definitely had been, at least in that regard. Then again, Todoroki re-grew up with a generally caring family up until the fire. and had probably been happier than he had been as a human. Meanwhile, Izuku just woke up in a pool of his own blood on his own. That -- probably changed things to at least some extent.
//[member=445]aizawa[/member]

At first, all he remembers is screaming.

He can't see anything, blinded by smog and smoke. He isn't sure if it's him screaming, or his students around him. Then there's a blinding pain. Maybe it had been there all along, he doesn't know. But it's enough to make him fall forward, landing sprawled out on the ground with no energy to get up and continue. He wants to, and he tries to, but he's helpless. He's submitted to this fate, unable to help the students around him. He's a hero. He tells himself that he's supposed to be better than that, that he needed to try harder. Still, by that point his arms had stopped listening to him. It all goes black.

Aizawa wakes up yelling. Or maybe roaring. The guttural growl of his noise surprises him, making him stop short. His mind is hazy and he can barely recall the dream he had just woken up from. A dream? It felt more familiar than a dream, but his head hurts too much for him to try and piece it all together just yet. Not only is his head killing him, his body feels even worse, a near immobilizing pain running through his body. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a shiny red liquid among the grass.

His stomach is in knots. He glances around frantically, unsure where he was, or what had happened. Usually he had a calm composure, but now, with all the unknowns racing through his mind, it was difficult to keep it.

"SPEECH"

And just like that, the peace is broken. A roar echoes across the open tundra, and Izuku jolts, eyes growing wide as his muscles tense beneath his pelt. What was happening? Izuku's gaze flickers from side to side as he turns his head, his instincts going haywire in a moment. Was it an attack? On him, or someone else? Was someone hurt? Izuku just doesn't know, and the next thing the green-furred feline knows is that one moment he's standing still, and the next he's running, flying(metaphorically. his wings can't hold him up, yet.) over the frosted grass.
Another few moments, and Izuku's eyes catch the large form of -- something. A lion, maybe? Izuku isn't sure, their fur is just so dark, and the air is heavy with the scent of blood. Izuku feels a rush of panic as his gaze flickers over the other's form. They were hurt, right? How? Would they let Izuku close enough to help? Ideally, Izuku would like to help without the other killing him in blind panic. There was a pretty massive power imbalance here, what with Izuku's lack of regularly functioning quirk. Well -- he didn't have strength, but he did have electricity, and that was generally helpful in small doses.
"Wh -- What happened?" Izuku demands, his voice high with his panic and hysteria. He smells smoke, but mostly just blood. His breath comes out shaky, because god, this definitely reminds him of when he first woke up as a cat, first -- just blood and pain. (he hadn't had actual injuries, luckily. he probably would have actually died again, if he had). "Wh -- Where are you hurt?" Izuku tries again, drawing closer and rounding around the lion to the other's front. It take a lot of willpower to keep from slipping back into Japanese in his hysteria(he was generally calmer too, but -- flashbacks. He wasn't good with this much blood.), and his accent is heavy as he speaks.
In all honesty, Izuku must be an odd sight for Aizawa to see, first thing -- definitely not the greatest introduction into the great wide world of whats-it. He was pretty non-standard, even by this world's standards -- he wouldn't have been able to imagine how it would have been to see first thing. All green fur and wings, a feline face demanding to know something or another.
Well, either way, Izuku was just glad he'd brought his bag along with him this time. His conjuration or whatever it was called was unreliable at best, possibly due to his lack of practice. He didn't exactly have time to play a game of 'is this what you need?' while somebody is possibly bleeding out before your eyes.

The pain is searing. With what little energy he has, he manages to look over himself, yet he somehow sustains no visible wounds. (Not to mention the fact that he's a lion now, which he freaks out over internally) He doesn't have much time to wonder where all the blood had come from as he suddenly smells something. Beyond the metallic smell of his own fluids and the lingering smell of fire, he can barely scent something else, accompanied by the faint sound of approaching steps. He jerks in an attempt to get up, but his body is to weary. His heart feels like a bird trapped in a cage. All he can do is lay there and wait, on edge.

A part of him is hoping for a rescue. Aizawa is usually the one to do the rescuing, but under these circumstances, that wouldn't be the case. He still isn't too sure what had happened to him, although he did have a fairly good idea. It just sounded so absurd to him, and his logical senses screamed against it. Yet it was the only explanation he could think of.

He's still as the person-whoever it was-came closer and closer, then stopped. The voice has a familiar note to it, but for the most part, he doesn't recognize it. He's too preoccupied to try and figure it out, either. His world is turned upside down at the sight of a green cat. It was as if that day hadn't been odd enough. A talking, unnatural colored cat with wings was just enough to seal the deal for him.

"Who are you?" his voice comes out hoarse, his throat easily compared to a desert. He considers asking him what happened to him, but evidently, he doesn't know, either. So, he just stares at him with blank eyes, unsure how to continue. He had seen plenty of weird things in his life, but this was probably the worst of it.

"SPEECH"

'unnaturally colored' would be an odd statement to say about Izuku's fur color, considering his hair had been the same color -- some shades darker, yes, but generally the same. Granted, it had been a little curious, even when he was human, and was also brighter and more obvious now that he was entirely green. Not to mention the wings. He knew a few people with wing quirks, but at least they'd been able to fly. He was a little envious, honestly. Wait -- where was he, again?
"Izuku Midoriya," Izuku says, exasperation seeping into his tone as he manages to calm down his hysteria just the slightest, hearing the other's voice. It's familiar in a way -- and also, this entire situation is giving him deja vu. Running into a strange character, with a voice and appearance vaguely reminding him of somebody he knew as a human? Sounded like the time he re-met Todoroki to him. Unlike when he met Todoroki, there's no visible injuries. He takes a step closer and scrunches his nose as his gaze roves over the other's form. He doesn't -- see any injuries. The blood appeared to be fresh, but there also didn't appear to be any unnatural grooves in the fur, or even any gushing blood. Izuku was a little lost. Well, he hadn't ever claimed to be an expert -- everything he'd learned came from books, not from actual experience. "Where'd the blood come from?" Izuku appears to demand, but there's a warble in his voice. His legs are trembling, and he feels off balance -- that may be because of his front paw, the one that was still so scarred and maybe a little crooked. Look, he gets that he really injured it, and that he kind of deserved a scar, but he also doesn't think he was ever intended to walk on it like this.

He can't his ears for a split moment. He's sure he must have misheard him, his brain playing a cruel trick on him. But he still can't help the relief and shock that overrides all the pain he had been feeling. He wants to get up, even tries to at first, but then he falls back. His limbs are too tired, and he isn't completely sure how to operate this new body of his.

"Midoriya?" Aizawa asks, appalled. This only confirmed his suspicions, that they had died and somehow come back as animals. It didn't make much sense to him, but he was too relieved that he wasn't alone. "It's me, Aizawa. What the hell happened?" he asks, but he's fairly certain he doesn't really know the answer, either.

He had never really felt one way or another about Izuku. To him, he was just one of many students back then. But now he was actually happy to see him, especially under these circumstances. He couldn't help but wonder if there were others that had come back like them.

"SPEECH"

Just as Izuku is starting to get fed up with the lion's non-answers, the apparent stranger's expression registers. Izuku's maw, which is open as he prepares to ask again, more firmly this time, shuts with a snap. Why'd he look so -- relieved? It couldn't be anything about help, considering that he literally hasn't answered any of Izuku's questions. And then the lion speaks and -- well, nobody ever really called him 'Midoriya' except Todoroki. Definitely not a stranger, and the scarf is familiar and good god another one.
"M -- Mister Aizawa?" Izuku repeats, a little shaken. The tabby's eyes widen a little. Well, at least Aizawa hadn't dragged it out, unlike he and Todoroki had. He's literally not kidding -- Todoroki had been the most obvious thing he'd ever seen. Red and white? Heterochromia? Voice? And it'd still taken them like, half an hour because they were both knee-deep in denial.
This wasn't the case. Izuku just -- isn't prepared for another reunion and oh god. Both Todoroki and Izuku had ended up dying before they woke up here, so Aizawa died. What the hell -- Aizawa was a Pro Hero. He'd be a lot harder to kill than Izuku was, at least, so how? why?
"I -- I'm not sure about you, but I know that Todoroki and I died a while back," Izuku is grinning shakily as he violently attempts to suppress the urge to cry. It's not working well, and his brain is on a persistent mantra of 'crying makes you weak' or something. That certainly wasn't a healthy habit to have learned, though it was ingrained pretty deep, considering the many circumstanes that brought him to that conclusion. "I -- I presume the s-same happened to you. Wh-When? What happened before that?" Izuku hiccups, and sniffles. When did it happen? Was it after Izuku died? What fight was it in? The same one, or a different one? Izuku knows that the timeline is rather warped, so he doesn't have even a smidgen of an idea -- Todoroki had died after Izuku, after all, and had still been reincarnated half a year before Izuku had even awoken.
Still, the feline proceeds to plop into a sitting position, and then beginsto very aggressively rub at his eyes with a paw. He's said it once, he'll say it again, cats aren't supposed to have tear ducts why is this happening to him.
Another minute, and Izuku just -- gives up. He's just -- however unfortunate the thing that happened to his teacher probably was, he's just so relieved he's not alone anymore. Sure, he'd had Todoroki, but that was just one person. One person he's not sure he'd see again because Izuku took a wrong turn. Still, Izuku takes a deep, shaky breath as he pulls himself back to his paws. He absolutely does not look anymore composed than he had before. Look, Izuku had always been quick to tears, but now he had about a million bottled up emotions and now that was a reason to cry.
Izuku takes one shaky step forwards, and then another, one paw after another until he may as well have been standing over Aizawa, at least if Izuku had been larger. As it was, Izuku wasn't a whole lot bigger than Aizawa's very paw. Even still, the little maine coon sniffles and lowers his head, and gently butts his head against the lion's shoulder, still shaking and sniffling. Honestly -- there's still a lot of blood. No, really, Izuku can feel some of it sticking to his paws and the scent is rather overpowering. As comforting as physical contact may be or whatever, Izuku really hated this.

Aizawa watches him with a bit of discomfort. He stares as he comes close to breaking down, the grin on his face flimsy, but not at all insincere. He can see the cocktail of emotions in his eyes, and he doesn't feel that much different. There were so many questions, but so little answers. It frustrated him, yet there wasn't much he could do about it. Really, all they could do was try and adapt to this new life. It would definitely be difficult with the memories that would haunt them.

The boy's reaction is understandable--being reunited after such a traumatic experience would bring anyone to tears. Except for Aizawa, as he lays there with dry eyes, as always. He feels bad for Izuku, knowing how hard it must have been for him, being alone like this. Still, he isn't the most emotional person. If you were to go to anyone for comfort, he probably wouldn't be the most ideal person.

As he comes closer, his head dipping down and laying against his shoulder, he allows him to seek comfort from the touch. It's the least he can for him. Still, he can't help but feel a bit off. "You'll get tears all over my scarf," he says, deadpan. Really, he doesn't care. He's just trying to cut the tension in the air. Plus, being like that with the smell of blood strong in his nose probably isn't very pleasant. "We'll have time for this later. Right now, I'd like to get some rest," and try to regroup, but he didn't say that out-loud. Not only that, he didn't want to think about how he died right now--about how any of them had. He was still trying to get over the fact he had let them all down.

"SPEECH"

"I think I'm a little too small to leave much of a stain," Izuku responds, voice still shaking, even as he struggles to pull himself together. It's not working very well, and he doesn't want to inconvenience Aizawa or anything, so he does what he does best -- bury his remaining emotions deep down. He clenches his claws for a moment, takes a deep breath or more, and briefly presses his hard more firmly against the lion's shoulder before withdrawing. He seems reluctant to for a moment, before backing away several more steps.
"R-Right, um" Izuku begins, gaze flickering about. They're close to Snowbound, but it'll probably be a little far of a walk for right now. "W-Well, finding a den to stay in shouldn't be hard. Once you're ready, we could probably head over to Snowbound," The tabby offers rather idly, his gaze focused somewhere over the horizon. And then he blinks a few times, the realizing hitting him that Aizawa probably doesn't know what Snowbound, or the other clans, are. Izuku grimaces. He'd explained it to Todoroki, but this was worse.
"... Ah, Snowbound is a ... group, of other animals. Like a very simplified country, really. There's a hierarchy and everything. There's a lot of groups like it, Snowbound has just been where I've been staying," Izuku explains, as briefly as he can. And very vaguely. He'd gone on a long-winded rant about it to Todoroki, so he at least had a basic idea of how to explain it, now. Izuku just hopes Aizawa doesn't think it's a cult or something like Todoroki also did. "... I've, ah, actually been like this for a while now. I spent about two months on my own before I ended up joining a clan. I didn't have much of a choice, really -- they didn't force me, I just ... hadn't been doing well," Izuku tries, grimacing. That first while on his own had been absolutely miserable, and the safety of the clans in comparison just made him desperate to go back after he left. Izuku shakes out his fur and circles around Aizawa a little restlessly, wings shifting on his back.
"I actually met Todoroki sometime while I was there, on a walk. He convinced me to leave on some journey, but we got separated, so I eventually just ... joined a new group," So Izuku is being vague, so sue him. Aizawa hadn't even asked for details of his arrival, so it was for the best he was vague. So with this, Izuku attempts to gently nudge Aizawa, somewhat impatient. He would have been fine sitting around and talking, but Aizawa wanted to rest, and they couldn't just stay here.
"Staying out here isn't a good idea, though. It's not really -- safe. There's a stream somewhere that way I think, to wash the blood, and I could probably find some shelter," The Maine coon offers, gesturing some direction with his tail. And then he blinks, catching himself as it occurs to him that Aizawa probably wouldn't catch it, and instead tips his head, somewhere to the right of him. He's growing impatient, really, a bubble of anxiety growing and growing now that they weren't going anywhere. It was unlikely anything would happen, not so close to Snowbound territory, but the paranoia is what had kept him alive, so it's what he acts on, now.

It was a lot to take in. The whole situation was odd, a difficult pill to swallow. He was fine with taking baby steps, and the first step would be to adjust to this new body of his. It was new, being so much bigger. Before his death, he wasn't exactly the most fit. He had been slender, the average height, but now he was large and his strength was evident. He may have not been the biggest lion he'd seen, but he would take it. He didn't have much choice, either. At least he was still bigger than Izuku. He would have been embarrassed to turn out smaller than his own student--was he even still his pupil? He wasn't sure.

Aizawa doesn't know what he starts to ramble on about, the word Snowbound catching his attention, as he speaks about it like it's a place. But of course, he had never heard of it before. Really, he didn't know anything about this new area they had found themselves in. Luckily enough, Izuku seemed to know just enough.

He squints at him as he explains about this clan. It all sounds weird to him, but he just shrugs it off, deciding he'll find out sooner or later. If the timid boy had placed so much trust in it, then he supposed he could, too. But he also wasn't in a hurry to be killed again. He didn't want to find out if he would be brought back yet again or not. The thought of it made him uneasy.

The mention of Todoroki caught his interest, a metaphorical brow raising. Just how many of them had returned? And how many were out there now, wandering around by themselves, clueless? He was suddenly even more grateful that he had come across him. Then he turns to glance over himself again, still uncertain of how he would work this new form. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult, but he also doesn't want to jinx himself. He's tired, though, and the other feline's patience is apparently wearing thin. (But he dared him to say anything, considering he was big enough to bite his head off.)

"Alright, alright," he grumbles and presses his paws against the ground, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Easy enough so far. "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to rush your elders?" he half-jokes, half-snaps at him. It doesn't take him long to get up onto all fours, and though it feels off, he still manages a good few feet forward before falling over onto the ground. His overall tired nature was only encouraged by the recent events. Or at least, he was just telling himself that he was being lazy and that he didn't actually fall over unintentionally.

"SPEECH"