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Chapter Text

At the age of thirteen, Izuku was, of course, five years too young to join the Young Star-Sailors program. Now, Izuku is nothing if not his mothers son, hard-working, kind, brutally intelligent, and so unbelievably stubborn in his goals. Although, unfortunately for Izuku, he had failed to inherit his mothers common sense. Instead he had his fathers unwavering ambition. The same ambition that led the man to his death, a failed engine in his teams cargo ship, shortly after Izuku's fourth birthday, or so he was told. His parents traits had merged into one young boy who refused to let anything stand between him and his goals.

It was this ambition-fueled-stubbornness, his refusal to be held back by something so trivial such as the law, that led him to his fate, trapped inside an alien prison ship in the middle of a solar system he doesn't know the name of. All because he had decided sneaking into a government owned ship during a school field trip to a Young Star-Sailors recruiting event would be easier than simply waiting until his eighteenth birthday.

Of course, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and as he sat on the cold floor of his cell, his arm throbbing as the broken bone sat untreated and unset, he finally realized that sneaking into the cargo of an official government space cruiser with only a pack of trail-mix and a half finished water bottle may not have been the best idea. It had been about three days since the Star-Sailor crew had abandoned ship during an alien attack. Three days since they unknowingly left their young stowaway to his fate. Three days since the invading aliens had found Izuku, trapped under a fallen cargo box, arm swollen and bruised, crying for help.

In those three days, nothing had happened past him meeting the large, bug-bird hybrid of an alien. This ships captain, he supposed. Which is why Izuku was surprised when, late into the artificial night of the third day, something happened.

Being alone in the quiet of an alien cell, with a broken arm and only one meal a day, Izuku had little to do other than memorize the guards patrol patterns, so when the pattern abruptly changed, the guards stopping by the cell door around an hour too early, Izuku was immediately up and alert.

The cell door hissed as it opened, revealing a group of around eight chitinous guards, facial pincers snapping in what he assumed was a threat. They started towards him, forcing him to take a matching step backwards, until his back was pressed firmly against the cell wall, heart hammering in his chest. Izuku let his eyes flick across the guards' faces, searching for a way to get away if they decided to attack. They were big, bulky creatures, clearly made with defense in mind, towering almost four feet above Izuku, over twice as wide as him. But, watching as the guard nearest to him turned to chitter to the rest of the group, he realized that what they had in size, they lacked in flexibility, having to fully turn around rather than just turning their head or twisting their torso.

Before Izuku could make his choice in whether to run or not, the final guards had made their way into the cell, carrying something, an eye-catching yellow lump. The lump was unceremoniously thrown to the floor, the heavy thump had Izuku wincing in sympathy. The guards quickly left after, leaving Izuku and the yellow-thing alone, locked in the cell once more.

He slowly made his way towards it once he was sure the guards were gone for good. Was this some kind of test? A new kind of food? It seemed like the guards were feeding him using what they found in the Star-Sailors cargo, it would make sense they'd try to find supplementary meals for once the supply ran out. Izuku gently kneeled next to the lump, reaching his good hand out, and-

It was breathing. The lump was alive.

Breath caught in his throat, Izuku yanked his hand back, falling on his rear as he scrambled away. They stuck him with another alien. If he wasn't in danger before, he definitely was now.

Curled up in his corner of the cell, trying to get his breathing back under control, he raked his eyes over the alien again, figuring it would be easier to find weaknesses while it was unresponsive, rather than wait until it attacked him.

The alien was covered in short, yellow fluff, looking remarkably similar to the feathers of a baby bird, although, with its front facing away from Izuku, he couldn't be sure if the bird resemblance was accurate or not. It was large too, it seemed everything was in space, at least two feet taller than Izuku, although it seemed to be on the slim size compared to the other aliens Izuku had seen onboard the ship. His eyes had just trailed to what he assumed was the aliens legs when he noticed it, the alien was tied up, it seemed almost painfully tight, the green rope hidden between the soft feathers on its torso, and Izuku-

Izuku was scared. Shit , of course he was scared. But did this alien really deserve to be left tied up? The rope seemed to be cutting the skin underneath the feathers, assuming the purple smudges on the bright yellow was blood. Was Izuku's fear really reason enough to leave it in pain? Slowly, he started to crawl out of his corner, choice already made.

He got almost half-way to the alien when the guards began marching down the hallway outside again. He froze for only a moment before scrambling back into the corner, folded into himself. Instead of coming to his cell, though, the guards instead turned on the artificial night-time lights of the cell to the right of his, closest to the yellow alien. Izuku watched as more lumps - more aliens - were thrown into them, two dark shapes and one lighter one, the dim lights of night-time made it hard to tell the exact colour.

The guards took longer to leave this time, the chittering and snapping of their pincers a steady background noise as Izuku remained frozen in the corner of the cell, slowly feeling the missed sleep catching up to him. Deciding the yellow alien would be able to survive in the ropes until the morning cycle began, and too afraid to approach it under the beady glare of the guards watch, Izuku carefully let himself fall into sleep, his arm cradled gently to his chest, and he dreamed of home.

Chapter Text

 A shrill, high-pitched whining woke Izuku up before the day-cycle had even began. He blinked groggily, head fuzzy and limbs numb from the upwards position he slept in, before he realized where the whining was coming from. The alien. Suddenly he felt more awake than ever before, a cold-sweat taking over his body as he snapped his eyes fully open, staring straight into the eyes of the creature. It had rolled over during the night, the soft light of the dawn-cycle allowing Izuku to finally see the face of what he was trapped with.

 It's face was oddly flat, a sort of circle that resembled that of a barn owl, having a wide beak that stretched across its face, reminiscent of a constant smile. It's sharp eyes, a neon green, were lacking pupils, instead having a strange spiral shape that seemed to spin as it's distressed whining increased.

 Izuku glanced back down to its legs, the feathers faded into what looked like thick, dark gray skin. The purple blood coating it looked fresher than the night before, leaving smudges across the metal floor from where the alien had been moving around, and a small part of Izuku was filled by a strange sense of guilt. He should have just stayed awake, should have helped when he first saw it was hurt, because now the alien looked mad and it's all his fault. Maybe if he helped now the alien would accept it as a kind of peace offering, maybe it wouldn't immediately attack. Or maybe it would take its chance, get him while he's weak.

 Shaking his head, a wave of determination settling over his fear, he set forward at a slow pace, low to the ground with his good arm out as a sign of goodwill. The alien seemed to grow more frantic, thrashing on the ground as it's shrill whining and chirps getting louder the closer Izuku got.

 "Hey, hey , I'm not gonna hurt you," He was whispering, hoping the alien would just understand and stop hurting itself more. "Just stay still, yeah?"

 Understanding or not, his talking seemed to calm the alien down, or at least distract it enough to let Izuku settle about an arms-length away. Relieved, he tried for a reassuring smile, only to immediately drop it as the alien appeared to take it as a threat, trying to slide itself away from him. Seriously? This was getting annoying, was it so hard to think that he just wanted to help?

 Sighing harshly, he reached out to grab a looser section of the rope, just where the feathers faded into the flesh of the leg, and tugged the alien back towards him, ignoring it squawking in protest, and- wow , it was light. If it's bone were hollow then that meant the wings pinned to its body actually worked and weren't just vestigial, increasing the chances of this species being a predator by-

 A loud chirp brought a sharp stop to his mumbling, and he flushed, embarrassed at getting so caught up in his own head that he didn't even realize the alien had stopped it's weak protests at being manhandled, instead curiously staring up at Izuku with its spiraled eyes. It opened its beak to reveal rows of sharp teeth, before making a noise that sounded completely different from its previous chirps and whines. Was it... talking? It repeated the noises again, Izuku frowned, trying to repeat it- probably butchering it- once before shaking his head and looking back down  at the rope still in his hand. It seemed sturdy, just over an inch thick, although not any type of rope that he recognized from Earth. Gently, he maneuvered the alien, flipping it onto its stomach, looking for- there! Two knots were hidden just under its left wing. They didn't look complicated, nothing he had seen in his survival handbooks, but definitely not above his skill level.

 He grinned triumphantly, ignoring the scared chirp it earned him, grabbing onto the top knot before realizing his problem. Ah. His other arm was still broken, which meant... He glanced back at the alien, back down to the knots, and up again before taking a steadying breath.

 "I am... so sorry about this," he said, before leaning over and clamping his teeth down on one of the loops in the top knot.

 It was uncomfortable , to say the least. The aliens feathers were tickling his skin where his forehead was almost pressed above its hip, the bend in its wing jabbing painfully into his cheek from how the alien was squirming. Up close he could faintly smell the purple blood, it gave off a scent not dissimilar to rotting fruit and god he hoped none of it got into his mouth, who knows if it was safe. Thankfully, the knot only took a few tugs to come loose enough for him to undo it single-handily, before carefully peeling the rope off of the wing closest to him. The alien quickly took charge, flexing the wing out sharply and forcing Izuku back unless he wanted to get hit. He watched as it tugged off the remaining rope, it's wings seemed to have hands near the end, they were same grey-colored-flesh as it's legs, having four fingers that ended in sharp points, like talons.

 It quickly set to work on the second knot that bonded its legs together, throwing the first rope next to itself. Realizing his help wasn't needed anymore, Izuku snagged the end of the discarded rope, dragging it behind himself as he made his way back to his corner. The alien had barely spared him a glance, fully focused on unraveling the last of the rope and throwing it as far away from itself as possible. It stood up, talons clicking on the metal floor as it found its balance, and stretched its wings out fully. It's wingspan reached nearly 14ft, taking up a third of the cramped cell, and Izuku found himself staring in awe. The yellow feathers that covered the outside turned out to be hiding a beautiful array of shimmering reds and oranges, looking like a sunset painted upon the feathers. The alien noticed his staring, chirping smugly and puffing its feathers out, it seemed to hesitate for a moment, after, before moving slowly towards where Izuku was bundling up his length of rope.

 Wary, Izuku watched as it paused a good few feet away, folding its legs oddly as it kneeled down. Then it spoke again, a different word than before, while gesturing towards itself with its talons.

 "Hi'ashi."

 "Hashy?" Izuku frowned as his mouth struggled to form around the word, but the alien seemed pleased, bobbing its head, repeating the phrase and gesture again.

 "Hi'ashi."

 "Hee-ashi?"

 "Hi'ashi!"

 "Hi'ashi?"

 The alien bobbed it's head again, letting out a happy, high-pitch chirp that Izuku found much easier to copy. He frowned again, though, when the alien paused its head-bobbing, seeming to be on-edge again. Was he not supposed to copy that? Tilting his head in confusion, he pointed at the bird-like alien.

 "Hi'ashi?" He added the chirp to the end, and this seemed to calm the alien down for some reason. Weird.

 The alien pointed to itself and said the word again, then pointed at Izuku before mimicking his head-tilt. What? Izuku... didn't understand what was happening right now. What did Hi'ashi mean ? It was pointing to its chest, so was it a word for feather? But then why wouldn't it point to its wing feathers that Izuku was so blatantly staring at? So then it was- oh. Was Hi'ashi it's name?

 Slowly pointing to himself, he said his name, trying to pronounce it clearly.

 "Izuku."

 "'Zku?"

 "Izuku."

 "Iz'ku? Izuku?"

 He nodded his head at the aliens- at Hi'ashi's - last attempt, grinning as he repeated the happy chirp from before. Hi'ashi looked like it- should Izuku really be calling it an it when he knows it's sapient?- looked like they were going to say something more when the day-cycle lights turned on, the sound of guards stomping through the halls echoing off the walls, startling them both.

 Izuku quickly gathered his rope in his arm, shoving it into the corner behind him, as Hi'ashi scampered across the room, curling up in the opposite corner next to the bars that separated their cell and the one next door that housed the three still-sleeping aliens.

 Izuku couldn't tell if the guards looked shocked from Hi'ashi being free from his bindings, but from the way the first one to enter looked from the single discarded rope by the door, to Hi'ashi, before turning to chitter with the guard behind it, Izuku could definitely say they were confused. Luckily for Izuku, they didn't seem to find either of them a big enough threat to re-bind Hi'ashi or search for the other rope, safely tucked behind himself. Instead, they dropped down two trays of food, one containing the dehydrated rations and water that were scavenged from the Star-Sailers ship, the other container weird... space goo that Izuku wouldn't want to touch with a 10ft pole.

 As they left, Izuku glanced over at Hi'ashi, only to find them already staring back. Swallowing heavily, Izuku made his way to his tray, quickly retreating to his corner before Hi'ashi had a chance to move. He poured a little water over the food to rehydrate it, praying to anything that Hi'ashi liked the food they were served, because Izuku didn't think he'd be able to survive those rows of sharp teeth if the alien went hungry.

Chapter Text

 Hi'ashi Y'mada knew that becoming a Yuuei pilot meant he would be putting his life on the line. He knew the risks when he took his pledge nearly 16 sun-cycles ago, knew the danger he was signing up for with every mission he accepted, and when he took the position of an instructor aboard his old school-ship, he knew the reality of what he was preparing those younglings for. Knew that no matter how hard he tried to teach them, the three sun-cycles until their graduation wasn't enough time, they'd still be going out unprepared. 

 But the two younglings he had aboard his scouting ship were barely into their first term, no where near experienced enough to deal with the surprise attack that happened during their scheduled piloting lessons. Hi'ashi and his partner, Sho'a A'zawa, were shamefully unprepared, neglecting to take attack precautions in the training solar system they had used so many times before- something he knows he would fail his students for- that by the time the ship alerted them to the intruders presence, it was all they could do to surrender.

 Because Hi'ashi knew who these were, recognised their faces from the wanted list the Galactic Commission sent out not even a moon-cycle prior, and from the worried hiss that came from his partner, Sho'a knew too. Soldiers sent by the Sh'i His'aki, an illegal fleet of ships, notorious for leaving their prisoners bodies floating in deep space, mangled either by the brutal fight rings or the cruel experiments done on them.

 So, Hi'ashi had made the only choice he could and surrendered, bargained for his partners and students safety in return for them all going quietly, not fighting as the soldiers injected him and his crew with tranquillisers and carried them off. Now, though, waking up with his head pounding and his wings aching from how they were pinned to his body, he was beginning to wish he had at least put up enough of a fight to avoid the rope that was now cutting into his skin.

 Carefully, he tried to move and stretch his limbs, lifting himself just high enough to see clearly into the next cell, his partner and students lying safely, albeit unconscious, and unbound- Hi'ashi wasn't bitter about that part. He wasn't.

 Relieved, he let himself drop the short distance he had risen to the ground, attempting to ignore the sharp pains that shot up his wing, and allowed himself a few moments to just close his eyes and rest before he needed to move again. It was in this new quiet that he heard it, there was something else breathing in his cell. He raised himself up again, ignoring the pounding in his head and allowing his pupils to spin and clear up his sight, the dark shapes in the other cell coming into focus and-

 Sho'a, Seroh and U'arak lay bundled together, so.. so who was he stuck in with? He let out a stressed trill as the breathing behind him sped up slightly, and he instinctively tried to turn to face the potential threat. Instead, the rope around his legs seemed to tangle more as he twisted his body, a pained trill fell unbridled from his beak as landed harshly on his other side, eyes unfocusing for a moment before he finally realised exactly what he was trapped with.

 A Terran.

 Hi'ashi would be the first to admit that he let out a whine that could rival the pitch of his species younglings, but could anyone blame him? Terrans were notorious for being vicious predators, a single one of them took down nearly fifteen of the Commissions strongest when they attempted to take it into captivity. Even more, they were known to never leave their own solar system, preferring to stay on their Deathworld, so the fact that there was one here, on a Sh'i His'aki ship nearly five solar systems away? It was concerning, it was terrifying, and it was-

 It was waking up.

 It's body jolted, eyes snapping open in one sudden move to stare directly into Hi'ashi's own. He held his breath as the Terran examined his face, its eyes darting from his beak to his eyes, before finally breaking away to glance down to his bound legs. He knows he should be embarrassed about the way his breath came out as a sharp, fear-laced trill, but he had just stared a Terran in its eyes and.. and it had looked away first. The usual pride that he felt when he won these kinds of threat-displays wasn't there though, instead he was filled with a sort of dread. The Terran hadn't looked away because it was scared of Hi'ashi. It looked away because it didn't consider him a threat.

 The Terran stared at the ropes decorating his body for a moment longer, before shaking its head- the long green fur on top of its head seemed out place on its otherwise fleshy body- and lowering itself close to the ground, stalking closer towards Hi'ashi. He started to throw himself backwards, away from the steadily approaching Terran as he let his distressed chirps raise in volume, hoping the Terran would just leave him alone if he put up enough of a fight.

 Miraculously, the Terran paused in its approach, locking its green eyes with Hi'ashi's own once again as a low rumble spilled from its mouth, causing Hi'ashi to falter in his weak defence. The noises sounded too structured to just be a growl. Was.. was the Terran speaking? Before he had even a moment to think about how this contradicted all the info the Galactic Commission shared about Terrans, it bared its teeth and started forward again and- oh Hi'ashi does not want to know what it feels like to be bitten by those blunt teeth.

 Scrambling for purchase on the metal floor, he was able to twist himself around to gain distance between the Terrans teeth and his throat for a moment before the Terran released a harsh breath and grabbed the rope bundled around his hip, an undignified squawk escaping as the Terran began tugging harshly, dragging Hi'ashi back like he weighed nothing.

 He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking as he braced himself for those blunt teeth tearing open his throat. But.. they never came. Instead, the same rumbling from before started up again, and Hi'ashi forced his eyes open to find out what was going on. The Terran was staring intently at his wings, head tilted and lips moving quickly as the rumble, those were definitely words, just not in any language Hi'ashi understood. But maybe.. maybe if it understood common he could convince it to spare him.

 Chirping loudly, he watched as the Terran jolted, the stream of words cutting of abruptly as its peach-toned skin turned a deep crimson. That was.. worrying. Were Terrans meant to do that?

"Do you understand me?" He stuttered slightly as the Terrans eyes immediately locked onto his beak, narrowing slightly as it stared. "Can you speak?"

 The Terran stared for a moment longer before repeating it back to him with scary accuracy, a few words slurred together unnaturally. Hi'ashi perked up a little, waiting for a reply but.. the corners of the Terrans mouth ticked down and it shook its head again, looking back down at the rope still in its hand.

 He slumped a little in disappointment, trying not to fight the way the Terran was moving his body, tracing its hand up the rope and pushing uncomfortably on his cuts. It didn't seem particularly violent, although that didn't stopped the worried chirps and trills escaping his beak as he was turned onto his stomach, the Terran baring its teeth at whatever it found under his wing.

 Hi'ashi's neck was twisted painfully to keep an eye on it, unable to see what the Terran was doing, the only warning he got was some mumbled words in the Terrans language before it lowered its head and clamped its teeth down on something on his back. Immediately he restarted his fidgeting, attempting to force the Terrans teeth away from his body by jabbing his wing joint into its face, although it seemed to do little other than earn some annoyed noises from the Terran, who was still biting at whatever- the rope, maybe- was behind his back.

 Eventually the Terran gave out a little hum, pulling its head back and tugging the rope a few more times with its hand. Hi'ashi let out a pained whine as the rope pulled away from the indented cuts on his body. He flexed his wing out sharply as soon as the rope was loose enough, forcing the Terran far enough away that he felt safe enough to focus his attention on the other wing, making quick work of the rope and tossing it far away from himself before beginning on the second rope that still bound his legs together.

 Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Terran snatch the end of the discarded rope, dragging it behind itself, again only using one arm. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't help but notice the Terrans other arm was discolored, harsh purples and yellows clashing with its otherwise consistent peach-tones. But.. that wasn't Hi'ashi's problem right now, instead he put his attention into finally freeing his legs, gathering the remainder of the rope and tossing it somewhere in the cell before quickly standing up, wobbling as he found his balance, letting his wings stretch fully in the small cell, briefly relishing in the feeling of the kinks in his joints smoothing out.

 Glancing back over to the Terran, he found it curled back in the corner it woke up in, openly staring at his stretched out wings. Back on his home planet, Hi'ashi's plumage and wings were regarded as beautiful, other Vakti's jealous of the shimmering reds and oranges that lined the inside of his wings, although once he left to attend Yuuei, the compliments and jealous staring stopped, other species not finding the same beauty in the impractically bright colors. So, to have this Terran, a species known for their bloodlust and violence, openly stare in appreciation of the color's adorning his wings?

 It filled him with a vain sense of pride, a faux-confidence that allowed him to puff his plumage proudly, hesitating for only a moment before approaching the Terran slowly in a move that would have Sho'a hissing at him for his illogical actions, had he been awake.

 Hi'ashi paused a little away from the Terran, not wanting to box it in, before folding his legs under himself, slowly raising his talons to point at himself. If he's going to be trapped in here with the Terran, he supposed introductions were a must.

"Hi'ashi," 

 The Terrans mouth ticked down again, "Hashy?" 

 Wow. That was.. scarily accurate for a first attempt at the language. Still, Hi'ashi allowed his head to bob up and down, repeating his name for the Terran to copy again.

 It took two more tries for it to say his name near perfectly, and Hi'ashi chirped happily, beginning to think that the Commission report labelling Terrans as 'non-social' wasn't correct, only to tense as the Terran copied his chirp. Did it not realise that wasn't a word? Or was Hi'ashi just wrong in assuming that the Terrans mimicking was a sign of understanding the language.

 The Terran slowly tilted its head again, setting the rope down in its lap to point at Hi'ashi.

"Hi'ashi?" It chirped at the end and.. oh, did it think that was part of his name?

Hi'ashi relaxed his posture and pointed to himself again, repeating his name- making sure to avoid the chirp this time- before pointing at the Terran itself, mimicking the head tilt it seemed to do when confused.

 It's eyes flicked over Hi'ashi's body, the hair set above its eyes furrowing down, mouth moving but no noise coming out. He was beginning to think that he was wrong about the Terran understanding his attempts at communication when it suddenly perked up, turning its hand to point at itself.

"Izuku."

 "'Zku?"

 "Izuku."

"Iz'ku? Izuku?"

 The Terran bobbed it's head, baring it's teeth as it repeated the chirp again. The lights in the cell flashed on before he could try to think of something else to teach the- to teach Izuku, and the sudden brightness seemed to startle it, gathering up the rope under one arm and shoving it behind itself, protecting it with its body.

 Quickly taking the hint, Hi'ashi stumbled his way to the other side of the cell, curling up next to the bars separating him from his partner and students, just in time for the door to slam open and reveal a pair of Sh'i His'aki guards standing in the entryway.

 The first guard glared at him in suspicion, eyes flitting between Hi'ashi and the discarded rope bundled on the floor in front of the pair, before finally turning to chitter to his partner behind him, questioning how Hi'ashi was able to get himself free. 

 Ultimately, they didn't seem him a big enough threat to immobilise again, the sharp glare they gave to his crew in the next cell was enough to quell any thoughts of attacking he might've had anyway. Instead, they carelessly dropped two trays in the centre of the cell, turning to leave without a glance back.

 Hi'asahi let his eyes drift back over to the Terran. It's been.. docile so far, but Hi'ashi doesn't know how it's going to act now that food is involved. The cell door slammed shut and Izuku finally looked over, startled by Hi'ashi's expectant stare. It appeared to hesitate slightly before quickly shuffling up and over to the food tray that contained dry, grey-looking cubes of food. Gross.

 As Izuku settled back into its corner, focused intently on its meal, Hi'ashi stood to retrieve his own nutrient blend, curling back into his corner to keep an eye on his crew whilst he ate, plans of escape already half-formed in his mind.

Chapter Text

 Izuku finished his meal at a pace that put starving men to shame, sneaking nervous glances at Hi'ashi incase they decided that the space goop wasn't up to standard. His cell mate seemed more interested in whatever- whoever- was in the next cell over, though, their spiralled eyes barely leaving the unconscious aliens as they ate.

 When Hi'ashi made no move to rejoin him even after they finished their food, Izuku gently put his empty tray to the side, wincing as the noise attracted Hi'ashi's attention for barely a second before their eyes flicked back to the bars, grooming their feathers absentmindedly. He gently pulled the bundled rope out from behind himself, frowning as he tried to remember a way to set his broken arm. 

 The rope was thick enough that if it was his wrist that broke he could get away with just wrapping it, but the break was almost in the middle of his arm, meaning he'd have to find something sturdy to support it. Groaning, he took a long look around the cell, finding nothing that could work, besides maybe the food trays. 

 Well, he grabbed the tray as he stood up, it's worth a shot. Carefully, he put the tray under his foot, skilfully ignoring the feeling of Hi'ashi's eyes on his back, and slowly pressed down on it, feeling the tray slowly bend under pressure. 

 He let out an embarrassing scream as the tray finally gave out below him, sending him stumbling forward as he lost his balance. Face burning red, he quickly turned, only to come face-to-face with a now standing Hi'ashi, their eyes spinning again- was that a fear thing?

 "Um, sorry for- for all that," There was still a couple feet left between them, just enough to be out of each other immediate reach, but Izuku kept backing up, mumbling apologies and explanations that fell on deaf ears.

 Snatching the two pieces of the tray, he shuffled back into his corner, one eye on the still-standing alien, as he measured the pieces against his arm, sighing when they turned out to be too thick to tie down.

 Lesson learned, he moved to balance on the back wall as he placed one of the halves back under his foot, only stumbling slightly as the breaking snap filled the quiet of the cell. 

 A scrape of metal drew his attention back over to Hi'ashi, finding the alien gripping the other half of the tray in taloned hands, feathers bristled as they tried to bend it. A puff of laughter escaped him as he moved back over, plopping down on the ground by Hi'ashi's feet, much closer than the two had been all morning. 

 He could feel the alien stiffen but ignored it, keeping his attention on lining the metal strips up with his arm, until finally, Hi'ashi slowly lowered themselves down next to him, eyes focused on Izuku's injured arm.

 Huh, who would've thought you had to treat an alien bird the same way you'd treat a standoffish cat.

 Shaking his head to hide his smile, Izuku tried ignored the warm feeling of hope that blossomed in his chest at the small show of trust, instead leaning down to take the hem of his pant-leg in his mouth, ripping a strip of fabric off to pad his wrist with, quietly mourning the loss of warmth on one leg.

 He made quick work of tying the strip, grimacing at the feeling of fabric on his inflamed skin, before realising his new problem. He needed two working hands to set his arm properly. Swallowing thickly, he glanced up at Hi'ashi, who's eyes were still focused on the missing fabric from his pants.

 "Hi'ashi?" Izuku flinched at the speed Hi'ashi turned to look at him, head tilted curiously.

 Slowly, Izuku reached out, gently taking a hold of Hi'ashi's hand and pulling it out between them both, setting a metal strip on it before reaching for their other hand and doing the same.

 "Izuku?" Their chirpy-voice rang out in confusion as Izuku placed his broken arm on one of the metals, lining it up straight, tears filling his eyes as he painfully forced the arm to lie correctly. 

 He grit his teeth and swallowed a scream as Hi'ashi tried to pull their hands away, moving the bone painfully. It sounded like they were attempting to ask something that Izuku couldn't hear over the pounding of blood in his ears. God, this almost hurt worse than actually breaking it.

 Forcing Hi'ashi's hands back in position, he moved quickly, sandwiching his arm between the two metal strips and tightly binding it with the rope, thankful for the hours of first aide he had watched online, before wrapping the remaining rope behind his neck in a make-shift sling.

 Heaving a sigh of relief, arm still smarting from his rough treatment, he let his tears finally fall freely- he had always been an easy crier, but this time he thinks he's justified- and looked back up at Hi'ashi, their frantic chirping coming back into focus as his heart finally left his ears.

 "Izuku ---?" Their feathers were puffed in worry as their hands flapped nervously. "---?"

 "---?" Izuku tilted his head in question, ignoring the little voice in the back of his head comparing Hi'ashi to a mother hen.

 Hi'ashi waved their hands nervously in front of Izuku's tied-up arm, before dramatically clutching their own arm, repeating the word while making.. pained noises? Okay, Izuku did not sound that pathetic, he didn't.

 But still, they got their point across, and he nodded in agreement. "Izuku pain."

 Which was apparently the wrong answer if Hi'ashi's frantic movements increasing was anything to go by. Frowning, he spread his thumb and pointer finger apart before slowly closing them again.

 "Izuku small pain." Noticing Hi'ashi's eyes were focused on him again, he repeated the action. "Not big pain, Izuku small pain."

 "--- pain?" Their head was tilted as they copied the movement on their own hands. "Izuku --- pain?"

 Shrugging lazily, Izuku nodded, "Izuku semal pain."

 "Small."

 "Small pain." 

 Leaning his back against the cell wall, Izuku watched as Hi'ashi stretched their fingers wide again before saying a new word.

 "Big"

 "Bheg?"

 "Big"

 "Big?"

 Hi'ashi chirped happily, their feathers smoothing out as they realised Izuku wasn't on the brink of death, and they began to run through a new round of charades but.. 

 Izuku could feel the pain-fuelled adrenaline slowly running out of him, his eyes drooping and words slurring as his head felt too heavy to hold up. The time between his blinks seemed to last longer and longer, and before he knew it he was pressed in the corner again, eyes trailing Hi'ashi as they chirped soothingly, backing away slowly to let him sleep.

 His position would leave a strain in his neck the next morning, a cool breeze hitting his exposed leg, but Izuku couldn't help but feel a warm hope bubble in his chest as he drifted out of consciousness, hope that Hi'ashi could help get him back home.

Chapter Text

 Izuku woke up slowly, a stark improvement from the usual fear-fuelled alertness he'd felt these last few days. His eyes slowly blinked open, the cell was pleasantly dark, probably near the end of the dusk cycle, a deep rumble seemed to fill space, a blanket of sound that tried to pull Izuku back into dreamland.

 But, he knew he couldn't stay asleep forever, especially since the ships day and night cycles differed so greatly from Earths already. He let out a jaw-cracking yawn as he shifted, good arm coming up to work out the crick in his neck, peeling himself away from his corner as he lazily scanned the cell for Hi'ashi.

 They were huddled on the opposite wall of the cell, eyes flitting anxiously between him and something in the other cell. A nervous chirp from Hi'ashi broke the new silence that took over the cell, in his sleepy daze Izuku hadn't even realised that the rumbling had stopped.

 He stood up and stretched, sighing in relief as his joints popped and his neck cracked, before moving toward his cell mate. He got maybe halfway across the cell before he noticed the red glow coming from the cell across, four points of light shining just behind the bird-like alien.

 His eyes strained against the dim lights, body tensed as he crept forward again. Were those.. eyes? He squinted, trying to focus on the shapes taking form in the low light. Four glowing red eyes, dark fur covering a muscled body, sharp ears flicking at the top its head and a long tail lashing threateningly the closer Izuku got.

 Sharp canines glinted as the new alien snarled at him, loud growling drowning out Hi'ashi's worried chirping- oh god, Hi'ashi. He'd only just befriended the bird-alien and now they're going to be eaten by a giant, angry space cat.

 "Hi'ashi," He said lowly, waving his hand towards himself as his eyes flicked quickly between the two aliens. "Come over here."

 Hi'ashi just stared blankly at him, not moving an inch closer, their feathers puffed up in discomfort. Izuku let out a frustrated growl, wincing in apology at Hi'ashi's flinch as their eyes flicked down to his bared teeth.

 The new alien snarled out some words, whatever it said caused Hi'ashi to stiffen slightly, chirping out a clipped reply before focusing their attention back on Izuku.

 "Izuku ----" They chirped, moving slowly towards him.

 He took his chance to grab the aliens feathered arm, pulling them back to shield them with his body as the feline alien growled from the other cell.

 His eyes locked with the dangerous red in the other cell, lips pulled up in an imitation of its snarl as he tried to push Hi'ashi back with his body, ignoring chirping in his ear.

 Izuku watched, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, as the feline broke contact first, eyes flickering sharply to Hi'ashi, a warning growl of the other aliens name falling from its sharp teeth before a sharp pain took over his ear, arm flying up to feel a dribble of blood running down it.

 Turning, he saw Hi'ashi with a little blood on the tip of his beak, staring angrily at Izuku. Izuku could feel his heart racing, breath speeding up in slight panic.

 Of course, he thought, they were just waiting for back-up to attack. Izuku's eyes were wide, dangerously trained on the alien as he backed up, embarrassingly feeling them fill with tears.

Blood was still dripping through his fingers as he felt his feet automatically move him back, he could see Hi'ashi's beak moving, though the sound of his heart racing in his ears ruined any attempt of hearing them. Vaguely, he could see movement from the other cell, but the danger was already infront of him.

He flinched as Hi'ashi reached for him, a sudden step back that had the two aliens freezing as well, a worried look shared between the two. 

"Izuku-" Hi'ashi tried gently, a soft coo leaving their beak that had Izuku's heart calming down despite his fear, his mind - usually so full of plans and ideas - worryingly blank in his panic. "Izuku, no pain."

He could barely focus on the words, only able to shake his head wildly, pulling his hand down to glance at the blood coating it. The alien must have bitten deep. 

The alien in the adjacent cell was still and quiet, the low rumbling growls fading off as it watched Hi'ashi attempt to approach again, one feathered wing reaching for him as the hand brushed against his bleeding ear. 

Hi'ashi chirped out an unfamiliar word, before seeming to notice Izuku's wary eyes on the feline alien, their free wing spreading out to block Izuku from sight.

"Hi'ashi..." Izuku choked out, body still trembling with nerves. "I don't- Why? I was trying to-"

The alien cut him off with a soft trill, something calming and so familiar to the birdsong he would hear back on Earth. Their hand brushed over his cheek hesitantly, wiping away a tear as if unsure what it was. Of course, why would an alien know what crying was? Could Hi'ashi even cry?

Izuku didn't realise when he started mumbling again, ideas and hypothesis falling from his lips in a steady rhythm that helped calm his racing heart. It only stopped when he registered the amused chirp from Hi'ashi, a sound that felt like laughter and had his cheeks flushing red. 

"Izuku, no pain," The alien repeated, glancing behind themself to the feline in the other cell before slowly lowering his wing. "Izuku, A'zawa. No pain."

He didn't recognise the second word, repeated it in a teary mumble as he wiped away the rest of his tears. Hi'ashi repeated it, gesturing to the other alien with their wing. Was that their name?

Izuku repeated it softly, though a little confused, hesitantly taking a step toward the cell. Now that he was calm, a sense of embarrassment filled him, realising he may have overreacted by grabbing Hi'ashi like that. But really, who could blame him? Seeing a bird alien - his friend? - so close to an animal that should've been hunting them had sent his protectiveness into override. 

He crouched down in front of the bars, trying to make himself smaller than the feline alien that still sat warily on its haunches, glancing back at Hi'ashi before shyly smiling. 

"Hello, I'm Izuku," he greeted, unsure if they could even understand him like Hi'ashi did. He looked back with a frown when he didn't get a response, lips parted to ask Hi'ashi a question before a rumbling voice rang out. 

"Izuku," it repeated lowly, four red eyes narrowed in on him as it sat up - and wow, it was huge - a paw covered in silky black fur raising to pat its own chest. "A'zawa."