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It wasn't easy surviving out in the center of the Northern hemisphere, especially around wintertime.

Of course, the North Pole was always cold, but winter meant the temperature could become negative, which wasn't very ideal.

This weather is way too cold for a human to endure, but luckily for Katsuki, he must've had some arctic wolf ancestry. It made the winters easier to live off of.

But with most animals in hibernation, finding food was a lot more difficult, and Katsuki didn't enjoy staying out in the cold for longer than needed.

If he could, he'd hibernate like all of the other wildlife, but being half-human had its downfalls. Besides, wolves don't hibernate anyway.

During this time of the year, he often found himself fishing for his meals, or if he was lucky he'd find a small critter to snack on, after roasting it above a fire, of course. He wasn't a completely wild animal, after all.

But alas, no food could be found after hours of search for something other than cod for once.

His paws started to freeze after walking on the fresh new snow that was endlessly falling from the clouds above, already starting to cover the fresh paw prints he left behind.

It was disappointing, but at the very least he had food stored back in his den. It wasn't much though. If he couldn't find more meat soon, he may have to starve himself for a few days. It was a sacrifice he had to make every now and again.

He sulked on his trail back to his den, hearing his stomach howl and beginning to practically feel it eating itself. Though his body was hungry, all he wanted to do was get back home and out of this awful cold atmosphere.

However, he swore he heard the sound of a tree branch breaking, his ears twitching in the direction of the sound. He heard nothing after a while, making him feel it was merely a fluke, but he heard another crack in the same direction.

His inner animal got the best of him, his body moving on its own as he ran towards that sound, hoping to find something for dinner. His teeth bared with salivation dripping from the cracks of each tooth. He was hungry, and he couldn't control himself anymore.

As he got closer to where the sounds derived, he noticed a bright, green light illuminating the snow nearby. Perhaps a traveling elf crashed their sled. Hopefully, they had some food packed with them.

The light got brighter as he was coming closer, seeing the light through the small cracks within the bushes, and leaping over them to capture his prey.

He growled as he was met with deer, surprised and scared seeing the wolf before it. But, as Katsuki's consciousness crept through his animal instincts, his vision became clearer, noticing the strange hue of this deer's fur, the colorful scarf around its neck, as well as the way its nose was sparkling. This was no ordinary deer.

Katsuki relaxed his jaw as he released the tension between his fangs, sighing as he felt his entire body calming down, "You're one of Santa's reindeer, aren't you?" He asked, seemingly disappointed that it wasn't a deer he could feast on.

The reindeer's surprised look quickly adjusted to relief as it too sighed, "Thank goodness, you're a hybrid. I thought I was going to be eaten for sure!" The deer smiled.

"I could've eaten you, but luckily for you, I'm not a fan of human meat, even if you're half-animal."

"Well, thank you for not eating me!" His smile widened, only to freak the wolf out for how Jolly this reindeer is acting.

"So what's one of Santa's reindeer doing this far from Wonderland?" He raised a brow at the green deer.

"I was doing flight practices! I was doing so well until I crashed a few seconds ago. It's not easy figuring out how to fly without wings." He laughed.

"I thought reindeer were able to fly with the power of Santa's magic or something?"

"Of course not, silly! Reindeer from the Wonderlands are born with the ability to fly! Though, it's hard to figure out when no one is willing to teach me. None of the other reindeer like me." Despite saying that, he still kept his smile on. Weird.

"Well, you better start heading out to the Wonderlands. You're too far to make it back in one night." Katsuki turned away from the deer, hoping to head back home himself.

"M-More than one night!? I flew out that far!?"

"Seems so."

"You... Wouldn't happen to have a map or something would you?" The deer nervously asked.

"You don't know where it is!? How does a reindeer that travels around the world in one night not know where Wonderland is!?" Katsuki exclaimed.

"A-Actually, I've never guided Santa's sleigh before. I want to though! I've been living in Wonderland all my life, and while I love it I'd also love to leave it and travel! Even just for one night!" He boasted.

"Well, your wish came true it seems. Have fun looking for the Wonderland." Katsuki started to walk off, which caused the reindeer to stand up to try and reach for him.

"W-Wait!" As he tried to follow Katsuki, he tripped over his leg, falling against the soft bed of snow.

Katsuki heard the thud and looked back at him, noticing his hind leg was bleeding, "You're injured..." Katsuki spoke. He must've injured himself when he crash-landed, he thought.

"Oh, this? I-I'll be fine! No worries!" He laughed off as he tried to pick himself up once more, only to trip over his hurt leg once more.

The wolf sighed to himself once again, approaching the reindeer, "Hang on. There's no way you're going to be able to walk on that leg, and from what you told me, you can't properly fly either."

He helped him back on his legs, which allowed Katsuki to prop the reindeer onto his back in order to carry him.

"I'll take you back to my den so you can rest your leg, but once you're able to walk again, you're no longer welcomed."

"Thank you so much! What's your name?" The reindeer happily asked.

The wolf hesitated, "... Katsuki..."

"Well, Thank you, Kacchan! You're definitely getting on Santa's good list this year!"

"I said my name is Katsuki!"

"Well, I like Kacchan better!"

🦌

Luckily, it didn't take too long for the two to make it back to Katsuki's den. Once they were out of the cold, they were both able to transform into their human forms.

The reindeer was a lot easier on the eyes than Katsuki expected. The bright, green nose was gone but he still had curly, green hair on his head, as well as four freckles on each side of his face. He didn't look as annoying as Katsuki expected.

Meanwhile, the reindeer couldn't take his eyes off Katsuki. Perhaps it mostly had to do with his curiosity about the other male.

The two sat quietly around the fire Katsuki made for them to keep warm. With their fur gone, all that was left was nothing but the clothes on their backs. The fire was necessary as a den wasn't the ideal home for complete warmth from the cold.

The deer looked down at his leg, all bandaged up and prepped on a pillow. He smiled as he turned back to Katsuki, "Thank you for taking care of my leg! It feels so much better now!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's no big deal. Since you're here, you might as well introduce yourself since I gave you my name." Katsuki crossed his arms against his chest.

"Of course! Where are my manners!? My name is Deku!"

"Deku? What, do your parents hate you or something?"

"No, of course not! My real name is Izuku but all the other reindeer call me Deku. It's a special nickname I think. It must mean something funny since they're always laughing whenever they call me that, so I like being called Deku! It puts a smile on everyone's faces!" He said with joy.

I guess I shouldn't tell him what it actually means. Be a shame to break the heart of someone just as jolly as the big man himself.

"Enough about me though! I'm very curious about you, Kacchan! I've never seen a hybrid that wasn't a reindeer before! It's exciting to meet such a different species of hybrid! What's it like being a wolf?" His eyes sparkled toward Katsuki, making the wolf blush. He's never had this kind of attention before.

"Well, um. I don't know. I have great hearing, scent, a tail... I have sharp fangs and claws. Basically, I can do what any other wolf does." He rubbed the back of his head. What a weird question.

"Fascinating! It must be nice having such useful assets! Though, I'm surprised to see a hybrid like you out at the North Pole. What brings you here?" He tilted his head.

"I was banished here. I refused to be sold as someone's pet so I was sent here instead. If I didn't want to be a house pet, then I have to live like an animal. I don't care for the cold but being a lone wolf has its perks."

"That's terrible! Hybrids should have just as much freedom as everyone else. After all, we're still humans too!"

"Heh, says Santa's pet." Katsuki snickered.

"I'm not a pet. Reindeer and Elves are all treated as Santa's children. He's my father figure! I have my own bedroom and everything! I can even eat at the dinner table!"

"Well, aren't you special?"

Izuku's stomach growled, scaring himself, "S-Sorry! It's dinner time in Wonderland right now. I'm used to eating around this time."

Dinner. He had almost forgotten he hadn't eaten anything either. Katsuki stood up, walking further back to his den. He opened up a cooler where he kept his food, only to find there were two cod fish left.

Well, he wasn't going to be rude. He grabbed both fish and brought them back to the fireplace, propping up sticks to cook the fish on.

"This is all the food I have. I don't have any vegetables or anything like that." Katsuki said as he watched the fish start to bake.

"That's okay! I'm not a vegetarian like deer usually are! As long as I'm in my human form, I can eat meat. Besides, you're offering to make me dinner. How could I complain about what you make?"

He's just happy no matter what, huh?

Izuku took a look around his den, taking note of all the supplies he had lying around, "You don't seem to be completely wild. You have a lot of items you wouldn't see a typical wolf with." He joked.

Katsuki turned the fish over to cook the other sides, "Well, I'm still human. There are things I need to survive out here. I can't be completely savage."

"How'd you get all this stuff though?"

"I stole it from traveling elves. I don't like being a thief but it's survival of the fittest out here. At least when they go back home, they have food and water, whereas I come back to an empty den."

"That's understandable. After all, hybrids have no way of making money. And I'm sure those elves would be happy knowing their supplies were taken by someone who needed them more than they did! They're very understanding!"

Once Katsuki felt that the cod was ready, he took the stick away from the fire, breaking it in half, and handed one end of the stick to Izuku.

"It's nothing special but hopefully it'll do," Katsuki said as he handed off the stick.

"Thank you, Kacchan! I'm sure it'll be great!" Izuku reassured, already going ahead and taking a bite from the fish.

Katsuki took a bite of his cod as well. As he said, it wasn't anything special. He couldn't add any spices, not even a little bit of salt. It was just plain, cooked fish. At least it did the job of keeping him from starving. That's all that mattered.

"This cod is great! You did a good job cooking it, Kacchan!" Izuku boasted.

"Don't lie," Katsuki said with meat still mushing in his mouth.

"I'm not! I think it's great! Any food is good food!"

Katsuki hummed in response.

As they continued to eat, the blonde couldn't help but think of the predicament he found himself and Izuku in. It was clear that he had no sense of travel, and with how naive he seemed, he most likely wouldn't survive on his own. It wasn't like Katsuki had anything better to do.

Once he finished his dinner, he threw the stick into the fire, watching as Izuku was still in the middle of eating.

"So, you have no idea how to find Wonderland, huh?" Katsuki asked once more, receiving a nod from Izuku who was still chewing on his food.

"Well, I guess staying here isn't doing me any good anyway. There are barely any critters to find around these parts. Going out to travel wouldn't be a bad idea, I suppose. I can help you back home and I can find more food to survive off of. It'll benefit us both." Katsuki offered.

Izuku gulped down his food, "Really!? You'd help me back home!?"

"Yeah, I feel like I'd have to. There's no way a pampered deer such as yourself can survive out here. You're better off sticking with me." Katsuki wasn't sure why he was helping. Perhaps, it was his true good nature shining through his cold exterior.

"That would be wonderful, Kacchan! I'm sure Santa would appreciate it too! I'll even give him a good word about you!" His small deer tail wagged from how happy he was.

"That's... Not necessary..."

"Of course it is! Everyone wants to be on Santa's good list!" Izuku's cheerfulness slowly fades as he let out a yawn.

"I don't have a nice bed for you to sleep in, but there's a pillow and blanket if you'd like to use them." Katsuki offered.

"Really? That would be great." Izuku said, rubbing his tired eyes.

With that, Katsuki grabbed the pillow and blanket he'd kept with his other supplies and gave them to Izuku. The male transformed back to his deer form as it was more comfortable to sleep in, and quickly fell asleep with a pillow under his head and a nice warm blanket on top of him.

Katsuki simply sat across from him, the fire slowly dying out. Truth was that was the only pillow and blanket he had, but he figured Izuku was more used to sleeping with them than he was. Besides, his wolf form was enough to keep him warm throughout the night.

So once the fire had gone out, Katsuki made himself comfortable in his wolf form and fell asleep as well.

It was good to sleep as soon as the night sky hit. After all, they had a big journey ahead of them. Many days and nights to travel back to the far away Wonderland.

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