After some thought, Ignatius had come to the conclusion that he needed to show a little appreciation to his siblings. After all, they had both ultimately chosen to stick by him through the lowest point of his life thus far, and supported him in his endeavors to make something better out of a bad situation. Even if he was the one playing the leader role here, he couldn't have done it without them lending their support. So he'd continued making frequent trips out of the territory, sometimes to hunt and gather needed supplies and other times to hunt for something that might catch his eye that looked like a good gift.

It getting dark when he'd thought he found something worthwhile. A pair of young Caribou with no other herd members in sight. They both had mottled white coats and he wondered if their hides might make nice gifts. Hm... perhaps someone was around that might want some of the meat? The glowing crimson man trailed after the animals while keeping any eye out for other wolves. Howling now might startle his quarry, you know, if the faint light from his fur didn't make them nervous first. Speaking of light- wow.

His mismatched eyes were drawn upwards as he noticed a fantastic display flaring to life in the heavens. Vibrant lights not unlike the fur of the wolves he had grown up with danced along the horizon, stopping Ignatius in his tracks.

Kai was in an uncharacteristically foul mood on this fine late autumn night. For no reason whatsoever - at least no reason that he could discern - his face fucking ached. He felt like there was a growing pressure pushing down on his upper jaw and though it wasn't quite what he'd call painful, it was a dull soreness that was beyond irritating. Huffing softly, Kai continued his aimless wandering, deciding that moving was better than sitting around sulking about what felt like phantom pains. When the scent of caribou hit his nose though he was fully distracted, and quickly trailed after the scent. He thought back to his hunt with Mikkal, and wondered if he was close. During late autumn he knew the herds broke apart into smaller groups, making it harder to properly follow them, but it was comforting to know his older cousin might be nearby. He was so thoroughly engrossed in following their scent trail that he didn't notice the presence of another wolf until he was well within earshot of him. The northern lights, a spectacle that had grown more familiar to him as of late, illuminated the vast stretch of ice and the male that stood nearby. His coat looked like a reflection of those very lights, a splash of red and orange and blue that he couldn't help but pause to admire. Only briefly did he gawk at the handsome male before making his presence known, moving forward with loud pawsteps crunching over the snow. "Pretty, isn't it?" Kai offered with a playful grin, taking a moment to properly tilt his head upward and admire the view. For now, at least, it helped his mind stray from his face's sudden aching.

While the lights above were a lovely sight to behold, he was quick to turn away when he heard the sound of ice and snow crunching beneath a stranger's paws. He was met with a grey pelted man, marked with lighter grey and rust red. The stranger's demeanor seemed friendly enough, so Ignatius would nod and return the smile, "It is. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that back home. Although, I probably have more important things to do than stare at the sky all evening," he mused, remembering the Caribou he was following.

"My name is Ignatius. I'm the Alpha of a nearby pack. I was just hoping to do a little hunting. Would you be interested in joining me?"

Pleased at the stranger's good spirits, Kai tried to relax. It was odd to have to force himself to be in a good mood, but the aching from his upper jaw was making doing much of anything difficult right now. At least he'd found something to distract him with, hopefully for awhile. The male admitted he'd never seen anything like it, but also commented that he had more important things to do than stare at the sky all night. "Perhaps, but sometimes fun is needed over duty, no?" Kai didn't know a thing about the male he'd encountered, other than that he had the scent of a pack wolf, but he'd argue that responsibilities weren't always the most important thing. Then again, that was coming from a male without much responsibility at all.. "It's a pleasure, Ignatius. My name's Kai." Ah, so he was an alpha. How was it that Kai kept running into these wolves? Ones with so much responsibility? He tried not to visibly cringe, though the way his smile wilted was mostly from a wave of discomfort that wracked his face then. "A hunt tonight sounds fantastic. What're you thinking?" He quirked a brow, wondering if he'd been following the fresh caribou scent he'd encountered.

Turning from serious to just a bit playful, Ig grinned and nodded firmly, "Oh, absolutely. Too many boring pack politics isn't good for anyone. Thin I'd rather lose a limb than sit through too many meetings sometimes." His puphood had certainly given him a limited tolerance for such things. He could handle arranging an alliance every so often, but if he had to do too much at once he might throw himself in the nearest lake.

"Kai," he repeated, rolling the name over his tongue so he could say it and hear it and more easily remember it. In the past he'd struggled with names so paying attention and repeating them was usually beneficial. "Nice to meet you."

Turning back to the trail he'd been following, Ignatius was already moving along and recapturing the scent when he answered, "There's a couple caribou with some really interesting pelts that I'd like to take down. I mostly just want the hides. Taking both of them would be great but I'm not that optimistic," he chuckled. Sephira might have tried to devise a wild plan right off the bat, but Ig was a lot less impulsive. He also wasn't as good at improvising, so there might be something to her crazy tactics.

Glancing at Kai, Ig continued along the trail, keeping an eye out ahead of him for the piebald caribou. One of them was mostly white and he wondered if they were blending into the landscape a bit. After a while he finally spotted them standing under one of the ice spires and paused. "Any ideas of how you'd like to do this? I'm open to almost any plan,"

Think I'd rather lose a limb than sit through too many meetings sometimes, he commented, and Kai grinned wryly. "I'd rather chew off my own limb than listen to any meeting, unless they're more entertaining than I suspect they are," the man commented with a low chuckle. "I admire your ability to withstand any of them, though... I suspect they're less dreadful when you're the one in charge?" Kai flashed him a playful grin, deciding that this male's company was a quite welcome distraction from the ache in his face. Somehow he had a knack for finding pack leaders, and somehow they were all so dreadfully handsome, which really was quite distracting when they were trying to hunt... Without hesitating he turned to follow behind Ignatius, only trailing slightly behind him before catching up properly and loping at his side. "Interesting pelts, you say?" Kai's interest was piqued. While he understood hunting merely for food, the Jarvela way - at least when it came to caribou - was to use as much of the prey as possible. They were sacred, after all, and he appreciated that Ignatius wanted to make use of their pelts. "Aiming to take down one sounds like a good plan." Perhaps trying for two might be needless, if not reckless, too. He let silence fall over them, wondering if he ought to bring up his family's affinity for reindeer, though he decided that might be a topic best left for later. After a short while they slowed. The moonlight, as well as the wide arcs of light that beamed across the night sky, offered them a decent view of the small herd up ahead. They stood together beneath one of the dangling spires of ice, oblivious to the presence of the two wolves who had been stalking them. "Which one are you wanting to go after?" Kai asked, tilting his head toward Ignatius and then back to the small group to confirm what he suspected. If it was the one with the really interesting coat near the edge of the group, their task might be easier. "They don't seem to be aware of us at all, so I'm wondering if one of us can startle just one and break them off from the group more easily. Either way, it won't be an easy kill but I think we can handle it." They were both rather large wolves and he hoped their strength would allow them to take down an otherwise quite difficult target. Hopefully hunting under the cover of night would work to their advantage.

Ig shrugged, thinking back to the meetings that Mars once held and barely managed to refrain from curling a lip at the memory. "Most things are moderately better when you're the one in charge" he laughed. Perhaps that was part of why he'd been the one in his litter destined to lead. Being alone was, ultimately miserable to him but living under the rule of others was even more distasteful.

"If we can get one of them perhaps I'll have some hope of getting another later on when I have need of it," he mused. He didn't enjoy the idea of being wasteful, but it would be nice to have more of the pelts eventually, if not to give as gifts then perhaps to trade.

As the pair surveyed the little group of prey the antlered beasts would continue on about their business, pawing at the snow here and there as they checked for any hidden greenery while another in the group would appear to be preparing to lay down for a rest. It was the perfect time to go after them. Kai asked which one he wanted to go for and Ig nodded towards the one standing furthest from it's herd. "That one by itself if we can get it, but whatever makes for the easiest target in the moment will work fine." He'd rather successfully catch a different one than fail to get anything. Kai outlined a plan of action and Ig nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me. How about you dot he startling?" Kai would have an easier time sneaking up on the prey than Ignatius most likely.

Next Ig would move into a better, but still well concealed position to wait for Kai. Settling down in the snow he quietly rolled a few times to cover some of his vibrant pelt before creeping a little ways closer to where he could see better.

Okay, maybe he wasn't wrong there. It was hard to picture himself in Ignatius's paws, not because he didn't think he'd made a good leader - okay, he'd probably make a super shitty one if he was being honest - but because he doubted he have any interest in it whatsoever. Being followed wasn't really his style, even if he did get an uncanny sense of satisfaction out of wolves taking his lead. Only briefly, though.. not in a long-term sense. That definitely didn't interest him in the slightest. Kai nodded in agreement to his plan. He merely wanted their pelts, and Kai was hungry, so it sounded like a solid plan if he'd ever heard one. Being wasteful wasn't his style either, but he had no doubt if they called an open invitation once they were done feeding that none of their kill would go to waste. Kai continued to survey the group as they fell into a comfortable silence, both of them scoping out the task ahead. A few had separated from a smaller group that was readying to lay down to rest, which definitely gave them a good opportunity to strike. The darkness that cloaked the lands would work to their advantage too. He offered him the position of the one doing the startling, and he nodded in agreement. Ignatius's coat was sort of... hard to ignore, even in the dim lighting. He chuckled silently as he veered away from his partner, offering a quiet "Deal" as he slunk away into a better position. He paused a good dozen yards from the stragglers, eyeing one in particular. As cautiously as he could, given his size, Kai slowly inched closer to the beasts, time moving painstakingly still as he positioned himself in the most opportune place as he crept closer. All at once they seemed to notice him, nervous shuffling heightening into something more panicked as the hooved beasts began to break apart and frantically seek somewhere to hide. Kai pushed forward hard, hoping Ignatius would come in on the other side and go in for the brunt of the attack while he nipped at the creature's heels.