Once his paws met the grounds of the glacier, Issorartuyok was at peace. The great northern wolf regarded the terrain with a guarded eye. The mountain claimed by Ursus wolves was looming over the glacial formation, but the chill in the air was unmistakable.
Issorartuyok ventured across it, stepping into a comfortable rhythm of movement. The large wolf’s breath rose into the air. This brought him ease and peace of mind, even when he prowled so far from home.
The northerner could not help but to stare upon the mountain claim in the background. The shaman pup who belonged to the Ursus wolves had been interesting. For the second time since having left, Issorartuyok considered returning to the Ursus wolves and joining their ranks.
I have no idea how this fits in Kigi's timeline but nyehhh
Beyond the village sat another mountain - or more accurately, a shelf of ice. Kigipigak had eyed it during his travels, and from the heights of the spine he could, from time to time, catch the sunlight off some angles of it. He was not sure if it was ice in truth, or stone, or something different.
He ventured towards it as he trailed after a scent. At first his goal was to find something to eat but, as the weather shifted quickly to something cool and blustering, the path became obscured to him. Kigipigak took his time to explore with care.
As the winds died down again, he spied something large winging overhead - bald and sharp, a hungry carrion bird intent on following him. It seemed the vulture had faith in the lone hunter; perhaps it saw more than Kigipigak in this wilderness.
^^ So glad to have you!
There was a dreadful squawk from a bird that circled far overhead. As the northerner continued along his path, he cast his gaze to the skies and watched the steady weaving that the feathered animal made. For a moment, Issorartuyok wondered if the flyer had found a prey animal that had not been finished off. The northerner pressed his nose to the ground and drank heavily in the scents around him.
It was the wind that carried the fragrance of another wolf. Issorartuyok drew his broad skull upward and squinted into the brush of cold wind, scanning the glacier for any signs of the concealed hunter.
When Issorartuyok could not locate the figure, he lifted his muzzle to the air and issued a quiet howl of greeting. The deep song filled the immediate air and was carried by the touch of autumn wind. When the northerner had lowered his gaze, it was to search again.
Head raised confidently to watch the bird, it was not difficult for Kigipigak to hear the call of another. At first he was thrilled to hear the voice and swiftly made anxious, as he listened for familiar notes, and thought suddenly of Sakhmet, and whether she had finally returned to him or not. As the call tapered Kigipigak had to face the obvious fact: this was a man's voice, nothing like the girl he had grown close to in the days before.
The man was distraught for a long but private moment. He did not want to call back to the stranger at first; it felt to Kigipigak that he had been tricked, which was ridiculous, and he knew it was ridiculous, but in that moment he was purely emotional and as a man, unaccustomed to such feeling. This came sharply to him and as it went away he watched the sky again, seeing that the bird had winged off in another direction sometime while he was distracted.
Well, there was little else to do now except depart or call in return. Kigipigak drew a breath and let his deep voice carry through the trees, telling the stranger: I am here in the way that hunters call to the rest of their party. Once finished with his call he began to move again, circling the area where the stranger had called from themselves, trying to rouse his own curiosity to stave away his heartache.
A man’s voice returned his howl, filling the air with the sound of his deep response.
The northerner smiled faintly, pleased to know that he was not the only wolf prowling across the glacier that day. If the other man answered his howl, it was probable that he would be friendly. The large wolf lifted his head and peered out, searching for a flicker of movement against the background. There was nothing, but the call had not been too far, not far enough to miss.
Issorartuyok lifted his head and called again, returning the stranger’s voice with his own song.
Hunt with me, his voice carried overhead. The grey skies loomed above, casting the glacier in a cool shade. Along the southern edge of the glacier, he had scented a group of deer. It was possible they could bring one down, two men. If they succeeded, the stranger could feed his kind with the remains.