Mount Apikuni nascent discoveries

Hope it's ok if this takes place after this thread! Yay squishy timelines.

After meandering about in his birthplace for a night and a day, Kaertok moved north. He had never been a particularly sedentary beast, and he was not about to start now. At less than a year old, he still had a lot to see, and even more to learn. Heavy paws brought him up the mountains. His feet were steady, having traversed them for the majority of his (admittedly short) life.

Unknowingly at first, he had taken the same route as the stranger who was now only a dozen paces away. It was only halfway up that Kaertok had started to smell the scent trail left behind by his brethren, and by then he had been curious enough to continue. A rock kicked by Kaertok's own feet clattered down the rocky slopes, surely alerting the stranger to his presence.

The boy stood still, anticipation at full capacity.