Ocean's Breath Plateau got a dollar to my name and some hours to burn

maybe a @Ghelan since i think they've moved close to the seal lodges now?

there was a new kid in town. sirmiq didn't see the new boy often, and when he did it was usually with a pale, sickly woman by the child's side. sirmiq himself thought of mama-number-two, how she was weak and ailing. how he wished for her to feel better. 

he hadn't gone through the effort of making any friends yet outside of his own siblings, but a gentle nudge of encouragement from one of his parents was all that was needed for the boy to step out. he walked over to where he saw the red-eyed child now, tail stiff as a board with rushing nerves, and gave a small chuff.

tags for ref!

he hated it.
he hated the lodge that chak-chak had brought him and aaka to, it isn't home.
so akiak often sat post outside the den, only entering to check on @Red Leaf. today, he'd been playing with his amulet when a boy near his age approached him.

admittedly, his tail wagged at the sight, but akiak notices that all four of the boy's legs were moving. it didn't ring him as odd that the adults could do that, but other boys? akiak sinks into himself, and returns the chuff only with the perk of his ears.

typically he would greet his brothers with a boyish, energetic bout of roughhousing. but this child did not seem the sort to jump headlong into spirited rowdiness, and so sirmiq kept his greeting to a slow and cautious approach. 

he teetered up close enough to eagerly give a few sniffs at the unfamiliar child, scents he did not recognize playing in the puffs of air he drew. his tail slowly loosened to a friendly sway as he blew out a few breaths in an invitation to play.

as the boy got closer, something finally began to tick with him. oh!

after the first couple of sniffs by the boy, and the gentle offer, all of the puppy energy that had been building up in akiak suddenly sprung him up into the air. hopping happily up to the boy he'd just met, the once quiet boy became a little bouncy ball of giggles.

play! as everything else didn't speak for itself.

yes, play! he gave low, encouraging whoops as his father had before, cheers and bellows to hearten their spirited game. the seal hunter boy bounded off a few paces, tail raised high with the shore breeze paddling it along like a propeller.

he flung dirt and sand, yaps and brotherly snarls sent to the air in the same manner as done with siblings. he snatched one of the nearby hooves deposited as a toy before flinging it towards the other child with a lively rumble.

he gave chase after sirmiq, though hadn't expected the hoof that would be tossed at him as it hits straight on his nose. ouch!
his own flag drops as he stops to pick up the hoof even through the sting of his nose. 
with it in clutch, he whirrs into a wild sprint after the seal hunter. his own chirps and huffs muffled by the hoof.

the sand that flew up so frequently into the air, however, deters him from getting too close. initiallly, anyways.
but he's caribou! born to forever follow the herds until he no longer can. akiak pushes himself. each little force he gave himself got him closer to running side by side with sirmiq. he had to be lighter — oh!
catch!
akiak tosses the hoof, having immediately forgotten it was in his grasp. if it doesn't lighten himself, then at the very least it would serve as a distraction in what akiak now decided is a race.