They walked together through the jumble of wounded landscape, now
growing less stark with the blooming of flowers and the spreading of new
leaves. She seemed to know the way by heart, and he followed her with
every confidence. They spoke little, but there seemed no need of talk
between them, and Kalus felt no awkwardness.
At length the sounds of the sea became closer, and they emerged from the
crumpled hills to stand at the high back reaches of the inlet, the
fjord. It was not great, knifing inland for less than a mile, and
scarcely sixty yards wide as it met the open sea. Yet still it formed a
separate world, and spoke of green, unspoiled lands beyond.
>From their rocky overlook they began to descend along an angular path
that skirted its northern face. They moved carefully and quietly, as
the waterline grew nearer, and the sounds of the Sea more pervasive.
Turning a last, difficult bend, they saw the Children among the rocks
and moss-covered earth of the uneven slope ahead of them, the margins
of their amphibious, Winter home.
As the man and woman continued to advance, a cry of 'Ay, oy!' was
heard, and the younger members leapt into the water, as the whales
clustered about the lower stones, waiting.
But one of the older males, in particular, showed no fear, and no sign
of retreating.
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