Hard winds were ice-whipping the deluged beach by the time all the barrels and rousting gear were safely up past the breakwater dunes and tarpaulined dry in the scrubby coastline brunifer wood. 

Back down on the beach, the whale was starting to shift with the roughly rising tide.

Soaking wet, draggled, silver chips cut into his silver Hammerhands after hours straight of hauling barrels and tools clear, Jayne stopped in front of Elspeth and held her close to shout through the roaring storm. 

"About the child," he yelled over the rush of storm wind whistling through the craggy bushes.  "What`d you find?"

"S`a lad, for sure," yelled Elspeth back, words whipping out of her mouth as she spoke.  Jayne strained in closer to hear, and she yelled straight into his ear.  "Damaris on the manifest, his pa was first mate."

Jayne nodded, rain streaming through his blonde hair plastered to his face.

"How long?" he yelled into her ear, her long hair whipping across his cheek.  "How long`s he been gone?"

"Five years!" yelled Elspeth.  "Salubrious sunk 5 years gone."

Jayne held her back, stared at her. 

"Five years!" she yelled again. 

He turned into the wind coming off the sea, eyes slitted against the slathering ice frosting up the dune sides.  The whale was rising on the frothing waters, slipping, sliding back into the sea.

"I have to go!" he yelled back into Elspeth`s face.

"I know," cried Elspeth.  "Be careful!"

"I will," yelled Jayne.  He held her against the wind for a moment longer than he had to.  Then he was gone.

She watched him into the wind, down the scree-scrabbling duneside, slipping in the icy foam, up to the whale, thigh deep in the raging shallows, then thrusting, digging, and inside the whale.

Sheltered behind a thick brunifer clump she watched the whale get tossed out to sea.

      *