Chakliux had been clear in the ambitions set before them. They were to begin trade, and the manner in which they spoke was being used to create something new. It was an exciting thought, that they may create something that could grown beyond themselves. But Kukik was reluctant to leave the grey beach behind.

Even in his own village, the boy was isolated. Kukik dared not to expend his mental energy trying to divulge the reason why he in particular was alienated. A suspicion lurked in the back of his mind as to why, a storm cloud of truth that lingered on the horizon. He did not go chasing that storm. He did not know if he would come out unscathed.

So the boy followed the seabirds, an eager smile cast of his shoulder to Chakliux. As he made to lead them in the birds' shadows, the boy inquired of their current goal. What animals would we hunt in trade? Sea creatures do not keep long without the snow and ice. A lesson learned in the many teachings Chakliux provided to him. Beachcombing, fishing, and swimming were all skills that sprouted under the seal hunter's care. They had traveled far from the cold, grey beach, to lands green with spring grass. Shores free of the sea ice they were familiar with.

Feathers decorated the rocky beach beneath their feet and the gulls shrieked from high above on the rocky outcrops of the cliffs at the passing wolves. The throng of circling seabirds grew, and in their midst Kukik caught the flash of an eagle's brown feathers. The air grew ripe with the scent of carrion. It must be big! The walrus boy quickened his pace, rounding a large outcrop of the cliff where he stopped suddenly with a surprised yelp.

On the beach was the deceased body of a gray whale. The massive sea beast was beached in part on the sand, while the remainder of its body trailed into the shallows. Birds assailed the carcass, scavenging at the openings left on the body when the animal had been moored by the tides.