Dragoncrest Cliffs Whalewatcher

She'd been laying near the edge of the cliffs, feeling the dawn sun's warmth as it rose over the horizon to the East at her back when she noticed it. Out along the briny horizon where the surf turned the darkest shade of blue, a plume of white rose from the ocean and dissipated into the air. Another, close behind it. She had been chewing on a leg bone, leftover from some hunt, with little meat left on the bone but it made for a good distraction and way to busy her jaws, but she allowed it to fall from her teeth and rest on her forepaws as her attention snapped to the horizon. She watched the same spot, expecting for the sea to cast up the same flourish of spray again- only to see it reappear, but in a different place. And now, there were several more with it. 

Whales.

Very far from the shore still, but she could see with every exhale, the slight hump of dark flesh that rose from the ocean, and the small, slanted dorsal fin that rose up out of the water, arched, and then sank back below the surface. One exhaled again, spraying a dense column of mist into the air, and arched its back, raising its small, hooked dorsal fin before it sank- but before it disappeared from view, its massive fluke was raised from the water, arching up to show the pale underside, before it disappeared below the surface as the whale dove. She would not recognize them, having only just realized now how interesting they were- but this was a pod of humpback whales, drawn in to feed on krill in the bay not far beyond the cliffs.

He approached, softly and silently. A familiar form placed along the edge of the cliff. He wondered if she had grown tired of his presence yet. Not that he had bombarded her with it, but he knew he was inexperienced and so different from those who lived here longer.

He might have settled right against her in comforted silence had he not spotted something out on the horizon. The shape of something breaching the surface and dipping back below.

A fish with a head bigger than his body.

Erzulie had recently informed him of such a beast. A whale. Beasts that could not come closer due to such massive size, but lived out in the darkwater. Out there where it seemed to breach the surface and disappear back to its depths.

Carefully he sat down next to the young woman. Close enough to be touched, if she sought to, but he did not fully initiate just yet. His bright gaze stayed trained on the horizon with the hopes he might see the beast again.

Her eyes widened as she watched the dark waters, waiting for any signs that the whales might surface again. She couldn't be sure how many there were, as their breaches were staggered, and occasionally, none would surface for a few moments before reappearing a bit closer to the shore. Still many fathoms beyond where Chacal could ever hope to swim out and interact with them- if they were peaceful creatures at all- but quite enjoyable to watch from the cliffs. 

She flicked an ear first when she heard someone approaching, but was too distracted, watching for the whales to resurface, not knowing where they would appear next to tear her gaze away from the ocean. Once her packmate drew next to her she knew by his scent and by the towering shadow he cast over her that it was Eadwulf, and she turned her head to give him a sunny smile, sitting up so that her shoulder could brush against his. Like her, he was captivated by the ocean, and watching for the plumes of white mist as they were blown in a wispy column into the air above the dark waves. 

"Look- ahh!" She crooned, as a whale surfaced, with another at its flank. Likely a calf from the previous season, still holding close to its mother as she swam and fed in the waters. "Watch for de fluke," She said, reaching over to nudge his shoulder gently. "It means they will dive." She informed him in her quiet, singsong voice.

She engaged and he found himself warmer for it. Her kind touch against his shoulder paired with a sunny smile. A welcomed ray of sun in all the greys of the winter coastal scenery.

He spared her a warm look before she crooned in her lively voice, eyes quick to look back. Just in time to see the duo on the surface. So unusual, almost unbelievable. Perhaps he wouldn’t have believed it had he not had someone here with him.

Whales. He spoke with a certainty in his gruff voice. A fish with a head bigger than our bodies, Erzulie told me such.

It was hard to tell from this distance, but they still looked big enough to match such a description.

As the whale in question arched its back, angling its massive head downward, its tail rose up out of the water trailing water droplets the way rain might slide off the edges of an umbrella. It sank then, slowly, wavering slightly with the whale's movements as it dove below the surface with slow grace. 

She smiled faintly. She loved seeing whales- and there was never any guarantee on any given day that they would be visible from the shore so she treasured those moments while they lasted. It did not surprise her that her mother had spoken to Eadwulf of the creatures. Dey live their whole life in de sea, but they breathe de air, just like you an' me.

They breathe the air...

He wondered then — Is that what they do now when they come up? He questioned softly, with a look towards her. She seemed so knowledgeable on the things in the sea.

How long did they go without air? Or how far out did they tend to live that they were hardly spotted for their breathing?

She nodded. When they exhaled, a plume of air and moisture would rise above the surface in a pattern which made it possible even from a distance for their species to be differentiated. She was about to answer him when she saw what she was hoping to see. 

The whales she'd seen diving had gone down into the depths, only to begin propelling themselves toward the surface with sweeps of their huge tails, still out of sight in the inky darkness of the water. When it split the surface its momentum carried it up so that it rose into the air, almost high enough for its tail to break the surface. It seemed to hover there for a moment as the water spilled down its smoothe skin, before it teetered to the aide and splashed back into the water with a sound that cut over the waves. 

Chacal chuckled softly. Yes, an' sometimes dey leap, just for fun.

One came back up. Only this time it went higher than the surface. It did not fully leave the water, but it came close. Tail the only thing in that darkwater as water smoothed over its surface. Then down it crashed back into its watery home.

A sound louder than any waves on rocks.

For fun... He echoed her softly. Eyes still trained on the darkwater. It had not seemed very fun, but what other reason did it have to breach the surface like that? Certainly not just for air.

You know a lot about the sea. A gentle bump to her side from his shoulder.

It seemed reasonable enough to Chacal that the whales must breach in such an exhuberant fashion simpley from joy. Why else? If not to hunt, protect themselves from predators or show off for a potential partner, then she imagined that they leapt simply because they could. The waters were warming, bringing the whales back to this area for the summertime where they would feast and grow. 

Her mothers had always placed an emphasis on the importance of the sea, but she had not always understood exactly what they'd found so captivating about it. As she grew, though, so did her appreciation and understanding. She nodded when he noted her expertise. De seashore has always been my home...And the brine flows in my blood. She explained. It suits you too, I think, She added with a coy smile.