[ WP ] The hillside sloped away , the bottom hidden by the fog .

White snow, blasted by sea spray into scalloped crenelations gave way to sharp black rocks. Slick and glossy, the rocks provided little purchase. Her practiced feet were accustomed to the rhythm of stepping down the rocky slope, and with little concentration she arrived at the edge of the inlet. 
 
 For the first time in her life, she was entirely alone, even when hunting she was with other women of the group, and had rarely ventured far from the main families for any length of time. 
 
 She had woken up alone. Her skins had been wrapped tight, over her head and around her face. She remembered how the fur tickled her nose, but the cold outside was intimidating enough. She had n't been able to hear the dogs. 
 
 She'd sat up, throwing the blankets off against the wall. The snow and ice chips had fluttered past her face as a bit of the ceiling chunked off, peppering her warm cheeks with bits of frost. 
 
 She'd pulled on her leggings and anorak as the tight knot in her throat closed. She'd known what she'd find. 
 
 The last whale hunt had been hard. She'd been slow dragging boats down to the water. She'd been clumsy- her arthritic hands could n't grasp the ulu used to scrape fat from the skin. Sympathetic pats on her shoulder had reassured her then, but now... 
 
 They had left while she was asleep in her igloo. She'd seen the path leading away through the snow, and knew there had been no attempt to hide the trail. If she had caught up and proved she was useful she'd be welcomed back, but had known better than to try. This was a cruel tradition, one never observed in her husband's time, but the new band of young people were strict and conservative, fighting off problems where they ever existed. 
 
 She sat down on the cold rock holding a quliq, a seal oil lantern, in her hands. It had been burning all night and soothed her joints with its captured warmth. The uncharacteristically still air carried sounds from across the inlet- rocks falling, ice and snow collapsing as the melting began. 
 
 Black eyes in the distance on a white blur. Her vision was fading, but her other senses felt the bear. The ivory fur, matted with mud and blood. The claws clicking on the snow. She stayed seated and remembered her children when they were children. 
 
 The bear stood against the fog. The harbinger's eyes were black with ignorance and simple motivation. It sat on its haunches, an arms length away and began to speak. 
 
 `` What are you doing here alone, woman?'' 
 
 She smiled and nodded gently. 
 
 `` I am old, and not wanted. I have been left to make my own way.'' 
 
 The bear nodded its great head, strips of flesh frozen to the long fur at the ends of its mouth. It raised a monumental hand, and placed it on her foot with a threatening gentleness. 
 
 `` Come with me now. It's time to go.'' 
 
 The woman nodded, grunted, and stood, her knee bending awkwardly as her sinew and muscle strained. 
 
 She placed her hand on the bear's great back and walked towards the water. The ocean lapped at her feet, then her knees as the cold cramped her bones and drove the air from her lungs. 
 
 She turned and looked at the great bear and stared into the fathom deep of its wild eyes. She embraced the cold demon, felt its weight drag her below the slowly rising tide. Soft white fur floated around her, like snow in the sun.
