A Fox's Whisper

19: Ҝ卂乙ㄩ卄卂

Inari was utterly despondent. She stared vacantly ahead at nothing, fingers interlaced loosely with her forearms resting on the rails of the ship. The wind gently blew her hair across her cheek, but since she didn't brush it away, she either didn't notice or she just didn't care.

I watched her vigilantly, gauging her expressions. But there was no change. She was lost to the world in her thoughts. And that was alright. Sometimes the best and safest place one can be is inside one's own head. So I did not disturb her quiet passivity.

Instead, I passed the time making idle conversation with the boat's captain, a man by the name of Kenji. I'd been surprised when he'd allowed us passage on his ship without any semblance of payment. He'd simply been kind enough to let us sail with him. Apparently, he hailed from Ritou and was tasked with the shipments of certain goods.

He told me about the structure of the ship, and how the sails worked, the origins of his particular vessel, and other such sailing trivia. Kenji sounded as if he had a great love for his line of work. I could tell from the sparkle in his eyes and the way he spoke that life on the ocean was his one great love.

To me, the sea is like a beautiful, wild woman who can never be tamed. Once cast, her spell holds you in a state of wonderment at her allure. Inari was kind of like that...stubborn and fierce, but at times so still and peaceful you wondered how something so ethereal could exist.

An old man had once told me that the one you think of when you watch the ocean kiss the shore no matter how many times it is pushed away is the one you are destined to be with always. How much truth was in that statement, I can never be sure. But it's quite a nice thought when one is alone with nothing but the ocean before them.

"How much longer?" Haru asked. He was sitting on the deck beside Sora as they played with Pochi.

"A few hours," Kenji replied. "Perhaps less, if the weather holds."

I smelled rain in the air. It was unlikely that the weather would stay calm. Already the sea was beginning to churn and darken, the waves slicing up and down like deadly blades of a thousand samurai.

Haru sighed and flopped back on the deck, though I'm certain he regretted it as Pochi took the opportunity to smother his face with Shiba Inu kisses. He promptly sat back up, coughing, spluttering, and flailing his arms.

"Get off," he grumbled. Pochi sat down with a thump, wagging his tail. I find that a sort of charm that dogs have, to be completely oblivious to the annoyance of others. "I'm bored," Haru announced, sighing with all the airs of a dejected young man with no hope in the world.

"That's unfortunate," Sora said, not sounding sympathetic in the least. "Also what's his deal?" She jerked a thumb in the direction of Legion who was pacing back and forth on the starboard side of the boat. His sword was drawn, of course it was rare that it wasn't, but all the same, it was odd seeing as we were in the middle of the ocean. I shivered involuntarily.

"I don't know," Haru said. "He's always like that, don't worry about it." He rubbed Pochi's ears and began humming a song that I didn't know the tune of. Then he quietly began to sing under his breath. It was a lilting song, and even though he sang quietly, I don't doubt that everyone heard him. His voice was clear... haunting almost.
What he sang was this:

"Do you hear the fox's whisper
Fast becoming a scream
They talk of a new queen rising
Who will kill you with her schemes

And from her claws weep poison
And with a flash of her raven hair
Her shadows are already upon you,
Dragging you down to the depths of despair."