A:N/ Something slightly different this time, completely independent from my other Okami FF. Hope you enjoy.
Storms
Winds whipped the greying linen into a wild ecstasy; rain drove wood underwater, forcing the flailing boat ever further into the white-capped waves.
A clap of thunder.
Holes in the wood, cracks between the planks whistle and howl as the air rushes through the vessel, upturning desks, lashing salt spray against skin, sending parchment and clothing and hair into an uncontrolled frenzy.
The Gods, have mercy!
He doubts Kazegami or Gekigami themselves are capable of wielding such a tempest. And immediately blesses himself piously for such blasphemy.
A man staggers through his doorway, a sailor, his black hair splayed with wind, his eyes wide with shock, his breathing harsh and ragged. But it is not these that turn his heart to stone. It is the thin lines that lash the man's skin, drawing welts of blood. They are unmistakeable.
They are the work of demons.
The sailor's voice is torn from his throat by the greedy howling of the air, but he understands, he knows what he must do.
He rushes out, up the rickety wood stairs and into the glare of a thundering bolt that strikes the waves, igniting them a ghostly white. He has never seen a tempest so fierce, so unnatural. But why would have he?
He is simply a priest from Sapporo, taking the word of the Gods to Nippon.
A silence descends, cold and deadly. The winds fall silent, prey to some unknown force. He draws the mark of Amaterasu in the air, warding off the evil he senses just beyond the shadows that cloud his vision.
A low thud, a scream, and the tread of feet along the deck.
Panic seizes him by the throat, and he staggers back as the blackness moves closer, until it blocks out even the slightest of light that might have seeped through the storm clothed clouds.
Another roll of thunder, a drum call for the darkness.
There is a bolt, illuminating the terrible creature, its monstrous disfigurement, its sadistic grin. His breath leaves him, and he blesses himself.
It chuckles, and speaks. "That won't do you any good."
