... I know an apology is necessary, but unfortunately I don't have one. The muse was lost, ran far, far away. Hopefully she'll stay this time.
Red Thread
A hand shook her out of her dream scape, but her stubborn mind still clung to the remnants of her imagination. For a moment the world was silken grasses and soft flowing clouds, and tall prince with dark hair leaning towards her as if to give her a kiss. True loves kiss? Have I slept that long..? And then the veil of fog lifted from her eyes, forcing her to feel the fur against her skin and the curtains drawn about the bed, and to recognize Shino still trying to wake her.
Ino's first (cognitive) reaction was to frown, peering over at the window. "It's still light out... did something happen?"
"Hinata-sama needs you awake," Shino told her softly, pulling himself upright and taking a step away from the bed.
"Why..?" Ino asked, a little grouchy for not being allowed her full day's sleep. She sat up though, pulling Shikamaru's cloak tighter around her figure.
Shino merely shrugged. "She's sitting on the staircase." And then he left, presumably to stay by Hinata's side.
The blond sighed, looking at her surroundings. If it's still daylight out, she thought to herself, slowly getting up out of the bed. Then it must still be relatively early. The nights are so long right now... She made her way to the windowsill and stared outside in shock - there had been a light snowfall, as was becoming common of the night-time hours, but previously they had all melted in the first hours of morning. Now the ground was white, unhindered by the sun's rays. And it's still getting colder.
Not having time to gawk at the weather Ino turned to find herself a clean set of clothes. Humming to distract herself from the chilly air, she shed off all her layers and put on a warmer chemise, pulling the newest dress that she had sewn over top of it. It was plain silver, with little box pleats at the back to give the skirts more volume; Her father would've been proud. Once redressed, she pulled Shikamaru's cloak back over her shoulder and made her way to the stairway. It was no use trying to be quiet - the hinges were squeaky, giving away her intrusion. And by the time the door was open Hinata and Shino were both staring up at her, the Priestess with a large smile on her face.
"You look like a storm of snowflakes," Hinata sang out, bursting into giggles once she had done. "So pretty and graceful to look at, but so dangerous as well... or maybe I'm just biased?"
"What are you talking about?" Ino blinked, her frown returning. This caused Hinata to laugh harder, and the blond looked towards Shino for help. "Is she drunk?"
"No," Shino shook his head, though there was a slight sigh in his voice. Good. He's as confused as I am.
Pushing the priestess' strange actions out of her mind, Ino straightened her back and looked at Hinata. "What did you need from me today, Hinata-sama?"
"Need?" Hinata sobered slowly, looking down the stairs as she continued to mumble to herself. "So many things that still need to be done... will there be enough time now..? Surely there must be. There has to be. Too many things have gone right for it not to happen... then again, it might not..."
"Hinata-sama?" Shino touched the dark-haired girl's shoulder, bringing her attention back to the conversation at hand. Ino couldn't help but notice the far-away look in the girl's eyes. What is she seeing? This is part of her prophetic abilities, right?
"Soon, Shino, soon," she smiled brilliantly up at the boy, and Ino felt herself blush at the intensity of the emotions she felt between the two. I mean... I know they have feelings for each other. A blind person would notice. But wow. Then the prophet looked up at Ino, her pearl eyes seeming to clear for the moment. "Ino-chan! I need you to prepare two rooms in the castle - joined, of course. Preferably with a fireplace. And if you could manage somewhere close to the courtyards, that would be convenient... though I've a feeling the rooms next to Lord Sasuke's are the only two that will be free next to each other."
Now Ino was confused. "Why do you need rooms in the main castle?"
"Just in case," Hinata told her even as her eyes were glazing over again, the lucid moment lost. "Never know what will happen in winter... you're so pretty right now, Ino-chan."
Ino pursed her lips, but didn't respond. Instead she stepped past the girl, giving Shino a speculative look. But regardless of the capricious decision, or the confusing reasoning behind it, the blond couldn't help but feel excited. Soon she'd be in the real world again, and be able talk to people other than the sometimes-loopy Hinata and the quiet Shino.
The blonde girl was barely out of sight when Hinata stood and grabbed Shino's wrist - immediately she dropped it again, her hands feeling scorched. Looking at her own hand, the priestess watched as tiny sparks of lightening danced across her fingertips.
"Are you okay Hinata-sama?" Shino's voice felt warm on her ears, and she looked up at him again. He was so clear in the haze of the world, so distinct between the billowing snowflakes still twirling around the stairwell.
Taking a deep breath she opened her lips, ready to tell him exactly what she was seeing. To explain how he was so perfect right now. To somehow relate how important this was. "I'm fine, Shino-kun," she whispered instead. But the nervous energy was still there, fluttering about her entire being like dozens of hummingbirds with honeysuckle.
She escaped into her room, finding that the snowflakes were still there. They piled in the corners and blew out into the stairwell behind her, watering down the heavy air of the tower until it felt more like a crisp autumn morning. "So much snow, so much snow... is it because Ino has such a presence here..?"
"What snow?" Shino's voice was so very close, his breathe ghosting over her ear and sending shivers down her spine... yet when she turned to look at him he was still in the doorway, and somehow she was in the middle of the room. What is time and space anyways?
"I forget sometimes that you can't see like I see," Hinata sighed, feeling her mind loose the mystic filter she had been wearing all day. The room was slowly coming back into focus, the snowdrifts disappearing and the temperature rising. She noticed there were goosebumps on her arms and frowned. How cold is it? Then she shook her head and let herself not-think, and the fog fell back over her eyes.
That's when the last pieces started to appear before her.
Shino took another step into the room, watching as the priestess drifted back off to that other-world. She started moving, first going here and then going there, checking objects and articles of clothes. Whatever logic she was using on her search lead her to start a pile in the middle of the room - it started small. A couple of clothes, her aromatic oils, a book or two... Without realizing it Shino was turning around the room with her, and now they were both facing the doorway.
Hinata paused, and he wondered if she was having another lucid moment. Then she slammed the door shut. And locked it.
"What's wrong?" He could hear the concern in his own voice, a quiver above normal.
"Everything's right," but she sounded elated.
Shino tried to let that make him feel better. But it explained nothing. Lets start from the beginning. "What is Ino preparing for?"
"I'm preparing," Hinata pouted. He smiled at her childish reaction, waiting for her to continue. "Ino is important, nothing can happen without her. But she's a do-er. I'm the one preparing everything to be done."
"Well then," Shino continued, happy to be getting straighter answers. He wasn't sure how long it would last. "What are you preparing for then, Hinata-sama?"
"I don't like that," she tilted her head to the side cutely and took a step towards him.
Suddenly, he felt nervous. "Like what, Hinata-sama?"
"Just Hinata," she sounded breathless. It made him blush to think of the reasons why she might.
"What are you preparing for, Hinata?" She took another step towards him, reaching up to push his hood back onto his shoulders.
"Everything," she hummed. "A better here, a better now. There's just one thing I'm missing to make it all happen... after that, it'll be so easy. I just have to make sure no one steps off their path."
He ignored most of it, knowing that there were too many ways to interpret 'their path' and what exactly would constitute a 'step'. Let alone enough 'steps' to take someone off of said 'path'. But something there did catch his attention. "What are you missing, Hinata?"
She smiled. "Do you know what the red thread of fate is, Shino?" He shook his head, letting her continue. "It's a thread that ties two people together, no matter where they are in the world... it's who you are 'meant' to be with. No matter what." She hummed again, lifting a dainty hand up to his cheek. "I tend not to look for them. People are naturally drawn together, after all. No need to meddle more than needed..."
"Hinata," he muttered to try to get her back on topic, but couldn't help leaning into her palm. Why is she doing this now..? "How is this something you are missing..?"
"I'm not." She laughed, the sound a beautiful note to his ears, and took that last step to lean into his chest. Shino tensed for a moment, before letting himself wrap his arms around her thin waist and breathe in the light scent of her hair. "I don't need to be able to See to know who I'm Tied to."
He felt like he was drowning, enveloped in sensations and thoughts and feelings. Completely incapable of stopping himself plunging deeper. "Hinata..."
"So what I'm missing then." She pulled away from him ever so lightly, looking up into his eyes - and he knew she was still in that other-world, still not quite here and not quite there. But she was always like that. And he loved her. "Is an invitation."
... but he really wasn't expecting that.
"An invitation?" he gawked at her for a moment, fighting the urge to yell. "Honestly? You need me to-"
"Not from you!" She laughed again, hysterically this time, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to keep herself upright. After a long while she regained her composure and was able to look up at him again, still grinning wickedly. "From home. I need to go back home."
"And how, exactly, are you going to do that?" He asked dryly, feeling embarrassed.
"By forsaking my religion, and casting aside my priesthood." Her wicked grin softened to a smile, and Shino felt his heart skip. He needn't ask how, exactly, she was going to do that. He simply allowed her to pull him down into a kiss, very glad that she had the foresight to lock the door.
