She was shy and lacking in self-confidence, and that was part of her problem with her father and life in general. Nonetheless, even when it looked as if she would have to give up being a ninja - she was skilled at certain things that were expected of her and even her father didn't voice criticism of those areas. This last was why she had apparently settled on these as a refuge of sorts, finding comfort in them and had gotten even more skilled as a result.
Cooking was one of those things. She could do that quite well, except that she sometimes got a little carried away. Not with the ingredients or something like that, but with the amount of it. It was okay though, there was a branch family and there was always the neighbors. Most of whom were quite happy to have some of Hinata's home cooking to expand out their own selections.
When the choice had come for an Art to practice and share as a result of her association with the church of Sune, she fell back to her zone of comfort. Ino Yamanaka might have been better with the specialties involved with flower arranging, but Hinata wasn't far behind. When she was doing the tea ceremony, she was an island of tranquility and poise. Not so much as some, but certainly not far behind.
Hinata didn't have much confidence in anything, really. Her test scores were high, but not the best. Her flower arranging was third best. She was never the absolute best at anything, one of the things that had initially caused her despair, but she could focus in on those tasks like tea ceremony to the point where she wasn't aware of it.
If someone, like Statler for example, were to categorize Hinata - she would likely be the Yamato Nadeshiko of the young kunoichi crop. Sakura was the Brain and Tsundere, Ino was the Rival and Modern Ninja-girl Fashionista and so on.
She wasn't the absolute best, but she was within the top scorers. That didn't matter much when your father demanded perfection, but since flower arranging was pretty incomprehensible to Hiashi Hyuga and tea ceremony was beneath his notice - then he came down all the harder on the areas that WERE of consequence to him.
The drow of the Promenade had been honestly confused by the skills Hinata had shown. Flower arranging was completely alien to them, much less an art they could appreciate. Tea ceremony had likewise been part of a very different culture from anything they'd been exposed to. Cooking had involved foods not available in the Underdark.
The reception in Candlekeep had been somewhat different, they'd been familiar to several scholars through books but never seen firsthand. The merchants of Shou when they'd briefly interacted with them in Waterdeep had variants of the arts, and so there had been some understanding. In both cases, they'd been able to appreciate the basics at least.
It was in the practice of these Arts that Hinata had come to recharge her clerical abilities.
The presence of Ruby was an element she'd come to accept over the past two months. Hectic and eventful months to be sure, with only the practice of this Art as a moment of tranquility in the flow of events.
Ruby's eyes were watchful, though the pose was as close to her that of her "Lady Hinata" as she could manage. Though born with elven grace, there was a stiffness in one leg left over from an imperfect healing. That and Ruby could never seem to quite relax to the extent that Hinata was capable of. Ruby always seemed ready to bolt or attack at any given moment.
Hinata went through the practiced motions, striving for elegance, economy of movement, and to project the atmosphere of serenity that was so important.
Ruby mostly ignored such concerns, only remembering at the last moment to turn the cup three times and down the brew in three gulps.
Hinata was aware of the scrutiny coming from without the room. One of the drawbacks of being the heir of a house with the Byakugan. It was probably Hanabi.
Hinata didn't bother to check. If she was going to check anything, well that would be...
Despite not having the Byakugan or any similar ability, Ruby had no problem interpreting the faint blush and smile gracing the Lady Hinata's face. It was obvious that she was thinking of Lord Naruto.
Naruto, on the other hand, was:
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(Posted Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:33)
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