Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Ahimsa (1x1 RP)

Abhaidev was travelling down the long winding road between two small towns, his feet bare and his thin, rough clothing hanging from his equally thin frame, his hair was long and unkempt and his skin was rough and weather-beaten. He carried nothing with him save a small begging bowl, which he had tied to a rope belt at his waist.

Walking next to him, was someone altogether unlike his companion. Sleek, well-groomed brown fur covered him from head to tail-tip, his clothing was travel-stained but well-made and in good condition, strapped to his back was a massive pack which contained his food, books, water, books, spare clothing, books, bedroll and his books. Erin liked books.

Though normally shy and reserved, the young feline was trying to strike up a conversation with the human ascetic he had happened upon, "Uh... so...um... you're a...holy man?"

"I looks to higher needs than that of the earthly realm. Some call that holiness." He said, "They call it that because it gives an air of mystery to something they themselves are unwilling to do."

"So...you... don't own anything then?" He asked.

"No. Attachment to physical, transient things causes greed and desire, and detracts oneself from more important matters." The ascetic replied.

"So, would I have to give up all my possessions to gain this...um... higher understanding that you claim to have?"

"Attachment distracts you from your own divinity. You fool yourself into thinking that there is a 'you', and individual self separate from everything else." Abhaidev replied, "It is a simple matter. Divest yourself from attachment, and you will come to realise that divisions are meaningless illusions."

"So... I'm... God?" Erin asked in confusion.

"Yes. Just as the birds are Deity and the tress and the stones and everything you see around you."

Erin frowned, "Um...but... that... how can everything be God?"

Before the holy man could reply, a group of large men in dirty clothing, all wielding knives, clubs and other weapons, stepped onto the path in front of them, "Hand over your valuables." One demanded.

"I am afraid I own nothing but my clothing." Abhaidev, "And I doubt you want those."

Erin squeaked in shock and took a step back, "Uh...um... my... possessions? Um... all I have is some food and books."

"Books? Worth anything?"

"Um... well... not really." Erin said meekly, "They're just history books, um, and a few on geography."

The bandit snorted, "Give us your money, your pack and we'll see what's worth what."

"I...um... don't have much." Erin unshouldered his pack reluctantly, "Uh..um... please...be careful with the books?"

The bandit grabbed the pack and pushed Erin aside roughly, "Please be careful with me books!" He said mockingly, "No, don't think so half-pint."

Erin hit the floor heavily and whimpered. Abhaidev frowned slightly, "There is no need for this. Why would you harm others for something so inconsequential as physical goods? Surely you must see that the spiritual needs are-"

He was cut off by a punch to the face by a another brigand, "Shut yer pont-ponta- sermoning. We got no need for preacher types."

The ascetic grunted as he fell, but otherwise made no move or sound, he looked up at them, his lip bleeding. The bandits laughed and set about riffling through Erin's possessions.

"Hey, Crysor, you hear that?"
The tall elf made no reply, as was his way.
The hobbit continued without waiting for any signs of acknowledgement. "I heard something. I'm going to go check it out."
Crysor made to stop his small companion, but Kori was already slipping through the brush towards the sounds. He sighed silently and followed him, a little slower since he was taller and had more difficulty squeezing through the tight plants.
Kori popped out like a cork onto the road, spotting two guys lying on the ground and another bunch rifling through what appeared to be their belongings. Kori was smart; he knew about street bandits. Without further thought for himself, Kori ran forward and kicked the nearest robber right in the back of the kneecap, which was the highest he could reach, being only three feet tall. "RAWR!"
Okay, so maybe he wasn't so smart.

Erin looked up in shock from where he was laying on the ground as a hobbit came out of nowhere and proceeded to... kick a bandit in the legs. If he wasn't so terrified he would have face-palmed. What was a three-foot tall halfling going to do against a big group of burly humans?

The humans turned on the hobbit, although the one he'd kicked had fallen forward and had managed to hit his head on a protruding rock, so he was out cold. The other humans just looked surprised for a moment before one of the larger ones shouted, "Get the midget!"

Erin managed to get to his feet, despite the fact that he was utterly terrified and had no idea how to fight, he didn't want this random stranger getting bat up for helping him, so he leaped onto the back of one of the brigands and began punching him in the head wildly.

Abhaidev, however, simply lay on the ground and watched, his expression as serene as ever.

Kori snarled angrily. "'GET THE MIDGET'?! OH, YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!" He lunged forward to attack with his epic hobbit shin kick again, but was knocked off his feet by a heavy blow to the jaw.
The attacker quickly regretted this when Crysor burst out of the bushes, his teeth bared in fury, snarling without sound. His seven foot tall figure was an imposing one, especially now that he had arrived in time to see Kori get knocked flat. He returned the favor by giving the hobbit's attacker a powerful punch to the nose, causing him to fall next to his other robber friend, dazed and confused.
Speaking of which, Kori was flailing on the ground, yelling up at Crysor "I'M ALRIGHT!" but unable to get to his feet.

Erin, meanwhile, had been tossed off of the bandit he'd been 'fighting' and was being mercilessly pummelled by the much larger human. Eventually, however, the human tired of it and left the whimpering feline to go help his friends with the hobbit and the silent elf.

After laying there prone fr a few minutes, Erin shakily got to his feet... and stared at his pack. One of the books had fallen out of it, and one of the pages had been torn out. Erin paused, staring wordlessly at the book for a moment, and then a low, feral growl tore from his throat. He charged at one of the bandits, knocking over with his shoulder and then proceeded to leap on top of him, punching and battering at him with his hands, "MY BOOKS!" He shouted, "YOU'VE RUINED MY BOOOKS!!" Erin's claws unsheathed and the bandit cried out as the feline started drawing blood.

Unfortunately for Erin, no amount of righteous, beserk anger can compensate for being a thin, frail scholarly type with no experience in fighting and one of the bandit's friends managed to haul the shouting, writhing feline off of his friend and struck him over the head, stunning him.

(Aw, poor Erin xD his poor books)

With one large hand, Crysor pulled the one stunning Erin off and constricted his throat, frowning deeply.
Kori had managed to find his feet again and was everywhere at once, it seemed; first here, stomping on toes, then there kicking shins, then somewhere else tickling someone with someone else's knife, and neither of them had any clue how he got there- on and on went the confusing cycle, and Kori was getting much pleasure from it. There were some perks to being a thief.

Erin managed to crawl over to his pack and salvage his books. Near to him, Abhaidev has levered himself into a sitting position and was watching the hobbit and the elf fighting the bandits with a slight frown on his face.

As fo the brigands themselves, the sheer maniac energy of the hobbit, not to mention his constant confusing attacks, were taking their toll. And the silent elf was just plain intimidating. One of the bandits shouted, "They ain't worth it! Midget demons and weird elves, no tanks! I'm outta here!" He took off at a run, and a few of his friends followed him.The one who'd called Kori a midget had finally managed to get to his feet, "Come back here you coward! A midget and an elf ain't got nothing on me! Come back!"

"I'M NOT A MIDGET! I'M A HOBBIT!" With that, Kori leg-tackled the bandit, chewing on his finger and flailing his fists at anything he could find.
Crysor figured that Kori could hold his own against the guy and walked over to Abhaidev instead, offering him a long fingered hand to help him up.

The ascetic stood up, holding onto the elf for support, "My thanks." He said with a nod, "Though the violence was unnecessary. They would have had their fill and left eventually."

"Yeah, and destroyed my stuff in the mean time!" Erin said, having finally gathered all of his belongings and put them back in his pack, "You might have given up all physical attachments and possessions, but I haven't!"

"And therein lies your problem. Attachment breeds desire, desire breeds suffering." Abhaidev replied, "Shed attachment and you shed suffering."

The bandit that Kori was pummelling seemed taken aback by the hobbit, "Ow! Gerrof! OWW!" He tried to prise the hobbit loose, but only managed to catch one of his flailing fists to his face for the trouble, "Owowowo! I quit! I give! Let go of me yer little demon!"

Crysor shrugged at Abhaidev's comment on the violence, watching Kori attacking the bandit ferociously. Kori seemed unwilling to quit, so he walked over, picked up his small companion by the back of his shirt collar, and jerked his head at the bandit to tell him to get out of there.
Kori was still swinging at the bandit even though he had left the ground. "Lemme go! Lemme go! Lemme at him!"

The bandit scrambled to his feet and fled, stumbling and staggering down the road. Erin looked relieved, "Thanks, both of you. I don't know what they would have done to us without your help."

Abhaidev shook his head, "It is sad to see men so attached that they would harm others for the sake of mere physical gain." He frowned, "Still, violence should never be used to solve one's problems."

"Not all of us are sworn to non-violence Abhaidev, and if they hadn't helped us those men might have killed us." Erin said.

"What does it matter, if you live or die? You will simply go on to your next incarnation, they should not have intervened. They caused harm and could have been harmed themselves. In any event, every blow inflicted on me was... prada."

"Grace from God?" Erin asked incredulously, "Getting beaten up?"

Abhaidev nodded, "Of course."

The young feline shook his head, "I think you're crazy."

Crysor seemed to shy away from Erin's thanks; instead, being reminded of violence, he held up Kori a little higher so he could check his little friend for injuries.
Kori looked extremely uncomfortable being held up by his shirt collar. "Don't mention it," he said, waving to Erin, "we weren't gonna let those guys beat you up. And, um, Crysor?"
Crysor raised his eyebrows to show he had heard.
"Please put me down. I'm fine, I promise."
The elf sighed and gently put the hobbit down, still looking slightly concerned.
"I'm fine," Kori repeated, "but are you okay?"
Crysor raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask why he was thinking such a foolish thing.
"Yeah, never mind," Kori mumbled, scratching his chin. "You're always fine..." Satisfied that his friend was okay, he skipped over to Abhaidev and Erin as if nothing had ever happened. "What books do you have in there? I don't want them, I'm just wondering," he added quickly.
Crysor rolled his eyes and picked up the small pack he had dumped in the bushes when he came to help Kori.

(I am so sorry for not replying! I had an exam, then I came down with a virus and I just totally forgot about all my RPs!)

Erin smiled, perking up at the mention of his beloved books, "Oh! A lot of different books. Um... history, geography, a few accounts from explorers and travellers... and a few of my favourite myths and fictional stories, for when I get bored."

"Young Erin has a great thirst for knowledge, a commendable trait, but I am afraid he is far too attached to his tomes and lore. He may gain knowledge, but I doubt his is a path that will lead to moksha, liberation." Abhaidev said with a shake of his head, "But then few of his young age seek to walk a higher path."

"Forgive me for not wanting to give up everything I own and let random people beat me up." Erin said dryly.

"I forgive you." The mystic replied serenely.

Erin sighed, "Yes, of course you do." He turned to Kori and Crysor, "Um, anyway... I've never met a hobbit before, or an elf."

(That's alright. I understand completely- it happens to the best of us. ^3^)

"That's cool. I like fiction myself. And I've never met a cat dude before either, so I think we're even," Kori replied with a grin, causing Crysor to facepalm at his innocent bluntness.
The elf jerked his head at the road, suggesting that they should probably keep moving now.

Erin blinked, "Cat... dude? Um... well, I guess so." He looked down at himself, "Although, I've never particularly seen the resemblence myself."

The mystic besides him smiled, "It is quite clear to everyone else but your own people, it would seem."

"Hmph... yes, well, I suppose we're jut so used to looking at each other, we don't really see the felinoid traits as similar to the animals we keep being compared to." He turned back to the hobbit, "Anyway, I know I've already thanked you, but is there anything you might want in repayment for rescuing us?"

Abhadev spread his hands, "My gratitude will simply have to suffice. I own nothing, so Erin will have to repay you for both of us, if such things are your wont."

Crysor waved his hand dismissively.
"Nah, we're good. Thanks, though," Kori answered for the both of them. "Thanks are enough."

The young feline nodded, "Oh, that's very kind of you. Um... where are you heading anyway? I was accompanying Abhaidev to the next town. I think he was going to go beg there, right?"

The mystic shrugged, "I shall go and see if the people of the town are generous and charitable, and speak to those who would listen... nothing more."

Erin nodded, "Yeah, he's taken a vow of poverty, so he relies on other people for food and things. I've been sharing my provisions with him whilst he tells me about his beliefs... its been a very interesting arrangement."

"We were going to the next town too, just to stop and cool our heels, right?"
Crysor nodded silently down at the little hobbit.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Erin nodded, "Well, you can travel with us if you like. Strength in numbers and all that."

"I doubt we will be encountering any more bandits, but I have no objections." The mystic said.

"I, uh, don't want to be rude, but... um, well I noticed that... ah, Crysor, is it? That he doesn't talk much. Is there something wrong?" Erin asked curiously.

Crysor reflexively tensed up when Erin asked about his talkativeness and lack thereof. His shoulders hunched forward slightly and he studied the path below him with great interest.
"Oh, Crysor? He's always been like that ever since I found him. Refuses to say why, and I haven't heard him speak a single word ever. I can't really answer that question... But I think it's selective muteness, cuz you can be a mute if your vocal cords get slit or whatever, and you can be a mute if you wish to, especially after a traumatic event, and I've never seen any scars on Crysor's neck, just his eye..."
He trailed off when Crysor shot him a Please stop glare.
"Yeah, sorry... I'll shut up now."