Name: Asha Boden,
The White Hare.
Age: Appears to be around seventeen - date of birth unknown.
Race: (¿The only?) White Hare
Sex : Female
Hair: An ashen grey -- layered and with ragged edges, and smooth and silky. It comes down to below her shoulders, but some bits go longer, and some shorter.
Eyes: Amber. Her eyes are large, and almond-shaped. Normal people's eyes seem rather small and piggy compared to them.
Weight: Nine stone.
Height: Five foot ten inches.
Theme music: The White Hare (The song of the story Asha is based off)
Weapon: Asha carried two slender, leafed blades about eighty cm long apiece, with green leaf patterns inlaid onto them -- and a leather-wrapped hilt, neither of them have pommels or crossguards, but the hilt is slightly raised from the blade, which has the same effect as a guard. They are sharp on both edges... though Asha doesn't use these for her main fighting. See Strengths.
Armor: She often wears a full-length Robe with plenty of legroom, and it has lightweight mithril plates sown into the over layers, so layers of resistance will be met where they are not expected by an attacker. Into the skirt of her robe is sown a fine mithril chain, that will protect from slashes and glancing blows, but not stabs.
Strengths: Asha was once a Hare. With this she gains speed, instinct and split-second reactions. Her mind works insanely quickly, she can predict things before they happen. She can see clearly what's about to happen in the next three seconds or so, which gives her an almost premontitonate sense. If you were about to swing a punch at Asha, before you started she's darting behind your back, and once you've thrown it, she's there behind you, pushing you into it so you, already off balance, fall over.
She uses a varied martial art form that uses your power against you, rather than exploiting what little weakness she herself possesses. She's quick and smart - and her fighting style is just that.
Her sworded fighting style is more of the same, as you lunge she'd swirl behind your and get your wrist in a grip, and then put pressure on your back with her foot. She wouldn't try and hit you with the sword, but use them for defense and blocking mainly, as she doesn't posses the strength to sustain clashing combat. She will knock blows aside rather than challenge them with force.
She can use a bow to some degree of accuracy, but doesn't possess one.
Weakness: Asha possesses very little psychical strength, so cannot do much sword-on-sword combat, and will certainly lose if it comes to a clash (Swords down to the hilt, stuck until one withdraws.) She cannot swim, and doesn't cope very well with extremes of climate. Magic and spells catch her off guard, since she has no way of defending herself. If she's hit straight on with force, of any kind, she'll fall hard. If she's under pain, she finds it hard to think straight enough to get out of it -- and she'll stay on the floor until it stops. She is very weak against all things
air, being an earth creature. She has a veeeeeery low pain tolerance.
Skills/Magic: She's trained in the jumble of martial arts described above, and also has the premonition-like ability. Asha was once the White Hare -- and hunted animals develop an instinct that allows them to predict with amazing accuracy what'll happen in around three seconds into the future. Asha feels the next three seconds as though they are the memory of what has just passed, and can react to them before they do so. She is also, as yet, untrained in magic.
Appearance: Slim, of a medium build, Asha has wide, amber almond eyes and a determined face.
Must she wear the same clothes all the time? No. But I shall describe her main dress. It is a dark blue kimono, with darker purple edges and large lapels, It hugs her slim figure. Her hair is an ashen grey, but sleek and straight. It hangs down around her shoulders. She just a bit taller than moderate height, and thin. her robes flow right down to her ankles, and are tied at the waist by a cord. She is slim, elegant and her dress is fairly plain to the eye, despite her face being captivatingly beautiful. The sheaths of her blades hug her back, and the hilts are reachable on either side of the head, each at a gentle enough angle and short enough as to barely protrude from her shillouette. Nothing loose hangs from her, she is practical in her simple beauty.
--Face picture--
~Kindly drawn by the lovely Miss Altamira
Personality: Asha learnt how to be a person from a bit of a nutcase called Arulai. She has an interesting view on what some people may consider strange... and is witty. If she's given a month-old sandwich, where the cheese is going furry, she'd just go; "Mould? Hey! Extra protein!" and dig in. In this way, she can be irritatingly optimistic. She never gives up, taking a very stolid stance. But she's isn't a quirky, happy-go-lucky person at all -- she can be serious, and only gives respect to those who warrant it. She is quietly outgoing most of the time, and is reasonable intelligent and logical. At times she can be unhelpful, and take a pessimistic view.
Biography:
I heard her in the valley,
I heard her in the dead of night.
The warning of a white hare
Her eyes burning bright.
She ran behind the rocks,
I heard the hounds cry,
The image of a woman
Her head she held up high.
If you go hunting,
Calling out your prey,
And if you see a fair maid,
Her hair an ashen grey,
Be careful you don't catch her,
Give her right of way,
For she will look upon you,
And steal your soul away...
For the white hare is calling,
She's dancing in the night.
She'll be out 'til the morning,
With her eyes burning bright.
The white hare is calling you...
The white hare is a legend as old as time. Hunters would follow the most attracting hare, which would turn into a beautiful woman before their eyes. The hunters would pursue the woman, but she would evade them all night long. Then, at the break of day, she would let them embrace her just as the sun's first rays shone out, and then she would be gone, and the Hare would return, slip from their arms and run away.
Many a man would go back to watch her every night, often turning suitors from them, until the day they died. And they often died right there, in the forest. And still the White Hare danced.
Did anyone ever ask her opinion on this?
- : - : -
I didn't have a name. I didn't know what I was, what I felt, or what I represented. I was like a mere shell of mortality. I didn't think... I was just a thing that lived. And in the dead of night, if a hunter caught me, I would turn into a woman. And when I was human, all I knew was the dance. To evade, then come close and almost be captured, and then again to run. And my life carried on like this... for ever. And after eternities passes, I heard a song.
The song.
It was sweet, whoever wrote it wrote it with feeling. And it spoke about me -- the silken, ashen, white hare. I stopped running away, as he wasn't chasing, but stopped to listen, by breathing heavy, crouched behind a tree. After eternities, I listened, and heard the mortals thought on what I did -- how I captured their hearts, and many came searching for me every night until the day they died.
And when the singing stopped, I saw the man leaning against the next tree, faint moonlight glinting off his eyes, smiling at me. He made no move -- and I slowly up, and quickly ran.
And now I knew my story -- something I could never have worked out without that little extra push. It was as though someone had walked through the dark halls of my mind, and torn down every curtain, slammed open every door. Filling my mind with light and sound and colour, and allowing me to access parts of it herefore unaccessed. Did I want to be a hare again? No! Did I want to do this to people? No! I defy you greater forces who force my hand, and move my counter onto the board!
I came onto the edge of the forest, a strange sight I had never before witnessed. out beyond was rolling turfland, and soon after, within half a mile, the sea -- blue as you like. But then, as I was approaching the threshold, the world began to run like oil over a canvas, sliding sideways; slithering around me like frogs in oil. And, without me changing direction at all, I was running back into the forest, and straight into a tree.
I turned around, my fists clenched. I raised one, and bellowed my first words unto this world... Belting the distant sky with my words of defiance.
"I shall not stay. I've served my due! Let me go!"
And, as if as a reply, the sun's first rays rays escaped from the distant horizon. I felt the Hare -- paws, instinct, vision, and it overwhelmed me, plunging me into darkness as I ran.
When I woke, I was over the border between the floor of leaf-mould, and the thin chalk turf. Slowly, I stood up -- on
human legs. I laughed loudly and, turning behind be, saw my home, my prison, so silent and green in its discarded state. It was a brisk and cool morning, the sun shone down through a thin veil of cloud, and the sounds of my footsteps were stolen away by the still air as I walked away from the forest.
I didn't yet bother myself about fear, cold or hunger -- the Hare had always coped with that. I kept trying to sniff trees. And then I found myself on a path. It led me towards the sea, to a musky green town with houses of darkwood. Frost coated the grass, despite it being summer. Stout, beblossomed trees surrounded it on one side, and the ocean cliffs on the other. Barrels stood under houses and small halls to catch the rainwater, and all the people were either working or inside. I walked though the clusters of houses, nervously. And then, at the building nearest the sea, I stopped. It was large, low and octagonal -- and the sign caught my eye.
"Travellers, warriors and craftsmen welcomed." I found this strange, it was just like a voice, but scribed down. I don't remember ever having learned to read. Cautiously, I knocked.
"
Sendishi." A voice called out form within, soft and not unkind. I entered.
The main hall seemed very high from the inside, and light streamed down from open shutters in the point of the roof. In the middle of the room, on a red silk cushion, an old man sat, his legs crossed. As I waited for his to make a movement, I examined the walls. Red silk hangings and banners, painted with gold symbols emblazoned the walls, and where these were not, carvings in the wood panels were. As I waited the dawn sun slowly crept up the man's face -- and when it met his eyelids, his eyes snapped open and he leapt forwards to greet me, bowing slightly. I mimicked this gesture.
"Greetings. Welcome to the house of Arulai, who be you?" His head was cocked sideways slightly, and his eyes rested like dark gems in his wrinkles face. He wore a red Kimono -- and his long white hair was plaited at the back, right down to his waist.
"I... I am the White Hare." I shied away from his glare, however captivating it was.
"Really? Well, I'm afraid you'll need a human name to get far in that shape." His eyes were like pits, offered a window to immense knowledge and wisdom. I was overcome. His clawlike hand snatched out and took hold of mine, examining the palm.
"Hmm." He turned my hand over in his own."You are of the Ashen, an old kind."
I blinked. "Just how old?"
"Impossibly."Arulai shrugged. "Come, sit -- Asha." He gestured a second cushion, in the sunlight. "Do you bode me well or ill?" I took the cushion, struggling to get my legs to cross as Arulai's did.
"Bode? I don't know. I bode... nothing. I am lost."
"You do not Bode me tidings? Then you are Bodeless, you are Boden. Asha Boden. Nice, no?"
"Umm... Very, thank you."
Arulai brought me tea, and we talked until noon. He ran this Dojo, as the village's master. He welcomed travellers into his abode, and they learned from each other. Arulai's knowledge was accumulated from the skills of many. He would grant them a place to spend the night, and they would exchange skills and secrets. And when they were finished, the traveller would move on. In this way, he had learnt to paint the hangings, carve the panels, and fight like the master he was. And then he asked about me -- and I told him all the little I knew... about the song and the Hare and the forest and the sign.
"Do you believe you used to be human?" He asked me, after listening immensely. The atmosphere was relaxed and trusting, and we both sipped tea out of bowls.
"I... don't know." I replied; "I could be a representation of lost love, or fleeting chances, or the big, unreachable goal that makes all others lose their shine in comparison." I frowned in thought.
"Or maybe you are just a human who thinks she used to be a hare, hmm?
That would be true torture." I agreed. "Asha, how would you like to stay with me and be tutored by my side? You know little of the ways of this world -- and to learn would aid you greatly. Then you can be sent to the dome in the Autumn.. I'm sure Harper will allow you to share passage."
What else had I to do?
"Thank you -- I accept you kind terms."
"Good." Slowly he got up, unfurling his legs and rolling his feet so that he went from sitting to standing in one fluid motion. "Would you like to learn how to fight?"
I hesitated, before agreeing. It would come in handy. I laid my tea aside, and stood before him. I bowed, and he bowed back before snapping into a fighting stance.
"Yes -- good. But first must come the
unlearning." He lunged, as fast as thunder. I saw him doing it before he did so, and panicked. Scared, I jumped around his blow before he threw the punch. He toppled forward, expecting much mroe resitance than me meets, and falls flat on his face. Feeling guilty, I helped him up. He staggered to his feet, stunned."
"Show me... how you did that."
~
Eight months passes before Harper came in the Autumn. I stayed with Arulai, and he game me my Robe -- and taught me how to loose a bow, cook, fight defensively with twin blades, and use my skill to effect. The blades I made, under the instruction of the Bear -- Jhans Frenn. He stayed in the village, and fed off Arulai's hospitality. He returned after a week, and wished to repay us for our kindness, and so taught me how to forge my blades. We made the markings by wrapping the blade in clay mixed with crushed Arum leaves, and cutting out the design before heating the blades, clay and all. As soon as the metal glowed to suit him, we took it out of the flame and plunged it in the stream, and once the clay flaked away the brilliant metal and enhanced motif were left. And the bear left wordlessly just after... just padded away as the cooled blades lay in my hands.
Harper came when the Arum trees I had first seen in blossom were a golden brown. He rode up in a carraige, and jumped down to embrace Arulai. Arulai introduced me, and they went inside. Harper was tall and strapping, his cropped red hair caught up in band. He smiled at me as he was led in, and I smiled back.
That night Arulai and I sat in the cushions in respectful silence towards each other, and when the dawn came he followed me to the door.
"The cloth and blades are yours. Harper will see you to a
real teacher, come back to see Arulai sometime. But if you don't, or Arulai is dead when you come here, do not forget him."
"Thank you, Sempai. I will."
And we bowed to each other. Because there come a time in every parting when there's nothing left to do but part. I climbed aside Harper and set off for the dome. We didn't speak until sunset, a kind of mutual awkwardness existed. But then Harper said;
"How long have you stayed with Arulai?" He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, keeping his face turned t towards the horses.
"A long time. He taught me everything I knew."
"Really?" Harper looked down at me. "Oh dear. This is why we hoped the old nut never had children."
"Hmm? Why?"
"He's a bit too good. It tends to scare people."
"Ah -- yes." I laughed inside. I'd seen Arulai easily knock down greater men than Harper with his
fingers. In the village's training Doro, a man entered while Arulai was training on the stone wheel. 'I'll have what grandpa here's having', he said. He came staggering back out within minutes, with Arulai still calmly pushing stone after stone across the track.
---
Yaarg. Sunlight.
"...What? Is it morning already?"
"No, it's Three-thirty in the afternoon." Harper was still holding the reins, I had fallen asleep on the seat. We were headed south, and the road had lost its frosty surface. Ahead, between the trees, lies a dome. Behind me lay doubt and fear. Ahead lay pain, but wonder and fathomless mysteries. Ahead lies the truth, and the life I never had. I wear the face of Asha Boden, but can I help being The White Hare?
- : - : -
Tales Of The Hare (In chronological order)
Tales of Angels;
Tales pertaining to the Samsara Del Angeli
The Dawn Chorus {With Jhans} (Fic) [In progress :3]
Hopkinson's favorite (Zorolo) {With Jhans} [Ongoing]
In Character thread (Community co-op) [Concluded]
Asha has fought alongside (And therefore knows);
Jhans Frenn
Zorlo
Zachary