Sysi is a character originally created for a Finnish forum text rpg Kadotettu Saari. She's part of a wolf pack that lives in a remote island in the middle of the sea.

Reputation

Other pack members consider Sysi to be a calm and responsible, but also somewhat eerie wolf who can move silently like a shadow. She's extremely honest and either doesn't want to or doesn't know how to lie. She's characteristically matter-of-fact and truthful, and a lot of wolves turn to her when they want to get an impartial opinion on a matter. Sysi works hard to carry out any given task as excellently as possible, but despite her diligence and loyalty, she's failed to make any long-lasting friends.

Physical description

Sysi is a black wolf with piercing purple eyes. She has a short rough fur that sticks out as sharp spikes on her cheeks, neck, chest, stomach, tail and hind legs. Due to her extremely pitch-black coloring, it's nearly impossible to distinguish any details on her appearance, and her staring bright eyes make her look almost unnatural.

Sysi's moves are smooth, calm and silent. Her claws are so short they don't touch the ground - nobody knows if they're naturally this short or if she keeps gnawing them. Either way, this allows her steps to remain silent even on hard surfaces. Sysi is known for her terrifying manner of appearing silently behind others, althoug she never seems to find others' startled reactions amusing in any way.

Sysi's voice is clear but emotionless. She tends to speak in a calm manner and get to the point without delay.

Personality

Sysi is logical and honest wolf who believes in facts. She tends to talk about things in an impartial manner, but doesn't hesitate to tell her own opinion if asked about it. She doesn't let her feelings sway her truthfulness and she tends to view things as complete pictures instead of getting stuck on details. All of this has gained Sysi a reputation for her reliability. To Sysi, the truth is everything and she can't stand lying.

Sysi is extremely devoted to her pack, and she carries out every given task with utmost diligence and care. However, she doesn't hesitate to question the instructed implementation if she believes there's a better way to do it and she will ask about it once. If instructed to follow the original plan, she won't argue further and follows the plan precisely. She's a hard-working and obedient wolf who doesn't complain without a good reason.

One of Sysi's most notable traits is her lack of empathy. She does recognize different emotions tied to different situations, but she's not capable of sensing others' feelings. The more nuanced others' feelings are, the harder time she has trying to understand them. Sysi speaks very directly and doesn't have the tactfulness some situations might require, and she's ended up hurting others' feelings unintentionally many times. Although others trust Sysi completely, she doesn't have any friends, let alone a partner. However, Sysi doesn't let this lack of deep relationships affect her loyalty towards her pack.

Although Sysi is very proud of her pack, sometimes she feels ashamed for how aggressive and hostile many of her pack members are towards outsiders. She thinks that most if not all disagreements could be solved with words - besides, needless fights mean wasted time and energy which could be spent on the well-being of the pack. Sysi never bases her opinions on rumors and she has a neutral attitude to any new person she meets.

Back story

Sysi and her brother Käry were born to two wolves, Efar and Kapi. Serious but gentle Efar was a teacher while brisk and responsible Kapi was an official adviser to the leader. A lot of pressure and expectations were put on the respected couple's children as soon as they were born. However, Efar and Kapi didn't want to burden their children needlessly. They made sure they'd always have enough time for them from their jobs, and they wanted to ensure them a happy and stable childhood.

Efar and Kapi noticed very early on that Sysi had troubles getting along with other wolves of her age. She didn't show any interest towards other puppies and she got easily anxious when they were playing, especially if other puppies pretended to be something they weren't. One time another puppy fell from a rock and started wailing loudly, but Sysi just stared at the puppy and didn't go get help. When other adults arrived and scolded Sysi harshly, she ran away all confused. When her parents asked about it, Sysi didn't seem to think that she'd done anything wrong. Efar and Kapi assumed that Sysi's emotional development was just slightly delayed and she'd catch up with other children soon enough.

Sysi grew older, but she still didn't understand others' feelings. When she was old enough to put her confusion into words, she asked about it from her parents who were now extremely worried. When they asked for help from their relatives, they found out that the same lack of empathy was apparent in one of Sysi's full-grown cousins. The said cousin was a living example of how such an unemphatic puppy was fully capable of growing into a fine adult. Sysi's parents received invaluable advice they could use while raising Sysi.

Sure enough, Sysi started to get along with other young wolves a bit better. However, there was still moments when Sysi misread the situation and reacted with an emotion that didn't seem appropriate for the situation; for example, she might assume the grimace of a wolf in pain to be a smile and make the hurt wolf even more anxious with her lighthearted remark. Sysi didn't use expressions or tones to convey her feelings and other wolves felt often frustrated or even scared when talking to her. Sysi meant no harm, but she had a hard time trying to understand others or express her feelings clearly. Although she started to learn slowly but steadily how to react each situation, she couldn't make any friends. Despite all the love she received from her family, Sysi's childhood was very lonely.

Once Sysi had recognized her lack of empathy and difficulty with expressing emotions, she started to compensate these parts with extreme honesty. She voiced her thoughts and feelings without hesitation to make sure there would be no room for misunderstandings. Efar and Kapi had been very open and sincere with Sysi and the problems she'd had, and this inspired Sysi to behave similarly. Sysi's honesty was very appreciated, and it became one of her most notable traits as she became older. Despite the difficulties of her childhood, Sysi grew up to become a balanced and responsible adult, and while she still doesn't have friends, she's a respected pack member.