Säkä is a character originally created for a Finnish impro comic Elottomat.

Physical description

Säkä is a big and powerful dog with amazing 72cm (28.5 inches) height at withers. Other than her greater height, she's very typical American Akita: broad bear-like head and thick neck, double-coated sturdy body, strong legs and a large curled tail.

Säkä's coat is brown with white markings. The dark stripe on her back reaches all the way from head to the tip of tail. She has also dark markings on her ears and legs, and a black mask. Her eyes are reddish-brown and her nose and pads are black.

Maybe the weirdest trait is the weak smoke constantly spreading from Säkä's mouth and nose. If she gets too excited or anxious, she starts coughing more smoke and may have breathing difficulties. Her fur also smells like smoke.

Personality

Composed and friendly, Säkä seems very peaceful dog. She can be quite talkative when given a chance, yet she weighs her words and isn't really the type to blurt things out. However, this calm appearance can be misleading; Säkä can turn into a fearless fighter in a blink of an eye. She prefers talking things through over violence, but doesn't hesitate to resort to force if necessary.

Holding great dignity, Säkä doesn't digest insults well. When offended, she may sulk until she's received a proper apology. Säkä forgives easily, but never forgets, and in a tight spot she'll know who deserves her trust and who doesn't.

Säkä's own family was the most important thing in the world and she was utmost loyal to her humans. Turns out she was ready to give her life to protect them.

Although she seems fearless, there's one thing Säkä finds utterly terrifying: fire. After her death, Säkä's been afraid of fire and even the smallest of flames can make Säkä lose her composure, causing her to either petrify or escape blindly away from the source of fire.

Back story

When Säkä was still alive, she was a family dog at countryside. She loved her humans - a couple and two boys - more than anything.

One hot summer day, the children were playing in a nearby forest while Säkä was napping on the terrace. Suddenly she could smell smoke in the air. As she began to observe her surroundings, one of the boys hurried alone back from the forest and there was smoke clouds of wildfire looming above the trees. As soon as Säkä noticed the absence of the other boy, she grew distressed. Säkä hurried to search for the missing child, ignoring calls of her name from behind.

After entering the forest, the increasing amount of smoke made it difficult for Säkä to see or smell her surroundings, but she kept searching. By the time she found the missing child, Säkä was feeling dizzy and weak due to all the smoke she'd been breathing. The boy had fallen from a cliff and he was already dead due to the impact to his head, but Säkä didn't know that. She bit onto the child's clothes and began to drag him away from the nearing flames.

When Säkä reached the edge of the forest with the boy, her worried owners were shouting nearby for their missing child. She barked a few last times to get their attention before she died.

After death

Säkä inhaled a lot of smoke in the forest fire and died due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Now she's stuck in limbo (alternative version: she's a ghost in the forest where she died). She knows she's dead and now she's struggling to find her way to the peace of afterlife.