Character
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Short for an Epicanthix and painfully underweight, Suri's slight, wiry frame is the legacy of years spent knowing hunger more intimately than comfort. Her long dark brown hair falls loose over her shoulders and is rarely left untouched. Feathers, leaves, colourful threads, beads and the occasional mechanical nut or bolt are woven into small braids throughout, each one a tiny keepsake she found beautiful enough to carry with her.
Her soft green eyes are gentle and observant, watching the world far more than she speaks to it. Experience has taught her that wearing a small, quiet smile makes strangers a little kinder, even if she never truly believes they're safe.
She almost always wears a well-loved patchwork dress whose oversized pockets are as much habitat as clothing, frequently concealing an injured bird, curious lizard or some other rescued creature. Heavy boots, a couple of sizes too large, hang loosely from her feet. Their laces snapped long ago and are far too short to tie.
PERSONALITY AND BELIEFS
Gentle to her core, Suri possesses an endless compassion for living things. Animals instinctively seem to trust her, and neglected plants flourish beneath her care. She has an uncanny patience for creatures that others would dismiss as dangerous, ugly or broken.
People, on the other hand, are another matter. Years of hardship have left her deeply wary of strangers. She speaks little, preferring silence over conversation, and would happily spend entire days surrounded by forests, gardens or curious wildlife rather than crowds, machines or bustling cities. Words are precious to her, used only when they truly matter.
Beneath her timid exterior lies a quiet resilience. Once someone earns her trust, it is given completely. She loves fiercely, remains unwaveringly loyal, and would endure almost anything for the handful of people she considers family.
STRENGTHS
Compassionate - Suri possesses an extraordinary capacity for empathy, instinctively caring for people, animals and plants that others overlook.
Observant - Quiet by nature, she notices details others miss, from subtle shifts in mood to signs of injury or distress.
Fiercely Loyal - Once her trust is earned, Suri's devotion is unwavering. She will stand by those she loves through almost any hardship.
Quietly Resilient - Years of poverty, hunger and uncertainty have taught her how to endure without losing her kindness or hope.
WEAKNESSES
Distrustful of Strangers - Experience has taught Suri to be cautious. She struggles to trust new people and often expects the worst before the best.
Timid and Soft-Spoken - Suri finds it difficult to assert herself, voice her needs, or challenge others, even when she should.
Self-Sacrificing - She consistently places the wellbeing of others above her own, often neglecting her own health and happiness in the process.
Physically Frail - Years of malnutrition have left her underweight and lacking physical strength, making her vulnerable in dangerous situations.
HISTORY
Suri was only seven years old when sickness took their father on Abregado-Rae, leaving her alone with her older sister, Arra. Only three years older, Arra became everything at once, her guardian and the provider for her younger sister.
Gifted with an exceptional talent for machines, Arra scraped together enough work to keep them alive, though survival often demanded sacrifices neither of them discussed. She would disappear for hours at a time, returning bruised, bloodied and exhausted from the fighting pits that quietly paid more than honest work ever could. Suri knew where she went but she would never ask about it, she would just quietly clean and dress her sister's wounds without complaint.
While Arra fought to keep food on the table, Suri did what she could to help her sister in quieter ways. She would carefully stitch tears in Arra's well-worn jumpsuit until it became more patch than original fabric. She filled abandoned tins and broken machinery with soil, propagating flowers and herbs in the hope she might sell them one day, dreaming of earning enough that Arra would never have to fight again.
No matter where they lived, Suri somehow managed to make it feel alive. Plants crept across windowsills and hung from pipes. Small rescued creatures occupied every available corner. Birds with broken wings, nervous tookas, injured strays and anything else that needed help inevitably found their way into the oversized pockets of her dress. Arra would sigh every time another animal appeared. But despite every complaint, the animals always stayed.
Suri had her own habit that drove Arra to distraction. Whenever her sister left her toolbox unattended, bolts, washers, nuts and tiny machine parts would mysteriously disappear, only to reappear later braided into Suri's hair alongside feathers and leaves she'd collected that day.
Life rarely gave them enough, yet they never stopped giving to one another. When Suri's boots finally wore through beyond repair, Arra quietly handed over her own. The boots were far too large, the laces already broken, but they kept Suri's feet off the cold ground. Arra went barefoot for weeks afterwards until she could afford another pair.
To Suri, they were never just old boots. They were proof that no matter how little they had, her sister would always make sure Suri had what she needed first. For all the hardships they endured, the two sisters remained inseparable, each caring for the other in the only ways they knew how. Arra keeps Suri alive with grease-stained hands and bruised knuckles.
Suri reminds Arra that there is still gentleness left in the galaxy.