Chiisai

Name: Chiisai

Age: 9

Race: werewolf

Height: human 5’5", wolf 2’6" at shoulder. *He is considered small by werewolf standards. A werewolf male of his type at his age would typically stand at 5’11’’ to 6’4’’ as a human and 3’6’’ to 4’ at the shoulder as a wolf. A female would be between 5’5’’ and 5’10’’ as a human and 3’ to 3’ 6’’ as a wolf. I am making the call that his type of werewolves are larger and more intimidating than either normal humans or normal wolves.*

Human Appearance: Despite his true age, he looks about 16 years old because werewolves mature more quickly than humans. He has pale skin and a slight, *willowy* build – more stamina than muscle. His hair is long (midback) straight and ragged. It is black at the roots and fades to steel grey and finally white at the tips. It has a sheen to it despite its unruly appearance. *Even his eyelashes, eyebrows, and other body hair follow the black-grey-white colouring, though it is less apparent because of the fineness of the hairs.* He has gold eyes - darker orange tint radiating out into paler yellow tint in a sunburst pattern. His ears are pointed but only slightly, so people sometimes mistake him for a half-elf. His canines also are slightly more pronounced than a human’s. He likes to wear earth tones: greys, greens, and browns. He usually steals his clothes, so they don’t fit precisely and are a bit loose. He has a tendency to lose clothes when he turns into a wolf, forgettin! g to take them off, and tears ! them.

Wolf Appearance: A *rangy*, medium sized adolescent *by normal wolf standards*, his paws are still a bit big for him. His fur, like his hair, has black roots that fade to steel grey and then white. He doesn’t have white markings around his eyes or belly, just a mottled black with a silvery sheen all around. When his fur is extended from cold or fear he would look like a black wolf surrounded by light. His wolf eyes are the same as his human eyes except with black conjunctiva instead of white.

Abilities: Can change from wolf to human form and back. *His transformation is not painful if done successfully, and takes less than 30 seconds to complete. He does visibly morph form from one creature to the other, rather than doing it in a flash – fur forming, face extending, tail growing, arms turning into legs etc. Once started, the transformation must either complete itself, or if failed, revert to its original form. He has no hybrid form, though other breeds of werewolf may.* It is easier for him to change form as the moon waxes, and when the moon is full he turns into a wolf for 24 hours. Conversely, it is harder for him to change form as the moon wanes, and on the new moon he is stuck in his human form for 24 hours. So at a quarter moon he has 25% chance of being able to change. At half moon, 50%, etc. If his chances are better than 75%, he might change into a wolf without meaning to under stress. As a human, he has no real fighting ability. He carries a short swo! rd that he stole because he fi! gures it makes him more intimidating, but he has no more idea how to wield it than a large stick. He is more likely to use his teeth and claws. As a wolf he can fight as well as any adolescent wild wolf. In human form he still has a better senses of smell and hearing and keener night vision than a human. As a wolf he has the usual wolf sensory endowments. These would make him a half-decent tracker, even without training. He can hunt for his own food reliably, but has never killed anything larger than a rabbit. Like a wolf, he would be able to keep up an easy, loping gait all day long in either form.

Disabilities: The unreliable nature of his changing forms. *Also, when he fails a transformation it is painful. His nerves become super-charged, making him twitch and feel hot, cold, pain, pleasure, pressure all at once. It takes him fifteen minutes to an hour to recover, depending on how badly he failed (I guess this would correspond to his ‘roll’ if it were a typical RPG). This is not typical of werewolves, but is a weakness of his body specifically, part of his being a runt. Social stigma in some areas (this is social stigma against werewolves, not against runts. The werewolves would have no problem with him since he managed to survive. If he were to run into werewolves, other than the fact that he is an outsider not of their pack, they would have no reason to have a problem with him.) Mistrust of others.* No weapons training. Very little human socialization, and hence little social skill. No trade skills other than hunting, tracking, and fishing.

History: Chiisai was the runt of his litter. *He was born in the winter grounds of his pack, in the unnamed regions on the northeasterly border of Toru.* His mother kept him for the spring, but then the pack moved to their summer territory further north. He was too small to keep up, so he was left behind. This is normal practice with runts, as they are bad for the genetic pool and the general health and safety of the pack. Most of these runts do not survive, but Chiisai did out of luck and willpower. He found a town and raided garbage cans. A woman found him doing this and took him in for almost a month, giving him his first taste of human culture. *Werewolves are looked down on by humans in the border regions of Toru, however, because of superstition and the idea that they might prey on the herds of fine horses kept as the livelihood of the agricultural people.* When he turned into a wolf cub on the full moon, his new surrogate mother had her husband put Chiisai in a sac! k and take him to the river. H! er husband was unwilling to murder a child, so he let Chiisai go in the forest, warning him not to return. This experience gave Chiisai a love/hate complex with humans. He is drawn to them but does not trust them. He tried living with true wolves for a while, but he did not find the life of an animal stimulating enough for his intelligence. *He has not run into any werewolves since his pack abandoned him. He traveled south from where he was born, and werewolves are shy and less populous southward of Toru, in the named lands. (I thought Myridon also sounded like a place that might have werewolves, not that he’s been there yet. Maybe a different breed than his could live there?) Due to his instinctive desire to be with others, he has moved from town to town, ever southward, but never staying in one place very long for fear of being ‘found out’ again. He has learned much of human culture, such as language, from watching people, as he has a keen mind and memory. His fear and mis! trust of people kept him from ! interacting more than was necessary, however. When he speaks, his accent and syntax are sometimes off, and smack of a Toru dialect. He knows nothing of were-wolf culture, other than vague memories of his language (he would recognize it if he heard it again, but he does not speak it).*

Personality: His strongest personality trait is his desire to survive. His first goal in all things is survival. This gives him somewhat questionable morals. He wouldn’t go out of his way to hurt anyone else, but if they have something he needs, he would have few qualms about taking it from them by stealth or force. He has learned the hard way that this can bring down retaliation, however, so he would not steal or attack humans without pressing need. He does not seek fights, but if someone endangers him and he believes he can beat them by wit or force, he will try. If he believes himself outmatched, he will retreat and wait for a better opportunity. *He does not dislike humans, but is convinced that if they find out he is a werewolf, they will mistrust, dislike, or even harm him (whether or not this is true…in his mind it is true). He will approach relationships, but then shy away from them. Towards other werewolves he feels bitter, indifferent, and fearful, even though h! e hasn’t seen any in nine year! s. He thinks that because they left him they will either have no use for him or else try to kill him because he is a runt, to finish off what they had started more or less.* By nature Chiisai is playful and curious, and if he does not feel threatened he will occasionally forget himself and act the typical youngster.

Quirks: Loves ginger with a passion. Has an excellent memory for details. Hot weather makes him cranky and lazy.