Runi

***Spoiler warning:** Plot and/or ending details follow.*

* Young Adult
* Fawn

**Runi** is one of the three protagonists of Golden Shrike and is the twin sister of Nero. After leaving her herd with Nero, she travels the world with a silver shirke by her side, and later on, Kasko.

## Appearance

Runi is a small, petite, and friendly Marshlander deer.

She has a sandy brown coat with a lighter underbelly and ears. Black stripes run down the sides of her chest and her tail tip, with bigger splotches coming on her tail tip, ears, nose, and legs.

She has a longer tuft on the back of her head, a perfect posture, and a missing right molar after getting attacked by the Stonekrovn.

## Personality and Traits

Runi is the near opposite of Nero, with her being more compliant and much more considerate of the feelings of others. Though the thing that she struggles with the most is finding her place in the world that isn't in her herd or without her brother, with her even thinking that she cannot see a world without him in it. This is only increased by the perspective of them being sheltered away from the rest of deer society, so the ways of an average deer are terrifying for her to get used to.

She's an introvert and shy, though she's like a chatterbox the moment she gets used to someone, mostly Nero. Despite her shyness, she is extremely open to being friends with other deer and is fully willing to shut off parts of her personality in order to get people to like her more, along with having a more positive outlook on life and being extremely loyal to her friends and family.

The doe is smart and quick on her feet, with her having to be the one to make up the plans and being the one to help save Nero when they were getting attacked by the wolves. Due to her being more of an outcast, she also loves to ask questions and to question almost everything in her world, though this also sometimes becomes her downfall when she starts doubting herself and her ability to fully stay safe during these times. Often wanting to go back to her old life instead of wanting to face the changes head-on.

## Relationships

### Nero

Nero is her twin brother and someone who has been with her since the literal moment they were born. Due to the sheltered lifestyle that the both of them share, they grew up to be extremely close, to the point that the other can tell if something is wrong just by the little details in their voice or facial expressions. The two share long discussions with each other, often being able to tease one another, and would often be seen playfighting with one another, though it can be confused with them fully fighting to others.

They protect each other, and the two know that they always have each other's backs. A massive example is when Runi, despite her small stature, risked her life to get the wolf off of Nero, and he did the same by attacking a Stonekovern twice his size head-on. The two have such a deep trust in each other that Runi, despite her having a strong connection to her family, was immediacy on board with leaving the herd by Nero's side so that he wasn't alone and didn't get himself killed.

The two contrasting personalities still somehow flow together nicely, with Nero's strong and confident nature helping to bring out more of Runi's personality and character when they are having heart-to-heart moments, and the same can go with Nero. There are times when they do clash, however, and it mostly comes down to Nero's harsh honesty and Runi's desperate need to try and apologize for it, though thankfully some took it much better than others.

### Kasko

Having met him before Nero, she has had trust in the buck since the first time they met. Though they would often get offended at his remarks about them not knowing a lot about the rest of deer society because of their backgrounds as Marshlanders, Runi would often be the one to ask him the most questions, though it goes along with Kasko's love for talking and sharing stories just nicely, with the two often getting along in her little trivia sessions.

Despite their trust in the beginning, Runi is still scared of Kasko as to what he can be. She is scared of what could happen if she puts too much trust in him, as she still doesn't know much about the buck, despite him already thinking that they were friends. After he tells her his backstory, the two become closer because of their shared love for caring for others, though both agree that they aren't on the level of being "friends" just yet.

During and after the attack by Loudkill and her teeth, the tow have gone closer and it came to the point that he was one of hte main people that the two could trust over Bloneslav, who was leading them to the place to Farnorth.

## Trivia

* Originally, she was going to be named Usma in the comics drafts. Which later became the name of Usma, the blinder deer.
* Despite them being twins, Runi is the oldest sibling by a few minutes and loves reminding Nero about this.
* Her favorite food is a waterlily, with her favorite flower being a poppy and the season being fall!
* Runi's design was based on different types of shrikes.
* The author of the comic, doeprince, says that they heavily relate to the way that Runi shuns her personality from the rest of the cast and is extremely stubborn.
* Runi and Nero walk with their legs higher then usual because of them being so used to walking in marshy lands.
* When asked how the characters would react to swapping genders, it was said that Runi has always wanted to experience the feeling of being tall and having antlers but would very quickly grow tired of the feeling of having antlers.
* She has the strongest connection out of the rest of the cast with her half.