Meet the Character -- Ranulf

Name: Ranulf "Ran" Phelan
Age: 36 Sex: Male
Family: None
Infection Level: Immune / OFAR 'hunter' Gene
Race: Caucasian Height: 5'6"
Eyes: Dark blue eyes; slightly hooded, rounded eyes
Face: Eyebrows arched, low to his eyes, and thick, but separate; thick nose, not too long, broken at least once in the mid-bridge; strong and square jaw; cheekbones blended into his face, giving a smooth appearance
Hair: Dark brown; Ceasar hairstyle (hair close to the head, very short bangs)
Body: Medium tanned skin; stocky build, and very muscular throughout

Ranulf is the hero of the story. At least, that is how it seems in the first few chapters. Ranulf, or Ran as it is called at work, seems to be a very uncomplicated figure to me. He is a seasoned hunter in the FLI (Federal Lycanthrope Investigation) who knows his stuff. He also has a passion for the chase, due in part to his werewolf-ish abilities. As one with the OFAR gene, he has more muscle mass than the average man, with heightened agility and stamina.

However, he does realize what he lacks that the lycanthropes have in abundance. While he is happy not to have the craving for fresh raw meat, Lycanthropes have heightened senses, making them quite hard to track. They also, in Ranulf's opinion, are quite skittish. On more than one occassion, he had a tracker follow them for days and was ready to hunt them down, only to step on a leaf and have them scatter like cockroaches. Ranulf knows that a 'tracker' gene used to exist, but also knows that they are supposedly extinct. So, he just learns to work better with what he has at his disposal.

His home life is pretty nondescript. He lives alone, no pets, no close familiy, no girlfriends, no real friends except Alf. Ranulf prefers it that way. He spends what little free time he has building up his strengths. Swimming is his exercise of choice, but he also does the occassional push-up when the pool is closed. The job is his life, and his life is his job.

Ranulf is a Scottish / Teutonic name meaning shield wolf. His last name, Phelan, is an Irish name meaning small wolf. I chose this name because I thought it was a very forceful sounding name, and my hero, who is the starting point for the story, needed to have a name to grab your attention, and Ranulf did it for me. Phelan, on the other hand, is a bland name in my opinion. But, it is a bland name that conveys the appropriate sentiment. Because of his genetic abnormality, he is a little bit werewolf. Just a little bit, mind you.