Rynoth
"Blood Moon: Reality Runs Red!"
"Every week one human got their chance: a criminal sentenced to death and released into the wild at sundown to run, hide, or fight until dawn. If they did, they'd be pardoned. But they never did, because they could never outrun, could never hide from, and could never out-fight the werewolf pack."
"Yes, a pack of werewolves. That's what the "reality show" presented: wolf-splices tailored to the myth-forms of the savage, feral man-beast and set to hunt down their prey for the sick-minded pleasure of the audience that loved this so-called gory realism. Then there were the spinoffs, especially the films. The last one just came out, and it was the one in which the savage, feral beasts finally met their match."
"The novelty wore off, and the myths lost their luster with wolf-splices everywhere, so the ratings began to fall. The studio knew that their time was almost up, so they played to their motto and its gory realism - gory reality - one more time. I suspect that the pack was drugged. I know that the "heroic" humans, this time, had live ammunition instead of blanks. The werewolves didn't just go out with a bang. They were shot all to pieces. It was the studio's last production, and it was their biggest hit. Almost a decade of enslaved brutality for the sake of the studio's bottom line, and this was how the splices were rewarded."
"I don't know how, but one of them survived. Someone from Phoenix Corporation pulled their bloody carcass out of there, found a medic to put them back together, and shipped them off to a sanctuary out west."
"That splice's name was Rynoth."
"And it's my name. Nice to meet you."
The following is a transcript of an interview with The Cantankerous Hotelier, with minor editing and redactions for clarity and propriety.
Blazing beards! What is it with you types and your bizarre questionnaires about all and sundry people? What makes you think I'm such a marvelous source of information compared to, I don't know, asking the person themselves?
Fine, whatever. I'll give y'some answers just t'get you out of here sooner. I've got a business to run, y'know, and it isn't an ask-me-anything stand!
Name:
"Why do y'bother putting this on here when you've already asked me about him by his name t'begin with? I can see right now where this line of ridiculous is going, but yes, it's Rynoth. Two syllables, in case you couldn't tell."
Race:
"What, haven't you looked at him? He's a bloody werewolf! Oh, alright, already. Gray wolf gene line, or at least as close as y'can call it anything. I mean, y'take that usual cocktail of human and whatever, shake, rattle, and roll it with a bunch of other bits and pieces that you've concocted t'suit whatever purpose, add an instinct template, or whatever the soggynoggin' term is they use nowadays, and do a final bit of stirring before y'serve. So call it whatever, but it isn't quite just th'natural critter anymore, now is it?"
Age:
"I dunno, maybe late twenties t'early thirties? I'm just guessing here what with th'time those shows and movies ran, th'time taken t'train up and whatnot... actually, scratch all that. I've no idea if they added any of that genetic quick-grow stuff t'the mix, so he could be a whole lot less, and th'training stuff could've started earlier... Well, physic-wise, I'd say somewhere around a stone's throw of thirtyish, but I could easily be getting it all wrong."
Gender:
"I've used words like 'him' a few times now. If y'can't figure it out from that, there's no helping you."
Sexuality:
"Straight as an arrow, s'far as I know. But if you'll pardon the mixed metaphors, I don't think he's out t'get planted in anyone's quiver!"
Eye color:
"Green. Well, green irises. Black sclera, black pupils, and I don't know what bloody color the aqueous stuff is, nor am I going t'go try t'give him a good poke in one t'find out. I quite like my entrails being right where they are, thank you very much!"
Hair Color:
"I said gray wolf, didn't I? What color d'you think that might mean? Good guess, there! Okay, sure, there's some patterning and lighter and darker bits, but really, take what was a gray wolf, do th'all shook up thing with those genes, call it a werewolf, and the pattern doesn't quite work out th'same as th'original by the time you're done. Don't think I've seen anything else color-wise on him, though. Well, not naturally, anyway."
Physical Description:
"What part of 'werewolf' do I need to go over again here? Fine then, the little details that make the difference and all that other rubbish. So, he's a teensy bit taller than the typical human, by which I mean he could do a good looming if he had a mind and wasn't given t'being half hunched over half th'time, and a whole lot bulkier t'match. Since we're talking th'rend-and-tear type of image that they were going for, this means he stands and walks on his toes, though I'd call it stalking more than walking, and runs on all fours at a pretty good clip. Between that and the whole 'tear people up with claws' thing, those hands of his are a bit different built, too. Human-style wrists, hands, and fingers? They don't stand up too well t'that kind of pounding or smashing force, so his are done sturdier and bulkier and paddier and a tad less flexible t'match, though at least they still left him with thumbs. Y'could call them paws if y'like, but I wouldn't say they quite go that far, since they can still grip and manipulate. Well, mostly."
"So, tack on a standard-issue tail, insert the expected deepish guttural growl for a voice, make th'package all proper eat-you-alive proportioned, polish up th'teeth, and you've got th'basic idea down."
"No, he doesn't do any actual shapeshifting that I've ever heard of. Bunch of nonsense if anyone's told you that. Those blood-money genetic lunatics were just playing t'old mythology and bad novelizations when they brewed his batch up in their cauldrons. And no, I don't think he cares one way or th'other about silver, and he doesn't take any worse t'wolfsbane than anyone else, which is to say that it's a poisonous plant no matter what you are. True, there's some talk that he heals a bit better or scars a bit less, but I'd put that down t'having a lot of bulk and a thick pelt more than any special whatever-sauce."
"Oh, right. He's not much for clothes. See, they were all meant t'be scary primal predator types for the cameras, and those aren't exactly known for their fashionista sensibilities. 'The blood and guts of your latest victim' is about as far as that wardrobe gets t'stretch, and they all had t'look th'part when being stage ready or training for it, which was round about most of th'time given th'generous working conditions. I suppose it's practical too: wearing things that'd get snagged when you're running pell-mell through the brush at night? Bad idea, that! Now, y'might coax him into some really thin, loose vest and kilt or similar, maybe along with some fancy little doodad attached if it's a desperately black tie situation, but more than that and he'll start wriggling like jelly-worms caught in an earthquake! Guessing some twit thought that was a smart bit t'wire into them when they were being assembled, or maybe it's part of th'standard werewolf package. Or it could just be that he's allergic t'cloth. How should I know?"
"Don't get your hopes up, by the by. Those makers of his were just clever enough t'put long fur in a strategic spot down below, so you won't get t'see much of anything any which way, y'rutty lech!"
Personality:
"I'm sure he's got one. Don't get all cross, now! I'm just saying that all th'on-screen stuff is acting or coerced. Actually both, so we can't really take anything away from it. Probably grumpy. Wolf types usually are, nevermind werewolf types. Could be elsewise though. Why not ask whoever drew th'short straw and landed th'job as his shrink 'round here? Got to be a good laugh or two coming at that poor sod's expense! Yes, indeed!"
Bio/History:
"Look, you've already got this on th'other page! I'm not putting his words in my mouth, for blazes' sake! I don't know where they've been!"
If a Splice, how does this character react to other Splices?
"First off, what's with the 'this character' nonsense? Shouldn't it be 'this person' or 'this cross-gened monster lookalike' or something similar? Or are you implying that he's a secret standup comedian here?"
"As for th'answer... Good? Bad? Ugly? It's actually a right good question because I've no idea and I don't know if anyone else much does yet either. I mean, his pack obviously managed well enough t'not tear one anothers' throats out, except maybe for what that showplace's shenanigans entailed, but what with them all being, err, spawned together, that's not much of a guidepost. Wait until he's done the tour and met a few, then come back and tell me, how about?"
"Yes, alright, I'll speculate. Just couldn't take no, could you? Well, my best guess is he flat-out won't know what to make of them at first. All his training was about doing the hunter-killer thing against humans, right? Or at most, mostly acting it against his other pack-splices, and I don't rightly recall any other splices being put on the receiving end in their place. Could be that the alpha-splice types get taken for humans, I suppose, but the rest? Well, at least they won't be taken for humans, which is something, because believe you me, I know what the next silly question is going t'be!"
If a Splice, how does this character react to humans:
"Again with the implied comedianism, so I'll play along: what do you bloody think he thinks of humans? Seems t'me that they'd fall into four categories: the bunch that used and abused and eventually murdered th'lot of him and his, the ones they were set t'chasing down and shredding lest they be th'ones shredded for daring disobedience, the set that got their jollies from watching it all week in and out, and now a fourth lot that tells him he's free of all that and promptly plops a puppet-collar around his neck and tells him t'be a good boy or else."
"I don't think it's all that much of a stretch t'say that he doesn't have quite the highest opinion of we of the unmingled gene lines, really!"
Anything else we should know about your character:
"I'm not about t'give you my life story after all this other rot! But if it was supposed to be another 'this comedian' line instead, then, well, I certainly don't know anything about this, and I'd never say so even if I did, but rumor has it that if y'cock your head just right as the wind rustles the leaves, it'll sound like they're whispering something about Phoenix and that show..."
"No, nevermind. It's not worth th'head of you and me and whoever else might possibly have been within earshot. Case closed!"
"One other thing: I'd stake this whole sanctuary project on whatever soon-to-be traumatized shrink that he gets belabored by putting a big bold capital letters note on th'file not t'play any of those works of demented 'art' that he was forced t'be part of back t'him, with a great big triple underline added when it comes t'that last movie. Course, this just means it's inevitably going t'happen some day. I figure th'reaction ought t'be good for fifty-odd years of thermal power if we can harness it somehow. But that's really not my field of expertise."
...
"Right. Questions all done? Good. Out with you, already!"