Signal Ensign Feliciano Vargas

Name: Feliciano Vargas

Age: 19

Appearance: Feliciano stands at a respectable 5'8" (5'7.7" if you want to get technical, but he thinks 5'8" makes him sound slightly more intimidating), though he often appears shorter or taller due to his highly expressive body language. If he is afraid, he hunches over and tries to make himself appear as small as possible, despite the obvious insignias that mark him as a Hunter. If he's not waving one of his signal flags, his hands are busy either with one of his hobbies, or in aiding him in speaking. Though he has been with the Hunters for quite some time, he has none of the usual battle scars that tend to adorn his comrades. His hands are calloused, both from holding the flags and from his drawing and painting hobbies.

Occasionally, he can be seen trembling, particularly his hands. This is partially inherited, and partially due to his body's tendency to become stuck between a 'flight' and 'freeze' instinct...both of which are ultimately trying to prevent him from passing out due to the high stress of the situation. Because of his rather quick reaction time but inability to cope with high stress, he is often seen either at the back of the group frantically waving the signal flags, or running to hide (but still with the flags) if he begins to tremble too much.

When on active duty, Feliciano wears the standard Hunter's uniform--a dark brown (sometimes black), long-sleeve or short-sleeved shirt, depending on the weather; navy blue trousers made of heavy fabric, and tall brown boots that end just below his knees. His uniform came with a brown hat and a helmet, but he refuses to wear either one of them, despite the fact that both would better camouflage his bright, auburn hair. The shoulders and sleeves of his uniform shirt occasionally bear his rank and the insignia of the Hunters...whenever he remembers to add them to his uniform. If he forgets them, his weapons and the flags he carries are his proof of being a ranking Signal Ensign.

He carries with him on his back two long, collapsible poles, with attachments for the various pieces of fabric he carries on his person. The sling he uses to carry the flag poles on his back can also be switched to the front, so that he can balance one or both of the poles for signaling. The poles (which fold telescopically) can be used as last-resort weapons, should he find himself without any of his guns with him. Feliciano carries a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] with him, as well as a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

In a small satchel, along with the cloths for his flags, he also carries a series of small flares, flint, spare ammunition, a canteen (for water), and a small sketchbook and pencil. He often tosses out the Hunter provided rations and adds in food of his own, which often consists of food that requires actual cooking supplies to make.

Species: Human, and a Signal Ensign for the Hunters

Sexuality: Unsure later discovery, pansexual

Personality:

At first glance, Feliciano appears to be entirely out of place among the Hunters. Young, cheerful, and bubbly, he is extremely hard to take seriously when he is socializing or flirting with others. He is prone to laughing easily, humming cheerful tunes, and generally facing life's problems with a smile on his face. His exaggerated hand movements while speaking make him appear silly, almost childish, in comparison to the more stoic Hunters he travels with. He enjoys making friends, and it is not uncommon to see him going from one Hunter to the next, talking about anything from the weather to the latest dish he tried to cook. It is also not uncommon to hear yelling accompanying him...mostly from his superiors. He is easily the weakest of the Hunters, and due to his 'enthusiasm' (read: nature), his position as Signal Ensign is a rather obvious choice.

However, when faced with a threat (regardless of species), Feliciano is often the first to react. His fellow Hunters are often alerted to danger simply by watching Feliciano's entire body language change, from being bubbly and bright to trembling and terrified. He is extremely skittish, often the first to run to the back of his group when trouble comes their way. But as an Ensign, his actions merely seem self-preserving. Despite his fears, he is usually able to compose himself enough to properly signal, and his rather quick reactions make the things he 'says' with his flags very important. If the situation dissipates quickly, Feliciano will return to his usual, bubbly self. However, if the fight is drawn out, or if he is put under high stress or attacked during, he becomes anxious and frightened to the point where, if not quickly brought out of the situation, his body will shut down and he will pass out. He is trying to train away this unfortunate side effect of his anxiety, but so far the only temporary cure is to alert his fellow Hunters by waving an all white flag.

Feliciano's genuine nature is both a blessing and a curse for his job. He sincerely bodes no ill will towards the vampires and werewolves, other than that they frighten him and cause him great anxiety. However, he is also prone to becoming anxious around humans he finds frightening, such as his superiors and other Hunters who are violent simply to be violent. Though not an overly religious person (though he does hold his own, personal beliefs), he can sometimes be seen, wherever he happens to be, praying silently. His kindness and compassion can make him seem incredibly naive, but his desire to help others keeps him enlisted as a Hunter.

When forced to fight others, Feliciano can sometimes turn his anxiety to his advantage. Though not the strongest of fighters, his flags and standard Signal Ensign gear provide him with a wide variety of weapons, both lethal and non-lethal. Though he carries two guns on his person, he rarely if ever takes them out. He fears his trembling will cause his aim to be off, and so unless he feels he has no other choice, he will not fire off a bullet. However, Feliciano knows generally how to use his weapons, though he prefers not to fight if given the choice.

In the aftermaths of his missions, or if he stumbles on someone ailing (regardless of species), his compassionate nature often brings him to break out the various food and first aid supplies stored haphazardly in his pack. Not usually organized, Feliciano manages to find anything related to food or helping others both quickly and effectively.

Background:

Feliciano grew up living with a set of loving, doting parents and his older brother, Lovino. When his family sent his brother away to live with his grandfather, Feliciano spent the first several weeks crying for his fratello, and refusing to sleep alone. Worried about him, his family began to take Feliciano out to more social functions, hoping that by meeting new people, he would stop his obsession with Lovino. In truth, Feliciano felt that his fratello was the only one who listened to him, and took what he said seriously. When even social events did little to change Feliciano's disposition, his parents began introducing him to various hobbies, hoping that one or another would catch his eye.

He fell in love with the arts, particularly drawing and painting. At first, his parents were thrilled that he was over his need for his brother and enjoying himself. Feliciano painted and drew pictures of all kinds, showing beautiful landscapes and lonely woods to his parents, who were ultimately delighted with his artistic abilities. But hidden in his closet were paintings and drawings of Lovino, often times painted in a dress so he would not be immediately recognizable to anyone but him. As the years dragged on, Feliciano's paintings of Lovino became less innocent, transitioning from a happy young boy (in a dress) to a teenager, dark and brooding while a young man flirted with him. He never quite understood why he suddenly felt the need to draw Lovino in such settings, but since the paintings were for his eyes only, he never had to explain himself.

One night, Feliciano's parents stumbled in on him storing away one of his darker paintings of Lovino. Terrified that their son was going through depression, they started taking him out to social events again. While away in France, his parents subtly sold all of Feliciano's paintings of Lovino to a wealthy art dealer, and burned anything they could not manage to get rid of. Though they thought their son had no knowledge of what they had done, Feliciano knew. But instead of acting angry, or even confronting his parents about it, he simply threw himself into being more social. His natural charm and bubbly nature attracted many people to him, but inwardly he was suffering from loneliness and hurt by his family's actions.

He tried to find people to buy his landscape art pieces, hoping that if he made enough money he could escape his parents and search for his fratello. But the market for luxuries like fine paintings seemed to have dried up. Still wanting to escape his parents, Feliciano finally signed on to become a Hunter. During his initial training, he was found to have good reaction time, but not much physical strength. The Hunters assigned him to be their Signal Ensign. Though learning the various flag formations was difficult, Feliciano found that being a Hunter granted him access to information not necessarily given to ordinary people. He utilized his position as a Hunter, trying to dig up any information on Lovino that he could.

When he found hints of anyone resembling Lovino, he would immediately ask for a transfer from one branch of the Hunters to another. Since he often switches branches, his rank is fairly low. As he traveled from branch to branch, he realized that his view on the vampires, werewolves, and the humans in the area did not necessarily agree with the other Hunters. Fearful of being kicked out of the organization (thus losing any chance of finding Lovino), Feliciano learned to hide his sentiments and views of the world around him from his fellow Hunters. Instead, he recalled his days at the many parties and social functions in Italy, and tries to find reasons to smile.

Currently, he is stationed in the branch near the city, following a lead that matched his vague description of his fratello. However, he is also learning to like his position among the Hunters, not just for his access to information, but also because he is doing good for the city. Now that he is playing to his nature, Feliciano is more genuinely happy and extroverted than he was back in Italy with his parents. However, he still searches for Lovino, but in the meantime he works hard to do his best as the sole Signal Ensign of the Hunters in the area.

NOTES:

1. The guns chosen are both Italian made guns. The Mateba Autorevolver is actually a teensy bit more modern, but it can fire a couple different rounds (though according to what I've read, certain rounds won't cause enough recoil and energy to put the next chamber/bullet into place, but you can just click the trigger twice to complete it). The second...the Baretta...was made in North Italy and is a little older. Both apparently fire differently (one from an above chamber, one from a below chamber), recoil differently (one directs the recoil over the shooter's wrist, the other through it), and take different bullets.

While silly writer might not know much about guns and firing, Feli's not going to have mastery of either gun. However, it's good to have the references/links, in case anyone wants to know whether to be scared if Feliciano aims a gun at your head...because one needs for you to pull back the sliding bar before you shoot, and the other (by the looks of it...I'll be doing more research when I have time) looks like it just takes the trigger being depressed enough.

2. If Feli is out of bullets, he can use his flag poles to defend himself. But since they are collapsible, they have specific weak points. In general, I think I'll go with his flag poles are telescopic in nature...that is, they have tubes of increasing/decreasing size that fit inside each other, so the weak points would be at the end of each tube/its connection to the next tube.

3. Flag waving is a reference to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], a means of communication via flags used heavily on the sea/by sea-faring vessels. (Notice how I just HAD to throw an Italian Navy reference in here somewhere!) However, flag semaphore could also be used on land as well (e.g. certain flag movements and waves in the Revolutionary War meant different things for the troops).

Also, as the flag-bearer/Signal Ensign, Feliciano is highly vulnerable. Flags are easy to spot, and usually capturing an enemy's flag was a big deal. And since they were holding the flags, they didn't often have means to defend themselves...so yes, though Feliciano is armed and has heavy flags, he's also not necessarily the one you ought to be relying on for protection.

The flares Feliciano carries are also a sly reference to semaphore, as well as the flint stone he carries with him (signal fires).

4. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Feliciano carries on him to hold the flags looks something like this, though I imagine the pouch at the bottom would be slightly longer so he could store the poles in it as well (and because Feliciano isn't super strong, and those slings combined with the weight of a flag are HEAVY).