Fenna van Houwelinck

— Fenna's character profile

**Fenna van Houlewinck** is a character in Glory Hounds. She is an art curator and gallerist who operates Opgedoekt, a popular exhibition space in the Sweetwater District of Schippersburg.

## Appearance

Fenna is a curvy stoat with brown and white fur. She wears a green turtleneck sweater and white jeans, with a coat draped over her shoulders. Fenna accessorizes fashionably with sunglasses, earrings, gold bracelets on both wrists, a large belt, and a purse. Her nails are painted green. She has blue eyes.

She speaks in a soft, high-pitched voice that Alex describes as 'princess-like.'

## Personality

Fenna is an intelligent woman with a warm disposition and a passion for art. She is bubbly, encouraging, and very talkative, being somewhat prone to getting on tangents even at inopportune times. Despite her influential background Fenna remains humble and philanthropic, dedicating much of her life toward fundraising for those less privileged and sharing the joys of life (and especially art) with others. Likely as a result of her status, she retains various connections in high places, such personal contacts with "a friend" at the local police station and with Dawn Hound himself.

Though typically lighthearted, Fenna worries greatly about appeasing Opgedoekt's backers and seems to resent the sway they have over the gallery's display pieces. She admits to putting aside her personal emotions regarding the quality and historical significance of the art on exhibit in favor of meeting the backers' demands to showcase more modern and valuable works, mostly because she relies on their funding to support the galleries' charitable endeavors.

## Story

### Prior to Glory Hounds

Fenna is a descendant of renowned Batavian painter Anthonie van Houwelinck, but seems to try and stay discreet about her lineage. Perhaps as a result of this background, she quickly developed a passion for the arts and decided to dedicate her life toward the subject. Many years before Glory Hounds, Fenna attended a class at the Schippersburg Tea Academy alongside Milo, whom she befriended and nicknamed "Meemee" as a result of him stuttering while introducing himself.

Shortly before the events of Glory Hounds, Fenna opened up an art gallery named Opgedoekt, which quickly gained popularity and renown. The gallery's collection is composed entirely of pieces donated by various artists and a fair amount of proceeds from ticket sales support charitable causes. Despite her passion, Fenna struggles with accommodating her financial backers' demands, but seems to tolerate their influence as a means to upkeep Opgedoekt's finances and fund her philanthropic endeavors. She particularly seems to dislike the recent decision to remove the gallery's van Houwelinck piece on loan from the Royal Family in favor of the more "exciting" Money Talks gown.

### Issue #1

While hurrying down a busy street in Schippersburg, Alex collides with Fenna, knocking himself to the ground and scattering the large bundle of papers she is carrying. She helps him up with a grip that he remarks is strong for her size, and she assures him no harm was done. Alex helps her gather her papers, which include sketches and notes written in Old Batavian, and when he asks about them Fenna explains that she is the curator of Opgedoekt.

Alex mentions an expensive gown made of diamonds called the "Money Talks" gown that the gallery has recently acquired, and Fenna calls it one of her favorite pieces in the collection. She then introduces herself, but only provides her first name. As the two part, Fenna gives Alex a ticket for two to Opgedoekt and calls him by his surname, which he realizes only afterward that he never mentioned to her. Later, Alex discovers the signature and address of the mysterious Dawn Hound written on the back of the ticket.

### Issue #2

Shortly after Alex and Milo finish their training for the day, Fenna calls the headquarters. She is delighted to see Alex has made it into Dawn Hound's inner circle and attempts to make casual conversation with the pair before being rushed along by Milo. Fenna reveals that Opgedoekt has received a calling card from the Saltwater Syndicate threatening to steal the Money Talks gown, and requests assistance in discreetly preventing the theft. She gladly accepts the team's help and expresses confidence in Alex's capabilities before ending the call.

Fenna later welcomes Alex and Lou to the gallery and, with a degree of sadness, explains that the van Houwelinck painting Lou had hoped to see is no longer on display due to the influence of her backers. She notes how many organizations rely on the gallery's donations and lightly comments on the month's charitable cause before asking to have a private word with Alex. While walking along the path of the gallery's audio tour, Fenna explains to Alex that she has verified the authenticity of the calling card and relays everything she knows about the Syndicate, in addition to elaborating on her relationship with Milo. She then departs to allow Alex to perform reconnaissance.

After the Syndicate is revealed to have been working incognito as janitors, they quickly capture Fenna and place her in "the brig" (one of the gallery's broom closets) and manage to steal the Money Talks gown. She is rescued shortly after by Lou, and the two are joined by Milo to wait for Dawn and Dusk Hound to recover from being knocked out by the thieves. Fenna frets that the exhibition will not be able to continue without the gown being stolen and declares that she will be having a word with the temp agency through which she hired the "janitors," before departing to accompany Lou to De Halve Haen and recover from her experience.

Fenna later meets Dawn Hound and Dusk Hound upon their successful retrieval of the container they think is holding the gown, and congratulates them on a job well done. The group is shocked to find, however, that the container is empty and the gown has already been stolen by Khameau. Fenna recalls that he worked for the "temp agency" she hired, and Raoul notes that the whole agency was likely a scam from the outset. Fenna is somewhat defeated by the loss of the gown, though she expresses faith that the heroes will recover it nonetheless and tells them to take care.

## Relationships

### Milo

Many years before the events of Glory Hounds, Fenna and Milo became acquainted while classmates at the Schippersburg Tea Academy. When introducing himself to the rest of the class, Milo stuttered out his name, leading Fenna and the rest of the class to affectionately give him the nickname "Meemee." Fenna seems to know a different side to Milo than most, describing him as having "a delicate side" and remaining unfazed by his typical cold and to-the-point disposition. The pair remained friends even after their graduation, with Fenna presumably becoming involved with Dawn Hound's activities through their connection.

### Dawn Hound

Fenna likely came to know Raoul (and his alter ego) through her connection to Milo. She occasionally acts as an informant or agent on behalf of Dawn Hound, such as in recruiting Alex as his sidekick. Fenna has a direct line of contact to Raoul's hidden headquarters, evidencing a great deal of trust between them. Fenna has a large amount of faith in Raoul's heroic endeavors and calls him for assistance immediately after Opgedoekt receives a calling card from the Saltwater Syndicate.

### Alex

As with Dawn Hound, Fenna has a strong degree of belief in Alex's potential and trusts him to help protect Opgedoekt's collection from the Saltwater Syndicate. She appears excited to be working with him and kindly provides encouragement, though she is also careful to emphasize the importance of his mission.

## Trivia

* Fenna shares characteristics with Clifford Tibbits, a Batavian stoat from The Smoke Room who is the grandson of Anthonie van Houwelinck. Fenna was originally imagined as the descendant of Cliff's sister, but now that their respective visual novels have been reestablished to take place in different continuities, it is unknown what connection Fenna and Cliff share, if any.
* Compared to other characters featured in initial cast concept art, Fenna seems to have experienced a more significant redesign between her concept and final sprites' designs. In initial art, Fenna did not wear glasses and had a more simplistic hairstyle that was simply a tuft of hair the same color as the rest of her fur. She also dresses more casually, with a darker green sweater, no accessories, and a simple tote bag rather than a purse.

## Gallery

Promo art featuring Fenna illustrated by Shtar.Close-up of Fenna in the promotional concept art. Note the lack of glasses and accessories, as well as the more casual dress style and alternate hairstyle.