A man in a black leather trench coat sat on a bulky stool in front of a poorly made table. His short black hair was slightly damp from sweat from having to stay in a room with all of the windows and holes in the wall closed up. His eyes were closed as he wiped at the sweat trickling down from just above his brow. Kleer's eyes flicked open and the single hanging light above him danced in his black pupils giving him a ghostly appearance as he sipped at the murky water in his cup. He greatly hated the time before and after two actions because the time between was a matter of forced patience.
He set his cup down on the uneven table and made sure it would stay steady before reaching down below the table for a cobbled together, Viking sword. The handle was made of some undistinguished wood covered in gritty black masking tape for grip. The blade was just barely four feet long and looked as if it was once a beautiful steel sword and the crude handle was definitely not worth of it. Now the blade was covered in grime and nicks and scratches raked across the metal. Kleer stared at the reflection of his dark eyes as he twisted the blade in his hand watching the distorted effects.
Slowly standing up, Kleer walked over to the back wall where two hooks jutted outward. He gently, almost ceremoniously, balanced the blade on the hooks before kneeling down in front of it. He bowed his head in respect and began to mumble words that only he could understand. A tribute to his creator who he only knew as Sandman. It was he who had given him the old blade before departing from Manticore and leaving him down in the dungeons where he had dwelled for years before Renfro stumbled upon him. She had given him drive and purpose with the role of hunting down escaped Manticore kids after the escape of the X-5's. With her concern for the public knowledge of the anomalies he had mastered hunting silently and leaving no trace. Unfortunately, in his time working for Renfro he had only hunted down four escapees but had made sure his presence had never been seen.
A knock at the door broke Kleer's train of thought causing him to stand up and sit back at the table before calling out, "Come in."
A hunched over creature slowly dragged himself in and sat at the other side of the table. He carefully eased his leg under the table and whimpered in pain. Kleer stared at the anomaly in front of him and wondered how he must have looked when first born. He doubted that his obvious Simian features developed over time or were genetically altered after his birth. Kleer made a mental note of the creature's injury before speaking, "How can I help you?"
The anomaly let out several squeaks and then a deep grunt while gesturing madly. Kleer slowly nodded as if he understood what he was saying and waited for when he had finished before responding, "I see." Kleer thought about what an appropriate way of escape was and decided to take a stab at faking understanding, "I'll talk to Sturm and see if he has any ideas."
The Simian nodded emphatically and a forced smile showed off crude and broken teeth. Kleer started to stand up but sat back down when getting an idea, "I think you should have a name. Someone of your importance should have one. I guess we'll just go with the obvious choices. How about Simi or Monk?"
The anomaly thought about it for a few moments and then grunted deeply. Kleer took a stab again, "Monk it is. Why don't you see about your leg while I discuss your thoughts with Sturm?"
As Kleer closed the door behind him he took one last glance at Monk who was swelling out his chest in pride and Kleer silently shook his head before closing the door. He disliked misleading him but he knew the importance of respect and fear. In this case Kleer could use all the respect he could garner. He made his way quietly giving silent nods and pats on the back to all he passed before sliding the outside door and stepping out into the cool night.
A soft zephyr caressed the beads of sweat on his face and quickly brought down his temperature. He inhaled the air deeply and looked up at the night sky with longing. His senses told him that another presence was beside him and rather than seem alarmed he decided to play as if he was omniscient. Glancing next to him he noticed a large canine creature with scraggly fur and large eyes that stared up into the sky as if trying to see what Kleer was looking at. When the canine noticed Kleer looking at him he turned to face him and Kleer smiled brotherly, "Nice night huh?"
The canine creature turned his head slightly but kept his eyes on Kleer as if he was trying to get a different view of him. Kleer started to think that he didn't understand him before he responded, "Yes. Dark night. Keep us hidden." His voice was deep and guttural but also very compassionate sounding. It gave Kleer the idea that when he could make his voice extremely frightening and disturbing if he wanted to.
"Definitely one upside. What's your name?" Kleer asked.
"X-2 134 but they call me," he trailed off just slightly and sniffed the air before responding, "they call me Nathan."
"I saw you come in today. Any problem escaping or finding us?"
"Hunted by X-4's. Not easy but I made it out. Use their faults against them. Their pride. Their arrogance. Their egotism."
Kleer smiled knowingly and nodded sympathetically, "Great job Nathan. I'm glad to have you here with us."
Kleer was about to go back inside but Nathan's hand stopped him but not in a threatening manner though Kleer took quick notice of the long thick claws on his thickly padded hands. "What your intentions? Others follow your lead. They know not where, I think."
"I'm not sure of that yet Nathan. Gathering us together is goal number one. Then, I don't know."
"Talk is you fight two nights ago. Talk says you kill X-6's."
"Not exactly. I didn't kill anyone but I sent Manticore a little present."
Nathan nodded, "I stay with you now. See what later brings. Your intentions good....... Nathan stays. Bad...... Nathan still might stay."
Kleer smiled and patted Nathan on the back before stepping back into the old warehouse. As he slid the door shut behind him his mind quickly shifted Nathan to the side of useful in a never ending file of everyone he had met since the escape. Most of those inside were asleep on the ground or on old crates. Those lucky enough curled up on old blankets and torn up mattresses from what was once the sleeping quarters of a guard center in the front of the building. As Kleer carefully stepped around them and into the back room he noticed Cond sitting with two others off to the side and made a mental note to watch Cond more closely.
As he opened the door to his little room he was relieved to see that Monk was gone and so he once again sat at the table on his crude bench. His eyes were nearly all black with just crescent slivers on the outsides. With a sigh he picked a point on the wall to stare at until morning and hoped that sleep would come in a week or two.
He set his cup down on the uneven table and made sure it would stay steady before reaching down below the table for a cobbled together, Viking sword. The handle was made of some undistinguished wood covered in gritty black masking tape for grip. The blade was just barely four feet long and looked as if it was once a beautiful steel sword and the crude handle was definitely not worth of it. Now the blade was covered in grime and nicks and scratches raked across the metal. Kleer stared at the reflection of his dark eyes as he twisted the blade in his hand watching the distorted effects.
Slowly standing up, Kleer walked over to the back wall where two hooks jutted outward. He gently, almost ceremoniously, balanced the blade on the hooks before kneeling down in front of it. He bowed his head in respect and began to mumble words that only he could understand. A tribute to his creator who he only knew as Sandman. It was he who had given him the old blade before departing from Manticore and leaving him down in the dungeons where he had dwelled for years before Renfro stumbled upon him. She had given him drive and purpose with the role of hunting down escaped Manticore kids after the escape of the X-5's. With her concern for the public knowledge of the anomalies he had mastered hunting silently and leaving no trace. Unfortunately, in his time working for Renfro he had only hunted down four escapees but had made sure his presence had never been seen.
A knock at the door broke Kleer's train of thought causing him to stand up and sit back at the table before calling out, "Come in."
A hunched over creature slowly dragged himself in and sat at the other side of the table. He carefully eased his leg under the table and whimpered in pain. Kleer stared at the anomaly in front of him and wondered how he must have looked when first born. He doubted that his obvious Simian features developed over time or were genetically altered after his birth. Kleer made a mental note of the creature's injury before speaking, "How can I help you?"
The anomaly let out several squeaks and then a deep grunt while gesturing madly. Kleer slowly nodded as if he understood what he was saying and waited for when he had finished before responding, "I see." Kleer thought about what an appropriate way of escape was and decided to take a stab at faking understanding, "I'll talk to Sturm and see if he has any ideas."
The Simian nodded emphatically and a forced smile showed off crude and broken teeth. Kleer started to stand up but sat back down when getting an idea, "I think you should have a name. Someone of your importance should have one. I guess we'll just go with the obvious choices. How about Simi or Monk?"
The anomaly thought about it for a few moments and then grunted deeply. Kleer took a stab again, "Monk it is. Why don't you see about your leg while I discuss your thoughts with Sturm?"
As Kleer closed the door behind him he took one last glance at Monk who was swelling out his chest in pride and Kleer silently shook his head before closing the door. He disliked misleading him but he knew the importance of respect and fear. In this case Kleer could use all the respect he could garner. He made his way quietly giving silent nods and pats on the back to all he passed before sliding the outside door and stepping out into the cool night.
A soft zephyr caressed the beads of sweat on his face and quickly brought down his temperature. He inhaled the air deeply and looked up at the night sky with longing. His senses told him that another presence was beside him and rather than seem alarmed he decided to play as if he was omniscient. Glancing next to him he noticed a large canine creature with scraggly fur and large eyes that stared up into the sky as if trying to see what Kleer was looking at. When the canine noticed Kleer looking at him he turned to face him and Kleer smiled brotherly, "Nice night huh?"
The canine creature turned his head slightly but kept his eyes on Kleer as if he was trying to get a different view of him. Kleer started to think that he didn't understand him before he responded, "Yes. Dark night. Keep us hidden." His voice was deep and guttural but also very compassionate sounding. It gave Kleer the idea that when he could make his voice extremely frightening and disturbing if he wanted to.
"Definitely one upside. What's your name?" Kleer asked.
"X-2 134 but they call me," he trailed off just slightly and sniffed the air before responding, "they call me Nathan."
"I saw you come in today. Any problem escaping or finding us?"
"Hunted by X-4's. Not easy but I made it out. Use their faults against them. Their pride. Their arrogance. Their egotism."
Kleer smiled knowingly and nodded sympathetically, "Great job Nathan. I'm glad to have you here with us."
Kleer was about to go back inside but Nathan's hand stopped him but not in a threatening manner though Kleer took quick notice of the long thick claws on his thickly padded hands. "What your intentions? Others follow your lead. They know not where, I think."
"I'm not sure of that yet Nathan. Gathering us together is goal number one. Then, I don't know."
"Talk is you fight two nights ago. Talk says you kill X-6's."
"Not exactly. I didn't kill anyone but I sent Manticore a little present."
Nathan nodded, "I stay with you now. See what later brings. Your intentions good....... Nathan stays. Bad...... Nathan still might stay."
Kleer smiled and patted Nathan on the back before stepping back into the old warehouse. As he slid the door shut behind him his mind quickly shifted Nathan to the side of useful in a never ending file of everyone he had met since the escape. Most of those inside were asleep on the ground or on old crates. Those lucky enough curled up on old blankets and torn up mattresses from what was once the sleeping quarters of a guard center in the front of the building. As Kleer carefully stepped around them and into the back room he noticed Cond sitting with two others off to the side and made a mental note to watch Cond more closely.
As he opened the door to his little room he was relieved to see that Monk was gone and so he once again sat at the table on his crude bench. His eyes were nearly all black with just crescent slivers on the outsides. With a sigh he picked a point on the wall to stare at until morning and hoped that sleep would come in a week or two.
