In his Fae mien, Klaus is compact and quick-moving, with a pair of dark, branching antlers and long rabbit-like ears rising where his human ears would be. The antlers have a dry, ridged texture like old horn; their tips bear pale rub marks from his habit of ducking too late beneath beams. His russet hair is combed into a sharp side part and kept so meticulously that even his fringe seems measured. When unsettled, his breath catches in short, audible sniffs and his ears turn toward every nearby sound before he does. The grooming is unexpectedly exact for a freeloader who sleeps in hidden corners. He leaves the impression of a man listening for a door that has not yet opened.

Klaus is alert and resourceful, yet avoids commitments until he has tested their cost. In ordinary company he is evasive and quick with excuses; when someone is in immediate danger, he becomes brisk, candid, and startlingly decisive. He wants to be treated as useful but resents being measured only by what he can provide.

Othmar arrived from Bavaria by way of the Dreaming, insisting the passage had taken less time than anyone believed. At the Lodge, he adopted the name Klaus and a human appearance, hoping both would help him pass without notice. The freehold was wary of him, Marine, and Adriene from the start. Klaus responded by quietly learning its boundaries: noting pencil marks at concealed turns, watching which doors carried a draft, and memorizing approaches that others overlooked. Joanna, a pooka among the Lodge staff, repeatedly helped the three Gallain evade unwelcome attention. When visitors or staff drew near, she sometimes hid them in the freehold’s Dreaming. Klaus once treated one of those refuges as a dependable escape and led Marine into a pocket with no way through. They survived the mistake, but Marine has since checked his routes rather than trusting his word alone. The Lodge has put up with them for now, though its welcome is wearing thin. Klaus has nowhere dependable to stay outside its bounds, so he searches for tasks he can do and offers assistance before anyone has to ask what he wants in return. He dislikes admitting how much he relies on Joanna, and grows prickly when people value him only for his usefulness. He will bargain and hedge when the stakes are unclear, but when someone faces immediate danger, his caution gives way to quick, plain decisions.