(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Touring the Guide way

When Kellen put his foot down, telling his Father that he wasn't going to drive him to work on the first day of his new job, Kellen thought the house was going to explode. The man had gone into a fit, furious. When anger hadn't worked, he went into pouting, trying to make his son feel guilty. When that didn't work either, he finally gave up. He knew his son too well, and if none of those were going to work, that was it.

Kellen, however, was pleased that he wasn't going to be known as the spoiled rich kid resting on his parents laurels on the first day this time. What was the point of him spending so much time on the front lines to earn his own respect if his Father dropped him off in a car worth more than the average person's salary for a year? No fucking way was that going to happen.

So, primped and polished, Kellen took the sky train to work with the regular civilians. He hadn't expected the open stares of awe, since he hadn't traveled by train to get to work at Guiding Center B, but he was grateful for the sunglasses he wore. It hid how nervous he was to have so many staring at him.

Like how every Guiding Center had different uniforms, each Guild as well. When the government first established the difference between the general public and those who had awakened powers, they all wore the same uniform. Over time, that changed so that there was a distinction between the two. Since then, most official uniforms were loosely based off of the old government uniforms of the past. Usually, Guilds selected two colours to represent the Guide and the Esper, and blended them.

The Saturn Guild was no different. It was basically a military uniform but with more layers, lapels and buttons for aesthetics. The bright gold buttons gave a nice contrast and made it feel very professional. The Saturn Guild had registered the colours white and black as their official colours after the Guild who had previously used them collapsed. Prior to that Kellen was pretty sure they had used yellow and black. The Nemesis Guild had chosen black and red, while the Peach Guild had chosen white and pink.

What that really meant is all it took was one look at Kellen and everyone knew who he was and where he was going, even if they didn't know his name. White had been labeled the Guide's colour in the Saturn Guild, but any outfit fully white and trimmed with black thread and accents would have stood out. Another thing that might not have helped the stares was the black field jacket the Captain had given him yesterday resting on his arm. He didn't think it was appropriate to bring it in a duffle bag, so he carried it the whole way.

The sky train stopped at the station Kellen was told was the one he was supposed to get off at, and Kellen made his way swiftly through the station. Walking briskly, he made his way to a building that should have blended into the several like it, but somehow managed to stand out.

When others called it the Guild Tower, they hadn't been wrong. It was a skyscraper without a lot of space out front besides concrete and sidewalk. The giant letters spelling out Saturn above the front doors were all that were needed to declare what was held in the tower. It blended in well, but once you stepped inside it felt like you were stepping into a different world. Similar to Guiding Center B, there was a lot of plant life inside the wide space. The lobby, like the Center, was wide open space for almost two storeys. That was where the similarities to the other two buildings ended. It felt like stepping into a sunlight forest instead of a lobby. All the usual suspects were inside, like the front desk, several couches and coffee tables dotted the space, but it was overshadowed by the design of the space. Vines covered almost every space, trees and plants blended into the surroundings. Kellen wasn't even sure if he saw any pots that the plants resided in. Kellen remembered, after a moment of stunned silence spent staring at the lobby, that the Captain had recruited an A Class, almost S Class Earth Esper into his guild about two years ago. One of the stipulations that he had made, and also made public, was that any free space the Esper wanted they could turn into a green space. The lobby was a clear example of that take over.

Gulping the clean air into his lungs, Kellen headed towards the back of the lobby, towards the front desk. Ms. Hill hadn't said anything about checking in, but Kellen thought it was at least appropriate to let them know he had entered the building. Especially after he only got his card yesterday. The receptionist wasn't the same as yesterday, but she took in his nervous stature and Guide uniform and didn't bat an eyelash. She handed Kellen a couple of informational brochures with a smile and welcomed him to the Guild, before giving him directions to where Lieutenant Casper wanted to meet him. He thanked her kindly before following her instructions to a T.

Where Casper had wanted to meet him was about two floors up from the lobby, in a large room filled with tables, chairs and couches. It also had several Espers and Guides focused on the large t.v.s hung up in the room. Kellen could tell from the several small snack bars pressed against the walls that this must be a meeting space of some kind, but like everyone else, Kellen found his eyes being drawn towards the screens.

The Esper games were playing, and not only that, the finals. He'd walked in just as the previous match ended and just so happened to walk in to witness his sister's semi final match. She was apparently up against a Fire Elemental Esper. Gwen had been leading the polls in both fan and power rankings, so when her face filled the screen the sound of loud cheering could be heard. Even several of the people in the room cheered, and Kellen felt his lips turn up slightly. The loud gong rang out, signaling the start of the match and Kellen watched as the Fire Esper made his intentions very clear. He didn't want Gwen to activate her powers, and he assumed that if he got rid of all the shadows in the arena with his fire powers, that would be the case. Kellen watched as Gwen's eyes slid from gray to purple. That was the only warning to the other Esper before she disappeared from the screen. The crowd went wild. Suddenly, the camera focused on the other Esper as Gwen's leg materialized and kicked the shit out of the other Esper. From that point on it was a one way pummel fest while the other Esper spat fire like a dying dragon. It was a very visual match.

"I am so sorry for running late Guide Woods. My car wouldn't start this morning so I had to take transit." Kellen smiled as Casper came into the room, clearly out of breath. He was wearing almost the exact same outfit as yesterday, but the jacket was a slightly brighter shade of white. His hair also wasn't spiky yet, which made Kellen's lip quirk up slightly higher before he gestured to the t.v.s where his sister's hand was being held up as the victor of the match.

"No worries, Lieutenant Casper. I was enjoying my sister's match." Casper glanced at the screen where the slow motion replays were already playing, blinked, then nodded.

"Ah, I seemed to have forgotten that you had a sibling. She seems to have won?" He asked and Kellen laughed.

"I think it was an unfair match. The poor Esper thought that if she didn't have shadows she couldn't use her powers. Obviously, that's not how her powers work. She isn't a Dark Esper." He pulled out his phone while Casper pondered his words. Kellen sent off a quick, teasing text to his sister.

Saw your match. You fought like a little bitch. Love you

Smiling, he tucked the phone away before turning to the other Guide. Casper was watching the play by play with interest.

"She was aiming for our guild, wasn't she?" He asked and Kellen nodded.

"She's going to be so pissed that I joined a day before she did. She's very competitive." Kellen's smile held a bit of mischief. He couldn't wait to see her expression when she saw him. Especially since it had been two weeks with no contact from her. They took away all outside connections when the games started, so that there was no outside interference. Casper glanced at the other Guide before clearing his throat.

"Well, I'm sure you'll see her shortly. The Captain along with Ms. Hill are currently at the games to pick out their top recruits. Then they plan to bring them here to sign their first contracts. They should be here some time in the afternoon. But before that, we need to stop by the medical office for a check up." Kellen could feel the other Guide's gaze sharpen and Kellen swallowed. He had eaten and slept well as ordered, but he felt the inspection of his condition like a brand. Clearly he passed since Casper led them calmly towards the elevators. He even explained what floor they were going to for Kellen's peace of mind. Once the doors opened on this level however, Kellen found that he was already familiar with it. It was where he had woken up the day prior.

Casper led them in the opposite direction of the room Kellen had been in the day before. Both hallways looked the same, with many doors down each side, small labels either filled with names or left blank. The only difference down this hallway was that the names were directly on the doors. They stopped at one labeled 'Green'. Casper knocked before pushing it open and Kellen got a look at where his friend worked.