(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 395

Chapter 395: A day full of contemplation

Kellen and Rhys didn’t end up going back to sleep. Which meant that Kellen was awake, dressed, and had his own tea in his hand as he sent off the first half of his second group without a hitch. He wasn’t expecting the second half of his first group’s arrival until later, so he went off to his classes. Thankful for the jacket he was wearing.

He’d left some pretty serious teeth marks on his wrist and the meaty part of his hand. No one was really looking at his hands right now, besides Rhys, so he was free from criticism from everyone but Taylor.

Who made a comment about him needing healing as soon as she saw him in the small waiting room in the afternoon.

Rhys was busy laughing to himself as Taylor frowned. She at least looked better then the last pick up they had done, and he had a feeling that was intentional. She didn’t want to be hounded by the recently returned Guides like last time.

Kellen could understand. They had just come from a rather intense experience. Their boundaries were a little skewed because they were different on the front lines. You had to be pushy, you had to be forceful on the front lines when it came to Espers. It was the opposite when in the cities. The Espers were the forceful ones when it came to the cities.

So when Guides, particularly Field Guides came back from the front lines, there was usually a period of time where they were forceful with Espers. It got them...attention, that was for sure. It faded over time, but Kellen found it a little bit funny that it only took a week for them to change their habits.

Thankfully, Kellen hadn’t heard that there had been any altercations or issues with the second group. In fact, much like the first group, Kellen had only heard praises. So many, in fact, that some of his former trainers had reached out through proper channels to congratulate him on what he was doing, and offer their services if he needed any help. It was strange.

He was just doing what he was asked to do, and yet he was getting a lot of recognition for it. It was funny that now he was doing something that he didn’t think was a big deal, everyone was giving him the attention that he had originally wanted when he first went to the front lines. All he could do was laugh now that that was the case.

It was even funnier to him that he didn’t really need it anymore.

~

When the Guides began to arrive with the same Esper as an escort, they looked around, tired, but excited. Their eyes lit up in a similar fashion as the first group when their eyes landed on Kellen. He was surrounded in only a few short minutes, all of them talking a mile a minute.

Bree was the worst for it. Her eyes were sparkling, her face flushed as she tried to recount everything that had happened on the front lines in two minutes. Kellen was impressed that she could talk that quickly, and was pleased to see that her worries hadn’t translated into an all encompassing fear of the front lines.

They weren’t as easy to pass off to Taylor because she was well taken care of. That was a small problem, changed when Rhys stepped in with a smile. He easily maneuvered the Guides into their checkups, and a few of them were in trouble.

That might also be why they weren’t as willing to go to Taylor. Both Taylor and Kellen chastised them, publicly, but respectfully for ignoring any injuries they sustained. Kellen also warned that Brent was going to hear about this, and that made them even more upset.

Kellen was learning that they had a fun teacher and a strict teacher dynamic. Kellen wasn’t upset that he was the strict teacher, and it worked in his favour if he could use the disappointment of Brent as a threat for them to report their injuries. Kellen wanted them to start with safe practises, and then hopefully, remain doing said safe practises.

He wanted to set them up for success.

Unlike the previous group, Kellen did feel that a few of the Guides might drop from the class. It wasn’t something he could exactly say out loud with confidence, but it was a knowing that washed over him. They were excited, yes, but he couldn’t tell with some of them that it was excitement that they had gone to the front lines and done something that others hadn’t, or if it was because they were back home.

Kellen had assumed that Rhys had done quite well for himself, but he didn’t realise it had been that good. Rhys had been all smiles when Kellen had looked at him, all proud and puffed up. It was clear that he was happy to show off his wealth, and it wasn’t until later, when they were alone and holding hands that Rhys confided that he was happy. Happy that he could show Kellen how much he could provide for the other man.

So he just wanted Rhys to feel happy, and safe, and content. _{ƒrēewebnovel.com}