(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 256

Chapter 256: Trying to wash away your worries Chapter 256: Trying to wash away your worries Kellen was on his way to pick up a fresh tea from the coffee shop when he noticed a large crowd forming in the hallway between the cafeteria and the coffee shop.

The crowd was so big it was blocking the entrance into the coffee shop itself and Kellen was surprised.

Normally everyone here had enough consideration to be respectful and not do such things.

What had distracted them?

Curious, and confused as to why that was happening and blocking his way, Kellen slightly sped up his gait.

A few of the Espers closer to him noticed him and went white, tapping the shoulders of those around them until the entire group realised he was there.

“O-Oh!

Guide Woods!

We weren’t doing anything bad!” Kellen felt a frown form on his lips.

That wasn’t what someone doing something good said.

He shifted, leaning on his cane.

His thigh was throbbing slightly, but it wasn’t as painful as it had been yesterday.

He was quite grateful for the cream.  “You weren’t, were you?

Then what has the lot of you congregating here?

Who or what are you looking at?” Kellen asked, but instead of answering with words, they stepped back and revealed who they were staring at.  Kellen felt his own eyes widen in surprise as he was directed to look where they had been looking.  A man.

That was the first thing he noticed.

But his face was slightly sunken in, his expression forlorn, and he was wearing several sweaters.

His brown hair wasn’t spiked and instead lay mostly flat against his head and face, covering his expression.

It couldn’t hide it, since Kellen had a clear view of him from the doorway.

He was sitting in one of the giant, comfy chairs in the coffee shop that was pressed against the window.

His legs were pulled up, and he had his arms wrapped around his legs.

In front of him, on the table were a few things.

Several of the shakes that Taylor created, along with a big cup of some kind of warm drink as well as a glass of water.  He looked…better, but not quite.

Kellen didn’t know that he’d started moving before the man turned towards him.

Casper looked terribly upset to see Kellen, and that only made Kellen’s heart twist in his chest.  “I promise I’m not here to guide anyone.” The words spilled out of Casper and Kellen flinched.

Casper’s gaze jerked to Kellen’s cane and Kellen watched as the stronger man’s eyes began to water.

Something was terribly wrong, but Kellen couldn’t put his finger on it.  His tea forgotten, Kellen shuffled closer to Casper until Kellen’s legs were touching Casper’s feet.  “Casper?

I’m not going to chastise you for coming into the building.

It’s your place too, alright?

I just worried you would continue to work if I didn’t tell you to go home.

God, I didn’t want to make you feel like you couldn’t come back here.” Kellen muttered, looking over him.  He felt…unstable.

That was a good way to put it.  Casper looked away from him before glancing behind him.

Kellen turned his body, and noticed he was staring at one of the many shakes on the table behind him.

Kellen grabbed one of them, handing it to him, and watched as Casper opened the lid and poured it into his mouth.

Casper then turned to the right and revealed the bag that must have held empties.

Kellen had a hard time wrapping his head around it since there were so many of them.  He blinked.

Concern filled him the longer he stared at Casper.  “It’s…okay Kellen.

I know you did it for my own good, I just…I felt like I was going to go crazy if I didn’t feel others around me.” Casper said quietly and Kellen didn’t know what to say.  Yeah, that made total sense.

Casper grew up with this Guild.

It was in his blood as much as it was in Rhys’.

Kellen should have realised that when he’d banished him, and fuck, he really should have sent him to his Dad.  Kellen let out a heavy sigh, running his hand over his face.

There was no use to beating himself up like this.

He was just going to have to come face to face with the fact that his Dad was alive, Casper was alive, and that was okay.

No more what ifs.  “Let me go get a tea, and then we can go talk in my office.

Somewhere a little more quiet.

The others seem like they want to speak to you.

Is it alright if I send them over?” Casper’s dull, dim expression brightened and Kellen didn’t wait for him to answer after seeing that.

Fuck.

He’d made another bad call.  It’s fine.

It had to be fine.

It’s part of shouldering leadership, but dammit if it didn’t hurt every time he realised it.  Kellen turned and with his free hand, motioned for the Espers to come into the coffee shop.

He watched as all of them brightened, and Kellen realised that they must be some of the Espers that Casper took care of regularly.

They must care about him deeply if they were this excited to see him.  Kellen realised he barely knew the man, and after all the support that Casper had offered him, Kellen didn’t think that was far.

He needed to do something in return for him.

He was obviously having a hard time, and had been pushing himself because he was having one.

Kellen didn’t want to watch Casper kill himself, even if it was doing something he loved.

He wanted the man to be around for a long time.  He had a feeling that the Guild wouldn’t be half of what it was if Casper hadn’t been here.  Shuffling towards the counter, Kellen ordered a latte, a regular tea didn’t seem to be enough at this point, and watched over Casper as he spoke with the others.

It was good to see that speaking to them brought a bit of colour back into his skin, but Kellen couldn’t get rid of the frown on his face.  He’d done that.

He’d taken him away to heal his body, but hadn’t considered his mental health.

Damn it.

He still had so much he needed to improve.

Was he doing the same with his Field Guides?

Brent?

Taylor?

He was going to have to do an audit after he’d gotten the finalized version of the new Guides into the Guild.

Maybe see how everyone was doing.

It was a trying time.

No one would doubt it, hopefully.  They called his latte and Kellen sighed before he shuffled over and grabbed it, then made his way towards Casper.  Everyone stared at his cane.

He didn’t let it bother him.

It was totally normal for people to stare at something that was new or different.

It actually was a good chance for him to understand how Brent felt all of the time.

He liked being about to do his own kind of investigation into it without faking it.  It felt sincere then, and even if Brent didn’t like that Kellen was injured like this, it wasn’t as if he’d lost a limb.

He still had all of them.

He wasn’t going for the full authentic experience.  Kellen reached Casper’s side and the Espers who had been chatting excitedly to him came to a halt as Kellen stood there.  “Casper, I think we should head to my office now.” Kellen told him and Casper nodded.

The Espers, bless them, helped Casper and Kellen carry all of the things that Casper had brought with him.

Kellen was quite thankful that they were being so helpful since Kellen couldn’t carry anything at all right now.  Casper seemed embarrassed, but Kellen wasn’t.

It was a small privilege of being a Guide.

Usually he took exception to it, but that was when he was able bodied.

Kellen was currently not that, therefore, take advantage of them.

It was their right.

It wasn’t like he was having them do anything crazy.

They were basically carrying Casper’s groceries.  Two of them got into the elevator with them as they headed for the research department and Kellen watched as Casper nervously fiddled with his hands.

His skin colour had drastically improved in the few minutes he’d spoken to the other Espers, so Kellen did his best to keep a conversation going.  Just simple things.

Asking about their day, when they usually had guiding with Casper.

If Casper was a good Guide.

Simple.

Easy.

Lightly teasing questions.  With each slight jab, or poke at Casper, the Espers laughed and that seemed to bring Casper back to life.

It was a worrying, but good thing to see.

It was important, because Casper was an important member of the Guild, and Kellen had no doubt that Casper probably had the same thoughts about him.  All semblance of calm was blown away when Casper, Kellen and the two other Espers spotted Rhys pacing in front of the research department doors.

He looked frazzled, confused, shocked even.

Kellen had never seen him like this, and Casper nearly rooted himself to the ground.

Kellen, confused, glanced at the other man, and realised that Casper was afraid.

No, terrified.

Rhys spotted Casper, and he froze in place too.

His expression was eerily similar to Casper’s, and Kellen glanced at the Espers behind him.

They seemed scared, but it wasn’t to the same depth that the Captain and his Lieutenant had.  What was going on?

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS CalyB Kellen’s about to find out something awful.