(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 382

Chapter 382: Some people just go a little crazy
Kellen wasn’t alone comforting them for long, but that didn’t mean he took his duties to make her feel better lightly. Even as the others trickled in, it was clear that they knew what was going on as soon as they saw who Kellen had his arms around.

The excitement on their faces dimmed slightly, but not in a discompassionate way. More in a very understanding way, and they would sit down and join them as Kellen held the girl as she cried.

One of the other girls he had sent out sat down, grabbing a pastry from the tray before them and gave her a sympathetic look.

“Is this about the Esper who couldn’t keep his hands to himself?” She asked and the girl nodded into Kellen’s chest. Kellen glanced around the others, and noticed that they had similar sympathetic looks, as well as some anger as well. “Good. Get it out.” The girl said, and Kellen was glad that they were so supportive.

While the girl took some time to compose herself, her tears slowly drying, Kellen kept an eye on everyone. The other Guides were talking amongst themselves, all of them also keeping an eye on her. It was a little bit funny for Kellen to realise that their behaviour was a bit of a mimic of his own.

Eventually, she calmed down enough and pushed away from Kellen’s chest. Because he was still in his Field Guide uniform, he wasn’t feeling wet at all from her tears. It was a small side benefit from the cloth it was made out of.

“Sorry for taking up so much of everyone’s time.” She apologised, wiping at her eyes and Kellen was the first one to speak up.

“It’s okay. Really. It’s worse for not just yourself, but everyone else if you keep this to yourself. In a selfish way, it’s all about your own mental stability. If you aren’t mentally stable enough to watch your friend’s back, there is a chance you could have an accident in a gate. On a less selfish level, I don’t want any of you while I’m training you to have a bad impression of Field Guides and what they are capable of. Granted, I personally can contribute to the Field Guide image negatively, but there is only so much I can do.” Kellen shrugged.

He knew it wasn’t fully comforting, and he hoped he hadn’t let her down. When he met her gaze she seemed…relatively calm.

“I think…I think I needed to hear that this could affect others.” She made a face, before she raised her gaze to Kellen. “Does this kind of thing happen often? I was friendly with them prior to this, and I just-” She cut herself off, shaking her head and Kellen sighed.

“Hmm. It’s not an excuse, but more of an observation on my part.” Kellen started, and the Guides all stared at him. “I am sure you have dealt with difficult Espers in town, yes?” Kellen confirmed and several of them nodded. “Well, beyond the idea that everyone should help with the gate problem, there is another reason why there is a societal push for Espers to serve on the front lines. They don’t test themselves as much as they need to help their powers grow and gain maturity as an Esper in the city. That isn’t an always statement, just a most times. Some Espers are able to recognise their limits, but some are not.”

Kellen could see several Guides, who had never gone to the front lines truly, nodding. Swallowing. Understanding Kellen’s point on a personal level. Kellen felt himself smile lightly, before he continued.

“There are some who have an easy time adjusting to the new changes or new revelations they have about themselves and their powers, while others don’t handle it as well. I just want to confirm, was this one of the new recruits, or a more experienced Esper?” Kellen pried and the girl looked rather uncomfortable. Kellen waited. She could have also told him to fuck off, and he would have respected that. Instead, it just took her a minute to speak the truth.

“It was…a newer recruit. I had been in charge of them since they arrived at the Guild. I honestly…never expected that kind of behaviour from them.” She admitted and Kellen reached out, giving her shoulder a squeeze in comfort.

“It’s the worst when it comes from those we had higher expectations for.” Kellen told her, empathy deep in his bones. He understood as well. She nodded.

“Is there a difference between newer Espers versus older Espers on the front lines?” Another girl piped up, and Kellen cleared his throat. He nodded, turning back to the general group.

“Yes. There is. For the newer Espers, there is a chance that this new behaviour of theirs is from shock. Shock from what they are experiencing, shock from how much of their powers are being used, and the mental instability that comes with it. Most Espers on the front lines that go, like Lieutenant Hill, are adrenaline junkies. They like that feeling of living on the edge. The lack of guidance when back in the city, you get used to going to a Guiding Center or to your Guiding Division when you feel your levels dip slightly. You can’t always do that while in a gate or on the front lines proper.” Kellen knew that this was taught to them in some capacity, but he felt that you needed to experience it first hand before it truly made sense.

He could tell that almost all of the Guides were in agreement with him.

“There was…there was a desperation to some of them that we were guiding.” Another Guide whispered and Kellen nodded.

“Yes. That is quite common. Remember your training in those moments. You need to be firm with them. When Espers are like that, especially the newer ones, you need to nip that kind of behaviour in the bud right away. If you don’t…” Kellen trailed off. He pushed a hand through his hair, shaking his head as he remembered a few of the Espers on the front lines. “I am sure Guide Jameson pointed out a few Espers to stay away from, yes?” There were several head nods around the table. “Those Espers never leave the front lines. They are practically banned from regular Guiding Centers, and they have files pages long in the general document shared in the city. The reason being that they attempt to take control of the Guide who is guiding them. There have been several times that they had acted disrespectfully enough that other Espers had to get involved. They might have been kicked out of Guilds for this. I tend to avoid them if I can.” Kellen sighed. “Normally, I am the kind of person who thinks people should at least get the benefit of the doubt, but with some Espers? Something snaps in them when they go to the front lines. Same with Guides, but obviously in this case, it is quite harmful to you guys.” A few of them had concerned, but interested faces.

“Guides can also snap? Is it the same? Being forceful, aggressive, or?” It was the girl who had asked the first question, who had eaten a pastry. Kellen glanced around the table. He wasn’t sure one of them would turn into it, but he needed to warn them either way.

“Well, not quite the same. While as a general rule, Espers are there to take, Guides aren’t always there to receive. They are always there to give. So, if someone, a Guide has snapped and is looking for power, how do you think they would do it? If an Esper gets pushy, demanding, maybe even violent or mean, how would someone who holds the mental stability of others in the palm of their hands behave?” Kellen didn’t mean to turn this into a lesson, but maybe it was one he needed to incorporate after the Field Guides had gone to the front lines.

Several of them were thinking, their gazes darting around as they tried to think.

“They…would withhold guiding, probably make them beg for it.” The girl who had cried said quietly and Kellen gave her a soft smile.

“Yes. That’s the case. They normally do so in very dangerous situations, also adrenaline junkies in their own right. The tragedy comes from the fact that they normally pull these kinds of stunts in gates, with inexperienced Espers, and so that often leads to deaths or severe injuries. I’ve talked to a few of these types after these incidents have happened in the past. They never regret them, even if they had lost a limb.” Some of them went pale.

“But normally healing Espers can attack limbs back on.” One of them said and Kellen laughed.

“If they have the other half. We haven’t perfected growing back limbs.” Kellen told them kindly and watched as they grew silent, and pale. No doubt they were thinking of their other teacher, Brent, but Kellen thought that was enough of the serious, sad talk. “Alright. Tell me about the good things that happened now. We can speak more on the negative later. I want to know what you liked about your experience there.” Kellen said and they all straightened.

It took them a little bit, but eventually each and every one had told him something that they enjoyed from the front lines, the mood was a little bit better and Kellen was glad for it. That wasn’t to say that they were all going to stay as Field Guides, but he was glad to hear beyond the one awful experience, everything else had been going well.

Their time inside the gate went well, and this awful interaction happened outside of it, back at base camp. Kellen was glad. He was sure Brent was practically watching over every guiding session, better able to do so since he could feel the movement of their powers.

Most of them had liked the gates. They were pretty even if in a somber kind of way. Kellen agreed with them. It was one thing he missed about the gates. He had liked sneaking in when no one else was around and exploring near the front of the stable gates. It was always so pretty and calm, and it gave him hope for the future.

Just like these Field Guides did.