(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Cute little sis

It was as Casper and Kellen were leaving the training facilities that they noticed a large crowd around the entrance of the gym. From a distance they could tell most of the group were younger than the others around them, and only a few of them were in uniform. Kellen felt his body pick up pace as he saw a familiar form among them. The younger ones were distracted, their heads on a swivel, while some were asking questions of the more experienced Espers.

"Hey, Invisogirl!" Kellen called and watched as the brunette head snapped towards his direction. At first, Kellen could read excitement on her face before it morphed into one of anger. He could have sworn that for a brief moment her eyes glowed purple before she charged him. Kellen felt every older Esper in the room tense as the younger Esper raced towards him, and they would have prevented her if Kellen hadn't looked so excited to see her.

"You motherfucker! I can't believe you!" She yelled as she charged him. It looked like she was going to hit him but instead she wrapped her arms around the taller man, picking him up in a tight hug and spinning him around. Kellen laughed, giving her a good squeeze in return.

"Hey, I didn't plan it." He insisted, but she harrumphed in response.

"I don't believe you for a goddamn second. Every time I go to do something on my own, thinking it's new and original, without fucking fail, you do it first! That is so petty of you." She put down the older man who smiled at her warmly. He placed his hands on her head and ruffled her hair, much to her disappointment while Kellen took her in. She'd gotten leaner in the time he hadn't seen her, her arms filling out more. From the touch alone he could tell she needed guiding, but he knew better than to do it without permission. Gwen took in her older brother at the same time, and instead of the warm smile Kellen expected, her eyes narrowed. "Woah, what the fuck happened to you while I was gone? It was only two weeks, so why does it look like you lost 20 pounds? Was the city attacked or something?" Kellen shook his head with a chuckle.

"Nah, nothing that serious. There was an incident at Guiding Center B and I stopped it. There was a huge difference in power between the Esper and I so it drained me. Don't worry, Taylor already teared into me about it." She stared at her brother's smile, her eyes narrowing further. She crossed her arms, leaning out of the older man's touch.

"Something else happened, I can smell it. Come on, spit it out. You're skin and bones but your fucking glowing at the same time. What? Did you find the love of your life or something?" Casper, who had caught up with the Field Guide only to catch the tail end of Gwen's question stuttered in his steps. He spun, trying to hide his smirk from the siblings. Kellen, however, was struggling with a different matter. Gwen had a habit of getting secrets from him, and he knew this was a risky interaction. He'd never been able to get her a surprise gift their whole lives, she had always cornered him and forced him to tell her.

"It's not something I can say here." He told her, and she frowned.

"Does it have anything to do with Mom and Dad?" She asked, and Kellen shook his head.

"No. I promise. But, like you, I'll probably be in the news soon. Actually, we were both in the news yesterday." Kellen teased. A look crossed her face and she took another step back to really look over her brother. Her eyes locked onto the jacket on his arm, before it clicked where she knew that jacket from.

"Why the fuck do you have Captain Thatcher's jacket on your arm? Kellen, you told me you didn't know them that well. Were you lying? What the fuck did you get yourself into?" She demanded, and Casper took that as his cue to step in.

"Hello. It's very nice to meet you. I'm Lieutenant Casper. I'm in charge of the Guides who join the Guild, like your brother. I'm glad that we're going to have such capable siblings joining around the same time. Were you on a tour of the training facilities for A Class Espers?" He asked, smoothing the tension in the air. Gwen, being smart, dropped it. She took the hand Casper offered with a cautious smile right out of her Father's book. Kellen smiled warmly at the thought.

"Yes, we are. Esper Blake has been a great guide to us. It's very nice to meet you as well. I take it you'll be working closely with my brother if you are personally showing him around. Sorry if he's a bother. He's always been...difficult since he was a child." Gwen didn't know what tree she was barking up. Kellen took immediate offense to what she said.

"Hey, I'm not the problem out of the two of us." He protested, while his sister let go of Casper's hand, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Who, out of the two of us, got into more trouble as kids, hmm?" Kellen shook his head in protest.

"You egged me on! The only reason I would get caught is because you'd rat me out." She made a face at his words.

"I never did that. You're a liar. Plus, I'm not the one who came back with broken bones all the time Kellen. You were born with a weak body, even as a kid." Kellen narrowed his eyes, crossing his rather large arms. Even after losing all of the extra 'energy' he had stored up, it had only taken three rather large meals for most of it to come back. He was back to being a thick man, filling out the Guide uniform almost to busting. No one would look at him and think 'weak'.

"But I never got caught going out drinking underage as a kid, did I? And by Mom of all people. How stupid could you be? She can turn fucking invisible." Gwen's face flushed. Clearly, he'd struck a nerve.

"Yeah, well, I'm not the one who would cry to Mom any time I saw a bug like a little baby, even when I was old enough to go to high school." Oh, she was going to go there, huh? Casper watched in fascination as the two siblings, who separate were complete pictures of professionalism, completely lost it when put together.

"I wasn't the one who cried so hard I burst blood vessels in my eyes when I found out I wasn't a Guide like Dad." Gwen gasped, and it was clear to anyone that Kellen had brought up something they had sworn to secrecy. She took a step back as if Kellen had dealt a blow.

"You said you wouldn't bring that up again!" She complained while her brother smiled smugly at her.

"Well you shouldn't keep saying mean things about me in front of my coworkers." He told her. Gwen puffed out her cheeks.

"Well I wanted to work here first, you just piggybacked off of my plans, like always." He rolled his eyes.

"It's the other way around, Gwen. I always do something first, and you follow me." Her face was red like a tomato and Kellen could tell she was shaking. She was getting really worked up. _{freēwēbnovel.com}

"You're only saying that because you're older!"

"Yeah, which makes me wiser." She let out a screech, reaching for the Guide and pretending to choke him while Kellen laughed. The siblings hadn't noticed anyone approaching them as they traded barbs until someone cleared their throat behind them. Gwen let go of her brother, and both of them spun to meet the amused gazes of Ms. Hill and the Captain.

"I get to see so many sides of you recently, Mr. Woods." Captain said, a slight tilting up of his lips. Ms. Hill crossed her arms, staring at the two of them while Kellen had to gather his jaw off of the ground. The Captain always looked good, but today he was dressed to impress. His uniform fit snugly, his shoes shined brightly. He had even gone for a more formal jacket that he only wore for special occasions, along with the official hat that he rarely wore on the front lines. He had his hands behind his back as he stared down at the siblings, and Kellen swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth. His bright, yellow gaze roamed Kellen from top to bottom. "The uniform suits you, Mr. Woods. Your colouring compliments the Guide uniform." Kellen's cheeks heated.

"Thank you for the compliment, Captain." His eyes creased slightly as his smile widened at Kellen's shy words, before he turned to the young Esper.