(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Over 9000?

Taylor scanned Kellen’s flushed body with her green gaze, before sitting back in her hair with a smile.

"Hmm, well, your body is honest. Outside of a little bit of strain, you seem to be well. Much better than when I first saw you a week ago." She glanced over Kellen, her expression thoughtful. "Your body when I first saw you at the Guiding Center was in complete disarray. You ate well this weekend, and all throughout the week with minimal strain on your body. Have you been taking care of yourself since you left the front lines, Kellen?" She asked, and Kellen blinked at her.

"If I’m honest, I thought I was." He told her. He’d eaten a regular amount, hadn’t worked out as much, maybe three times a week. He had thought he had been giving his body a break.

"Did you go to the Guiding Center’s doctor while you worked there? Were they checking up on you?" He shook his head.

"No. I thought I could manage on my own. I wasn’t feeling weak and I thought I was a normal weight." Taylor closed her eyes, shaking her head at him.

"That explains the large gap between when you were on the front lines and getting regular check ups and now." She opened her eyes, setting her gaze on her friend from high school. The same friend who clearly had trust issues when it came to if people actually liked him, given the trauma he’d received as a child. That she had very little knowledge about. "Kellen, it’s super important as a Guide that you go in for regular check ups. Especially in the situation that you were previously in. Guides who guide multiple people have fluctuations in how much power they use between different Espers. You already know you have low compatibility with some types of Espers. But you need to compensate for that with calories. You know this. You must have had someone who drained you more over time, but slowly. That’s why your health wasn’t great and probably played into why you drained yourself dealing with that surged Esper of ours." Kellen blinked, surprised. What she said made sense, and it felt like a missing puzzle piece slotting into place. "I probably have a moment in between everything to ask them to make some more flavours for the shakes. They’ve been on the market long enough now that I can add some flavours. If they suck, I’m blaming you." She warned, and Kellen laughed.

"Alright, I understand. I promise I’ll make sure to come get check ups regularly, especially after the Captain and I start doing higher level guiding. But still, 20 000 calories for the top level intimate guiding is insane." He told her and she chuckled.

"Right? Good thing that as you two guide together more it’s reduced. Make sure that the Captain understands that, and don’t jump ahead if you don’t have to. It’s dangerous. I know I don’t have to warn you, but I’m still going to. I doubt the Captain will get anywhere near surging any time soon, but you never know. After all, we’ve had the terrorist attack, plus the new gate, and we also had a surging Esper. None of that is a good sign." She sat back in her rolling chair and shook her head. "I know Captain Thatcher is always using his powers, and that he has a huge pool to draw from. So, as long as we continue to maintain it as we have been, and he doesn’t fight another S Class Esper, we should be fine." Kellen ran his hand over his face.

"Taylor, that sounds like a curse. Are you trying to kill me? There were several red flags all at once, and my luck isn’t that good." She laughed, pulling the chair across the floor until she was close enough to pat his shoulder.

"Oh, you’ll be fine. You’ll come out in one piece. You always do." She told him cheerfully, and Kellen glared at her.

"Weren’t you the one warning me about being careful? Something about my lucky rabbit’s foot was running out?" She shrugged, waving a hand dismissively.

"Kellen, that was last week. Things change quickly here, and besides, you’re not alone anymore. You have us now, and I plan to live a long and healthy life just so I can keep an eye on you." A sense of warmth filled Kellen, one that he had missed for several days. Shivering at the new feeling, he glanced away from Taylor’s open, happy expression. Rubbing his arm, he reached for the folder again.

Flipping open the folder, he looked down at the pages which had a breakdown of high caloric dense foods that he could add to his diet. They were food groups he was familiar with, from eating with his parents, to what his current meals mostly consisted of. He was fine keeping his lunch the way it was, but he was going to have to buff out his breakfast and dinners, while also upping his snacking game throughout the day.

"I’ll have to make sure to ask my Dad for his granola recipe. He’ll be excited to give it to me so I can use it for snacks and breakfasts." Taylor sighed, knowing that Kellen was avoiding acknowledging her previous words.

"He’ll be super excited. Some of the suggestions were based off of a list of meals he has been eating for the last ten years. He keeps track of everything. It’s great for me as a doctor." If anyone else would have said it, it would have sounded like they were being sarcastic and making fun of his father. But Taylor meant it. She had been getting advice from his Father for a very long time when it came to the care of Guides. Plus, his Dad loved having his brain picked over it. It’s why Kellen didn’t even flinch when his Dad said he was going to text her directly previously. They had been friends for almost as long as...almost as long as he had been friends with Taylor.