(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 473

Chapter 473: This could be the last time

Hill was staring at him, her arms crossed, and Kellen swallowed. Taylor wiped at her eyes, sniffing as Kellen felt the weight of the bag on his back, and the weight from the orange eyes staring at him.

Hill looked exhausted. True, bone deep exhaustion on every facet of her face. Kellen wasn’t sure what to say to her, how to broach this topic. Hill tapped a finger against her uniform jacket before she uncrossed her arms and sighed. She opened her arms, and Kellen hesitantly moved towards her. Hill pulled him in, squeezing the life out of him.

"You’re a damn motherfucker and I’m so fucking pissed at you." Hill uttered. "That’s the part of me that has known Captain Thatcher longer. Fuck Kellen. You really aren’t making this easy, are you?" Hill’s grip was brutal, painful, as if she wasn’t able to control her strength.

Kellen didn’t say anything, even as he felt his bones creak a little.

"Karen." Taylor said, a warning in her voice and Hill released him immediately. That was when Kellen noticed she was tearing up. She wiped at her eyes, her bottom lip quivering.

"Sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hold you too tight. Are you okay?" Hill asked, reaching out to gently squeeze Kellen’s arm. Taylor’s eyes turned green, beams in the night as she scanned Kellen’s body from head to toe.

A peculiar look crossed her face, but she kept it inside.

"He’ll be okay. I just need to give him some-"

"No you won’t." Kellen growled, interrupting her. "Not before you heal yourself. Have you been forgoing guiding?" Kellen demanded and both women looked guilty. It was Pamela’s voice over their shoulders that answered the question in earnest.

"They’ve been making sure the others are tended to first, Kellen. They’ll be fine in the next few days. A few more Guides are arriving from the Peach Guild, and they are at the top of the list, besides Captain Sergei." Pamela’s voice was clear, firm, and calming. Kellen could feel some of his emotions quiet, not feel as big.

Pamela had her hair in her classic braids, her eyes firm and pink. She also looked tired, but she didn’t look exhausted. She was fresher to the front lines, this being her first time. She gave Kellen a soft smile.

"Kellen. Good to see you. Not under these circumstances, but you look better than the last time I saw you." She said, and Kellen couldn’t argue that. It’d been a rather devastating time. For everyone involved.

Kellen looked over Pamela, trying to think of something that he could comment on as well.

"You look...alive?" Kellen suggested and Taylor, despite her teary state, snorted, covering her mouth.

"Kellen!" She chastised and Kellen wasn’t sure what to say. She did look alive. She looked a lot better than everyone else around them, and Pamela laughed.

"You’re so damn funny, Kellen." Pamela said, shaking her head. Taylor was shaking her head, and Hill had a hand over her face. "How’s the Guild? The Captain?" She asked and Kellen froze.

The Guild was fine, but Rhys...? Kellen didn’t want to admit to a damn thing. He was sure that it would only make him look bad. That, and he was sure they already knew Rhys’ condition. It was clear that even though Pamela was smiling, it wasn’t fully reaching her eyes.

"The Guild is fine. Casper’s doing okay." Kellen said. "Rhys is...he’s planning to go under like Sergei is while I am in the gate and getting woken up once word that the gate has been stabilized is spread." Kellen told them and Pamela nodded, while Hill and Taylor didn’t look okay.

"He’s going under?" Hill repeated and Kellen nodded.

"Yeah. He said it was for the best, otherwise he’d just...spend a lot of his powers." Kellen said carefully, and Hill let out a slow, sad exhale.

"Oh that damn man." Hill whispered and Kellen winced. Pamela shook her head, before looking at Taylor.

"Green, does Kellen need any healing before he goes in? I feel like the longer we delay this, the longer the weight is going to remain on our shoulders. We also don’t have as much free time as we would like." Pamela suggested. It was clear she wasn’t on anyone’s side, but she wasn’t happy with anything that was happening either.

Taylor looked green as Pamela said that to her. It was clear to him that Pamela wanted to get Kellen into the gate as soon as possible, get him on his way, and get everything back to normal. Taylor didn’t look like she agreed, but Kellen was of the same mind as Pamela.

"I-I-" It was clear from her stuttering that there was something, hell, Kellen had a pretty good understanding of what that ’something’ was, but Taylor was struggling against her nature, and the feelings festering inside of her.

"It’s okay, Taylor." Kellen told her with a smile. "It’s going to be okay." Kellen tried to offer comfort, but Taylor’s eyes just spilled over more.

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