(BL) Hunting The Field Guide Chapter 129: Running a fan blog

The Captain ended up leading Kellen down the sa route that he had taken with Casper the first ti he’d done a press conference. The mood from the press outside was completely different from the press conference previously. In fact, Kellen could feel the tension in the air. The Captain made sure to cover Kellen’s body with his own until they were in the secret hallway.

This ti, when Kellen entered the green room he found only a few people inside. Besides Izzy, there was only Hill and Pala inside. Hill looked like a truck had hit her. Her hair was a ss, she had deep circles under her eyes, an a pile of lollipop wrappers beside her as she typed away on a laptop.

Pala was only slightly better, with her hair already done and her makeup already on. Her eyes were pink again, and she was typing away on a laptop of her own, an earpiece in her ear, but she wasn’t talking to anyone at the mont.

Kellen realised that he and the Captain were the only two people who looked slightly alive. Kellen only received a slight acknowledgent from the two won before he looked in Izzy’s direction. Izzy’s face flushed when they saw him, before ushering Kellen into the makeup chair to prep his face.

"At least this ti you don’t have major bags under your eyes." They muttered as they worked. Kellen found himself chuckling slightly as the Captain left his side to quietly chat with the two won on the couch.

"I tried to get to bed on ti last night." Kellen told Izzy, and Hill’s voice carried across the room.

"What? Is Captain Thatcher neglecting you, Kellen? Bad Captain Thatcher. Kellen is a priceless Guide to our Guild. You should be making sure he isn’t getting any sleep at all." Kellen felt his face heat up at her words and the Captain laughed.

"Why do you assu that he didn’t get to bed on ti because I tired him out? That’s very rude of you Hill, and it sounds like you don’t trust that I am skillful enough to do that. Well, Mr. Woods? Am I?" All three of them turned to look at Kellen with varying expressions. Pala’s was mild curiosity, Hill’s was pure mischief, and the Captain’s was a challenge. Kellen sighed.

"I am not humouring that with a response. All three of you look like you’ll write a blog post or sothing about whatever I say and use it to act as a cover for this situation. Don’t use this incident to spread rumours about the Captain and I. I also will never discuss any skills related to the Captain, ever. Especially in public." Hill whined.

"Awe, you’re no fun, Kellen! You always kill my joy. Can’t you see I’m swamped with work? Look! I’ve even run out of my favourite grape lollies and no one offered to go get so more!" She held out a crinkled wrapper that Kellen couldn’t read from the chair, but given the bright red colour, he could only assu it was cherry.

"I’m sorry you’re having such a hard ti. Did you want to go do the press conference instead? I can take over your work. We can do a fun trade." Kellen’s tone was so sincere that it took Hill a mont to process Kellen’s words. When she did, her face went white and she began to shake her head.

"No no, I’m totally content with my job right now. Haha, you’re such a joker, Kellen." Pala smirked at Hill’s sudden switch in attitude, along with the Captain.

"Hill hates doing any kind of press. She would take cherry lollies over having to answer for her cris any day." The Captain told Kellen. Hill sputtered.

"I haven’t committed any cris, thank you very much! I have a firm grasp on my anger, and my emotions." Pala chuckled again at her response.

"Yeah, and I can think of a few other things you usually have a firm grasp on." Kellen glanced over and saw Hill shove Pala’s shoulder, whole fell over on the couch while laughing.

"You’re just jealous because I am getting laid waaaaaaaaaaay more than you are! It’s not my fault that you fell in love at first sight with one of the scariest lawyers in our city!" Pala’s cheeks flad.

"It was not love at first sight! It isn’t even love! It’s lust!" She was protesting too hard for that to be true. Kellen watched as the Captain turned his back to them to et Kellen’s gaze. His eyes were full of mirth, and his shoulders shook with his laughter. Kellen felt himself smile.

"Oh, co on Pala! You cried like a fucking baby when she said no to joining our Guild two years ago and you follow her around like lovestruck puppy whenever you see her! Even in the news! I know for a fact that you run one of her fan sites!" Pala let out a screech of anger, but it honestly just made her sound cuter.

"It’s just lust, Karen! And I don’t run a fan blog about her, just her cases! She’s a great lawyer!" Her cheeks were almost the sa colour as her eyes at this point, and Izzy asked Kellen to close his eyes.

It was nice to see this side of her, since she always had her ga face on around him. It was also interesting that she called Hill by her first na. He hadn’t realised that the two of them were so close.

"If you’re so concerned, you can always ask . Rene and my Mom have been friends since Mom went back to school. I know her quite well. In fact, she was one of my practise partners when I first started guiding as a teen. If it makes you feel any better, you’re exactly her type, Pala." Silence filled the room before Hill started laughing.

"You can’t see it, but she’s gone even brighter. I think that’s a yes to help, Kellen." He chuckled. Keeping his eyes closed, Kellen continued speaking.

"You’re exactly her type, but you need to push back so more against her. She likes a partner who can give and take, push her back a little when she crosses the line. Calling her a shark isn’t wrong, since she tends to lose interest after she has a first bite. But, I feel like you have an advantage here, since she has continued to interact with you for over...two years? That’s when she joined the Saturn Guild, yes?"

"Yes, that’s correct." The Captain confird for Kellen, his voice full of laughter.

"Right. So, now it’s your turn to switch it up, Pala. You have to play hard to get, or chase her if you’ve already been doing that." Kellen told Pala. Hill giggled from the direction of the couch.

"Oh poor, poor Pala. You’re going to have to chase her this ti, not the other way around. Better get so good running shoes on, since she’s such a catch." Hill was chortling to herself, unable to control her laughter.

"All good to go, Mr. Woods." Izzy said, and Kellen opened his eyes to look over the three of them. Pala was pulling on Hill’s hair while Hill laughed. The Captain stood over them sighing, but a sparkle in his eyes. Kellen found himself smiling before he even stood up. Getting to his feet, he glanced over at Izzy, who was shaking their head, before Kellen approached the three Espers.

"Pala, I’m sorry to interrupt this very important mont of you asserting your dominance, trust , I do understand, but when does the press conference actually start?" He asked, and Pala paused, her fingers deep in Hill’s hair to turned and look at Kellen. He was now done up properly, his skin even, and his blue eyes popped in his face from the small amount of eye liner Izzy had put on him. She cleared her throat, extracting herself from Hill. She tried to smooth out her skirt, but that only had Hill laughing. It did nothing for her ruined image.

"Uh, well, we should go out in about half an hour." She cleared her throat again, but it was too late. Kellen already knew she could brawl, and Hill’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

Kellen, taking his new information, and extra half an hour, went over to the small kitchen table and sat down. He pulled out his phone to chat with Brent. He also sent a lengthy ssage to both of his parents, each personalized, and full of apologies. He hoped that this small ssage before his press conference took so of the tension away from them, and appeased them slightly.

Thankfully, they didn’t respond right away, but Brent did. The two of them went over their plan for the class that day. The other three in the room were doing the sa thing as Kellen, while Izzy cleaned up their station and then played gas on their phone. Kellen was sending out what he felt was the last ssage he needed to on the topic he was talking about with Brent when he noticed Pala getting to her feet out of the corner of his eye. Brent’s good luck ssage ca in at the sa ti.

"Alright. Is it ti?" Kellen asked, tucking his phone into one of his many pockets. He checked his hair to make sure nothing was out of place, which had the Captain and Hill smiling. Their smiles didn’t hide how concerned they were though.

Hill had gone through several lollipops while they’d been here, and Kellen was slightly getting worried about her health. Pala ran her hands down her sides, smoothing out her skirt again. She nodded at his words.

"It’s ti. Are you ready?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Probably as ready as I’ll ever be."