Shuffling his feet, Kellen ignored the grumbling of his stomach. He hadn’t eaten a few als, but he knew his body could handle it. He usually foraged for things inside of gates instead of paying for food from the suppliers on the front lines. The food was usually dry, disgusting, and never satisfied him.
It was better to get sothing from the gates when he was sneaking in to research, since it helped him confirm what was safe and what was not. He’d found out the hard way a few tis that you couldn’t eat everything raw, but it ant he had more experience for when he led other groups through gates.
His stomach rumbled again and he heard one of the Esper’s chuckle. Kellen refused to let his face heat. He wasn’t going to get embarrassed. It would not look good for him, especially since he already looked ragged compared to the other Field Guides here.
He felt his chances drop even further when the tent flap opened and the top Field Guide on the front lines stepped out. She had her little entourage with her, and she had a giant grin on her pretty face. When she caught sight of the other Field Guides waiting out front, her smile shifted.
Instead of being pure glee, it held a malicious edge to it. Kellen tightened his grip on the strap of his backpack. He doubted that the Espers saw it. They never saw the animosity between Guides, and sotis tried to have Field Guides who literally would kill each other working on the sa contract.
Kellen hoped that this new Guild wasn’t going to be like that.
She ca to stand in the sa area as him and the other Field Guides, but he could tell that their levels of excitent had also diminished. It was going to be hard to go up against her. She had the backing of several powerful Espers on the front lines, as well as a lot of money.
There were Field Guides who were like that sotis. Those who swung their family na and wealth around. It made Kellen want to grind his teeth. He tried so hard to get out from under his family na and the expectations everyone had for him, yet there were others who just flaunted it so easily. So willingly.
Like they didn’t feel the way that others looked at them. Or the pressure that was pushing down on their shoulders. It actually looked like they thrived under it, and Kellen just couldn’t understand that kind of behaviour.
"Field Guide Morrison." The silver haired man called and Field Guide Morrison, who appeared to be a small woman trembling, gathered her things and shuffled forward towards the tent flaps. Kellen glanced at the remaining Field Guides, and sighed.
He was going to have so ti to wait. He should go over his speech, just in case.
~
"Field Guide Woods." Kellen glanced up from the papers in his hand and stared at the silver haired man who called his na. He could feel the mood shift, and that’s why he hated being called by his last na. People always made assumptions. It wasn’t even like Woods wasn’t a common last na. It was super common.
People besides his parents could have it.
Picking up the backpack he’d placed on the ground, he felt the strap consider giving out and stopped, before sighing, bending down, and scooping up his bag from the bottom. He was not going to let it break off in front of all these people. It also wouldn’t instill confidence in him if he couldn’t even keep his bag together.
Kellen made his way grimly towards the tent, his mind focused as he thought about how he was going to impress the Espers inside. The Field Guides who had gone in before him, besides the top Field Guide here, had been sent on their rry way. Kellen only had one shot at this.
Glancing around the tent once his eyes had adjusted, Kellen found himself in what he assud was going to be the ss tent once they had finished getting the area set up.
There were several tables pressed against the walls of the tent to allow for the focus to be drawn to the two long tables in the center of the tent, and the chair sitting by itself in the center of the room. There was also a white board there was well, pushed to the side, and Kellen felt a sense of relief fill him.
He could at least draw out his full plan without having to give over his papers.
Kellen was so busy looking over the area that he almost neglected the four bodies sitting in the chairs at the table.
When he finally looked at them, he nearly froze in his footsteps.
The first man was obviously a Guide. It was in his soft features, and the way he carried himself, even as he was sitting that gave him away. His brown hair was short, slightly wavy, and he had small, narrow glasses that didn’t quite suit his face. He was cute, even if he wore a slight scowl on his face. It was also the different coloured uniform that really told Kellen he wasn’t an Esper.
Next to him was a woman with long, wavy brown hair and big, brown eyes. She had a confident smirk on her face, and was chatting away excitedly to the Guide. She was wearing the Esper uniform, or what he was assuming was the Esper uniform, and it was clear that was where the displeasure the Guide was feeling was coming from.
That was the closest table, and not the one that nearly killed him.
The second table had another man and woman sitting at it as well. Both appeared to be Espers, but he recognised these two.
The woman was soone he hadn’t expected to see again. And from the way she gasped, and her blue eyes widened, she hadn’t expected to see him either.
She began to get up, and Kellen jerked his head, hoping she read the signal. When her brows ca down in a frown, and she tugged on her ponytail in displeasure as she sat back down, Kellen knew that she had gotten it.
Kellen knew he was going to have to deal with this later, and that alone had him on edge. But it was the last man who made him the most nervous. Fuck.
He’d only ever seen him from afar or from magazines. He hadn’t taken any of them with him because he knew he’d be mocked if others found them. Kellen knew he needed to look at him, especially as he arrived at the spot where the seat was and Kellen placed his backpack down on it. He swallowed, feeling all of their gazes on him, and Kellen finally worked up the courage to look in his direction.
Damn it. The man looked composed. Like he wasn’t weighing Kellen’s life in his hands. His hair was perfectly gelled back, the black gleaming in the light from the few bulbs in the area, and his features were calm, collected. He looked like a damn handso statue.
His uniform was different from those beside him, and Kellen assud that was because he was the Captain. He had to be. There was no one else that Kellen could imagine taking up the mantle, especially if he was in a Guild. There weren’t many like him that would go from being in the D.E.C. to being under another Esper.
He’d also never struck Kellen as the kind of man who would take orders well from another Esper.
The way his yellow eyes stared at him made Kellen sweat. Damn it. He’d never expected to run into the man he’d had posters on his walls of here, and neither had he expected that he was the one who put out that call for Field Guides.
Keep it together Kellen. You could manage this. It was just like any other interview.
Kellen remained standing, and gave a slight bow. The chattering stopped, and everyone turned their attention to him.
"Are you not going to take a seat?" It was Taylor, his friend from high school who spoke. Her blue eyes piercing as she crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair.
"Um, I feel more comfortable standing, thank you." Kellen inclined his head. Kellen tucked his hands behind his back, standing in a relaxed state while he watched her eyes turn green and he clenched his hands. Damn woman. Couldn’t she see he was doing his best? Why did she need to embarrass him?
The shuffling of papers made Kellen turn his attention to the man he was desperately trying not to look at. He was looking through the papers until he found Kellen’s.
"Ah. So your full na is Kellen Woods?" He asked and Kellen gulped.
"That would be correct." Kellen watched as his lips turned up slightly.
"That’s not the most common na. Are you in any way associated with the Woods family?" Kellen swallowed. Fuck. Right out of the gate, huh? Kellen swallowed thickly.
"Whether I am or not associated with them, I would hope that you would judge as myself, not who my parents may or may not be." The brunette sitting next to the Guide leaned forward, a smirk on her face.
"Oh, that’s precious. A Guide who doesn’t use their family na?" She snatched the papers out of her Captain’s hands and Kellen frowned. "And a C Class at that? Who shit in your cornflakes?" Taylor glared at the other woman.
"Esper Hill. How can you speak that way when we don’t know the full story?" Taylor defended and Esper Hill snorted. She slamd the papers back down before her Captain, and then leaned back in her chair, rolling her brown eyes.
"We’ve seen a dozen of his type before. At least the pretty one had so backing behind her so she won’t be a burden." Kellen held firm. Even if every word from her lips felt like a blow.
"Hill." She froze. A single word from his lips had everyone holding their breath. He turned his gaze towards Kellen. "So, if I am to read between the lines, you do not like using your family na?" Kellen sucked in, and nodded. "But you didn’t give us a fake identity." He seed to be probing, and Kellen sighed. He worried his lip before he spoke.
"I...don’t like to lie. It would be easier if I did so, but at the sa ti, I’d rather tell the truth." Kellen told him. He leaned forward, a smile on his lips.
"Interesting. It says that you’ve been a Field Guide for a year now, is that correct?" Kellen nodded. "But you don’t seem to have many contracts completed under your belt compared to the others who have co forward." Kellen gulped.
"Ah, no." Esper Hill snorted, and Kellen ignored her. Taylor hadn’t taken her haunting, green gaze off of him, and Kellen knew he was going to be in trouble, one way or another.
"Is there a reason for that?" Kellen’s fingers dug into the palms of his hands. There were several, but he doubted that they would want to hear it. There weren’t many who wanted to hear about the politics between Field Guides on the front lines.
"Well, I think anyone would have so trepidation in hiring soone so new. It takes everyone a while to get their feet under them." Kellen gave a slight smile. He hated acting like the Guide guidebook told him to. He’d spent so long thinking he wasn’t going to be one, that putting on the damn smile almost hurt him.
The Guide at the end of the table snorted, and Kellen did his best not to flush.
"I see. Well, Field Guide Woods, please tell us about your plan." Kellen nodded, glancing at the white board. The soft chuckle from the other man’s lips nearly took Kellen out. "You may use whatever you need in this room for your presentation." He told him, and Kellen knew his cheeks were red. He nodded, pulling the papers out from behind his back and moved towards the whiteboard.
He really needed to not ss this up.
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