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.