(BL) Taming the Field Guide

They all watched as Brent, the normally confident and cocky man as they knew him, seemed to nervously laugh and speak. Karen winced.

"Oh no. He’s not good at this." She murmured and Casper hit her knee again.

"Stop it! His life is in danger. Who would be good at public speaking when that is happening?" Taylor didn’t say it, but she could feel who everyone was thinking about. There was one person who seemed to be good at everything even when his life was in danger.

One person who was distinctly missing, but who had been referenced and bragged about.

Pamela coughed, and hesitated before she finally spoke.

"Well, seems like he needs to add a public speaking portion to his classes." She murmured and Taylor frowned so that she didn’t laugh. This was a very serious moment, especially as Brent continued to speak. Casper turned, ready to tear into her.

"Pamela-" He was cut off by Miro’s gasp as a man suddenly blinked into existence beside Brent. From there, things got pretty messy.

All of a sudden, the background moved and Taylor gasped as a glowing, blue eye revealed itself in the curtains behind Brent. In fact, it appeared that it moved as soon as the man appeared, if not before. The man himself was dressed in a suit, like Brent, but it was all black. There was such malice on his face as he appeared next to Brent that it made Taylor gasp.

However, it was the loud gunshot that went out that seemed to shock everyone else. Panic seemed to take over the crowd as Kellen, painted as a curtain, shot the man in the shoulder and tossed him away from Brent. Brent stood, stock-still and shocked as Kellen’s Mom materialised suddenly and put a knee in the back of the man’s spine. She was not kind, his face slamming into the ground and Taylor winced as she watched Kellen’s normally kind mom grind the man against the stage.

If she could have made paste of the man, she would have. She didn’t, thankfully, and focused on clasping some kind of handcuffs on the man who clearly held no good will for Brent. Kellen protected Brent, ushering him away as Kellen scanned the area. He was clearly still on guard which had Karen tense next to Taylor.

"Fuck. It’s not just that man." She muttered. Every muscle in her body was tense, and Taylor knew that she wasn’t the only one. Gunther, when Taylor glanced at him, had deep, ocean-coloured eyes right now. He was on edge too, wanting to be there, help them, but he couldn’t.

"What do you mean?" Taylor asked, but the words had barely left her mouth before the crowd began to move. Kellen was aiming his gun and Taylor watched as the frame shifted and people began to move. She swore she saw Sergei’s gaunt, pale face on the screen before the camera was forced off.

"Fuck." Karen muttered, clearly annoyed that the feed had been turned off. They were lucky then, that it turned back on so quickly. Brent and Kellen were gone, but the angle of the camera had shifted. They weren’t near the stage anymore, instead being shuffled out of the area with several Espers in charge of the flow of people. What surprised Taylor was the fact that most of them weren’t wearing the same colours that the woman referred to as Captain Dina was wearing.

They were instead wearing a menagerie of colours showcasing that they weren’t from the Phoenix Guild. As the camera scanned the area, showing off the front of the building and a dark but familiar form, Taylor and the others caught a glimpse of Rhys. Rhys was there, shouting in a calm voice, directing the flow of traffic so that no one panicked. He was accompanied by an older man in the colours of the Phoenix Guild’s colours, until the man went down and a burst of fire and flame sprouted where the man had been standing.

"Holy shit." Taylor murmured, worry eating her alive. Karen did pull her close then, squeezing her tightly.

"They’re okay." Karen said, steel in her voice. There was not a moment of hesitation in her voice. She was certain that they were okay.

"Was that...Kellen?" Casper asked, sounding confused. Taylor’s eyes were on the screen, watching the shaky camera work turn downwards, catching a...man? Covered in black but it didn’t look like his Field Guide outfit. In fact...it looked like he was wearing the curtain. Taylor was confused, but fairly certain that there was no one else who would behave the way that Kellen would.

"Fuck. What in the world is he doing? He just got Brent out of there, why the hell did he go back outside? Rhys must be losing his damn mind!" Gunther growled, pissed. "He’s a target too, damnit!" Gunther’s anger wasn’t misplaced. As soon as they realised who was the, uh, curtain, they would target it.

"It seems that he just prevented someone being killed, Gunther, so be a little forgiving, would you?" Karen drawled while her own body was rigid. They didn’t get to hear what happened after that, and the camera cut out shortly after, so they were left in silence until they heard the resolution of the outcome later from the couple.

Now they sat, staring at the blank T.V. screen, the news from the other city popping on shortly after.

"Holy shit. Well, at least Brent is alive and Kellen’s vision didn’t result in anything terrible happening." Miro said carefully and everyone nodded in agreement.

"At the very least that was accomplished. That and Rhys painted a target on the E.A.G.’s back. I’m not saying Kellen is going to have the right to just shoot anyone he wants now, but it’s pretty fucking close." Karen muttered. Taylor thought she didn’t sound worried enough. In fact, she sounded rather excited.

"Don’t you dare even encourage him from across the water, Karen. I swear to god, don’t make the other Healer’s life hell." Taylor growled and Karen at least looked sheepish hearing Taylor’s words. Casper, when he turned, had a rather concerned look on his face.

"Who were the people helping them with security? They didn’t look like they belonged to the same Guild." Casper murmured. It was Gunther who answered.

"They were S Classes that Kellen, Rhys and Sergei recruited from the meeting to stand with them and help protect Brent. They were also there to help Rhys with his statement too. From what Rhys said, some of them had experienced the same kind of loss as Captain Dina, Kellen’s Aunt, and were more than happy to help give the E.A.G. a middle finger. This is essentially them declaring open season on the E.A.G. It’s a big deal and Rhys needed the backing of others to support it." Gunther said.

"After all," Karen started, drawing the attention to her, "each of the S Classes that go to that meeting represent far more than just themselves. They speak for areas full of S Classes, right? Like how Sergei and Rhys don’t just speak for our city, but surrounding cities up to a certain point." Taylor nodded in confirmation to Karen’s words. She knew that, of course, but sometimes you needed that reminder. Each of those bodies weren’t just a representation for one Guild and one city, but several in some cases.

"I asked them to give a clear transition period." Pamela said quietly. "They were originally just going to jump into it, but I was thinking about people like Carlos and others who might not even know that they are fully doing something wrong, not really, and might just need someone to pull them out. Rhys had frowned and grumbled, but the other S Classes took to it quite well. I’m glad. I don’t want innocent people, or people who want to change, to die needlessly." Pamela said.

Taylor was glad that she had done it. Taylor, by no means, liked anyone in the E.A.G. Not after working as closely with the children and the rescued Guides as she had. Her heart didn’t cry for those who felt like they had no other place to turn to but the E.A.G. However, that didn’t mean they didn’t deserve a chance. Far be it from Taylor to deny someone the chance to make things right.

As long as she got paid at the end of the day, she didn’t care.

"Well, now that that’s over, did we want to do something else?" Taylor asked, looking around the group that had gathered. Charlie had turned them down saying he just wanted to study the books that Kellen had left him. He’d been rather serious about his studies since Kellen and his parents had left.

It was cute, if it wasn’t also worrying.

"I’m thinking of going to pester Charlie." Casper said, as if he was able to read Taylor’s mind. "I don’t like that he’s alone, and I don’t like how Jules has been looking at him recently." Taylor furrowed her brow. What?

"Oh, you noticed that?" Pamela said, frowning as well. "I thought I was just imagining it. After all, Jules is a Guide themselves, so I was rather confused. There is also, always, Jax to worry about but I didn’t think that Jules was too out of the ordinary." Pamela sounded like she was rather confused even with her way of speaking. Casper scowled.

"No, my senses are tingling. I’m worried that they might be pressuring him even as we speak." Gunther got to his feet as Casper spoke.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go check on the little guy. I’m sure I can be of some help to him as well. As a Lieutenant, and as an instructor, I’m sure I can be of some help at least. With you there with us, Cas, I’m sure together we can help him." Gunther said.

Taylor blinked, surprised that he’d say so, but Karen gave a soft chuckle.

"Don’t flirt too much in front of the poor boy. He’s been asking about relationships and what they entail to the other Guides. You might get hounded if you’re too lovey dovey." She warned with a wink and a grin. Casper flushed, while Gunther rolled his eyes.

"You, of all people, should watch yourself first." Gunther pointed out and Karen laughed.

"Hey, I’d be happy if he cornered me, but it seems he’s asking men first. Maybe only asking men. Kellen’s going to lose his damn mind when he hears about it." Karen muttered. Gunther also frowned, while Pamela leaned forward.

"Who has he gotten close to that is male that he’d want to get close to? Who is even allowed? Is it a guard?" She asked. Taylor shuddered.

"Not my circus, not my monkeys. Not right now, at least, until he asks me questions." Taylor muttered. It might have sounded cruel, but how could she help Charlie when she could barely help herself?

What the hell was the wishy washy thing she had going on with Karen? It hadn’t been resolved after that night, and no thanks to Taylor. She’d been running from Karen almost at every opportunity. This was the closest she’d gotten to the other women for a while, so she had been hoping that the others would have wanted to hang out a while longer instead of leaving to go help Charlie.

Sure, help Charlie, but what about help Taylor? Did she also not matter?

"Well, we should go then, if you’re planning to check on him. Miro? You okay leaving?" Pamela asked and Miro nodded, yawning.

"Tired, but nothing new. I can make it to my room on my own." He promised. Taylor wanted to scream. Fuck.