Chapter 149: No way to avoid this

Gunther looked rough, which shouldn’t be the case. Even if Taylor was busy, she wouldn’t have left him in that state. It would have bothered her since she could easily heal that with a simple touch.

Gunther, however, clarified that he had asked her to keep him this way. He truly wanted to sit with the after effects of what he had done, and Kellen couldn’t exactly tell the man no when it was from over-drinking.

Gunther pulled over a chair, sitting on Kellen’s other side as Kellen laid down in the hospital bed, Rhys on his other side. He was closer to the wall, looking out over the rest of the room. He looked rough, as Kellen already said. His short hair was all over the place, but he’d tucked several strands behind his ears. His black eyes were rimmed with red and he had deep bags under his eyes. He looked…

Well, like shit.

“Should you be the one in the hospital bed?” Kellen joked and Gunther let out a bark of laughter. He slid a rather amused gaze towards Kellen, smirking.

“Haha Mr. Poison blood. I’ve spent enough time in those damn beds, thank you. I will gladly take walking around like a corpse then lying down in those damn beds.” He muttered. “Thanks for letting me crash over last night, Rhys, Kellen.” He said and Kellen scowled at him.

“I said it yesterday, and I meant it. No matter if Rhys and I are arguing, you always have a place to stay.” Kellen told him. “I’ll be damned if my Dad thinks I don’t open my home to those I care about, and I’ll be the first one to get mad at myself if I turn you away. The only time I would is if I ran out of space, and even then, I’m sure the apartments across the way are for our use. Aren’t they, Rhys?” Rhys gulped and twitched.

“I mean, I never intended for them to be used that way, but I would never say no, either.” Rhys agreed and Kellen smelled something else there, but the man was already sweating. He’d get that info out of him later. Not right now.

“So that’s that then, Gunther. So, you don’t need to thank us.” Kellen told him sternly. Gunther seemed a little surprised, before his expression melted into a smile that was happy as much as it was sad.

“Who would have known when I first met you that this would happen, eh? That our relationship would end up like this? I never would have thought the Field Guide newbie who had a chip on his shoulder would turn into such a powerful Guide, let alone someone who would mean so much to me and the people I care about. Nor that he would become a pillar for the Guild that Rhys, Casper and I built with the help of others.” Gunther bent forward, resting his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. He looked thoughtful, and Kellen wasn’t sure if this was a good or a bad thing yet.

“Well, I didn’t think I would end up here either, Gunther. Hell, all I was reaching for was B Class, not S Class. That’s a damn pipe dream to someone who used to be C Class.” Kellen told him and Gunther laughed.

“I can’t even imagine. Truly. I’ve seen how Rhys has handled becoming an S Class, seen how others have treated him, seen how others have treated myself…” He trailed off, the smile also fading from his face. He sighed. “What’s…going to happen to Casper now? I know we talked about him, and that from an authority perspective I’m too close to this but…” Kellen stared at him.

Rhys was at a loss, or it was more correct to say that he was finding the words hard to say. Kellen wasn’t even sure what was right to say either.

“For now, we’re interviewing people to replace him temporarily. We’ll put him on leave. We’ll have to see what happens after that.” Kellen told him. Gunther nodded.

“He’s…in my room, if you’re looking for him.” Gunther said. It didn’t mean nothing that it was Gunther who was telling him where he was.

Kellen nodded, staring at the torn, in pain Gunther and sighed.

“Once I have my feet under me, I’ll go poke the beast. It can’t be either of you, I don’t think.” Kellen said. “Maybe Pamela would be a good choice, but…”

“She’s busy.” Gunther muttered. “And it would be a bit cruel. Like making me do it.” Gunther said and Kellen nodded.

“Yeah.” He agreed. Silence hung between them for a moment, then Gunther changed the topic. He asked about how Kellen was feeling, how the procedure worked, asking about work-related things separate from Casper. It was a clear sign that he didn’t want to talk about it, and Kellen and Rhys respected it.

Especially since Kellen knew he would be the one to tear into Casper in probably an hour or two.

~

Taylor came in only about ten minutes after Gunther left. She looked drained, but in a good way. That told Kellen that the other transfusions had gone well. When she looked over Kellen, checking his charts a couple of times, he watched as her eyes began to water and she quietly wiped the tears away.

“It’s not perfect,” she got out over a tight voice, “but Kellen, you look pretty much clear.” She said. “These levels? They’re pretty much clear.” She gave a watery smile.

Rhys held out his arms and when Taylor hesitated, Kellen nodded. Then she dove for her Captain, a substitute Kellen and she hugged him tightly. Rhys was also emotional, and Kellen would be a robot if he also wasn’t crying.

“That being said,” Taylor started after she had composed herself briefly, “hold off on any unprotected penetrative sex for a while, alright? Kellen’s body is tired. Worn down. He also has a lot of healing powers in his body. Sadly, that isn’t something I can extract so I am unsure how his body will handle certain things. Hopefully you’ll see a rapid healing of your arm and eye in the coming days. Faster than what was happening after the first transfusion.” Taylor told them.

Kellen nodded, hearing what he needed to. Unprotected. Tragic, but he could manage.

“Understood. Am I cleared to leave the bed too?” Kellen asked and Taylor frowned.

“Well, I would prefer if you stayed a little longer, but-”

“-I’ll still be in the Medical Bay if something goes wrong.” Kellen interjected and Taylor seemed more confused, but her brain caught up. A light went off behind her eyes and she nodded.

“Oh. I see. Well, if that’s the case, just move slow. Stand and sit up slowly. You could feel vertigo or other dizzy spells so just be cautious. Are you doing that alone?” She asked and Rhys shook his head.

“Hill and Eleanor are handling the major issues right now with Jules sitting in. Jax is off…I think Jules said he was macaron tasting? I have it covered and will be by his side as long as he needs me.” Rhys told her. Taylor’s expression relaxed, while Kellen was mildly surprised that his Mom and Jules were helping out.

“Understood, Captain. Well, congratulations, Kellen. Captain, I’m sure you will reap the benefits of this.” She said with a warm chuckle. She smiled at Kellen, her eyes glowing green for a moment before she gave a relieved sigh. “I would love to spend more time with you, but I need to go check up on the others and then check up on the Guides.” She said and Kellen nodded.

She disappeared with a wave and Kellen was smiling until he realised what he needed to do.

He turned to Rhys, both men somber as Rhys helped Kellen up and out of the bed. They were both rather cautious as they did so. Kellen held onto Rhys’ shoulder like a lifeline as he sat up, cautious as his head spun for a few seconds. Rhys was watching him like the man was fragile, and Kellen knew that was the case.

When Kellen finally attempted standing, both men waited with baited breath for something to go wrong, and when it didn’t, they sighed in unison. They shared a private smile, both relieved before they began to head towards the door and the hallway beyond. Rhys didn’t let go of Kellen as they left the room and headed for Gunther’s room.

Gunther hadn’t led them astray, and thankfully Casper was still in his room while Gunther was absent. When they peeked into the room through the window, Gunther having been given a room for constant, supervised rest, they found Casper sitting in a chair that looked more like a home to him then his own office.

There were books, blankets, and a cooler all around him, pressed against the far wall to give the staff enough space to walk. Casper was hunched in the chair, his shoulders slumped as he wore a rather sad-looking version of his usual white jacket, a sweater that clung to his frame and a pair of pants that Kellen was sure was also ill-fitting. His glasses were dirty, something that Kellen knew Casper before this moment would never allow.

Kellen couldn’t remember exactly what Gunther had said about Casper’s spiked hair, but Kellen could seem to understand what he wasn’t saying. He looked…like he should be the one in the bed, not Gunther. He was thin, a kind of thin that no Guide who wasn’t being restrained should be. He was not only neglecting his job, but himself and that made Kellen irrationally angry.

He knew that it would be something like this. Of course it would be. Casper had let himself get caught up in something bigger than himself, bigger than something he could handle on his own and instead of reaching out to anyone, he had chosen to suffer alone. Kellen felt his chest tighten, his throat constricting as he felt the anger build inside of him. He blamed his lack of control on his new Class. It was one of the few times that he knew damn well what was fueling this anger.

Kellen took a deep breath, his body trembling from anger, not from lack of strength as he reached for the doorknob. He knew that Rhys was at his side, ready to help him if needed, but Kellen needed him to be his back up right now. Not the aggressor in this situation. That had to be Kellen. Needed to be Kellen.

Kellen opened the door, Rhys at his side and watched the other man jerk his head up, before his face paled even further. Kellen wanted to curse at the man, telling him that he had no business paling since Kellen was worried he would faint from the action. Then, the idiot got to his feet, like he was going to flee. His eyes were glancing around the small space, like there was anywhere else he could go.

Kellen growled.

“Casper, if you attempt to run away right now, it will completely be your loss. You won’t like what will happen.” Kellen warned and watched as Casper looked at him, his face hollow, his eyes those of a cornered animal.

Yeah, Kellen needed to be the one to do this. He spent more time with wild monsters compared to the others.

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