Guiding Centers originally were meant to be places where tired and weary Espers could rest their heads. Where they could receive healing and comfort from Guides who were trained professionals. They weren't supposed to be competing against each other for those Espers and their attention.
It wasn't until there was a financial incentive from the government that they became competitive.
Some Guiding Centers advertised the best of the best for Guides. The highest Class Guides who weren't snatched up by solo Espers or Guilds. Where you could feel like you were royalty while being healed.
Other Guiding Centers promoted the types and ways the Guides would service you. What level of Guiding you could get, how up close and personal you could get with said Guides.
Both of these were good marketing tactics, but the one that attracted Kellen Woods was the secret, but becoming increasingly popular, third option.
Guiding Center B promoted an environment he'd never experienced before in his years of being a Guide. It was an environment where everyone smiled, with soft, warm expressions even if they didn't know you. They greeted you like an old friend, never with a cold unfamiliarity that was found in some Guiding Centers. They went out of their way to be soft, welcoming.
Often Espers were greeted with warm hugs, shoulder pats, and handshakes that felt like returning home. Guiding Center B sold themselves not for quality or quantity of Guides, but instead on the environment facilitated for the guiding experience as a whole.
It wasn't just about the guiding. It was about providing a place of true healing for the Espers who were coming to them.
So far, Espers had been very receptive to this type of Guiding. They had been neck in neck with Guiding Center A and Guiding Center C because of this, and earned the ire of many Guides who didn't work at the Guiding Center since they didn't see the point in this type of Guidance.
For Kellen, who had spent several years working in, quite literally, the front lines, it sounded like a dream. Going to work in a place that didn't care about where you had come from, or what you had done? They just welcomed you warmly, offered you a safe place to land and then sent you on your way after the guiding session?
That was something he'd never even thought he could dream about. It was only made more fantasy-like since they didn't discriminate against the Class level you were born with. And for Kellen, who had been running away from the shock of being awakened as a C Class Guide, that was a breath of fresh air.
Everyone who awakened with powers, whether as Espers or Guides, were sorted into categories. Part of this was to keep track of who had awakened, while Kellen firmly believed the rest of it was a power trip.
The lowest Class was an F Class. These people were barely better than regular humans, and usually went back into the normal work force. Same with D and E Classes. D Classes were more likely to work at front desks of Guilds and other important hubs for the elites, but that was the only thing that differed them from the others.
Which meant that the lowest Class while in active duty were the C Classes.
From the outside, a civilian would see more C Class Guides and Espers in their lives than any other Class. C Classes made up the backbone of Esper and Guide society. They also weren't treated or trained differently. There was no distinction in the treatment of a C Class Guide, or a C Class Esper.
The basic training was done together, along with the information packets. Their only way to differentiate a C Class Guide and Esper were from their statures. Usually, all Guides, even tall ones, were slimmer and daintier than their Esper counterparts. This held true for those who stayed in Guiding Centers, Guilds, and government organizations.
The situation changed the higher in Class you were. B Class Guides were treated very well, given privileges civilians could only dream of. While A Class Guides were treated like celebrities.
They had to register with their governments and update where they were living since they could be stolen by Espers who wanted them for their own. Or, something far more nefarious could happen to them, which was another reason why they were asked to register. It was for their safety.
They were rare, but not as rare as S Class Guides.
People rarely even saw the face of S Class Guides. They were so heavily protected by the government and the Espers who owned them that they were mythic creatures whenever anyone caught sight of them. SS Class Guides were only a legend. No one even knew if they existed.
All of these Guides, even the ones of legends, were slim and gentle creatures. At least, that was what the public was taught. What had been shoved down their throats by the previous generation of Guides.
Kellen, however, wasn't like the image projected of normal Guides.
Kellen, after finishing basic training with his C Class group, enlisted for the front lines and headed straight for them without looking back. He had a bit of a chip on his shoulder, and he didn't even really say goodbye, much to his family's despair.
It had taken him years to whittle away that chip, until finally, he now considered coming back to the city. But as a C Class Guide, he had limited options.
He wasn't afraid to admit it, he'd gotten used to being treated a certain way on the front lines. He'd been a Field Guide for years at this point, and had built up quite the reputation for himself. He didn't want to go back to a place where he was treated less than.
That meant he couldn't go to Guiding Center A, since he wasn't cream of the crop like his family. While that was a major issue for him going to the front lines, a more pressing issue had developed as he'd gotten older and used his powers more.
Kellen had never gotten a compatibility score higher than 27% with any Esper he'd ever guided, and they were in the hundreds. Therefore, it wouldn't make sense for him to go to Guiding Center C since he couldn't offer the whole meal deal that the Espers would expect. It wouldn't be satisfying for anyone involved.
So that left one option of the major three, Guiding Center B.
There was a small problem. He had never been a soft man, even before awakening as a Guide. Everyone had assumed he was going to awaken as an Esper, given how chiseled Kellen had been, even as a teen. He had always loved working out and moving his body, which had worked in his favour as a Field Guide, but as a Guide working in Guiding Center B?
He was worried they were going to turn him away for his abs alone.
Most Guides had a soft, approachable look. It had something to do with the fact that Guides were places to come back to, to soothe the tormented mind and heal old wounds. This wasn't just a Guiding Center B thing, all Guides were taught from day one that you must have a soft smile, a warm face, and a clean, youthful appearance.
In fact, Kellen's father was the literal poster child of a Good Guide. Had been for almost 2 decades, so Kellen was familiar with the idea. He just felt he'd never fit it.
But, like with everything, if anyone could say one thing about Kellen, once he made his mind up about something, that was it. Very few things could make him change his mind.
So…Kellen worked on his expressions, his stature, the way he guided. He spent the 5 months before the new intake of Guides for Guiding Center B working on his aura. While on the front lines.
By the time he got the interview for the position, all of the front lines knew they were about to lose one of their longest standing Field Guides, but they couldn't say anything. Only crazies stayed on the front line for as long as he had, and they knew he wasn't as crazy as they were. He still had a family back home.
They threw Kellen a wonderful goodbye party, patted his fine ass, and told him to have fun in his retirement.
Kellen had laughed, promising he would and was glad he had chosen where he had once he was back home. He met up with some of his friends who had gone into Guiding Centers right out of school and got to hear the horror stories from other Guiding Centers, and the good news about the Guiding Center he had chosen.
Apparently Guiding Center B was the only center that paid everyone fairly, and it was difficult to get into. But thanks to Kellen's experience on the front lines, he'd gotten in.
Kellen was living the sweet life, only six months into his 5 year contract, a ten minute drive away from his home, and he had everything he could ever want near his fingertips.
Damn, he had forgotten how good it felt to live in a town, and not in a tent city where one rainy day could make your life miserable? The others had been right, compared to all his time on the front lines, this was like retirement. Kellen had plans to enjoy every second of it.