T/W: Foul Language

"Whoah!" Penn yelled out, his head barely dodging the punch that skimmed his ear - a blast of reddish-purple energy flew past him and exploded when it made contact with the wall. Penn's eyes winded in surprise when he looked behind him, only to be pounded in his abdomen, knocking him to the ground and out of breath. 

"I thought you were a military scrub. Why did you look away?" roared the mage, who bounced back out of reach, frustrated. "Are you underestimating me?"

"Hard to underestimate an ex-olympian," Penn groaned out. "It's my first time going head-to-head with a mage. This is only my fourth sparring session with a Hunter."

"Don't you have military training? Aren't your skills all close-combat and fighter class? You don't feel like a Hunter!" She grunted, clearly angry that she was assigned such a pathetic appointment. Who thought of pairing a newbie with such a high-ranked Hunter?

"That's what happens when my only skills are three sub-classes. I am just a newly awakened Guide, after all," Penn replied while out of breath, spitting blood out of his mouth as he pushed himself into a standing position. 

"What," she paused as she was winding up for the next hit. "You're a guide?"

"Yeah, they didn't tell you?" Penn looked up, confused. They both paused and looked at the overview window, where it could be seen that Daniel was chastising the training instructor, who was just shaking their head in response. "Seem's like the Hunter Trainer didn't want to tell you…"

"Guides are practically civilians, even if they are from the military! What were they thinking pairing you with me for a spar session?" the mage roared, flipping off the overview window and storming for the control room.

"Hunter Summer, return to the spar training session," commanded the voice over the system. Penn looked at the window and saw Daniel's face flushed with anger. 

"Fuck you, Timmy! Go crawl out of whatever well you got yourself stuck in!"

"Hunter Summer, I shall report you for insubordination and discrimination," the trainer commanded once again. "Return to training."

"I'll report you for forcing a Guide to spar an A-ranked mage with years of Hunter experience without proper training or explanation. I shall also claim discrimination against you. We'll see if it's discrimination against a Guide or me due to your petty jealousy." 

The trainer's face flared, clearly pissed that he couldn't power trip over the famous battle mage. Daniel nodded along with Summer, clearly pleased someone finally said something. Penn followed behind her back to the control room, where a very tall man stood looking angry behind the trainer. 

"A guide? A GUIDE! Did you pair a guide against the famous Battle Mage? Summer was told that the association had a new A-ranked Hunter transfer from the military with high-level skills that needed evaluation and high-intensity Hunter combat training to gauge their actual skill level. Did you purposely lie to us?" Roared the white-haired man with a side-parted leaf-cut mullet. His gold eyes seemed to glow angrily as he towered above the trainer, well over six foot five. 

"What!" Daniel yelled out, whipping his head to look at the trainer. "That was not what was requested! Penn is a special case that needs delicate training!"

"Delicate?" Penn let out a shaky laugh, slowly sitting down in a chair. Never had he been treated as if he was a glass object that would break so easy.

"Special case, how?" Summer replied. Her shoulder-length, slightly wavy, red, 90s chop hair sparked at its edges along with her frustration. Her teal eyes sharply stared at the trainer and Daniel for an explanation. Daniel sighed, rubbing his fingers along his collarbone.

"You should have been informed of this when the request for spar training went out. Guide Penn only awakened recently while in the military. We brought him here for guide training, but while getting the rank test, we discovered he had fighter-class close combat subskills. Only three. The sparring sessions train him on how to use those subskills and become the first battle guide. Well, that was the goal…"

"The hell is your problem, Timmy? This is only his fourth sparring session with a Hunter."

"My name isn't Timmy-"

"All fuckups go by Timmy. Until you prove you're not a piece of shit, you are nothing more than Timmy crying for Lassie to solve all his problems. Just like Timmy, it seems like you've been exposed to too much radiation, and it's made you stupid. Call Lassie and see if she can fix you," Summer growled, daring the instructor to challenge her. He clicked his tongue and stared daggers at Penn as if he was to blame for the situation. "Silas, stand down. Physically fighting him would only put you in an awkward position."

"That's right, B-rank. Go stand with your testosterone-pumped girlfriend," sneered the instructor. Penn closed his eyes to shut it all out. He didn't know these people or their personalities. But he could feel the murderous intent and their basic power level just sitting there. The training instructor picked a fight with the wrong people.

"I guess petty, jealous higher-ups exist outside the military as well," Penn sighed, leaning back in his chair with a groan. 

"They exist everywhere. Always pathetic," Summer sighed, waving Silas to come towards her. His gold eyes shifted and relaxed when they looked at Penn. It seemed that Daniel's comment about his softness towards Guides was accurate. 

"We'll be informing the HR office about this, Instructor Heins. You were well informed that Guide Penn was to be trained safely and adequately. Your abuse of power will be reported. Director Wake had precise instructions for him, which you have gone against." Daniel commanded. Though he seemed calm, his tight grip on his tablet and the flare of his nostrils meant he was restraining himself to the best of his abilities. 

Penn leaned his head against the back of his chair, awkwardly smiling as the bickering continued. When a superior did something clearly wrong in the military, things weren't solved this fast. Even if others witnessed blatant mistreatment, they would side with the perpetrator, fearing retaliation. So, it was refreshing for Penn to have some strangers argue on his behalf. 

"What's a Lassie?" Penn finally asked, nothing bothering to open his eyes. The entire room looked at him in silence.

"Aw, hell, Heins. You bullied a baby?!" Summer screeched.

"Penn, do you really not know what Lassie is?" Daniel came up and asked timidly. Penn furrowed his brows and nodded. Silas sighed.

"It's just some smart TV dog that somehow solved all the world's problems and kept saving a foolish child named Timmy," he responded as if he were teaching a child.

"An old TV thing?" Penn asked. Silas nodded. "Ah, I wasn't one to watch TV much growing up anyway, so I apologize."

"You should have let me rough him up some more," mumbled Instructor Heins.

"Shut up!" Yelled the group, minus Penn, who just wanted to go home and sleep.

Penn fell forward on his bed, still with the blankets not set up. After long days of learning and training, he was overwhelmed with exhaustion. His body still felt sore even after a trip to the healers in the association's clinic ward. His arm was almost too sore to pick up his phone when it vibrated. 

A message flashed on the screen from Daniel, apologizing for the events and checking in on how he was feeling after being looked after by a healer — even though he was with Penn the entire time. Penn chuckled softly and put the phone down without replying. 

The slight breeze from the open screened balcony door swept gently over Penn, lulling his exhausted body quickly into a deep sleep. The golden glow of the evening sun kept his crumpled body warm, and the sheer blinds flowed gently with the breeze as a shadow passed over them before disappearing. 

Penn stirred, groaning as he pushed himself up, his tired eyes glazing at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was only just past seven p.m., so his nap had barely been an hour. With a frustrated sigh, he pushed his languid body from the bed, depositing his phone into his back pocket and leaving his room. He beelined straight for the dorm complex's cafe with a strong determination for caffeine. 

He chose the wide factory-style window that looked at a green scape along the river that had a pair of sizeable, comfy wingback chairs facing each other. A fake fireplace added to the cozy factor across from the chairs. The sun had almost set behind the buildings as Penn took a seat, a coffee in hand with the largest mug that had in the cafe that runs twenty-four-seven - just what the serving Hunters and Guides of the association needed. 

Penn couldn't help but think back on the training he went through because of some petty jealousy and discrimination against Guides. He knew they were looked down on, but starting to experience it was already proving to be frustrating. As he settled into the chair comfortably with a large sigh, heavy steps that crossed the cafe stopped beside him.

"Hello, neighbour," a familiar rumbling reached his ears. Penn looked up in surprise and offered a welcoming smile.