Hey guys, sorry this didn't go up yesterday. Half the day was spent on the planning stages for this chapter, mostly because I wanted to at least try to write a convincing Rufus. Hopefully I did. Oh well, I'll leave that for you to judge.
I do not own Fairy Tail or its members, Hiro Mashima does. I own Beedle and Coolidge, as well as the Magic Item Color-Out.
Rufus was scribbling on a memo pad. Even though he found the things useless himself thanks to the perfect memory his magic, what he was writing was for the benefit of Orga.
Recently, the two had entered a partnership of sorts. Though his singing voice was atrocious, Orga's melodies were quite sound when played upon a guitar. Despite this, Rufus had always found his lyrics... lacking. Sorely lacking. So Rufus proposed that Orga set a couple of his poems to music, and they both liked what they heard, forming what Orga called "the best new singer/songwriter duo in Fiore."
Rufus had his doubts about that. While people told him he had a good singing voice, his and Orga's styles were far too different to mesh together as a duo. While Rufus was more inclined to sensitive, introspective folk melodies, Orga was a bombastic rocker through and through. Besides which, he defied anyone to form a passable harmony with Orga Nanagear of all people.
Out of the corner of his eye, Rufus noticed the return of a couple members who hadn't been at the guild when Minerva had returned. He searched his memory for their names, and found them to be called Beedle and Coolidge. The former was a Take Over mage who specialized in insects, and the latter could use Ice magic in several different colors to varying effects.
"So get this," said Coolidge. "While we were gone, Sting let Minerva back in! I mean, Minerva! Jiemma's psycho daughter! The one who walked out on us when we lost the Games!"
"Seriously?" replied Beedle. "I thought Sting was trying to erase Jiemma's presence from this guild! That beast of a woman singlehandedly sets back everything Sting's worked for!"
"Exactly!" said Coolidge. "And here's the best part! Apparently, the Twin Dragons rescued her from a dark guild. A fucking dark guild, Beedle!"
"She probably realized how weak the guild was when the Twin Dragons destroyed them and begged Sting to let her back in," said Beedle snidely.
"Well, I wouldn't have, no question," said Coolidge. "She had to steal Kagura's defeat from Erza, she tortured that catgirl because she got bored waiting for their fight to end, she took Sting's cat hostage – I mean, who lets someone like that back in after they pull that shit on you?!"
"And that's without mentioning that brutal beatdown of the Fairy Tail girl," said Beedle. "Barbaric, is what she is. Just like her father. Clearly, Sting has no clue how to run a guild if he tolerates such an ugly stain on Sabertooth."
"No common sense in Sting's head," said Coolidge.
"None whatsoever," agreed Beedle.
Unbeknownst to them, Rufus had heard the whole conversation – while not nearly as acute as a Dragon Slayer's, his hearing was nonetheless good enough to listen in on conversations from opposite ends of the guild hall. Closing up his memo pad, he left to go report the conversation to Sting.
When he entered Sting's office, he found the White Dragon absentmindedly playing with his pen, along with Lector napping on his desk. Either he had hit a snag in his paperwork, or he was outright goofing off.
Rufus made his presence known with a cough. That got Sting's attention, and he addressed the Memory mage. "Oh, Rufus, great!" he said. "Do you remember the amount this month's expense report said? 'Cause Frosch drew on it when Rogue was helping out earlier, and he kinda blotted out the final total."
"...How would I remember that?" asked Rufus.
"Well, you have that badass memory you're always boasting about, so..."
"I don't remember the expense report, Sting!" said an annoyed Rufus.
"Why not?!" whined Sting.
"Because I never see it!" said Rufus angrily. "The expense report is your responsibility, not mine!"
"But I need you, man!" said Sting dramatically.
"Clearly what you need is to not allow Frosch in your office while you're working!" countered Rufus. "Those two may have been on to something with their comments."
"What comments?" demanded Sting. "Someone said something about me?"
Rufus cursed inwardly. He didn't think he said that last remark out loud. "Apparently, Beedle and Coolidge don't think you have the common sense necessary to run a guild."
"They do? Well, screw 'em," said Sting. "I don't see those bastards offering to do my paperwork. They think they can do better, tell 'em I'm willing to trade places for a week."
"Don't, Rufus-kun," said Lector sleepily, having been woken up from the prior argument. "Sting-kun looks for any excuse to avoid paperwork."
"You hush!" said Sting. "This is a man's pride that's at stake!"
"The only thing at stake is a week's vacation," said Lector.
"The week's vacation is a bonus," said Sting firmly.
"Yes, Sting-kun. Whatever you say," said Lector nonchalantly.
"Damn straight," said Sting cockily. "Whatever I say."
"I should also mention their words came as part of a criticism of your allowing the Lady Minerva back into the guild," said Rufus.
Sting's face turned from cockiness to anger. "Our Lady wants to better herself, just like the rest of the guild," he said. "Can I trust you to remind them of that?"
"Yes, but I doubt they'll listen," said Rufus. "To describe the Lady, they used such terms as 'psycho,' 'barbaric,' and "an ugly stain on Sabertooth, along with open declarations that she sets back everything you've worked for and that she begged you to let her back in after realizing her new guild was weak."
Though he wouldn't let Sting see it, having to repeat those foul words incensed Rufus as much as he was sure they did his Master. Sure enough, he heard a low growl come from the Dragon Slayer's mouth.
"Rufus," he seethed. "Find Beedle and Coolidge, and tell them to erase their guild marks. If I go, I don't think I'm stopping myself from ripping them apart."
"You can't expel them!" shouted Lector.
"Why not?" said Sting meancingly. "The Lady is a Sabertooth member. She's one of us! If those assholes can't accept that, they don't deserve to be in this guild!"
"I know," said Lector. "But all they did was express an opinion. No matter how horrible it is, if you throw them out now, you're sending a message that your opinion matters above all others. Jiemma valued power above all else, and he tossed aside anyone who he thought didn't have it! Essentially you'd be throwing them out for disagreeing you, and that would make you as much of a tyrant as he was!"
"Also, may I remind you that you accepted Minerva back as if it were a matter of course," said Rufus. "While you and I know better, from an objective perspective, she abandoned Sabertooth because of our loss in the Grand Magic Games." Sting flinched at this, but Rufus ignored it. "It was a betrayal of trust, and some members still need to be assured that the Lady can be trusted again."
"The guild welcomed the Lady with open arms when we brought her home!" protested Sting.
"Not everyone in Sabertooth was present upon the Lady's return," Rufus pointed out. "That includes Beedle and Coolidge. However, those who were saw that you and Rogue were completely at ease around her, and as their Master and his second-in-command, they took it as a sign that they could trust her as well. But for members such as Beedle and Coolidge, who only just returned to find Jiemma's daughter among their ranks once more, they only see the ruthless mage that made an enemy of Fairy Tail by needlessly assaulting their Celestial mage to near-death, essentially making her her father's daughter in their eyes.
"So what would you have me do?" asked Sting. "I don't care if they talk shit about me, but Minerva... she doesn't deserve their trash..."
Rufus took note of Sting's clenched fists. Clearly, Minerva was as much his Lady as she was Sabertooth's. "Assign the Lady Minerva to a mission with Beedle and Coolidge," he suggested. "Punish them by forcing them to work with someone they consider detrimental to Sabertooth. Hopefully, in the process, they'll learn to trust her enough to change their opinions of her into more positive ones, opinions that fall more in line with your goal of creating a guild that values its comrades."
Sting sighed. "I'll do that," he said. "Go find a good job for them to take."
"I know just the one," said Rufus confidently. As he opened the door to leave, he saw Minerva herself standing in the doorway. "Sting, I'm here to collect the expense report to deliver to the Council," she announced.
"Huh?" said Sting. "Oh! That! Actually, Frosch kinda scribbled on it. Do we have any Color-Out?"
Minerva sighed. "I thought you would have known by now to keep Frosch away from important documents," she said.
"Well, if Rogue would just control his damn cat-!"
"Or if you could do paperwork on your own and leave Rogue to his own work..." said Minerva.
"He keeps offering!" said Sting. "Why would I say no?"
"Never mind," said Minerva, seeing the argument was pointless. "I'll get some more Color-Out."
"Great!" said Sting. "And when you get back, Rufus should have a job ready for you."
"A job?" repeated Minerva. Judging from her expression, Rufus guessed she doubted whether she was trusted enough for a job at this point.
"I trust you," said Sting seriously. "You belong here. Don't listen to anyone who says otherwise."
"...Okay?" said Minerva, now a little confused. "Well, I'm off."
She looked at Rufus expectantly, and he took that as a cue to step out with her. Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Minerva stopped him.
"Sting seems... oddly serious," she said. "Is everything well?"
"Sting only wishes to reassure you, Milady," said Rufus. "I'll go get you that job request."
As Rufus walked away, he thought about Minerva's impending quest. He and Sting were choosing to believe in the best of her to-be partners. He would have to inform them of the consequences of betraying that trust.
Hopefully he was half as frightening as Minerva could be.
Hmmm. That went longer than I thought it would.
I wanted to show that not everyone was on board with Minerva coming back, at least not right away. Maybe Beedle and Coolidge were personally wronged by Minerva? Maybe their morals can't forgive how thuggish they think she makes Sabertooth look? I dunno.
I didn't describe them because Rufus already knows what they look like, so for those interested, Beedle is short and stocky with thick glasses and black bowl-cut hair, and and Coolidge is tall, lanky, and bald. Yeah, I never really imagined them attractive in any sense of the word.
So, now that this is done, Scars is already underway. I'd say I'm about a fifth of the way done with that, and if all goes to schedule, it goes up at 5 like usual. So I'll see you guys tonight then.