Alright, let's wrap this up! Stinerva Week, final prompt, Protect, Rogue's perspective, go!
I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.
Given that they were both Dragon Slayers – and of opposing elements at that – Rogue liked to think he understood Sting better than anyone else. They both liked to collect treasures. They both liked to prove their strength. And most importantly, they were both fiercely protective of what was precious to them, mainly the Sabertooth guild.
However, for a brief period, they slightly differed on how precious a certain member of said guild was – one Minerva Orlando. When Sting got news of her activities after the Grand Magic Games, he had insisted on bringing the once Lady of Sabertooth home. Rogue was against the idea, though perhaps not as adamantly as he should have been. He had cited that since Minerva was a dark mage now, it would mean unwanted questions and negative attention from the Magic Council if he welcomed her back into his guild. But Sting had all but stated he could deal with that so long as he could help Minerva change for the better, just like the rest of Sabertooth had.
Unbeknownst to Sting, there was a sentiment shared among a few members that Minerva's presence alone would preserve the cruel reputation Sabertooth held under Jiemma and was contrary to Sting's goal to eliminate that perception. Rogue was one of those members, and he shared their opinion that they were ashamed to be Sabertooth mages after Minerva's brutalization of Lucy Heartfilia. In fact, Rogue wanted to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to abandon Sting, no matter how cruel he would become.
Ultimately, Sting pulled rank, and Sabertooth's core members, except for Yukino, were to embark on a mission to Succubus Eye with the goal to extract Minerva and bring her home. Resigned to Sting's orders, Rogue decided that he would protect Minerva as a member of Sabertooth, but he would not take her return for granted, which changed when they had tracked her down at Tartarus's base.
Listening in on her conversation with Erza, Rogue was shocked to hear that Minerva considered death as an acceptable option for her own weakness. This gave him the impression that she was outgrowing Jiemma's Might Makes Right doctrine, just like the rest of his nakama. Deciding Minerva could learn to value her friends after all, he and Sting made their move.
The resulting clash with Mard Geer led into an unexpected confrontation with a demonized Jiemma, who revealed that from the very start, he never regarded Minerva as anything more than a tool. Now knowing for sure Minerva was nothing more than what her father had made her, Rogue felt a genuine desire to protect her, which manifested in Jiemma's ultimate defeat.
But then it came time for Minerva to rejoin Sabertooth. Most everyone was receptive to her return on the surface, but there were still those who regarded her as someone who compromised the guild's integrity. Of course, most of them never expressed such thoughts out loud, but there were a few bold enough to belittle her out loud, even implying that she was nothing more than a brutish oaf without Jiemma's policies guiding her, all without directly addressing her.
Rogue managed to witness a few of these incidents, thanks to the perpetrators being unaware of his enhanced Dragon hearing. He never told Sting about them, mostly because he wasn't sure what his friend could do about them. Legally, any mage expelled from a guild for expressing opinions, no matter how horrible, could claim censorship to the Magic Council, which would bring harsh sanctions to the guild in question. If only he could catch them outright harassing her!
Not that he wanted Minerva harassed, but it would be concrete proof.
One day, Rogue was chatting with Minerva about a book Rufus had recommended to them. They both seemed to enjoy it, but had differing views on the author's message.
"It's simple, Rogue," said Minerva impatiently. "The spider is a metaphor for innocence. Once the protagonist overcomes his fear of the spider, its death signifies the end of childhood."
"I don't see it," said Rogue. "When I see the spider, I see an oppressive government. The protagonist kills the spider because he's rebelling against a system that has failed him and his family."
"Fro thinks it's both!" said Frosch, who had been staring intently at Minerva.
Minerva looked surprised by this declaration, but was clearly thinking about it more. "Yes," she agreed. "I suppose rebelling against oppression is an end of innocence in its own way."
"Good on you, Frosch," Rogue complimented. Frosch's eyes lit up at the praise.
Suddenly, Rogue heard some wise guy calling Minerva "oppression Sabertooth faced every day." A couple people laughed at this. Rogue cringed until he heard Sting speak up.
"No one's forcing you to stay in Sabertooth," the White Dragon said angrily. "Minerva is a valued member of my guild, just like you are. But if you don't want her as a guildmate, just leave anytime. We'll even throw you a farewell dinner."
"...I can't leave," the guy said. "Sabertooth's the closest guild to where my Gram lives. She needs me!"
"That a fact, asshat?" growled Sting. "Then if you wanna support your Gram, you'll give the Young Lady the same respect you'd give anyone else in this guild! She hasn't done anything to you since she came back, so don't antagonize her unless she does you first! Get it?"
"G-got it!" the guy stammered.
"Doubt it," said Sting. "The young Miss knows she has a lot to answer for. Smartass comments aren't helping her to do that. If I hear anything else along those lines, I'm kicking the speaker out for conduct detrimental to the guild or its members." With that, he returned to his meal.
Conduct detrimental to the guild or its members! How did Rogue not figure that out earlier?! That was the reason Jiemma gave when he expelled someone! He called it detrimental to the guild to have failures in it!
Rogue made a mental note to visit Sting's office later. He was going to finally give Sting a way to protect Minerva from the harassment she'd been receiving.
Worst. Ending. Ever! But I'm done with Stinerva Week! I swear to God, I am definitely planning out my next ship week.
Also, writing bullying is uncomfortable, especially when you've been bullied in school. Wasn't really thinking about it, I just wanted this done, goddammit!
Okay, happy times now. So yes, this concludes Learning As We Go! I had fun writing in the vein of the different members of Sabertooth, even if the deadlines did make it stressful (I know the deadlines are just guidelines, but the dates are there for a reason, right?). I also managed to share a couple theories I've had about Sabertooth, and that's always worth celebrating. So for the final time in this story, good night from Nightlingbolt!