Chapter Sixty Six: Would Cross the Land
Isla Vallis.
The island is quite larger than most, known for the valleys along the South side of the land mass. Beautiful fields and moss coated rock formations gives the island a magical, almost whimsical commune with nature. The East side is a bay, an indent into the mass leading to the port that acts as its sole link to the world beyond.
The rock formations retain the mossy features, with spiky spires sticking out of the waters giving a glint of wet green. While hanging rock teeth from curved ledges of the island droop the green coloration decorated with sea blue flower buds. The saturation of green doesn't infect the waters, a crystal clear blue. The port beach sands themselves were impeccably clean, off white.
The West side of the island links with the valley dips of the South, connecting a down and down. Natural barriers at the edge of the island allow the dip down to go below ocean level. Caverns and gem coated formations that also gained, amazingly, fresh water springs as far as a hundred feet below sea level.
The North side is the peak. The mountain whose growth peaked the island from the ocean millennia ago. The peak rises and rises into the clouds, a spiral of paths reaching their way up. Looking as far as one can, the telltale signs of white Atlas snow shows before the shroud of the sky can obscure it.
Wide range of environments. Beauty to any who loves nature. Completely tranquil-
"OH MY GOD! IT'S SO COOL!"
Carmine's voice rings out, looking over the port dock into the clear water. Several colorful fish scatter, leaving behind a purple starfish behind his reflection on the water surface!
Neo's head pokes around him, equally wide eyed at the sheer saturated color of everything. She holds a hand out, tossing some bread grains out onto the water, rippling the smooth wave. Instantly, a dozen fish waddle their way and begin picking at the crumbs.
Makara bends down on the dock beside them, reaching down. Her hand barely breaks the water surface, but the fish take notice. One red coy wriggles up, passing in her palm as if letting her pet it. "Aw..." The woman's visage softens as the fish swims off.
"Seriously. I'd usually say nature can screw itself, but like," Carmine grins, looking around the port. "This is REALLY cool."
Neo pulls up a pamphlet they'd received on their way. A program of the events of the film festival held at the central hills over the valleys. Noted at various touring activities and times- There's a tour of the peak where the sword fight from Prince Husband was shot?! The girl immediately drags Carmine and Makara to look at it.
The boy looks and grins. "Ah, yeah! That's the spot where the quippy swordsmen fought, and they both play the other starting the fight using their left hands!" Seeing the mismatched girl smiling at him, he chuckles. "Yes, after we find Kallen and blackmail him to do our bidding, we can go sight seeing." He shakes his head as Neo brims with excitement. "How many films have been shot here, anyway?"
Instantly, the mute raises a sign. It reads. '834'.
Makara blinks. "That's impressive memory."
Neo snorts, opening the pamphlet and pointing where that exact factoid is stated.
"Figures." Carmine scoffs with a smile. "Come! Maybe we can find some good food too." He leads the two females through the port town towards the path inward.
"Should we check in with Roman and Blair?" Makara asks, innocently.
Both Carmine and Neo grimace. "I'm afraid that if we do, we'll be... interrupting a morning workout."
Neo snickers and signs. "Knowing Blair, they might be experimenting."
The air leaves Carmine as he wretches. "Shit. I can't decide whether to hate you for the image or love you for the pun." He pounds his chest and clears his through. He sees the girl eyeing him out the corner of his eye, so he sighs. "Yeah, I know. We're not even out of the morning, yet."
The third wheel with them speaks up on Neo's side. "Do... you two wish to be left alone for a... 'morning work-'?"
"NOPE! MOVING ON!" Carmine blurts out loudly with a furious blush on his face. He leaves the two females behind, putting distance between himself and whatever horrid thing to tease him may come next.
Makara looks to Neo, who sports a similar blush, but frowns at the retreating boy. "Was that too far? I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't act familiar yet. Or be the third wheel." Neo quirks a brow at her, shaking her head. "Then, what is the matter?"
The mismatched girl rolls her eyes, making sure Carmine was out of ear shot. Sure, he can't hear her, but he can hear Makara. She signs. "Am I too obvious? He's so bad-. And I mean, REALLY bad, at hiding his emotions. I know his attractions, but he won't make a move." She then frowns, slightly dejected. "If he wanted to, he'd have said something by now, right? We've had years of time."
The amnesiac girl straightens herself, realizing the metaphorical grenade she appears to be pulling the pin on. She frowns. "I'm afraid that I wouldn't know." She gives a weak smile, speaking low. "I can't recall much of anything before my time with AZRL, and you've had more time free of them. You know more about social interaction than me."
Neo flinches at the reminder, frowning back in what is surely an apology.
"No worries. I owe you guys everything." Makara's smile warms up as she nods. "So, perhaps something is stopping him from acting upon you? Something separate from you?" She hums when Neo doesn't seem to pick up further. "It's like the series black training."
Neo perks at that, giving the woman a stink eye.
"One of the exams. The test to prove you're willing to sacrifice others and resources for your group success." Makara frowns at that. "My group failed the mission. Three of us died because we weren't willing to sacrifice the Blue we were tasked with... I wonder if he's having a similar issue as we did?"
Neo remembers that test! A group of Blacks would be tasked with safeguarding a blue from an opponent they would have almost no guarantee of victory. Spyyra gloated after that only the truly talented managed to get through the exercise with the blue surviving. Apparently, he had been one such 'talent' that managed to defeat the agent his group was assigned to fight. It helped knowing his enemy used plenty of metal armor, which allowed Spyyra's flourishing semblance to capitalize.
The purpose of the exercise was learning to cut losses and conserve resources. Thus, use the blue as bait knowing you can't keep them alive. Set up a new scenario on your terms, and turn the tides on the enemy agent.
Roman said he'd managed to get through his exercise, but needed to unlock the Blue's aura to allow her to survive the bait tactic. He was one such talent that allowed for complete total success. Granted, such success led to that bitch, Mary Anne... Perhaps allowing death was sometimes a better outcome.
Neo's own exercise never finished, however. She'd used her semblance to pretend to be the enemy agent. All for the hopes of assassinating Spyyra. Her stunt ended the exercise prematurely. The bastard really liked that about her for some reason... They never gave her the go ahead for retaking the exam, though.
Wait... How would Carmine handle the test then? Is that what Makara is getting at?
Something stopping him from participating to begin with... Similar to Neo abandoning the exercise altogether for her own motive. Is he not willing to make a move out of risk?
That makes sense. The self hating idiot would rather die before allowing someone else to fall. He would never allow the intended scenario to play out. Either he would bring the flawless scenario like Roman and Spyyra, or he won't accept the parameters at all...
Neo signs. "I need to find out."
Makara nods. "And my presence inhibits that. I am sorry." The woman grimaces.
The mute regards the woman for a moment. She had to admit, the new addition was... growing fast on her. Neo smirks and bumps her shoulder into Makara's side. She allows an appreciative smile and nods. The woman appears to understand, smiling and nodding.
The two try to catch up to Carmine, quick.
. . .
The paths of the beaches and port elevated onto a stone path splitting grassy plains. No signs were posted. Instead, they simply saw the puffing multi colored smoke clouds bursting in fireworks in the distance. Getting closer, they see... a sea of colors. A festival spanning at least a mile of open grassy plain.
Tents, awnings, collapsible setups. Everything in every single color that could be cleanly removed from the island leaving little to no mark behind.
And the people.
Something that the CRBN members didn't expect was that the different islands had physical differences among the specific native tribes that governed them. Perhaps differences made from ancient migrations with tribalism? Who knows.
However, while Isla Candidus's natives were clearly human for the most part, the natives of Isla Vallis were clearly faunus. Canine faunus in particular. A rare sight for an entire community of solely one faunus sub type. Each and every stall and station at the festival was manned by a dog faunus. The workers were faunus. The most faunus Carmine had seen since Menagerie!
Meanwhile, the sea of people around was a mix, but easily the number of people attending the event numbered in the thousands.
Carmine finds himself at ease. Seeing faunus calmed him after the past month of seeing how Atlas treats the people. That calmness paves way to excitement- Wait, are those carnival rides? Sweet! Food? Sweeter! "Alright, so, where would Kallen be? I wanna get this over with and spend some quality time relaxing."
Makara perks around them, being the tallest of the three, she steps up on a box and scouts. "I do not see anyone in a golden beret..." She frowns back at them. "He said he would be meeting with others to set up auditions and projects."
Carmine hums. "Well, he could be scouting out a film premiere to meet with high profile people... Or, maybe someone popular has a panel or conference event that could pull the opportunity..." He looks to the mute. "You got the program still? There's no open auditions for something listed that would be easy to check, right?"
Neo grimaces and shakes her head, but then pulls up the sheet and points. His eye is brought to the list of films being shown throughout the day. He leans towards it and strokes his chin.
"Let's see... Body Snatchers, a low production personal piece. Nah... Homelander 2: the Reckoning- Wait, isn't the entire point of the first one that there's only one person left? What the hell else can you-" He shakes himself free of judgment. "Moving on. Hmm- AH! Gojawa: All Beasts' King?! DUUUDE! I'm in-"
He pauses, shaking himself. He spares a glance at Neo, seeing the girl slyly grinning at him. She's enjoying the intoxicating excitement.
"Shutty." He continues on the list. "Ah hah! Vendetta of Thee. I saw the trailer for this! Pretentious film about over dramatized revolution... Sounds artistic and self gratifying. Right up Kallen's alley. Who is involved?" He lets Neo guide his finger on the page to find the directors. "Hmm. The Prosky sisters- The Proskys! They made the Database series! ALL style and awesome fighting. Maybe I should give it a shot."
Makara smiles beside him. "So, we have an idea where he will be? What time is that?"
Neo grimaces and holds up a sign. '5 PM'.
"So, six, almost seven hours." Makara frowns. She then smiles. "Perhaps we can check other likely places." She looks at the sheet, eager to view the other features. "There does appear to be a section of the festival that is reserved for VIP members."
"So, you're assuming Kallen is pathetic enough to scrounge around the important people?" Carmine summarizes before snickering. "K, so that's pretty likely. Huh?" He pauses as Makara turns fully on him.
Makara reaches to a stall and pulls a program from it for herself. She smiles. "I can find the VIP section and check for him. You two can check the events. I'll catch up if I don't find him!"
That makes the boy frown. Sure, Makara was capable, but her memory gaps were still manifesting. Carmine reaches into his pocket, producing his scroll. "Here." The woman blinks at the offer. "We need ways to communicate, and if something happens with your memory or around you, I want you to call one of us. If you call Roman or Blair in confusion, they'll at least direct the issue to us to help."
The thoughtful nature of the concern brings a smile to the woman. Makara accepts the device and nods. "I will call the moment something occurs." The gray lavender haired woman's hazel eyes drift to Neo, smile lightly growing.
The mute perks at the acknowledgment. Oh... THAT'S what she's doing. A smile pulls at her in response. A silent message. Thank you. Makara takes her leave, eager to explore the area and leave the two teens alone.
Mismatched pink and brown meets blue as Carmine gives a hesitant smile. "So... What are we starting with?"
. . .
The first panel the two visit together is a special effects display! Various artistic geniuses show up, displaying the physical make up and attachments for practical transformations. Carmine's full attention finds itself on a puppet attachment to the torso, extending the body up to a cast puppet head. The wearer's own arms act as lower arms whole the puppet attachment has its own upper arms. Practical four arms!
Carmine looks over to find Neo enthralled by the make up artists. Many of which were taking audience members up to "make into faunus".
"What is she..?" He mutters as Neo looks back at him with a smirk. She then raises a hand and lets the artists put her up front. They begin transforming the girl. Carmine realizes too late what is coming, a sudden heat flushing his face. "Oh, shit-"
The artists spin her around to the crowd, two prosthetic fox ears in her hair. One pink. One brown. Each ear has black tips. Adding a near full foot of height to her. Her face is touched up with makeup as she winks his way.
Fox faunus Neo...
A chorus of whistles from younger members of the crowd reach his ears. In a sudden snap, all embarrassed arousal washes away with a touch of irritation. A temptation to lash out comes.
Only to wash away as Neo skips up and links their arms together. The boy goes stone rigid as the girl links their arms with a smile. Her aura flexes the material of the fake ears to twitch them like natural ears. "Hmm?" She hums at him.
Red as a tomato, Carmine has to look away. "U-Uh... Hey, w-what's that? Let's see what that's about?" He tries to pull away, but Neo simply happily stays locked on him...
She's going to kill him at this rate.
. . .
The two later find themselves along the various concession stalls of the festival. Various aromas assault the two as Carmine takes the food whore lead! Deep fried octopus, deep fried scallops, deep fried cake, deep fried cookies, deep fried pop tarts, deep fried your mother, you name it!
Neo starts to peer over the menu, but Carmine bumps her with his hip. "I'mma surprise you." He leads her up as she blinks surprised. He's buying, so why not?
A dark haired and tan dog faunus smiles at them. "Hello, love birds." He smiles welcoming at the two's still linked arms. "What can I get ya? We can deep fry anything."
"Oh? Can you deep fry her? Be the best dessert I could have." Carmine playfully quips. It's Neo's turn to freeze wide eyed at the thought of Carmine... Did her heart just skip a beat?
She shakes her head, face red, and bumps him with her hip, earning a laugh. However, she realizes too late that she missed whatever he ordered her.
The boy laughs, accepting his order. Deep fried pulled meat lobster tail with butter garlic drizzle. A gleeful grin spreads. "Gimme!"
Neo blinks as the clerk holds out a kebab for her. Three large deep fried chunks are skewered one atop another. She accepts it, seeing chocolate drizzle on the top and bottom chunks and white drizzle on the middle. She looks at Carmine.
He shrugs. "It screamed 'you'." He chomps into his buttery fried seafood. "MMNF!" He chews with tears in his eyes. "Explosion of flavor!" He looks back at the stall. "You handsome scoundrel! Is there MSG in this?"
The faunus grins wide and nods.
Following the example, Neo chomps into the top chunk on her deep fried kebab. "Mm!" Her eyes blink, swapping color. Deep fried chocolate strawberry! Is that vanilla coating on the berry itself.
"Try the next one." Carmine speaks with a confident smirk.
She blinks again, colors swapping. She takes a bite of the second one. "Ah- Mm!" She gasps mid chew. Vanilla drizzle on deep fried fudge! Wait. Is the third one another product as well? She chews and swallows the sweet goodness and calms herself before taking a bite of the bottom chunk-
Deep fried vanilla ice cream with chocolate and strawberry drizzle.
The girl, mouth full of dessert, directs a look at the boy. Carmine flashes a smile with a laugh. "So..?"
It screams her, indeed. Neo swallows and grins. A light lean on her tip toes as she pecks her lips to his cheek. She tugs their linked arms forward, pulling the lad with her while his face lights with a happy flush.
. . .
The next panel the two visited is a discussion panel. A whole host of guests addressing the audience as well as discussing among themselves a new film that came out. The film in question was Captain Fantastic, a film about a comic super heroine with space powers!
Carmine didn't expect the audience to be so uproarious. Both in anger and glee.
Neo and he had thought the panel would be something intellectual, so Kallen would likely also be in the crowd. Paid entry of course. The title, 'The Morality of Plank' was certainly odd... He just didn't expect 'Plank' to be the nickname the cast gave to the film's main super heroine.
A man with a breathing man in all black and red aviator glasses is the host, leaning back in a chair as he addresses the people. "Hello everyone! How are you today?" A chorus of cheers sound off, a inclusive crowd surprisingly. "Perfect. Let's allow some time for the seats in the back of the room to fill while we ramble on. I am Moller. Host of our group's video tuber podcast."
His voice is relaxed, a more proper English with a mid deep voice. However, a certain light tone paints his words. "Joining today are some faces you know, here to discuss the morality of Plank, the film industry's number one super hero." A hint of sarcasm lifts his tone as people cheer.
"Uh, you mean HER-o, Moller." A god faunus with sunglasses cuts in with a more plain, slightly nasal accent.
Moller nods. "Yes, how can I forget. She is the greatest."
"A triumph, one might say." The dog man says further. Moller nods with it as the audience begins to chuckle. The sarcasm dripping in tone. "We have to watch our step. Some glass from the ceiling might cut our feet after she shattered it."
The audience laughs and claps with it.
Neo and Carmine spare a glance. "Did you watch Captain Fantastic?" Carmine asks the girl. Neo shakes her head. She signs back. "It looked bland. I was waiting for the next event movie." Carmine raises a brow. "Well, sounds like it was- OH!" he lights up. "Didn't the actress insult the audience or something before it came out?"
Neo looks up. That did sound familiar. She then lights up with a light bounce. She lightly taps him for attention and signs rapidly. "Wait, me and Blair caught it in a hotel room once! The main girl doesn't express any emotion and gets told what a great person she is without showing it!"
Carmine snickers. "Well, I tell you compliments and you rarely show anything other than kleptomania." Neo purses her lips and raises a brow at him. Carmine's hands fly up defensive. "Was a joke!"
"Hmm." Neo hums and nods accepting the walk back. She then glowers and signs. "The bad ass leader with the eye patch also lost his eye due to a cat. Since it was a prequel, that's why he has the eye patch in the others."
Carmine snorts and double takes. "Wai-wait. Doesn't that just literally undercut the half dozen scenes in previous movies about how significant his strife, experience, and losses are? You can't be serious." Carmine blurts incredulous. When Neo simple sighs, Carmine groans. "Oh, god, you're serious. That's so shit!"
Moller looks to his three co hosts. "So, gentleman. One at a time. What do each of you think of our wonderful film here? Ah, and introduce yourselves, please."
The first to go is a canine faunus with gray hair and a grungy look. "Hello everyone. I am Wulfin, and this movie wasted two hours of my life, and I'm here to let it consume more so I can let my rage out. Captain Fantastic is at best a moron and at worst a villain."
Beside him, a man in a brown suit and a green mask speaks through a chuckle. A deep voice in an Aussie accent comes forth. "Yeah. It's not good, shall we say. Hi, I'm Fransig-" A chorus of claps ring out. "Yeah, hi everyone. Uh, we're not here just to play a scene from the film. Rather to evaluate a... questionable take from someone defending her character. So, I am... interested in the arguments here."
Finally, the more sarcastic dog faunus speaks up. "Oh yes. Yes. Completely rational arguments based on evidence that I'm sure will NEVER once be contradicted by the person making them." The man stifles a laugh. "How does it go, everyone? I'm Raas, the best doggo, and I'm here to count the seconds before we're called hateful for criticizing this movie."
A person in the crowd shouts out. "Maybe you should learn to enjoy things."
Raas raises a brow behind his sunglasses. "Maybe they should learn to make something that isn't shit." Followed by a loud, chipper response overpowering the dozen or so boos.
Neo nudges Carmine. He looks at her confused. She signs with a snickering smile. "That. That is you. He's your spirit animal."
A wide grin plasters on his face as he howls. "HA!" He chuckles and calms. "Okay, whether Kallen is here or not, this seems like fun."
. . .
Kallen was not there, but an hour went by in a flash after the screen began playing a video of some Vale lawyer arguing "by the law" to defend the movie's main character, who the panelists nicknamed "Plank". The lawyer bent the law like a pretzel to justify the main character of the film threatening to rip a man's arm off for hitting on her.
Carmine had burst out laughing several times with the crowd, Neo thoroughly enjoying the experience as well.
Leaving, the boy is leaned over Neo as the girl uses her scroll to check the v-tubers online channels. "Holy shit. These guys do like eight hour podcasts!" He nudges the girl. "Save this for later. This will occupy us for weeks after we leave here."
"Mhm!" Neo nods vigorously. She checks the time. They still have two hours until the Prosky film premiere where surely Kallen should be, so perhaps the two could do another panel or-
There!
Her eyes lock on the golden beret peaked over the heads of others in the crowd. She loses sight of it around a corner. Neo bursts forward, dashing between and around the patrons as Carmine reacts and follows. On instinct, the girl enters mission mode.
The faunus must be moving deceptively quick because Neo keeps find that damned beret disappearing around corner after corner. She pursues after, Carmine shortly behind her. They must be moving far, nearing closer to one of the larger tent enclosed venues in a bright green upheld fabric.
Finally getting through the sea of people to find the man's back- Oh crap.
Neo grinds her feet to a halt and stops an inch before impact! She sees that the snake faunus has yet to notice her, letting out a sigh of relief.
Then Carmine full slams into the girl's back as he rounds another patron mid sprint. His form slams into Neo's and into Kallen's back! The faunus cries out as all three individuals hit the ground in a heap, a call of attention from the crowd around them.
"GAH!" The man cries out realizing the CRBN members were on top of him. Throwing them off, he snaps to his feet, shifting his new rifle sling to aim the weapon up in a panic! "Again! I should expect no less-"
"Whoa there!" Carmine throws his hands up in surrender. "Peace! We come in peace unless you're being suspicious."
The faunus recoils at the accusation before straightening his aim on the boy's head.
"I mean just peace! Yes, just peace! No gun shots with people around!" Carmine glances around at the growing crowd of people who are backing and gathering in a circle around them wary. Behind him, Neo is tapping away at her scroll with a disgruntled look. The boy glances at her. "Makara told?" Without looking, Neo holds one hand up in the OK sign.
"Why must you ill cultured pests continue to vex me!" Kallen demands as he glares between them. "Speak your intentions with no more inane babble!"
"Dost protest too much." Carmine sarcastically before easing. "No problems here. We're nice people." Neo snorts, directing her attention forward now. The boy rolls his eyes. "Okay. I'M nice people." She twitches and elbows him for the verbal jab. "We wanted you to reconsider Makara's request from yesterday."
Kallen lowers his gun with a scowl. "You pester me today of all days to rehash a favor I've already denied?! Get out of here!"
"Wow. Not even a big star yet and you're actively turning away the idea of having fans. Shame." Carmine shakes his head while Neo clicks her tongue adding a 'tsk tsk tsk.'
"Fans don't spend every waking second granting me a cursed existence."
"Someone has a skewed view of fame I think." Neo chuckles at the boy, nodding with him. "Look, maybe we can work something out. Let bygones be by-"
Kallen huffs and turns away from him, approaching the green tent. The CRBN members are left completely alone.
"-gone..." Carmine scowls as he finishes. He looks at Neo incredulous. "That pompous dick!" His voice cracks as it raises. He groans and turns to Neo. "Yeah, this is going nowhere."
Neo raises a brow and thumbs off. Translation: Maybe Makara can have better luck.
Carmine recoils, straightening a his hands find his hips. Translation: What's wrong with me?
The girl gives a coy grin looking away before shaking her head at him. She points to him then mimes an explosion. Translation: You blow up. Angry angry.
He flips her off, narrowed glare on her.
She giggles and pulls the hand close and pecks the offending finger with her lips.
He pulls back, fighting the blush.
"Am I interrupting?" A huffing polite tone calls their attention to see Makara sprinting up to them. She catches her breath a moment before looking to the large tent ahead. "You found him?"
"Yeah, he's pissed." The three turn to the tent entrance to see Kallen shoved roughly back by the entry guard. Carmine raises a brow. The faunus appears to argue with the guard, heated.
"Something is wrong." Makara frowns.
"Yeah, well. It's his problem if he won't tell us. I'm not gonna care too..." He watches as the guard calls three others, a clear intimidation tactic on the faunus. "...much. The hell?" Kallen doesn't appear to care. If he doesn't bat an eyelash at Killian Gonzola, why the blue hell would four nameless suits scare him?
Neo narrows her gaze and signs. "They're turning him away from the event despite him paying for it."
"Super hearing now?" Carmine mutters, though curiosity begins to peak. He then sees Neo with an earpiece. "You planted a bug on him while we were on him! Nice. Will be useful if he runs from us for any reason."
The girl beams a smile for a moment and shrugs. Translation: Precautions.
The three march towards the tent entrance, hearing Kallen crying out in furious anger. "-to tell me that I can't enter! Where is a supervisor? I want to hear from someone in charge."
The main guard crosses his arms, huffing. "You're going to have to deal with just the proof." A second guard holds up a paper, pointing to the print. "In the agreement you have to sign off on when purchasing a ticket. 'This event is prohibited to faunus'."
Carmine tenses. "Excuse me?" He mutters. The boy's sudden boiling anger gets checked as Neo wraps her arm around to jerk him down! Her action speaks clearly. No explosive disorder to prejudicial assholes. Yet, at the very least.
The guard steps aggressively up to Kallen and practically spits the words in his face. "Now, quit wasting both our time and move on!"
A sneer pulls at the snake, but he merely growls before stepping back. "I'll have you serving my drinks someday, mark my damn words!"
"Yeah, whatever." The group of men snicker and laugh, going back to their duty.
Kallen's tense fuming anger pours off him as he stiffly walks away, only to stop when Makara stands in his path. "... What?!"
The snap does little to the lavender haired girl, who nods to him. "Is there some way I can help?" The earnest desire elicits a sarcastic scoff. "I wanted to speak with you, but you seem to be having problems yourself. I'm sure there's something that can be done."
"Nothing CAN be done." He spits out with venom. "Just the barriers of entry that simply exist here is all."
"What's the event?" Carmine stands from Neo, jaw locking as he glowers at the tent.
"It was a pitch seminar!" Kallen fumes, eyes looking to the heavens for help. "Paid entry to have your film pitches heard by the legendary producer, Jordan O'Bryan! I paid for the ticket after having my script ready and everything! A personal breakthrough as both the writer and star of a production? It would have been-." He stops, collecting himself and speaks resigned. "Yet, something as basic as fine print inane prejudice foils me again. See, see, THIS is why Mistral is so much more forgiving."
The CRBN group looks among themselves, Neo's eyes flashing with a spark. Carmine nods and looks at the man. "Give me the ticket."
Kallen whips his gaze back in a cold glare. "Excuse me?!"
"Stop." Carmine holds his hand up to halt the anger in the hissing snake. "Let me go in there and pitch your film. I'll specifically recommend you to star and will use your name. If they like it, they'll eventually contact you anyway, so it works out." The boy remains stoic and collected. "Unless you doubt your story?" He ends with a raised brow.
Double take once. Twice. The snake hisses a snicker before bellowing a laugh. "You?! You want to pitch a movie for MY benefit? Haven't you heard of this little thing called 'I don't like you or your pity' brat?"
"Oh no. That's mutual, but my decision to help was cinched the moment those four jackasses behaved that way." Carmine states neutral and even, making the snake pause. In the lull of conversation, the boy turns to Neo. "By the way, those four guards? On the table if you feel like stealing anything."
"EE!" Neo bounces once, clapping her hands together with a devilish look.
Both CRBN members pause as they look to Makara. The woman simply blinking back at them shocked. "What?" Carmine asks.
"Nothing. You're vengeful."
"The only good prejudice is against the prejudicial." Carmine retorts calmly before his voice lowers slightly. "The dip shit retards..." He shakes his head, looking to the stunned faunus. "So? I help you, you help us?"
Kallen gives a stink eye to the boy. "... And just what do you want in return?" The younger duo looks to Makara, pulling the snake's gaze to her as well.
The woman smiles earnest, hands cupped. "I would like assistance crafting a weapon from a master sniper such as yourself!"
"..." Kallen stares at her, scrutinizing every inch of her expression. "By the gods, you're either a better actor than I, or purer than a puppy." He snickers into a smile. Hands up, he fiddles his fingers in a devious gesture before rounding to the others. "Very well! A venture failed garners more than one never taken!"
Carmine smirks. "So, that ticket?"
Kallen freezes, checking his scroll for the time. He jolts. "Ah! The deadline to enter is in a minute!" He yanks the ticket from his pocket and shoves it into the boy's hand. "Go, go!"
The boy accepts it, turning to Neo as he rushes off. "Give the script to her on the scroll! She can send it and I'll pitch! Later!" Carmine sprints to the entryway of the tent.
The main guard from before looks the boy over as he accepts the ticket. "Cutting it close, aren't ya?" He scans the ticket with a device and cocks his head. "Kallen of Mistral?"
Carmine glowers at him. "Got a problem?" The guard holds his stare a moment until shaking his head. He opens the entrance of the tent for the boy. Carmine flashes a grin. "Thanks!" He strolls past. "Bitch." He adds as he disappears inside.
The guard double takes, but can't follow. He merely hears a fading laugh at his expense.
. . .
Inside the tent, Carmine arrives by a line up of twenty other individuals. A strike of nerves hit as he straightens up. It's silent, but most of the others in the room have gatherings of papers, laptop bags, hand held devices, and the like that they focus on. The boy needs a game face to focus. He has to convince a major executive to make the film Kallen wrote!
The "room" in the tent was a long makeshift hall with two dozen openings into enclosed cubical rooms. The line up of participants stand by in the open area leading into the hall. A clicking pulls everyone's attention as a new man enters the room flanked by two suited bodyguards.
The man has trim neat brown hair swept to the side, a bordering beard lining his handsome jaw, prominent cheekbones, and a million dollar brilliant smile. Bright blues eye the group as he approaches. He wears a blue suit with a film strip symbol on his lapel. His white button up underneath is unbuttoned at the top for a loose canon feel. Sunglasses show clipped to his lapel as well.
Flashing a grin to the group, the man speaks up. "Howdy, howdy everyone!" He speaks in a proper English showman voice. "It's a pleasure to work with you! I am Jordan O'Bryan, and YOU!" He pauses to point at the line. "Are here to bring my the out of the box ideas that make the world. Go. Wild!"
Jordan allows a small chuckle out. Friendly. Warm. He clasps his hand. "I look forward to hearing each and every one of your pitches, so in order of your arrival times, please take the rooms in order. In that same order, after a five minute heads up time, I will begin making the rounds to hear what you got." He flashes another grin and winks. "Put your heart out there, people. Express and do your best!"
He finishes and turns away. Carmine smiles at the setup. This gives him the longest period to prepare since he arrived last! Neat! He follows the line and takes the last enclosed cubical room.
Inside, Carmine finds a desk with a lamp and a high top desk chair. He smiles at the official setup and sits in the chair. "Sweet!" He spins in the chair and nods. "Just gotta wait for Neo to send me Kallen's pitch."
He reaches for his pocket and pats...
His face freezes... He pats both pockets. Eyes slowly begin to widen.
. . .
"And there we are." Kallen clicks the send button. He sighs, hugging the device to his chest. A silent prayer in his thoughts before he gazes upon Neo. "You should receive it shortly." His gaze narrows. "Don't you dare tamper with it, silent devil."
Neo narrows her gaze back, but smiles sweetly as her scroll dings. She quickly checks the file sent to make sure it arrived intact. She nods to Kallen, allowing him to sigh in relief. She hits forward and selects 'Dumb Dumb' under her contacts. She hits send, then holds the scroll up for the faunus to see the successful send.
Kallen sighs. "Alright. I doubt this will work with your plain ways, but I will accept your attempt."
Ding.
Kallen and Neo both blink. That didn't come from Neo's scroll... They turn slowly to the third person present.
Makara blinks back, body rigid and eyes wide. She reaches into her pocket, cringing in further. "Um..."
Neo's jaw drops. Further as Makara pulls Carmine's scroll from her pocket... The screen flashes with a notification of a sent file.
The gray lavender haired girl gulps. "I, uh... forgot to give this back..."
A light squeak comes from Kallen's gaping maw. Then a higher squeak as it drops further.
Neo purses her lips, face heating red in embarrassment. First hand from Kallen seeing their team mess something so basic up. Second hand knowing how Carmine must be reacting to this inside...
Makara gulps and forces a grin. "Well, he won't have your pitch... But, perhaps he can still pull a role for you?"
"YOU FOOLS THINK YOU CAN BULLCRAP YOUR WAY THROUGH ART IN FILM FORM?!" The snake shrieks in the two female's faces!
The older female holds her hands up placating. "Just- Team CRBN has already shown me to be talented. We can trust Carmine to think of something on his feet, right?" She ends, looking at Neo as she sweats nervously.
Neo looks up in thought...
. . .
"OH MY GOD! WHAT THE FUCK AM I GONNA DO?!"
The words scream in his head as he viciously beats his head into the table. No scroll. No means of contacting his friends or fulfilling his promise.
He wheezes a breath. In through the nose and out through the mouth. He looks to a blank piece of paper and thinks. What can he do..?
Carmine huffs. He has time. He's the last to do his pitch. He just has to make it a damned good one. What kind of people are producers ans executives? Money loving. Don't give a damn about morals. Sleazy in personal relationships. Spectacle over thought. Something controversial to get public outcry to advertise for it. But not so bad that people will actually boycott it.
… Oh! Like Roman. Gritty and witty... But with a faunus lead role...
. . .
"I'm not tolerating this foolishness! I'm leaving!" Kallen shouts as he flippantly waves his arms in frustration. He only makes it two steps before he halts, Makara once again in his path. "Lady, I appreciate the attempts at buttering me up over my brilliant skills, but I cannot tolerate you any further. Move." He glares at the woman, hoping to make her submit to his command.
The woman frowns, but holds her place. "Please, Mr Kallen. At the very least, can you await Carmine to come back? You've seen Team CRBN exceed your expectations before. It's still possible, no?"
The snake twitches. "What I've seen is a couple of teenage brats completely botch my attempts at a break through for my career." He glares over his shoulder at Neo, who matches the look, almost ready for a fight. "If I'm to waste my time here, what do I get out of it?"
A pause hangs in the air before a heavy sigh comes from Neo.
"Got something to say, mute?" Kallen calls out. He watches as Neo's aura flickers in anger, the pulse making her prosthetic fox faunus ears twitch. "Also, take those things off. I don't appreciate you humans appropriating our aesthetic."
Neo smiles sweetly before she holds up her scroll, an application open for electronically sending money. She signs with her off hand. "How much to make you stay?"
The open bribe gets the woman to double take, but Kallen doesn't miss a beat. "Two thousand to my LendLien app account AllMyScales3000." Makara's shoulders slouch as she watches the teen girl actually bribe the faunus into giving them a shot. Kallen's eyes widen. "How much money do you have?! You can afford that at a drop of a hat?"
Neo simply smirks. Her eyes roll towards the tent. The amount of times she's had Carmine buy for her so she could save money... She may be the richest of the team at this point. "Hmm Hmm." She trills a humming laugh.
. . .
32 minutes later...
The opening to the cubicle room widens as Jordan O'Bryan enters with a bright flashing grin. The chair in the room is turned away from him, but he can make out that Carmine is as work at the desk. The man produces a recorder and begins capturing the sound. He speaks chipper and warm. "So, you have a movie for me?"
The chair turns, revealing Carmine. His own smile, though visibly forced and nervous, shines back. He has a piece of paper in hand with notes. "Yes, sir. I do! It's called Jangen Unleashed!"
Jordan hugs his arms in and braces himself. "Oh, I sense action already. Who is Jangen, and what's he's unleashing?"
"Well, the film takes place as an alternate period piece before the last great war. It takes place in Mistral, where we open on a human slave driver transporting faunus slaves! But all that changes when they meet a stranger who happens to be himself a bounty hunter after the very driver of the slaves."
Jordan shifts, smile and expression impressed as he nods. "Oh! A gritty and dirty piece exploring the darker natures of the world?"
"Nope, this is an action comedy." Carmine delivers with a straight face.
"What?" Jordan's expression remains frozen, eyes hinting at incredulity beneath.
"Oh, the bounty hunter is an eccentric man from Atlas. Proper and disarming to meet. He drives a carriage with a tooth on it because he pretends to be a dentist to authorities."
"That is disarming. So this bounty hunter is Jangen."
"No, his name is Sully. Jangen is one of the slaves Sully just negligibly freed. This incident actually leads to Sully taking the faunus in. We get some fun interactions where this prim and proper man is actually a stone cold killer for the right causes, and he begins teaching the younger faunus how to help him on his jobs, even how to read and write."
Jordan nods approving and gestures to the boy. "I see. The opposites attract, buddy cop dynamic. I'm sure the faunus will make for a wacky personality. Tell me about Jangen. What's he like?"
"Jangen is a straight man. He's clearly ignorant to a lot of things that happen at first, but we find that to be a subject of his background as he's a quick learner. He displays a righteous honor, finding that he really, really likes this bounty hunter gig so long as he's taking down criminals. But all that comes second to his real goal of reuniting with his wife who is still a slave."
"Oh, my god." Jordan steps back, ready for the plot to thicken.
"And so now that Jangen is free, they find out that his wife is a slave for a plantation owner in northern Mistral named Calvin Rose, who affectionately calls his plantation the Rose Garden."
"Sounds like a pretentious prick." Jordan chimes in.
"The prickiest of pricks, sir. He's our main villain! He even participates in slave fights for money."
"Oh, how dastardly."
"And so Sully and Jangen have to pose as slavers themselves in order to arrange a chance to buy Jangen's wife off him. They want to approach him about buying a fighting slave so they can pull a wool over his eyes and get her included."
"Very sneaky. A faunus pretending to enslave other faunus is a very awkward spot." Jordan then hums. "But I don't know about this. This seems like a very controversial movie. I don't know how audiences will take to it in the current political climate."
Carmine internally smirks. "That's the beauty. See, we're not actually gonna go beyond the surface of many of these subjects beyond what people already are all 100% against. The rest will generate media buzz and basically advertise the movie for us without any marketing needed. It's essentially free marketing."
Jordan lights up. "Oh, things that are free are TIGHT!"
"Kinda the opposite, but anyway." Carmine mutters and continues. "But things take a turn when Rose discovers the real reason that Sully and Jangen are there, so he clamps down hard on them by forcing them either to buy what he WANTS to sell, or just being turned away. He's a very shrewd business man."
"Very shrewd. How are they going pay for it?"
"Well they don't, so Sully takes the fall for Jangen and just decides to go with the renegade option. He shoots Rose right as they're finalizing the deal! The two really haven't liked each other the whole time."
"He just shoots our main bad guy dead? Doesn't that seem too easy?"
"Of course, which is why all Rose's men immediately shoot and kill Sully!"
"Oh, my god!"
"Yeah, he dies giving Jangen a chance to fight back. We get a whole huge fight through the mansion as Jangen mows down all these guys that have been insulting him for being faunus the whole movie and such. But unfortunately, he does get captured as they plan to make him a slave all over."
"Ooooo, that didn't work out for him."
"Except it's not over." Carmine holds a finger.
"It's not over?!"
"Oh yeah."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! What happens?" Jordan shifts again, an excitement showing.
"Because while being transported to be sold again, Jangen uses his knowledge of Sully's other bounty targets and makes a bluff with the captors transporting him! He tricks them into thinking he can guide them to collecting a fake bounty, so he ends up getting their guard down to take their weapons."
Jordan furrows his brow. "This guy JUST killed a notorious business man and slaughtered have his family, but these guards listen to him?"
"Well, they're racist morons from the boonies, so, they kinda think there's no way a faunus could think on their level. Kind of a running theme of those that get outwitted in the film."
"Oh, themes make the message easy to understand that racists are bad! Easy to guide the audience and manipulate their feelings."
"For money, you mean." Carmine forces himself not to roll his eyes.
"Money is the thing that I like!" The man unironically calls out with a bright grin. Yep, Carmine called it. If Roman worked in the entertainment industry.
"So, now that the plantation is mourning Rose, they're compromised. Nothing stops Jangen from using his resources and... just.. ya know.. murdering everyone who isn't his wife in a shock cathartic end. He and his wife, both free now, take Sully's carriage that's left to Jangen in his will and become the most kick ass bounty hunters the continent ever saw! What do you think?"
Jordan crosses his arms, humming. "I don't know... This sounds like a pretty violent movie, and might be pretty culturally effective in the modern climate. Can we spend a good half the movie with witty comedic timing?"
"I imagine that will be 80 percent of the final script anyway."
"And we'll throw in a henchman obsessed with degrading faunus penises."
Carmine's face is frozen in the forced smile. "... What?"
"Penis jokes are very funny and will distract from the harsh political realism."
The boy purses his lips and shrugs. "I suppose so."
"We'll have to cast a bunch of big names to this as well. It'll draw star power views and dissuade legitimate criticism if people the public likes are okay with it." Jordan speaks mostly to himself.
"I do have someone in mind for playing Jangen, though. He's a snake faunus, and trust me." Carmine does an OK hand gesture. "He's got experience with gun play and can make the snappy violence quality."
Jordan struggles to think. "That's true. Faunus stars are hard to come by. That'll be something to look for."
"So, how did you like it?" Carmine asks nervous.
Jordan holds up the recorder, ending the session. He smiles. "I'll be going to the other executives for this event, and we'll be listening to yours and all the other top pitches. By the by, you're top five here easily." He points to the boy, who lights up at the praise. "If you win out, we'll contact the number on file from the ticket purchase. Kallen, right?"
Carmine smiles and nods and mimics the man's earlier approval. "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
. . .
The boy exits the tent, locking eyes immediately with the group. He marches on up, breath leaving him in relief. He reaches the group, a silence hanging around them as they each give expecting looks. Carmine doesn't give the answer yet as he addresses his issue first. Blue eyes on hazel.
Despite being ignored, Kallen scowls at the teen boy. "Well, this situation was so terrible, I think it gave me cancer!"
Ignored. Carmine holds his hand out to the woman. "My scroll?"
Makara blushes and gulps, handing off. "Sorry..."
"No, no. It's fine." He smiles for her, then look to Kallen. "..." He then looks at his scroll, seeing the sent file of Kallen's story pitch. "I just want to compare real fast..." His eyes flick over the title and stop. "Citizen Kallen-" He recoils in a double take and scoffs. "Okay, fuck you. Mine was better anyway."
Kallen flares up. "How DARE you insult my works! And how dare you fail to even try to uphold your side of a fair bargain with MY ticket!" He fumes, looming over the boy. "What nonsense did you put forward?"
"You'll find out if it's picked. Going by Jordan's feedback, it's in the top five running." Carmine responds innocently, thumbing over his shoulder.
The faunus blinks once.
Neo grins wide, giving a cocky eye to the grown man from the side. Kallen can barely mutter. "Excuse you?"
Carmine points to Kallen's scroll in the faunus' hands. "He and other executives are reviewing the pitches after they were recorded. Afterwards, they'll contact the person they decide pitched their choice. We'll know within about an hour or so."
The teen girl grins wide as she holds up a hand. She and Carmine high five as the boy maintains eye contact with the stunned faunus.
"... EXCUSE YOU?!"
. . .
The now mixed group marches through the festival, Kallen having his shoulders hunched with a disturbed grimace. The silent snake stews over the strange new possibility that he might... OWE these peasants.
Unbidden, his eyes trail down to his scroll. It'd only been half an hour, but these CRBN members seemed keen on waiting with him until they hear the result. As such, the company moves to one of those... pedestrian family friendly gaming stalls. Utterly disgusting.
However, he did eye Makara scoring another bullseye on a water gun gaming stall. The woman smiles graciously as Carmine and Neo high five her. Makara then earns a stuffed snake that she coils around her neck like a scarf.
Kallen's twitching glare can only remain for a few seconds before he scoffs and checks the time. "Ah, The audience screening of Vendetta of Thee starts in fifteen minutes."
The three others pause and look back at him. Carmine nods. "Yeah, we thought you would have been at that, so we were originally planning on going. Were we right?"
The snake stands up at attention. "Of course! If I could garner a connection with the Prosky sisters, I'd be set for several jobs!" He ends with a smirk, planning his moves.
"Really? What actors have they boosted the careers of? I never cared too much about the 'who' was making my films until recently." Carmine mentions before looking at Neo's grinning form. "She's a movie nut, apparently."
"They've boosted the careers of many B and A list talent." He claims before turning from them to walk.
The three follow. Makara speaking up. "Do they do well with people that would be considered less known? As you would be to the Atlas and Vale audiences?"
A scoff leaves the man. "They find adept and unknown child actors fairly often. If an unknown child can get introduced, than so could I!"
"Don't most child stars fall off the rails almost immediately?" Carmine mutters to Neo. The girl bobs her head before shrugging and nodding. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He shrugs back. "Alright, let's go see him convince the sisters."
"I do not need your company after you botched the pitch." Kallen scowls. "Why would I want your presence any more?"
"A." Carmine holds a finger up. "We're still waiting for a response, so I may have succeeded for you. And B." He holds up a second. "We can go as moral support. Might be fun."
"AH!" Kallen hisses out as he stomps ahead. "Now, I'm a glorified baby sitter of commoners!"
Within minutes, the group finds themselves approaching a large black tent with a dark enclosed interior. Paying their way for entry, the group finds a large theater setup with rows of portable chairs and a large grand screen at one end of the structure. For now, the enclosure is lit well, but several signs and speakers call out that the film begins shortly.
Neo peers about until finding a mass of people near the front rows. A quick point, she nudges Carmine who looks to Kallen. "Yo! They near the front there?"
Kallen lights up, stepping in front of them. "Yes! They would be the two blondes in the cr- Hey!" He's halted by two guards who step in.
"Sir, the film is about to begin. Please be seated." The man narrows his gaze at Kallen, waiting for the snake to back up.
Hissing a growl, the man looks to the group. "Guess I must wait." He glares at Carmine and the time. He picks a seat, crossing his arms and sitting in a huff. "By the way. If I make it through the entire film without receiving a phone call, I'm calling you a failure."
Carmine's half lidded dull glower locks on the petty man. "Sure, sure, you dramatic baby." He looks to the other three. "I'm not sitting next to him." Thankfully, Makara sits by him instead. Then the boy, then the mute girl.
Soon after, the lights dim, the crowds sit, and the film begins before them.
. . .
"Well, that was actually very good." Carmine mutters, surprised. "Trailers didn't do that any justice at all, did they Neo?"
Said girl smiles sweetly, but signs tense. "The trailer director should be fired."
"Yeah..." He leans forward around Makara to look at Kallen. "Everything you wanted and more-... eh?" He cocks his head at the sight. Kallen is crying!
"Such a masterpiece..." The faunus mutters to himself. He hides his face to hide sniffles.
The boy leans back to his and Neo's seats. "Never mind. Think I'll pass on movie discussions with him." Neo chuckles.
Makara smiles at the faunus. "You quite enjoyed the experience it seems."
"Did you not, maiden?!" Kallen exclaims suddenly! He stands from his seat, looking at her with an intense passion.
Like a deer faunus in Atlas headlights, Makara blinks back silent for a second. She shrugs and looks away. "It was... good."
Slowly, the passion drains from the faunus, posture slouching as a pout settles. "You plebeian commoners..." He turns and marches from them. Leaving them to hurriedly pick up and follow after. "You needn't follow any further anyway. I received no notification, so your pitch failed! I owe you nothing- Ah!" He gasps. "There she is!"
In front of them is a crowd of people as a woman exits the grouping. She's tall! Taller than Makara and maybe taller than Kallen. She wears designer white pants that end mid calf with a leather belt, and black leather shoes for her bottom half. What catches Carmine's eye is the hand gun holster strapped to the small of her back at the belt. She wears a high cropped brown fur jacket with tinged red fur tips, a red designed tube top underneath. Finally, a jet black beret atop long light brown hair draped down her back. Her eyes are obscured by black sunglasses as she leaves the crowd with a smirk.
"AH~!" Kallen yelps like a school girl beside the team.
Carmine cringes away. "Dude. I'M telling you to calm down. That's a problem."
They watch as the professional woman marches their way. Nearby her, a suited man covered head to toe in black complete with sunglasses follows her. The only visible feature of him was light skin and a scar running down the right side of his neck. Neo gasps, but Carmine doesn't hear her.
Ignoring the ignorant boy, Kallen marches in the path of the woman and bows. "Miss Ellen Prosky, it is so wonderfully nice to meet you! Your film was positively exquisite! Truly, a marvel for those who wish to indulge in the arts! Please, if I could... have... a moment..."
He slows as the woman, Ellen Prosky, slowly stalks right past him.
The faunus stumbles with her for a moment. "W-wait. Please, I'm an accomplished actor from Mistral, and I believe that my talents would be greatly- Eh?" He recoils as the woman suddenly rounds on him.
"What's your name?" The woman demands in a short tone.
"K-Kallen of Mistral... of the city of Ardyn Wood specifically." He answers nervous.
"Mononym. No last name. Only successful people earn those, and I've never heard of you." She coldly snipes at him, waiting for the words to set in before she turns away. "And that's all I have to say about brown nosers looking for freebies." She begins stalking away.
"..." Silence comes from the faunus as he slouches further than before.
"I could have done without the filler." Makara's voice calls out.
Ellen stops. She turns to find the silver haired woman looking right at her with an innocent look. "Excuse you?"
"Your scenes in the film." She thumbs towards the screen. "You had I believe six of them about the city people's reactions to the main character. The point was made with half that. Maybe even just two if you changed them slightly. Instead, you have four extra scenes that break up what I actually cared to watch. I felt you wasted valuable time."
Carmine freezes looking at the kind woman who just... well, blatantly insulted the professional's work. Kallen beside Makara pales white as a sheet, jaw dropped almost unhinged. The boy blinks and looks for Neo's reaction-
Where's Neo?
No time to figure.
Makara maintains her naive smile as she continues. "It's okay though. I mean, even professionals have to work hard to avoid mistakes I'm sure. And it has to do with a great many more people than just the directors."
Her placating qualifier drips off like a missile to the heart as an insult, Kallen flinching at hearing the sentence!
The director, Ellen, marches back until she's nose to nose with Makara, almost looming over being several inches taller. However, the effect is lost as Makara simple sits there with a blank honest look. So instead Ellen looks to Kallen. "She with you?"
The faunus flinches back, shaking his head rapidly.
However, before any more can be said, a new voice chimes in. "Ellie! The debate was longer than I thought! I'm so sorry!" The new female voice, much livelier and youthful, comes form another woman dressed identically to Ellen. As in, the exact same outfit down to the same sunglasses. However, her hair is cut into a bob cut, she's about a whole head shorter than Ellen, and while Ellen may as well be a stick, this woman is thoroughly... stacked, shall it be said.
Kallen cowers back and mutters. "Nell Prosky! Both of them!"
Ah, that explains the identical- These two are sisters?! How? The only thing that's the same is light tan skin tone and brown hair! Carmine's eyes bug out, checking all the things that don't match between the two physically. Siblings of the same gender could at least have similar tones of voice, but even that's wildly off. The hell?
Maybe it's different fathers?
Ellen looks down on her sister. "I expected you to be back before the screening was done. Not after, Nellie. What kept you?"
The chipper shorter female waves her arms excitably. "Jordy and the pencil pushers were having a real hard back and forth over which of two pitches to go with! They didn't decide on a winner until just ten minutes ago! I'm sorry, but I couldn't just up and leave! I had to argue for the one I wanted too! Jordy and I both agreed on it."
At the word 'pitches', Carmine and Kallen both seize in place and look at one another. Makara shamelessly looks to Kallen and smiles. Still, they were shocked that these sisters were apparently involved.
"I'm assuming you wanted the action adventure thriller." Ellen rattles in a drab tone. "Anyway, did they contact the pitch winner yet?"
Nell holds up her own scroll, the device artfully tacked with gold plating. "No! I told them I wanted to call them, but wanted to meet up with you first!"
Ellen slouches. "The winner was supposed to be contacted almost two hours ago..." The taller woman removes her sunglasses, revealing brown eyes. She gives her sister a dull glower. "You don't need me around to tell someone they won."
The shorter woman removes her own sunglasses, revealing the same shade of brown, but much livelier. "Aw, but it's always nice to have you by rather than explain things after." She begins tapping away on her scroll and faces away from the group, oblivious to all their attention on her.
Ding ding! D-d-ding ding!
A trill of orchestral chimes ring out behind the directors.
Carmine and Makara's eyes snap to the tall faunus beside them. The snake is stone rigid as the rings come from his pocket. In a snap, Kallen jabs his hand into his pocket, scrambling to pull his scroll out with wide saucer eyes. A number calling, but he doesn't recognize it!
Ellen looks to the faunus, critical eyes widening incredulous. Then back to her sister.
Kallen answers his call. "H-hello?"
Nell, oblivious, speaks up. "Hello, Mr Kallen! How are you doing today?" She gives a chipper dumbed down small talk.
Kallen stares at the oblivious director's head, jaw dropped. His voice squeaks. "I... am doing quite well." He speaks honestly with this revelation.
Ellen looks to her sister. "Nell."
Nell continues. "Good! I am Nell Prosky of Kidd Productions, or KP. I am contacting you in regards to the pitch meeting event with Jordan O'Bryan! Do you recall entering a pitch for the event?"
"Nell." Her sister speaks again, louder.
Kallen croaks with a dry throat as he stammers. He briefly looks to Carmine, seeing a very, VERY smug smirk answering him. "I-I... yes?"
"We would like to schedule a meeting with you about your pitch for Jangen Unleashed! If you are still at the festival-"
"Nell!" Ellen grabs the shorter sister and turns her physically around. "The man you're speaking with is right there!" She directs Nell's gaze directly at Kallen.
The shorter woman lights up. "Ah! I apologize!" She speaks into the scroll call still. "I will speak with you in person. Bye bye!" She dramatically hangs up then looks at the man. "Hello, Kallen of Mistral! Would you like to speak about your pitch?"
Kallen's voice fails him as he stares back.
At this point, Ellen scrutinizes him. "Wait. I thought faunus weren't allowed into the event... Who pitched the film?"
"Yo." Carmine calls out with a wide grin. At the critical director's cutting glare, he almost shies back, but she has nothing on Blair's glares. "He wasn't allowed in, so I made the pitch for him." He winks at them. "And also, like I told Jordan..." Carmine waves his hand to present Kallen. "Here is the required casting for Jangen."
Both sisters glance from the boy to Kallen, the man straightening under their gaze. The taller one narrowing her gaze while the shorter one peers over his form, eyeing the rifle slung behind him.
"I like him."
"I nothing him." The two sisters share a look until Ellen softens. "Ugh, fine. But, we're so using my contacts for the other casting choices."
Nell grins wide and holds a hand out. "Well, Kallen, how would you like to meet up with us and Jordan at Pica's Dining stall tomorrow at noon to begin discussing details?"
Kallen flinches and snatches the hand for a hearty shake. "Y-yes! Yes! Thank you, Ma'ams. I look forward to working with you!" With courteous nods, the group parts, the four watching the sisters depart in private conversation. Behind them, suited men follow
Wait. Leaving the four of them.
Carmine whirls around to find Neo. He almost shouts at her, but notices a frown on her... what?
"Well..." The CRBN members and Makara pull their attention to the man. "It would seem... that I... owe you-" He grumbles, suppressing a gag. "I owe you a thank you..."
The boy grins back. "None needed. What was it again? Progressing faunus?" He chuckles. "Leave it at that. Plus, if you ever do bounty or mercenary work again, I'll expose you to the public. Be a good boy."
Kallen twitches and huffs. "How dare... Ugh, Fine."
"But, the agreement was also about her." Carmine points to Makara.
Said woman brightens. "So, will you help me decide on a weapon design?"
Kallen sighs. "What time is it?" He checks the time. "Sure. Let us spend an hour or so and you can test fire my new rifle. Get an idea of your operator time and reactions. There's a rock quarry up the mountain side. And I will surely be available tomorrow."
Carmine nods. "Sure. I think there's another inn at the port town we can use." He then jokes looking to Neo. "And we can go on that hiking event for all the shooting locations up the mountain for famous film spots. Right, Neo?"
Again, the mute is to the side, staring in the direction the sister had marched off to. She looks at the boy, earning a wide eyed look in return.
Understanding comes, and Carmine nods. "So, Kallen. Wanna join us for dinner before you begin your sniper's paradise stuff?"
The faunus sighs. "I suppose I will be cordial."
"Good. Neo's choosing." Carmine announces, earning a questioning look. The boy merely nods towards the exit, telling her to lead them. The mute nods back and moves first.
Carmine and Neo take the lead as Makara and Kallen trail behind them. Makara immediately takes interest in why Kallen chose rifles as his skill set to begin with.
As they speak, Carmine mutters low to Neo, enough that no one can overhear them talk. "What happened? What spooked you?
Neo peers around them, making certain they were not being watched. The girl produces her scroll, typing out a message and sending it. Carmine receives the message with a ring, so he checks it.
N: The suited man with her. I recognized him.
Carmine's brow raises until she sends him another message.
N: He's handled me before.
N: He's a Johnson.
The boy's sucked in breath channels into a long sigh... "You're absolutely sure?" He eyes the girl to see her features tense, fists clenching. The boy's head hangs. "... Shiiiiiit."
. . .
Ellen and Nell enter a shared room enclosed and reserved for them at the festival. The taller of the two facepalms and groans, nearly slamming the room opening into the suited man's face. She looks at him, scowling. "You're useless aren't you?"
Ignoring her sister, Nell turns around with a grin. "Oh, isn't this great?! We just released our new pet project, and now we get to start on someone edgy! Attention grabbing! In your face, and even better, with a message! This will be easy to make!" Nell notices her sister's lack of enthusiasm and seeming want to rip the man's head off. "What's wrong, sis?"
Ellen cranes her attention to the other woman. "That simple help is apparently attention grabbing, not deterring!" She glares back at the man. "How many of you did we pay for?"
The man, a Johnson, gulps under her scrutiny. "Ma'am, I don't-" He clears his throat. "The blues are attending young talent events as planned, and the reds are working stalls. What's the issue, Ma'am?"
The haughty woman snorts and looms over the man. "The issue is that your workers are all on loam from your infernal organization, yet not a one of you noticed that boy?" Ellen looks between Nell and the Johnson. "Seriously?!" She growls out. "Maybe I am over reacting... It could be a different boy."
Nell perks. "Wait. Are you referring to the group of misfits that Mr Aline asked everyone to be on the lookout for?" She speaks loudly as her face scrunches in thought. "But, the woman of that team was supposed to be blonde, not that lavender girl. And they were all human, but Mr Kallen is a snake faunus."
Ellen growls under her breath. "So another boy with silver tipped hair? A day after Aline asks us to keep an eye out? What are the odds?"
The Johnson frowns and straightens himself. "So a teen boy went out and got frosted tips. Big deal." He flinches as Ellen turns a critical eye on him. He collects himself and smiles. "Miss Prosky, Mr Zandril has enjoyed your patronage over the years, so I am positive he will appreciate you diligently looking out for him, but Team CRBN should not be here. They've no reason to visit these islands or look into your use of our... 'extras' and 'talent' to use your terms."
The woman wrinkles her nose. "I'll drop the concern if you answer one question. Are these people at all responsible for the woeful lack of new talent at your disposal?" The man pauses.
"I'm not at liberty to-"
Boom!
A bullet strikes the wall by his head, splitting a small wound onto the man's ear! "AH!" The mam clutches at his ear and falls to his knee. He looks where the shot came from.
Nell, off to the side, has her side arm drawn, the barrel smoking.
"What the hell?!" The man cries out as red stains his jacket from his bleeding ear.
The shorter woman shrugs. "Sis makes good points, and you're being useless." She then looks to Ellen, smiling. "Should I call Mr Aline about that kid then?"
Ellen relaxes and smirks. "Not Aline. Nell, he gave us the number for his main man."
"Oh! That... Spear guy right?"
"Spyyra."
Nell grins. "I'll give him a call. He was quite funny last time we met him!"
The Johnson watches as Ellen blatantly ignores his injury. Ellen paces. "I hate this cut throat shit. Leave it to the film reels." A sigh draws out. "Man! This was supposed to be a week to get our work out and relax for once! Now we get to distract and keep them preoccupied while the help comes! AH!"
"Ha! Come on, there's always a certain accomplishment to solving problems yourself." Nell chimes in, waving her handgun with little regard for safety. The Johnson starts to stand up, but the shorter woman aims the gun at him again. He freezes, petrified, until she giggles and lowers the weapon. "Just kidding."
Ellen allows a laugh herself. "Yeah, you have a point, Sis." She glares at the Johnson. "For our own safety, you're going to listen to me until we know for sure what we're dealing with. Got it?"
The Johnson opens his mouth, but stops as within a second, both sisters have twisted to each aim their own handguns directly at him! Both sisters, despite mismatched personas and sizes, have mirrored certain gazes.
Grinning weakly, he raises his arms in surrender.
"Of course, Ma'ams."
So, Isla Vallis is our subject first. Tackling Carmine, Neo, and Makara's hunt for Kallen and his assistance. As well as they themselves being hunted. Big problems.
There's a lot of funny stuff I've wanted to put in for a side story here. Namely, the pitch meeting with Carmine awkwardly making up a story. Obviously, the producer he's speaking with is based on the host of the Pitch Meeting's series on Youtube.
Some fluff with the teens, as well as some memes and fun.
References:
Jordan O'Bryan is based off the Screen Rant host Ryan George in real life. The host for the Pitch Meeting series of videos on Youtube. Yes, he uses off color versions of catch phrases. It was fun.
That being said... Yes, Carmine basically pitched Django Unchained in a RWBY world to the producer.
Ellen and Nell Prosky are based on a couple things. Being affiliated with AZRL, they're once again based on characters from Soul Eater. In this case, specifically Liz and Patty Thompson, a pair of sisters with loose morality and semi ditsy natures. The pair in this world are a pair of directors that co work on productions. Think like the real life Wachowskis who directed the Matrix? In that same vane, they are packing heat with firearms.
Now, the V-tubers panel our group visits. This panel consists of Moller, Fransig, Raas, and Wulfin. Pronunciations are Maw-ler, Fr-ahn-cig, Raz, and Vuhl-fin. These four are based on, in order, Youtube personalities Mauler, Fringy, Rags, and Wolf, the four man historic personalities of the podcast called EFAP (Every Frame A Pause). A channel that discusses and breaks down reviewing movies and movie takes to an insane degree. I've been wanting to base characters on them for a while. I love them.
More Kallen details. As stated when he was introduced in notes, he is based off Calculon from Futurama. As such, several details in this chapter are minor Easter eggs. Obviously, his acting, but AllMyScales3000 is a name reference to Calculon's starring show All My Circuits, with the 3000 being when Futurama takes place.
BY THE WAY! I heard about Ice Queendom's story! My thoughts?
I'm not happy with it. Harms multiple characters in order to make a new character important to force a type of story that they haven't properly created world building for. Why am I not surprised.
Join next time as we catch up with Roman and Blair in Chapter Sixty Seven: Her Vengeful Glare.