Chapter 6: Setting Up For Failure

Hello, The Draigg residence, The Draigg of the house speaking.

Props to whoever gets that reference. Also, thanks to a great fan, Kenseilon, for suggesting to use that as an introduction. I'll always put in a good word for someone who makes obscure television references. Plus, I couldn't think of any old mech anime ones to make that would fit. It's hard enough to keep up appearances already. Anyway, let's just cut this one intro a little short, and let's get to the story!

xxx

"…So, uhh, while you're on the line, d-do you mind if I ask you something?"

"What, Ms. Scarlatina?"

"Well P-professor, my friends wanted some kind of re-reward for working on this project… So, is there anything you can give them?"

There was a short beat on the other end of Velvet's scroll call. "I'll see to it that you and your friends are suitably paid for their service. Expect them to receive a sum of lien in their school accounts," was Ozpin's reply through the scroll's speaker.

"Wow, really?!" exclaimed Velvet, much to her surprise. People getting actually paid for their work in a commercial? This was getting more and more like a legitimate production by the minute!

"Notify them that it will cover some school expenses," Ozpin explained.

"I-I will, sir!" Velvet beamed.

"Excellent. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. Best of luck," Ozpin hurriedly said, before hanging up on the call. It was clear from the tone of his voice that he wasn't really doing anything, but Velvet either didn't notice it, or care. This had just put fuel back into her proverbial gas-tank! Payment for services rendered was just the cherry on the top of the orgasm-flavored ultra-cake.

Velvet sighed contentedly as she put her scroll back into her pocket. At this rate, she would need a cigarette, even though she never smoked. Currently, her teammates were picking up the necessary camera and sound equipment, and her posse of actors was due there in the theater any minute now.

Ah, speak of the Iblis!

One by one, Teams RWBY and JNPR filed through the theater doors. For some reason, it looked like everyone except for Ruby was giving Weiss some space. In fact, it appeared that the heiress was being downright avoided. And… was Weiss wearing a pair of sunglasses indoors?

Velvet pushed away that internal doubt as she greeted her lovely little troupe. "Hello! I'm so glad you could make it!"

That got a small variety of "Yeahs" and "Yeses". Except for Weiss, who bitterly grunted. Sheesh, what was her deal today?

Regardless, Velvet decided to continue on. "So, uh, the equipment is on the way… So, we're going to be shooting Weiss' part first, as soon as the stuff gets here,". Velvet clasped her hands. "Let's set everything up, team!"

At that, everyone decided to fall into their roles. Yang and Jaune left to grab the backdrops on the side of the backstage to use, Ruby quickly sped off to grab snacks for everyone, and the rest of the actors (excluding Weiss) simply sat in the theater seats, waiting for their turn to be filmed. Weiss, however, walked directly up to Velvet.

"Hey, Velvet. Think we can cut this shoot early today?" the heiress asked through gritted teeth.

Velvet tilted her head in confusion. "What for?"

In response, Weiss tilted down her sunglasses, revealing her heavily bloodshot eyes. If one didn't know her well, then they would think that she had smoked a large amount of pot, instead of drunk a staggering amount of coffee yesterday. "I haven't had a good day today. Obviously. So, let's just your little show out of the way quick, alright?" she spat.

Velvet gulped nervously. Weiss getting in her face and demanding something that was, frankly, unlikely at best was rattling her nerves. She felt like a small rabbit staring at a huge grenade, waiting for it to go off. "W-w-well… Y-you need to t-take th-those glasses off…" she whimpered.

"How about you put glasses ON?!" Weiss snapped at the rabbit girl. Sure, it was a stupid comeback, but the pure venom in Weiss' voice still made it menacing.

"P-please?" Velvet asked, her voice trembling, but refusing to budge. If she was a lesser bunny-girl, she would have hopped away on the spot. But, as according to a famous director that she couldn't remember the name of, actors should be corralled like cattle. When Velvet was in director mode, then she was in the game as much as possible. She was so deep in it, whoever pulled her out would be declared king and/or queen.

It looked like Weiss was ready to explode. Like an ice-capped mountain that was once an active volcano. "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT—"

"Weiss! I got you a biscotti!" Ruby suddenly piped up. The feuding heiress and rabbit Faunus looked around in shock, before setting their gazes on Ruby. Velvet silently thanked any god that was listening for sending Ruby as a distraction. Now she wouldn't have to deal with a temperamental actress for now.

Weiss briefly looked like she was going to scold Ruby. Her scowl dropped. And think it got picked right back up again, with a raised index finger to boot. But, those dropped again, and Weiss' shoulders slumped. It was like she couldn't beat Ruby at whatever game she was playing (if there was even a game at all). Snatching the baked treat from her girlfriend's hand, Weiss undid the wrapper. "Thanks, Ruby," she mumbled, right before taking a bite out of the biscotti.

Super speed sure had it's advantages, not just for the user.

Velvet made her escape over to the rest of her actors, while Weiss was still distracted with the biscotti and Ruby. She would corral her later. Right now, she needed to talk to the rest of her flock. Or herd. Velvet didn't' know the proper cattle term. She wasn't a rancher or anything like that.

Putting on her best smile, Velvet clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay everyone! Are you excited!" She then made a little victory gesture for emphasis.

"Heck yeah!" Nora piped up, pumping her fist into the air.

Ren immediately brought his partner's hand down. "I'd say that we're prepared."

Blake barely grunted over the ebook she was reading on her scoll.

"I'm ready to help in any way I can!" Pyrrha replied in her normal, chipper tone. She even threw in a winner's smile. Just what Velvet liked to see. Now that's some real talent, finely honed from years of acting and practice!

Velvet grinned. "Well, I'll be sure to give one-hundred percent for you guys too! We're a team here!"

"A real film crew!" Nora added.

"Right," Pyrrha said, before looking slightly confused. "Uh, where's the film crew, anyway?"

That made Velvet pause. Her team was supposed to be on their way. But how could she be so sure? Maybe they had trouble hauling the equipment. Or, maybe they couldn't get the stuff from the rental guys so easily. Or… maybe they were hurt! Oh god, where they dead?!

"Calm down, one, two, three. Don't think that, one, two, three. They're fine, one, two, three." Velvet tried to calmly think. She hoped that counting down would help. She'd heard about that before. Maybe she should go see a therapist for her paranoia… Nah.

Forcing a smile, Velvet smoothly replied, "They're bringing it over now. Don't worry about that."

"Well, that's good," Pyrrha replied, cautiously. Velvet got the feeling that her actress wasn't entirely convinced, but she didn't let that bother her. This shoot would work, damn it!

With a curt nod, Velvet left her group of actors to their business. She tried her hardest to restrain herself from checking her scroll for the time. She had to believe in her friends. Sure, Fox was… visually disadvantaged, Coco was a tad aloof, and Yatsu sometimes had trouble fitting through doors, but Velvet still believed that they could get here with the film supplies. She didn't have much of a reason not to believe in them. But still… Velvet couldn't still shake a small about of paranoia away from the back of her mind. Yeah, maybe seeing a shrink about her fears might be a good idea…

The rabbit-director paced her way down the aisle, and out the theater doors. She didn't need to be in there right now. Her set up crew could handle everything that could be possibly done. Right now, the director needed to make sure that her supplies got to the place they needed to be. Which mean right here, preferably right freakin' now.

"Onetwothreeonetwothreeeonetwothree…" paced Velvet's thoughts. She was really tempted to bite her nails. She hadn't done that in a while, ever since the last big test she had taken. God damn, why was she so nervous about this? Was it because she didn't want to fail this big responsibility, handed down by Professor Ozpin himself? Was it that she didn't want to let down the school? Or was it the selfish fact that this was her project, and she needed to make this film to show off her directorial talents as a serious film maker, with a serious topic as well?

Even though Velvet didn't want to admit it to herself, it was probably the latest option. After all, when it came down to it, most people put their own goals behind more lofty ideals. It wasn't anything to be too ashamed about. After all, how else had civilization survived this far? It wasn't because people wanted to devote their lives to order and stability. It was because people were scared shitless about what would happen without it. In Remnant's case, it was because the alternative was being eaten alive by the hordes of darkness that waited for them outside the safety of cities, of civilizations. So, if anything, being selfish wasn't a thing to be afraid of. It was just something to accept about people. A fact of life. People were usually selfish and greedy, and that was just the state of everyone, whether they be Human or Faunus. And it was nothing to be afraid of or angry at.

Velvet gave into her temptation, and checked the time on her scroll. It hadn't been all that long since she had arrived at the theater. But, it had been a little bit since she had sent the rest of Team CFVY to get all the filming gear.

Sighing, Velvet leaned against the wall. Damn it, this was taking too long! They were delaying her—wait, the school's project! They needed to get here! People were riding on the success of this commercial! Like the whole Faunus community! Like every oppressed race! The very people that would be wowed and dazzled by her work!

Squeak, squeak

Velvet's rabbit ears picked up the sound of a squeaking wheel around the corner. Thank goodness she had good hearing. At least that was a benefit of being a Faunus.

Turning her head in the direction of the noise, Velvet looked expectantly at the corner of the hallway.

The little rabbit girl's heart leapt a little as she saw a cart round the corner, heaving a large lead of large plastic cases. And who else would be pushing the cart but Yatsu, with Coco and Fox flanking him? Nobody else, that's who. It was just the people that Velvet needed!

"Hey! You guys!" Velvet squeaked in excitement. Yay! The cavalry had just charged over the hill for her!

"Sorry we're a bit late…" Yatsu apologized.

"Yeah," Coco cut in. "The delivery guy had a hard time finding a place to unload his stuff in the parking lot. Someone parked their motorcycle in the truck space."

"How rude. I mean, who does that?" Fox ranted. "It's like parking in a handicap spot!"

"…I think I've seen that motorcycle in those spaces before…" quietly noted Yatsu.

"Eh. It is what it is. But hey, we're here now." Coco said waving away those complaints. Then, tilting down her shades, she looked at Velvet with a serious, business-like gaze. "So… you got something sweet for us?"

"The payment?" clarified Velvet.

"Right. Any goodies?"

"Well," Velvet explained, "Ozpin said he'd add some funds to our accounts. Enough for books. Th-that's enough, right?"

Pushing her glasses back up, Coco grinned. "Yeah! Any lien is good lien, right?"

"I can always use more," Fox said, greedily rubbing his fingers together. Yatsu simply gave a small shrug.

"Thanks for getting us that, by the way," Coco quickly thanked Velvet before giving her a pat on the back. "We'll have some fun with that. Hey, tell you what. Ever been to a dance club?"

"I… uhhh…" Velvet croaked out. She had never really considered doing something like that with her team.

Before Velvet could give an answer to Coco's question, the fashionista let out a small chuckle and walked past the theater doors. She held the door open as Fox and Yatsu guided the cart through the doorway. Yatsu had to duck an inch to clear the top of the doors. Before Velvet knew it, everything she needed was in the theater, as easy as pie. It was like all the pressure was relieved in an instant.

Yes, now was the time to get ready. Velvet smiled to herself.

Now it was time to shoot the shit out of this commercial.

xxx

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a greedy shit. After all, the secondary reason I started writing fan fiction was for the internet cred, in addition to honing my writing skills. And I think I earned at least some of it. After all, I work hard for it… I think. Of course I would think that. But hey, as long as I know that I'm a little greedy, I can at least make it worth something. Something that's worth sharing with other people. So, with that moral out of the way, be sure to tell me about how much you hate me for being selfish in the reviews or whatever. Do what you will. I'll read them regardless of content.

This is The Draigg, and I'm out of here for now!