+ ALL WE ARE IS DUST (COMPLETE)

[Angelo Elden Reese]

only for a moment and the moment’s gone,
all my dreams pass before my eyes with curiosity

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ANGELO REESE[/size][/b]
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Angelo’s eyes were glued to the paper as his dirty hands moved the charcoal stick across the page. His back was to a tree on the grounds and he was sketching from memory right now, but trying to modify his style just enough that no one would ever suspect he was someone other than Angelo. He didn’t know whether he should tell someone or just keep to himself as he always did, but as was Michelangelo’s nature, Angelo stuck to himself anyways, despite this uncertainty.

As of right now, he was a loner—a person with no real friends and with no real goal other than to create works of art. And even then he wasn’t free to do that. He had to make false mistakes in his work that were completely a load of crap. He could create the perfect male figure and here he was messing with the torso, adjusting the proportions to make them incorrect, it felt so—wrong! But he did it anyways.

No one would ever believe the little rich boy who cared nothing for anyone was the legendary Sculptor and Painter Michelangelo. Not even Angelo himself would have believed that if he were someone else. So for now, Angelo was very alone. But he was fine with that—it wasn’t the first time he had been alone. Michelangelo was a loner and as such this feeling was familiar to Angelo, though the Angelo in him, separate from the Michelangelo did want a friend or two. He was still a fresh person, even if he did remember Michelangelo’s life as if it were his own. Or maybe he was still just Michelangelo but seeking a new approach?

His first life had been successful. He accomplished massive feats in art and was unmatched in his skills. He had painted the most amazing chapel—even if he hated every moment of it (well except his clever placement on the mural of the Last Judgment that left the priest standing in front of the mouth of hell). But he also lived well into his 80s (almost into his 90s to be honest), another feat for the time period. Let’s see Da Vinci pull that one off!

Yes, Angelo was arrogant. He was above the common high school student and it made it hard for him to fit in. So it was another reason he was a loner. So here he sat, his sketch book in his lap as he sketched out the male form similar to that of his sculpture of David, only with so many mistakes it made Angelo angry and he soon turned the page and started again, this time trying to be a bit more precise but still sloppy enough that his style looked different and not quite familiar to him. If any real artist looked into his style they would find it inconsistent—and he knew he would be given away. It was something Angelo was currently working on, and it was only a matter of time before he perfected it. But until then Angelo was stuck with circumstances.

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[Oliver Lee Winchester]

With the new developments that had occurred in Oliver's life within the past week, it was no wonder that he was feeling a little under the weather. It wasn't as though these were bad developments, necessarily. In fact, they might turn out to be wonderful, for all Oliver knew. All Oliver knew at the moment, though, was that his life might turn hectic and strange within the next few weeks.

The first thing on Oliver's mind? Hang gliding. A classmate of his had invited him to go hang gliding with her just outside of Riverdale. To be fair, the invitation had been made in October, but now the plans were starting to come together and it looked as though discussions would become a reality in short measure. He was both excited and nervous. See, he was fairly certain that this classmate, Lenita, was also a reincarnate, and planned on doing some more digging. It was something that he couldn't do very well in class, and though the two had been talking over instant messaging, it didn't feel as though such a serious subject should be breached over the internet like that. They'd already come close, and it didn't feel right at all. If he were to approach her about RSOR, he wanted it to be in person.

Plus, he had to admit, he wanted to see her in person in general.

The other thing on Oliver's mind? The recent news that the RSOR would be traveling to a wax museum in London. A wax museum in London. Of all the trips that the Principal's Convention could have sent Principal Hanston and the extracurricular group that she "ran" on, it had to be possibly the most awkward ever. It was already awkward to see himself in wax at the Riverdale History Museum, but to see it at an international museum? To actually have to sleep in the hotel? Even if some other group won, some other group that didn't consist of reincarnates, it would still be awkward. Hadn't these people seen Night At The Museum?

Not that that was very likely to happen. But still.

Oliver was walking along on the grounds of the school, not planning on going anywhere in particular, but rather going for a walk to clear his head. Unfortunately, the walk was only serving to make things worse - It seemed as though with every step that he took, he continued to ponder both events and what could become of them.

Due to this, he almost missed a very peculiar drawing in process by a boy leaning against a nearby tree. Fortunately, he happened to glance at just the right moment to get a glimpse of what his schoolmate was drawing. And, needless to say, it wasn't the typical drawing one would see a high school senior making.

Oliver didn't know art that well, but he knew enough to realize that there was something oddly familiar about what the other boy was drawing. Oddly familiar and a bit too precise for Oliver to entirely ignore. Normally Oliver would walk past just such a boy, but he'd never seen this boy at any RSOR meetings...and a drawing like that just seemed too suspicious to pass up. Therefore, he paused where he was and forced himself to speak, though he felt a bit awkward talking to any senior he hadn't seen at RSOR. "That's an interesting sketch."[/color] It wasn't much, but it was a star, at least.

Word count:
To: Jez-E and Angelo
Notes:

[Angelo Elden Reese]

only for a moment and the moment’s gone,
all my dreams pass before my eyes with curiosity

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ANGELO REESE[/size][/b]
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Angelo’s hand used the pencil in a fluid manner as he formed the torso and head of the form. He perfected shadowing before getting close to creating the skeletal shape of the head. One thing Angelo was good at was ignoring the outside world. He was a professional at ignoring everyone and everything and though it was nothing to be proud of it certainly made sketching in a public space easier. The only thing breaking that factor was the mistakes he slowly made in the sketch that made his skin crawl. He was a famous renaissance artist and he wasn’t allowed to draw in proper proportions and scales. It pissed him off so badly sometimes.

Hell, he was the one who originated the world-wide depiction of god! If it weren’t for his “Creation of Adam” piece on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, God could have been some young white guy with a flop of blond hair and an arrogant face. But because He, Michelangelo, painted God for the first time in any painting as an old man with wisdom in his eyes, that became God in the memory and eyes of modern men and women. Even those who were unaware of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” had his influence in their minds when they thought of a visual for god! And who didn’t know of his sculpture of David—though he had created better sculptures in his own opinion.

This grand master, this artist’s genius was forced to hide among the masses. How he hated being back and in such different world than his own. But at the same time, Angelo could understand that humanity wasn’t ready to accept reincarnation as a valid and fully functional part of religion. If anything Angelo had learned in his first life, it was that religion was concrete and overpowering in its beliefs. He had spent a whole lifetime on religious art. How could he not have found the church and the control of religion daunting? Though, he was a firm believer in god. He knew this was his second chance. He had lived a pure and constructive life and now God had given him a second chance. He only wished he was more thankful for it.

But back on topic…It was this ability to ignore the outside world that made Angelo completely unaware of Oliver approaching him from behind. He didn’t even hear the sound of the boy behind him. His sketch was well underway at that point and the detail, though flawed to Angelo’s eyes, still marked the sketch as very similar to the boy he had used as a model for David. Anyone who knew of David would at least see some familiarity in it.

When the words reached Angelo’s ears he jumped lightly, his charcoal was far from the paper so no smudging occurred. In that moment, Angelo wished he had intentionally made smudges in more areas to hide the perfection in his work. His eyes moved up and scanned over to Oliver. He didn’t really recognize the boy but then again, Angelo didn’t pay much mind to anyone in the school. He had made it into Senior year (which was only two years spent here), without really getting close to anyone or even remembering most people. He recalled those he considered a possible model with a decent physical appearance, or at least a beautiful face, but that was it. And this boy didn’t fit that description to Angelo…though one day—when he matured a bit more, then he might.

But back to what the boy had said…Angelo glanced down at it and found concern worming its way into his consciousness. Hopefully this boy knew nothing of art…since hoping he knew nothing of renaissance art but knew some art was a stretch Angelo was not willing to make. Everyone knew the four grand masters if they knew art. ”Thank you…”

[/b] Angelo said a bit dismissively. He caught himself and realized that he should be so rude, but part of him didn’t care. ”Its imperfect though…”[/b] He added, and then mentally scolded himself for saying as much.

Angelo didn’t realize how hard it was for Oliver to approach of course. He didn’t understand the social hierarchy issues in a high school setting, or any school setting to be honest. So the fact that Oliver was a freshman went right over Angelo’s head. He didn’t even acknowledge that fact. He was just naturally dismissive with everyone. He wasn’t sure if he should pack it in and come up with an excuse to leave, or see how things played out. But he didn’t make any move toward packing up so…it seemed for now things would play out.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/color]

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[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Being a recruiter for RSOR had taught Oliver to recognize that even the simplest of things could be signs that not everything may be what it seemed with a person. Strange phobias could have to do with events in one's past life. Quirks and habits often crossed over. After all, reincarnates were essentially the same person on the inside, just living a different life, with new experiences and adventures. Sometimes these new adventures could have a drastic effect on a person in their second life, but more often than not there were definite similarities between a person's former self and current self.

As such, he could tell that something was off about this older boy. Per usual, he considered the fact that the boy might be giving off false positives. This had not been the case thus far with any recruiting cases that Oliver had worked on, but he always made certain to consider that possibility. He did not want to be the reason for RSOR's outing. He didn't want RSOR to be outed at all. While he yearned to tell various people in his life the truth, he knew very well that that could never be the case.

He wasn't even sure if he could trust some of them with the truth. He was thankful, though, that most of those closest to him were 'in' on everything. Cindy, Wilbur/Nate, Lenita...he would like to tell his parents in this life, of course, but their relationship was already strained as a result of Oliver's own feelings toward the matter. He had improved as of late. He had grown to appreciate what his parents had done for him in this life. Sadly, he could never shake the feeling that something was off. Like he didn't entirely belong. Based on discussions he had with his sister in this life, she felt the same way, though perhaps not to such an extreme.

The sketch looked incredibly familiar, and far too advanced for a boy his age. Again, Oliver considered the fact that this didn't mean anything overall. Perhaps the boy was a talented normal. Oliver was not highly educated in art and therefore did not recognize Angelo's work beyond a doubt, but it did look as though it were something he might have seen in a textbook once or twice - or a museum.

Oliver frowned as the other boy jumped. He knew the feeling all too well - Getting so into one's work that you failed to keep track of what was happening around you. In Oliver's case, however, the jumping was usually not a result of being engrossed in his work but rather out of the fear that whatever he was working on might be glimpsed by a normal. Again, Oliver wondered if that might be the case with this boy, but he had to take it slowly. Something he hated to do, but had to do anyway.

"You're welcome."[/color] He responded, noting the dismissive tone in the older boy's voice and wondering if he should have perhaps left things be. Then again, he had to do his job. He couldn't leave it alone, he had to see if this boy showed any signs of being a reincarnate. The next words were loaded, and Oliver realized that he might not have made a mistake after all. "Imperfect? How so?"[/color] He inquired carefully. It seemed a simple enough question, and it only made sense given Angelo's previous statement. He frowned as he peered over at the drawing once more, trying to place it within his mind. Whether he wanted to or not, the senior was tossing up red flags. Not so many as others that Oliver had come across, but enough that Oliver would continue with his investigation - a bit slower than he would like, but he would make due.

Word count: 664
To: Jez-E and Angelo
Notes: Whee? XD

[Angelo Elden Reese]

only for a moment and the moment’s gone,
all my dreams pass before my eyes with curiosity

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ANGELO REESE[/size][/b]
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At this point in time, Angelo had heard of RSOR, but who hadn’t? He had no interest or curiosity one what it could be. But he also had no idea that other people like him existed. People with a life that happened a long time ago and that now interrupted the second time around with thoughts, memories, dreams and capabilities they wouldn’t have if not for the first attempt at a life. Angelo thought he was unique and not always in a good way. He wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad thing that he was getting a second try. But he did know it was hard to do when no one knew who he was and he was in a world where art no longer held the sway it once did. In his world, he was an amazing man in society and he had talents worth paying for. Today’s world was nothing like that.

Of course, his lack of knowledge of RSOR also meant he didn’t know Oliver was in it or important to it or even how to get into it. He didn’t care either. He hadn’t picked up on any reason for this boy to even talk to him so perhaps that was why his guard had come up now. He wasn’t sure what he was safe to say and even why he wasn’t sure if it was safe. It was just a kid interested in what he was doing. But he still felt caution leak into him and he wasn’t about to fight himself and that sense of caution. Of course, it could simply be his nature—after all, Angelo was a loner and so was Michelangelo. Either way, Angelo trusted that feeling and knew he didn’t really want to say much of anything to this kid.

Part of his distrust was based on this life and its trials because of his strange skills. Angelo was cautious because of his early treatment. His parents were rich and living in North Carolina. Both of them were unimpressed by his talents because he wasn’t the son they had wanted. Throw in the people interested in his skills to a freakish degree and Angelo had found his life very uncomfortable. His father had wanted him to get into Business and Angelo knew that wasn’t going to happen. So He had told them he was going here—and here he was. Some would call him the snobby rich kid, but the snobby rich kid surrounded himself with people and also mooched the money he could. Angelo didn’t care for those things—what he did care for was the talents he had and how some had tried to use them when they knew and how his parents hadn’t cared at all but hadn’t loved him either. Angelo was isolated in this life, partly by his own doing and partly because of circumstance. It didn’t help his lack of trust.

Angelo didn’t make to hide the work as the boy had already seen it, but he knew he wasn’t about to share the rest of the contents in his sketch book. He had to be careful with them. After all, last time he had been considered a prodigy and then the step was made that the very people who had said that he was a prodigy then were completely freaked out at the similarity between his style and Michelangelo’s. They of course wrote it off as a phase once Angelo changed the style a bit at a time once he understood just what was going on.

Angelo shifted his weight a bit and put the piece of charcoal in the plastic bag sitting next to him. He then wiped his hands on his pants, leaving long streaks of charcoal on his pants, which he clearly didn’t care about, seeing as they also had smudges on them already and some traces of paint. Once done doing that he looked and noticed the boy still there and recalled the question he had just asked. ”It’s just wrong…the symmetry is too perfect, the musculature is too much and too unrealistic, I messed up the eye dimensions and proportion and the position is a bit too unnatural,”

[/b] he answered, listing it off as if it was obvious but at the same time his tone remained a bit dismissive toward the other.

Of course, Angelo had made all those mistakes on purpose, but he tried to make it sound like the mistakes were an accident and that he was trying just not succeeding. He wasn’t the greatest liar so he wasn’t completely sure that it would fly, but the kid didn’t seem to be into art or he would have already said something about the work and perhaps have seen the imperfections already. Anyone who was into art would have already made a connection or two to Michelangelo, but would probably have tried to write it off. This kid showed no signs of that.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/color]

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[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver could already tell that this recruiting prospect, if he was correct in his assumptions, might be a little harder to accomplish.

He was trained for just this, however. He knew it wasn't always going to be as easy as every reincarnate blurting out hint after hint of who they truly were. He'd gotten lucky with Jackson. With Lenita it was rather easy as well, though it of course helped that the two of them were now dating. He could tell by the tone of voice that this boy didn't want to talk, which in turn made him uncomfortable.

The freshman was curious as to what other secrets lie within the senior male's notebook, but he knew it wasn't so easy as ripping the book out of his hands and flipping through it. On the bright side, however, this boy wasn't freaking out and trying to hide what Oliver had already seen. Thus, Oliver was studying what was on the one page that he did have access to and trying to commit it to memory. He wasn't sure how much of a challenge this would actually be, but he had to give it a try. He had a fantastic memory when it came to machinery, to the point where sometimes he would not even need a blueprint or a rough sketch of what he was working on, he could simply do it in his mind. However, he wasn't sure if the same trick applied with art. Taking out his cell phone and snapping a picture of the sketch seemed like the best option, but he figured that might make it a tad too obvious.

As the older boy wiped his hands on his pants, Oliver noted that his pants had several smudges and stains on the surface. This boy was most definitely into art, that was evident not only by the sketch but the various marking on his pants. Paint stains, charcoal stains...again, it all seemed a little odd, but there wasn't much Oliver could do about it until he had more to work with. Which meant either doing some research before continuing forth with this, or waiting around to see if Angelo gave him anything else to work with...

Fortunately, doing the latter paid off.

The next words out of Angelo's mouth were certainly interesting. He was fairly certain that he'd given a similar response to Isabella Avadore as she pressured him to confide in her just why he was correcting a textbook. Of course, it was a little less clear cut, especially when Oliver could not recall where he had seen the figure in the sketch prior to today. He knew he'd seen it, he just needed to figure out a name, and a time, because he was fairly certain that this was no ordinary teenage art student's drawing, prodigy or not.

"Well, I'd say you're already doing a pretty good job. Just keep going at it and I'm sure you'll get it. That is, if you don't have it already."[/color] Oliver stated this in the most nonchalant tone that he could manage. He really didn't have much to go on, but the feeling was there, and thus he was going to conduct a few tests. Whether the older boy chose to answer this or not, Oliver would get his response regardless. After all, just as much information could be gathered from verbal responses as nonverbal responses, as Oliver's training and experiences as a recruiter proved. He already had plans to check further into the issue later on, but why not make the best of this experience, and see what became of it?

Word count: 639
To: Jez-E and Angelo
Notes: Bloop

[Angelo Elden Reese]

only for a moment and the moment’s gone,
all my dreams pass before my eyes with curiosity

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ANGELO REESE[/size][/b]
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Angelo was starting to really notice the eyes on his sketchbook. He was almost uncomfortable with how the boy’s eyes were on his sketch. It was…analyzing and somewhat intense. At least in his opinion it was and that was enough to set off a few alarm bells in the somewhat paranoid Angelo. He was cautious to a ridiculous extent with his secret. But at the same time he had so many holes in it. Most of the time he just assumed no one would ever believe him even if he told them so lately he had gotten a bit slack in his defenses. Now he felt that maybe he was being too slack. The boy was taking too much interest in the sketch! Too Much!

No! Wait…it could just be the skill behind it right? As much as that had reason to call attention to its similarities it was also normal for people to be intently interested in talents and skills they do not possess for themselves. Yes! This boy was far from being an artist and therefore he noted the skills Angelo had, respected them and was deeply interested by them. But the boy really needed to stop staring. Angelo casually closed the sketch book and tucked it into his bag, turning his attention a bit more thoroughly to the boy, even thought his company was unwelcome. The boy wasn’t going away and as much as Angelo didn’t mind being rude, it had been drilled into him that being rude was not appropriate. His parents had stressed it and Angelo abided by that when he was in a good mood, which luckily he was. Catch him in a rotten mood and you were asking for a much more violent verbal shove in the other direction.

Angelo had irritation written all over his face, despite his resolve to be at least relatively respectful and to avoid being rude. He didn’t know that Oliver was reading more into what he was saying that Angelo had intended by the words—but it really did have more substance to it that Angelo intended to hide. For the moment, it seemed that he was in the clear with hiding that, or at least to Angelo he had succeeded. The boy did the common response about how he did a pretty good job and about Angelo eventually getting it right. Angelo had to stop himself from smiling at how easily he had fooled the boy.

Angelo shrugged at the last part of Oliver’s comment. ”There is plenty of room for improvement…then again when isn’t there?”

[/b] Angelo offered, his tone expressing a bit of his somewhat arrogant attitude in the last fragment. Angelo still maintained some of Michelangelo’s arrogance and that was no surprise. Angelo also came from a rich family and was used to being told and feeling like he was better than everyone else. So the tone was not unexpected from someone like him. However, not many were aware of his rich background, considering he dressed a bit unkempt and always had charcoal, paint and clay covered clothes.

Angelo considered asking the boy’s name but decided against it. He didn’t want to encourage more conversation. He just wanted to be left alone, like usual. Was it too much to ask? At least one thing hadn’t changed in this life—people still didn’t accept that someone could want to spend time alone. He had faced people in his first life who were insistent that being alone as much as he was could be considered unhealthy. Now, they had a diagnosis for that and a word; anti-social.

Angelo raised an eyebrow that asked “anymore questions” more clearly than words ever could. It also suggested impatience that he hoped the boy would understand. He wanted to end this conversation just like he always wanted to end conversations. It seemed that the other boy wasn’t being dissuaded just yet though… [/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/color]

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[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver wasn't being very covert about his glimpses at the sketchbook, but he also felt no need to be. The sketchbook was sitting wide open in his sight, in perfect view, and he planned to take advantage of what he had while he still had it. He had no idea if Angelo was going to close it or not at this point, and he didn't particularly care. He just wanted to get the sketch committed to memory so that he could look into it later on. Nothing more, nothing less. It wasn't as though he could make much conversation about it when he could not entirely place it.

He was not entirely surprised, therefore, when the other boy made to close his sketchbook. Oliver could have probably taken a better approach to studying the sketchbook if he actually tried, but he saw no reason to when it was right there. As it was, he was fairly certain that he had it committed to memory, so he saw no reason to protest. Not that he would have protested anyway, for two reasons. One, something about this boy's nature intimidated Oliver a bit, and two, it would in no way help his mission at this point. So he let it be.

Oliver wasn't oblivious - He could see the look on Angelo's face, and he didn't particularly like it. It only added to the feeling of discomfort that came with this conversation. He had a feeling this wouldn't be an easy recruit process; after all, he was already figuring that the recruiting wouldn't take place that day. That, of course, was assuming that Angelo was a reincarnate, which he might not be. Oliver was going to do a bit of investigating and see what that turned up, and then work from there.

"That's a fair point."[/color] Oliver mused with a shrug, perhaps betraying that he was not an entirely normal fourteen year old either. A normal fourteen year old might inquire as to what Angelo meant by that, but Oliver understood - There was always room for improvement in a piece of work. Still, the tone of voice suggested annoyance, and it was becoming more and more clear that Angelo did not want to be bothered.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you while you were working. I'll leave you to it."[/color] From past experience, he knew better than to push his luck. He'd nearly scared off a recruiting prospect earlier in the year by pushing it too far too fast, and while he didn't assume that Angelo would be scared off persay, he didn't want to ruin his chances to make the recruit in the future, if his suspicions were true. Everything about Angelo told him to tread carefully.

Besides, he was already formulating a plan of action.

Word count: \527
To: Jez-E and Angelo
Notes: Have a feeling we're nearing the end of this one...time to start the other one soon, methinks.