- - - SPIN ME FASTER

[xelios]

MOVE WHILE YOU’RE WATCHING ME
dance with the enemy i’ve got a remedy, uh oh, uh oh

[/font]
• • • • • • • • • • • OLIVER WINCHESTER ![/font][/color][/font][/size][/center]

It had been a backwards sort of day, even more backwards than the wax museum in London if you asked him. The boy was in complete shock by what had happened to him, having gone to Robin’s to do some work for a little bit of extra money and ended up getting quite the surprise. He had left his dorm early that morning in a pair of old, tattered jeans, a black tee shirt that he had obtained from a thrift store a few years ago that was a bit too big for his lean frame, a grey hoodie and his jacket much too thin for winter. Xelios didn’t have very much, and aside from his school supplies he could fit all of his belongings in his backpack. It made sorting his mess apart from Oliver and Nate’s rather easy, not like Xelios was untidy in the first place. When it came to the dorms he tended to keep all of his things in one place, neatly piled and organized so they didn’t get mixed up with anyone else’s. Xelios preferred to keep to himself in most aspects of his life, which was no secret by now. Mind you, the past month or so he had been finding himself opening up to one of his room mates more and more often. He also found himself opening up to Isabella a lot, developing a peculiar fondness for her that wasn’t familiar to him. It had been a lifetime since he had felt remotely close and comfortable around anyone, so developing friendships was foreign to him. He was so used to having to watch his back that making friends seemed like an alien concept now. It felt so odd to be able to be open to people, but he was still not telling them half as much as they most likely expected from him. He was worried about dragging them into his problems, which was the last thing he really needed.

Doing work at Robin’s wasn’t something that he minded doing at all. She had moved into her grandmother’s old house so a lot of the rooms were filled with ancient belongings that she hadn’t touched in years. She said that some of it was just too painful, thinking about the family members that she had lost. Xelios understood that all too well and often offered to clean those rooms out for her when he needed extra money. He had long ago worked off the suit that she had bought for him for the Christmas ball, which was the brand new thing that he owned; everything else was second hand. He was now working because he wanted to, feeling guilty for using up a portion of her life savings because he hadn’t had life insurance when she found him bleeding and near death. He had already cleaned out a majority of her attic to work off the suit, all that was left were a few old pieces of furniture that needed to be carried out by someone who wasn’t recovering from malnourishment and taken to the antique store. He was now working on the second of the guest rooms, not the one he usually stayed in, getting a good portion of the belongings there sorted for the time being. He was sorting them according to what was junk, what could possibly be sold in a yard sale and what could be taken to an antique store or pawn shop.

When he had finished for the day he had taken time to wipe the sweat from himself and toss the towel in the wash, promising himself a haircut sometime soon before letting Robin know that he would be back tomorrow. Walking around Riverdale was always risky for Xelios, who had no idea where his old gang or and rival gang was by now. He had no idea if the people who had stabbed him were still in town, and quite frankly he didn’t want to find out. He almost always took the main road back to the school even though it took twice as long, avoiding the more broken down and poor side of down that would cut his time in half and then some. It was cold and his clothes were not fit for winter but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to run into them. He did though, running into the people he was concerned about seeing the most. His face remained entirely composed while he talked with them, getting apologies from almost all of the guys involved in his near death experience. He got congratulations for being in school and an explanation that mostly consisted of his own theory biting him in the ass: “survival of the fittest, you understand”. Oh he understood alright, but what he didn’t understand was what brought this on. He wasn’t about to ask, walking back to the school in complete shocked.

By the time he returned to the dorm his hole filled shoes, socks and feet were soaking wet and freezing cold, his body shivering but he was unaware. He pulled the hood down on his sweater as he walked into the door of the dorm, having to sit down to take off his soaking wet shoes. He removed his socks as well, his toes red from the cold, and sat down on his bed to put on more. The entire time his movements were more robotic than usual, his expression reflecting the shock that he still felt. It was as if he had just seen a ghost, face pale and eyes wide.

words: 929
outfit: here
lyrics: little boots, remedy
notes: - - -

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Sharing a dorm with Oliver wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world.

Oliver was trying. After hearing recently that Xelios was having trouble sleeping at nights sometimes due to his and Nate's antics, he really was trying. Occasionally though, he slipped, and things would happen. He'd be pulling another one of his experiments and something would go wrong, resulting in a small fire. Or he might stay up too late tinkering around and making too much noise for any roommate to sleep through.

He wasn't worried about Nate. Nate was usually there experimenting with him. In fact, Nate likely contributed to the problem just as much as Oliver. Lately it seemed as though they were resuming where they'd left off before, on a smaller scale. Oliver still had an interest in flying skateboards, but as time passed Nate's remote control car hobby was starting to rub off on him. Nate had shared with him his dreams of making a flying car, and any technical challenge caught his interest. This wasn't just any technical challenge though. It was another flying machine, another project to work on with his brother. It was a chance to truly relive his past in a way that he hadn't been able to before now.

Unfortunately, they were quite noisy in their endeavors. Things crashed. They argued, rather incessantly at times too. Their sister, Katharine, had approached them near tears and ready to move out of the house in 1903 after listening to one too many arguments about propellers. Over a century's passage had done nothing to prevent this from happening again. Oliver was surprised that Xelios had not gone to this extreme yet. Patience was a virtue that Xelios clearly had plenty of. Well, that or he didn't have much of a choice.

At the moment though, Nate was out doing who knew what. Oliver was not positive exactly what his past brother was doing, but it did not concern him too much. He had other things on his mind. He was, as a matter of fact, currently playing Call of Duty in an attempt to brush up his skills so that Joan of Arc did not slaughter him so ruthlessly next time. Other than that, he really saw no need to play the game. He had better things to do with his time. However, he wanted to at least stand a snowball's chance in hell against Isa the next time they played. It was pretty bad when both he and Susan B. Anthony stood no chance against her.

Nevertheless, he exited out of the game at once when he heard the sound of someone coming through the door. A huge grin spread across his face, ready to greet Wilbur Nate...only to see that it was Xelios instead. Oliver's face fell a bit at this realization, only to be followed by a small wave of guilt. He could only hope that Xelios hadn't noticed the slight change in his expression.

Fortunately, it appeared as though he had nothing to worry about in that regard. Xelios didn't even seem to notice him. Oliver's eyes followed his roommate as he proceeded to take off his shoes and socks and take a seat on his bed. All the while Oliver could not help but notice that Xelios' movements seemed slow and force, almost as though his mind was entirely elsewhere. The expression on his face only seemed to reinforce this theory. "Are you okay, Xelios?"[/color] He didn't look okay, of course. He looked pale and out of sorts, not to mention the raggedy look that his clothes always portrayed. At least Oliver was fairly used to those by now.

Word Count 620
To: Dee/Xelios
Notes: Sorry about the shortness compared to your last post. -Fail-

[xelios]

MOVE WHILE YOU’RE WATCHING ME
dance with the enemy i’ve got a remedy, uh oh, uh oh

[/font]
• • • • • • • • • • • OLIVER WINCHESTER ![/font][/color][/font][/size][/center]

It was hard to imagine how drastically he had changed over his years, in both life times on their own and overall. In his first lifetime he had gone from being a quiet little thief of a child to a bitter old man, and now Xelios had gone from a questioning and mouthy child to a quiet and brooding teenage boy. Xelios was well aware that he wasn’t the same person he had once been, which was the main reason he preferred that people continue to call him Xelios. He wasn’t Charles Darwin any longer, so he didn’t feel right when people called him by either of those names, first or last. He wasn’t the same in personality, nor was he the same in theories. Having once thought that women were useless after they hit menopause and could no longer bear children, he had rethought a lot of the theories he had once felt so strongly about. The childhood he had been forced into in this lifetime had changed him, and in his opinion it was for the better. Xelios was quite fond of the changes he had undergone throughout his years, though he wasn’t too thrilled that his vocabulary wasn’t nearly as eloquent as it once was. He had grown too used to the heavy slang that almost all street kids used, unable to exercise the use of colourful words. That he was planning on working on now that he had companions with just as extensive vocabularies. It was pleasing to see how many of them spoke as modern as he did, it made him feel like he didn’t stand out nearly as much.

Xelios couldn’t help but wonder what had brought on the changes in his old friends, since his mostly centered around being a reincarnate. He couldn’t help but ponder the possibilities of one, possibly more, of them being reincarnates as well. The likelihood was highly improbable, but it was the first thought to cross his mind. He doubted that any of the boys had come in contact with old family if they were still here in Riverdale, and it wasn’t like them to see the errors of their ways and act so politely on them. He couldn’t think of a time when any of those boys had apologised for anything, even if it was something small. They hadn’t been very good kids when he had seen them last, so what had made them become so different? The more he thought about it the more he didn’t want to know. Let it remain one of life’s mysteries, right up there with the pyramids and the Bermuda Triangle. He could live without knowing why they had felt the need to apologise for nearly killing him so long as the topic wasn’t brought up again after today. Besides, he had other mysteries to focus on, which would happen after his mind recovered from the shock.

Returning to the dorm he was only just starting to get used to, Xelios was completely unaware of Oliver’s expressions, or even his presence for that matter. He knew that his room mate was there, yes, but he wasn’t paying him any mind at all. His body was still shivering from being out in the cold, but not enough to make putting on warm socks difficult. Xelios’s movements remained robot, mind you slightly shaky, as he ran his hands through his shaggy brown and quite damp hair to put it off his face, which was both pallid and blushed. The snow and the shock of a lifetime could do a number to one’s skin tone, it appeared. Oliver’s voice brought him back to reality, forcing Xelios’s face into the sort of expression one make when they weren’t quite listening. “Pardon? Nothing,”

[/color] he answered with a shake of his head. “I just…ran into some old…friends,”[/color] he explained carefully, his tone distant.[/justify] [/blockquote]words: 646
outfit: here
lyrics: little boots, remedy
notes: - - -[/blockquote]

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver kept his eyes on Xelios, just as much out of curiosity as out of concern for his roommate. As Xelios had yet to give a response, Oliver could not help but wonder. The look on Xelios face could be taken as one of surprise and shock (which was the one that Oliver was hoping for, over the alternatives), or Xelios could be falling ill, or have obtained some sort of injury...

Though he highly doubted the latter, as other than possibly frostbitten toes from his wet socks and shoes, he showed no signs of bodily harm. That left one of the other two options, and Oliver was determined to figure out just which one of said options the answer fell under. "You need anything? Something to drink? A blanket?"[/color] Oliver inquired, noting the slight shake in Xelios' slow robotic movements and trying to discern the cause behind the shaking. When Oliver sought an answer, he would usually try his best to get it answered, and this rule applied for situations like this as well, not just in the mechanical sense. It wasn't as though he wasn't concerned about his roommate either - he very much was - but if he could get his questions answered while taking care of his roommate, why not kill two birds with one stone?

Though it took a while, Xelios popped up with an answer to Oliver's question. Unfortunately, this answer did not provide many answers in and of itself; as a matter of fact, it simply left Oliver with more questions. Hard to believe that a simple sentence could have such an effect, but it was a simple sentence that could be taken in a number of different ways, and Oliver planned to address that.

"Old friends. People you knew from before, or...old friends from this life?"[/color] It could really be either one, and Oliver realized that. He imagined that he had borne a similar look on his face when he'd discovered who Nate truly was. Oliver likely wouldn't have reacted in the same way if he'd met up with an old friend from middle school. Xelios, however, had a different childhood than himself. Then he recalled what Xelios had shared with him thus far. He was a street kid, and his last group of friends had left him for dead in Riverdale. "You don't mean that group of friends, do you?"[/color] Oliver questioned, after mulling over this possibility. Yes, he could certainly understand why Xelios was behaving in this strange fashion if he'd ran into that group of friends as well. Either way, it looked as though Xelios had received the shock of his life rather than something else, and for that Oliver was grateful - Even if it did leave him with far more questions than answers.

"Regardless of who it was, what did they have to say?"[/color] It didn't look as though they'd done much, as again, Xelios did not show any signs of injury other than being worn down by the weather and lack of adequate clothing for it. However, something had to give. Xelios was behaving strangely, and Oliver was never one to sit back and let the answer come to him. No, he sought out his answers.

Word Count 564
To: Dee/Xelios
Notes: -Pokes post-

[xelios]

MOVE WHILE YOU’RE WATCHING ME
dance with the enemy i’ve got a remedy, uh oh, uh oh

[/font]
• • • • • • • • • • • OLIVER WINCHESTER ![/font][/color][/font][/size][/center]

Slowly but surely Xelios started drifting back down to reality, Oliver’s concern helping more than Xelios could possibly express. Oliver’s concern was, for lack of a better word, flattering. It meant a lot to have someone who at least cared slightly, even though Xelios had no idea how to express that. After spending so long having to appear like he was significantly stronger than he was, he was still working on being able to at least smile without repercussion. It was all so foreign to him still, being able to state his opinion and thoughts and feelings. Having people who cared, like Robin who cared immensely and Oliver who was at least lightly concerned, was unfamiliar but in good ways. It was a nice feeling, warm and comforting and helped him to feel safe. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had felt safe and protected, but he definitely enjoyed it. All of the changes he had been facing these past few months were overwhelmingly amazing. Xelios shook his head again. “No thank you,”

[/color] he answered to all three questions. He wanted a blanket but he had one right here with him on the bed, which he pretty much tore off and wrapped around him. He seriously needed some better clothes for winter. Maybe he would look for a part time job tomorrow after helping at Robin’s some more.

Xelios was now back to reality, able to form coherent sentences. “Friends from this life,”[/color] he replied, his tone still careful but only as distant as it usually was. He was quiet for a moment, and then gave yet another nod. “Yeah, those friends,”[/color] he answered, looking down at the ground as he huddled in the blanket off of his bunk. He couldn’t help but reach over his shoulder and touch near the scar on his back, leaning against the wall all huddled in the blanket. He ran the conversation over in his mind, repeating every word that they said to him as he stared down at the floor. His smoky blue eyes were distant and analytical, remembering everything to the best of his ability. The shock was still evident in him, so his recollection of everything that was said was a little hazy. He could only recall bits and pieces. “They…”[/color] he started, finding the right way to phrase this afternoon’s events. “They apologised,”[/color] he finally stated. Saying it felt odd. It felt unnatural. Perhaps this was all just a dream, which seemed very likely. Xelios didn’t dream very often though, or if he did he didn’t remember them.

He was no longer shivering, his knees brought to his chest and the blanket wrapped tightly around his gangly and awkward teenage body. His frozen feet were starting to warm up, as were his hands, which was always a nice feeling. He desperately needed to invest in some more winter friendly shoes. Converse and water didn’t mix well, let alone Converse and snow. They were an even worse mix when the shoes were more holes than fabric like his were. He would stop by his favourite thrift store tomorrow and check out the winter foot wear, as well as the jackets, and then he would see about looking for a part time job. A job meant money to spend on clothes that he needed, as well as being out of the dorm more often. Nate and Oliver would have more time to tinker so that they weren’t doing it while Xelios was attempting to sleep, and he could work on social interaction depending on whatever job he managed to obtain.
[/justify] [/blockquote]words: 600
outfit: here
lyrics: little boots, remedy
notes: ew it's so short[/blockquote]

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver continued to watch Xelios closely. Despite the fact that he now had a reason for why Xelios was behaving so strangely, he was still concerned. Fortunately, Xelios seemed to be coming out of his distant mental state, thus making him look more healthy overall. Oliver nodded as Xelios declined his offer politely. "Alright, just let me know if you change your mind."[/color]

Friends from this life. Xelios had run into friends from this life once more. His eyes widened a tad as Xelios revealed that yes, he had been approached by the very friends that left him for dead. No wonder Xelios' movements were so strange! No wonder he'd looked dazed and out of it when he entered the room! He watched as Xelios went to touch his back, shuddering slightly as the other boy did this. Reliving old injuries was not fun, as Oliver had learned all too well in his past life after his plane crash. To make matters worse for Xelios, though, the wound was still relatively fresh. It was healed and scarred up, yes, but a wound like that was more than just a physical wound, he imagined.

Nothing could have prepared Oliver for what he heard next. Xelios' friends had apologized. "What?"[/color] Oliver blurted out, not in the most eloquent of ways, but trying to sound intelligent was not typically one's major concern when caught off guard the way that Oliver was. "They apologized?"[/color] Well, it was certainly needed after what they did, but who would expect something like that? It was odd, and another one of those surprises that caused Oliver to rethink his opinion of various criminal entities. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow had already proven that they weren't so terrible, and now? Now even the kids who'd stabbed Xelios were apologizing for what they did. It was strange.

"I wonder what...I wonder why the sudden change in attitude?"[/color] Something had to give. These former friends of Xelios had left him for dead, after all...something had to have brought about the attitude change. Oliver did not realize that Xelios was pondering along the same lines within his mind, though he certainly wouldn't be surprised to learn it. It wasn't typical for a person, let alone stubborn and hard teenagers used to a life on the streets, to change so easily. Something had to have happened to cause this change of heart in his former friends. Maybe with time, they thought about what they did and came to feel bad for leaving an old friend to die like that. Perhaps it was something even larger at work. So many things had happened in the past few months that Oliver was learning not to question the way the universe did things, and rather stick to his area of expertise.

It was not unusual for Xelios to be quiet and contemplative. Usually Oliver just let it be, but as he was concerned and curious, he decided to do a bit more prying. Things like what just occurred to Xelios didn't happen every day, and Oliver was beginning to consider Xelios as somewhat of a friend. Xelios was no Wilbur, but he was not a terrible roommate by any stretch of the imagination. Oliver was fully aware that he could have had things a lot worse, and as Xelios was opening up as of late, Oliver was finding that he and Xelios could carry on a conversation pretty easily. "How are things with Robin?"[/color] He added, almost as an afterthought. The incident with Xelios' old peers had certainly taken the forefront of the conversation, it seemed.

Word Count 636
To: Dee/Xelios
Notes: Hey, heading back in the right direction! Yay longer posts!

[xelios]

MOVE WHILE YOU’RE WATCHING ME
dance with the enemy i’ve got a remedy, uh oh, uh oh

[/font]
• • • • • • • • • • • OLIVER WINCHESTER ![/font][/color][/font][/size][/center]

Xelios wasn’t big on being expressive, so when he was it was usually worth noting. Even back in London when Isa had been attacked he had been rather monotone and inexpressive. At a young age Xelios had developed a very strong poker face, able to stare people down with ease. Most of the people in the gang that he had been in had been known for a particular straight, and that had been his. His straight face matched with an intensely bland stare that he had seen send shivers down people’s spines. He had perfected the art of the blank expression, and he was confident that if he ever got into gambling he would be pretty damn good at bluffing and calling bluffs. Right now he was trying to keep his poker face up but his lips were too contorted in an odd sort of scowl for that to work. “I will, thank you,”

[/color] he said politely as he started getting warm again. He couldn’t help but be reminded of his final years in his old body, with aching bones that just couldn’t get warm no matter how hard he or Emma tried. It hadn’t really stopped him from enjoying what he could of his final years, but it had been irritating never the less and it was irritating now too. He didn’t really like thinking back that far though. He was an entirely new person now, reincarnation or not.

His head nodded slowly in conformation, his expression saying everything but Xelios had an odd need to speak right now. He actually wanted to talk about things. He wanted to express himself more than he felt comfortable. “Yeah,”[/color] he spoke, brushing aside a stray strand of hair that was falling in his field of vision. He needed to get his hair cut some time soon, it was far too shaggy. “I didn’t ask, and if they told me I don’t really remember,”[/color] he admitted gently, as if he was ashamed to be in shock over this. He wasn’t ashamed, he just wasn’t used to being able to express his feelings without painful repercussions. After all, look at what happened last time he had done just that; he ended up nearly dead in a gutter. “I think…I think they brought up “survival of the fittest”,”[/color] he thought out loud, staring at the floor of their dorm as if it held the secrets to eternal youth. “No hard feelings,”[/color] he repeated what one of them had said to him. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to forgive them just yet, but he was certainly rethinking a few things.

Right now he really didn’t mind any prying at all. In fact he quite invited it, though his meditative expression didn’t show that. Xelios was aware that he needed more experience, for lack of a better word, in being personal and expressive. “Not too bad,”[/color] he replied much easier than he would have a month ago. “She’s been working on cleaning out the house of her grandmother’s belongings,”[/color] he started to explain, unsure if he had ever told Oliver why he was going over to her place more often than usual. “I’ve been helping to sort and there are some things that I might bring to RSOR. Books and antique toys and stuff; there’s an old radio that I intend to bring for you and Wilbur,”[/color] he added. He doubted that the brothers would be able to make much of the old and decrepit pieces of technology but it was worth a try.
[/justify] [/blockquote]words: 590
outfit: here
lyrics: little boots, remedy
notes: - - - [/blockquote]

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver remained at his seat in front of the desk, watching Xelios. He wasn't used to seeing Xelios like this, which was part of the reason why he was concerned. If something had Xelios acting like this, it had to be something big. He still wondered what could have brought about the change in his old friends. Honestly, the guilt of an average person could lead them to do such a thing, but his friends had not been average people. They were street kids, hardened by the lives that they lived. So what brought it about? There had to be some sort of factor that set everything into motion.

Unfortunately, Xelios had no more answers than he did. "I can't say I entirely blame you, there were other things to be concerned about at the time." Such as the fact that the boys might up and decide they wanted to finish the job after all. As Xelios continued on, Oliver had to admit that he was surprised Xelios was saying this much. The mention of survival of the fittest caused an odd expression to appear across his fourteen year old features. It was somewhere between amusement and bewilderment. "Survival of the fittest? That was their...seriously?"

How ironic that Charles Darwin should nearly die a premature death in his second life with the perpetrators exhibiting the excuse 'survival of the fittest', a phrase that he'd coined. Oliver felt like asking why the excuse survival of the fittest would work in this instance - Xelios wasn't a threat to them, was he? - but decided against it. Xelios was talking, albeit slowly, and Oliver didn't want to scare him off. He knew all too well what that felt like. He had to imagine that Xelios was a hard prospect to recruit - Then again, Isa was quite a forward personality. It was probably for the best that she'd ended up with Xelios, because Oliver would consider recruiting Xelios to be a challenge akin to recruiting Angelo.

Angelo had by far been his hardest recruit yet. At least Xelios didn't seem like the type that would get angry or defensive with him, but he might have also put up such a wall that Oliver would have successfully given up. At least with Angelo Oliver had something to work with, even if it was Angelo's highly defensive nature when it came to every question Oliver asked. The very fact that Angelo had wanted so badly for Oliver to go away was what clued Oliver in to the fact that something was up. Still, as much as Oliver liked the challenge, he did not like awkward situations, and was therefore glad that Isa had taken up this one. It was enough of a challenge to try to get Xelios to open up to him when the two had full knowledge of their reincarnate status!

"So that's why you've been heading over there so much as of late...or so I assume."[/color] Oliver knew that assumptions weren't always to be taken at face value with Xelios, which was why he added the disclaimer. Robin's grandmother. Oliver was surprised at how wistful he felt at the thought. Robin was likely in her twenties or thirties (or older), considering she was old enough to take Xelios in as a legal guardian. A grandmother of a woman that age was likely old enough to have lived for some amount of years during his past life. Oliver was once again confronted with the fact that he had mixed feelings about being reincarnated into a time so close, and yet so far from what he remembered. Many of the others did not have to worry about the crossing over of lifetimes. Oliver did. He had to cope with the awkwardness of his grandmother describing where she was when Pearl Harbor occurred when she was at the tender age of six...while he'd just entered his seventh decade of his past life during the very same event. His grandmother in this life could have been his granddaughter in his past life.

That wasn't important at the moment, though. No, what was important was the fact that Xelios was opening up to him, sharing things with him. Xelios had put him (and the others, really) off for so long that this was a bit of a shock to him.

"I'm sure she appreciates that."[/color] Oliver noted with a smile. Oliver had never met her, of course, but when he and Xelios did talk, Robin usually came up at least one during the conversation. Therefore, Oliver would not mind meeting the girl. Plus she was a normal who knew about reincarnates...something Oliver wished there could be more of without having to worry about something going terribly wrong.

"Good idea. Might as well get some use out of them instead of letting them go to waste. Have you discussed that with Joan?"[/color] Oliver added this simply as an attempt to make further conversation. Well, that and he figured she might like to know if a bunch of new items were going to show up in the RSOR room, as she'd recently gone through the room and cleaned it out.

Oliver's lips parted into a smile at the last part of Xelios' statement. "Thanks! I'm sure we'll find something to do with it."[/color] The small grin on Oliver's face showed that he was, indeed, already making a mental list of the things he might be able to do with an old radio. "Is it still functioning or broken?"[/color] Xelios might have very well opened up a can of worms with this statement...

Word Count 965
To: Dee/Xelios
Notes: Yay rambles?

[xelios]

MOVE WHILE YOU’RE WATCHING ME
dance with the enemy i’ve got a remedy, uh oh, uh oh

[/font]
• • • • • • • • • • • OLIVER WINCHESTER ![/font][/color][/font][/size][/center]

Xelios hated when people were concerned for him, even in his first life time. He didn’t like when Emma fussed over his age and illness back then, and he certainly didn’t like when people fussed over him now. The only time he had accepted that sort of action was when he had been in the hospital, but what was because he hadn’t had much of a choice in the matter. As a child, when he had first been thrown out, Xelios had been far too stubborn to accept the help of kind and sympathetic adults who wanted to give him a good home. He had been too busy thinking that he could do it on his own, even though he was only eight years old and there was no possible way to do that. After that Xelios had been on his own for so long that it was hard to imagine people even wanting to care about him, let alone people actually doing it like Oliver was right now. It was foreign to him and he wasn’t sure that he fully liked it. “Yeah,”

[/color] he agreed about being concerned. “Yeah,”[/color] he repeated about their survival of the fittest. “Irony at its finest,”[/color] he recited with a bit of a smile.

He had to admit, he did enjoy the irony that his second life held. Thrown out because his parents were psychotic Christians, nearly suffering a premature death because of survival of the fittest, the theory that he was most known for. Though, he hadn’t come up with it entirely on his own, something that most people tended to ignore. The term “survival of the fittest” wasn’t even his, but somewhere along the lines people had neglected that bit of information. Either way, Xelios did enjoy the irony of his second life. He enjoyed how hard it had been, while hating it simultaneously. He was complicated, this boy. He was not the man he once was by any means. He liked to think that he had changed for the better though, considering that he was much stronger now than he was in his first life time at this age. Back then he had been too focused on avoiding people and stealing to bother trying to be a strong person. That didn’t matter right now though, what mattered was recovering from the immense shock.

Xelios gave a slow and almost calculated nod to his roommate, thankful that Oliver was being so understanding right now “Yeah. I still feel bad for costing her so much money so I try and help her out when I can; make life easier on her,”[/color] he explained. He had already spoken to Oliver of Robin paying for Xelios’s hospital stay since he didn’t have life insurance, something he was likely to feel guilty about for a while. He gave another small nod as Oliver continued. “I like to think that she does,”[/color] he agreed, his posture much more relaxed and his body starting to feel nice and cozy warm. His legs stretched out on the bunk in front of him, hanging off of the edge since he was sitting width wise. “That’s what I figured. No, not yet, I haven’t seen her since I found them,”[/color] he answered casually, nearly waving it off with his tone. “It’s not working. Robin thinks it’s simply dead since it wasn’t used in so long. It doesn’t appear broken, just old and perhaps a bit frayed,”[/color] came the easy reply.
[/justify] [/blockquote]words: 579
outfit: here
lyrics: little boots, remedy
notes: - - - [/blockquote]

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver felt a tad guilty for his reaction to the whole 'Survival of the Fittest' thing, though he felt better as he saw Xelios smiling as he recognized the irony. "I'll say."[/color] The teen shook his head. The whole thing was rather amusing, and he was glad that Xelios was willing to admit that. So often Xelios seemed so serious - It was nice to see him amused by something. Not to mention he appeared to be calmer as a result, something that helped to assure a concerned Oliver that Xelios was indeed doing better

Of course, Xelios had also had plenty of time to warm up, so not only was he doing better mentally, but physically as well.

Oliver could certainly understand why Xelios would want to give something back to Robyn. He would feel the same way if someone had taken him under their roof. Hell, he and Wilbur had barely stayed at the Tate home for a couple of weeks in Kitty Hawk (they stayed in a self made campsite the rest of the time), yet when they were about to return to Dayton, they offered up fabric from their glider to the Tates to make dresses for their daughters. It only seemed fair to give a host something in return for their hospitality. At the same time, however, he also realized that Robyn probably expected nothing in return. She'd taken Xelios in as a son, after all, and was probably happy to provide for him, and to make sure that he was safe. He smiled a little at Xelios' 'I like to think she does'. Typical Xelios. It seemed as though he was playing it off, as usual. Or at least that was how he took it.

"I'm sure she'll be okay with it, as long as you ask, but it's still probably a good idea to do so. Otherwise she's going to wonder where all the new stuff came from."[/color] Oliver shrugged. He doubted that she would go forth and throw it all away, especially knowing that it might be somebody's, but he was there to bear witness to Isa cleaning out the cupboards in the RSOR room for at least a few days. He figured she might want to keep track of what was in the room.

"Speaking of Isa..."[/color] Oliver started, with a small grin on his face, then stopped himself. No, he wasn't going to do that. He wanted to Xelios. He wanted to tease Xelios very badly. He also wanted to pry, to see what was really happening between Isa and Xelios. The two had been acting quite strange around each other ever since the dance, and Oliver was not the only one curious as to what that was all about. He couldn't do it, though, because as he thought about it, he was reminded of the fact that his past brother and current sister were dating, and an involuntary shudder went through him. He was still struggling to come to terms with that. The more logical side of him told him that there was nothing wrong with this scenario. Wilbur Wright was his past brother and Cindy Winchester was his current sister. They only way Cindy and Nate were even close to being related was the fact that they'd both been his sibling at some point or another, and the plane thing. There was nothing wrong with the fact that they were dating except in his mind. And he knew it, but that didn't make it any less awkward from a superficial stance.

However, it also made him feel far more guilty than usual about making someone else feel awkward about their own potential feelings. He could tease many people, but it didn't seem right to tease Xelios about this.

"Nevermind."[/color] He stated simply but firmly, making it clear that he was dropping the subject. Instead, he concentrated on a different subject, but one that caught his attention equally as much, if not more. "If the problem is that it hasn't been used for a while, it probably just needs some fixing. Even if it is supposedly 'dead', that doesn't mean that it can't come back good as new."[/color] A small smile played across Oliver's lips at this allusion to reincarnation. "Well, we'll definitely take a look at it. Robin is okay with it, isn't she?"[/color]

Word Count 756
To: Dee/Xelios
Notes: Oliver's attempts to tease Xelios backfire on his face. He pwned himself. XD

[xelios]

MOVE WHILE YOU’RE WATCHING ME
dance with the enemy i’ve got a remedy, uh oh, uh oh

[/font]
• • • • • • • • • • • OLIVER WINCHESTER ![/font][/color][/font][/size][/center]

There was one song that Xelios remembered hearing at one of the group homes he had stayed in, which was The Lost Children by Michael Jackson. It was so relevant to his childhood, having spent it as an invisible species. Homeless children were invisible as far as he was concerned, since people rarely took notice of them let alone tried to help. Whenever he had had to sit on the streets terribly under dressed for harsh weather people rarely even looked at him let alone gave him change. Yes, there was the occasional person who was really sweet and offered to buy him and Ashton a meal and get them a motel room or something, but for the most part no one took notice. But really, how many friends had he lost in his life time? How many friends had he watched leave the semi-safety of the shelters and never return? He couldn’t count how many people he had watched lose themselves to drugs, becoming empty shells of who they once were until they finally wasted away into nothing. He had seen his friends get into gangs and get shot, stabbed, overdose, beaten, raped, and arrested. He had lost so many companions because no one took notice of these poor homeless kids who had nowhere else to go. However, he had also lost friends to good circumstances. He had lost friends to people who loved and cared for the kids the way every one of them deserved. Whenever he sang the song he couldn’t help but think of everyone he had known while on the streets and everyone he had loved and lost, be it under bad or good circumstances. He loved it, but he disliked how emotional it made him. But really, that song was the easiest way for Xelios to describe his childhood to someone since he was so bad at socializing.

Xelios gave a small and gentle nod at Oliver’s suggestion, knowing Isabella well enough to know not to just throw stuff in the RSOR room without checking. “She’d probably smack me if I didn’t check with her first,”

[/color] he chuckled, not fond of the idea of being smacked. Though, it wasn’t like it hurt very much. Obviously he had been through worse pain, much worse, so it was no big deal to get a little smack upside the head. He wasn’t planning on putting a lot of stuff in the RSOR anyways, just a few things that mentioned some of the reincarnates attending the school. Most of what Robin had left over from her grandmother could be sold at one of those antique swap meet things that were on television. Xelios rose a brow as Oliver continued, giving one of those “don’t bother” expressions. “What about her?”[/color] he questioned as Oliver trailed off, his tone a little more daring than he had intended. Xelios really wasn’t in the mood to discuss his confusing feelings. He knew Isa was off limits, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to completely ignore how he felt. He nodded once again at the “never mind”, thankful that Oliver decided not to bother. “I figured that if you can’t get the thing to work you could at least salvage some of the parts for something,”[/color] he shrugged. “Of course she is, she just wants most of the stuff out of the house, she doesn’t care where it ends up.”[/color] he explained.
[/justify] [/blockquote]words: 570
outfit: here
lyrics: little boots, remedy
notes: - - - [/blockquote]

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver didn't dare break up the small silence that followed. He felt that it was probably needed, and he could tell that Xelios' thoughts were on something. His attempts with communicating with Xelios had been awkward at first, mainly because he didn't know what to expect. To some extent this was still true, though he was starting to understand Xelios a lot more now that he'd shared a dorm with the other boy for several months. Sometimes people, himself included, just needed a bit of time to think, and Oliver didn't want to intrude on this time.

With the subject staying on Isa, however, Oliver recalled something still related to the subject at hand, though fortunately this time it did not involve playing twenty questions with Xelios on what was happening between him and the Maid of Orleans. He dipped his hand into his pockets and pulled out a package of ear plugs and tossed them over to Xelios. He wore a small smile on his face. "Isa suggested these for when we get a bit crazy at night. I know sometimes it's hard for you to sleep, so I figured it might be easier with those. Plus, there's another benefit to them - If Will and I ever get this dorm to fly you don't have to worry about your ears popping."[/color] The last bit was quite obviously a jab at his own eccentricities, and the grin on Oliver's face showed such. Still, he was sincere in his gift, and he hoped that Xelios would appreciate it. This also seemed like the best time to offer it. His original plan was to leave the ear plugs on Xelios' pillow, but as Xelios was offering a gift of his own, it only made sense to offer something in return.

Oliver shook his head when Xelios stated that Isa would probably smack him. "She wouldn't. Least, I don't think she would. You never know with her..."[/color] A small smile came across Oliver's face at this.

The freshman noticed that Xelios seemed to jump at the defense when Oliver asked him about Isa. This struck Oliver as noteworthy, though he still had no plans to ask the other boy for any more details at this time. Still, why would he bite back like that unless there was something going on? It was peculiar. Besides, Oliver didn't entirely consider Isa to be off limits. Though Isa was having theological battles, that didn't mean that she was entirely off limits. It just meant that she needed time to sort things out.

"It could definitely be useful for something, whether for it's intended use or for other reasons. Thanks Xelios. And thank Robin for me too, if you will."[/color] It was, after all, Robin's grandmother's stuff, and therefore Oliver felt that some gratitude was owed to Xelios' foster mother as well. He wondered if he would get to meet her at some point. He did hear a lot about her, after all.

Word Count 512
To: Dee/Xelios
Notes: Robin. With an i. ROBIN. Dratted ex-coworker who spelled it with a y...