[open] stand alone

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

Isabella Avadore was well known among churchgoers. She helped run the Sunday school, she was often around the cathedral - and often with a skateboard. To the church community, she represented something between pop culture and religion. Slightly ironic, considering Joan of Arc was one of the better known saints in pop culture. On a whole, the Riverdale churchgoing community liked her, and she liked them. They weren't backwards-minded, and wouldn't, say, shoot Iskander if he walked into the Church (which he had done, incidentally).

The girl in question walked in, the stamping the light layer of snow off her boots. It wasn't cold enough for her Sandiego coat, so she just wore an ordinary black hoodie and some semi-baggy jeans. The church was about half-full, but not with faces she knew (and she knew them all). No...these were the new people. They'd had an announcement about it. For the next couple weeks, there'd be a visiting preacher, and some of his congregants must have shown up for mass, too. Isa took this as a good chance to meet new people.

Isabella went and took her seat in the middle set of pews, on the edge of one, but in the middle row. Center, but not front. She didn't like the idea of being in front. She didn't feel comfortable with the idea of being prayed to while alive and on the ground...all those people -egotistical and prideful as it made her feel - prayed to her. And she was helpless on Earth to help them, as far a she knew. She sat at waited for the mass to begin, noting the new priest conversing with the current one, their mics turned off. She lapsed into prayer until the opening.

The mass...was a normal mass. Up until the homily, that was. The new priest stood up, ad began to speak. But, as it turned out, he was ultra-conservative, and unduly obsessed with sin and hell and how most people would go there, and they had to do this and that...Isa frowned, watching him. She'd heard plenty of homilies, but it was rare to hear one so harsh even in the middle ages!

Then he poked at public schools, going on a rant about how parents had to watch their children, for evil that could take root in their hearts...from public schools? And then about how they taught the lie of evolution...which tugged on Isa's heartstrings a little. They didn't know what kind of man Darwin was! True, he'd dumped her and been an asshole about it, but that didn't mean his theories were anti-God, or she wouldn't have dated him in the first place. He talked about how the government was evil and communist, and Isabella had to wonder where they got this guy from; he was making people around her nervous.

So....she stood up. And kept standing. She wasn't very tall, but everyone was seated. Not only this, but Joan of Arc had a habit of holding herself in such a way that she might as well have been six feet tall, and older than sixteen. She stood for nearly five minutes before the priest finally addressed her.

"Yes, little girl? Is there something the matter?" He asked, drawing all eyes over to Isabella.

"If the faithful truly are, would not school just test their faith rather than beat it away? Can not parents do their part to instill in kids belief? Have not great minds come from public schools? I take offence, Father. I help run the Sunday school, and I go to the public boarding school up the hill. Am I going to hell for becoming educated? I am not afraid, as you seem to be, of evil. Rather, I face it. And through fortitude," Really, Isabella didn't like using this sort of jargon. It made her sound...silly. But she figured that as with the clergy of her past life, such speech was necessary. "I do not lose good, I follow God through it. Is not displaying evil sometimes necessary to show the goodness of God? The public school in and of itself is not Evil. You are a fool for thinking that. You preach like the rabbi, who sent Jesus away. You know little to nothing of what you speak, and say it with such pomp and rhetoric you make your own people squirm, for no reason at all. Something is the matter, Father. Your homily is rough and uncultured, even compared to the middle ages. And yes, father, I have researched such homilies."

When she finished, there was such an overwhelming silence, Isabella was sure someone would cough into it. No one did. Instead, the priest stood, at a loss for words that someone would stand up like that, and Isabella watched him, not totally defiant, but rather, challenging.

And then...

"Freak!" One of the visitor's congregants stood up, and with that shout, made a charge. People stood up to retrain him, but he wasn't the only one, and suddenly, the church erupted, with people running and screaming from a small group of violent fanatics, those restraining them, and the prise: herself.

Two of these people, a couple, was sitting just three rows up. They turned around and walked towards her, angry. Isa stood her ground, bravely, until the man, instead of confronting her with words, grabbed her and attempted to put her in a headlock. Thankfully for Isa, he grabbed her hoodie, and with the rip of a zipper, she was free. Clearly, most of these people had violent or forceful intent. She turned and ran, shouting an apology o her normal priest, who was standing in the back, calling the authorities. He covered the receiver just long enough to call back "I'm behind you!" before Isabella was out the door, angry fanatics, fleeing "civilians" and those on her side at her heels.

One of the "enemy" hopped up on a motorcycle, and Isabella screamed outright, diving out of the way. Pure adrenaline kicked in, and Joan of Arc ran for her life, zigzagging through the parking lot, between parked cars, a man trying to catch her. And she didn't stop running there. She darted through the cemetery, vaulting over graves and leapfrogging headstones, until she reach the brush and she ran into the trees.

After running still farther, Isabella dropped to her hands and knees, panting. She didn't expect to cause a freaking RIOT! Nor did she expect, when she looked up, a Rverdale student to come out of the brush, looking at her in confusion.

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words| 1136
tagged| open
notes| the things she does... XD

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

To say that Oliver Winchester had experience with bikes was putting it lightly.

Unlike most his biological age, he had not just ridden bikes. He'd raced them. He'd fixed them. He'd built them. How many fifteen year olds could say that, other than a certain past brother of his two years before?

Therefore, Oliver had no qualms with biking in the light layer of snow that lined the ground. Most of the sidewalks and roads were clear, and he had no intent in veering off of the given course anyway. The young man wore a light winter coat, and zipped around the streets of Riverdale like a pro. Perhaps he should have worn a mask of some sort, as the chilly breeze on his face was starting to make his face hurt, but Oliver felt that he could deal. If he could make the first flight with an 8 degree wind chill, he could put up with this.

He was on his way to town to pick up a few parts for a new project of his. The younger Wright brother was resourceful, but he still needed to fetch supplies every once in a while. In this case, he was looking for a new pack of screws. Will had fetched the last pair, meaning that it was now Oliver's turn. Not that he particularly minded. He might be able to pick up a few other things while he was in town. Mind, things would be a lot easier if he had a car, but alas, his biological age was fifteen. He might have years of driving experience as Orville Wright, but he'd only been alive as Oliver Winchester for fifteen years. Therefore, that driver's license was just out of reach. Technicalities, technicalities...

Oliver was pedaling past the church when he noticed a bit of a ruckus. Well, alright, a bit was an understatement. A man zipped past on a motorcycle, narrowly missing hitting Oliver as he passed. Oliver stopped at once, more out of shock than anything else, and just happened to get a glimpse of...

"Isa?"[/color] He muttered to himself as he watched the proceedings. He saw her duck into the woods and dismounted from his bike, walking it into the woods after Isa (making sure to be out of sight of any of the rioters first). When he reached her he found her on her hands and knees, gasping for air. To say that Oliver was confused was an understatement. The reincarnated Wright brother kicked out the kickstand on his bike and headed over to Isa, his eyes wide.

"Can't say this was the sight I was expecting when biking past the cathedral...don't you usually get out of church a bit later than this?"[/color] Oliver didn't know Isa's exact schedule, of course, but Isa went to church every Sunday like clockwork. Not to mention he often passed the church on his way to work during this time. Normally it was still in session. That in itself was odd. "Now that I've seen my lives flash before my eyes..."[/color] Referring to the nutjob on the motorcycle, of course. He looked at Isa, not even asking the question, though Isa surely knew what was on his mind. He wanted to know what happened. Who wouldn't, after witnessing that?

Word count: 567
To: Isa/Dante
Notes: Deer in headlights look, anyone? XD

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

Isabella had just managed to cause a riot. Not that she hadn't managed that sort of thing before - she had caused plenty of unrest in her past life, but this was the first of it's kind. He remained panting for a moment more when she heard Oliver's voice, then picked herself up, dusting off her jeans.

"Well then," She gasped, her French (or as she often said, Frankish) accent giving way more than usual. "That was a new experience, to be sure." She smiled over at the look of confusion on Oliver's face, then behind her. She could hear commotion, and now, sirens. Great. This was going to be an interesting one to explain to her parents, though, really, she'd dealt with worse to tell them. Her "intuition" as her family and all normals called it, had gotten her in strange situation before, such as exploding teachers, swap smugglers, mummified people, hornets in the ventilation, and old ladies with broken hips....her parents were used to weird stories, but those stories were a little more productive than causing an entire riot.

"Yeah, uhm, we usually do get out later, but I usually don't challenge the priest..." Isabella explain, a little bit sheepishly. "There was this visiting guy, and I called bullshit on him...he didn't like that all that much, as you can imagine, but I didn't expect his parishioners to outright attack me...so....that was very interesting..." She raised her eyebrows, her face something of an awkward grimace. "Disturbing that could happen in a church, too." Very disturbing, actually. Even in her time, on war front, churches weren't ransacked. Hell, Iskander didn't even ransack churches, and he wasn't even Christian! She expected some heated verbal debated, but didn't expect anything more. Unrest was one thing. Physical violence was a whole 'nother one.

Isabella nodded to Oliver, and began to walk, motioning that he should follow so thy could get away from all the ruckus for the time being. She'd have to go back, obviously, but she didn't plan on it for a little bit. She'd let the cops get it under control, then go back, before they had to go search for her. Perhaps not the most lawful of approached, but certainly the sanest given everything. Besides, then she could explain to Oliver, and he wouldn't feel inclined to follow her back in. He could explain mechanical hijinks's to his family, but these? "Calling poop on them was a stupid idea, in hindsight, but there was so much poop coming from him, well, I couldn't let it go much further." She added, then turned her dark brown eyes over to him. "So what brings you over here, anyhow? Off to work?" The bowling alley was down that way, after all. She'd gone there once or twice and spotted Oliver, though they hadn't spoken much, as Isa had her hands full with legions of children. "Or were you headed back to school?"

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words| 555
tagged| Oliver / Mandee
note| A post. =o omg.

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver watched as Isa pushed herself up to her feet once more. Unfortunately, her first words to him today told him next to nothing about what had occurred. Considering he'd nearly been run over, some answers would indeed be appreciated. He certainly wasn't expecting Isa to be the cause behind it.

Then she explained that she challenged the priest, and Oliver's eyebrow went up at once. "You challenged the priest? You seemed to have gotten on with him just fine before."[/color] What Oliver didn't realize was that Isa hadn't challenged the regular priest, she'd challenged another one entirely, in a stroke that...well, a stroke that reminded him a bit of his past father, which explained the wry smile that soon came across the reincarnate's face.

"Well they sound like a lovely bunch."[/color] Oliver rolled his eyes, though the smile was still planted on his lips. "I was nearly run over by one on my way past the church. Not the way I intended to spend my morning, I can assure you."[/color] He hadn't particularly enjoyed the incident, but now that it was done and over with, and Isa and Oliver were safely in the woods, Oliver could look back on it and laugh. So long as the guy didn't find them there. Then again...a fanatic on a motorbike against two reincarnates was asking for trouble...for himself.

Oliver shook his head at Isa's attempts to defend herself. "Next time, I think you should come prepared. Maybe bring a sword or two in case you have to fend off the Hundred Years War part two."[/color] He could understand why Isa merely ran in this case, but if any of these freaks had Isa backed into a corner, Oliver knew that the odds were in Isa's favor. He shook his head, wondering what would become of this.

"No, not off to work. Good guess though. I was actually on my way to the hardware store in town. Need to pick up a few supplies."[/color] Given how much he and his past brother tinkered...well, supplies were always a necessity. Especially when it came to screws. One could never have too many screws, especially when items that small had an overwhelming tendency to vanish. There were a few other things he'd intended to pick up in town as well, if he ever got there. Right now, he was content talking to Joan of Arc about the recent events.

"Planning on hiding out here for a while, then?"[/color] Oliver heard the sirens as well, letting out a couple of chuckles. Really? Sirens? He shot Isa a look as if to say 'for real?'. Granted, the sirens might be headed elsewhere in town, but they sounded awfully close, and as if they were getting closer. "Well, looks like we better start getting comfortable."[/color] Oliver bent down and fiddled with the pedal on his bicycle. Hey, if they were going to make themselves at home in the woods, Oliver was going to find something to do with his time while he waited.

Word count: 544
To: Isa/Dante
Notes: He's amused. Weirded out but amused. XD As am I, lol.

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

"We had a visiting priest." Isabella told him, in response to his surprise. she chuckled lightly. "No, I like the regular priest, you're right, but his visitor was a piece of work. I had to speak up." IN her past life, Joan of Arc would NEVER have done such a thing, but times changed. Now she could read, ad write, and she knew the Bible well. Bibles and things like that were a favorite gift idea of her cousins and relatives in Spain, since they didn't see her often, but knew she was religious. And to be polite, she used them all, she didn't let them collect dust, and Bonnie Parker could attest to that. She acquired a lot of theological knowledge from the various stuff they'd given her, and she'd clung in parts to the teachings back then. For example, back then, unless in the garb of a man, women always put a shawl over their hair before entering a church. And when she had been small, she insisted on having a shawl, but it ebbed off by the time she was 5 and attending modern-day Sunday school. Other things, like a very strong prayer habit, persevered.

At Oliver's next words, Isabella nodded. "They most certainly are." Sarcasm dripped from her every word. They were goddamn (pardoning her French) weirdos. If, in her day, someone had suggested public school, it would have bee welcomed! Perhaps not as much by the clergy, but it would have been welcomed, to be able to send a son or even a daughter, to school. She would have jumped at the chance, though as a youngest child and a girl, she doubted her chances would have been good anyways. "Not how I like to spend my mornings, either. I prefer to pray at church, not nearly be killed." Prayer and nearly being killed was common in her past life, and in this one, she was accustomed to more peaceful proceedings, such as, you know, going to church and not being almost run over by some nutty crusader.

As for a hundred years war part two, though, Isabella could only snort. That she couldn't ever see herself causing. The war had not been a religious one, not in the essence in that it was formed over religion - rather, it was fought over inheritance laws and similar things. "I can't see that one quite happening, I must admit." And it was a good thing she couldn't - she didn't want to live through that mess again! Though if technicalities were concerned, she hadn't even lived through it once.

Isabella heard the sirens, and heard them come close. She sighed as the sound appeared to stop moving. "Looks like your trip to the hardware store might be a little delayed." Joan didn't bother asking why, for a couple reasons - firstly, he and his brother were always tinkering. Secondly, she wouldn't understand a word of it, so she'd have to cut him off, which was not so nice given she'd have asked. It was best to remain quiet and not ask mechanical questions to the Wright brothers when your mind was not mechanical in at all the same sense. "It seems we'll be here for a little bit, at least until the situation is half under control."

Oh, life was weird. Life again was weird, and this life could be weird all on it's own. She didn't know how to explain that, but, everyone had lived once as a blank slate, and life was complicated then. It only compounded now. Kind of like Inception, but she wasn't planning on being in any movies - her life as it stood didn't need another layer to it. Isabella sat down by Oliver, watching him play with the pedal on his bike. "You know," Isabella commented idly, "When I was small, I asked what kind of horse-carriage bikes were supposed to be?"


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words| 722
tagged| Oliver / Mandee
notes| Inception!

[Oliver Lee Winchester]

Oliver chuckled lightly as well. "Of course you did."[/color] He'd never known Isa to be one to sit down and take things. It was not surprising to him at all that she'd said something, it was only unexpected because she clearly had a good rapport with the regular priest.

"Well yes, I don't think many people go to church expecting that. At least, not in this time period."[/color] Having been born in the 1800s, he couldn't say that he knew what it was like in, say, the middle ages, when religious wars were more rampant. The closest he'd come to religious wars came from his father getting into arguments with members of the church that he disagreed with, and that hardly counted as the same as the Crusades. He didn't even need Iskander and Vaughn to tell him that.

Oliver's remark about the Hundred Years war had not been about the true start of the war, of course, but rather a simple poke at the fact that Isa and said war would be forever connected.

The freshman listened along with Isa as the sirens stopped. He could tell that they were very close by, likely at the church. Now, Oliver hadn't done a damn thing, yet he didn't dare leave the woods. He knew he'd be questioned, and despite his innocence, wasn't entirely sure that the police would buy that a fifteen year old was merely hanging out in the woods near the focal point of a small riot. No, he was staying (w)right where he was!

It was indeed probably for the best that Isabella didn't ask any questions. Oliver wasn't always the most talkative person in the world (although he usually was able to carry on a decent conversation with other like-minded people, and most reincarnates), but regardless of the situation, Oliver could talk mechanics. He could talk mechanics and he could talk mechanics with intense fervor. Once he was carried away enough (which wasn't all that difficult to do), he could easily forget to keep things simple for the person in front of him. It didn't help that the person that he discussed such matters with most often could easily keep up with him.

Oliver nodded at Isa's assessment. "How long do you think that will be?"[/color] There was a chance they could travel through the woods and get out another way, but the thought of getting lost in the Dog Woods didn't appeal to him. He wasn't completely helpless, having done quite well for himself in Kitty Hawk before, but it still wasn't his preferred course of action. No, best to just wait things out. It wasn't really that big of an inconvenience.

They could be thankful that, at least, there wasn't much snow on the ground. The temperature was chilly, but not so terribly chilly that the risk of hypothermia was high. So while it was uncomfortable, it wasn't unbearable by any means. Still, Oliver was happy when Isa cut through the silence with an entertaining anecdote. Given that he didn't have his tools with him, he couldn't very well do much with his bicycle while he waited, so having something to discuss with Isa would do a lot to keep him in check. "How did your parents react to that one? The absence of a horse should have dropped a few hints..."[/color] He responded with a chuckle. "I usually just wanted to take my bicycle apart. For a short time at school I used to fix bikes for my classmates. The teacher put an end to that as soon as she figured out what was going on, though."[/color] Oliver smiled slightly. It really was a wonder, even to him, that no one had figured out who he was. Then again, most everyone who had seen clues hadn't seen all of them at once. If they had...well, that might have been a different story.

Word count: 704
To: Isa/Dante
Notes: He's amused. Weirded out but amused. XD As am I, lol.