3267/Do Kings Care About Messy Apartments

Do Kings Care About Messy Apartments
Date of Scene:	07 September 2020
Location:	3C - Lara's Greenwich Loft
Synopsis:	Lara and T'Challa meet in her Greenwich Loft to discuss plans for an expedition regarding secrets of Wakandan history. Lara also sews the seeds of T'Challa acquiring a Man Cave.
Cast of Characters:	Lara Croft, T'Challa

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Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had been researching the item that T'Challa had given her at his Embassy several days ago. She'd taken it to many different places, and spoken to many different people, and collected all her thoughts and results inside of a leather bound journal, as well as on a iPad.

A text had been sent out to the number that T'Challa had given her, and she'd told him she had a lot of information for him to go over and she'd be happy to bring it by. She'd mentioned she was at home right now, and could bring it anywhere, and the King had told her that he was in his car and could stop by her place to pick it up.

And here we are...

A 22 year old woman frantically rushing around her apartment loft, throwing things into closets, closing boxes after jamming them filled with books and papers... shutting her bedroom door after tossing a arm full of clothes on to the bed and frantically trying to sort her living room area out so that it wasn't a total disaster like it had been since she'd moved in earlier this year.

'I'll clean it up.' She said about 72 times since she moved in.

Maybe this was the catalyst. Probably not.

Either way, by the time T'Challa arrives, the apartment is at least 'cleaner'. Lara wearing a sleeveless grey top and a pair of black sport pants, a set of black and silver tennis shoes, her hair is tied back. She looks like she's preparing to go on a jog, and is on her way to her room to put on something nicer in fact...

T'Challa has posed:
The sleek charcoal grey car prowled through the streets of New York, music playing but kept soft enough it was background to the conversation. "I do not think this is wise," Okoye says from the passenger seat. "We could have done the investigation ourselves," she says.

T'Challa doesn't respond for a few moments, making a smooth turn onto another street. "I preferred to keep some separation. This way, it was not someone connected to Wakanda asking questions about a Narobian artifact," he tells her in his quietly spoken way.

Okoye sits quietly, gazing out of the car as they approach their destination. "But she is SHIELD. What if she learns things of the past?" she says to T'Challa.

He muses quietly before glancing over to Okoye. "There is something about her. Despite being SHIELD? I think we can trust her."

Okoye harrumphs quietly as T'Challa pulls into a parking space. "I know. I will wait in the car," she says, reaching down and turning up the music. T'Challa gives her a fond smile and then climbs out, making his way into the building and up to the appropriate door.

He raps softly with his knuckles, and if she has a peephole stands where she'll be able to see him clearly enough. He's wearing a dark grey long-sleeve top, the fabric stretched over his frame enough to show some of the more overt definition of the muscular form beneath. Black slacks and dark polished complete the look.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had managed enough time to get a new shirt out of her drawer at least. She shuts her bedroom door and moves across the living room, tugging the dark steel blue henley shirt on over her head and situating it down over her hips as she tugs each sleeve up to her elbows and then tosses her pony tail back behind her shoulders.

She does take a peak through the peephole, then lowers down and unlocks the door before opening it up and smiling to the King.

"Hello, your Majesty." She says, "Welcome. Please come in." She steps back and motions to her left into the apartment. "I am terribly sorry about the mess, I haven't had the time to clean up since I moved in. I never ..." She pauses and laughs softly. "I'm a work-aholic, I should just own up to it already."

She'll shut the door behind him and then start to cross before him, looking back over her shoulder as she moves toward the kitchen within the loft. "Something to drink? I have quite a few options..."

T'Challa has posed:
As the door opens, T'Challa turns to face it more fully. He has a gentle, charmed smile for Lara as she greets him at the door. "Lady Croft. I was quite pleased to hear from you," he tells her. "I hope the hour is not too late for you," he says.

He steps inside as she invites him in. "And please, call me T'Challa if it pleases you," he tells her. Once inside T'Challa looks around the place, and the comment about the mess gets a tiny shake of his hand in response as if to wave away the apology. "The feels like a comfortable space," he tells her. "I miss the days I could leave my things wherever I set them down. Now if I do, someone always moves them on me," he says with a warm chuckle.

T'Challa follows along, his eyes going from the room to Lara herself. "I confess a drink would be wonderful. It has been somewhat of a long day. Conference calls for too much of the day. You are a welcome sight after so many serious faces talking about finances and politics," he tells her.

Lara Croft has posed:
"Only if you forget that the 'Lady' title exists." Lara counters him about the Majesty element of their interactions. She flashes him a grin before she moves around her center counter to get them both a glass and fetch a bottle of wine out of the cooling cabinet beside sink. "I have a few bottles of Pinot Noir from a friend's vineyard in Australia." She comments as she selects one that had been previous opened. She reopsn it and pours them both a glass.

"You should decree a King's Space for you, that others cannot go in to, or touch." She states as she turns around to move to him to offer him the glass with a smile. "Like a 'Man Cave' but for the King of a very majestic society." She flashes a small grin then before sipping the wine.

"But thank you, I'm glad to give you a reprieve from such things. I'm all too familiar with such myself... since I was very little in fact. Maintaining the role of a Duchess comes with a..." She exhales. "Series of responsibilities, I am not fond of, but they meant a lot to my parents, so I am burdened with upholding them in their honor."

Another light smile is shown then. "Let me show you what I found then." She sets her glass down and walks toward the living area...

T'Challa has posed:
The man moves quietly with Lara to the kitchen, giving a nod of approval as she selects the wine. His eyes follow the younger woman as she gets the wineglasses and begins to pour the chilled drink into them. "I will agree not to use it in a less than formal occasion," he agrees of her title. "Though I am afraid I cannot forget it. Some are merely granted or inherit a noble title. Others? They manage to embody what it is supposed to mean," he tells her as he takes the offered glass.

T'Challa holds up the glass in a small toast and says in his smooth accent, "Lara," before taking a sip as well. "I will have to consider that. It might be worth it just for the look on the faces of a few. When I tell them they cannot come in," he says with a soft, warm laugh.

He seems ready enough to hear her results, following into the living room, his glass in hand. "I hope it has not diverted too much of your time from your other endeavors?" he asks. "I was hoping it might prove something of enough interest it would not feel like a burden," he says. "Though my own interests ran towards other sciences. Physics especially? I know how it feels when I'm able to indulge an intellectual passion."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara picks up a couple of pillows from her sofa, and drops them in the corner. She'd draped a blanket over the sofa that she normally falls asleep wrapped up in, in the nights where she doesn't sleep in her room... which is quite a few nights. But now the sofa looks presentable after her cleaning rush at least.

"Please, sit." She tells him with a quick smile before turning to walk toward her computer desk. "I've put everything I've come up with into this journal, which I'll let you keep, and I've brought up all of the citation web-links for further viewing on this tablet, that you may also keep."

She turns back to him and moves to join him at the sofa, offering them both to him. "And no, don't worry, it hasn't taken up too much of my time. I've mostly relegated myself to working on it in the evenings, when I get home. I haven't been on any Field assignments for a few weeks now, as I was taking quite a beating on them, and was told to take a bit of time off to work on less ... dangerous SHIELD assignments." She grins softly.

"Part of the price of being a 'standard human' in this wild world that we live in today. I'm breakable, I suppose."

T'Challa has posed:
T'Challa takes a seat beside Lara, turning towards her as she brings over the journal and tablet from where they sit on her computer desk. He takes them both, flipping open the journal and skimming the start of it, though alternating that with glances up at Lara as she's talking.

He reads a few lines and then looks up with a bit more concern. "I think it sounds like you /should/ take some time. The thought of you being in much of harm's way is distressing to me, Lara," he tells her. T'Challa's expression shows concern, and he glances at her, perhaps expecting to note a bruise or signs of stiffness as she moves that he had not before.

His eyes go back down to the journal, turning a page as he reads through Lara's carefully written notes. "Hmm. Dating back to the 5th century CE. I know there were centers of commerce, and craftsmen, in Narobia then. Though very little survives from that time if I remember right," he says. "This is a find that we will be happy to be able to present to our neighbors. Though I worry the poachers might have told others of the area it was found," he says with a small frown.

T'Challa pauses. "The situation can be... delicate. Narobia's leadership is... what is a good way to put it? Focused on their own betterment? If we approach them about the location that may hold more artifacts, it is likely they will be sold off. And the people will never even know of them." The African man looks over to Lara thoughtfully. "However. Should those artifacts be recovered, and presented to the nation of Narobia by Wakanda in a very public way? Their hands would be forced to add them to their national museum," he says.

Lara Croft has posed:
The initial response to her condition gets a smile from Lara as she sets her hands down on the top of her knees, once seated on the edge of the sofa. "Being injured, in my line of work, has become all too common in the past year. And here I was lead to believe that Archaeology was a 'boring' science." She flutters a grin for a second to the older man before she glances down to the journal and nods once down toward it.

"I was lucky enough to be trained by some of the least Dogmatic members of the Archaeological community. My idols include names such as Graham Hancock, or, well... my father." She smiles softly to him then. "So what I have provided you in that journal, goes against conventional thinking... in some regard. Should you research some of it yourself, you might find inconsistencies because of that..."

She tilts her head as she stares at him then, her hands coming together palms flat in front of her knees. "So I ask you to trust me on these inconsistencies..." there's a pregnant pause then. "I also ask... if you'd like to go on an adventure, to confirm my findings. You seem like you need a vacation from the problems you're used to. Would you like to see the problems that I'm used to facing, as a nice change of pace?" She says it with a slight playful 'fun' to the suggestion of going off on an adventure with her.

T'Challa has posed:
A quiet, warm chuckle is given at the mention of archeology being a boring science. "My professor in it? Sophomore year, went to great lengths to dispel what he called 'The Indiana Jones Delusion'. I think they might have had twice as many declare it their major but for him," T'Challa tells Lara with a slowly growing grin.

He looks back down at the journal, reading on as she speaks of her own intellectual heritage in the field. The man is listening, though his attention seems mostly focused on the journal as he says in an offhand tone, "Your father was certainly not shy about sharing his differing opinions on any number of subjects."

He continues reading, looking thoughtful. "Interesting," he says before looking back up. Dark brown eyes settled upon Lara again at her question, his head tilting just slightly to the side. Another smile starts out, small at first, just touching the corners of his lips. But then growing, turning into a warm smile that is slightly lopsided. There's a sense that smile is a very genuine expression for him. "You are definitely intriguing me, Lara," T'Challa tells her. He nods slowly. "I think I would like to take you up that offer. So long as you let me cover all of the expenses of it, of course," he tells her.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara releases a light laugh at the Indiana Jones comment. "Admittedly, one could easily emulate Indiana Jones, if they were so inclined. The part where it breaks down, is his inhuman ability to avoid serious injury." She says with a levity to her demeanor. "Maybe he was a mutant with a durability-based mutation." She adds with another soft laugh.

When he mentions her father, her expression softens as she just nods gently to it. She wants to ask him questions about that, but she just files it away-- planning to ask them later perhaps.

At the rest of what T'Challa says, Lara just has a grin blossom and she reluctantly leans her head left and then right. "I suppose I can agree to these terms. I'll admit, it's challenging, as I'm quite fond of being able to fend for myself. But you're a gentleman, and in this modern world... that is a rare thing to find. I admire it too." She states, showing another quick smile then. "Now the question is, will your people let you step into such an expedition? I haven't looked, but I imagine there's a number of security vehicles parked outside of this very building right now?"

T'Challa has posed:
A warm chuckle results and T'Challa says, "I always put it down to his hat being blessed or charmed in some fashion." He takes a sip of his wine and then looks over, regarding Lara again. "Just imagining you with the hat and whip," he tells her, "Though the two day whiskers don't seem they would be part of your style," he says with a little shake of his head and a slight wrinkle of his nose.

Lara's comment about him softens T'Challa's expression. "You do me honor," he tells her simply enough. "And my father as well. For whatever noble virtues I might possess? They are his doing," T'Challa says in that gentle, smooth rasp of his.

He glances towards one of the loft's windows. "Just one vehicle. And one protector within. But a fierce one at that," he says. "One of those I'd love to tell she cannot enter my man cave," he adds, that lopsided smile forming again.

T'Challa pulls out the tablet and unlocks it, pulling up the list of citations. He picks one and says, "Your notes mentioned disagreeing with Thaler on the extent of the ancient Narobian settlements," he says, referring to something from Lara's notes. One of those things that she mentions goes against convention.

As the link to Thaler's paper comes up, T'Challa offers the tablet to Lara so she can 'drive'. He slides over closer beside her so they can both see the tablet at the same time more easily. "Which parts of his reasoning do you think are faulty?" he asks.

Lara Croft has posed:
"I have the hat, and the whip." Lara says with a raise of her dark eyebrows and a dipping of her chin, her tone getting serious in a playfully silly way. She then just smiles and exhales softly. "They're in the hall closet, a friend of mine wore them for a costume party back in ... February, the night before my birthday in fact. That was a ... wild night. Early in my days here in the United States."

When he grabs the tablet and joins her at her side, she accepts it and motions to the information on the screen with her pinky-finger. "Thalor is a smart man, a wise man, but he's a traditionalist, and he doesn't believe that the Narobian's had the technology to fabricate the materials-- let alone the tools --that are described here. But he's wrong, about the tools, the materials, and the borders of the tribe lands in that region. The evidence is there, it's just been scattered and discredited because it's been found by 'modern' members of the Archaeological community. My friend..." She scrolls down with her pinky and points at a picture of a blonde woman holding up an ancient weapon, with two native tribes-people standing on either side of her. "Diana Marlowe, has proven that the local tribes borders are not as the geographic maps would indicate. It's all wrong, and it's all there, waiting to be found, but no one is willing to dig their heels in... spend the money... and actually go redefine the subjects."

She glances over at him beside her. "People aren't willing to do the legwork." She says. "Which I imagine doesn't surprise you."

T'Challa has posed:
T'Challa glances in the direction of the aforementioned closet, breaking out in a warmer grin as she tells him about the paraphernalia, even if it is of the costume variety. "Well, never hurts to have on hand. And we will be traveling through some wild regions. Where the poachers indicated the artifact came from, there are no roads and even few trails," he tells Lara.

He leans closer to follow Lara's gestures towards the displayed treatise on the ancient Narobian civilization. "I noted there were tendencies to underestimate the capacities of various African civilizations. Something that professor I mentioned delved into. I believe my presence in his class may have made it something he gave extra focus," T'Challa says slowly.

"It can definitely take time to overcome long-held views," he says. T'Challa falls silent for a moment, remembering the things the professor had said about Wakanda. Pure speculation, and so very wrong. But exactly the view that Wakanda had cultivated. Still, T'Challa finds himself not liking the thought his Narobian neighbor's heritage be seen as less than it was.

"Perhaps what we might find, might show others there is a need for more study there?" T'Challa says, verbalizing his hope. "If your assistance can make this so, I would be indebted to you, Lara," T'Challa says, looking over to meet the young woman's gaze with his own dark brown eyes.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara glances back down to the tablet and softly shakes her head as she goes back to her index screen. "Africa's history is ... storied, and rife with legends like few other places in the world. But much of its supposed scientific 'facts' are simply misguided by old world techniques that were never up to the challenges of actually discerning truths, beyond ... educated speculation."

She looks back over at him then and smiles lightly again. "Your people alone prove that there's more to the historic elements of the continent than what we, in the rest of the world, could ever truly understand."

She relents then with a visible slumping of her shoulder. "But yes, if your people are willing to let their King gallivant about with an arguably controversial-- relatively still young --member of the new era of Archaeology on this planet... then I'd love to get underway as soon as possible. I believe I could clear this with SHIELD, as it falls under their expectations for me after all. Uncovering truths about Wakanda is a very big deal for them."

T'Challa has posed:
T'Challa makes silent note of SHIELD's interest, though he also suspects Nick Fury may know more than the American government does about his nation. "If there is any difficulty in obtaining a leave, I would be happy to make an official request for your assistance as well," T'Challa offers.

He glances over at the window, where it is clearly night out. Lightning can be seen in the distance, and a few raindrops start to hit the window. "It looks like we are in for a storm," he says. "I should probably get back to the Embassy before it hits."

T'Challa reaches over and if allowed, takes one of Lara's hands, his own larger hands resting below and above it. "Relatively still young. Arguably controversial. Inarguably keenly observant and open-minded. I could not hope for a better companion on this trip," he says, giving Lara's hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it.

"I will send some by to pick up any gear you wish to take, though we will be traveling on foot through very rough terrain. And anything that you believe we need, I'll make sure we obtain," he says.

He rises to his feet. "Let me know when you have obtained your permissions and we will be able to depart swiftly," he offers. "In the meantime, I should let you get back to your evening," he says. "Thank you again, Lara."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's eyes go to the windows as well, she smiles at the idea of a storm. "I'm rather fond of the lightning and thunder. It helps me relax, for some reason." She then looks back at him as he offers a hand and she reaches out to accept it.

His kind words make her smile yet once more before she moves to stand up then as he rises too. "I'll have a list prepared." she says of the gear they'll need. "It will be a memorable experience, I am certain of it."

"It shouldn't be more than a day to get the clearances I need for this, one of the primary reasons I joined SHIELD was the access to borders that they manage to obtain. I knew it would greatly speed-up my ability to do what it is that I want to do in this world."

Lara will see him to the front door and open it for him. "I'll contact you soon, and thank you for this opportunity, T'Challa. I believe it'll be mutually beneficial." A friendly smile is shown to him then.

T'Challa has posed:
The African man turns back to the window, nodding in agreement when Lara expresses her fondness for storms. "I do as well. Particularly when watching from inside where it's warm and dry," he says with that warm, lopsided smile. "Another time I might offer to sit up and watch with you," he tells her.

But instead he glances out the windows and downwards. "But as I said earlier about the person waiting in the car? Formidable," he says, holding up his hands slightly as if to say, what can he do. "Thank you, Lara. I'll see you soon."