3400/Trip To the Past: Camping

Trip To the Past: Camping
Date of Scene:	17 September 2020
Location:	The jungle in Narobia, Africa
Synopsis:	On the hunt for a site where an artifact was discovered, Lara and T'Challa make camp and share a meal while discussing many things.
Cast of Characters:	T'Challa, Lara Croft

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T'Challa has posed:
A spot with a spring proved a good place to camp for the night. Lara and T'Challa had made a good start on their trek into the rainforests of Narobia, a nation bordering Wakanda. And the origins for an artifact that poachers had taken from some archeologists they had encountered, to the final detriment of the scientists.

A little water fall from the spring pours over into a pool, the spring water fresh enough it needn't be purified. A small tent is set up nearby, and a fire has been made with some dead wood that T'Challa found in the jungle and carried back.

The cans of food are better than normal fare for a trip like this. Two cans of soup, with a lovely fragrance suggestive of spices that Lara may not have had before. Also some flatbread that heats up well over the fire, leaving it nice and light and delicious. Slices of water buffalo jerky from a bag add a little extra protein to what is in the soup. Slices of fruit, dried and others. T'Challa checks on the soup, heating up in the cans set on rocks in the middle of the fire. "Almost done," he tells Lara.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is seated not far away on the trunk of a tree that T'challa had felled and set about in the campsite to make this an even more proper location for the two of them to rest and relax a bit on their journey.

She's wearing a dark charcoal tanktop with a green and grey patterned scarf around her neck. A pair of dark grey pocketed pants adorn her lower half and a pair of sturdy hiking boots are on her feet. She's got a few accessories on her person, like a smart watch on her wrist and a belt around her waist with a few small leather pouches.

On her lap, Lara has a tablet computer and she's holding the stylus for it in her right hand as she stares at a map of their territory. "I should've brought drones." She mutters. But T'Challa's words cause Lara to look up and smile at him. "My word, that smells lovely. What have you done to get it to smell like that?" she asks.

She sets the tablet aside and moves to stand up, her hands going tothe small of her back so she can stretch a bit. "I'm a terrible cook, if I haven't warned you already, you should know that now." She tells the King, a grin upon her visage as she steps toward him and the fire.

T'Challa has posed:
"As I recall," T'Challa says softly. "You did pour a fine glass of wine though," he tells her, looking up from checking on the food to give her one of his gentle smiles. If she's seen much footage of him he's generally been quite reserved, and even in the embassy that was a little more the case. He seems far more relaxed and open here, and even at Lara's apartment when she gave him the results.

T'Challa fans a hand over the soup cans, bringing some of the scent towards him and visibly savoring the scent. "This is a favorite soup of mine. It's made by one of the cooks. So I cannot take credit for it. Other than the choice," T'Challa says, eyes going back to Lara. "I do hope the flavor lives up to the aroma for you," he says.

The cans are taken out of the fire and wrapped so they can be handled without burning oneself, and T'Challa brings one over to Lara. "It has a number of different roots and vegetables that you might not be familiar with," he tells her. "Plus many that you are of course."

He serves up some of the toasted flatbread then, it's not too much unlike naan of Indian cuisine fame. "Everyone has something they cook well, though. Don't they?" he asks in that soft rasp of his. "Some personal favorite that is your guilty pleasure?" He takes a seat beside Lara, gathering some of the thick soup on his spoon and blowing it lightly to cool it before tasting it and giving a happy sigh.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara softly laughs at the bit about the wine, which she replies to with a shrug of her otherwise bare shoulders. "I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not, if you consider the implications of wine pouring skills." She states back to him with a growing grin.

When he rises up, she settles back down on to the tree and then welcomes him, and his food to join her on the tree trunk. She reaches up to accept the can he offers to her and she raises it up to her face to get a good whiff of the scene. "My mouth is watering, so I'm sure it'll be delicious." she tells him whe he sits to her right. She blows on the steam from the food for a few moments before she considers what he says.

Her eyes raise up as she lets the soup cool, and she laughs another soft little sound as she recollects something. She glances over to him then, placing her brown eyes upon him. "When I was a little girl..." She starts, story time incoming. "I used to pester the staff in our kitchen. I would demand that they play games with me, like chess or checkers, to fend off childhood boredom. They would... try to get me to learn to cook from time to time as well. Pancakes and waffles were my favorite things to attempt to make, but... I found ways to muck even those up." She grins slightly then.

"I was a spoiled child, if you can believe it." She states with a smirk before she takes a testing sip of the soup in hopes it won't burn her tongue off. It doesn't! and it makes her eyes close with the sensation of just how damn delicious it actually is for the young Croft.

T'Challa has posed:
The spicing is exquisite by even the best standards. Easy enough to think even a small nation like Wakanda would have good cooks serving their king. Though if one knew just how potent T'Challa's senses of taste and smell are, they might understand the exacting standards those chefs hold themselves to when it comes to their culinary creations.

T'Challa makes a mental note to commend them when he gets back. He gives a heavenly little sigh. "It takes back to when I was a boy," he comments to her as the childhood favorite triggers a few memories.

He eyes her over the top of his soup can, looking as if he's debating whether to believe her. "I have a hard time picturing that," T'Challa tells her. "Perhaps a touch... precocious? That is not uncommon. Not for those with an intellect ahead of those their age," he muses quietly.

T'Challa enjoys another spoonful. Afterwards he gives her a slight wave of his spoon. "In case you wonder, Lara? I do suspect this is just a ploy to make do all of the cooking," he tells her in a good-natured tone. "A successful ploy. Though I may risk asking you to dinner when we return to the city."

Lara Croft has posed:
"Mmmm." Lara audibly emits at the taste of the soup, with her eyes shut, only to open them again a few moments later where she looks upon T'Challa and a grin spreads over her lips. "I locked our butler in the Freezer when he told me he was not going to make me pancakes one morning. I was... in a bad place. It was after mother died. But even still." She glances down at the soup and shakes her head. "I shouldn't have done that. He got out, of course, but ... he was ... he had icicles on his mustache." She exhales and even groans before adding. "And I laughed at him for it."

She draws in a breath then and looks to him aside her. She laughs now, at what he says. "If I've gotten you all the way out here, only to have you cook for me too? I'm starting to think this is more of a vacation than it is an expedition."

Another sip of the soup is taken before Lara reaches up to dab at her chin from some of the broth that trickles down it. "By the way. I looked at our journey, I think I found some hunting trails, via satellite scans from just a few months ago, that might cut down some of our walking time." She notes, reaching for her tablet to offer it to him, the map still on display on its screen.

T'Challa has posed:
The tale of the frozen butler causes T'Challa to wince while giving only a faint chuckle. The man from the tropical African country might not be the biggest fan of the cold. "Alright," he agrees, getting another spoonful. "Perhaps precocious falls a bit short then," he tells her, shaking his head with a wry grin.

He turns to look over at the waterfall and the little clear pool and then back to their fire. "No no. Not a vacation. Though please remember our appointment with the masseuse is at 11 tomorrow," he tells her in that soft, almost regal sounding accent. He sets down the soup can to take the offered tablet as he looks it over.

"These may help," he agrees as he zooms in slightly. "You are a very capable woman," he comments while still focused on the map image.

He returns the tablet and looks back to Lara. "In truth? It is a bit of a vacation in some ways. I do not get many days in a row without cabinet meetings or large number of peoples needing to speak to me," he admits. He looks over at Lara, letting his eyes drift over her briefly before looking back up to meet her gaze. "And your presence makes it far better than I could have hoped for otherwise. If I'm honest."

Lara Croft has posed:
"Karma has gotten me back for my childhood mistakes, I assure you." Lara says, with a pleasant look upon her face as she enjoys more of the food he'd prepared for them. She looks from it, to him and grins at the masseuse appointment reminder. "How could I possibly forget an appointment to the masseuse, why I have one on speed-dial back in New York that I force to Uber over to my apartment at least three times a week." She plays up her voice a bit there.

But at the mention of his desire to consider this a 'lite vacation' she shows him a sympathetic smile then. "I don't even like the Nobility that I hold, I only maintain it for my mother and father's sake. But... what you experience? I can't even imagine." She shakes her head slightly then. At his honesty, and compliment, he gets an earned smile from her. "You're too sweet, T'Challa." She tells him there-after, her voice almost whisper-y soft. "How are you not... betrothed by now?" She asks of him then. "I'm assuming that some of the pressure you get from your title and position as King, comes with that from time to time at least?"

Lara glances over her shoulder out of the shade that they're in toward the sunlit areas beyond. "In fact, I wonder if some of your people aren't tailing us, just to keep watch on you." She states, looking back to him to grin lightly. Teasing him, of course, at least about the following them part.

T'Challa has posed:
T'Challa gets a slice of the flatbread, adding some dried fruit to it and rolling it up before taking a bite of the delicious, warmed bread. His expression gains a new softness and warmth at the compliment from Lara. "Like many, I had someone at one point. I thought perhaps. But we grew apart from each other," he says, his tone making it sound something he has made peace with already.

A quiet, warm chuckle is given by the African king's deep voie. "Yes. There is occasional pressure there," he agrees. "I will find the right woman though," he tells Lara. "One that touches me here," he says, moving a hand to tap over his heart.

His eyes seem to consider Lara again more closely. Not just looking at her, but seeing her. "Your title suits you though. In ways that I wish more titled individuals did. You are an intriguing woman, Lady Croft. The more so for coming to it at the age you have," he tells her.

A quiet chuckle is given and T'Challa makes himself look around the jungle, rather than up in the air which is where he suspects Okoye actually is. He's made sure to turn off his comms to anything but emergency broadcasts, so she can't listen in. "Perhaps they trust me with you?" he suggests with a grin.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara samples some of the flatbread as well, and just softly shakes her head. "You have got to meet my friend Jonah when we're back in Manhattan." She idly comments. "He's a Chef. I've helped fun his restaurant, in fact. It's pirate themed, you'll love it." She smiles softly then before looking back to him, to watch him and study him as he speaks. His gesture at his heart, and the words that went with it just makes her smile and tilt her head in subtly surprised emotion at his kindness there.

She glances away then back to the bread, her smile remaining as he compliments her. "My extended family wants our family removed from Nobility." She says then, looking back to him after another bite is taken. Once she clears her palette she shakes her head once more. "The DeMorneys. My Uncle, specifically, is doing everything in his power to get our properties transfered to his name. They don't approve of ... well, my father, nor me in his stead. It's been, quite the ordeal..."

Lara's eyes glance skyward, then back down to him. "Your honor guard, Okoye?" Lara questions. "She definitely doesn't like me." She adds with a sly grin. "I think it would take years to earn her admiration."

T'Challa has posed:
Bites of the bread and fruit are slowly eaten. Though not needed for warmth, the flames are kept high enough to cast warm light on the pair as they sit beside each other enjoying the meal and talking. "There was someone I went to school with," T'Challa says, pausing just a moment in thought. "Reginald... Markam? Yes it was Markam. Currently Reginald Markam, Esquire," he says of the former classmate turned lawyer. "He had some long-past tie to the royal house. Quite distant. But it was an undying interest of his. Should you need advice or services there? I think he had a quite capable mind. I would be happy to get you in touch with him if you wished."

T'Challa switches back to the soup, though there isn't much left. He chuckles softly as he works the spoon around the inside of the can, getting the last bits of rice, vegetables and a well-spiced meat. "You do not make her 'do not like' list," T'Challa says with a shake of his head. "But you make her 'still might be a threat' list, I think. She is ever devoted to her duties though. It requires that kind of thinking, I suppose," he says.

T'Challa's dark eyes gaze at the younger woman beside him. "I cannot give you a time frame for her admiration. But you seem to have already captured much of mine, Lara."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara finishes whats left of her soup and sets the can aside before she looks back to the King, moving to sit up straight upon the log she considers his words about help with her family's estate and it gets a light nod from her. "I might take you up on that when we get back to the States. I've meant to travel home to directly deal with it, but I haven't had time yet. I'll likely do that next month, in fact, as I need to get it out of the way and put an end to my Uncle's pathetic attempts to replace my family. My parents may no longer be amongst the living, but they're still /here./" she speaks adamantly before softening her expression again.

At the rest of what he says she just grins before tilting her head again at his eventual compliment. She's clearly not used to being talked to so sweetly like this. She's had men ... attempt it, but really never been anywhere near as suave at it.

"Lets wait to see how you feel about me by the time we finish this trip. You might be leaning more to where your honor guard is, or worse." She states, ever the one to question herself, so it seems.

T'Challa has posed:
T'Challa's fingers move to briefly stroke through the whiskers of his immaculately-groomed beard as Lara speaks about her parents. There is a sense of empathy as she speaks about her parents being here still.

"My own father has passed on," he says quietly as he sets his soup can aside. He reaches over, resting a hand on the younger woman's shoulder if there are no signs the reassuring touch would be unwelcome. "And he is definitely here," T'Challa agrees.

He looks about to say more, but then seems to settle for giving a gentle squeeze with his hand. T'Challa nearly admitted to Lara he communes with his father's spirit. Not just in the normal sense that others think about their lost loved ones. Information he would share with so few outside of Wakanda. Though he filters himself, the trust he felt leaves T'Challa thoughtful.

Rather than continue down that path, T'Challa instead reacts to Lara suggesting his opinion of her might change. He holds up both hands in a gesture of mock surrender. "Ah. I just knew it," he says with a sad shake of his head. "This is where you let me know that you snore. Isn't it? Like a chainsaw perhaps. Or an old Buick that needs the timing adjusted?" He manages the straight delivery well enough, but nothing can hide that soft warmth and twinkle in his eye.

Lara Croft has posed:
One of Lara's side projects is continuing her father's work, which means she's... searching for the secrets to immortality, and bringing people back from the dead. Her duties with SHIELD has slowed those efforts, but she's still pursuing it all the same, as... its important to her family's legacy, which seems to mean a lot for her!

"I share in your grief then." Lara says, about his father being 'gone', as well as her own.

After a moment she hears what he continues with and it makes her smile to him. She takes another little bite of the flatbread that he'd made before she glances away tothe fire and then back over to him a moment later.

"You'll have to let me know." She says back at him, in an openly inviting sort of way. Apparently his charms on her have been persuasive to helping even her break through some of her icy walls to let someone in, if he so wished.

She then glances back to their food he'd made. "You're going to have to tell me how you did this, in great detail. So that I might attempt it later, and fail miserably, but still... attempt it."