4290/Old Neighborhood

Old Neighborhood
Date of Scene:	03 December 2020
Location:	Greenwich Village
Synopsis:	A chance encounter in Greenwich!
Cast of Characters:	Dick Grayson, Lara Croft

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Dick Grayson has posed:
There was a time that feels like decades ago, but was more likely five or six years, that Dick Grayson called New York home. He had a generous stipend from his adoptive father (despite their not being on speaking terms at that point) and loft in Greenwich Village where he spent his days sleeping and nights trying out this whole independent masked hero thing. New York had never fit him, but he'd always enjoyed the vibe of it. Just like Gotham, but without the seething sense of perpetual dread. Just like Metropolis, but without the feeling that if you touched anything, you'd leave behind greasy fingerprints.

A nice blend.

He's not sure what drove him onto the hyperloop up here. He may be easy-going, but he's never been a great one for spur of the moment choices. But in the end, he decided to call it a vacation, booking a room at a nearby hotel with a built-in kitchenette. He walks down the street with a brown paper bag in his arms, rugged up against the cold in a dark peacoat and scarf.

Lara Croft has posed:
There just so happens to be a Bagel Shop not too far from Lara's apartment that draws her down to it from time to time to get herself a tea and a nice bagel snack. She'd been busy this week, researching her next move, her next outing, but she didn't intend for it to take place until after the holidays were over.

So that meant almost all of her December would be spent on researching. She was an obsessive researcher, but even she knew she did better on a full stomach than an empty one. So after heading down to the bagel shop, Lara is now stepping out from within it. The door jingles as the bell above it is sent jiggling when the young Briton steps out of it, she didn't open it though, a man inside opened it for her and she cast him a friendly smile and a warm 'Thank you' after he did.

Now out on the street, Lara is bundled up in a black leather jacket that is zipped up, she has a blue scarf around her neck, and her dark brown hair is tied back in to a loose pony tail. She's wearing a pair of gray slacks and some simple leather boots on her feet as she walks down the same side street that the visiting Mr. Grayson just so happens to be, holding her tea in her left black leather gloved hand, and the bagel bag in the other.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Good bagel?" Dick asks, in a way that no self-respecting city-raised boy should ? just talking to strangers on the street? Good grief.

He pauses for a moment to shift the bag in his arms, balancing it with ease as he slips his phone from his pocket and into his hand. He holds it up and takes a photo of the door, as though trying to remember the location.

"I haven't had a decent lox bagel since I got here," he admits, tossing the phone into the air and honest-to-goodness catching it in his pocket, "Though that's probably more my fault than the city. I've been living off these instant noodles."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is paused near a waste bin when Dick first speaks. She's dropping in a napkin that had gotten a bit of spilled tea on it. Her eyes then raise up and she looks over to him to offer him a smile when she register his question. "We'll find out in a few minutes." She says in her very British accented English. "But... yes, generally so. It's why I've become a 'regular', as they say." She adds with a light and quick laugh.

She glances away from him a moment, but looks back as she's turning and taking a sip from her hot tea. The trick with his phone is watched, noted, and as she lowers her cup again she lofts her brows up above her brown eyes. "Impressive." She says to him. "How many phones did you utterly smash before you managed to pull that off?" She chides the stranger, standing just a few feet apart from one another, with the moderately busy NY street behind her.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Oh, I've had a knack for it since before there were cell phones," Dick admits, glancing down at his pocket and giving it a reassuring pat, "Atypical childhood, maybe, but useful for doing slight of hand in the street, huh?"

He casually steps to one side to avoid letting another pedestrian with a pair of large, woodgrain headphones and their eyes glued to a phone screen run into him. He shifts the bag of groceries again, and just lets it balance on his shoulder with one hand occasionally shifting to keep it steady there.

"Well, let me know if your bagel's tasty. Help me work out where to have lunch tomorrow that isn't a Big Belly Burger or standing over my apartment sink."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is in idling mode now as this interesting man has struck up a conversation with her making her intrigued by his response. "You don't look old enough to come from a time where cell phones weren't a thing. Or at least, not old enough to be flipping things in to your pockets." She affords him a compliment, and a suspicious take on his claim at the same time! A quick smile is added there-after though and the Brit dips her slimp pointed chin a single time to his words. "You won't be disappointed though, I assure you. If you're at all already a bagel connoisseur, you'll be hard pressed to find better than that lovely little shop."

She pauses then, smiles softly again, sips her tea once more, then adds further. "I'm saying this now, because the likelihood of us randomly running in to one another again, seems a bit slim." She casually jests.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Been an acrobat since before I could walk. So ... I'm telling the truth, albeit a little fudged. I guess there were cell phones, but they weren't small enough to toss in your pocket like that."

At Lara's recommendation, Dick shifts to look over his shoulder at the store and nod appreciatively.

"Noted. Was that code for ?go away and let me eat my bagel, you Gotham weirdo?'" he asks, though he's grinning broadly as he does.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is in good spirits this afternoon so she just lightly laughs at his last comment before shaking her head. "I would never say that." She replies, raising her cup up toward her lips for another sip, but adding before she does-so. "I couldn't possibly know you're from Gotham after all." She flashes him a quick grin before indulging in another sip of her tea. Once she lowers it a second later she nods once to him. "I imagine an acrobatic lifestyle helps keep one safe in Gotham, however, so that's a wise skillset to invset your time in to, well done."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"The accent doesn't give it away? I've heard New Yorkers say they can spot a Gothamite from a mile away because of the accent and the distinct lack of vitamin D. But jokes on them, I'm a Bludhavian now."

He waves a hand at her compliment, laughing as he does: "You say it like I'm getting paid for it. It's just what I did as a kid ? my parents were circus performers, if you can believe that. Sadly, there's very few stable jobs for acrobats out there. I'm a cop now. And this isn't my jurisdiction, so don't worry. If you're on your way to rob an art museum, I'll pretend I didn't see you."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara shakes her head at his initial question and comment. "I'm not a New Yorker." She replies to him. "I only just moved here back in February. Most of your American accents still sound the same to me. Like a cowboy film." She shows the mere hint of a grin toward him before she nods lightly two quick times to what he says of his profession growing up. "Acrobat to officer of the law. That must have lead you to being the keeper of a lot of great stories. And don't worry about me stealing from an art museum, I just so happen to work at them." From a certain point of view.

She moves her cup to her bag holding hand and offers her right hand to him, clad in black leather. "I'm Lara, Croft. I'm an Archaeologist, and museums are one of my favorite types of places to go, but... I promise to behave while within them. Officer."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Oh, I know the name," Dick says, pointing a finger at her thoughtfully for a moment before casting his eyes upwards, "Do you write articles for American Anthropologist? I think I read that."

He shrugs his shoulders a little, letting the bag slip back into his arms and cradling it against his chest once again.

"And I suppose I might have a couple stories. Maybe! For now, though, I?ve gotta call in with the precinct and let them know I?m actually out of the state."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara steps away from the street and puts her back to the book store that's beside the bagel shop. She looks to Dick now on her right and just smiles softly at him, nodding her head once. "Yes, I have. I did a long interview for that magazine after the events from last fall." The infamous island of death and cannibalism that Lara was one of the few survivors on, and also the discoverer of the location in and of itself.

"If you have anything you think would be relevent for me, Officer, feel free to reach out." She says with a soft smile for him then. "Enjoy your bagels too. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on them. I recommend the blueberry cinamon." She shows him another light smile then.