8477/Exploring Whispers of Wonderland

Exploring Whispers of Wonderland
Date of Scene:	29 October 2021
Location:	Themysciran Arts Center
Synopsis:	Diana introduces Lara to the warehouse in the Themysciran ARts Center that is loaded with historical goodies.
Cast of Characters:	Diana Prince, Lara Croft

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Diana Prince has posed:
Diana had extended an invitation to Lara to join her at the Themysciran Arts Center where an abundance of Themysciran cultural items were being kept in storage, as well as restored to a new take on life. Diana's past century of work on restoring artwork had lead her to being one of the experts most sought after for this type of thing throughout the world, but now she could be more openly focused on the relics directly associated with her people...

The Arts Center was both a way to focus this endeavor, and to display the fruits of the labor put forth toward it.

When Lara had arrived, she'd been greeted by Diana in the lobby of the Arts Center, a museum in its own rights and a true bastion of Diana's people. It's like steping right in to a ancient Greek museum, if not outright a step back in time, at least in some ways. In others the Center is still very modern!

Diana is wearing a pair of dark red leather pants and a black sweater that is form fitting to her lithe body, a silver chain around her turtle neck that covers her long elegant throat. Her hair is tied back in a braided pony tail behind her shoulders, and she's wearing light makeup.

She takes Lara on a tour of the facility's offerings, from the theater, to the classrooms teaching Themysciran ways of life, to the courtyard and gladiator arena that draws the most attention from visitors.... to more.

Here and now, Lara and Diana are walking down one of the side halls together toward the warehouse and art storage area of the large facility that sits on a few acres of land in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara has spent the time to French Braid her long, brown hair. She's got a handfull of tiny, brass rings in the strands of her braid here and there to make it pop, albeit asymmetrically. She has on a pair of comfortable, dressy-enough flats with good grip. She's wearing a pair of pressed, olive green slacks, a button-up, white shirt with the sleeves rolled up past her elbows, and a charcoal gray vest that almost looks like a corset on her, given how her bust spreads the top. She's even got a black tie on. Around her left wrist is a silver watch. Most assuredly a Rolex, knowing Lara. She's still a vision of loveliness, but she's dressed in a not-so-subtle reinforcing of the roles she and Diana had played at the party those few nights ago.

Diana Prince has posed:
The Arts Center had quite a crowd in it for a celebration in the Arena later this evening and to keep up with local festivities, there's even Halloween plans tomorrow...

"It is an honor to have you here, really, Lara." Diana tells the other woman as she opens the doors to the backhallways and leads her through them. Her own heeled shoes have her a couple inches over six feet, so she's pretty tall even when not wearing them! "I did a bit more reading about you once I got home the other night. You have already a very impressive career, for such a young age." She says with a smile to the other woman. "Here, we are...." Diana says then as she opens a heavier wooden door and the fancy marble and public facade of the Center fade in to a more standard store-room style atmosphere. Diana steps inside the room that has minimal lighting on and flips a few buttons beside the door to cause the rest of the over head lights to buzz on.

"This is not all strictly stuff from my people, of course, some of it is merely thought to be connected by various donators who were simply unsure." The Princess says as she leads them down a series of shelves that have a number of different small busts and artifacts upon them, all of visibly Greek origins.

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara follows along, smiling at the statement that it was an honor to have her. When her age came up, she sassed a smile back. Her career was impressive for anyone. Once they were in the store-room, Lara perks up, her eyes coming to life. This wasn't a museum, interesting as those were. This was an archive. Slipping a hand into her vest pocket, she pulls out a small, plastic baggie. Opening it, she retrieves a pair of white, cotton gloves of a kind museum curators often are seen wearing when handling artifacts.
    "It's quite alright," Lara says. "I want to see everything." She slows slightly as she glances at the busts. She follows the woman in heels along the concrete floor, very glad she chose to wear something with good arch support.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana smiles at the sight of her putting on the gloves, but simply leads her through the shelves of items at the front toward some of the crates in the back. The first one is open in the front and inside it is a statue of a female soldier in Amazon armor. Diana pauses here and motions toward it. "This, we believe, was created, not by one of our people but by someone who heard legends of Amazons and wanted to honor them with an interpretation of ... well... yes. It is good. I am still trying to pin down artistic styles, so I might narrow down an artist, or a guild it may have come from. It was pulled out of the waters from a ship wreck, however, so it needs quite a lot of cleaning still..." She glances to Lara and smiles lightly at her.

Lara Croft has posed:
    "It is truly the work of an artist," Lara says. She runs her gloved fingers gently over the surface. "This is electro-plated," she says. "Gold around another metal." She looks at Diana and explains, "Like a candy shell around an M&M to keep it from melting." She looks over other parts of it. "It's interesting," she says. "Some of this looks like someone trying to restore it, but other parts look like it was added to." She ducks and peers up and around the armor from all sides. "Though the styles are similar enough it was either one man's life's work or something handed from master to apprentice. The electroplated pieces scream Egypt to me." She looks at Diana. "Have you ruled out Atlantean involvement?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana remains outside the sizable wooden container as Lara ventures within it to get a closer look. She watches the young woman do what she does and the results have the Princess showing a small smile. A little nod follows and she laces her fingers together in front of her lap. "A colleague of mine believes it was being shipped as a wedding gift for a wealthy land owner's marriage to a younger bride that fancied Gladiatorial combat. Which does have some tracking to back it up... But." Diana steps in to the mouth of the crate too and leans forward a little near to where Lara is and points to a scuff and crack along the warrior's right knee. "It looks like the lower half of the statue has been redone from scratch.... with the upper half being newer while the lower was perhaps taken from another origin point all together. Possibly Atlantean due to the nature of the stonework." She says with a smile to the other woman as she straightens up again. "I will have to ask Arthur Curry, a Justice League collegue from the Atlantean people, should I see him again soon..."

Diana steps back out on to the polished concrete of the archives and waits for Lara to come with her. "You said you have quite the collection back at your home in Britain?" Diana asks then. "London was the first city of man's world I ever saw... near the tail end of the first world war..." The Princess comments of Lara's home, though obviously long before Lara was alive.

Lara Croft has posed:
    "I have pieces from that time period," Lara says, stepping out. "I should say, things that came to light during that period. I'm not sure anything in my collection is newer than, say, four hundred years old." She presses her interleaved fingers together to push the gloves back onto her hands a bit. "You mentioned wanting to save art. Is that the only reason you do this?"

Diana Prince has posed:
The comment of how old the items are that Lara has causes Diana to smile lightly. "Only half my age then." She jokes dryly before she leads the other woman deeper down the line of statues and even some stranger things, like a bell used on a sailing ship that is engraved with Poseidon fighting sea creatures.

"Well." Diana says at the question as she looks back to the other. "Also because I have a love for the history that we create with our own hands. My mother... tried very hard to get me to focus on anything but fighting training when I was young. She felt that if she sparked the fire of something else to take my mind, that I would not wish to pick up sword and bow. It... half worked." Diana says with another little grin for Lara. "I became a lover of Arts, but ... the fire to fight was within me none the less..."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara listens and nods. She examines the artifacts with more fervor than she listens to Diana's stories, however. She does manage to listen well enough to say, "The world seems a brighter place for your addition to the world of men, as you call it." As she looks over this and that, she says, "My father was on a quest for something. A relic that had to do with eternal life, from what I've been able to gather. Did he miss the mark completely, or is it in the hands of your people? You are from Earth, but you just claimed to be nearly a millenia old."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana stops moving once they past the bell and stands beside a rack of weapons that are crusted with age and weather wear, but still very clearly the weapons of gladiators from ages ago.

"My people have been isolated away from the rest of the world for a very long time... We are granted immortality by the Gods that we worship. It is one of the many things that we give thanks to them on a daily basis for. The Goddesses have blessed us with a number of unique traits that the mortal world has not had the grace of... I imagine your father's search was not one easily sought. Such a thing has been desired by entire Empire's of past... Items that could grant ever lasting life, or heal even the most grievous of wounds... Even still, my people can die, and have died in combat. I may be blessed with eternal life, but I can still be brought down by weaknesses that an enemy may exploit someday..."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara nods at the speech. "Truly, you all lead blessed lives. If I were so blessed, perhaps I could finish his work." She runs her fingers along the visage of the bell, examining the engravings with interest as she continues speaking. "He died before he could finish. I've spent some time trying to make sure he didn't die in vain, but I recognize that if it were out there, someone would have found it by now."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana places one hand on the side of a stack of journals that accompany some of the items that are here in the Cent'ers archives. "I read a bit about your father.." Lara says softly then. "He was a bold explorer. He seemed like a good man too. I hope it not out of line for me to say that I believe you are blessed too, Lara. It just may be in ways that are not quite as on the nose as what you may see in someone like me." She summons up a quick smile that comes and goes then before she turns to walk around where the Belle is sitting upon a stone bench. "And besides, there is much yet to be found on this planet. The oceans themselves are almost entirely yet unexplored... But I would be curious to see some of what your father came across. Maybe I could help with some of it...

Lara Croft has posed:
    "I would welcome the assistance of someone with your experience," Lara says. She pauses by the books, reading the titles in several languages and translating them to English to herself. When she's done, she speaks up and says, "Diana. We're alone, now. May I ask you a personal question?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana steps to the side of the table before she pauses and turns back to look toward Lara. She reaches her hands up for the broken bronze helmet that rests at the edge of the table upon a piece of parchment that is marked with measurements of the helmet itself. She hears the question and shows a quick smile before nodding once. "Of course. Feel free. I am an open book, as they say." She comments back with a quick grin for the archaeologist before her.

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara turns to face Diana. She has a look of probing curiosity on her face, but also mixed with the face of the one who had led on the dance floor. She was confident and beautiful yet gentle with her wording, at least toward Diana. "Are you flirting with me just to flirt? What are your intentions? I'm not asking you to stop, just curious. If I don't become immortal, I will live another eighty years at maximum. It hardly seems worth it."

Diana Prince has posed:
The question from the much younger woman has Diana taking a moment to consider the words, and all that comes with them. She brings up a quick smile before she lets it go again, then lowers her chin and raises her dark brows up some while staring back at her. "I am very sorry if I made you uncomfortable. At the party I was... admittedly bored, and I thought you were as well. I believe a bit of friendly banter might ... wash some of that away. Here and now today? I was merely ... Mmh... hoping to be friendly and inviting. If I made you feel awkward, then I am really sorry, Lara." The Princess says then, glancing toward the way they'd come from.

She looks back to the other woman then soon after. "I assure you I had no nefarious intentions. I have been ... avoiding romantic involvement for a very long time. My memory is quite good... and once upon a time I had someone that meant a lot to me, and I lost them before I was ready to. It's left me ... cold. I suppose. But yes, if I gave you the wrong impression, I am really sorry."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara's brow furrows as she listens to the explanation. "You needn't apologize," she says, her smile returning on its own. "I'm quite alright. It was fun. I had fun. I am fine with the light and comfortable flirting we've done here. I have found relationships to be--" She glances to the side before looking back at Diana. "--let's say difficult, shall we? My mother and father are both deceased. I have to be Lady Croft, not jut Lara. I am a teacher, I have a second job, and I still seek out artifacts to add to my collection." She shakes her head. "Plus, now we are aimed at continuing my father's work; I would still like to see an alien world; I have many questions about an invisible jet, and I am constantly having to talk to Winston about matters both legal and financial regarding the estate. I have enjoyed our time together, but I also don't want to lead you on. Let us enjoy our time together while it lasts. If nothing else, it will yield experience to us both, yes?"

Diana Prince has posed:
This response has the Princess folding her hands together again in front of her lap. "Well. I will do my best to contain my animalistic urges." She says, before following that up with a big smirk. "I am kidding." She then says, just to make sure. A smile is shown then to the other. "If you would like, the Jet is here today. It is up on the roof. Currently... invisible... but that can be changed, of course. Otherwise. Yes. I am happy to take a look at whatever information you have on your father's work. You could email it to me, or bring it by the Embassy any time."

A look is sent to Diana's right at the wealth of unexplored items yet to be sifted through in this spacious room. "And of course, should anything here-in interest you, we'll happily give you time to research it. Some of this stuff needs to find a home, be it in a museum or with a quality collector. Not all of it is going to end up here on display, nor is all of it truly Amazonian, so it may need a home... not unlike yours."

Lara Croft has posed:
    "My collection is eclectic," Lara admits. She smiles. "Let's keep looking through all this. You can give me a ride in your jet when we go to my home in Surrey, or perhaps to another world." She mirrors the other woman's smile, then moves to look at something else on the shelves. She fields many questions, but things remain thoroughly friendly business while she's there.