3833/Friends Help

Friends Help
Date of Scene:	08 February 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Lara Croft, Danger Girl

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Lara Croft has posed:
Its night time in Surrey, England and Lara Croft had gone out today to get her friend from the airport. She'd met Abbey at the airport and taken her swiftly there-after to go out to get some dinner at a local restaurant. It was a cloudy and rainy day in Surrey, and the temperatures was in the 40s.

Now, however, the pair were returning to Lara's childhood home, the home her father Lord Richard Croft (deceased). When the Manor came into view, it looked quite ominous as its front exterior was lit up by lights set down into the hedges at the foot of the room. It looms tall in the night, an old castle-like structure.

Lara parks her SUV out front on the circle drive, she helps Abbey with any luggage she might have with her and escorts her up toward the Manor's front entrance.

"I really am grateful that you've agreed to come here... Its not that I'm expecting trouble, its just that... I think more of us here, will help deter it. If that makes even the slightest bit of sense." She tells her friend, pushing the large front doors open and stepping into the small hallway that then leads into that massive main foyer visible ahead.

Danger Girl has posed:
Abbey Chase hadn't been expecting a trip to England when she'd gotten up that morning. It was going to be a quiet kind of day going through her notes on the last expedition she'd been on. It's funny how a simple phonecall can change more than one day's worth of plans.

Having caught the first available flight across the Pond, Abbey hadn't yet been to bed. Who can, honestly, sleep on an airliner. Seriously. She'd flown First Class, at least, so she'd had some measure of privacy but it's never like one's own bed. And now that she was in the UK, time zones being what they are, it was far later here than back home and the only thing she really wanted to do was get a long night's sleep. Alas. She ran her fingers through her short blonde hair and smiled toward Lara. "You called. What was I going to say? No, sorry, you're on your own? Pfft. Slim chance of that, Lara. You're not one to Cry Wolf. If you think you need some back up I'll come any time I'm able. Lucky for you I was just in my jammies and bunny slippers when you called. It was easy to pack and catch a flight" she said with a tired grin.

"Croft Manor..." she observed as they pulled up. "Is it always the ominous looking? How have you not rented it out for a dozen horror movies to be filmed here yet? You'd never have to work again!" she quips.

Lara Croft has posed:
Once they were both inside, the heavy door was closed behind Abbey and Lara sealed it shut with a series of locks (some of them looked brand new and recently installed).

A grin crosses over Lara's face and she reaches up to remove her leather jacekt and hang it up on the coat rack in the corner of the foyer's front door chamber. "Perhaps soon I'll consider doing just that." She told her friend.

"Wait till you see the rest of the place, you might think you're already in a horror movie." Which was probably even more ominous to hear.

Lara offered to take whatever jacket Abbey was wearing to hang up also and then she'd guide her into that massive two-story tall main hall. Marble floors, a giant fireplace on the western wall and a grand staircase on the northern with windows stretching up to the second story allowing moonlight to stream in through them.

The roof of the main hall was all stain glass... but sadly it was badly damaged and there's a blue tarp laying across it from the outside above... something had shattered.

In fact there's clear water damage on all the woodwork and the whole place is just... in disrepair.

"I haven't been here in over a dacade, up until last month. Its in, bad shape. Clearly."

Danger Girl has posed:
Abbey Chase carried a backpack over her shoulder and a rolling suitcase. Given her own penchant for roughing it in the wilds, packing light was usually quite easy - and it made for quit exits since she didn't have to claim any bags.

Stepping inside, she looked around. "It's... amazing." She looks around, seeing the damage but seeing, also, the beauty of what it was and surely would be again. She nods absently. "May I ask what happened?"

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara walks over to the large fireplace and she spends a moment getting it started, she'd already had it ready to light it up this morning, but she was only just now doing so. When she hears the question from Abbey she smiles faintly.

"A severe lack of interest in returning here, on my part." She replies.

"After my father passed away, I was sent to live with friends of the family. One of them eventually took me in as a legal guardian... But, he knew bringing me back here was a bad idea. Eventually all the workers we employed here were released from their duties and the place... was left unattended for nearly the whole decade."

With the fire lit now, Lara stands back up and turns back to Abbey.

The sounds of the rai noutside leave an echoing eerieness to the big open chamber they find themselves in. "I plan to renovate it, and turn it into... something. I'm not sure yet. A historical site, or some kind... or perhaps a school, like the one I was working at in Westchester back in the States."

Danger Girl has posed:
Abbey Chase tilts her head. "In only ten years it's deteriorated this far..? Or did something happen to cause it, though? This kind of work lasts for centuries all over England, and Europe really." She seems amazed but is more smitten by the craftsmanship and design. Looking back to Lara she nods. "It deserves to be restored. You.. may not like the memories you have. But your family heritage deserves its own preservation. Or reinvention if it's a school you choose."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara walked over toward one of the sofa's, her hands on the back of her hips and she sighed and shook her head. "There was a storm years ago, it appears to have blown some of the trees that were behind the manor over onto its north facing walls. One has gone through the west wing's windows and another..." She pointed upward. "Through the roof."

Then she pointed toward the doorways that lead into the eastern wing. "The basement windows were broken open as well and there's been water damage and... I don't even know, it looks like animals came inside and were... living here."

Lara looked tired, but she still cracked a faint smile. "It can be repaired. It -will- be prepared. I just spen thte last three weeks trying to secure my ownership of the property from my extended family... I was finally able to do that now. But shortly after that..."

Lara sighs and shakes her head. "I saw someone in here, they were in the dark, watching me. I chased after them, they fled out the back and into the woods."

Danger Girl has posed:
Abbey Chase listens. "Storms." She nods. It would make sense. She frowns at the rest.

"I'm sorry you had to fight with family to claim what is rightfully yours, Lara. That's horrible." She walks over to join Lara and frowns again. "Someone was in here? yeah. That's not acceptable at all." She smiles. "I'll stay with you as long as you need and want. I'm between projects right now so, conveniently, I have a lot of free time as it turns out."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara gives a return smile to the other and a little nod of her head. "Splendid. Thank you, I really do appreciate it." She tells here before moving toward the main staircase which is a wide set of dark grey marble that branch off to the east and west. In the center of the half-landing the stone wall has been smashed and there's a large gaping crevace that leads into what looks like a dark tunnel. "I've done a little... remodeling." Lara says as she motions toward that, on her way to the eastern stairs.

"Come on, I'll show you to the library and a room that you can claim for your own." She smiles lightly and moves up the stairs to the second level.

"I think there's quite a bit in this house that will interest you, really, all my father's work and everything he collected. So hopefully this favor what be utterly boring for you."

Lara grins back at Abbey then and there.

Danger Girl has posed:
Abbey Chase smiles. "I'd never leave you in trouble and without help. Besides, who else is crazy enough to help you? After Central America?" She offers a wry grin. "If we can still be friends after both of us were nearly killed, a fixer-upper mansion and a peeping tom aren't going to change that now, right?" She nods and follows along. "Sure is a bit more forboding in the dark..." she laughs.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara laughed softly at that and once they were at the top of the stairs on the second level of the main hall she moved toward a set of double doors and pulled them open. "This leads toward my father's office and his library... with another door down to the staff quarters." She explained, reaching out to flip on some switches which brought the power on on wall lights and some ceiling lamps, helping illuminate the otherwise old-world creepiness of the place.

Lara then moved further down and opened another st of doors to another east wing hallway. "Bedrooms are down here. Guest suites." She popped a door open to one of these and it was in flawless condition, no damage or any signs of ill-repair. "This is the nicest one." She smiled to Abbey. "So its all yours."

Lara leans back against the doorframe then. "And, I'm not convinced this was merely a 'peeping tom' based on how he seemed to be dressed..." She softly shakes her head. "Maybe I'm just going crazy though."

Danger Girl has posed:
Abbey Chase asks curiously. "Isn't it actually your library now?" She offers a slight smile, trying to encourage Lara to begin considering the family home hers now. she enjoys the quick tour, commiting the directions they walk to mind so she can find her way back out again in the morning. "Oh no. If this is the nicest room, it goes to the Lady of the Manor!" she protests.

A nod is given to the final comment however. "Understood. Hmm.. I don't suppose you've a spare pistol to loan in good faith till mine make it through customs with the rest of my gear tomorrow?" She offers a rueful smile. "It seems like we should keep our guard up just in case after all."

Lara Croft has posed:
When the question of a gun was brought up, Lara pushed off of the doorframe and she nodded her head. "Yes, of course." She says then turning back down the hallway that they'd come from. "And no... my room is in the... tower. My father called it the 'princess tower' but I absolutely refuse to refer to that at my age now." She showed a grin in the dim hallway back to Abbey.

"And to be honest, I haven't even gone up there since I've returned. I've looked it over from outside and there's no damage to it, none of the windows are broken, so I'm sure its in find condition. I've been staying on the sofa here."

She leads Abbey back to that hallway / office that preceeds her father's own office. There's a leather sofa and chair set in it and there's a pillow / blanket ontop of it with Lara's bags resting at the foot of the sofa.

"From here I can see right out into the main hall, so its... I don't know, I feel more secure?" Lara sits on the sofa and reaches into a backpack, within a moment she's pulling a holstered handgun out and offering it to Abbey.

Danger Girl has posed:
Abbey Chase laughs. "That's perfect!" she teases about the tower's nickname. She walks along with Lara. "If it's all the same to you, Lara, I appreciate your perfect hospitality. It is impeccable. Still, I'd be happier to just take a corner of the floor here. If any trouble does come up, it'll be safer for us to be in the same place. I'd rather not have to come running down the hall and stairs to back you up."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara leaned back on the sofa and she showed a smile to the other. "Thats absolutely fine also. I understand entirely..." She folds her arms across her stomach then and shows the faintest hint of a grin.

"Its not because I've brought you across the ocean and asked you to stay in my haunted house with me is it? I mean, I know this place is kind of spooky for an outsider... but I promise you that once upon a time these halls were filled with a floppy haired girl running around, laughing and pretending to be on 'great adventures'."

Lara stood up then and she walked across the office/hallway to grab another set of pillows off of the shelf next to a whole other fireplace inside this room too! (this house has a lot of those.

"I'll set a nice place up for you, like a pillow fort." The archaegologist can't resist a little joke.

Thunder rolls ominously across the sky outside and Lara shakes her head. "This place is terrifying, I apologize." She says with a light laugh.

Danger Girl has posed:
Abbey Chase laughs. "If I could survive the Blood Cult of Ohtzuatl? I'm pretty sure that I can handle a mansion that is only lonely because it hasn't had anyone living in it for so long. If someone is trespassing? We'll stop them. But... honestly? I think I'm about ready to pass out... " She settles in, "Gonna just crash...." she drifts off almost immediately.

Travel really does suck.