9740/Its where Food Is

Its where Food Is
Date of Scene:	24 October 2019
Location:	Food Court, The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Lara and Grant speak a bit and get to know one another in the Triskelion food court.
Cast of Characters:	Grant Ward, Lara Croft

---

Grant Ward has posed:
Early evening at the Triskelion and many of the employees have made their way to the food court for some long overdue down time and food. It is fairly crowded, as many of the tables have found themselves filled. It has been a long day for Agent Ward, having recently returned from a long undercover assignment overseas, he has been neck deep in paperwork and reports. In fact, some people barely noticed he had returned, as he had not come out of his office except for the occassional meal. Yet, this evening he has ventured into the Food Court for what he could consider a /proper/ meal and not somethin gout of a vending machine.

A tray in hand, the agent seems to be looking for a vacant table. SPying one he slides into the seat and sets the tray down besides a yellow folder. The occasional head nod and greeting is given to passing employees as they welcome him back. "Agent Ward. Good to see you." They do not recieve a word, just the non-verbal reply.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara Croft had returned tot he Triskelion at essentially the same time that Agent Ward had. She'd been brought back on a Quinjet and when she disembarked it she'd still been in full gear with a harness rig, utility belt, a heavy rucksack on her back, a number of weapons on her... and all covered in muck and mud. She was known for this, her exploration missions often lead her to needing SHIELD pickup which often lead her to returning to the Triskelion in all manner of terrible conditions, but at least this time she hadn't been badly wounded as she has before in the past.

Tonight though? Lara is just striding into the food court all cleaned up, wearing a dark navy blue SHIELD light jacket over a light gray colored tank top, some cargo pants and new brown boots. After stepping in, she moves to a table where she sets down a leather bag, and removes her jacket to drape it over a chair. Her right arm is wrapped in a bandage just above her elbow, but the rest of her seems entirely fine and no longer the frightful mess she was last night.

She moves to get a tray of food, then returns to the table she'd picked out, settling into her seat and reaching her hands up to brush her hair from her face. She's always kept to herself since joining this agency, rarely outgoing and approaching others to chat, which has given her a bit of a reputation of being cold or strange.

Grant Ward has posed:
He usually eats alone as well, I mean to be honest, Grant Ward is not Mr. Social. In fact, many go out of their way to avoid him. He is not eactly the warm and fuzzy man people invite to their parties. There are actually people walking past his table in which there are a good handful of emtpy chair in an effort to not have to start a conversation with him. To each their own.

His coffee is picked up and he peers out over the rim of the cup, spying the woman also dining alone. He knew she also had a reputation of keeping to herself and in a sense he understood that. However, perhaps it was a few days of being a recluse and buried in reports, or perhaps he decided he just didn't care; but Agent Grant Ward picked up his tray and folder and made his way over to Agent Croft's table.

Standing there a moment without saying a word, the Agent eventually set the tray down across from her, setting the folder down as well. "Before you say anything, I am doing you a favor. Agent Collins is in line. He is going to need a place to sit. You don't want to eat across from Agent Collins. He tends chew with his mouth open a lot and talks about his cats. There is only so much one can take about the life and times of Fluffles." He settles into the seat and reaches for his fork to pick up some of the potatoes, "I heard you just got back. I see it went well." He gestures to her wrapped arm."

Lara Croft has posed:
By the time that Grant joins her and says those words, Lara had a few items pulled out of her leather case that she's fanned out in front of her on the table beside her food tray. Some papers, a tablet computer, her phone... that sort of thing.

When he sits and speaks, she pauses and first looks up to him with her soft brown eyes going to look at his own in return. She's about to look over to get a peak at this Agent Collins but she stops herself so as not to potentially make eye contact with the man in question which might inevitably draw him over even with Grant seated at the only other chair at her table.

His statements? They just make Lara summon up a soft smile that brightens her youthful (if a bit weary) face. "Thats very kind of you." Lara tells Grant in response, her London aristocratic accent a noteworthy feature any time she speaks around all these Americans that tend to be the normal within this building. "I'm more of a dog person myself, so I think we'd inevitably clash though, he might get up and leave me out of disgust for that very reason." Lara says back to Grant then, showing him a faint and brief smirk.

She looks down to her work then and nods her head lightly two times. "It did go well. I spoke to the contact I needed to, even... well, it would be hard pressed to get any further removed from society than he was, but, still." She looks back across to him. "Its done, information retrieved. So thats gratifying, yes?" She picks up her cup then. "How are things for you, Agent Ward?" She asks.

Grant Ward has posed:
He knew who she was. I mean, Agent Grant Ward makes it his business to know who everyone is. It is kind of his hobby. However, he was not sure they ever spoke to her for any extended period of time. He is about to reply when Agent Collins himself is swarming aorund the table like a shark, I mean truly circling, as if trying to decide if sitting is something he should do. It is a bit awkward and Ward looks up to him and plainly states. "I cabn't do FLuffles right now. You know who was asking about him? Agent Harris." The man sighs and gives a small nod, before spying another person and calling out to them. "Agent Harris..you will never guess what Fluffles did this morning." And he is off to the man's table

Ward smiles back to Lara, a casual shrug. "Agent Harris filed a wrong report that I had to fix. That will teach him." He takes a bite of his potato and sets the fork down, reaching for his coffee. "I am glad your mission was a success and you seem to have come back in one piece. I mean for the most part." He is all business, the robotic Grant Ward. "I am well. Just returned myself from a small stint in Austria. I think it went well. Accomplished what needed to be accomplished and left with what I needed." A sip of the coffee is taken and he peers from behind the cup, raising a brow. "Wimebledon? South west London. Your accent. I mean I may be incorrect, but I am sensing a slight upper-class aristocratic pronunciation to your words." Grant Ward, always analyzing. Maybe she can get him to actually be human.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's eyes look up and track Collins as he circles them both like sharks and she's about to speak to him too before Grant does. Grant's deflection of the cat-friendly Agent just makes Lara smile quite amusedly and once Collins is gone and the true explanation is released Lara's lips part, she looks down and she laughs lightly and shortly at it. "He'll never file a report against your wishes as such again." She states in good humor, hearing Collins gushing over his cat just on the edge of her attention still anyway before she looks back up to focus on Grant.

She nods lightly toward his work results. "Austria is a lovely place, the parts I've been lucky enough to visit."

At his question of her origins she smiles again and shakes her head softly once. "Surrey." She states. "Which is about an hour south of Wimbledon, depending on your driving skills." There's a slight grin to what she says there. "My family home is there, at the least. We were often on the move though, and now it sits empty and mostly unattended." If Grant's done his homework well enough he'll know that Lara's the current sitting 'Lady' of that county, or at least a county, depending on his memory of how much he's looked into her.

"I take it you're from around here, the east coast?" She asks him then as she sips her drink again.

Grant Ward has posed:
"East coast yes. Massachusettes to be exact. Tho, I would not say I had the happiest of childhoods. There was no white picket fence and fsmily dinners that did not end in one of my parents yelling and someone being hit. Let's just say...my upbringing was not typical. Juvenile halls and things of that nature. " He reaches for his coffee once more and takes a long sip, lowering it back to the table and speaking matter of factly as his eyes metter hers, a gaze not meant to be intimidating and even a bit softer.

"Lara Amelia Croft. Daughter of Lord RIchard Croft and his wife Amelia. No doubt where you got your middle name. Sadly, you lost your mother in a plane crash. Your father from what I have discovered never really recovered from that, leaving you to a somewhat lonely childhood and his eventual taking of his own life." He pauses to take a small breath, surveying her reaction carefully. "Somewhere in there, there is a man named Conrad Roth. I can only assume he took you in and saw to your care. Eventually you went to UCL and to fast forward a bit. Yamatai. Ship crash. You survived. Here you are."

He leans forward in his chair and softly murmurs to her. "Someday, I would love to hear about Yamatai. It sounds like a fascinating place." He leans back and offers her a warm smile. "Welcome to SHIELD Agent Croft. You can find out anything if you simply know where to look. It's my archeology."

Lara Croft has posed:
"It sounds like you've come a long way then." Lara replies about Grant's life and how it all started versus where it is now. "I hear your name mentioned around here fairly often, which begs to suggest that you're quite highly regarded." She s hows a quick and short smile.

His follow-up though, all about her, it seems to really surprise her... but then she leans back in her chair and just shows a sly grin at him. "Very good." She says to him. "And here i thought you may have just played the video game, surely not the movie though, that terrible thing was... well, they may as well have used a completely different name--which I would've much preferred."

How her life's story ended up in those two types of mediums are likely a good question to ask her some time as well, if one were interested enough to know.

She leans forward again then and places her forearms together on the edge of the table as she stares over it at him. "I'm an open book about that island, as I don't wish it to be a confusing thing for anyone, nor what happened on it. People lost their lives there, thusly I feel its my duty to try and explain it so that it... makes as much sense as such a terribly odd place can, or could." She states of Yamatai. "But to sum it up, it... is where I realized just how dangerous, and wondrous of a world we really truly do live in though..." And with that said she draws in a light breath and glances down to pick up her drink again for another sip from it.

Grant Ward has posed:
He has stopped eating. His complete focus has be drawn to her reply and especially when she starts to speak of Yamatai. She has truly caught his attention and for Agent Ward that is a difficult thing to do. He takes amoment to digest her words and then nods once, placing his own arms on the table. "I can only imagine what you have heard about me. Agent Grant Ward, the human robot, Mr. Fun Guy." He offers a slight smile and shrugs. "I know what people say. Some of it is true, but some of it...well...I know how to have fun. Ever play Bingo?"

The subject is changed quickly and he focuses his glance once more upon the british woman before him. "An open book? Well Miss Open Book, what would you say to giving me an oppurtunity to peruse said book. You know, in order to better understand this Yamatai place. One never knows when such knowledge will come in handy." He takes another sip of the coffee and speaks from behind the rim once more. "And in return, I will consider answering any questions you may have for me regarding...anything you wish to know. Except for Mr. Fluffles. You need to see Agent Collins about that."

He leans back in his chair and extends his hands to the side in an almost /what do you say/ gesture. "So how about it? You pick the place. I ask the questions. You tell me about Yamatai, and I pick up the check. Free meal for something you already told me you would share for nothing." Agent Grant Ward ladies and gentlemen. The master of making a deal he thinks he came out on top with.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara lightly laughs again and has to shake her head to his part about names given to him. "I hear silly titles and teasing monikers for... well... everyone in this building. Even the Director himself... which I suppose is fairly normal for people with eye-patches, they're never not going to, but still. Its common for everyone." She says, trying to reassure him. "So yes, that kind of thing isn't simply for you Agent Stuffy Pants." Lara teases him then, showing a slight smirk after using one of the names she'd maybe heard for him, or maybe made up on the spot right now. Who's to say?

Another look is given over to where Agent Collins is when he's mentioned and Lara lightly chuckles for just a moment before she looks back to Agent Ward and raises her right hand up to place her chin in her palm and her elbow on the edge of the table. "I suppose I could go along for such an invitation." She says back to the man. "You'll have forgive me if I break down from the traumatic experience and start to twitch and hide under the table though, yes?" She states with another smirk while her chin leaves her palm then and her hand rises up to stroke some of her loose brown hair strands off of her forehead and the side of her face.

"Fair warning, I've been through a lot of therapy since leaving that island and I'm not entirely sure it did any good." She states, though she's still got that ghostly faint smile on her lips suggesting she's trying a bit of self deprecating humor.