LARA CROFT

TONI: 01.

                             It was always her, and Lara and Sam. 

It was kind of beautiful like that, because growing up, she’d never really known what might be good or not. It’d started with the idea of college, then the reality in which she couldn’t afford it. Trying and failing, and fleeing London because who had the money? And the jobs that she ran, they never really paid the bills and research could be done in grand libraries for free, and nobody had really explained that to her until she’d gotten there, and fuck it, she was on one. And while leaving meant no more Lara and no more Sam, it meant adventure across America in a beat up car with her selling things at cutthroat prices and learning how to use a gun, and needing to, from time to time, in a heartless way that soon became a second nature, because that’s what you did, and sometimes, that was what was necessary to survive. 

It was the call that surprised her, that Lara thought of her, or maybe it was because she sent post cards and polaroids, making use of the camera that she still ran around with. Who knew that Croft meant old money, and enough to fund a trip, at that, a grin on her face when she greeted her friends at the airport and they’d all hugged for too long, and everything felt fucking grand, and like a new adventure. “I’ve never been on a boat before.” that grin so vicious then, weathering her first few days feeling seasick and awful but then getting the hang of it and helping out and reading too much, in tiny shitty beds, not unlike London and the time that they’d spent pouring over research, while her and Sam took endless photos of the sea.

                                                                Calm. It was calm for a while.

And she’d liked that, even if Toni could be honest and tell them that it made her feel itchy, hoping that they’d get there soon. Back against her tiny bunk, feeling it sway with the water. “What do you think we’ll see when we get there?” voice cut in dreamy sequences, glancing Lara’s way. Sam, already asleep, back turned to them so that the light from their desk didn’t bother her as she dreamed in ripples and swells, evidenced in the way she snored, quietly, tucked away into a ball. “D’you think Whitman will stop being such an asshole?”

@laragecy

               OPEN WATER WAS A SIGHT LIKE NO OTHER. _{Endless miles of blue stretched as far as the horizon could take you, like a timeless mosaic, composed of a thousand different pieces. Lara didn’t like to say it aloud, for fear of mockery, but the times she spent on the main deck, watching over the edge were spent looking out for dolphins, a sight that had evaded her for the longest time. The pacific was home to many; and any time not spent imagining what they would find in Japan was rationed to the sea. The scent of old wood and salty air became a replacement for the lavender beneath her pillow, the ship’s rocking a lullaby before bed.} 

_{In another life, Lara might have been born a pirate. If she believed in such things. In this one, she was an explorer through and through, her mind home to a hundred mysteries she couldn’t wait to crack. And despite what she liked to believe, so much like her father.} 

_{Only, she was slightly better at responding when spoken to. “ Mountain ranges, ” Lara responded, ever-practical. “ Lots of them, too. ” Her excitement built like a war-drum, though nerves came with it. Lots of those, too. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was making some sort of mistake, the weight of their whole crew and their ship its own mountain to carry. Roth had told her to listen to her instincts, to believe in them, but the logic behind that wasn’t fool-proof. Her father had listened to his… and look what had happened.} 

_{Instincts were only good as far as survival went. Everything else… well…} 

_{She shook the grim thoughts away, determined to BELIEVE in herself. Believe that they were on the road to something great. Such faith was testing, but she had no choice but to try it. Nothing left to lose. ( oh, if only she knew. )} 

_{“ He’s just nervous. He has a lot riding on this… I mean, we all do. Hopefully, what we find will be enough to satiate him. ” She closed the book in her lap, and pulled her own map of the islands from her pocket, spreading it flat. Dotted lines and calculations were scribbled to the side in her high-born cursive. They should be arriving soon, in a day or two.} 

_{Lara looked up at Toni from over the map. “ I’m glad you decided to join us. It’ll be just like before when we–– ” In the distance, far away, the sky rumbled, its warning ominous. Lara’s brow furrowed. “ Does that sound like thunder to you? ” It wasn’t possible… the sea couldn’t turn so quickly… could it?}