Masked

X.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you: The wonderful Lara cosplay of the one and only @Skye-Stark ! 

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Two weeks later

"Are you sure this is all what you'll be needing?"

I watched as Lara closed her travelling bag, tossed it on her bed and turned to me afterwards. She adjusted her pony tail.

"Yeah, why?"

"All you've packet are the documents of my father, your laptop and literally three. Outfits. Are you really sure you won't be needing more?", I asked, eyebrows raised and scepticism in my voice.

Lara stared at me before an amused grin flashed across her face.

"First, research. Second, even more research and contact to the outside world. Third – I'll call that extemporisation, in case you never heard of that word before."

Lara paused for a bit before continuing.

"Or, if you were possibly talking about the rest of my equipment, being weapons and my bow – which is technically a weapon too – they're already in the trunk of the car."

"W-weapons?", I asked, honestly a bit frightened. I totally forgot that the brunette wasn't just your normal day-to-day archaeologist.

"Do I have to remind you that, if I'm not doing research, I'm taking out Trinity cells?"

I breathed out. Despite the cruel facts Lara was just giving me, I was trying to fight a smile that wanted to turn my mouth corners upwards. That smile by the way was just dedicated to my own forgetfulness, otherwise it would've been a tad bit creepy if I was just grinning at the pure thought of death. I tried to turn the conversation towards our original topic.

"It's just - I doubt that you'll do that whole... 'artefact finding and Trinity fighting' within three days."

"Don't worry about me. When I was stuck on Yamatai I literally had to wear the same outfit for a week before I could change. I can cope with that." She gave me a wink while I shook my head, rolling my eyes at her remark.

"You're unbelievable." The smile I tried fighting broke free and lit up my features.

"You knew that when you tried to hire me and failed", the brunette joked, and I promptly punched her in the shoulder. Her reaction couldn't be more sarcastic.

"Wow, that hurt."

"Oh, shut up. So, Cozumel...", I tried to change the topic - again.

"Yeah. I'll arrive tomorrow evening, a day before the infamous 'Día de los Muertos', and after I fought the terrible jetlag I'll start searching for clues. By the way, I found out that one of Trinity's excavation sites is actually close to the little town Jonah and I will be staying at. I'll probably try to uncover what exactly they are digging for."

"I hope Jonah is on board with your plans as well?" I crossed my arms.

"He knows what he signed up for, don't worry. ... I just hope that we'll find those hidden caves mentioned in the documents before Trinity or Dominguez do."

I could hear the slight doubt in Lara's voice. She averted her gaze and blankly stared at her travelling bag. I took a step towards her and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry about that. You're Lara Croft. Of course you will find it. ... And in case something goes wrong you can still call my father or me."

The brunette archaeologist looked up again and gently grasped around my hand on her shoulder. Her own hand was so warm...

"Thanks, Isa. You know... Sometimes I really wonder if I can cope with all the pressure the media puts on me, just because I'm the daughter of the infamous Lord Richard Croft who supposedly went crazy. I want to make my mark on the world but... It's hard."