#🌙 archaeology ›› WHATEVER HAPPENED IN THAT DESERT IS LOST TO THE SANDS.

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☕️   for   your   character    to    bring    mine    a    beverage        ♡        @timesense​.

         ❝ thank you, river. ❞   layla accepts the mug of hot cider with a faint, almost  apologetic  smile. she regrets snapping at the archaeologist upon seeing her on board the ship but their past history has definitely made things tense. river had still intervened and saved her life, and agreed to help her track down the certificates she’s searching for. apparently, the man who had originally had this ship built in the early 20th century had hidden papers authenticating his collection of stolen antiquities somewhere inside of it. good fortune the ship still operates for little cruises up and down the thames. she sips her cider and wrinkles her nose.  this tastes super weird.  it’s not bad, but she’s never been much of an apple person, and it’s not nearly spiced enough for her taste. had it been given to her by someone that hasn’t been her rival for as long as river has, maybe she’d have controlled that reaction completely - but the best she can do now is rein it in and finish the drink, to be polite.

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❝ you don’t look like a professor. ❞   it’s not meant to be disparaging; it’s only an observation. the woman doesn’t dress like every other professor layla has ever met. she doesn’t carry herself the same. but there’s something about her that tells the archaeologist she’s seen a few things. maybe one of those things is the strange man she travels with, who is currently... well, layla doesn’t really know what he’s doing up there, but he looks like he’s having a good time.    ❝ and he really doesn’t look like a professor. ❞

starter call        ♡        @nobleimportance​.

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🌕 for roman        ♡        @talesspin​.

         his arm is thrown out across her back,  pushing her further into the wall. thousands of gallons of water plummet down to a plunge pool; the mist and rush of air can be felt from where they are, and will only intensify when they make their way behind the falls. layla’s shaking fingers are numb from the chill but she’s keeping as tight a grip on the wall as she can. he’s risked his life to come get her, she’s not going to have that be in vain - they’re both going to make it out of here. she waits until he releases the pressure and gives her a nod, signaling that their pursuers have moved on, no longer peering over the edge with discerning eyes, searching for them. 

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         ❝ that’s not egyptian. ❞   the cleaning process is difficult, but more of the artifact’s original surface is being revealed by the second. layla leans in a little, on the other side of the technician from the person that claims to be a doctor, and gets another good look. just to be sure. those are no symbols she’s ever seen before, she’s positive now.   ❝ i don’t know what that is. ❞

starter call        ♡        @docseventeen​.    

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         ❝ is he always like that? ❞   there’s a man with incredibly questionable fashion sense waltzing away from them right now, trudging through a sand filled corridor and out of sight. layla’s encounter with these two has already been a mess. she’s distinctly aware of the fact that they’re hundreds of feet below the desert sand, surrounded by thick stone, with no identifiable way out since the doorway collapsed. 

starter call        ♡        @herfairytale​.

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❛  09 .   a  kiss  to  prove  a  point .        ♡        @docseventeen​.

         ❝ you wouldn’t know what to do with romance if it —— ❞   wounded feelings and defensive words are silenced with the doctor’s lips. layla surrenders to the feeling immediately  ( and against her better judgement ). fingers curl in the lapels of the other’s jacket, pulling them slightly closer. sharing these kinds of experiences, packed with danger and intrigue, with someone has an effect on her. she’s a simple, simple archaeologist.

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         ❝ they say you’re good in a tight spot.  and not afraid of anything. ❞   layla doesn’t think that’s possible, but hey, people like him make a living on reputation, right? she’s not too worried about the fear. it’s normal to be afraid. she’s afraid all the time, but she perseveres. she can carry it through. but it might be a good idea to have someone at her back.

starter call        ♡        @milesautemfortunae​.

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“ it’s too late! let’s go! ”        ♡        @lokadottr​.

         ❝ but it’s right there! ❞   torvi is probably terrified, considering the level of fear layla’s feeling despite her years of experience. her friend was never supposed to be here in the first place.  it’s layla’s fault she got dragged into it.  even if the labyrinth weren’t collapsing all around them, the climb back to the surface is risky, with a sheer drop of hundreds of feet waiting for them should their lines fail for any reason. the few, narrow ledges and handholds on these stone walls are nowhere near reliable enough to think either of them could catch themselves on one. however, the amulet that had dropped from her bag  ( the very reason she’d begun this journey )  has managed to beat the odds and lies on one. if she pushes herself off this wall, she can cross the admittedly not-very-wide space and try to grab for it.  it’s too late.  torvi’s probably right but her father had looked for this and been murdered before he ever found it. she can’t go without trying. just once.   ❝ keep going! i’ll be right behind you! ❞

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         ❝ captain. ❞   it’s a nice, level greeting. hard to tell whether or not he’s happy to be here - but she’s  thrilled.  squinting against the sun, she takes a look at the vessel she’s going to be spending quite some time on. it’ll be quite familiar to her by the end of this expedition. their work over the next few weeks could change history. layla is incredibly eager to get on board and get to work. the site she’s identified might seem broad to a layperson, but professionally, it’s a surprisingly narrow search area. as long as she’s translated the texts correctly, they have a  really good chance  of finding the wreck. according to the scribe who penned her texts, a ship laden with looted treasure from egypt during the bronze age collapse had been sunk in an epic storm, with only one sailor surviving long enough to tell someone what had happened. every piece of evidence she has indicates this sailor - and, by extension, the ship and crew he’d outlived - belonged to the sea peoples. after this, it’s possible this legendary confederacy  ( perhaps some of the world’s earliest pirates )  could be positively identified, its origins traced back to the source. the  sunken treasure  is a slightly more tangible benefit, and she’d be lying if she said it didn’t excite her too.   ❝ clear skies. i hope that’s a good sign. ❞

starter call        ♡        @piraticalwit​.

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         ❝ i’m down! ❞   layla calls back up through the broken ceiling of the tomb, unclipping herself from the line and shuffling back through the sand a few steps, giving river the space needed to descend.  working together.  that’s a new one for these two - no bickering, no tension. their little cruise down the thames seems to have smoothed out the rough road. maybe layla even considers river a colleague now, affectionately as opposed to out of annoyance.

starter call        ♡        @timesense​.

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❝ This place doesn’t seem quite keen on visitors these days, does it? ❞        ♡        @mehrcedita​.

         ❝ pharaohs didn’t want visitors. ❞   if you were buried with the choicest portion of your wealth, embarking on a journey to eternal peace, you probably wouldn’t want that serenity disturbed either. the hike out to this tomb has been hell. they’ve crossed  treacherous ground  and already needed to evade traps. she’s sure of it now; they’re actually inside a funerary complex. it’s probably the size of a modest palace, judging by the rock formations she reasonably assumes to be walls. whichever king this belonged to took his afterlife very seriously.   ❝ be careful. he would have had the best architects. they would have been ruthless. ❞

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once you learn your answers, you can never unlearn them.        ♡        @timesense​.

         layla shuts her eyes against the tears,  fighting them back. she knows that river is right but the warning doesn’t stick. she has never been held back from her pursuit of knowing, even when the truth harms her. a couple of deep breaths later, she’s back to walking, determined to get this over with.   ❝ we don’t even know that he has answers. he could be lying. ❞

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         ❝ if your friend’s down there,  we’ll find her. i promise. ❞   layla squints against the harsh sun, trying to give yasmin as reassuring a look as she can. mediterranean summers make this kind of work  hellish  but she’s not going to leave someone in that cave system.   ❝ cappadocians built entire cities underground to shelter in. there’s nothing too dangerous, or i wouldn’t be letting you come at all. ❞

starter call        ♡        @oblitcm​.

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"some people have no sense of effing honor!"        ♡        @dvarapala​.

         ❝ it doesn’t matter. ❞   even though it sets layla’s teeth on edge, and anger burns through her veins thinking about the fact they’ve been  locked in  the tomb, they have more pressing problems. namely figuring out how they’re going to get out of here. she turns on her heel away from the sealed stone door, and she gazes around the dimly lit chamber. there has to be some other way out.   ❝ i’m going to feel for air drafts. don’t touch anything. ❞

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❝ you’re not catching me at my best. ❞        ♡        @oflocksley​. 

         ❝ oh, i doubt that. ❞   she’s not going to let that smug look cross onto his face just because she’s here to ask for his help. layla’s hands rest on her hips as she watches him in his attempt to make himself presentable. clearly he’s hungover. she can’t imagine how much his head must be pounding, judging by the number of empty beer bottles she’s counted.   ❝ i was surprised to find you weren’t with nottingham, yet... still in the desert. is there a reason you’re here? ❞

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❝ then get me the hell out of here! ❞        ♡        @oflocksley​.  

         ❝ is that your version of asking nicely? ❞   layla doesn’t even spare him a look while she crouches to pick through the abandoned packs. robin isn’t one of hers; actually, he’s the exact opposite of that. she doesn’t know why he’s been left behind  half dead  but she almost suspects he gave nottingham the lip he’s so very good at giving. her boys are scattered through the chamber, searching for a way out. the entrance is sealed and the passageway leading away from this main chamber has collapsed. the idea was that they’d die here. layla doesn’t plan on giving nottingham the satisfaction. what few things he and his crew had left behind are useless, she finally decides, standing up. she exhales her frustration and finally turns her attention towards the bleeding mercenary.   ❝ so, why’d they leave you behind? ❞