#mrs. scav lady :3

[cousinslavellan-archive]

Rose and Rainer - Pt 1

A Botanist with the Initiative, Rose Evans came to Andromeda for two reasons: to get away from her family, and to explore as much of the wildlife as she can.

Running into a grumpy turian on Elaaden wasn’t part of that plan.

….IDK WHAT I’M DOING BUT SAY HELLO TO THOSE OC’S I MENTIONED THE OTHER DAY. IDK. ENJOY?

Eventual humanxturian. Totally OC focused. Oops. Technically fits into the universe of ‘The Misadventures of Aria Ryder’ but they never directly interact with the Pathfinder so… y’know.

Rose

You’ll look back on this and laugh, Rose. Really, you will. Managed to track down the rare-ass bit of flora-

“Initiative type, probs thought we’d gone extinct. Bah.”

-out in the middle of the fucking desert, no less, half buried in the damned sand-

“Pretty lil’thing - both her an’her ride.”

-only to completely miss the two fucking scavengers not even a hill away. Goddammit, I have got to stop letting myself get distracted!

“Oi, girly, y’listenin? We want yer ride.”

“Not for sale.” Rose snaps as she clicks back into the present, eyes narrowed at the rather scrawny pair of scavs she’d been unlucky enough to stumble upon. “Not looking for trouble, boys; just out here hunting flora.”

“Flora? Y’mean flowers? On Elaaden?” the taller of the two nearly cackles, “You outta yer mind, girly? This planet’s a desert.”

There’s a flower right in front of you, moron. She bites her lip at the last second, purposely keeping her gaze away from the tiny thing; they’d probably step on it just to spite her. “I like a challenge.”

“That right?” the shorter one steps closer, and Rose’s breath catches - not in fear, more just to stem the curses that want to start spewing out when he almost steps on the bud.

Okay, no more playing nice. Rose curls her fingers into her hand, making the motion that would set her omni to pop off an overload, 3, 2, 1-

Thunk.

Both she and the shorter scav jump, and her eyes lock on the downed form of the other man just before something whistles - watching in startled silence as the second man falls as well, dead and gone.

Sniper. She realizes, pressing closer back against her Nomad, giving the bud a quick glance - they didn’t land on it, good - before her gaze darts to the hills, Another scav? Initiative? I didn’t pick up any familiar pings out here-

There’s a figure coming down the hill, and she can tell it’s a turian well before any details are clear; the tall, lanky form and easy movements through the sand make it obvious. As the form draws closer she can pick out faded armor - a mix of scavenger and initiative tech, strangely - a well-kept sniper rifle clutched between gloved hands, blue colony markings standing starkly against dark, ash coloured plates.

Rose stops ogling the stranger when he - she knows it’s a he because of his fringe, long and almost regal looking - reaches the bottom of the hill and strides swiftly in her direction, holstering his rifle as he moves.

She doesn’t uncurl her fingers, poised to hit the trigger in case he’s not friendly, “Hey, uh-”

The turian doesn’t even glance at her. Just goes straight to the bodies of the scavs and starts digging through their satchels, muttering to himself the whole time.

Rose watches in morbid curiosity, only slightly miffed at being ignored - the way he’s pawing through the bags, it’s clear he’s looking for something.

Still. It’s a little awkward.

After another minute Rose coughs, clearing her throat. “Uh, hey? Hello? Mr. Sniper? Your translator working?”

“Ah’m busy.” the turian mutters, and okay, that makes her miffed.

“Hey, I just wanted to thank you for shooting those guys. Saved me the trouble.”

He snorts - though the sound cuts off into a sort of relieved, trilling sound when he pulls something from one of the bags - a knife? Maybe? - “Wasn’t playin’ hero, lady. These idiots stole from me. Ah’ve been trackin’ their asses fer two days.”

“Two days? Where’s your Nomad?”

“Don’t have one - it’s called walking, princess.”

“On Elaaden?! Are you crazy??”

“Spirits, quiet down, will ya? Th’planet won’t kill ya anymore, thanks t’the Human Pathfinder.” the turian secures whatever he’d been looking for in his own satchel, turning as he stands, “As long as ya can find water-”

“DON’T STEP ON IT!” Rose can’t help it; the second she sees his foot about to land on the bud she launches herself at him, weight managing to knock them both flying backwards on top of the dead scavs.

“The hell is wrong with ya, woman?!” the turian’s voice is more a growl, but she hardly notices; too busy scrambling off him to check on the bud, giving a weary sigh of relief.

“I’ve been tracking this down for a week.” she grumbles, scooting to the side so he can see the plant, “So if you could not step on it? That’d be fantastic.”

The turian’s eyes narrow - vibrant green eyes, she half-notices - mandibles quivering in what she thinks is curiosity before clamping close to his face, “What is it?”

“A Remnant Bloom - named that because of the strange colouring.” Rose gently digs into the sand on either side of the bud, only scooping it up once she’s sure she has the roots, “And, they typically only grow at Remnant Sites - which is why when my scanner picked up this little bud, I wanted to try and find it.”

“You a botanist or somethin’?”

“I am. My team’s been on Havarl since we were brought out of stasis - came here for some sun.” Rose gently deposits the plant into the prepared container, then stands, eyeing the turian as he follows suit, looking again at his odd mix of armor, “You, uh… are you a scavenger, or…?”

The sound he makes is definitely a snort this time, “Not quite. Came here with th’exiles and scavs after shit went crazy on th’Nexus, sure - but Ah began soloing when th’other’s started goin’ crazy. Now Ah freelance - mostly for th’Resistance, but some work comes from th’Initiative.”

“Right. Makes sense.” Rose fidgets under his stare - he’s a lot taller than her up close, yikes - clutching the Remnant Bloom just a little tighter as she coughs and turns back to her Nomad, “Well, uh, thanks again for accidentally playing hero. Really. I’ll just be going-”

“Ya headed back to the Outpost?”

She pauses at the question, giving him a look over her shoulder, “Why?”

“Elaaden’s sun might not be killer anymore, but it’s still damn hot.” the turian looks away, mandibles flaring briefly in what she thinks might be reluctance, “Ah did save yer hide. Mind givin’ me a lift back in that shiny toy of yers?”

“I’m not actually heading right back to the Outpost - I have a Remnant Site I need to check for Blooms, first.” Rose considers him for a moment, then shifts the Bloom to one hand as she turns, “If you don’t mind tagging along - and maybe playing lookout - then I can give you a ride back after. Sound fair?”

“Sounds fair.” he agrees, an almost relieved slump to the set of his shoulders.

“And swear you won’t turn scav on me and steal my Nomad. I’d be seriously peeved.”

“Fine, fine, Ah swear Ah won’t turn into a rampagin’ idiot and steal yer toy. Can we go now?”

“Names first.” Rose extends her now empty hand, not caring one bit that she still has sand and bits of root stuck to her, “I’m Rose.”

The turian just stares at her again, mandibles flaring in a gesture she can’t recognize.

After another moment of silence she sighs, “No names, no ride.”

That earns her a grumble and his much larger hand clasping hers in a shake, his dual voice sounding distinctly annoyed as he answers, “Rainer. Happy, princess?”

“Ecstatic. Let’s go.”