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Who: Kaidan Alenko & OPEN
What/when Kaidan is hunkering down for 3rd night of the game. food has been had and kaidan is getting a bit of a stress headache
Location: 7-E

It's cold. It kind of reminds him of home, that damp chill that works its way deep inside; the one that always made him run to his mothers side and quickly inside their house. Only here there's nothing; just an ancient forest with little cover at all. Even with the absence of bright lights and loud noises, Kaidan has been getting headaches nearly daily; the L2 implants just working themselves out. He doesn't know why; but they just... don't work. He hasn't tried to use any of his biotics here and thankfully no one has approached him as a hostile.

Kaidan is by a stream. That was his first action-- finding clean water and keeping close to it. Animals need water, humans need water-- and hell, most plants grow close to it. Kaidan is lucky enough to have a basic grasp of plants and wildlife; knowing edible from inedible; safe from poisonous. Right now all Kaidan can do is sit by the tree he's chosen, overlooking the stream in case anything wonders by. He doesn't have a fire, doesn't have anything that could make a fire-- and he's not exactly looking to cast a beacon out on his location. He hasn't forgotten that many people will be trying to kill him; even if how he acts seems to hint at that.

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Kaidan hears the faint whisper of fabric moving. It's slight and far away, probably just his imagination-- but it hadn't been with Garrus. This time Kaidan might not be as lucky. He turns just a slight way to where he heard the sound, keeping his head ducked and hoping whoever is out there was friendly. That's painfully optimistic, so Kaidan keeps his biotics on the line, ignoring the way his implants shoot off in pain automatically. He hasn't had a chance to use them in full, not yet, and he's not looking forward to it.

It's not hard to tell Kaidan's tense all of a sudden, and when he does, Garrus turns around, nodding his head toward the sound. 'Hostile?' He mouths, though turians don't have lips to speak of. They could throw a rock and see if it gets spooked, or lure whoever it is out with a distraction. Garrus wouldn't mind playing bait-- he trusts Kaidan's biotics enough to risk it.

'Should I go around?' Garrus moves one of his claws in a circular motion, tilting his head with the question. There's a whole slew of turian non-verbal signs he could use (that Kaidan wouldn't know,) but hopefully these translate well enough into human gestures too.

Whoever it is, she's fairly certain they are aware of her presence. There is a tenseness, a poised stillness, to the still-unknown shape that easily translates into vigilance. They know she's here, and they're either waiting on her to make a first move, waiting for their own right moment to spring, or maybe just waiting until she disappears.

She grinds her teeth in anger at herself. Until she had seen their shadow, she had not been traveling as stealthily as she could have been, so they likely herd her approaching before she even saw them. She'd set out from her camp at that ungodly early/late hour of the night; to hopefully avoid others while they slept. But apparently her lack of contact with the others in the last few days allowed her to ease up on her alertness.

Still, she's faced worse odds before, and bigger, more violent opponents she's sure. True, she's used to being better armed and armored, but Shepard got a good enough look at the supplies at the Cornucopia to know that, at the very least, if she's about to face an armed opponent, they've got no more of an advantage over her than she does over them. Quiet as she can, she pulls a long slender object off her back and unwraps the sword she acquired at the Cornucopia from its makeshift sheath and prepares herself for a fight. Not her weapon of choice by a long shot, but she knows it's sharp and she's always been one to make the best use out of the lot she's been given.

Kaidan nods to Garrus; eyes flickering blue on and off before they quiet. It's taking a bit for Kaidan to get used to all of this, but he's diligent and a fast learner. If the hostile makes any move towards them, Kaidan is more than ready. He hopes it doesn't come to that. There's not a sound made as Kaidan tries to scry out where the sound originated from. There's a rustle, but the wind is picking up...

Garrus returns the nod, taking a deep breath and taking one last look toward where the noise came from. Once he starts running, there'll be too much noise to gain for the element of surprise, but hopefully Kaidan's biotics will be enough of a shock to turn the tide.

That being said, once Garrus darts off toward the sound, he's all precision, ready to dodge or cut away as need be. He catches the glimmer of a blade, but little else. The important thing is keeping the enemy engaged long enough for Kaidan to strike. Even if that enemy looks--- well, it's hard to tell in the dark, be he could've sworn--

The sudden rush of a second, unseen person startles her only enough to get her adrenaline pumping. She's fairly well rested and she's been walking long enough ready that her muscles are loose and warm. Perhaps not quite as mentally prepared to take on two enemies at once, but she's been trained for situations like this. Perhaps not specifically trained for taking on a rampaging turian in the darkness of a mountainside forest with a sword, but... things could always be worse. 'Adaptable' is a quality she has in spades.

It takes a moment to register that though.

Turian?!

She's prepared to strike; drive her sword into flesh and at the very least, do some debilitating damage, but when she sees claws coming at her and the flash of vivid blue eyes she switches gears entirely.

No. Fucking. Way.

"Garrus!?" her voice is tight and apprehensive, like she's not actually sure she can even believe it. But she can't bring herself to strike until she knows, so she leaps out of his reach until she knows for certain.

Kaidan's heart stops when he hears that voice-- when he sees the figure it's attached to come out of the shadows. It's Shepard. Everything halts for a second, the biotics and the assault. He knows Garrus won't attack; not when it's... it's Shepard. What is she doing here? Was this all some kind of Cerberus plan-- no. It couldn't be. They wouldn't have Shepard hunt her old squadmates. That just spells disaster.

Kaidan's throat is locked-- his fingers twitching; firing impulses. He wants to take her down, the fact she's working with terrorists but... he can't. Not here.

"Shepard?" Garrus would know that voice anywhere, that walk, that dodge-- he slams to a halt, frozen in his stance like he can't believe what he's seeing. It shouldn't be possible, but then again Kaidan is here, why not--? "Spirits, what are you doing here?"

She releases the tension in her shoulders, lowers her sword enough to at least let him know she's not going to slash him open in the next five seconds. And won't, ever, if she can be sure it's really him. Though she's in such disbelief that he's standing here right now, that she can't allow herself to drop her stance entirely.

But she grins at him anyway. "Might ask you the same thing," she says. Because what else can she? She has no idea why she's here, but she's damn curious as to why he is. Maybe she wasn't looking as closely as she thought she was, but there seemed to be a pretty high ratio of humans at the Cornucopia three days ago. It seems almost too good to be true.

Garrus. She's not sure if she can come up with anyone she would rather see more.

And then she remembers that he was the surprise attacker; the hidden shadow. There had been another. And hadn't that one reminded her of something? Her eyes move from Garrus to the still-distant shadow. "Looks like you've made a friend at least."

Kaidan stares for a second longer before he ducks his head, having to build the guts to say anything. He steps forward first, instead, making sure to hold his chin high and give away no weakness. "Commander." It's the best he can do. He's still... in shock, over what happened at Horizon. Paralyzed with fear but so happy, surprised, to see her again.

"You know me, I'm a charmer." As the only turian he's seen so far, he has to be. He's lucky to have run into Kaidan, and now Shepard. He knows Turians make most humans uncomfortable.

"Good to see you." Garrus grins right back, relaxing his stance like they're back on the Normandy. They might as well be-- now that Shepard's here, things might work out after all. Still, he takes a step to the side, letting Kaidan have his welcome. Garrus wasn't there on Horizon, but he heard the stories. This could awkward quick...

The shock of seeing the shadow come forward to transform into none other than Kaidan Alenko makes her jaw drop. The chances of the three of them all being here, and then for her to run into them by mere accident has to be so astronomically low, that she's basically ruled out the possibility that any of what is going on around here has anything at all to do with 'chance.'

She recovers as fast as she can, adjusting her face to something a little more pleased than shocked, even if she hasn't seen Kaidan since Horizon where he basically called her a terrorist and just.... walked away. So, pleased might not actually have been the the right word under a normal circumstances. But here? In this place? No, Shepard is glad to see him.

It's easy to laugh at Garrus' comment, and she says. "Yeah. Glad to see you too," as she all but abandons her defensive stance, and begins to put the sword away. "Glad to see both of you," She makes sure that she's looking at Kaidan for the last part, because she wants him to know she means it. "I haven't seen anyone for days. Is it just the two of you out here?"

"No, ma'am." But Kaidan hesitates on telling Shepard exactly who. He knows that if he doesn't Garrus will. But Garrus trusts Shepard a lot more than Kaidan does at this point in time. He crosses his arms then; curling his fingers tightly around his sleeves so he doesn't do anything foolish. Either biotics or saluting her-- She's not his commanding officer anymore.

"Two girls are with us."

"Yeah, Kaidan's picked up a few kids. I don't know how they got into all this, but we have to make sure they make it out." Garrus nods easy, relieved above all else because it's Shepard, of all people. If anyone can beat the system, it's her.

"Already got yourself a weapon, huh? Not bad. That'll come in handy if our luck turns around which... well, you know it always does."

"Kids, huh?" she slides her sword across her back and adjusts her pack and gives Garrus another grin. A silent way of her saying, 'damn straight I do.' She'd won her prizes at the Cornucopia, because she is never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and that was what she'd seen the Cornucopia as. An opportunity to acquire tools to survive. A trap, too, of course, but isn't it all?

The news that this newly discovered party is a little more kid-friendly than she'd been anticipating... well, it isn't surprising, given current company. Of course Kaidan's swooped in to play protector. Stubborn and idealistic he might be, but he was a good guy, through and through.

But she couldn't say that it was good news, either. Were it just Kaidan and Garrus, she would have no trouble marching straight out of here, teeth bared and ready to take on the world. But kids? Well that threw a wrench in things.

"Are they alright?" she means, health wise mostly.

"They're fine; a little spooked, but who isn't. One keeps carrying around a camera she found. Not sure how I feel about that, but if it helps her cope." Kaidan shrugs then, not really moving from his defensive posture. Kaidan wishes he could bring himself to do so, but at this point in time-- it's difficult. He doesn't trust her. Seeing her again opens up something scarred and hidden, something Kaidan tried desperately to keep away. Garrus seems just at home with Shepard at his side. Good. Shepard always liked Garrus and vice versa. Kaidan never had the charm she had, and never made close friends on the Normandy, none like Shepard.

"I haven't met them yet either, actually." Garrus turns to Kaidan, turning his back on Shepard but, hell, that's how it should be. She's got his back, he knows that.

"Are they hiding nearby? Sleeping? You'll probably want to introduce us to 'em before they wake up screaming over your two new friends, Kaidan."

Shepard nods in agreement with Garrus' statement; an introduction might be a good idea. She steps up to the turian's side, waiting for whatever Kaidan has to say.

"Have they been with you this whole time?" it doesn't seem like crucial information, but she's curious to know how much the girls are going to be trusting of Kaidan. Are they going to be intimidated that both she and Garrus are here now, clearly acquainted with him? Or are they going to view them as something positive? Added protection? Strength in numbers?

Kaidan straightens his already taunt stature when Shepard goes to Garrus' side. He's immediately outnumbered by two people who trust each other with not only the fate of the galaxy, but with each other's lives. It's threatening, even if they don't mean it. Kaidan is the outsider; Kaidan is not the one either of them would choose to have at their side. He still stands up tall under the pressure, never truly loosing his grace; his firm control of the entire situation. If the two left, there would be nothing for him to do and he knows that and they know that too. It's no reason to flaunt it.

"They're making a camp right now. They need some rest, then we'll move on."

Edited 2012-04-08 09:54 (UTC)

"Good idea. They'll need all the rest they can get." Garrus nods, approving of Kaidan's decisions. Working in groups requires a completely different dynamic than surviving alone. With kids around, they'll be more of a burden than anything if they're hungry or tired.

"Uh, what are you guys doing for food?" Random, maybe, but feeding kids is its own problem by itself.

Edited 2012-04-09 02:07 (UTC)

Oh god, food! Shepard thinks longingly. If there's been one thing she's been lacking this whole time, it's been a good meal. And she doesn't exactly have the highest standards when it comes to foods, either. She's lived off military grade rations for, well, longer than a normal person would care to, but three days of tart red berries and mineral-tasting water from the streams hasn't been particularly filling. Not that she is expecting Kaidan to announce that he and the girls were about to roast a chicken before she arrived, but now that there are people to keep their eyes out, someone might be able to devote a little time to trying to hunt something. She... doesn't quite know what they can do for Garrus though. Has he been eating at all?

"I've got a survival blanket to spare," is what she offers when she speaks, however, because she doubts they'll do well searching for food in the darkness. She's already gotten a useful amount of rest for the day, and has no problem contributing what little resources she's accumulated for the others to make use of. She doesn't know what the girls or Kaidan might have stashed away in the brush, but nights are cold around here and every little bit helps. "But I agree. Let them rest and then move on. Did you have a direction in mind? I've already come from the west. Nothing but rocks and a smattering of brush that way."

"We're up there." Kaidan nods towards the mountain face. They've found a decent cover to protect themselves from the windchill and dropping temperatures. "One of them has a few cans of food. Ariadne. We've been making due. A few sponsors have given us food, what with the camera Amy keeps." Kaidan rubs the foot of his palm roughly across his temple as if something hurts there when there's only his implants. "The blanket will be nice."

It's hard, facing down both of them like this, feeling like he has to prove himself to them; that he's not just another one of Shepard's teammates. There's a reason why he was promoted up to Commander.

Garrus shifts to the side, scratching his face a bit awkwardly. Must be nice having levo-amino acids in a place like this. "'fraid I don't have much to offer. I'm getting food through sponsors-- about the only way that I can, really."

Being in the minority for him just means he's built differently. It's never been too much of a problem on the Normandy (someone always whipped up something,) but here... he's rationing what he can. You never know when the well dries up.

She's glad to hear that Garrus has at least been eating something. Glad to hear he had sponsors, which is more than she had to say. Though she likes to think that she hasn't really needed any, yet. Not that she's been particularly entertaining to watch up until now.

She shifts her weight, and stretches her neck, and realizes that this is the first moment since she'd been lifted up into this Arena that she's felt even the slightest bit relaxed. "Well, I'm ready to follow your lead, whenever you're ready, Kaidan," she tells him.

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