[ february ii log ]

[barrayarmods]

Who: Everyone
What: Traitors exposed, celebrations had, sleight hands passing cards under the table. And so begin the preparations for what is soon to come.
When: February 18th - 28th
Where: Barrayaran camp / Cetagandan base
Warnings: Torture (interrogations thread)

Quick links:
Riverfall
Barrayar: Barrayaran camp / Party / Missions
Cetaganda: Cetagandan base / Moon-poetry party / Missions

The harsh weather rages on, which temperatures still averaging far below freezing, and the wind is still strong. But things are a little less dire for the outsiders, and for the exotics -- well, they have their own chills to deal with.

riverfall
Riverfall village is your typical Dendarii mountain village, which means it's small, humble, and mostly poor. This is the most rural of the rural around here, a little backwater even by Barrayaran standards. Most of the villagers live in houses of wood and stone built themselves or by ancestors. Despite the cold, there are plenty of people outside at any given time -- working, mostly, because the daily grind stops for no one, but even the occasional group of children taken over by fits of cabin fever. The village is built up against a rocky mountain face, from the top of which the eponymous waterfall flows into the river that borders the west edge of the village and continues down the mountain. The place isn't exactly hidden, but if you don't know your way around, it'd be hard to find without a native guide.

The villagers are wary of the outsiders at first, even more than the soldiers had been -- the rural Dendarii are as superstitious as they come -- but, slowly convinced of their good intentions, start to warm to them. They're a blunt, hardy people, largely uneducated and tending toward the most extreme of Barrayaran sensibilities, but they are undeniably fierce. The General Count trusts them, so they'll be more or less civil (by Barrayaran standards, anyway), but you might catch the occasional scrutinizing, watchful stare. With Cetagandans in camp and exotics among them, they border on hostile, especially those who are visibly nonhuman. They keep their heads down enough to keep from getting into trouble with the soldiers, but they do not like you at all.

Not everyone in Riverfall speaks English -- Russian is everyone's first language, and only about half the village has any passable command of English. Thankfully, the village's Speaker Yakiv Gura speaks English, if heavily accented. They're clearly stretching to the limit to help the camp, but to the Dendarii, there's no higher act than one in the Count's service, especially when it comes to fighting this war.

barrayar
Even after scoring themselves a little extra food, morale in the camp is at an all-time low. The miserably dangerous weather hasn't let up, food is still heavily rationed, and everyone is still at least a little tired, cold, and hungry all of the time. It doesn't help that they've lost a few soldiers in the last couple of weeks, and in Riverfall, too, some villagers have died of the cold despite their relative warmth and safety, mostly children. This is hardly the first harsh winter they've faced, but that doesn't stop the inexorable loss that comes with it. Some villagers may be somberly putting their loved ones to rest in the village graveyard when the outsiders are in town.

But Piotr finally calls Negri out as a spy sent by his aide-de-camp Captain Ezar Vorbarra, partly to deliver a message and partly to test Piotr, because Ezar loves coy bullshit. However, he does learn that both Ezar and Prince Xav Vorbarra, Olivia and Sonia's father, are en route to Vorkosigan's District with relief supplies from Beta Colony secured by Xav's ambassadorial connections and tireless lobbying. Once Piotr judges it safe to release this information, it bring with it a bit of hope -- and to seal the deal, Piotr and Olivia arrange a celebration of sorts in the village.

Finally outing the ring of reason in the camp helps to bolster morale, too. Vorhalas is interrogated, and the names of his co-conspirators are revealed: Lieutenant Boris Vortala, who killed himself in disgrace shortly after his fast-penta interrogation at ghem-General Zefyst's hand, and their commander Captain Aaron Vorbataille. Vorbataille has, of course, already started to make his escape -- but with the help out of the outsiders, he won't get very far. Once Piotr is satisfied with Vorbataille's interrogation as well, both men are put to execution, but not by beheading as Doctor ghem-Miko: the sentence for treason is death by public starvation and exposure, and in this weather, it doesn't take long. They are publicly and emphatically denounced as traitors with no honor to speak of, sending a very clear message. Although this might seem like a gruesome sight to the outsiders, to the Barrayarans this is simply how it goes, and very few of them are sorry to see these traitors suffer, particularly as Vorhalas was the one responsible for their food shortage in the first place.

Reports from those soldiers and outsiders who were in the village at the same time as the Cetagandan field science team present the General Count with another troubling problem, however: the implications of the Cetagandans building a device that could control this phenomenon are terrifying, particularly to this threadbare resistance movement. But sabotage seems hardly a worthy solution, either. This is the only lead they have on sending the outsiders home, and so many of them have already put their lives on the line for the cause of a planet that otherwise nothing to most of them. There would be no honor in robbing them of their only chance to return home. But whether they should continue to allow the Cetagandans to proceed with their research or try to find a way to copy their plans themselves, a dubiously possible venture at best, weighs heavily on his mind. It only complicates his strategic concerns further, but by his military orders in the next couple of weeks, at least one thing is clear: he wants Cetagandan bodies.

camp
Morale is critically low among the soldiers, particularly after a few casualties during a recent skirmish with a Cetagandan patrol, but spirits definitely begin to lift with news of relief. The soldiers are now more or less accustomed to the outsiders' place in the camp, and they're even starting to become a little friendlier toward them, particularly those who've been involved in the war effort. They might invite outsiders to play card or dice games with them, or share a conversation over an admittedly meager meal, or better still, bond with them in the true Barrarayan form: over a lot of alcohol.

Negri has more or less built himself a niche in the camp, and doesn't look like he's going anywhere any time soon. But he isn't the only spy around. They desperately need a man on the inside, particularly with the troubling news about the wormhole device, and right now, that man is Byerly Vorrutyer. Starting next month, Piotr is sending him on assignment to infiltrate the Cetagandan base under the cover of a cowardly collaborator.

party
By the time they have the party on the 21st, the villagers have warmed up to the outsiders a little, but they don't really bond until the party. With what little they have to share, they scrape together as much of a feast as they can: not much, but by this month's standards, any hot meal prepared with fresh ingredients seems absolutely decadent. And because this is Barrayar there is, of course, plenty of liquor, that Barrayaran moonshine maple mead not the least among them, and there's no shortage of wine or vodka, either.

The hillfolk light lanterns all around the village and raise large tarps to cover the open center of the village where they usually hold gatherings. Inside, protected from the wind and lit by the bonfire and braziers placed around the perimeter, it's actually almost warm. Every villager who's ever laid hand to an instrument seems to gather there to play music all night long, an energetic mix of lively folk music and raucous drinking songs. Anyone with any musical talent would be welcome to join them as well. There's plenty of dancing, too, very little of it formal or complicated, but everyone's having a good time for the first time in weeks, maybe months, and the mood is infectious. By the end of the night, morale seems to have risen overall, and people in camp have something real to look forward to. The partygoing visitors are put up in warmed tents within the tarped village center or in the villagers' homes where they have room. Come morning, they'll head back, but for just one night, it's almost like there isn't even a war on.

missions
Outsiders have been assisting with moving supplies between the camp and Riverfall all throught he rest of the month, and it mostly goes smoothly. Vorbataille is caught on the 20th, although he and Vorhalas aren't publicly executed until a few days later, when Piotr is satisfied with the intelligence he's extracted. By the time he gets Vorbataille's name out of Vorhalas, the traitorous Captain has already fled -- but thanks to Carolina, Duv and Zarya, he's dragged back to camp for his interrogation.

That evening, Maine and William have the misfortune of encountering a dragon -- Darkstalker is on a mission with a Cetagandan patrol, and they run right smack into each other. A fight breaks out, but ultimately Darkstalker and the Cetagandans come out on top, and the outsiders and Barrayarans are forced to retreat -- but not before managing to kill a Cetagandan soldier or two, just barely escaping with one of the bodies.

Miles finds himself in a terrible position when a guard patrol shift goes horribly wrong in a skirmish against some Cetagandans, resulting in the death of their squad leader and a very ugly aftermath.

Zarya, William, Beth and Miles are in Riverfall with some Barrayaran soldiers on a supply run when a Cetagandan field science team arrives with a few exotics in tow. This is a rare chance to learn more about the Cetagandans' scientific exploits, and among other things, they find out that whatever it is that brought them here, the Cetagandan scientists are convincede it has something to do with the wormhole that collapsed 700 years ago.

The unabridged mission writeup is here.

cetaganda
The Cetagandans are a notoriously tight-lipped bunch, but they're blowing away most of the smoke surrounding their wormhole science research. As has been alluded, they're currently working on a device to harness the phenomenon that brought all the exotics here in the first place, and hopefully find a way to send them all home with it. They invite any exotics with scientific expertise to a series of interviews about neurology, astrophysics, and mechanical engineering. None of the advisement they receive helps to solve one of their most critical problems -- that of generating a Necklin field to match the one that must have surrounded each exotic -- but it certainly puts them closer to their goal, particularly in the area of neurology, and they're hardly going to stop there. But it's clear that the mathematicians and astrophysicists on base don't have sufficient expertise to solve the most complex equations before them. But on the brighter side of things, in the interest of this scientific exchange, they're letting the lab techs help a little more beyond just grunt work.

Meanwhile, the genetics project that seems so strange and arcane to the exotic carries on, largely behind the scenes, although Diya is increasingly at odds with her husband and even some of her senior staff, particularly the precocious Amai ghem-Soren. But there is very real purpose behind it -- and far more than just one -- and Diya d'Zefyst is a woman of great ambition. And more than anything else, she is haut.

Unfortunately, the relative peace on base is abruptly broken when Daryl, Lakshmi and Wash all manage to escape in a wild breakout attempt on the 25th. York and Ratchet are left behind, and as a result, some of their privileges revoked. They're now being watched a little more closely as a result.

base
Overall, despite simmering tensions under the surface and the miserable weather, life on base seems to be going more or less smoothly around them. The Cetagandans have had some recent victories against the Barrayarans, so morale is high. Unfortunately, after the breakout they begin cracking down on security with the exotics -- going back to treating the exotics a little more like they did when they first arrived. They aren't under guard, but after the 25th, they are being watched.

They still maintain that insistent veneer of civility, however, breaking only in cases where they feel the need or security risk is significant enough. The ghem on base remain overall cordial and courteous to the exotics as they ever were, which is to say considerably and always with a touch of smug superiority. With her success at the party earlier this month followed by her performance in the moon-poetry garden, the often-sequestered Amai ghem-Soren is seen more around the base.

moon-poetry party
The moon-poetry party is about three hours long and steeped in ceremony, each participant taking their turn to recite. This is, apparently, not a recitation of one's own work, but rather selections of classical Cetagandan poems, and in so referencing something culturally ubiquitous, each makes a statement in its mere selection and juxtapositions. If you pay close enough attention, you might notice that each participant has very subtly coordinated their outfits to further complement the theme of their recitation. Although there is a definite dignity to the party, it doesn't take much to pick up on the fact that this is yet another arena ghem use to try and socially one-up one another. Among the participants are both the Chief Medical Officer Colonel Faro ghem-Naru and Doctor Amai ghem-Soren, whose performance was especially well-received, the theme apparently being something about subtle passions.

missions
The science interviews with the exotics go more or less well, although not quite so hopeful as the Cetagandans were hoping. They do, however, learn some things about FTL travel in other worlds as well as other kinds of neural implants.

On the evening of the 21st, York, Natasha and Kaidan accidentally bear witness to what is clearly some kind of travesty: clearly a human being, but both overgrown and underdeveloped, and exhibiting powers of hydrokinesis and psychic empathy, referred to only as a ba.

On the 23rd, Jasper, Lapis, Pearl and Darkstalker accompany some soldiers and a field science team to Riverfall village, coinciding with a visit from some outsiders and soldiers. They encounter some outsiders while there but also pick up a bit on what it is the Cetagandans are doing -- that the Necklin field problem still remains their biggest problem, and they've been getting conflicting orders from the higher ups lately.

The unabridged mission writeup is here.

Note: Negri and Zahal are available for threads by request only this round. Please hit up Madi or Ammay respectively if you want threads with either of those NPCs. You can also request a thread with Village Speaker Yakiv Gura if you want, in which case hit up Madi.

Comments

lakshmi | ceta / barrayar

[shri]

CELLS | OPEN TO CETA

[ There isn't much for her to do but bide her time. To sit and wait for whatever it is Washington and York have planned, to keep an eye on Daryl whom she now considers just as firmly under her care as anyone else that had ever elected to do something for her to their own risk. She's no small part of why he's here, to her mind.

Rather, she keeps herself moving, she keeps herself focused. Walks around her cell, her fingers held in front of her. The solid weight of the blackwater is tucked heavy and warmed by her skin in her clothes and away from prying eyes. She doesn't dare to make more even now. Later, later, some proverbial later. Later, like she tells herself that she will acknowledge the sickness and exhaustion that is in her limbs. Later, like how she will have to force herself when they get out them out.

But for now, she walks her cells around her evenly walked laps, back proud, to keep herself limber in part for when they must move. Says prayers to herself, counts again the names of Vishnu in murmuring. But no less a bit of pride to it, too, like this space, this cell, is hers. As each day goes by, she feels it knotted in her chest. That old brag of her heart, she had tasted in the days before Jhansi fell to the siege. Gambling on something, and she never bet money, no, no, that wasn't fit for a Queen was it?

No, no, she gambles with hope.

Though, it's a little odd. She is cold, she is so cold, like it will not leave her. Like that was the price of being denied the blackwater and refusing to ask for it. It will get her in the end. But she fights against it. The length of the brown and silver robes, over the top of her own that she had been given back - at least she looks a lady. Mostly, though, it's to keep her warm. Her hands held in front of her, eyes sliding to anyone that visits. This time, she greets it with a stately nod, before she goes back to walking her lap. Go on, then, apparently she's receiving visitors.

( no one told her that her humour would turn so black after so long ). ]

MED TENT | OPEN TO BARRAYAR ( POST ESCAPE )

[ Eventually, she's sent to the med tent, and she goes - after she's had her assurance. It's like grasping for reeds on a river banks edge. Knowing that currents have a way of pulling, like she's worried once she puts her head down - she'll be out cold. Maybe, maybe it won't be so bad, maybe it'll be a night of well deserved rest. This isn't comfortable, but it's so much better than that. This camp is where she can think that maybe, just one night won't be the death of her, if she lets her guard down.

She sleeps for near to a weak. Deep, deep, hands slipping on their purchase on consciousness to be pushed all the way down to the depths of the river. Maybe it's the fever she'd been ignoring, maybe it was the withdrawal from the blackwater, that she knows now is not the same. The grey doesn't go from her hair, the creases at her eyes still etched deep - young and old all at once. But she stays under those waters, God forgive her, she will never give up her fight, but sometimes, it's easier to stay in that quiet. It's so, so quiet, that far down. So easy to not want to open her eyes. It can just be someone else's war. Broken moments of consciousness that she barely recognises the nurses, or the other men, asks for things in a broken smattering, and takes the food they give her ( sometimes a mouthful, sometimes half a bowl ), asking in English, in Hindi, ( always for Devi, for Galahad, for Tesla, for those she only remembers half way through saying their names, that they're dead ). Fights the blankets like she knows she shouldn't be staying so long in bed until they push her back down again, soundly trounced by their warmth. Then she's out again.

Her promised night just goes on and on. Though it ends, eventually, she can't tell in the cave, she wakes, and this time its properly, together, herself. Exhausted, her mouth like ash and her throat dry, but awake. Still aching, head pounding but she thinks that's more to do with thirst than anything else. Tries to get her arms under her, to push up on her elbows, the blankets won't get her this time and rasps out the only thing she can think of to try and clear her head. ] Water.

[ Whoever might be nearby, nurse or otherwise. Then she'll get up, then she'll get back to what she ought to be doing. She needs to see the Countess, present herself. Apologise for her absence, then Piotr, and do the same. Ask after Beth. See to Maine and Miles, then Dixon and Washington, after that - get herself moving, maybe she could borrow something or - she'll do it all in just - just a minute. ]

AROUND CAMP | BARRAYAR

a. [ Once she's allowed out of her bed, she moves around camp so far as she's under strict instruction whilst she's recovering to not push herself. It doesn't take long until she's bored out of her mind, granted. So she helps doing whatever might be useful in the med tent, the first couple of days while they tell her to still rest. Rather, she's given some sewing to do of uniforms. It's been awhile, but she's just as quick with it.

When she finds herself with company - she's very sorry ( no she's not ) she gestures to the edge of the bed and where she's got a needle in her mouth and makes a gesturing sound and a flick of her fingers, to take up the sewing beside her and get to work helping her. ]

b. [ Whenever she's allowed to leave bed, she takes her other bit of work she'd been given - set to polishing some tools and cleaning them to sit by the cave mouth, making good in whatever light the day allowed and after so spent so long in that blasted little box, she's pleased to do it. The red sash since, wrapped around her neck, pulled up against the cold she has officially given up pretending isn't affecting her. Wrapped up warm and working in quick little motions to clean the surgical tools with a rough brush. Getting the grime off it.

Every so often, she sees a rider go past, and she makes a sound that could almost go longing - damn, she wants for a ride, for a little while. ]

med tent

[vorrutyer]

[ Poor woman. She asks for water, and the response that comes floating back is a droll: ]

Are you quite certain you wouldn't like something a little stronger? In your situation, I'd absolutely be demanding wine at the very least.

[ But a cup of water is handed to her before a face floats above her. Byerly Vorrutyer, his lanky leanness transformed by the past two months into something bordering on emaciated, his trim facial hair marred by a mess of stubble on his cheeks and neck. He looks tired and cold, but by God, he grins a shitty grin down at her. ]

Welcome back, dear lady.

[shri]

[ Oh, and it's sorry thing, because she might have missed that face, missed the company, if only because it meant she was here and not in that blasted Cetagandan holding cell.

Instead, she can't have him getting an inch on her even when she's like this. As she takes the water: ] Byerly, well now I know I am awake. [ Rasps it dryly, coughing for it heavily. Definitely still working out the rest of the sickness, with a grimace thought, before she takes a drink of the water. Feels her body rebel against it, and takes another one more determined. ]

[vorrutyer]

Hah.

[ He straightens up and smirks down at her. ]

But you can't truly be sure, can you? I'm absolutely certain you dreamed of me while in captivity, ma reine.

Around Camp/A

[komarran]

[ The arrival of the woman who was brought to the other side the same time he was brought here catches his attention. Interrogation by the Cetagandans may have been more humane than the Barrayaran version, but he knows the humiliation that comes from the experience. Never mind what else the woman went through to make it back here. The fact that she chose to come back here is telling and he finds himself curious about the returning outsider.

As a stranger, he holds back until he knows she's up and about. When he enters the med tent, he's surprised to see her set to work and wonders if it's by choice or at request. He shakes his head lightly at her gesture to join in. ]

I'm afraid my needlework isn't up to par unless the new standard for uniforms involves the sleeves sewn into the hem.

[shri]

[ Her smile pulls idly, she's far better company than she had been in Cetagandan, and the sleep has done her wonders. But she's still tired, the smile wane as she pulls the needle from her mouth to hook it against the material. ]

Well, then, you are welcome to keep me company. The scenery is not particularly enthralling.

[ She yanks up the thread in a neat stitch. ]

[komarran]

Unused to the cold weather? [ he asks as he takes a seat across from her. He watches the movement of her hands as she continues to sew. ]

I didn't think they'd put you to work so quickly after returning.

a.

[littlemissfutility]

Lakshmi comes back so much older looking than she left. Beth starts dropping into the medical tent to check on her (still sleeping? still sleeping) in the afternoons. There's little change, but it's nice to know she's safe. And it's even kind of warm in there--probably especially under all those blankets.

One day, though, Lakshmi's up. Not only that, she's awake and in the midst of work. The fact that she's doing something, not just sleepily sipping from a cup and curling back into the mattress, does more than anything to convince Beth that she's getting better.

She sits where she's told but doesn't pick up a uniform. Her sewing skills are pretty minimal, but she'll gladly keep Lakshmi company. "How are you feeling?"

[shri]

She's glad to see Beth, smiling widely the moment she does. Glad to see her well, in a cell, with nothing else to do, her mind had been prone to worrying. She had done what she could to look after her, to make sure she was in a position to fend for herself, explain to her what she must understand. Hoped it had been enough.

( She's good at worry - maybe in place of Devi, she must turn it on someone, apparently ).

"Well, enough, now." Which is brave words, considering that the moment she utters them, forces her throat to move and she coughs hard into her hand that she brings up quickly against to cover it. Then, gingerly, as if she must concede. "But I have been better."

[littlemissfutility]

"Getting better, though." Rani looks better than she did when she first arrived, and Beth would rather focus on that than the fact that she seems to have a ways to go. With a cough like that, she's probably reminded of it too much as it is. "You'll be out of here soon."

She feels a little superfluous, sitting here with nothing to do, Keeping a sick woman--a sick friend? she's not sure if it goes that far, exactly--company has to be enough for now. And thanking her. Thanking her should help.

The smile she gives Rani is a little teasing, buoyed up by a sort of guileless happiness. "I came here to thank you. You brought me a friend."

Around Camp - B

[lovernotafighter]

[Tucker stopped as he walked by, eyeing the person working on the tools. The red scarf reminded him of Red team, and he wondered if she'd be more of a Sarge or a Simmons, then decided it was a stupid homesick thought and shoved it away. Lots of people wore red. Only the cool people wore teal. Blue. Aqua-ish. Whatever. His color.

The thump of the horse hooves caught him offguard, and he watched them go by with a skeptical look. Dude, just because they were on horseback they thought they were all badass, but how many chicks could you really pick up with a horse? Like two, max? Now tanks, tanks were way better. Not Pelican level, but better than this. Everyone knew tha--

Tucker heard that sound from the poor tool-polisher (Bow chicka bow wow), and looked back at her. That sound of longing, and--]

Hey, baby. [He took a seat next to her, all slick smiles and a little light in his eyes. It was this light that normally and frequently got him hit and/or maimed.] No need to sound so sad; I'm right here. [As if that had ever made anything better.]

Now, let's say you ditch this boring ass-- what are you even doing? - and we go find a place where I can help you make better noises instead?

[So it begins.]

[shri]

[ What in the fuc- ]

Excuse me?

[ One moment, she was happily daydreaming about being well enough to ride. There was a black gelding she had her eye on. Not like her Sarangi, of course. The Barrayaran horses weren't so light, so prickling quick. But then, they never had to battle against elephants, did they? But still, they were solid beasts, and that one seemed to have a good temperament, wasn't too hard on the bit. Hadn't even been looking at the riders particular, except to vaguely criticise this or that about their form. Maybe she could convince the Count to let her teach the other Outsiders like herself, but the ones that were phenomenally useless with horses, and use that as an excuse to be about them. She hadn't had cause since she came to England to be much near horses anymore and surely he would -

She blinks at him, when he sits down beside her. Happy to sit in silence until his mouth opens and...

That comes out. ] What did you say to me?

[lovernotafighter]

[Oh, well shit. Maybe she was deaf, or like partially deaf or something. Not a big deal; she was probably hot under that scarf, and he didn’t mind just talking louder. Shit, everyone knew he was a screamer anywa--]

That-- [He pointed at the tools, a little roll of his eyes.] -- looks boring as shit. You know what doesn’t look boring as shit? Me. [That smile widened, broad and cocky and full of an arrogance that probably not earned but self-attributed. Come on. How can anyone say no to all this?

Easily. Bur whatever.

Shoulders shrugged a little as he tilted his head to the side.] Look, it’s cool that you can’t hear that well; I’m from a fucking war zone that contained Caboose. Do you know how many grenades I had pop off by my head and how many times I couldn’t hear for days? I got really good at lip reading.

[He leaned in a little closer, and so much for self-preservation here. ] Want me to show you how well I can read your lips, baby?

cells

[symmetricks]

[ Well. This was a rather expected conclusion to things, wasn't it? Lakshmi insisted on spitting in the face of their hosts, and this was what she had received for her well-spent efforts.

Foolish woman. She does not approach the bars at first but observes her, pacing in her little cell like a caged tiger at the zoo. A sign of onsetting madness, they used to say.

No. She's not mad, not entirely. But Satya cannot comprehend her reasoning even now, even if it's clear Lakshmi has no desire to give her answers. Perhaps she fears she has none worthy to stand against logic and reason, and admitting them would only reveal how shaky the high ground she appears to stand on really is. ]

[shri]

[ She has her back to her at first. Where she is walking her round like - her nose wrinkles with the comparison. The way she heard the noble women of England liked to take turns of the room. But right now, it was at least something to do as she comes back around, and -- stops, when she sees her present company standing the other side of the cell.

Her gaze levels, her hands come to settle flat beside her and she - well, she can never back down, can she? Devi's teasing words to her once, that she simply did not know how to stop.

Meant lightly at the time, but they were far too true. ]

Taking a tour?

[symmetricks]

Are you happy now?

[ She's not, anyone could tell. Who would be happier locked away in a cell? But she'd brought this upon herself with her actions, by refusing to cooperate with people who would rather she not be harmed, who could have afforded her nearly anything she could ask for.

Instead she acts the contrary child. And calls her naive. Meanwhile only one of them seems to know how to correctly play by the rules of the game, and consequentially she isn't the one holding court on the other side of those bars. ]

a

[startpoint]

[ Carolina waits to visit Lakshmi, mostly out of deference to the fact that she's not as close to the woman. They'd shared some casual conversations but they always seemed to be just missing one another. She wants to change that because Lakshmi helped bring Wash back. When she stops by the she brings an offering of tea, still steaming in its mug. ]

I'm not sure how much good I'll do with the sewing. The only thing I ever learned how to stitch were wounds.

[shri]

[ She takes the tea with complete gratefulness of something warm in her hands. A happy pause in her work, for the time being, settling it down in her lap as she lets herself lay back with a brief nod to the other woman. ]

A soldier that cannot sew? [ Her head shakes, clearly bemused by the idea. ]

[startpoint]

A soldier who's never needed to sew.

[ She shrugs and takes a sip of her own drink, the bitter camp coffee that could probably strip varnish off wood. ]

Our uniforms are bullet resistant and meant to keep you sealed in even if there's no atmosphere. If something punches through it, the entire suit compromised and you need replace it before it gets you killed.

[ She's taken to saving her underarmor that she arrived in for actual missions. Wearing it in the day to day would only compromise its integrity at an important moment. ]

med tent

[dendarii]

[ Miles is there before she has to seek him out, sometime after she talks to Byerly. He's there with more water and a portion of his meal for the day, which he holds out to her now. It's not much - roasted rabbit in an MRE dish with a few assorted leftovers.

He is ... mostly unchanged since they last saw each other. Still haggard. More exhausted. Rather more defeated, though their successful rescue (however limited his involvement) has lifted his spirits considerably. He can only hope that her presenting them to Piotr had some positive effect. The man likely hates him by now. ]

You look better. [ Not great, but better. ] Barrayaran hospitality is better than Cetagandan, I see.

[shri]

[ One of these years, she will be able to eat as liked too. Stop eating meat again - for all she'd gotten used to it in England when it could be afforded. Ridiculous, really, it had been explained to her that their rations had become thin, this was still more than most families in Whitechapel. But soldiers often ate better.

Well, when their commanders cared about them.

She takes the plate with a nod, all the same, and a murmur of thanks, as she begins to eat. Thoughts of homes, however many of them she's had at this point, ignored. Rather just content in the company with the meal. Strange thing too, unthinkable once, outside of her husband, to eat with another man.

Time did that she supposed. Her eyes came up as she wiped at the corner of her mouth absently with her thumb, a tired smile. ] Much. Honest, at least. Though we both know my present state can't be blamed entirely on them.

[dendarii]

[ Miles waits patiently, happy just to watch her eat for a moment. He offers to take the plate when she's done. Ah ... he'd wondered, though. About how the blackwater had affected her. It seems his initial assumption had been correct. ]

You were unable to take it in there? [ His gaze softens with concern. ] Is that why you looked so haggard?

around camp, a.

[pigsfeet]

Daryl hasn't bothered the queen since they got back. She's got enough on her plate without Daryl poking his nose in her business. They needed each other in the moment, but he knows better than to assume the bond, the partnership, whatever it was, will continue.

Until she waves at him to sit down. Anyone else, he's balk, or scoff, or at least put up a token display of defiance. For her, he does what he's told without much of a second thought. He sits on the bed, squinting wearily at the needle and thread.

"Dunno shit 'bout that kinda stuff," he murmurs, unsure what he's been drafted into.

[shri]

"It's very difficult." Her voice is dry, so dry in fact, she might be teasing as she holds up a spool of thread and a needle. "But I'll start you at the beginning, shall I?"

She passes them over, and it is fiddly work, there's no way around it. But they're sewing soldiers clothes, nothing delicate. Things needed for everyone, when the time came to it, or have needed, from what they'd been saying about how conditions had been in her... absence. "Thread the needle, if you please."

Still dry, her eyes lower back to her work, trusts him to start working when she says to. Trust there that she doesn't question or want to prod at. Because it was either he found her now or when she got out of bed ( or when they let her ) she would find him to check on him. The latter had happened first, and here they were.

Every so often, more from him learning than anything else, she would look up to check he hadn't managed to stab himself.

[pigsfeet]

Daryl has a natural sewing thumb from all the grit he's dug through. His hands have been cut in the hills more times than he can count, and he doesn't remember his skin ever being soft. He's sure it was, once, but not anymore.

He's seen women sewing-- mostly Carol-- enough times that he knows how. Daryl stares with equal, if unspoken, dryness as he slips the thread between his lips for a moment before threading the needle without much difficulty. He's never sewn before, but that part, at least, requires a similar skillset to the one he already has.

"This really what you want me doing?"