barrayarmods: (Default)
For Barrayar mods ([personal profile] barrayarmods) wrote in [community profile] forbarrayar2016-12-19 09:43 pm

[ january i log: barrayar ]

Who: Everyone
What: Arrival on Barrayar and what follows
When: January 2nd - January 17th
Where: Barrayaran guerrilla camp
Warnings: None (at the moment)


welcome to barrayar.
It's the dark of night when you come to in the foothills. Snow on the ground, chill winter wind whistling. A steep mountain range towers just ahead, its peaks illuminated by the light of two moons. Whatever you last remember, it isn't how you got here, and you feel oddly jetlagged, slightly queasy.

And you're not alone. There are nine other people close by, all looking equally lost and confused. But before any of you have a chance to figure out what's going on, the soldiers arrive.

They're dressed in weather-worn green uniforms, bearing swords and bows, and they surround you immediately, poised to attack. But they quickly realize you're not their enemy, the ones they call Cetagandans. They're just as confused as you are, but rather than hanging around to puzzle it out, they start shepherding you toward their camp in the mountains while it's still dark. There's a war on, they say, and you unlucky bastards have just been dropped right smack in the middle of it.

the guerrilla camp
It's a few hours' hike through the mountains to get to their hidden camp, set up in a clearing framed by dense, hard forestry and backed against a rock face. Daylight is finally dawning when you make it there. You and your fellow sudden arrivals are ushered to an empty tent on the far end of the camp, just big enough to fit all ten of you. You can't help but notice they've posted guards all around it. You aren't under arrest – they just don't know what else to do with you.

You are able to glean, from hearsay and what the soldiers are willing to share with you, that you are on a planet called Barrayar, and this is their home, and ten years ago they were attacked without warning by the Cetagandan Empire. They've been holed up in the mountains fighting against their invaders ever since, outgunned and outmanned, but scoring little victories where they can. They don't tell you much more than that. Some dialect of Russian seems to be one of the predominant languages of the camp, but for the most part they all speak English too, if with an accent. They're gruff and wary, and if you look a little less – or more – than human, they'll eye you with suspicion, maybe even make obscure hex signs at you that seem intended to ward off evil or disease. But they aren't hostile to you, not unless you start something with them.

the outsiders' tent
It's not in the greatest shape, but if you look around the camp, the rest aren't much better off. It's cramped, but you've at least been provided with bedrolls and heavy wool blankets to ward off the frozen chill, and if you're in need of clothing, they'll provide it, although it probably hasn't been washed in…a while. The soldiers bring you food at mealtimes -- not very good food, mostly tough meat and groats, and they keep you your own campfire, just to keep you warm. They've also hastily dug you your own latrine area at the edge of the perimeter, just behind the treeline. No private bathroom stalls in this outfit, unfortunately. The entire camp seems tense and wary, and the soldiers are alert, but they don't talk much. You could try sneaking past them, but you probably won't get far.

Well, at least you've got each other for company: the outsiders on Barrayar.
vorbratta: (you attract all the bees)

[personal profile] vorbratta 2017-01-23 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
Sonia wants to believe him, is the thing. She really wants every ounce of this small bubble between her and Byerly to be true. But all this talk of other worlds... It's true that his claim to be from Vorbarr Sultana, at least any time recently -- although he is rather older than her -- is a little iffy, but....

She bites her lip at this fantasy he's painting for her -- Cetagandan has no hold on my version of that place. The thought is almost too painful to entertain, for how much she wants it. She blinks rapidly for a moment, her face wary, gunshy, but she hovers on the edge. "It sounds like you're trying to sell me a fairy tale," she says accusingly, but her voice is smaller.
vorrutyer: (punchable intensity)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-01-23 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
Ah. Yes. Right. He sees that blinking, that unhappy look, and he realizes - of course. No, of course she'd be shaken by that. He'd said it so cavalierly, not even thinking of the emotions it might evoke...Damn. He didn't want to make her sad, didn't want to upset her; he'd wanted to make her interested. Excited. Ready to help him as he forged forward. Instead, this.

He meets her eyes and hesitates a moment. He thinks about taking it back, saying that it was a joke indeed. Instead, though, he lifts his chin just a bit, and meets her eyes, and responds firmly. "A fairy tale?" he scoffs. "Hardly. It's Barrayar's fate to be free and independent. These face-painted idiots aren't going to interfere with that - not for long. Not in this Barrayar or any other one of her iterations."
vorbratta: (so go ahead chiquita)

[personal profile] vorbratta 2017-01-23 03:43 am (UTC)(link)
Sonia's chest feels a little tight. She clutches her hands together. A fierce, burning hope in her chest, like acid in the back of her throat, just because she wants it so badly. She wants so, so badly to just make this whole war disappear. She's still not sure if she should believe him. It isn't impossible -- almost all the other outsiders were from different worlds, the idea of there being some other version of Barrayar out there... She bites her lips together, holding Byerly's gaze, her own painfully hopeful.

"How do you know?" She's almost whispering now. No, it's seeming less and less utterly farfetched, but the idea makes her reel. "How do you know it'll be he same here?"
vorrutyer: (is this dude handsome)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-01-23 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
He doesn't, of course. Not for sure. If they've merely travelled through time, they've definitely screwed up the timeline by now; if they've traveled through time and dimensions, then perhaps the situation would have been different to begin with. But, well...

It's not often that he lets this sort of thing loose from his lips. Town clowns tend not to be the most patriotic sorts, and so this sort of sentiment wouldn't be excellent for his cover. And even if that weren't true, it'd still get him laughed at, no doubt. But he can't fully help himself. Especially not with her looking at him like that.

And so he leans forward and says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world, "This is still Barrayar, isn't it? We don't surrender."
vorbratta: (while i sweep up the mess)

[personal profile] vorbratta 2017-01-23 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
He might play well, but he certainly has been honest with her. And she truly wants to believe him. So she gives into it with a breath, shoulders slackening, a tiny, helpless smile. She's quiet for a moment.

"No, we don't." She looks like she might reach out and touch his hand for a moment, but she stays still. But her smile brightens. "I'll bring some of my photos by soon."
vorrutyer: (attentive)

[personal profile] vorrutyer 2017-01-23 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'll look forward to it, dear Sonia." He presses his hand to his heart, then, and lowers himself in a courtly bow. She didn't accept his claims, but, well - that would be a bit much to ask, even for someone as persuasive as he can be. Perhaps once she sleeps on it she'll be more receptive to the idea. "Don't stay away long. You've truly proven to be a bright spot of joy in this place."