Date: Fri, 16 Jun 95 15:53:58 PDT
Subject: LOG: Kevlan and Berni's Trip to Estenar, part 3

Archive-Name: estenar-trip-3

[Intro]:
Kevlan, Bernadette, and Kevlan's father Orynn have arrived at the Sharr 
family's farmstead in Farann Province on Estenar. There, they are 
greeted by Varta--the wife of Kevlan's brother Morten--and Shilda and 
Tammany, the sisters of Orynn's dead wife. Also greeting them is a 
four-year-old child, Fanna, Morten and Varta's daughter, who 
immediately captivates both Kevlan and Berni... and who also catches 
Bernadette's attention for another reason....

----------
Bernadette smiles fondly at Kevlan and the small waif in his arms,
  chuckling as she titles her. When the child faces her full on, and
  Berni's enhanced vision doesn't fail to detect the subtle difference
  in the child's complexion--much like the woman's who caught her
  interest at the spaceport when she tripped over that stupid man's
  baggage--a faint flicker of surprise and puzzlement crosses her face,
  only to be replaced swiftly by a wide grin. "Hello, Fanna. Nice to
  meet you!" And she takes the little girl's hand, shaking it as firmly
  as she dares.

Fanna grabs at Bernadette's fingers, and with a shy smile, Kevlan passes
  the child to his sweetheart. Not seeming to mind this in the
  slightest, the little girl wraps her arms around Berni's neck,
  bringing with her grasp scents of grass and sunshine. Kevlan is
  bustled into the house, though, and Varta, obviously charmed that her
  little girl likes her Aunt Berni, urges Bernadette in after the men.

Bernadette looks first surprised to have Fanna passed to her, and
  then pleased as the little girl clings to her neck. She grins at Varta
  and nods, following after the menfolks, chatting with Fanna, asking
  her questions about what she likes to do, how old she is, etc.

Her soft little voice showing the beginnings of the same drawl her adult
  relatives use, Fanna says earnestly, "Ah like t' draw pictures. Ah
  made a picture f'r Unca Kevlan. An' Ah'm four. An' we got puppies!"

Bernadette grins at the youth and looks suitably impressed at her
  declaration. "Puppies, you say? Will you show them to me later?"
  She gives the little girl a hug as Fanna nods solemnly.

The inside of the Sharr house is spacious, if rustic in appearance.
  Immediately to the left of the door is a wide living room; to the
  right, a smaller room with a wooden table and a large number of
  chairs. Varta scurries through the dining chamber back to the kitchen,
  singing out, "Ah'll make sure ever'thin's cookin' okay!"

Still, holding Fanna comfortably in her arms, Bernadette looks after
  Varta and gets a slightly worried expression on her face. She turns
  to the aunts, "Is there anything I can do to help out?"

Morten goes after his wife, voicing an intent to "make sure th'
  venison's tender", but the playful look Varta gives him over her
  shoulder suggests other motives, and Danyel bursts out laughing as he
  hauls the luggage he's carrying up the stairs that provide the
  boundary between the living room and the dining room.

Shilda, the taller of the two, pats Bernadette's free shoulder, the one
  that isn't occupied by small blonde child, while Tammany looks Kevlan
  up and down and exclaims again over his appearance. Kevlan blushes,
  muttering something about how he isn't all that skinny anymore, and
  Shilda says benignly, "Honey, you jes' make yourse'f raht at home.
  Fanna's already latched ont' you, th' l'il darlin', so if you hold her
  that'll be he'p enough while we git ever'thin' ready! Tammany, woman,
  Kevlan'll last till dinner! C'mon, now!"

With a nod and a grin, Bernadette thanks Shilda and watches Kevlan's
  embarassment with amusement.

Shilda grabs Tammany, who protests vociferously that she can practically
  see Kevlan's bones, and hauls her off after Varta and Morten. A squeal
  from Varta suggests the aunts interrupted her and her husband in the
  act of doing something besides checking the status of the dinner, and
  Morten, looking embarrassed and rubbing one ear, is briskly ushered
  out of the kitchen.

Orynn jerks a thumb after his retreating dark-haired son, and tells
  Kevlan and Bernadette amiably, "We got your old room all fixed up,
  Kev; you two jes' settle raht down up theah, and dinner'll be ready
  directly."

Kevlan nods, still in sort of a happy daze, and obediently trails after
  his brother, tugging Bernadette and Fanna in her arms after him.

Fanna giggles, and as Bernadette follows the young Sharrs up the stairs,
  they pass a number of 2-d holos hanging on the wall. "Ah drew a
  picture from th' holo of Unca Kevlan singin'!" the little girl
  proclaims. She points at one of a clearly adolescent Kevlan Sharr;
  Kevlan in the holo is shorter, not quite grown into his current tall
  lean frame. But his hair is much the same, as is the familiar seven-
  stringed gitar dangling off one shoulder. Over Kevlan's head is a
  white banner proclaiming "Farann Province Summer Fair"; behind him can
  be seen a couple more musicians. Kevlan himself is caught in a
  striking pose, poised as if in the middle of dancing his way across
  the outdoor stage; his gitar is slung to his side, and both his hands
  are lifted, the fingers in the middle of snapping an unheard rhythm.
  The teenaged Kevlan is facing his audience with a surprisingly intent
  regard, his entire face seeming to spark with energy.

Kevlan blinks, catching the child's words, and he pauses to stare for a
  moment at the holo of his younger self. Then he blushes, grins
  sheepishly, and tells Bernadette, "Ah-Ah-Ah was kinda carried away
  when Pa snapped that holo." He smiles at Fanna, though. "You drew it
  real purty, honey."

Bernadette is grinning as she's inspecting the photo and she chuckles
  at Kevlan's explanation. "I think you look terrific, Kevlan! Just
  like you're really enjoying yourself and getting into your music."
  She smiles at Fanna then looks at the holo again and murmurs "What
  a great picture!"

Kevlan shifts from foot to foot on the stair on which he's perched, his
  gaze ducked slightly, but with a hint of a shy smile.

Danyel grins, leaning over the railing at the top of the stairs and
  looking down at the others. "Ever'body's all riled up t' see if you
  still got jumpin' beans in your jeans, Kev!"

"Are you gonna sing f'r us, Unca Kevlan?" Fanna pipes, hopefully.

Kevlan blinkblinks, and glances from his brother to his niece to the
  holo, and finally murmurs huskily, "Maybe, honey, maybe." He smiles
  wanly, and follows his brother up the stairs and into a nearby room.

Bernadette suggests "Maybe we should all have a sing after dinner?"
  She tickles Fanna under one little armpit, grinning at her. "Would
  you like that, Fanna?" The Singer apparently seems enchanted with
  the child, and shows no signs of releasing her anytime soon.

Nodding enthusiastically, Fanna pipes, "Ah like music! D'you like music,
  Aunt Berni?"

With a chuckle, Bernadette nods, as well. "Yes, I do. Didn't you know
  that singing is what your Uncle Kevlan and I do for a living?" She
  grins and adds "I like singing, playing my gitar...anything having
  to do with music." She looks over the little girls head at Kevlan and
  Danyel, smiling.

Kevlan has halted in the doorway where Danyel disappeared with the bags,
  smiling a bit to himself as he stares into the room, but at Berni's
  words - easily audible at his distance to a Singer's hearing - he
  glances down to the stairs at his sweetheart and the child. A hint of
  another blush crosses his face at the mention of singing, but he
  doesn't speak.

Fanna says solemnly, "Mama says y'all make pretty rocks!"

Bernadette laughs and considers to mull this over, before nodding
  sagely. "Well, yes, I suppose we do kind of do that." She continues
  trudging up the stairs with her precious bundle and halts on the
  landing, gaining her bearings. Spying Kevlan and Danyel, she heads
  towards Kevlan's old bedroom just as Fanna pipes up "It's that way t'
  Unca Kevlan's room!"

Danyel reemerges from the bedroom, nudges Kevlan, and smiles down at
  Bernadette. "You play th' gitar too, huh? Ain't surprised... " Nimbly,
  the dark-haired young man dashes down the stairs two at a time,
  promising as he goes, "Ah'll git your gitars out o' th' skimmer!"

Bernadette grins and nods to confirm Danyel's question before he goes
  bounding down the stairs. She gives a little puzzled chuckle and
  muses "What did he mean by that, I wonder?"

Kevlan, looking as if he's a bit overwhelmed by his older brother's
  energy, beckons to Berni, saying huskily, "This heah's mah old
  room... "

As Bernadette joins Kevlan at the door, the room into which he's looking
  can be seen. Obviously recently straightened up into spotless
  condition, the room boasts a sturdy wooden-framed bed draped with a
  patchwork quilt, two pillows that seem wider around than little Fanna,
  bookcases, one of the beanbag-type chairs that Kevlan keeps in his
  suite on Ballybran, and a curtained window looking out behind the
  house. A brass switch by the door matches a lamp on a small table, and
  Kevlan says ruefully, "We gonna hafta turn th' lights on by hand."

With mock surprise and outrage, Bernadette sighs and says "Well, that
  does it then...we can't stay here. I don't know how to work a manual
  light switch anymore." At the stricken looks on both Kevlan's and
  Fanna's faces, she chuckles. "I'm just teasing. I remember." And to
  prove her point, she steps into the room and flips the switch. She
  grins at Fanna and tells her "Usually in our room on Ballybran, we
  just tell the computer to turn our lights on."

Fanna observes sagely, "Ah wanna 'puter in my room!"

Bernadette chuckles. "And what would you do with a computer?" Her voice
  holds no scorn...only curiosity that a four year old child should want
  a computer already.

"Ah'd tell it t' put stars on the ceilin'! Ah like stars!"

That gets Kevlan to glance at the little girl, and for a moment, he
  lifts one dark sandy eyebrow. Then his expression softens, and he
  murmurs, "Ah bet you do, honey. Ah bet you do... "

Bernadette smiles as her gaze again sweeps Fanna's faintly shimmering
  skin and she nods as well. "I could tell just by looking at you that
  you were a star fan." She winks at the child.

Kevlan stares at Bernadette, seeming taken aback by her words, and then
  peers intently at the child. "Fanna honey... " he begins. The child
  turns her attention to Kevlan, gaze curious, and he takes her tiny
  hand in his big one... then reaches for Bernadette's nearest hand, and
  draws it close, shifting his gaze back and forth almost as if
  comparing differences in skin tone.

Quirking an eyebrow, Bernadette watches Kevlan curiously and leans over
  to peer at her hand and Fanna's, again seeing the subtle differences;
  although sun-tanned, unlike the woman she'd seen on the moonbase, the
  little girl's flesh shimmers almost subliminally. Berni suspects that
  non-adapted humans might not even notice this glimmer. Her own hand,
  barely more than twice the size of the four-year-old's, displays no
  such sheen.

Kevlan breathes, "Ah'll be... " Fanna cranes her head down, trying to
  see what fascinates the adults so much about her, and Kevlan finally
  lets her hand go. Puzzlement, and astonishment, and a kind of startled
  happiness all flicker across his face for a moment, and at last he
  takes a step back from Berni and the child, his gaze wandering
  randomly around the room as he seems to try to get hold on whatever
  thoughts are racing through his head.

Bernadette continues watching him curiously and then shrugs her
  shoulders as she smiles at Fanna.

Kevlan reaches over to ruffle the child's fine fair hair, and grins
  crookedly at her, but most of his attention is on the room. Hanging on
  the wooden walls are a few more holos of the Sharrs, including one
  holo near the bed of Kevlan's mother with a child in her arms; from
  the eyes and the shape of the mouth the child is clearly Kevlan, at an
  age younger than Fanna, and there's a large floppy brown hat on
  Kevlan's tiny head. Near the door hangs a poster of a collage of
  numerous young musicians, actors, dancers, and artists with paintings
  and sculptures in various stages; at the bottom of the poster is a
  caption reading "Shalridan Academy of the Arts."

Bernadette steps farther into the room, looking around at all there is
  to see. She steps up to the poster and looks at it closely. "This is
  the school you went to, honey?" At his confirming nod, she smiles and
  goes back to examining the poster's pictures. Her eyes skim over the
  various musicians and come to rest on a young woman playing a grand
  piano. She blinks in surprise and looks closer at the woman and then
  asks off-handedly, "How old do you think some of these pictures are,
  Kev? I could swear this one," and she points one slender finger at the
  image in question, "looks like Alex." She squints at the picture.
  "Could be a coincidence, I suppose."

Kevlan peers at the picture in question, blinks, and shrugs
  consideringly. "Ah dunno, honey. Looks kinda like 'er, Ah guess; she
  ain't nevah tol' me if she went theah." He blushes slightly, yet
  again, and adds, "Ah-Ah-Ah didn't really have time t' figger out who
  all went t' th' school anyhow, 'fore Ah quit."

Bernadette gives the picture one final peer and shrugs. "She's a lot
  older than you, anyway, Kev. I'd think if this were her, it would
  have been a holo taken before you'd even started there.."

"Who?" pipes Fanna curiously.

Kevlan, still seeming oddly distracted, smiles unsteadily at the child
  and says, "Friend of ours, honey... she works on Ballybran, like Berni
  an' Ah do.... " He nods absently to Bernadette.

Bernadette grins and nods and points at the young blonde woman behind
  the keys of an elegant grand piano for Fanna. "Her. I think this may
  be a lady named Alexandra, but I don't know for certain. All I know is
  she is also from your planet."

Fanna nods wisely as she reports, "Mama an' Papa an' Granpa take me t'
  town, an' there's lots of people theah!"

Berni grins and nods. "I'd guess there would be in a town. One of these
  days, your mama, you and me...Aunt Tammany and Aunt Shilda, if they
  want to, too...need to go to town and go shopping for proper wedding
  attire." She looks at Kevlan and smiles warmly, clearly not adverse
  to the idea any longer.

Fanna bounces, crying delightedly, "Wanna go t' town!"

Distractedly, Kevlan smiles.

Finally, Berni sets Fanna down by whirling around in a circle with the
  girl and gently tossing the child onto the bed. She grins at the
  youngster's giggles and squeals of delight, looking over her shoulder
  at Kevlan. She then spies her carisak with a soft "Ah!" brings it to
  the bed. With Fanna peering over one side of the bag's opening, she
  begins to rummage through its contents, contemplating which outfit to
  change into.

Her blue eyes bright and curious, Fanna oohs at the array of brightly
  colored offworld clothing, but her attention is seized by the black
  crystal ring on Berni's hand. She gives a little gasp, making Kevlan
  smile as he perches on the bed beside her. "That's th' pledgin' ring
  Ah gave Berni, Fanna. An' she give me this." He shows the child the
  threaded bracelet.

Bernadette smiles and sits on the edge of the bed across from uncle and
  neice, holding her hand out toward the little girl for her to get a
  better look at the ring and its crystal. "This is one of the...
  'pretty rocks'...that your Uncle Kevlan and I...'make.'" She smiles
  then points at the bracelet. "That, I wove for him."

Fanna nods very importantly as she asks, "You asked th' Star-Lady f'r a
  blessin'?" Kevlan gives the child a quiet nod; Fanna beams as she
  declares, "That'll make th' Lady happy."

Again, Berni smiles, but refrains from comment, seeing as the Star-Lady
  isn't her deity. She watches the two quietly for a moment, then stands
  up again, digging once more through her bag. After a moment, she pulls
  out a scarf she'd acquired somewhere...a light, translucent,
  shimmering silver piece of material that appears to float on the
  tiniest of air currents. She drapes the item around Fanna's shoulders
  and looks at the girl with one eye narrowed and nods. "Yep, thought
  so. It looks better on you than it ever did on me." She grins and says
  "I'd like you to have it, if you'd like to keep it, Fanna? It sets off
  your eyes nicely."

Fanna oohs, her small face lighting up at the pretty swatch of cloth.

Kevlan blinks, then smiles at Berni, and sets Fanna down on the floor.
  "Honey... go ask your mama if you c'n keep it, 'kay?"

Fanna nodnods eagerly. She says happily, "Thank you Aunt Berni!" Taking
  the scarf in her tiny fingers and waving it around to make it float,
  she scurries out of the room just as the sound of the front door
  closing downstairs signals that Danyel has come in with the gitar
  cases. Fanna's piping voice lilts up the stairs, and Danyel laughs in
  approval of her gift.

Bernadette chuckles as she watches the child scamper off and turns to
  Kevlan. "The silver in the scarf really does bring out the silver
  in her eyes." She smiles and peers more closely at his own blue
  eyes, and, after a moment, declares "You don't have any silver in
  your eyes, though."

Kevlan blushes automatically at his sweetheart's scrutiny, and mumbles,
  "M-mah eyes did... look kinda diff'rent to me aftah Ah 'dapted... "
  His eyes look as they always have to symbiont-enhanced vision, a deep,
  smoky blue, their only highlights the natural variations in shade
  anybody's eyes might have. There's some grey there in the blue... but
  not the translucent silver in little Fanna's gaze.

Bernadette hmms and thinks about this. "Well, my eyes looked different
  to me after I adapted, too, though. Then again, everything looked
  different," she says non-committally.

Kevlan looks at Bernadette, and mutters lowly, "You... saw it too?"

With one eyebrow raised, Bernadette asks "Saw what? The silver in her
  eyes?" She nods slowly then notices the somewhat peculiar expression
  on Kevlan's face. Softly she says "Well, now that you mention it,
  she displays a lot of characteristics like the woman I saw on the
  moonbase...all sparkly...like...like starlight."

Briefly, Kevlan seems startled anew, until he remembers that yes,
  Bernadette'd told him about the odd woman at the moonbase. But before
  he can say anything in reply, Tammany's voice rings out downstairs,
  "Suppah's ready! Ever'body git t' th' table!"

Bernadette frowns softly as she watches you and begins "What is it,
  Kev-" when her sentence is interrupted by Tammany's bellow. She turns
  to look out the door into the hallway.

At that, Kevlan blinks, and starts towards the door, before turning back
  and stammering, "Um... y-y-you were gonnna change?"

Bernadette blinks and nods, as if she'd almost forgotten. "Yeah..these
  are all rumpled..." And she turns to pull out a wrapped parcel. She
  gazes at it a moment then murmurs "I wonder what's in it.." She opens
  the package and inside is a very pretty floral dress. She blinks in
  surprise, then grins. "Did you order this for me?" She holds it up
  for you to see, then, stepping out of the view of anyone who might
  pass in the hallway, swiftly changes into the garment, changing shoes,
  as well.

Kevlan ducks his gaze, muttering, "Ah-Ah-Ah kinda run 'cross it when Ah
  was buyin' stuff f'r ever'body... " He grins sheepishly, glances
  modestly away as Bernadette changes clothes, and finally shyly takes
  her arm to escort her downstairs to the waiting family.

Before they leave the room, however, Bernadette steps up close to Kevlan
  and puts her hands on his shoulders, elevates herself on tiptoes and
  kisses him. "Thank you for the lovely dress, Kevlan." She grins and
  whirls over so she's standing beside him, arms linked, as they descend
  the stairs and enter the dining room.

[End log.]