Log Date: 9/27/98 Log Cast: Maelle, Shenneret Veery, Kaein, Rodo, Ariani (NPC), Alyndraya, Jessalyn Valios, Cardain, Venus DarkStar Log Intro: It's a strangely vulnerable Shenner who's been showing up for nightly singing at the Sandbar the last few days, much to the general bemusement of the bartender Ariani and the other five members of Rekkie Sheldon's band... ever since that odd conversation she was spotted having in the Sandbar along with the mysterious blond-haired young man Shenner has refused to identify as anything but 'my friend Luke'. Grateful as she might be to the Sandbar's staff for taking her under their wing, Shen isn't prepared in the slightest to elaborate to them on the details of her personal problems... and thus, she bears as best she can the mounting curiosity of Ariani and her fellow musicians when she shows up for practice or study or actual performance. It's a particularly potent curiosity, what with Shenner's last conversation with Luke having resulted in the inexplicable urge to stumble straight to Rekkie's house, collapse on the nearest flat surface she could find, and sleep, soundly, dreamlessly... a sleep that wound up lasting a whole day. Bemused by the downtime even as she ruefully acknowledges to herself that she needed it, Shen can't quite help but keep bugging Ariani about whether 'her friend Luke' has shown up again in the bar.... ---------- Maelle hunches over a datapad, reading something. Her attention completely fixed on what she does. A solitary redheaded figure in the rain, Shenner makes her way through the square, at a pace apparently undaunted by the weather. She heads for the Sandbar nevertheless -- casually walking she might be, indoors is her destination. You enter the Sandbar. The Sandbar A large circular room creates the main part of Caspar's infamous SandBar. Dark wood paneled walls adorned with all sorts of paraphanalia set the relaxed athmosphere of the bar. Photographs and holovids are pinned randomly around, seemingly with no order at all. Posters from years past hang proudly, displaying obscure bits of Plaxton's recent history. Several windows made from a deep blue glass allow light in from outside, while still keeping the appearance of the bar rather dark. Along one curved wall a marble bar stands proudly, where Ariani busies herself making drinks and cleaning occational spots of the bar. There is an abundant amount of seating in here. You notice quite a few booths and tables, as well as a loft which protrudes out over the bar. A popular local band plays smooth jazz in the background. ----For help with tables, type "PLACE HELP" ----For help with drinks, type "BAR HELP" -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => Kaein => Ariani => Emma -=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=- leads to Fountain Square - Plaxton City. Kaein is sitting at his usual table, on the far side of the establishment, sipping occasionally from a small glass of water and not looking around much. Rodo enters the Sandbar. Rodo has arrived. Rodo walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Rodo has left. Quite, quite wet, Shenner slips in from outside, the evidence of current rain visible and dripping from her person. She shoves a hand through her hair to get strands of damp russet out of her eyes, and upon her entry, is immediately greeted by the bartender. "Shen," Ariani calls out, a little startled, "what're you doing, swimming in your clothes, kid?" "It's raining," says the young musician by way of understatement, grinning a little, sheepishly. Kaein looks up breifly at the small commotion, grinning at the soaked shenner for a moment before returning to his glass, taking a long sip and looking out side to see the intensity of the rain... "Well, get over here and let me get something hot in you before y'all rehearse," Ariani says briskly, turning to get the younger woman some tea. Shenner gratefully parks herself on a stool, and as Ariani busies herself the bartender adds, "You find that friend of yours yet, kid?" Shenner can be seen to pause, and then to shyly shake her head. "No... I guess Luke's kinda busy." It's not the biggest of downpours outside, but still, it's raining fairly steadily. Long accustomed to the faint noise of weather, Ariani has far more of her attention on getting the Sandbar's youngest musician warm and dry, or at east warm. A big steaming mug of tea is set down before Shen, and along with it is proferred, "Well, I'll keep an eye out for him for ya, and that other friend of yours, too. Just warn me if you're adding to your collection of weird friends, huh kid?" Shenner grins sheepishly and nods, delving into the tea. Ariani then wanders off to attend to another soaked customer coming in from outside, while Shen turns her attention to surveying the bar. Kaein stays in his seat, taking another sip of his water and crunching on a few ice cubes while he looks out the window. "Heya, Kaein," Shenner calls over to the young Horansi by way of greeting. Kaein's ears perk at the soundof his name, He turns to look over and seeing shenner he grins "Hiya Sehn! why you all wet? swiming in the fountian?" he asks "It's raining," Shen points out, nodding her still-damp head off towards the door. Her hands are gratefully cradling the big mug of tea, though, and tendrils of steam rise off it to curl around her face as she takes her time drinking it down. Alyndraya enters the Sandbar. Alyndraya has arrived. Alyndraya walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Alyndraya has left. Kaein grins "well then you should really try it some time" the cub says witha hint of mischeif in his voice "it is a quite alot of fun" Shenner gulps down another swallow of her tea, and lets out a sharp, short husky laugh. "Well, I can't swim worth a karkin' damn, but it's shallow, maybe that'd be okay...!" A small crowd files into the bar, and Jessalyn is among them. She's guided to an empty stool once there's a break in the bustle, and stands nearby it as she turns to scan the room with her eyes. Shenner can be seen, looking rather damp, on one of the other stools. She's sitting facing a young Horansi over at a table, and has a big steaming mug of tea in her hands. Kaein grins and lets out a small chuckle also "Well theres no better place to learn" he says with a lopsided smile.. Jessa does spot Shenner, and she smiles with relief. Abandoning the stool she'd just acquired, she makes her way in the girl's direction. "Have a good swim?" she asks as she draws nearer. Shenner snorts, but not unkindly; there's an ease somewhere in her bearing that hasn't been there in the last several days, seeming to gentle the usually gruff musician somehow. "Maybe some time soon," she muses. "She better not go ducking in the fountain, at least not in the rain," Ariani puts in, in between serving up the new incoming customers. "Rekkie's already worried about you wearing yourself out, kid, don't go getting yourself a cold on top of everything else..." She pauses, though, as Jessalyn approaches the girl, and grins a bit. Shenner blinkblinks, turning around, and blurting, "Jessalyn...! Oh, uh, it was just rainin' outside, see..." Kaein grins at shenner and looks to ariani "yes'm" Jessalyn grins widely and tilts her head, brushing a few drops of rain off her own clothes. "It looks like you were out in a flood," she chuckles. Nodding a welcome to Kaein, she claims a stool next to Shenner and rolls her shoulders as if to loosen her muscles. "It rains a lot on this planet," Shenner murmurs, looking abruptly shy. Then she goes on -- if she's shy, she's trying to wrestle with it -- "Uh, you want some tea or somethin'? Hey, uh, Ariani...?" She waves at the bartender, pointing uncertainly at the older woman who's joined her. Jessa glances over at Ariani and says, "Just juice, thank you." As the bartender goes off to fill the order, Jessa turns to face Shenner more fully, resting her hands in her lap. "How have you been since I last saw you?" Shenner nibbles on her lower lip a little, apparently wrestling with a proper reply. "I been... more or less okay," she mutters, sounding sheepish. "Aside from working herself silly singing and studying," puts in Ariani dryly, bringing the requested juice. "Shen's about drunk our entire supply of coffee." "'Ani!" Shenner protests, starting to turn pink. Raising her brows, Jessalyn regards Shenner thoughtfully. "I don't see why that's so embarrassing," she points out mildly, taking the glass from Ariani. "You should be proud of your persistence. Not to mention your talent." "Shen's got persistence in spades, she just doesn't know when to do things like, oh, say, sleep," drawls the bartender, before wandering off to tend to another customer. "I did so sleep," mutters Shenner in embarrassment. _Well, okay, I slept for nearly a whole day, but, weeeeeell..._ Then she peeks sidelong at Jessalyn and admits, "'Ani's just, well, er... bein' kinda motherly, I guess. I been... kinda ragged." "Hmmm...." Jessalyn eyes her old friend, but makes the decision not to pry. She swirls the ice around in her glass of juice and takes a long sip. "I think you can take care of yourself," she muses. Shenner lifts a hand up to fidget a bit with the necklace hanging at her throat, while plastering on a lopsided smile. "Yeah well, I been doin' okay... just got a coupla things I gotta work out, is all. I... er... been talkin' to Luke some..." Jessalyn sets down her glass and stares down at it for a moment before smiling again. "Ahh, did you run into him? I haven't seen him in a few days." Shenner nods slowly, her voice dropping down some in volume, perhaps to keep from attracting the attention of the bartender. "Yeah... he came in a coupla nights ago, we been talkin', I..." The girl pauses, then mutters, "... kinda needed... need some help." Cardain enters the Sandbar. Cardain has arrived. "Help from Luke?" Jessa muses, not looking overly surprised. She turns her glass around in her hands and purses her lips thoughtfully. "I'm almost afraid to ask what about." Cardain looks about briefly as if looking for someone... Cardain walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Cardain has left. Shenner mutters hesitantly, "It's... Force stuff." Something in Jessalyn's expression tightens, and she glances up at Shenner almost nervously, catching the girl's gaze with the force of her own. "I see. Well... he would be the one to go to for... that." Shenner bites at her lower lip again, looking distinctly uneasy... and now, uncertain, not knowing the meaning of the look she's seeing in the older woman's eyes. Suddenly wondering if she's dealt some offense without knowing why, she mumbles, "'Msorry..." Venus enters the Sandbar. Venus has arrived. "Whatever for?" Jessa says as she straightens her shoulders and manages a smile. "It's merely the truth." The smile firms, and she sets her glass aside, finally relinquishing Shenner's gaze. With her usual look of exhaustion and enigmatic smile, Venus enters the Sandbar, her refuge from the government factory. She nods to Ariani, her faithful friend, who immediately begins mixing a potent mixture of liquids. She surveys the room and smiles warmly to the familiar face of Jessalyn, nodding her head respectfully. Shenner, still bothered without quite understanding why, fiddles with her necklace some more, turning the small silver-and-brass double ring about repeatedly in her slender fingers. As she does, she mutters to the woman beside her at the bar, "Well, see.... Sinjon said I oughtta talk to Luke 'cause of what happened to me on Mandalore..." But, seeing Venus glance Jessa's way, she trails off. "Oh," Jessalyn replies succinctly, not understanding in the least. Her expression shows her bafflement, but she smooths her features when she notices Venus nodding to her, and inclines her own head in her direction. "Then... that's the best thing to do...." Realizing the awkwardness of her presence amidst the serious conversation of the two ladies, Venus quickly takes her glass to a dark corner in the back of the bar. A look of disappointment registers in her eyes for a moment, having wanted to spark a bit of company in the evening, but is quickly replaced with her ever present enigmatic smile. Venus dissapears among the patrons. Shenner blinks her big green eyes a time or two, glancing from the unfamiliar woman to Jessalyn and back again. "Yeah, I hope," she mutters softly to Jessalyn in the meantime, "I mean, I don't even really remember. Er. Uh... friend of yours?" She nods her head back towards the disappearing figure of Venus. "An old associate," Jessalyn answers Shenner in a low voice, absently brushing back the short locks of hair falling over her eyes. "I guess you haven't told me about what happened. So I'm a little confused." Shrugging, she smiles more gently at her friend and touches her shoulder. "But if you've got Luke helping you, then you're in good hands." Having finished the drink, and under the spell of the potion, Venus slips out of the booth. No reason to stay. More company at work, which is where she would be anyhow. She smiles to Jessalyn, offering a polite bow of the head and nods her head at the increasingly familiar face of Shenner, adding a touch of concern for the conflict that seems to surround her at the moment. Her only verbalization is a tone just above a whisper to Ariani, "Thank you." accompanied with a hefty tip. One end of Shen's mouth curls up in a shy half-smile. "Yeah, well, it's like..." She pauses, smiling a little unsurely at Venus as the woman approaches again. Venus walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Venus has left. It takes Shenner several moments of relative quiet in her and Jessalyn's immediate vicinity -- Ariani, it seems, has developed a sense for when the Sandbar's young guitar player is dealing with the mysterious problems that have been plaguing her and is keeping discreetly out of the way -- before she goes on in a low mumble, "Well, it's like this, see...? Somethin'... happened... on Mandalore, and I don't remember it, but I got real sick. I met this Horansi, Sinjon Teague, he's like a..." She pauses, looking for the appropriate word. "Mashi. He tried to... fix me, but said he couldn't do it and I oughtta talk to Luke..." By the time she finishes relaying all this, her voice has dropped down to the breathiest of whispers. Maelle enters the Sandbar. Maelle has arrived. Maelle walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Maelle has left. ---------- [Shenner and Jessa's conversation is not allowed to continue, however, as Jessalyn's player unexpectedly had to disconnect. The Author assumes, therefore, that Shenner was called off by the arrival of Rekkie to join in the nightly performance of the band, leaving Jessalyn to return at another time. And thus, end log.]