Log Date: 12/27/96, 12/28/96
Log Cast:
	Tance, Kesya
Log Intro:
	Kesya As'shoriah has returned to Ballybran from a four-day stay
on Shankill Station, during which her resonance plummeted. With her usual
duo partner Shana laid up with severe injuries in the Infirmary, Kesya
has turned to Tance Vokrim instead for an escort to the Ranges, to pull
her out of thrall if need be.
	The claim she's taken Tance to amazes him when he discovers it
to be black... and the thought that Kesya trusts him enough to take him
to black crystal is overwhelming. Tance wrestles briefly but powerfully
with old habits of jealousy to black-adapted Singers... but Kesya's trust
leads him to pull her out of the thrall she'd feared. Afterwards, Kesya
opts to sleep in the vein, boggling over the strangely shy and troubled
demeanor Tance puts forth as he returns to the sled.
	Sleeping in the vein, however, is cold; some hours later, Kesya
returns to the sled to fetch a blanket, and she finds Tance in the grip of
a nightmare about the death of his lost love, Meguey Radmynn. Once he
wakes she stays with him a time, to calm him down, before returning once
more to the black crystal.
	But when the sun comes up over the vein, Kesya finds herself
compelled to leave it again, even as Tance is catapulted by the song out
of the sled. The two find one another just outside the craft, and each
Singer wrestles with the conviction that they cannot betray the trust of
the other -- till they both realize that to yield to the black's song
would not be a betrayal of trust at all. With that realization they do 
indeed yield....

----------
Eventually, the thunderous song diminishes, retreating from his senses, till 
  he has room to think again -- at least somewhat, for there yet lingers a fog 
  about his thoughts, as though someone had wrapped his mind in velvet. Tance 
  Vokrim opens his eyes, slowly realizing that he is in the bunk of a sled, 
  that the world has retreated to a peaceful silence around him... and that he 
  is warm. Cozily warm, especially on his right side. Blinking muzzily, he 
  turns his head -- and draws in a breath at the sight and scent of sea-green 
  hair in his immediate line of vision.

Kesya still sleeps, a deeper one than she's been able to have in weeks. Her 
  sea-green hair is splayed across the pillow, her cheek nestled against your 
  arm, warm body curled against yours. She looks small and frail, asleep like 
  this, her face wearing none of the professional masks she adopts day-to-day.

For a long moment, his mind blanks at what he sees before him... _who_ he sees 
  before him. Then, at last, he allows himself to wonder, _Did... did we....?_ 
  His immediate recollection is full of the overwhelming thunder of sunwarmed 
  black crystal rattling his bones, and the thought of it makes him notice how 
  his already resonant body now thrums at a higher pitch because of it. But 
  under the jumbled recollection of _music_ is a sight of blue eyes, vivid of 
  gaze, accepting... and the feel of green arms twining around his neck. What 
  came after blurs together in his head, lost in the black crystal thunder... 
  but it's enough to make him stare at the sleeping face beside him in wonder. 
  _We _did_..._

Kesya stirs, her brow creasing as she tries to stay within the comforting 
  confines of sleep. One arm escapes the blanket in a stretch, laying 
  languidly over your chest as her eyelids flutter. Her breath catches -- 
  she's not alone... it /wasn't/ a dream! Blue eyes snapping open, her head 
  turns to look at you, a slightly cautious expression on her face before she 
  actually... smiles. "Good morning."

Tance is, indeed, there -- only inches away, lying on his back under the thick 
  nest of bedclothes, looking back at you with eyes filled with amazement. 
  "Uh... hi?" he ventures, a grin quirking one corner of his mouth.

Kesya's calm blue eyes gaze at you for a long moment, her chin resting on your 
  chest. "Do you... remember what happened?" She seems a little worried, but 
  is obviously trying not to startle or alarm you.

"The, um, crystal song..." Tance begins, his own eyes still directed to your 
  face, his voice soft, warm. "We... came in here, didn't we?"

Kesya nods, her hair ticking where it strays across your chest. She pauses, 
  unmoving, until she finally asks, "You do remember what happened then. You 
  don't mind, do you?"

Still looking quite amazed, Tance cries, "No!" And he hastily, anxiously adds, 
  "Do you?"

Kesya's soft, bubbly laughter is heard as you speak. Eyes bright, she pulls 
  the blanket a little more firmly over herself and you, as the air in the 
  sled is chilly today. "No Tance, I don't mind at all." She winks at you, her 
  head resting lightly on your arm. After a long, thoughtful moment on her 
  part, she adds quietly, "I'm.. rather glad it happened."

Tance looks immediately relieved, even as he mumbles sheepishly, "I-I, um, I 
  don't think I've done that in a long time...."

The green-skinned woman beside you chuckles again, rolling towards you to give 
  you a tight hug. "And if you're anything like me this morning, you don't 
  remember much of it."

"No..." He shakes his head, earnestly, then half-grins. "Then again, girlie, I 
  don't remember much of anything most of the time."

Kesya's brows furrow as she examines the blanket over her. "You're remembering 
  more and more though, these days. Especially now that you're using that 
  datapad." She does seem to talk perhaps a little awkwardly -- it could have 
  something to do with the fact that neither of you are wearing anything under 
  that blanket. "And you remember me."

Tance replies promptly, "But you're important!" Then he blinks a little at 
  himself, as if distracted by his own words.

Kesya gets on one elbow to look at you, a small smile quirking her lips. 
  "Well, you're important too," she says softly. "I guess... I didn't realize 
  how attached I'd become to you until -- until what happened this morning." 
  She chuckles, perhaps a little more harsh than expected. "Sort of snuck up 
  on me."

The amazement redoubles in his eyes, as Tance stares up at your face just over 
  his. "I am? I mean... you are?"

Kesya nods mutely, fond amusement showing in her eyes; though she's probably 
  as surprised by this news as you are. "There's a lot more to you than you 
  know, Tance Vokrim."

Tance starts to blush. But that sudden broad grin that's coming to be familiar 
  spreads across his face, even as he mutters, "Guess you've, um, see a lot 
  more of me, aye..."

Kesya chuckles lowly, one finger softly running over a healing bruise on your 
  shoulder. "Well, that's one way to put it," she assents. "You know," she 
  adds with a devilish smile, "I'll bet /nobody/ back at JPF would recognise 
  you now." Tossing back her head with a laugh, she settles back into the 
  crook of your arm again. "Shards, I'm not even sure /I/ do!"

"Makes two of us, girlie," Tance answers, grinning crookedly. As you settle 
  down beside him again he dares to hug you, a bit. "I feel like... I'm a 
  brand new man."

Kesya returns your hug warmly, her bare arms closing around you under the 
  blanket. "Mrmm," she purrs. "That night in the vein did me good. A bit more 
  and I'll even be shocky." She starts, placing one hand flat on your chest. 
  "_Your_ resonance must be a little high now... does it feel okay?" Concern 
  flashes in her pale eyes, as she tries to acertain your resonance just by 
  shock level.

"I...." He pauses, thinking, then he nods. "I feel it all the time, now... 
  buzzin'...."

Kesya's gaze lingers on you, as it has since she's woken up beside you. It's 
  almost as though she's equally amazed to be here, and keeps trying to figure 
  it out. "I s'pose we shouldn't stay long then," she murmurs. "Unless... do 
  you want to cut some of that black? The market's right for it." Nevermind 
  the fact that the market is virtually _always_ right for black crystal.

Tance blinks. "You'd... you'd let me...."

Kesya bites her lip, eyes hooding a moment as she nods quietly. "Of course I'd 
  /let/ you. You can cut as well as I can. Do you think-" She cuts off, 
  "-Do you think it'll affect you as much as green?"

"I.... Jade, I can't remember if I've ever cut black before..." He looks at 
  you with a gaze turning anxious again, slightly helpless. Scared?

Kesya gives you another long look, and tilts her head to gently kiss you. 
  "It's your choice," she says softly, withdrawing a bit. "You can cut, which 
  may or may not affect your memory -- or we can go back to JPF now."

Tance gasps a little at that kiss; when you pull back, he lifts a hand to 
  touch callused fingertips to your cheek. Eyes still frightened, he swallows, 
  then tells you in awkward effort, "I... gotta cut, but... I'm scared."

Kesya simply nods softly, her voice just a murmur. "I know."

Tance murmurs back, "Don't wanna forget again."

Kesya settles beside you, enough so that she can hug her slim arms about your 
  shoulders. "I know," she says softly. "I -- I have no idea how black affects 
  Singers whose memories are fragile. It could do very little, since it's not 
  your colour, or it could do a lot."

"Maybe I better not cut till I find a claim... " Clearly torn, and growing 
  frustrated if the tenseness in his shoulders is any indication, Tance turns 
  to inhale the scent of your hair and press his cheek against it. "Ah, kark 
  it, it'll probably be green and mix me up again.... but I need the credits, 
  I gotta eat...!"

Kesya blinks surprisedly, raising her head to look at you. "Tance... you *do* 
  realize that by singing duo with me, you'd get half the credits from what we 
  cut? On *this* claim?"

It's amazing, the number of times your words surprise this man; he blinks 
  again, then says blankly, "You mean you wanna... _duo_?"

Kesya casts you a quizzical smile. "Well what did you *think* I meant? You're 
  done retraining."

"I'm not sure..." Does he remember his claim, almost a week ago, that no one 
  would want to duo with him? Regardless, Tance starts to grin again, 
  tentatively, "You'll help me to remember?"

Kesya nods emphatically, giving you a strong hug. "Of /course/ I will. You 
  know I always help you to do that. Do you want to make a datapad entry 
  before we start anyway, or...?" Her voice trails off, brows arching.

Tance hugs you back fiercely, murmuring first into your hair and then to your 
  face as you draw back, "Yes... an entry. I don't want to forget this 
  morning...."

Kesya chuckles huskily, sitting up on the bed as she gathers her side of the 
  blanket around her. "Well, one thing's for sure," she says lighty. "If we 
  cut well today... your half'll get you out of debt a bit."

Tance, as you sit up, blinks a bit and smiles baffledly, and then fully, to 
  you. He clambers out of bed after you, then pauses and blinks again, and 
  says plaintively, "Jade... I don't remember where my clothes are!"

Kesya peers out of the windscreen, blanket trailing behind her, her green 
  shoulders visible above the fabric. "Umm," she begins abashedly, "They're 
  outside."

Oh. Tance pauses near the bunk, then glances down at his gaunt, 
  crystal-scarred frame. A half-strangled cough escapes him, before he whirls 
  to grab a blanket himself. "I'll, um, I'll get 'em..."

Kesya stiffles a laugh, the absurdity of the moment striking her. "Well, I 
  suppose they'll be well aired..."

Tance grins a little, wrapping the blanket about himself, and then scurrying 
  outside. You can immediately hear him yell, "Nine HELLS, it's karkin' cold 
  out here..."

Kesya smothers a laugh, peering out the door. "Well, hurry then!" She points 
  to a spot not far from the sled. "There's one of your boots!"

Tance starts tossing in garments through the open hatchway. "Catch, Jade!"

Kesya makes the mistake of dropping her blanket to catch jumpsuits and 
  undershirts, and quickly gathers it up around her again. "Not so fast," she 
  laughs. Catching what she thinks is the last of it, she calls out, "That it?"

"Um... no.... this is!" And with a sudden cackle, there comes soaring straight 
  at you a fist-sized snowball.

Those blue eyes widen, as Kesya catches sight of the snowball just in time to 
  duck. But not fast enough! She gets smucked in the side of the head. "Hey," 
  she hollers out the hatch, "Not fair! Get back in here before you freeze, 
  silly!" She scrapes snow from her hair, holding it behind her back.

Grinning like a mischievous child who's just pulled off a very satisfying 
  prank, Tance lopes through the snow back into view, as he zips up his 
  shipsuit.

Kesya waits angelically by the hatch, one hand clasping the blanket around 
  her, the other mysteriously behind her back.

Tance sidles up to the sled, still grinning. "Snow," he observes happily.

Kesya smiles winningly at you, her blanket held to her with one arm as the 
  other pulls down the zipper of your jumpsuit enticingly. "I noticed," she 
  says mischievously, and stuffs the handful of snow down your suit. Of 
  course, this action makes the blanket fall again, but she's already darted 
  into the back of the sled.

Tance HOWLS, then yells out, "Come back here, you little green minx....!" He 
  scrambles into the craft after you, laughing.

A burst of giggles can be heard from the back of the sled, where Kesya has 
  secreted herself in the only place with a door on it -- the shower area. 
  "You were /asking/ for that one!"

Tance scrambles after you, calling in mock indignation, "Says you! You're just 
  like..." He rattles the handle of the door, then stops, trailing off. "Just 
  like..."

Kesya pauses, listening. "Tance?"

"Like... like... ah, _kark_...." There comes the sound of a slap, as if he's 
  hit the wall in frustration.

Kesya opens the door, blue eyes peeking around it.

Tance is now leaning against the wall of the craft, scowling. As you look out, 
  he glances round to you and tells you dejectedly, "I... I lost it!"

Kesya comes out, bare skin dark against the pale wall of the craft. She slides 
  next to you, wrapping her arms around you in a hug. "You were comparing me 
  to someone."

Tance mutters roughly, "Hate this. Hate not being able to remember."

Kesya squeezes her arms around you tighter, saying nothing, just comforting.

"Remember... I was going to... my datapad." Tance looks up from your hair.

Kesya chuckles softly, her cheek pressed against your shoulder. "You were 
  /going/ to get back at me for stuffing snow down your suit." She adds wryly, 
  "Which has melted, by the way."

Tance looks down, snorts a bit, then lifts his gaze back to you and clarifies, 
  "I was going to use my datapad..."

Kesya nods, leaving you to make her way to her shipsuit. Slipping it on, she 
  says, "You were. Do you have planned what you want to say in it yet?"

Tance shifts a bit from foot to foot, and answers ruefully, "I, um... not all 
  that good with words. Just kinda... put in what comes to me..."

Kesya grins, cocking her head at you as she reaches to tie her sea-green hair 
  back into a ponytail. "Shall I leave you some privacy while you do that? I 
  can wait in the vein."

Shyly grateful, he nods a bit. "I'll come find you....?"

Kesya nods, slinging her cutter over one shoulder as she reaches for an empty 
  carton. She almost hops with excitement at that simple motion, the first 
  step in singing her black. "Okay. I'll meet you up there then." With that, 
  she's gone from the sled.
Kesya scrounges around the inside of the sled and takes down one of the empty 
  cartons.
Carton 2 - Kesya has left.
Kesya picks up the carton, holding it carelessly.
Kesya has left.

Tance smiles, watching Kesya go.... and after she's gone, 
  he moves to his battered carisak, drawing out the datapad. He settles with 
  it down on the bunk, staring at it for a time; then, he flicks on the voice 
  input mike, and begins to address it, slowly, trying to put into words his 
  blurred memory of the morning... and your reactions to what happened, as 
  well.

Kesya makes her way to the vein, climbing carefully. Once there, 
  she sits down at the entrance and thinks about what just happened. It was a 
  surprise to wake beside Tance -- and, to reassure him, she just let herself 
  relax, to have fun with him. But at the same time -- that was remarkably 
  easy! She smiles softly to herself, as she thinks of the man in her sled. 
  The holes in his memory could ... would.. pose problems, perhaps why she's 
  subconciously held back. But now, what can she do? She's too emotionally 
  attached to do differently at this point. She'll just have to watch out for 
  him, and help him as best she can. With that in mind, she stands, turning 
  towards the crystal face. One hand reaches to stroke the crystal with a 
  gentle touch as she hums softly.

It is hard... yet, amazingly thrilling... to record the 
  most vivid memories he retains of the morning. And foremost among them are 
  Jade's not minding -- indeed, seeming quite happy -- to wake up curled in 
  his arms, and her offer to share the crystal with him. At last, his mind and 
  senses full of her presence, he closes the datapad, stows it, and reaches 
  for his cutter and a carton.

You scrounge around the inside of the sled and take down one of the empty 
  cartons.
Carton 4 - Tance is unloaded from the airsled.
You pick up the carton. It feels so light that you are sure it is empty. 

[Tance heads off into the caves, looking for Kesya, taking a careful
 route as he works to remember the right way to go.]

A flash of light catches your eye.

Crystal Vein
All about you can see freshly painted green circles, hatched with brilliant 
  neon orange.  The vein subtly sings to you in a scale of D. You catch a 
  sparkling glimmer of pure black. The crystal rings with a sweetness and 
  purity of tone. 
Contents:
Kesya
Tance clambers into the entrance of a crystal vein site.

Kesya is running one hand along the black crystal, humming softly to it, 
  listening to the variation in tone as she maps out the way it runs through 
  the rock. She doesn't notice you enter, so engrossed she is in her work.

After a time, Tance comes climbing into the cavern and then into the vein, 
  cutter slung off his shoulder, carrying an empty carton. "Jade?" he calls, 
  then pauses, drawing in his breath, as the rock face thrums in response to 
  the sound of his voice.

Kesya straightens, whirling as she hears your voice. She relaxes quickly, 
  giving a short laugh. "You startled me," she says softly, words ringing 
  musically along the crystal. "Got the datapad thing all done?"

Tance grins sheepishly, and just nods, looking awedly between you and the 
  crystal you've been caressing.

Kesya smiles coyly at you, following your gaze to the crystal. As sunlight 
  dapples softly from the crack in the cave ceiling above, the places where it 
  intersects crystal here and there show in a deep, matte black. "Beautiful, 
  isn't it?" She breathes the words, softly.

Tance comes up beside you, gazing along the rock. He nods, slowly and 
  reverently, to your question.

Kesya blinks then, going back to her surveyal of the crystal, her slim fingers 
  running along faint ridges. "Black claims always tend to be small... or, 
  those are just the ones I find. They tend to skip around a lot and play 
  games with you." She turns, winking over her shoulder, playfully. She's 
  obviously in high spirits today. "But I've found you get more credit taking 
  it slow, cutting smaller crystals and making more groupings."

"I get... impatient," Tance tells you, suddenly, seeming unsure whether to 
  grin or frown. "Cut big."

The green-skinned singer beside you chuckles softly, her blue gaze flicking to 
  you momentarily. "Mrrmm... black /hates/ that." Her fingers gently run over 
  the soapy surface of sun-warmed crystal behind her. "Taking your time with 
  it, feeling it, cutting small, precice groupings... quality goes up that way 
  too." She pauses, head cocked to one side as she sings softly, in D. The 
  crystal repsonds, gently chiming in reply.

Tance catches his breath, listening, as the sound ripples through the air.

Kesya sways a bit, holding the note until the sound tapers away. Standing in 
  the silence a few moments more, she revels in the vein before her before 
  turning to you again. "Want to get started?" One hand reaches towards you, 
  to grasp yours encouragingly.

Tance turns to you, reaching to grasp your fingers in reply; with a warm 
  smile, he nods. "Show me," he answers.

Kesya's delighted smile spreads across her face in reply, her eyes lighting at 
  your words. Gesturing to the top left section of the crystal before you, she 
  unslings her cutter. "Same as before, only we'll try to cut smaller, and try 
  to make as much a matched grouping as possible. I think a planet system has 
  recently asked for a nice chord, but we'll see what we can get."

Nodding firmly, Tance murmurs, "A switch... nobody wants green..." But he 
  sounds amused, as he powers on his cutter, too.

[The two of them get to work, cutting the initial crystals....]

Kesya's hands only caress the dark pyramid for the briefest of seconds, before 
  she takes up her cutter again.

Tance pauses a moment or two, grinning amazedly, as your voice and his 
  resonate off the face of the black crystal.

[Soprano and tenor voices blending with the crystal's rumble, the Singers
 finish off an octave....]

"I'm cuttin' black, Jade!" Tance's voice rings out between notes, and he grins 
  widely to you after the octave is packed.

Kesya turns off her cutter, resting a moment as she closes the lid over the 
  full carton. Perspiration lines her brow, even in the chilly weather. "My," 
  she starts with a rueful smile, "Nothing exhausts me like cutting /this/ 
  stuff." She stops to watch you a moment, a fond smile on her face. "Not only 
  that, you're doing it well!"

Tance pants as he takes a break as well, shaking his head a bit to let his 
  breath return. He lifts his free hand to scrub it across his eyes, before 
  observing, "Head's buzzin'...."

Kesya lays a hand across your cheek, brows furrowed as she tries to assess how 
  charged you are. "Hrm... how do you feel? I s'pose we should finish tonight, 
  so we can get you back to a radiant tub."

*Zap.* There's a palpable tingle as you make contact with his gaunt cheek. 
  "I'm.... a little muzzy, girlie... talk to me, don't let me forget?"

Kesya's eyes widen a bit, and she bites her lip. "Okay. We'll finish this up 
  and go. I don't want you able to run electonics off your fingers before 
  we're out of here."

[Kesya goes off to fetch another carton, then...]

Tance nods, seeming to recover from his slight daze. "Keep talkin' to me, 
  Jade... tell me what we did before we got here?"

Kesya turns towards the crystal face, re-setting her cutter. "Only a few more 
  crystals left to this vein anyway," she guesses. Then she stops, turning to 
  you a moment. "Here, as in, this vein?" She points towards her feet.

Tance lifts his cutter back into position, nodding to you as he does. 
  "Snowball fight," he says suddenly, grinning a bit, his voice sounding 
  slightly slurred.

Kesya's beaming smile is sudden as you speak, obviously thrilled that you 
  remember that little escapade. Before you get a chance to cut, she ducks 
  towards you to kiss your cheek, and then goes back to examine the crystal 
  face. "You're right," she says giddily. "You're absolutely right!"

[Kesya then happily resumes cutting a couple more of the pyramids....]

There is another little *zap* as you kiss him, and Tance grins hugely and 
  foolishly at you before remembering... you're singing. He needs to sing, 
  too.... and he does, tenor coming out on F sharp.

Kesya grasps the full carton, heading out of the vein to fetch another.

[The two Singers continue to cut, when Kesya returns....]

Tance stands beside you, cutter vibrating in his hands, sending a clearly 
  pitched whine into the air along with your mingled voices. Gradually, 
  though, you can see him getting somewhat more groggy of eye.... and even 
  without touching him, there grows an increasingly palpable crackle in the 
  air around his person.

[Kesya cuts one more crystal, and then...]

Kesya pauses as she feels something beside her, a charge to the air. "Tance?

Tance's cutter droops a bit in his grasp, and he blinks unsurely at the rock 
  face before him.

Kesya quickly turns off her cutter, slinging it over her shoulder. "Tance, you 
  okay?" She goes to your side, breath catching at the sizzle of resonance 
  about you. "Tance!"

Tance slowly turns his head to you, looking rather more notably dazed, now.

Kesya bites her lip, pale blue eyes worried. "We have to get you out of this 
  vein, back to a tub." She takes your hand, a carton in the other, and pulls 
  you towards the vein entrance. "We can come back later for the rest. C'mon, 
  you're buzzing far more than I like."
Carton 5 - Kesya has left.
Kesya picks up the carton, holding it securely to her chest.
Kesya sets the carton down with care.

"Leave... leave the black?" His hand *zaps!*, as you grasp it, and when your 
  fingers close about his, there's a continuous current that seems to flow 
  into yours.

Kesya bites her lip in an effort not to become distracted by the dizzying 
  effect of the current between the two singers, and she nods, though her gaze 
  goes regretfully to the crystal face. "Yes Tance, we're leaving it. 
  You're... you're more important. It'll stay here until we can get back."

Tance smiles foggily to you, and allows you, then, to pull him onward.

Kesya has left.
Kesya has arrived.
Kesya makes her way out of the immediate vein area.

[To be continued.....]