Log Date:
	8/25/98

Log Cast:
	Avalyshaar Laarken, Shenneret Veery, Nelun Good

Log Intro:
	Shenner's third encounter with the bizarre vagabond Nelun has
turned out rather more violent than the first two. She has stumbled across
Nelun about to be arrested, has tried to intervene in the arrest only to
have them both caught in the crash of the skiff taking them to the local
law enforcement station, has herself been wounded in that crash... and has
been dismayed and discomfited to find out that somehow, Nelun has discovered
the existence of Paul. He's also claimed to the hospital personnel that he
is her brother, 'Paul Veery' -- but also has fled at the first sign of
the Coral City police approaching the medical center, intent on tracking
down the two who'd been in the crash.
	Shen has been left to confront the police on her own. She's managed
to stick by the claim that Nelun is her cousin, and has expanded on the
tale to add that his full name is 'Nelun Paul Vaarsen'... and has added,
truthfully enough, that the man is in some kind of trouble she doesn't
understand. The police, with nothing on which to hold her in regards to the
skiff crash, have reluctantly left her to her own business... and although
Shen still feels shaky two days later, she has insisted upon and succeeded
in being released from the medical center.
	Now, determined to find out the truth of whatever trouble Nelun
has gotten himself into this time, the girl has begun combing the city....

----------
Avy enters the gardens, arriving from Coral Avenue.
Avy has arrived.

There is no doubt in Shenner's head that the doctor who'd fused shut that 
  wound in her back would be sorely displeased that she's been combing the 
  city for hours since her discharge from the hospital -- _but it ain't like I 
  have much of a choice,_ the girl muses darkly. After having invented what 
  excuses she could to get past the officers who'd shown up at the medical 
  center looking for Nelun, the young musician has been bent on finding her 
  bizarre acquaintance before the local law enforcement does. But so far she's 
  had no luck. Wary of being followed, less on her own behalf than on the 
  grounds that any pursuit of hers might drive Nelun further into hiding, Shen 
  has ventured into the Coral Gardens, and now stalks its pathways, trying to 
  search the place as unobtrusively as possible.

In a true 'Tourist' style, Avy wanders into the gardens, taking in the sights 
  and sounds that surround her. A slim datapad in her hand, she taps out some 
  occational thought, but seems to be quite at ease in her current foriegn 
  surrounding. She finds home on one of the benches nearby and sits quietly to 
  'humanoid watch' for awhile. Her eyes catch the slender and somewhat 
  familiar girl for a moment...Trying to place the pale face somewhere in the 
  maps of her past.

Avy
        Avy is a tall, slender human female. She has steel-grey eyes that seem 
  to sparkle, and long red, wavy hair that falls to her mid-back. At a second 
  glance, you see light brown spots that begin at her temples and run behind 
  her ears & down the back of her neck. She wears a loose-fitting charcoal 
  gray flight suit. Her left ringfinger is home to a sparkling diamond and 
  emerald wedding ring, ajoined with a thicker, lusterous gold band. Low, hard 
  black boots adorn her feet, and you notice a slender golden chain that 
  hangsfrom her neck. A rare Alderaanian Star Emerald hangs from the chain & 
  sparkles mischiviously.

Finally, footsore, cranky, and weary, Shenner eases herself stiffly down onto 
  a stretch of grass, and tries to stretch out her sore shoulders. The wound 
  in her back is aching, and she grimly muses that if she doesn't want to 
  overstrain her still-healing flesh, she'd better stay put, at least for a 
  little bit. Restlessly, she pulls the battered black flute bag off her 
  shoulder, and slides the instrument within out. Her green gaze turns 
  anxious, as she slides her fingertips up and down the flute; it's undamaged, 
  she notes with relief. After a time she lifts it to her lips, blowing a few 
  soft notes through the thing, just to be sure.

Already having let the flame-haired girl out of her sight, Avy manages to 
  allow herself to forget about the hankering feeling that she's seen that 
  face somewhere before...That is until the soft, unmistakeable notes from the 
  flute drift to her ears. The immediate connection of where she has heard 
  that music before clicks in her flight-weary mind, and her head snaps up to 
  hunt for the creator of the tune visually. _The Alderaan_ She remebers. _The 
  young boy played the flute wonderfully..._ As her eyes settle again on the 
  young redheaded patron of the Gardens, her brows burrow uncomfortably. "I 
  know that he was...a he.." she muses barely out loud. "But..."

The song begins, a slow, plaintive kind of melody, with rich breathy notes.... 
  but it doesn't last very long before the flute player, with a muttered oath, 
  lowers the instrument again. Her features are drawn into taut lines, and she 
  scans the park once more, fingertips flicking restlessly over the dark 
  wooden flute's holes.

Studying the slender musician for a while more, noticing the subtle 
  simalarities to the young boy that she met on the Alderaan, Avy becomes 
  unable to contain herself much longer. "Must be his sister." she ponders, 
  standing and slipping the datapad into a side pocket. Several stride later, 
  she approaches the girl slowly, and kneels down by her. "I...I'm sorry to 
  intrude..." she begins softly. "But I heard you playing your flute...It's 
  beautiful." continuing awkwardly. "I was wondering if you..possibly had a 
  brother? I met a boy awhile back..." she muses, smiling. "On a ship that I 
  was on. He had hair and features similar to your own, and played the flute 
  as well..."

Shenner had intended to get up, and is in fact in the process of doing so, 
  before the approach of the older woman stops her in mid-rise. "I ain't got a 
  brother," she says brusquely, her face crinkling in slight bemusement. "You 
  must be mistakin' me for somebody else, lady..."

Avy's face falls for a moment, before returning to a smile. "Ah..." she 
  conclues. "I'll have to contact Jessalyn and see if she knows whatever 
  happened to that boy." she says, more to herself then really being directed 
  towards the girl. "I'm sorry for bothering you." she announces gently before 
  standing and stepping out of the way of the girl's exit.

Shenner blinks. "Jessalyn?" she repeats, beginning to rise to her feet after 
  all, the flute lowering in her hand. "Jessalyn.... who?"

Avy cocks her head to the side, suprise filling her own eyes as well. 
  "Jessalyn...Valios?" she says, a bit taken aback. "She's a Major with the 
  New Republic...Or she used to be."

The name clearly means something to the flute player. Her eyes widen, and she 
  then lets out a long, shuddering breath. She glances down at her feet for a 
  moment, looking as if she's steadying herself; when she looks up again, 
  there's a narrow, crooked smile curving the girl's mouth. "Don't bother 
  callin' her up," she says gruffly. "I don't think Jessalyn knows where I am."

The big gray eyes looking towards the girl widen a bit themselves, looking 
  quite a bit more surprised now. Surprise begins to melt into confusion, and 
  she begins to speak, but finds that she isn't exactly sure of what to say. 
  She blinks once more and attempts to try again - "Do...Should...." she 
  stutters, before sighing a smidge exasperatedly. "Should I know you?" she 
  inquires, raising an eyebrow.

"My name's Shenner," the flute player says, an odd mix between sheepish and 
  gruff.

Avy stands up straight and jams her hands in her pockets, peering at Shenner 
  thoughtfully for awhile. "Shenner." She finally manages. "You were the flute 
  player on the Alderaan?" she checks. "I was sure you were a boy..." she 
  swares, still trying to justify it to herself, it seems.

"I was... pretendin'," the girl says tersely, reaching down for the flute bag 
  on the ground, to slide her instrument within. "Long 'n' complicated story."

Avy arches a red brow before beginning to laugh softly. She smiles and nods. 
  "I see... I'm Avalyshaar Laarken. Though, chances are, you wouldn't remember 
  me by that name, if you remember me at all. I was a doctor who boarded the 
  Alderaan with a Caspian ship... And was going by the name of Avalyne 
  Ambrosen..." she pauses. "I guess you could say that I was pretending, 
  too..."

"You're the President of Caspar," the young flute player says abruptly, 
  recognition in those green eyes.

The woman's head begins to bob in affirmation, but she stops it abruptly. 
  "I..I was.. Until recently. I stepped out of office a little while back." 
  she miles awkwardly. "But, I was...for a good long while."

The girl -- definitely a girl, no doubt about it -- called Shenner seems to 
  consider this, her features holding an ever so slightly awkward expression. 
  Undoubtedly, she's not exactly used to holding conversations with 
  presidents, or even ex-ones. "Oh," she says after a moment. Her flute back 
  in her bag, she slings the thing over her shoulder, though the movement's 
  ever so slightly stiff. "So, um. Playin' tourist or what?"

A warm chuckle escapes Avy's mouth as she nods. "Yup." she says casually, 
  looking around the gardens again. "I just kind of got into my ship and 
  left... Haven't been able to do that in awhile... The husband is in Imperial 
  territory for some unknown amount of time, and I just decided to get away. I 
  won't stay away from Caspar for long though." she chuckles. "Seems like no 
  matter where in the Slice I go, I always end up back there. How about you?" 
  she asks, suddenly turning the conversation's tables. "Just system hopping?"

Shenner shifts her weight from foot to foot, subtly, a kind of just barely 
  perceptible uneasiness about her. "Uh, well," she begins. Then she pauses, 
  and then she goes on again, "I been livin' here a while, mostly. Uh, look -- 
  not to interrupt an ex-president, but you ain't happened to see a guy around 
  the park, have ya?" She holds up a hand to just over her head. "'Bout my 
  head, brown hair, scruffy-lookin', got a beard?"

Avy casts her own eyes to the ground uncomfortably, the ex-president quip 
  seeming to add a little to her own uneasieness. She shakes her head, though 
  and frowns. "Nope...I jut set foot on planet, acctually..." She says. "No 
  one of that description rings a bell..." Her nose crinkling as she thinks. 
  "Not at all. But... If I see 'im..."

"Thanks," says Shenner, her voice still low and brusque. She considers the 
  woman before her through speculatively narrowed eyes, and then slowly adds, 
  "Uh... have you... seen Jessalyn Valios lately?"

Avy frowns and shakes her head, brushing her hair out of her face as she does 
  so. "No... Not since I got married.. and that was a year ago or so...And I 
  only saw her breifly there - She exited pretty quick. She doesn't go to 
  Caspar often anymore. It's not a great place for her." she sighs.

"Oh," is Shen's short and gruff reply. She chews on her lip for a moment, then 
  allows, "I... ain't seen her in a while myself."

A frown is prominant on Avy's lips as she nods. "I'm going to try to get in 
  touch with her...Last I heard, she was only a couple'a jumps away from here. 
  If I do, I'd be glad to let you know. I should be on Calamari for awhile." 
  After a short pause, she continues. "I'm just going to stay on my ship in 
  the starport..." she shrugs. "If you wanna get ahold of me to see about 
  Jess."

Shenner straightens, perhaps conscious of her own awkward demeanor and trying 
  to do something about it. She smiles once more, a narrow crooked sort of 
  smile, but not an unkind one. "I'd like that, yeah... I got... some personal 
  business I gotta take care of, and she might be able to help me."

Avy grins. "Sure. Here." she says, fishing a slim datacard from her pocket. 
  She flips it over and pops it into her datapad, and punches some buttons. 
  Popping the card back out, she hands it to Shenner. One side seeming to be a 
  typical Datacard, reading an ex-President Laarken's information for an 
  office she no longer occupies. On the other side, "The Flight of Fancy" is 
  scrawled. "This is the name of my ship. I'll try'n let you know before I go 
  if I don't hear from her by then."

"Thanks," says Shen, accepting the card, looking it over, and then slipping it 
  into a pocket. "'Preciate it...." She's still wearing that slightly lopsided 
  smile, her previous awkwardness gone or else hidden.

Recognising the bit of relaxation in Shenner, Avy smiles. "No problem. It's 
  nice to see you again. And it's great to see that you still are playing. 
  Your flute playing is one of the best memories I have from that particular 
  trip."

"Nice to know my audience liked me," the girl drawls. But that might be a 
  glimmer of pleasure lurking somewhere in those green eyes.

Avy laughs. "Indeed we did." she beams. "Kaley Recourua was with me when you 
  played... and we talked about it many times afterwards. I'd say you aquired 
  two fans that day. We didn't think we'd ever see you again."

_Really?_ The thought sparks a kind of warmth in the back of Shenner's mind, 
  and it has a subtle but noticeable effect on her expression, too, broadening 
  the smile, though it doesn't seem to quite touch her eyes. "Glad to hear it. 
  Like to know people like hearin' me play..."

Avy nods, her own smile widening. "If you ever make it Caspar-way, I know a 
  few people who would love to hear you play. I know it's quite a ways from 
  here...But, you know... if you do."

_Caspar..._ _That_ thought twinges off an entirely different thought in 
  Shenner's mind -- bringing a flash of a beach on Caspar's shores, and a 
  particular Corellian she'd just rather not think about at the moment. 
  Unconsciously, she lifts a hand to the silver-and-brass necklace dangling at 
  her throat, and as she fidgets with it, she says slightly less casually than 
  before, "Uh, well, I guess I wouldn't mind droppin' by again, maybe if I, 
  uh, find my friend..."

Pretty much obliviously, Avy nods. "Of course...of course. When you do, let me 
  know..I'm a pretty easy person to find in Plaxton. I run the bar down there 
  these days... gives me something to do."

"Oh... a bar, huh...?" Despite that uneasiness lurking in the back of her 
  brain, the idea sparks Shen's interest a little, and she allows, "It's a 
  nice planet... I, uh, been there."

"Yeah...the SandBar. It's been there as long as I can remember..." Avy 
  continues. "It's a nice place...Plaxton. Not to bad, as far as cities go, 
  anymore. Nice lack of militaristic presence which makes most people 
  comfortable." She shrugs. "But the 'Bar is gaining it's popularity again... 
  and we're adding a menu and some things like that."

Polite social noises. This is called conversation, street rat. Practice it, 
  it won't hurt... Shenner smiles crookedly. "Uh, well, sounds good." She's 
  still fidgeting with that pendant, and perhaps, just perhaps, seems slightly 
  at a loss for further commentary.

The air lingers silently for awhile, as Avy, too, seems to realize that she's 
  bombarding this kid she hardly knows with details of her daily life. 
  "Well...get in touch." she smiles. "I'll start looking for Jess. And If and 
  when I find 'er, I'll let you know. Ya know where I am." she nods. "I'll 
  look for you soon." Jamming her hands back in her pockets, she nods a 
  goodbye with a smile, and begins to turn from Shenner, back to where she was 
  perched before.

Shen lets the woman go, only waiting until the former president has turne dher 
  back before letting out a soundless breath. _Well.... run into the damndest 
  people. Maybe if this keeps up,_ she muses wildly, _I'll run into Luke 
  anyway....!_ For now, though, she settles for speaking up with, "Uh, sure... 
  and thanks again..._ And once she's waved, she edges off... and resumes her 
  search across the park. _Nelun, where the -kark- are ya...?!_

[And later....]

Calamari Coral City -- Coral Gardens
With one glance it is impossible to drink in the wonderous sight before you. 
  What was once an ocean has receded, leaving in plain view one of nature's 
  architectural masterpieces, a coral reef, it's creamy pink shapes silently 
  jutting into the air. Surrounding the coral are benches, water fountains and 
  lush trees, providing plenty of shady spots under which to rest. Here 
  children are seen scurrying about, their parents keeping a close watch, 
  their laughter harmonizing with the sound of falling water and the chirping 
  of birds. Some people can be seen enjoying a pleasant conversation, 
  refreshing themselves with the fountain's cool sparkling water, strolling by 
  the sidewalk or simply admiring the reef. The Coral Gardens also serves as a 
  meeting place for merchants or business persons who prefer the tranquility 
  of the locale to discuss potential trades or to work out differences. To the 
  east the faint sounds of the busy Coral Avenue can be heard.
                 -=-=-=-=-=-=<<Real Objects>>=-=-=-=-=-=-
=> Nelun_Good
=> Coral Sculpture
                  -=-=-=-=-=<<Visible exits>>=-=-=-=-=-
 <East> leads to Calamari Coral City -- North Coral Avenue.

It's been several hours since her inadvertant meeting with the woman who'd 
  once been President of Caspar, a meeting from which Shenner hasn't still 
  quite recovered. But she hasn't let herself dwell on the daunting prospect 
  that she knows far more planetary and galactic power figures than a street 
  rat of her standing has any right to -- she's got other matters on her mind 
  at the moment, first and foremost trying to fathom where in the karkin' nine 
  hells Nelun might have vanished to. She has searched as much of the northern 
  quadrant of the city as she could cover in one day, and now, her feet and 
  bandaged back aching, bleary from exhaustion, the girl has returned to the 
  Coral Gardens in the hopes that the man just might have snuck back here when 
  she wasn't looking. But truth be told, she's almost too tired to care, and 
  once she reaches a bench not far away from the bubbling fountain, she 
  collapses onto it, her flute bag across her lap. _Gah._

What is she doing? Ducked behind the large outcropping coral reef, Nelun 
  watches Shenner, or possibly Kiriel. Or perhaps, neither. Noticing the girl 
  has flopped over the other side of the park piques the man, now 
  semi-irrecognizable with his shorn beard and cleaner attire. Why is she 
  _out_ of the hospital? And why is _here again_? After all that has conspired 
  and placed in front of the girl, it's difficult for Nelun to understand why 
  she thinks returning to the park is any more relaxing than returning to, 
  well anywhere else. Yet, Nelun wonders why he's followed her all this way, 
  and what she's doing...

What the redheaded, worn-looking girl is doing is slumping ungracefully and 
  wearily on that bench, her head slumped along its back. She's got one hand 
  shoved up through her hair, and the other fidgeting restlessly with the 
  silver-and-brass pendant that appears to be a standard part of her attire. 
  Relaxed she most assuredly does not appear. Her face is drawn into taut 
  lines that do not rest well on her youthful visage. And after a time, she 
  sits up stiffly, her head dropping forward into her hands, as she starts 
  pulling her hair out of what's left of its braid.

_Now_ what's she doing? Gack! Squinting at Shenner is difficult, given how 
  that metallic peice of jewelry tends to flash brightly in all directions, as 
  Nelun promptly discovers from behind the reef. He's been taking the liberty 
  of shade and dark area, and so that flicker of pure sunlight doesn't quite 
  impress his eyelids. It sort of, passes right through them into his cornea. 
  Rearing right and pulling his fingers across his eyes, there isn't much the 
  man can do to deflect _attention_ from him once he crashes into that thin 
  reef area, and yelled out from the pinch of pain.

_Wha--?!_ Shenner starts where she sits, her slender frame jolting up from its 
  slump. And her green gaze flashes around in the direction of the crash, 
  before it occurs to her that she might not necessarily want to draw undue 
  attention in case anyone _else_ heard that. Pulling in a sigh, she hauls 
  herself laboriously to her feet, takes up her flute case, and trudges on her 
  aching feet in what she finds herself suspecting is Nelun's direction.

"Gack! Gah! Ouch!" Busy removing what seems to be little peices of coral off 
  his left behind, Nelun is oblivious to Shenner's approach. Or for that fact, 
  anyone elses. To remove the shards of coral away as restrainedly noisily as 
  possible is an art the man has yet to even bother perfecting...

She'd thought so. She wasn't exactly sure how she'd known it, but Shenner had 
  suspected that, eventually, if she came back here often enough, she'd find 
  the odd wanderer who's been crossing her life lately. With a sigh, she drops 
  the flute bag lightly down on the ground, and then announces herself with a 
  gruff, "Hold still, will ya...?"

"Gah. Ack... what, Shenner??" A harsh whisper conveys Nelun's surprise, as 
  well as ever growing caution as he immediately recognizes the girl. Glancing 
  between his butt and the girl, Nelun stops picking the peices, and begins 
  biting his lip in a sudden blush.

"Hold still," Shenner repeats gruffly. She sinks to one knee, and if she's 
  surprised by Nelun's contortions upon the ground, she gives absolutely no 
  sign of it. The young redhead merely starts plucking coral fragments out of 
  the man's backside, her face still set in its exhausted lines.

"Um, Shenner, really... ow... you don't have to do that..." On all fours now, 
  Nelun is staring at Shenner as she delicately, and not so delicately removes 
  the coral off his body. After a moment, he sighs, simply accepting it, and 
  then, simply relieved that every peice is gone.

Shenner doesn't even debate the issue, she merely tosses coral fragments off 
  out of the way, and then slowly and tiredly lifts herself to her feet again, 
  her brows drawing together at the dull, aching pull of healing muscles along 
  her back. "How long have you been here?" she asks bluntly.

Pulling himself up and glancing deftly to his sides, Nelun explains, "Only a 
  few hours..." Before turning to Shenner, "Hey, maybe we should duck a little 
  or..."

Shenner doesn't debate _that_ issue, either. She merely fixes Nelun with a 
  steady, hollow green regard, and states, "The cops were looking for you. 
  They questioned me. I told them you're my cousin, Nelun Paul Vaarsen, and 
  that you're in some kind of trouble that I don't understand. They left me 
  alone because I have no freggin' idea why that skiff blew up, or what you've 
  been doin' to bring the cops down on your head. I have been lookin' for you 
  ever since they let me out of the hospital, to tell ya that you're gonna 
  hafta do something if you don't want the cops breathin' down your neck some 
  more." She delivers this speech without the slightest of wavers, her gaze 
  hard, though her voice is ragged-edged and low-pitched, as though she can't 
  spare the energy to put any anger into it. Her mission now accomplished, she 
  concludes, "So. You wanna tell me what the kark is goin' on, or should I 
  just go home and crash?"

Having never seen Shenner so horrifically monotone before, Nelun seems to be 
  at a loss of words, if not for the fact that the man continues to not know 
  what's happened, but only that, a part of his mind is endlessly, 
  pointlessly, and urgently beckoning escape off this planet. The incident 
  with the skiff was reason enough, and the constant hound of the police is 
  even more. But the expression, the appearance of the man in his freshly cut, 
  oblivious mode, is almost frustratingly simplistic and harldy indicative.
"Uhm." He temples his fingerpoints together with a sidelong gaze away from 
  her, "I'm...sorry?"

Shenner blows out a long breath, her eyes dropping closed, the skin around 
  them tightening as if in reaction to a headache. _I'm too tired for this,_ 
  she tells herself. But on the other hand, Nelun's plaintive expression and 
  his even more plaintive words are enough to take the edge off her 
  irritation, or at least to begin to do so. "It's okay," she then says, 
  waving a hand, trying for a dismissive gesture; the hand then comes up to 
  shove through the hair she's unbound, the loose strands falling in unkempt 
  waves about her shoulders. "It's... look, it's okay...."

Still somewhat hesistant to do anything, Nelun can't help but stare at 
  Shenner, and note she's in the most horrible shape he's ever seen her in. 
  However, the contrast, in fact, the sudden vice versa of scenarios strikes 
  Nelun's sketchy, unstable, jumbled intellect, as the not-so-bedraggled man 
  drops both arms and gives Shenner a plaintive look. This isn't working very 
  well, he muses, you're both gonna die or something.
"Shenner, listen, you don't need to...I'll find my own way off here..."

"You're gonna leave," says the girl, half-question, half-statement, lifting a 
  hand as if to ask for confirmation, a let-me-get-this-straight gesture. 
  Well, it makes sense to _her_ -- if the cops were breathing down _her_ neck, 
  after all, _she'd_ flee the planet too. She has, in fact, done that before, 
  though she tries not to think about _that_. "Okay, no, it's okay. Look, pal, 
  I ran into somebody, she might be able to give you a ride, okay...?" As she 
  speaks, Shen lifts that hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, then rubs her 
  knuckles across her eyes, tiredly.

Nelun looks down from Shenner, insisting, "No, really. It's too risky... I 
  don't wanna..." He says, fully aware that he'd be causing more trouble than 
  not, and for selfish reason: to discover what exactly this urge is, and 
  where there this memory gap is from- if it's in fact a memory gap. "Shen, 
  you don't need to--" He repeats, this time facing the red headed girl, who 
  is noticeably pained.
"Kark, Shen, you needta sleep."

He's calling her Shen again, the girl realizes, and for a few moments she 
  muses blearily that everybody seems to always revert to calling her Shen 
  sooner or later. _Is this what I get for bein' young and cute?_ That thought 
  makes her make a low self-derisive noise, and she looks up to find Nelun's 
  anxious dark gaze still fixed on her. A bit bemused that she's holding his 
  attention so squarely, she agrees, "Yeah... yeah, I do, but do you wanna 
  talk to this woman or not? She gave me her datacard."

Nelun blinks, diverting his attention doward Shenner. "Datacard? Where?" He 
  asks, as if he needed to pull the thing off the girl himself. "Who?"

Shen starts to fish into a pocket, reaching for the datacard, and she then 
  catches herself, wondering how exactly Nelun might react to the card's 
  contents. But she only pauses a moment, before pulling forth the slim card 
  and holding it out for Nelun's inspection. "This, uh, I got it from 
  Avalyshaar Laarken." One side of the thing has the words "Flight of Fancy" 
  scrawled -- but the other sports official-looking information, something 
  about some sort of office the Laarken woman must occupy.

Staring at the card proves useful enough. But after a moment, Nelun discovers 
  he can also take it. Grabbing it gently from Shenner's fingers and scanning 
  both sides, Nelun nods. He looks up at Shenner, "Okay...um, can they take us 
  to--" He stops, turning his eyes in a frenetic downward path.

"Us?" asks Shenner, her eyebrows going up, as she finds herself staring again 
  at Nelun, hard.

Nelun continues to read the datacard, "President of...Caspar? This is where I 
  need to go?" He states with the tinge of a partial question.

_Ah,_ says Shen to herself, a bit surprised that her companion in fact 
  registers the import of the text on one side of the card. "She quit the 
  job," she says straightforwardly, "but yeah, she used to be President of 
  Caspar. And you tell me, do you need to go there? You're the one wantin' to 
  leave."

"Maybe. It seems...familiar I think." He says. A moment later offering the 
  card to Shenner.

The girl nods, taking it back, slipping it into a pocket. "So," she drawls, 
  "you can go talk to her if you want, and see if she'll give you a ride to 
  wherever you wanna go. She's okay -- I met her before I knew who she was, 
  she was okay to me. You okay with that?"

Blinking a nod once, Nelun seems as blank faced as usual. "I'm okay wit that." 
  He glances away toward the reef.

"Good. 'Cause I'm beat, and I'm goin' home, and I'm gonna crash, and I ain't 
  sure I can make any other plans for ya," Shenner proclaims. She leans over 
  tautly to scoop her flute bag off the ground, and then adds after a moment, 
  "Thanks for gettin' this back for me."

"S-Sure..." He mumbles back. And then after a moment of hesitation, "Wh-Where 
  are you goin'...?"

Shenner turns her green gaze back to the man who's made her last three das... 
  well, interesting, to say the least. "I'm goin' home," she replies wearily. 
  "Why?"

Nelun suddenly widens his eyes, rolling them down toward his shoes, which 
  aren't scuffed as usual. "Um. That's not a good idea." He quickly states.

"Goin' home ain't a good idea?" the girl echoes, her eyebrows going up, her 
  tone still low and rough, that let-me-get-this-straight look still in her 
  eyes.

Nelun shakes his head quickly. Drawing his hands together. "No. It's... um... "

Shenner's gaze stays steady, but her voice begins to roughen, to hoarsen, the 
  only sign that she allows herself to give to the man before her of the state 
  she's in as she tells him, "Look, pal. I am _wiped_. I have a hole in my 
  back that's not done healin' yet. I ain't eaten a frekkin' thing in six 
  hours. Why is not a good idea for me to go home and eat food in my kitchen, 
  soak in my 'fresher, and sleep in my bed?"

Nelun stutters out a word, bringing the rest of his body forth in an awkward 
  attempt at explanation. He stops, biting his tongue for an answer, before 
  putting a grubby hand on his forehead. "Er, cuz it's gone...er, well no, 
  it's not _really_ gone. I didn't mean to...but.."

Shen studies Nelun, gaze still holding. Finally, though, she quietly sighs 
  out, "What's gone, Nelun?"

"Your house." He blurts. And then, suddenly starts stuttering, "Well, it's not 
  gone. It's just a little...burnt. And wet. And there may be a few cracks on 
  the wall...but your refresher is still kinda warm..."

"_Burnt_?!" the girl bursts out, her eyes widening in alarm. "Whaddya mean, 
  _burnt_?!"

Nelun flails his forearms up in startlement, before backing off slightly. His 
  flurry of explanations begin to assume a kind of rationale for what has 
  happened to Shenner's house. "Well, I went there...after I left the first 
  day. The first day you were at the hospital that is! Because the Calamarian 
  said I needed to go _home_, so, all I could think of was your house, because 
  I didn't want to sleep across the hospital street, since it wasn't very 
  familiar, and there's all those medical skiffs suddenly _stopping_ in front 
  of you. And so, I went home, and it took a long time! But I couldn't get in, 
  because you locked it or something, and so, I tried to _burn_ the lock, 
  right? And well...I ended up sleeping in the lobby.

Scrubbing her hand across her eyes again, thinking dazedly, _I'm -really- too 
  tired for this,_ Shenner tries to slog her way through that jumbled 
  explanation, and at last she holds up both her hands, the flute bag having 
  dropped down to the crook of her elbow, hanging by its strap. "Wait. Wait. 
  You went to the flat I took you to before... that what you're tellin' me?"

Nelun blinks, "Flat? No, I-I went to a house..."

"Gah," Shenner mumbles, smacking her palm lightly against her face, thinking 
  rapidly. _House...? I didn't show him the place Sinjon got, did I... no, I 
  know I didn't, he can't... surely...?_ "Nelun," she rasps, "where does 
  'burnt' come into this...?"

Mumbling a few incoherent words at first, Nelun manages to say, "I think I 
  shorted a wall out or something...everything just flew up."

Shen's other hand comes up to join the first, both palms pressed against her 
  face. Eventually, her head lifts as she peers over her own fingertips, and 
  she asks as calmly and rationally as she can manage, "Nelun, are you _sure_ 
  this was my place? I didn't take you to the place I'm stayin' now."

Nelun blinks, his features tumbling into a plethora of expressions ranging 
  from confusion to afterthought, but NOT assuredness...Realization dawns, as 
  Nelun suddenly raises his eyebrows to stare at Shenner, eyes wide. "Oh 
  boy..."

"Oh gods," Shenner mumbles. Dropping a hand to grab at that necklace of hers, 
  holding onto it tightly, she asks with eyes closed, "You're tellin' me... 
  you accidentally burned down some poor sap's house?" This comes out of her 
  even more hoarse than her earlier words.

Nelun chokes, shaking his head and sticking his tongue out in sudden measure 
  of denial. "I...uh, I guess?"

Shenner can be heard to mumble, and what she's mumbling are curses, her 
  self-driven studies in the Corellian and Horansi languages paying off with 
  particular color, for all that she manages to keep the mumbles mostly to 
  herself. "Did anybody _see_ you?" she asks, almost dreading what else she 
  might extract from this conversation.

Nelun makes a sidelong glance, "Well, no. Not after the fire..."

"Did anybody see you _during_ the fire?" Shenner asks, her hand thrust up into 
  her unbound hair, red strands falling forth along her fingers and her brow. 
  The headache's come on with a vengeance, and the girl fancies that she can 
  feel the wound in her back, laser-sealed though it might have been, 
  throbbing in time with the pounding behind her eyes.

"Gaah, I dunno!" Nelun exclaims, backing once away from Shen. He looks about, 
  lowering his voice into a harsh, hurried whisper. "It was dark. Late. Only a 
  few nerfs barking..."

"Nerfs don't _bark_," Shenner protests sharply, her voice starting to crack. 
  There's only so much more of this she can take. Finally, wondering if her 
  head is liable to split apart, she straightens up, swallows hard, and 
  declares with her eyes clamped shut, "I... am going...home..."

Nelun crouches slightly, craning his neck to stare anxiously at the girl's 
  face...and at the vein bulge in her forehead. "Shen?"

"What?" the girl croaks.

Nelun blinks, "You okay?"

Shenner just stands there, eyes pressed closed, considering her answer. She's 
  already told this man that she's exhausted, in pain, and hungry, and it 
  doesn't improve her mood any to see that he seems to be having a hard time 
  grasping the concept. Barely, just barely, she stops herself from snapping 
  out a rude reply, as the thought that doing so would be something akin to 
  squashing baby mooklas. The further thought occurs that Nelun might not be 
  _wanting_ to hear her tell him the truth about her state... but the thought 
  of outright lying about it sits ill with her. She opens her eyes and stares 
  at the man, trying to gain an insight here before answering the question.

Upon the girl's opening eyes, Nelun breaks out a prompt smile. "There, you're 
  fine. Just...go home!"

Shen stares in exhausted bemusement at the vagabond, finding herself reliably 
  aware of less and less in this entire conversation. _I really, really, 
  -really- am too tired for this,_ she muses grumpily. Then, the back of her 
  mind advises her to just _go with it_. She does so, slinging the flute bag 
  up onto her shoulder, and she turns to go. But she also finds herself 
  pausing, turning back to admonish Nelun, "Don't forget. Look for Avalyshaar 
  Laarken in the spaceport. Her ship's the _Flight of Fancy_. Tell her I sent 
  you if you want. Take care of yourself, pal, wherever it is you're goin'. 
  See ya round." And with that, the girl turns, steeling herself against the 
  knowledge that someone else is leaving her life. _Oughtta be used to it by 
  now, street rat. Cope with it..._

[To be continued....]