Log Date: 9/29/98 Log Cast: Jessalyn Valios, Maelle, Charon, Loren (NPC), Shenneret Veery, Ariani (NPC), Rekkie Sheldon (NPC), Karm (NPC), Kaley Log Intro: Jedi, as far as Shenner has been able to tell, have busy lives. It's been a few days now since their last meeting, and she has yet to have encountered Luke Skywalker again; thus, the anxious young musician has had to resign herself with looking for him on the sly, and hoping that she doesn't give the Sandbar's bartender or the band, interested in her welfare as they all apparently seem to be, cause to suspect she's up to anything or has more than a normal interest in a particular mysterious young blond-haired man. And, thus, Shenner's come back after her brief few days off, resuming her studies and her singing at the bar. Under Ariani's ostensibly casual eye, the girl's day today has thus far consisted of a stranger introducing her to a hitherto unknown instrument -- the harmonica -- and that same stranger attempting to interpose himself between yet another Shen and yet another attempt at flirting from the band's young drummer, Loren. Unwilling to see Loren get into a brawl even if she doesn't want the drummer courting her attentions, Shenner's gotten the stranger off his case and has started practicing with her fellow band member by the time the afternoon rolls around, and another customer comes into the bar.... ---------- 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" -=-=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=-=- => Jessalyn => Ariani => Emma -=-=-=-=-=<>=-=-=-=-=- leads to Fountain Square - Plaxton City. Jessalyn has arrived. Maelle walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Maelle has left. Charon walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Charon has left. "Okay, okay, Shen, I get the point," mumbles Loren sheepishly, as the girl who's commandeered his drums finishes her impromptu solo. "You _don't_ need rehearing, at least on _that_..." "Hah," Shenner barks in smug triumph, getting up and handing the young man his drumsticks. "She's talented at everything, isn't she?" a wry, fond voice says from nearby. Jessalyn approaches with her arms folded over a box clutched to her chest, and smiles pleasantly to the musicians gathered on the stage. Shenner starts, recognizing the voice even as Loren turns around and grins sheepishly down at the newcomer. "Plays drums pretty damn good," the young man says, creeping off to the drumset, while Shen glares at him. Then the young redhead blinkblinks down at Jessalyn off the stage, and blurts, "Uh, hi...." Jessalyn's head tilts back on her slender neck as she smiles up at the girl onstage. "Hi," she says, allowing the syllable to draw out long enough to draw attention towards herself. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to see you." Shen clambers down off the low stage, getting out of Loren's immediate earshot, though the young man's curiosity can be noted glinting avidly in his blue eyes even as he pretends to apply himself to practicing. "You did?" Shenner asks, grinning sheepishly. "I, uh, guess Rekkie keeps kinda draggin' me off..." Giving a slight nod, Jessalyn glances over at the drummer and can't help but grin at his curiosity. "Yeah, I suppose so," she replies, and extends the box she had been holding. "But that's okay." "Oh -- er, that's Loren," Shenner says gruffly, and the young man in question winks and mock-leers down at Jessalyn, amiably, in a breezy sort of manner that proclaims that he can't be anything but Corellian. "Yo, Loren, this is Jessalyn -- er." Shenner blinks down at the box, then. "What's that?" "It's a present, silly," Jessa chides. She hefts the box a little closer -- it seems to be heavier than it looks. She spares a whimsical wink for the drummer, as only a female Corellian can, and raises her brows at her friend. "For you." The drummer flashes Jessalyn a scintillating 'she's crazy about me!' sort of teasing smile, then tries to peer over his drumset to get a better look at whatever it is Shenner's being handed. Shenner, in the meantime, blinks several times up at the older woman, apparently deeply startled, a bit of a shy half-smile flickering into being across her face. "Wha... er..." She takes the box, though, eyes going wide at its unexpected weight, and finds a table to set the thing down on before opening it. Jessalyn is practically beaming as she follows Shenner to the table and stands nearby to watch her open the silver-foiled box with it's bright blue ribbons. She glances over her shoulder once at Loren and nods her head slowly, as if he's in on some private joke. Shenner, having gotten a limited number of presents in her lifetime, is still enough of a child when receiving them that she has no particular grace when it comes to preserving the untorn state of wrapping paper. She tears into the box, both eager and trying to pretend she isn't. Trying not to pace, Jessalyn shifts her weight from one foot to the other and bites her lip, surprisingly nervous. "I hope you'll like it," she says. Inside the box is another one -- this one carved of wood and held shut by an intricate, old-fashoned bronze lock. A small key dangles from it by a string. To the revealed box, Shenner can be seen to blink, certainly not expecting this -- though if she were asked, it's doubtful that the girl could say what she _did_ expect. She blinkblinks at Jessalyn, then takes up the little key and slips it tentatively into the lock. Jessa stands on her tiptoes for a better look, and smiles reassurance at Shenner. As the key slips inside the lock, there is a small snick and the lid swings open. Inside the red velvet lining the case is a small, lap-size instrument reminiscent of a harp, but of obvious alien design. It's carved from a dark reddish wood, and stringed with almost luminous fibers that are held in place by opalescent tuning knobs. "They're called namdhi strings," Jessa explains. Shenner sucks in her breath. "Kark... Jessa..." Eyes entirely round now, Shenner stretches forth a hand, awestruck, to stroke one of those shimmering strings. "I had a friend who played these for me when I was younger," Jessalyn goes on. "They're from her homeworld. I always thought they were so beautiful. So it's pure selfishness, you see, for I just want to hear them played again." "It's.... it's gorgeous," Shenner mumbles. Up on the stage, Loren's stood up a bit behind his drums, and the young man lets out a low whistle of appreciation, while Ariani calls over from the bar, "So hold it up, kid, so we can see it!" Shenner blinkblinkblinks, and then shyly reaches for the instrument, mumbling to Jessalyn as she does so, "I'm... afraid I'm gonna break it!" She cautiously and reverently lifts up the harp, though, high enough that Loren can get a good look, and Ariani, too. Then she turns back to Jessalyn and breathes, "Do... do you know how to play it?" Smiling, Jessalyn moves closer and reaches to open a small compartment inside the case. "Well, just a couple of chords, really. I never got a chance to take lessons," she says as she acquires the small pick and glances at Shenner. "You can use the pick or your fingers, either way." Still quite wide-eyed, Shenner glances around until she finds a chair, then anxiously beckons the older woman over with her so they can sit down. "Show me," she entreats earnestly. Hesitating, Jessalyn chews on her lower lip. "All right, but I'm awful," she warns as she takes the seat and the namdhi strings into her lap. She glances around, grateful for the relative emptiness of the place, and strums her fingers a couple of times over the strings, clearing her throat. Shenner, evidently, isn't about to protest that she's never touched the instrument before in her life, so Jessalyn has at least a small advantage over her. Her face shining hopefully, the young musician watches the Jedi's hands intently. Finally settling into the chords, Jessa plucks and strums the strings, and smiles almost shyly, her cheeks turning bright red with the unfamiliarity of performing. The melody appears mellow and smooth, not entirely different from a more conventional guitar, but somewhat sweeter and more plaintive, and soon Jessalyn begins to sing in a soft, uncertain, but soulful voice. "What else can I say You can find yourself that way You believe the words you say And are strong enough to change Have you lost your sense of hope The ability to cope I am older but you know Much more than I know...." Growing a bit more confident, Jessalyn's voice surges with the music and her eyes drift shut as her fingers become accustomed to playing the ancient stringed instrument. "And I see It fall to me It falls to you It is beautiful To be sane To rearrange To question why That is not a lie!" Loren stops his drumming, and over by the bar, Ariani pauses in the middle of polishing glasses to listen in. Shenner watches Jessalyn, her wide green eyes taking in every motion of the older woman's hands on the strings, her ears -- if the expression of her face is any sign -- drinking in the melody as parched land drinks water. Forgetting her surroundings, Jessalyn continues the plaintive song in earnest, fingertips stroking the strings like a lover, and she sways back and forth as the delicate flush spreads across her wide cheekbones. Though you make your way With the dawn of every day Getting closer as we age We are permanently stained Is it nothingness you see Is it emptiness you breathe Do you feel the agony Lead to death and destiny? And I see It fall to me It falls to you Make it beautiful To be sane To rearrange To question why That is not a lie! Somewhere in the middle of the song, the bar's front door opens up to admit Karm, the dark-skinned horn player of the band, and Rekkie, the lead singer. The two women blink as they hear music in the bar that doesn't normally belong there, and stop by Ariani to exchange whispers and glances over at the two redheads with the harp. Jessa's lustrous green eyes finally open and she glances over at Shenner, her smile spreading widely even as she continues to rock with her own melody and strum the simple but evocative chords. "What else can I say I am asking you to stay I believe the words you say And you're strong enough to change Have you lost all sense of hope The ability to cope I am older but you know Much more than I know! And I see It fall to me It falls to you To make it beautiful To be sane To rearrange To question why That is not a lie!" Shenner's face hasn't had this broad a smile in some time -- and it raises four pairs of eyebrows in the bar. Rekkie strides over then from the company of Ariani and Karm, and greets Jessalyn and Shenner with, "Well, I don't know you, sister, but if you ever want to sit in with us, you're welcome." Shenner enthuses, "Jessa, that was karkin' great, whaddya mean you're awful? I didn't know you could sing...!" Jessalyn smiles sheepishly up at all the sudden attention and fights the nervousness threatening to edge her voice. "I don't really, I mean... I haven't...." She sets the namdhi strings aside and wipes at her brow as she glances up at Rekkie. "Thank you, that's very kind, but I was just showing Shenner how these are played. I'm not really a musician." "Friend of yours, kiddo?" Rekkie asks Shen, as Karm ambles over. "Uh, yeah, yeah, this is Jessalyn," Shenner says, a bit shy herself. "Jessa, this is Rekkie and Karm...." "Rekkie Sheldon," says the tall blonde woman with hazel eyes, holding out a gold-tanned hand. "Hey there." "If you are not a musician," puts in Karm, her voice low and mellifluous and meticulously accented, "then Caspar is not a planet, or at least, perhaps, not a professional one." Taking the offered hand, Jessalyn smiles up at both Karm and Rekkie, and shrugs her shoulders absently. "I uh... I get stagefright. I'll always be unprofessional," she chuckles at herself, and pushes the namdhi's box closer to Shenner on the table. "I don't think it will be hard for you to learn them on your own." Rekkie shakes Jessalyn's hand cheerfully, with the grip of someone who's long accustomed to handling an instrument. "Shen picks up instruments like nobody's business," she observes, casting an appreciative eye over the dark-wooded harp being slid into Shenner's grasp. Shen, in the meantime, carefully takes the namdhi into her lap, running her fingers lightly all over it, apparently quite happy to sit there and get acquainted with the thing before trying to make it make any sounds. "Mmmm," is her only reply, while Karm astutely murmurs, "Shenneret also likes our instruments better than she likes most of us, or at least, our drummer." "I heard that!" protests Loren, from the stage. Jessa merely mouths the word, "Shenneret," as if it were a question, and glances with raised brows at her younger friend. "Instruments make good friends," she observes aloud. "But so does Shenner, at least in my experience." Shenner turns rather pink, while Rekkie grins and reaches over to playfully slap the girl's shoulder. "She's a good kid, and a helluva guitar player." Then the singer winks at the two women, and calls up to Loren, "Hey, you, front and center. Tethra's called me on the comm, his skimmer's engine's died, and he wanted us to come over and give him a lift to the bar tonight. Got that junker of yours around here?" "Huh? Oh yeah..." The young Corellian gets lithely up, jamming his sticks into his back pocket. Shenner looks up, still blushing, and blinks. "Wha, y'all need me?" Rekkie shakes her head evenly. "You stay here, kid, and hang out with your friend, huh? We'll be back." Jessalyn smiles amiably at Rekkie and the others, and leans back in her chair, trying to seem more relaxed. "It was nice meeting you," she says sincerely before glancing back at Shenner. Loren leers over at Shenner, dropping his voice down to that rumbly soft baritone again, and promises, "With bells on!" This gets him dragged straight to the door by Rekkie, who rolls her eyes and tells Shenner and Jessalyn briskly, "Let me go douse the fireball here so he can fly us. Likewise, Jessalyn. C'mon, you...!" And off she's gone, the drummer in tow. Karm bows before she goes, though, saying in impeccable manners, "A pleasure, indeed, to meet you, musician or no. We shall return." The horn player flashes a white smile in her dark face at Loren's antics, and then strides smoothly out after the others. Shenner, as the other musicians depart, clears her throat and looks sheepish. "They seem like nice friends," Jessa says obviously enough as she meets the other redhead's gaze. "They been okay," Shenner murmurs, still a bit sheepish, half-smiling. But she's also still blushing. "Loren won't freggin' leave me alone and Rekkie won't let me punch him, but she keeps him in line anyway." A soft laugh leaves Jessa's throat, and she nods her head. "I'm sure he doesn't mean any harm. Besides, he is kind of cute," she teases, glancing balefully at the door with the other musicians just left. Shenner snorts. "He's Corellian," she says, sounding a touch tart as she experiments with the tuning knobs on the namdhi. "'Course he's cute. I don't think they grow 'em ugly on Corellia." Jessalyn shrugs her shoulders and laughs again, having to agree with the sentiment. "Well, I'm Corellian, so don't hold it against me, hmm?" she says a bit wistfully. Shenner peeks over at the older woman, and this time a bit less tartly, she mumbles, "Sorry... I... er... well, Corellian _girls_ don't make me cranky." "Cranky?" Jessalyn chuckles, leaning her elbows on the table and peering back at Shenner. "What's got your feathers so ruffled, anyway? Loosen up a bit, kid. Things can't be that bad. Look at what you've already made of yourself." "Yeah, well..." Shenner keeps her gaze down on the shining strings beneath her fingertips, very tentatively accustoming herself to the feel of them. Initially dodging Jessalyn's question, she hedges, "I been eatin' on a regular basis and I got a job and a place to stay, and I got Miz Laarken and Rekkie to thank for that, and it doesn't suck. But, uh... well..." She trails off and then finally mutters, "Kinda... long story, I guess." Jessalyn acquires a glass of water from the tray of a passing waiter, and settles down more comfortably in her seat. "Yes?" she prompts, fixing her gaze on Shenner almost maternally. Kaley enters the Sandbar. Kaley has arrived. Kaley walks out of the Sandbar and the door closes automatically. Kaley has left. Shenner nibbles a bit at her lip, and plucks one of the strings, apparently considering its pure, clear tone even as she mumbles hesitantly, "Well... y'know how I told ya... I been talkin' to Luke?" "Mmm-hmm," Jessalyn murmurs around a mouthful of water, and hastily swallows it. "It's... like this, see," Shenner goes on lowly, her head still tilted slightly down towards the instrument in her lap. "I.... got... karked up somehow. On Mandalore, I mean, and... it's been messin' with me, and that's how come I-I started talkin' to Luke...." "I gathered that much," Jessalyn says gently, turning her glass around in her hands and tilting her head as she observes her friend. "I don't remember what happened," Shenner mutters, looking up enough to peer over at the older woman, her expression turning plaintive. "I ain't... quite as karked up as I was, but... somethin's still screwed up, 'cause there's some stuff I just ain't rememberin', see?" "Maybe you're not supposed to remember," Jessalyn suggests with a small shrug, looking thoughtful as she takes another sip of water. "So if you don't remember what it is that happened, how do you know... something happened?" For a very long pause, Shenner is silent. The namdhi goes quiet under her hands, as well. And finally, the young bard murmurs, her gaze dropping, her voice roughening, "'Cause... last thing I remember was, we were on Mandalore. And then I woke up on Calamari, and I was...." She pauses, then, her features going tenser of expression, "... havin' nightmares and stuff." Shen's right hand lifts off the instrument, reaching up to curl fingers around the pendant hanging at her throat. Jessalyn sets the glass on the table and considers her friend worriedly. "I remember... when Luke helped me with my nightmares," she says slowly, her eyes flickering away. "He can help you, too, Shen. You're doing the right thing." "Hope so," Shenner murmurs to Jessalyn, very softly, trying to grin a bit. "I'm here to tell ya -- three hours of sleep a night sucks..." "I thought it was the coffee," Jessalyn says, gently teasing, and reaches over to squeeze Shenner's shoulder. "Don't be afraid, Shenner. Whatever happened, you'll figure it all out. And you've done fine, all the same. I'm very proud of you." Shenner looks up at the woman sitting before her, one corner of her mouth quirking upward, though her big green eyes are still plaintive, still unsure. "Thanks," she says gruffly. "I just kinda lucked out, ya know... I mean... didn't have no idea y'all were here." "I didn't know he was going to be here, either," Jessa admits. "I hadn't seen him in so long." She bites down on her lip and wraps her fingers around the glass of water, feeling its chill seep into her skin. Shenner blinks somewhat, and admits, "Kinda makes two of us, I guess... Captain Calrissian told me he was..." Er... "... occupied. Then I got here, though, and here y'all are..." Another pause, and then the girl finishes, "Kinda reminds of the _Black Dragon_." Jessalyn smiles widely at that comment and looks down into her glass. "It's almost just like that, isn't it?" she murmurs, tenderness and tension both showing in her face at the memory. Shenner ventures a crooked grin. "Yeah. Even gotta coupla bad guys runnin' around... 'bout the only difference is, I ain't sleepin' in no cargo hold." Her right hand stays up on the necklace, her left stroking the side of the namdhi, almost as if she expects to learn the instrument simply by virtue of touch alone. Jessalyn's eyes stray to the necklace that Shenner is so pre-occupied with, and then to the namdhi strings. She brushes back the short locks of hair falling across her brow and leans a little forward. "We're both a little better off than we were then." Silver and brass, a small double-ring sort of object, slipping back and forth idly through Shenner's slender fingers... then, seeing Jessalyn's gaze drop down to the instrument again, Shenner seems to catch herself. "You said... what was the word? Nam-dee? That the strings, or the whole thing?" She smiles a little more. Jessalyn smiles and perks up a little. "Ahh. The whole instrument, really," she answers, and, after pausing, asks, "Where did you get that," indicating the pendant she's toying with. Shenner stops... stills. The pendant drops swiftly out of her fingers, and the girl strives her best to sound casual and offhand as she blurts, "Gift. So, er, the whole thing, huh? What world's it from? Maybe I can find somethin' about the music there in the books I been checkin' out, huh?" Jessalyn tries not to frown at the obvious evasion, but doesn't press the issue. She leans back in her chair and rolls her shoulders as she tries to get comfortable. "They're from Mikkla," she answers. "There's a race of small, dark-skinned people there. The namdhi strings are really extraordinarily large in relation to their size." "Dark? Like Karm, huh?" Shenner's shoulders, in contrast, seem to be tensing up. She strokes the namdhi again, counting its strings, and trying wildly to extrapolate what kind of scales the original creator of the instrument must have played upon it. "How little?" Her voice starts to drop in volume, though, and tacked right onto the end of her questions, almost as an afterthought and delivered very swiftly, she mutters without meeting Jessa's eyes, "I got it from Paul." Jessalyn gives a small, knowing nod, and says quietly, "I thought so." But she swiftly changes the subject and continues, "About a meter tall, usually. Maybe smaller. They're exquisitely delicate and beautiful, though." Shen's features undergo a visible strain, as she evidently wrestles with conflicting impulses going on behind her eyes. Her gaze still down, her voice still rough, she mutters, "D-do ya know anything about their music? I-I-I mean like, do they use an eight tone scale or a five tone o-or do they like major or minor and um, er, I-I guess I kinda more got it from Dr. Canto 'cause it was there when I woke up but he said Paul left it." Jessalyn frowns a little and leans her chin in her hands, studying Shenner carefully as she muses over this two-pronged conversation. "I'm afraid I'm not a musicologist," she says ruefully. "But I do have some recordings around somewhere, if you want to try to decipher them." She gazes at Shenner's necklace valiantly keeps her expression under control. "Yeah," rasps Shenner breathlessly, "y-yeah, I'd like that... I bet I could use the practice even if I ain't really in school yet, maybe it'll help me learn this thing...?" She runs a fingertip along the namdhi's dark frame. "I'm sure it wouldn't hurt," Jessalyn says quietly, her smile growing gentle. "I'll look around for those recordings, and come find you." She scoots back her chair and stands, stretching her arms over her head. "I should get going, though. It was good to see you again, Shen." Shenner looks up, then, and carefully, very carefully, sets the instrument aside on the table. She pauses, eyes very full and suspiciously liquid, before impulsively hugging the older woman. "Thanks," mutters the young bard. Wrapping her arms tightly around her, Jessa strokes Shenner's shoulders and squeezes her gently. "Nothing to thank me for," she whispers. "I'll see you soon. Promise." "Okay," rasps Shen, though perhaps there might be a hint of a more childlike reply beneath it, something to the effect of 'You promise...?' She pulls out of the hug, and although she's blushing, she plasters on another crooked sort of smile. "I'll look forward to it..." Impulsively, Jessa ruffles Shen's hair and gives her another light squeeze before letting her go. "Me, too. Good night." She turns and makes her way through the room, dodging tables and dinner patrons on her way to the exit. [End log.]