[NOTE: The following scenes are several disjointed little RP encounters
that Kesya and I had over the course of a couple of weeks. I've put them
all into one log as the general theme of them was the same, and put in
a few bits of text to bridge the gaps between them.]

Log Date:
	1/17/97, 1/20/97

Log Cast:
	Kesya, Tance

Log Intro:
	Now confirmed duo partners, Tance and Kesya have come in from
the Ranges to take the opportunity to get both their resonance levels down
before risking Tance's fragile memory on a cut. Kesya, in the meantime,
has been trying to encourage Tance into a trip to his homeworld of
Syrine to investigate his past; although he's nervous about confronting
memories that have lain dormant in his subconscious for nearly two
centuries, Tance is nevertheless willing to take a stab at it. Something,
though, to do with his history -- and specifically with his mother --
drives him to delve into his old datapad files when Kesya and he part
company the night of their return to the JPF.
	And the next morning, expecting to find him ready to depart
for Shankill Station so they can make the arrangements to go offworld,
Kesya goes to his quarters.....

----------
Kesya steps in from the hall.
Kesya has arrived.
Kesya steps in as she doesn't get a response, a carisak over one shoulder. 
  "Tance?" Her voice is soft, as are her footsteps as she pads into the room.

No sign of him in the living room.

Kesya steps towards the bedroom, her mutter barely audible. "..guy probably 
  slept in..."

When you poke your head through Tance's bedroom door, there's no sign of him 
  in there, either; in fact, his bed doesn't appear to have been slept in.

Kesya now does frown, perhaps a little concerned. A hunch though, tells her 
  she might find him at his computer, and she makes for the den quietly.

Paydirt. Tance is in fact slumped at the terminal, looking quite 
  uncomfortable, for his arm is pillowed on the keyboard, his head on his arm. 
  He's still wearing last night's clothes, as well.

Kesya smiles as she spots the slumbering singer, her expression fond as she 
  leans against the doorframe. "I should've guessed," she says in a warm 
  murmur. Dropping her carisak on the floor, she pads gently in, kneeling 
  beside Tance's chair. Placing one hand on his back she calls softly, "Tance?"

Tance doesn't quite rouse, but he does make a low grumbling noise under his 
  breath.

Kesya chuckles softly, reaching up to stroke the soft, grey-touched hair. 
  "Tance, wake up. You feel asleep at your computer last night."

"Mrmrh?" Tance lifts his head a little, then winces, eyes pressing shut; his 
  left hand lifts to rub at his neck. "Ow."

Kesya stands behind you, nimble fingers rubbing at your neck. "It's no wonder 
  you're sore... were you up all night reading about Syrine?"

The moment Tance ceases trying to use the keyboard for a pillow, the computer 
  bleeps once, and restores its screen. "I... fell asleep?" Tance mumbles. 
  "Reading... yeah, reading..."

Kesya can't help but smile at the little-boy countenance on Tance's face, and 
  she nods quietly. "Find out anything interesting?"

Tance mrmmrms at the rubbing of his neck and mumbles more or less in the 
  direction of his screen, "Something.... something I had to remember..."

Kesya asks curiously, "Is this the thing about your mother, that you were 
  trying to remember?"

Tance sits up stiffly, and mrmms again. "I-I dunno." He waves fumblingly to 
  the screen. "Looking at the old entries again... don't remember what I need 
  to find, but I gotta find it..."

Kesya's fingers pause at your neck, as she peers at the screen. She slips into 
  the chair beside yours, "Well, maybe I can help?"

You feel the resonance tingling in your blood.
Drowsily, Tance blinks at you, and asks, "....how?"

Kesya shrugs, not sure herself. "Well... maybe I can help you figure out what 
  it is you're looking for, by asking questions... or if it's something really 
  important, it might be obvious by reading 'em, right?"

Tance rubs a hand across his eyes, then frowns sleepily. "But... if I don't 
  remember what I"m looking for....?" He nods, though, moving the rubbing hand 
  to his neck.

Kesya shrugs, "Worth a shot, isn't it? I mean, if you remember that there's 
  /something/ you need to remember, then somewhere in that head of yours, you 
  also remember why, or what it's about."

You say "Okay..."

Kesya shrugs a bit, and settles down beside you. "Okay. Is it something about 
  your family do you think, or... about Syrine, perhaps?"

Tance considers. "My family.... yes. My mother. It has to do with my mother."

Kesya says thoughtfully, "So this is probably the same thing you were trying 
  to remember back in the sled..."

Tance blinks. "I... did?"

Kesya nods a bit, peering at the screen. "Well, let's check the titles, maybe 
  that'll lead us somewhere. The few that have them, anyway." She begins 
  listing off a few short words and the dates beside them, glancing at you to 
  see if any ring a bell.

You feel resonance tingling in your bones.
Tance shakes his head, as you read off the titles. "I... don't think so..."

Kesya frumps, and reads off a few more, watching you between titles. "None 
  yet?"

Frustration etching lines between his eyebrows, Tance sighs. "Looked at 'em 
  all night, Jade, they're all kinda, kinda blurred in my head right now...."

Kesya sighs, looping one arm across your shoulders. "Well, I'm sure it'll come 
  to you. Do you want to wait till you find it before we go?"

"I'm... I'm not sure. It... just, something niggling in my head," Tance tells 
  you, shoving a hand through his hair.

Kesya purses her lips as she looks thoughtfully at you, and takes your hand. 
  "Is it... something that could be dangerous, do you think? Something maybe 
  we need warning about?"

Tance's eyes go distant, as he murmurs absently, "Not dangerous... safe now..."

Kesya straightens, obviously surprised by this new information. She asks 
  softly, "Safe now?"

Tance blinks again. "What?"

Kesya sighs as Tance comes out of his little memory-dream. "You said, 'Not 
  dangerous... safe now.'"
Kesya adds, "Which means it was dangerous once. Maybe your Mom was involved in 
  all that."

Tance frowns at you, a hint of unease in his dark eyes. "I... don't remember."

Kesya nods patiently at you, and leans into you to give you a hug. "I know. 
  But we'll find all this out, I promise." She looks up at you, blue eyes 
  gazing into your brown ones. "Now that it seems it's at least safe... do you 
  want to go? Or we can wait a few days while you scan the files, if it's 
  really important. Your pick."

Embracing you in return, Tance protests, "I-I don't know if it's important, 
  that's the problem...."

Kesya only holds you, her voice supportive. "That's okay. We'll do whatever 
  you like. We've gotten out of tough scrapes before, right? So no matter what 
  happens, this will be no different."

Crystal resonance is humming pleasantly in your body.
Tance looks over at you, drowsy gaze gentling. "It's... weird," he tells you, 
  embarrassed-sounding. "Hearing you talk about things we've... _I've_... done 
  before..."

Kesya cocks her head to one side, considering you for a long moment. "Because 
  you don't easily remember it?"

Abashed, the older Singer nods slowly. "Head's fulla fog, but..." He turns his 
  head slightly as though he might look behind him, and goes on, "It's like, 
  if I look over my shoulder, I can... hear voices, or see shadows, but not 
  make them out..." Tance looks back to you then, and offers you a tentative 
  crooked grin. "They're sharper with you, though."

Kesya's smile turns warm as she gazes at you, and she leans into you to give 
  you a hug. "Thanks, hon. But listen, before you didn't even have a foggy 
  recollection of things. Now you do... and who knows, maybe, with using your 
  datapad so much and all, things will get better still."

"Hope so... I hate being like this." Tance hugs you awkwardly but tightly, and 
  when you pull back to look at him again, he goes on, "And there's... that 
  one memory, that I can't quite get, but it wants me to listen...."
Tance's brow furrows, with a little bit more than his usual bemusement. "You 
  think it's... strange, that this is nagging at me? I mean... right now?"

Kesya laughs, shaking her head, her arms about your shoulders. "No, I don't 
  think it's strange! I mean, this memory is about your mother... at least 
  we've figured that out... and we're heading to Syrine. It makes sense that 
  you'd want to be prepared about it."

You say "I think... I think I want to try to find out what this is... while I 
  still remember to look for it... karkin' givin' me a headache...."
Tance rubs a hand across his eyes again, then his neck.

Kesya smoothly rubs at your neck as you mention a headache, and she asks 
  quietly, "Anything I can do to help?"

Tance murrs. "That's.... a good start," he mumbles foggily, head bowing a 
  little under the rubbing.
You feel the resonance tingling in your blood.

Kesya stands so as to better massage your neck, her thumbs working into tight 
  shoulder muscles. "Well, I'll do this then," she says with a laugh, "And you 
  can think about your mother."

Tance gives another throaty moan at the ministering to his shoulders, and 
  eventually asks, without looking up, "Maybe you better tell me 'bout your 
  mother, Jade? I don't even know how to start thinking about this...."

Kesya smiles suddenly at your request, and her fingers keep massaging your 
  shoulders as she starts to speak. "Well... okay. I grew up on Taal'en. My 
  mother is native, so she's green too... but darker. Our features are much 
  the same -- I take after her -- but she's got slitted eyes. My father is 
  human, so that's where I get my human traits from." She pauses, and 
  continues softly. "Our family was fairly big I s'pose. Lots of brothers, but 
  I was the only girl. Mom was always very supportive, and encouraging." She 
  laughs softly, "I think I get my sense of humour from her. She was always 
  making us laugh."

"Must be pretty, if she looks like you," Tance says lowly, craning his head 
  around a bit to look up at you. The statement's shyly toned, but the glance 
  he flicks up to you is straightforward, direct.

Kesya blushes, ducking her head to give you a quick kiss. "You're sweet. We 
  thought she was gorgeous, but of course, we're her kids. Anyway, she used to 
  always take us places on Taal'en, go hiking, that sort of thing. She was 
  really into the outdoors, which I guess is where I got it. My father was 
  more academic."

Tance grins a bit, then is torn between looking up at you and drooping his 
  head again so you can work at the knots a night's sleep on a computer 
  keyboard has given him. He settles for the latter, and comments plaintively, 
  "Don't remember my father either..."

Kesya pauses in her attention to your muscles only long enough to ruffle your 
  hair fondly. "But we'll find out about him." She leans closer, smiling as 
  she speaks softly. "Anything else you want to know about my family? Maybe 
  it'd be better if I imitated your mother to stir up some memories," she 
  jokes. In a comically mincing tone she chides amusedly, waggling her finger. 
  "Now Tancie, don't forget your raincoat and boots when you go outside today. 
  And no cookies before dinner."

Tance lets out a snort. "'Tancie?'"

Kesya giggles softly. "Sure."

Tance retorts wryly, "I'll have you know, girlie, it wasn't Mother who'd have 
  scolded me, it was..." His face starts to change, from humor to dismay, 
  then. "Was... ah, kark it..."
You can hear crystal resonance coursing gently through your body.

----------
Interlude:

	Tance fails to remember who it might have been that would be
scolding him in his childhood... but he remains determined to hunt through
his datapad files for any clues that could enlighten him about what it is
his mind is trying to pull out of his fogged memory. Disappointed that they
won't be getting offworld yet but nevertheless determined to encourage him,
Kesya leaves him to the work, while checking back in with the Training
Department to begin the initial work for the next class coming down from
Shankill.
	And as Kesya re-immerses herself in her work, Tance flings himself
headlong into his....

----------
Log Date:
	1/28/97

You hear a soft chime and an electronic voice announces that Kesya is in 
  Ocher Quadrant and is knocking on Tance's Suite.

Kesya steps in from the hall.
Kesya has arrived.
Kesya peers in, stepping into the suite quietly. "Tance?"

"In here, Jade," calls Tance from his den.

Kesya grins at the oh-so-familiar voice, ambling over to peek in the den. Her 
  amused tone sounds as she enters, "Still at it, huh?"

Tance looks up from the computer terminal. His hair is rumpled, and so is the 
  off-white shirt he's wearing, as if he only made half an effort in getting 
  dressed today. "What time is it?" he asks blankly.
You feel the resonance tingling in your blood.

Kesya smiles fondly at you, glancing at her chrono. "Late," she says. "I just 
  finished bringing some more recruits down." She yawns, coming over to rest 
  one arm along your shoulders. "Have you eaten yet?"

Tance shakes his head briskly, grinning as you touch him, and clasping your 
  hand. "I, I found it, Jade, I mean, I found something," he confides, tone 
  sounding strange... eager, yet somehow disturbed, if the vaguely unsure look 
  to his eyes is any indication. "Haven't remembered to eat..."

Kesya blinks at your news, quickly moving to sit beside you. "Really? What'd 
  you find out?" She squeezes your hand, peering at the screen.

Tance taps the screen, on which is currently displayed the text of a datapad 
  entry very early on in his span of entries. "Listen to this..."

        "I showed Meggie the pendant tonight. I had to... she's become...
        special to me. I just wish I knew how to explain _where_ it
        came from, I mean, other than that Mother said it was Father's.
        I wish I knew who Father was... I'd record that here, too.

With that, Tance looks back up at you, and the expression he wears shifts 
  over to plaintiveness again. "I don't know how I missed this one before, 
  Jade," he murmurs.

----------
Interlude:

	The discovery of the datapad entry about the pendant seems to
galvanize Tance even more, and try as she might, Kesya can't drag him away
from his computer terminal. Reluctantly, Kesya leaves him to the task,
taking a measure of assurance in the knowledge that if he's busy with
this task, he won't be frying his shaky memories on crystal....

----------
Log Date:
	1/29/97

To Ocher Quadrant, Tance calls out, "Come!".
Kesya steps in from the hall.
Kesya has arrived.
Kesya meanders in, her hands in her pockets. "Hey Tance," she calls out 
  cheerily.

Tance waves at you, poking his head out of the den. He looks about as rumpled 
  as he had the last time you saw him, and he's rubbing his eyes tiredly, with 
  the look of a man who's been squinting at a computer screen for hours on end.

Kesya glances worriedly at you, crossing the room to wrap one arm about your 
  midsection. "Tance, when's the last time you had some rest? C'mon out here 
  and we'll get you something to eat, okay?"

Tance protests, "Had t' read, Jade, that entry I found... it's important....!" 
  This last word comes out of him slurred by a huge yawn.
You feel the resonance tingling in your blood.

Kesya chuckles softly, her hands on your hips to gently pull you out of the 
  den. "And your getting fed and rested is important too," she insists. "You 
  can tell me about your new finds while we eat."

Tance says heavily, "I'm _fine_, Jade, I'm fine..." But he lets you tug him 
  out into the living room, lets you settle him down on the couch, and there 
  he stretches wearily.

Kesya goes to the catering unit, and presses her wristunit to the scanner so 
  it'll charge her account instead of the room. She then orders up a variety 
  of dishes, and brings them over to the table before you. "Now eat up," she 
  directs, "before you faint. How long were you at that computer?"

Tance mumbles, "I dunno... forgot to look at the clock." He sits up enough to 
  smile wearily and start eating the first thing that comes to sight.

Kesya sits down beside you, leaning against you a bit as she reaches for a 
  cracker. "Oh! I'm so tired today. This new class is just /huge/, Tance.. 
  it's been devilish trying to get them all through Full Disclosure."

Tance builds a sandwich and starts munching it; he smiles, though, 
  close-mouthedly, as you seem to decide his shoulder makes a nice pillow. 
  Swallowing a mouthful, he then says, "It's.... all going okay? I mean... um, 
  you wanted to get offworld.."
You can detect some crystal resonance in your bones.

You can feel Kesya's head moving against your shoulder as she nods, her voice 
  soft with weariness but still clear enough to understand. "Oh, it's going 
  fine. I was hoping before to take the break between classes as our vacation, 
  but this is fine too. We'll figure a time that'll be good for both of us." 
  She lifts her head enough to look at you, silver-blue eyes looking into your 
  brown ones. "You weren't ready to go before, so that wasn't the right time. 
  And it's just as well, 'cause this class requires a lot of work anyway."

Tance nods awkwardly, leaning back against the back of the couch; gingerly, he 
  draws an arm closer around you. "Okay... well, I, I've been making good use 
  of the time... so many files...." He yawns again, stifles it, and chews down 
  another slow mouthful of sandwich, looking as if he's struggling between the 
  effort to eat and the effort to keep awake.

Kesya drapes one arm across your chest, nestling into you. "Found anything 
  else interesting?" If she doesn't watch out, she'll fall asleep this way.

Tance sets down the half-eaten sandwich, and murrs, lifting the other arm to 
  hold you. He murmurs into your hair, "The pendant, Jade... been tryin' to 
  see what I said about that... it's important, I know it!"

Kesya stirs, her arms sliding around your midsection as she murmurs. "Your Mom 
  gave it to you, right? And... you said in that one that you showed me that 
  it had something to do with your father, and that he died so you never knew 
  him."

Tance murmurs, "Yes... yes, I'd forgotten all about it...!" Tance hugs you 
  suddenly, and his voice roughens as he speaks. With grief?

Kesya straightens as you hug her, just enough so she can look up at your 
  expression, her own lined with concern. "Tance?"

Tance breathes, "Haven't been able to stop thinking about it.... the pendant, 
  I mean, and... I can't even remember what it looks like, just... its weight, 
  here..." He absently taps his breastbone, with one hand.
You can hear crystal resonance rushing between your ears.

Kesya nods, her eyes going to the spot you indicate. Swallowing, her gaze 
  lifts to yours again. "I wonder where it is now."

Tance rubs that hand across his eyes, and says heavily, "That's just it.. I-I 
  don't _know_....!"
Something in Tance's tone suggests he might almost be heartbroken by this 
  discovery of his, as he presses the back of his hand to his face.

Kesya tightens her arms around you, leaning against you to settle a soft kiss 
  on your cheek. "It's okay Tance," she reassures you. "We'll find it, 
  somehow."

Tance hugs you and whispers into your hair, "I... can barely remember the 
  things I talk... talked about in the files, Jade... I _hate_ this..."

Kesya holds you tight, her cheek pressed against your chest. "I know, I 
  know..." Her gaze lifts to meet yours again, and you can see the emotion 
  behind those silver-blue eyes. "But you /do/ remember bits of it... and 
  that's so much better than what you /did/ have. It's frustrating for you, I 
  know..." She sighs, hugging you tight. "But we'll piece it together, both of 
  us. You're not alone in this."

Tance, at that, hugs you awkwardly, but fiercely, to him. "If... if I could 
  remember who to pray to, I'd thank 'em for you, Jade," he whispers wearily.

Kesya returns the hug, her voice rough but barely audible at a low whisper. 
  "Tance, you mean so much to me... so I want to put this together as much as 
  you do." Smiling faintly, she adds, "And you know, I do think together we 
  can figure it all out."
You feel resonance tingling in your bones.

Tance mrmrms sleepily, and tells you, "Good... 'cause my head's spinnin', 
  Jade..."

Kesya's fond smile deepens as she gazes at you, and one hand goes to rest 
  against your cheek. "It's no wonder," she says softly, "With how hard you've 
  been working at that computer. Why don't you get some rest now, and get a 
  fresh start in the morning?"

Tance opens his eyes again to look at you, and, a trifle shyly, he asks, 
  "You... gotta work in the morning, too... right?"

Kesya grins at you, pausing thoughtfully for just a moment. "Actually... no. 
  The next Disclosure session isn't until tomorrow afternoon, and the recruits 
  have these few days to explore about the place. So I'm not needed until 
  around noon."
Kesya cocks her head to one side, blue gaze on you.

Tance ohs silently, dropping his eyes from yours to somewhere around your 
  neck, and is that a hint of a blush along his weathered cheeks? "I... I 
  guess I forgot to check your schedule, too..."

Kesya chuckles softly, one finger toying with the hair at the nape of your 
  neck. "Tance, /I/ don't know my schedule half the time... so you don't have 
  to feel you'd need to know it too."

Tance brightens a little, giving you a lopsided little smile. "Prob'ly good... 
  got enough crammed into my head right now that stuff's leakin' out faster 
  'n' usual, girlie... shards, can't even remember what day it is..."

Kesya follows amusedly, "Me neither. Does it matter?" Her eyes shine with coy 
  mischief, her hands linked around your neck. "Since when do you have to 
  follow a calendar?"

The crystal resonance is zinging through your body.
Grinning more widely now, Tance meets your gaze once more, and rallies, "Crazy 
  old karkers don't need calenders..."

Kesya arches her brows coyly at you, turning your words around. "Are you 
  calling /me/ a crazy old karker?" She just manages to keep from laughing, 
  but her eyes dance with surpressed mirth. Almost in your lap, she's got one 
  arm draped across your shoulders.

Tance loops his arms around you, drinking in the sight of your face, and 
  continuing to brighten at your teasing, despite the lines of exhaustion 
  around his eyes. "Well, if _I'm_ not the crazy old karker...."

Kesya's brows arch further at your words. "Then I /must/ be, huh? Well, we'll 
  just have to see about that!" She takes your hands, holding them in her own 
  back against the cushions. "Just for that, you can just stare at this 
  delicious food, and not have any." Some threat.

If you pay attention to it, the crystal resonance can be heard coursing 
  through your body at all times.
Tance utters a low whimper of protest, and mock-scowls at you. "Thought you 
  said I needed to eat."

Kesya pauses, gaze sliding a bit as she thinks up an appropriate response. 
  "That was before I was an old crazy karker, remember?" She winks, still 
  holding your arms to your sides. "Of course, if someone would want to 
  retract that..." She looks innocently skyward.

----------
Interlude:

	Playful meetings in Tance's quarters aside, Kesya still has a job
to do, preparing the next batch of recruits for journeying down to
Ballybran's surface. She keeps dropping by every so often to make sure
that Tance actually remembers to take care of himself, but in the meantime,
an unforeseen difficulty comes up for the black-adapted Trainer....	

----------
Log Date:
	2/2/97

Kesya steps in from the hall.
Kesya has arrived.
Kesya gives a small little knock, and promptly pokes her head in. "Tance?" She 
  sounds exhausted, her trill heavy.

Tance, in the kitchen nook at the back of the dining room, promptly looks up 
  from throwing together what looks like a late evening snack, and blinks. 
  "Jade?"

Kesya
Although taller than most women at 5'9, it is Kesya's exotic colouring that 
  makes her stand out in a crowd, and marks her as native of Taal'en. Her skin 
  is a deep forest green, though more creamy in appearance than most because 
  of the Human blood in her background -- also evident by her silvery-blue 
  eyes, which lack the slits commen to most Taal'en natives. Thick sea-green 
  hair frames her narrow face in loose waves, softening her sharp features, 
  and is done in small braids that gather at the nape of her neck. She has a 
  quick and friendly smile, her small teeth appearing sharp and stark white 
  against her dark skin. Her frame is willow-thin, her delicate bones giving 
  her something of a childlike appearance were it not for the lithe way she 
  carries herself. Her voice has a musical lilting quality to it, perhaps from 
  the Taal'en trill that hasn't quite faded from years on Ballybran.
     A long, linear flowing dress hugs Kesya's slender frame, the fabric a 
  rich weave of topaz blue silk and green accents. The bodice is fitted, 
  strapless to leave her shoulders and arms bare. A filigree wrap of black and 
  silver strands is draped about her shoulders, obscuring her neck, and flows 
  loosely down her arms, training etherially as she moves. 
Kesya seems to have a long gash trailing down her neck, across her right 
  shoulder and down her arm, though the ends are mostly healed. The shoulder 
  wound was evidently the deepest, but the muscle has mended together, only a 
  slight redness showing at the edges of the wound. If you happen to be near 
  Kesya, the hair on your arm stands on end.

Tance blinks a second time at the sight of you, abandons the snack, and comes 
  striding over hastily. "Jade... Jade, what the kark happened t' you?"
If you listen hard, you can hear crystal resonance coursing gently through 
  your body.

Kesya leans heavily against the railing near the doorway, still dressed in the 
  exotic finery she uses to 'impress' recruits when she runs Full Disclosure 
  sessions. She smiles faintly, raising one hand to you as you come over. "I'm 
  okay Tance... really." She winces a bit, and admits, "Just tired. You got my 
  message, didn't you?"

The older Singer blinks yet again, and echoes blankly, "... message?" Clearly, 
  most of his attention is on your injured neck and shoulder, and he awkwardly 
  lifts his hands, to clasp yours.

Kesya nods stiffly, still favouring her injury a bit Her eyes widen though, as 
  it dawns on her that you've had no idea what she's been doing the past few 
  days. "You didn't get it? I left a note for you, it should be on your 
  computer..." Her voice trails off as she looks at you, and she offers an 
  apologetic smile. "Well.. I had to go into the Ranges just for a bit... Fina 
  had gotten herself almost comatose needing resonance, so I drove her out." 
  She gestures to her shoulder, wincing. "And.. got this. And then ended up 
  being the only one 'conveniently' injured when a FD was supposed to be 
  run... so I ended up running two. I'm sorry you didn't know, Tance..."

As you speak, Tance blinks several more times, looks vaguely wounded himself 
  -- perhaps because you went into the Ranges without him -- but that 
  expression vanishes as he promptly demands, "You come siddown.... c'mon 
  now..." He tugs you towards what used to be your very own couch.

Kesya stiffles a tired laugh at your urgings, but she's too exhausted to do 
  much more than get tugged along with you. Collapsing into the soft cushions, 
  she utters a soft groan. "S'nice to sit down, finally. It was all I could do 
  to get the last recruit settled in."

Tance half-sits down beside you, but not quite. "You need anything? I mean... 
  somethin' to drink? Pain med?"

Kesya shakes her head, gently tugging on your arm in an attempt to get you to 
  settle beside her. "I just wanted to see you," she says, hand clasped in 
  yours. "Haven't even been to my suite yet," she continues tiredly, and 
  gestures to her clothes. "Obviously. Like I wear this any other time except 
  FD."

Tance obligingly leans back against you, even as his brown gaze tracks down 
  along your clothes. Only then, perhaps, does your attire really sink in with 
  him. "You look.... real nice," he murmurs.

Kesya manages a small smile, leaning into you to give you a gentle kiss. 
  "Thanks," she murmurs back, one hand fingering the wrap draped over her 
  arms. "I feel bad that you didn't know I'd gone into the Ranges, though." 
  Her blue gaze lifts to yours, expression hopeful. "You know I'd tell you 
  first if I could, right?"

Tance says gruffly, "Sure you left th' message, Jade, just forgot to check 
  'em..." His mouth quirks in a lopsided grin, and he slips an arm behind you, 
  a thin but warm pillow.
You feel the mild caress of crystal resonance softly along your nerves.

Kesya gives you a contented smile, her eyes closing as she rests against your 
  shoulder. "Just wanted to make sure, is all." A few quiet minutes pass, and 
  you hear her voice again. "You're nice to lean against." Stirring, she lifts 
  her head a bit. "What've you been doing these past few days?"

Tance lifts his free hand to pat shyly at your head, as though you were a 
  child he were holding, then tells you promptly, "Been lookin' for clues." 
  Something in his voice turns tired and frustrated, as he speaks.

Kesya senses the change in your voice, and she looks up at you with a 
  concerned expression. "Not much luck so far?"

Tance shakes his head dejectedly. "I keep looking through my files for 
  something, anything, about that pendant, but... nothing. Nothing." He leans 
  his cheek against the top of your head.

Kesya's fingers trail along your collarbone as she frowns thoughtfully, her 
  own head resting against your shoulder. "Maybe you're looking in the wrong 
  place," she offers. "Maybe... maybe we have to find out what happened to 
  your stuff, and look from there."

[To be continued....]