Private Coal

[Talin Treicolt]

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duketalsinlota 1 day ago

Dear Talin,
I do not know what I have done to deserve your ire, but that is a discussion we can have another time, because right now there are more important matters at hand.
Your sister is suffering in your absence. She needs to talk to you and unless I have completely misjudged your character, you need to talk to her as well.
I propose the two of you have a meeting where you can clear the air and discuss how to move forward. No matter what else, you are family, after all.
If you are agreeable, please suggest a meeting and I will convince Tansu that having this conversation would be the best for everyone involved.
Kind regards,
Talsin Lota, Duke of House Lota, Defender of the Seven Lakes


rodeostar001xx 1 day ago

fine
but y r u talkin' like that


duketalsinlota 1 day ago

Dear Talin,
I was taught at court to always use the proper punctuation and formalization, as to avoid hurting the feelings of the people on the opposite side of the screen.
Kind regards,
Talsin Lota, Duke of House Lota, Defender of the Seven Lakes


rodeostar001xx 1 day ago

ok weirdo


duketalsinlota 1 day ago

Dear Talin,
As the children of today say: if you look in the mirror, you stare in your own eyes, in fact.
Kind regards,
Talsin Lota, Duke of House Lota, Defender of the Seven Lakes

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they say pressure makes diamonds, how the hell am I still coal? ​

The exchange had left her with turbulence. But still, three days later, Talin turned up at the gardens of Naboo, garnering stares from other occupants as she made her way through the trail. Normal tourists didn't wear leather jackets and combat boots, apparently. Would Talsin come, she wondered? Surely, he wouldn't risk further altercation. She was still surprised he had reached out at all. Was Su so bad off without her? Talin thought she mighta been happy. The thought of that night still made her stomach churn. Despite wantin' to turn back, her feet peristed in carryin' her forward. Auteme had made a mark upon her heart. This couldn't stretch out for decades, no matter how hard it was to face.

Comin' over a hill, she paused, takin' in the view of the city below. The setting sun bathed crystalline domes, setting them ablaze with an orange glow. Speeders came and went as the citizens went about their day, indifferent to the peace talks in the gardens above. Naboo was so different and beautiful and old. It was exactly the place the twins should have been explorin' on better terms. The thought made that missin' piece of her heart ache. Everything had spiraled so quickly. Tansu was still in the dark about everything before Atrisia, and Talin had lived another life since then.

A patagona came into view as she finished the ascent. Draped with a lush thicket of Queen's Heart, the flowers made for a pleasant smell and a peaceful atmosphere. A blonde mane to match her own poked over the back of a chair beneath the cover.

"Hey." Talin rounded the chair and stood, hands in the pockets of her jacket. "I'm..."

Words weren't comin' easy. There was too much to say.

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Tansu Treicolt
Honorable Mentions: Talsin Lota | Auteme ​

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

It was a beautiful spot. Green, lush, fresh and loamy. Aromas from the flowers made the air throughout the grounds delicate, soft and powdery. Soft coloured petals seemed to shimmer in the sunlight when tickled by the breeze, and Tansu sighed, enjoying the buzz of pollinators.

Very different from Atrisia, which was beautiful too, but different. Where Naboo had spilling, wild florals, Atrisia met it with trimmed, manicured, and precise greenery. Nothing pretentious or overly ornate.

Another difference evidenced in the stiffness with which the pair greeted one another. On Atrisia, it had been all excited babble, enthusiastic overtalking and excited sharing in as few breaths as possible. Su's arms had wrapped around her sister tightly, and now, she mirrored her twin by keeping her hands in her pockets. Loose, and uncomfortable with the unfamiliarity and the vague shame that it hadn't been either of their own volitions that drew them here — instead, it had been Talsin to reach out first.

That was a knot in her stomach, and it became tauter when Talin couldn't find the one word Tansu wanted to hear. Needed to hear.

She rose to her feet instantly.

Sorry. She was sorry. She had to be — why couldn't she just say so?

A brief flash of annoyance rose in her and faded. Approaching this conversation with expectancy would make it short. Treicolt tempers would flare and it would only result in longer stretches of time without her other half.

She needed another approach. Another way to coax the truth out.

"…suddenly real bad at talkin'." Tansu offered, ticking her head to the side.

It hurt being this close and realizing how little of her sister she felt. Normally, they'd have tangled up in their broadness, their sameness, but it felt fractured now. Strained. Withdrawn.

"How long you think we coulda gone if Talsin didn't text first?" The knot twisted another quarter turn too tight.

"I miss you." She admitted. "But my missin' you is all messed up because o' what you did. What you were ready to do."

It was Jon who'd landed Talsin in the hospital, but it had been Talin who'd been ready to shoot him between the eyes when he was on his knees.

Searching eyes moved right-left-right between the irises that matched her own.

"Why… how.. could you have…." Already her voice cracked. She'd hoped to last longer than this. "You said I outta know. But I don't. And all I can do is reckon 'n suppose and make things up unless you tell me what is going on with you."

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Talin Treicolt
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​

 

[Talin Treicolt]

Shame choked her as Tansu thrust her perspectives unforgivingly on her twin. Talin couldn’t even muster up the nerve to return fire at the little pokes and prods. A blank stare regarded her sister as she spoke - until the pain reached a pinnacle, and words shuddered underneath pain. That was enough to send her eyes probin’ the gravel ground - anything that wasn’t her sisters face. Moments dragged on, emotions churning beneath the blank surface before Talin lost control of her walls.

“Ugh! It’s not… that wasn’t…” One hand worked its way to the back of her neck to tangle admit curls, halfway to tearin’ it out. “There’s so much!”

Frustration was evident in every step that made up the pace across the pavilion. How did she even begin to backtrack everything that had led to that night?

“It’s not all of it, but - do you really think Jon deserved to be arrested for what he did? He was tryin’ to protect me. It wasn’t… he wasn't himself, but I know it didn’t come from a bad place, neither. I mean, imagine, Su! He’s our friend. Locked up in some facility for the rest ‘o his life?! Eatin’ slop and havin’ to survive the folks around him every moment and livin’ just to die there?! Really?!”

Desperation was evident in Talin’s insistence. If one dead weequay did Jon in for her sister, what did Denon mean for the pair ‘o them?

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

She'd rehearsed this conversation in front of the mirror a thousand times since Atrisia. An inevitable thing, but unpredictable in the details. Never once, in all her ruminations, did she predict Talin's deference all the way back to The Drop. That it would take more than four breaths to hear her sister apologize. The tension in her stomach took another quarter turn.

Tansu frowned. It was hard to be fair when she was hurt and angry all at once. But she had to try. Had to keep her emotions at a simmer to just get through.

"The Jon we grew up with ain't the same Jon from the last two times I've seen him." Her fingers poked up past the cuff of her oversized leather jacket and pronged for emphasis, "Yes. He oughta be tried."

Even though her mirror image seemed to be lookin' anywhere at her, if Talin did look up, she'd see Tansu looking her square in the eye.

"Talin — he grabbed someone who still a chance at gettin' outta there alive, and he used 'em as a meat shield. And then he never once stood up when that innocent l'il fox was framed. He had the time to. I texted you, you musta told him right?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She couldn't believe her sister wouldn't have passed on the message at least, it was more rhetorical than anything.

"And let's not forget he just up and broke Talsin's damn face just for simply just bringin' up arrestin' him!" Her eyes shimmered but didn't spill.

Voice low, she shook her head. "He oughta be arrested. Oughta be tried. And if he needs help, then fine — get him the help. But what he don't get is a free pass."

On Atrisia, she'd been too preoccupied fretting over Talsin to have seen her sister or Jon leave, or in what state they were in. If there's been regret, she hadn't been privy to any of it.

She exhaled through her nose. Soft. Almost sad.

"'Member what Ma and Pa used to say? They disciplined us cus they cared about us. Cus they wanted us to be better. Even if it was rougher than a two-credit saddle as it was happenin'."

____________________________________________________________
Talin Treicolt
Honourable mentions: Talsin Lota | Jonath Kago | Renard Fenn
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​

 

[Talin Treicolt]

"This ain't the same as shovelin' bantha chit or bein' tied to the homestead, Tan."

Nostrils flared, Talin finally turned back to her sister again throwin' her arms up. The fact she couldn't wrap her head around it got under Talin's skin - but the mention of Talsin stopped the blowout. Rage still festered for his part in all this, but Talin had done a lot of thinkin' about if it had been Morrow on the other end of Jon's fist. Though she had admistered greater retribution for less grevious sins, it was still Jon. Some of the fight went out of her shoulders and she slinked over to one of the chairs and slumped unceremousiously.

"He took it too far with Talsin," Talin agreed hesitantly. "But did you see his face after, Su? I don't think he meant to. That's not a cop out. He said somethin' funny on Denon, about not knowin' how he even got to fightin' like that. And I'm the one who told him not to go try to get the fox's bounty revoked. He wanted to, but prison don't help nothin' or nobody. He needs us. Our help. He's family."

The admission felt funny. Blood was stronger than beskar back home. Of course, Auteme and Kyric and Damien didn't share the Treicolt lineage - but they were chosen by their parents, brought up beside them. Jon was in the same vein now havin' been helpin' Pa on the homestead - and Denon, the plans they had made for Coruscant, and the fact he'd found her when it all went to chit had made it's mark upon her heart. Shame lingered on her tongue for not havin' found him yet, mixin' with the taste of florals.

"Did Talsin convince you he should be arrested?" Talin asked, frowning.

It had been at the forefront of her mind since their fight. Somethin' about it all just wasn't sittin' right. How impassioned he had been about Jon seein' justice, despite Tilon's - who had been far more affected by Lurkvap's death - refusal. How he had contacted her to make it right with Su after what he said that bit of conversation she caught back on Denon. Was it only 'cause she had been mopey, and no longer fit that idealized mold? Or was Talin missin' a piece?

"Was it part 'o the same conversation where he told you to dump me like a sack 'a rotten vegetables?" The wording itself was bitter, but Talin's voice had shrunk, absent of fury. She was just plain 'ole hurt.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

"No. I didn't. I was real busy lookin' at Talsin's instead." She interjected pointedly, leaning heavily into the emphasis of her displeasure. Good thing Talin acknowledged Jon had gone too far, but she still had yet to apologize for instigating. That would be all it took. Just a sorry. That’s all she wanted.

"Arrest ain't mean insta-jail, Lin." She stopped short, mouth partway open in shock. "You stopped him? You?" She couldn't believe it. Her knuckles rotated against her temple a few times, to iron out the disbelief.

Every after-thought dried up in the wake of her question targeted at her boyfriend and their private conversation. Her half-shock turned full-blown and then somethin' that drew her brows together, shaking her head.

"Are you kidding me?" She sputtered. "Are you absolutely pullin' my leg with your chitty evesdroppin'?" Now it was her turn to animatedly toss up her hands.

"Is that why you've been mean muggin' him from the corner of your eye?? Stars, Talin.

If yer gonna be nosy you might as well hear right.

Talsin ain't never said to drop you. Never. At most he suggested we find ourselves separately. Not to try and keep doin' what I was doin' and you just kept pushin' me out. Drawin' into yourself."

If you wanna talk about droppin' someone like a sack 'o veggies, how's about you tell me why you were the one to never answer any of my messages? Calls? Texts? Until finally Atrisia was a good enough place to meet up again. Huh?"

Her face flushed with emotion. None of it good.

"And if you don't believe me, here, take a look and hear right this time." Flustered with her motions, she scrambled to scrape off the bracelet from her wrist that matched her sister's. A thing they'd worn since infancy so teachers at school could tell them apart.

"But don't'cha dare use what you find as an excuse for bein' ready to shove a blaster b'tween his eyes.”

____________________________________________________________
Talin Treicolt
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​

 

[Talin Treicolt]

Talin wanted to object - that it wasn't intentional, that it woulda been easier havin' not seen it, that she was just tryna check in on her sweet sister after bein' shot hours prior with the bad guys potentially still in the area. But that didn't matter. What followed was bigger than all that. It set her fingers diggin' into the wrought arms of the lawn chair. Instinct set her pinnin' liar on her sister, without that ethereal string that would give away deception in an instant. They'd had their whole lives together, still, though, and Talin knew Su's tells. A wave of shame washed over her, for havin' treated Talsin the way she did after she had heard those few words he uttered. He wasn't fully innocent, some voice insisted - he had still tried to play hero with Jon. But maybe, without all that animosity, things mighta been different.

"No." The whisper was barely audible over the hum of the evenin' bugs. One hand waved the bracelet away while the other covered her face from the horror of realization. "Chit. Chit. I'm so sorry, Su."

The brain that was apparently smoother than a pebble was workin' overtime to catch up with the realization that she had been so dead wrong. Why hadn't she texted Tansu sooner? Why hadn't she even tried to clear this all up?

"I was just so damn mad, and..."

It was a gamble, to lay it all out on the table. The knowledge of what she had been up to stood to burn their field and only leave ash for them. Yet Talin was compelled to lay it all out in the open and let the cards fall where they may. Maybe it'd even help Jon, too. Sure made him look like a saint. Both her hands fell into her lap, as Talin slumped forward, eyes moving back and forth in recollection.

"And I was tryin' to protect us after the Drop. Tryin' to protect you." Talin swallowed the lump of fear that was workin' it's way to chokin' her. "Had to stay off the grid. It was COMPNOR - or whatever was left, I guess. We took care'a them. Sent a message to the underworld. It was... Tan, it was so much worse than one weequay, a-and after what Talsin, had said, or what I thought he had said, I was just so scared you were gonna hate me, and it was just gonna prove him rig-"

Intensity gave way to a tear which Talin angrily brushed away. The sob that threatened to come was silenced by bitin' her lip so hard it damn near bled.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Not an ounce of smug victory to be found, Tansu immediately moved to wrap her arms around her sister. An apology was all she wanted, and understanding would come with it.

She didn't whisper anything particularly reassuring, like it was okay, but in her touch was forgiveness. In the way she squeezed her other half.

Talin was going through something and had hung her hat on the wrong hook. It was unfortunate that that hook had been weaponized against her boyfriend, but Talsin seemed ready to forgive too. So long as Talin accepted responsibility for her actions.

She accepted it, and then divulged almost too much. Tan wished she could turn her ears off. All she could do was squeeze her eyes shut and shake her head against her sister.

"Stop, Lin."

Every word twisted the knot within tighter. It sounded like something their dad would say, doin' something maybe off colour to protect the family.

And so much worse than one Weequay? She agonized to think too deeply what that meant.

Her arms released her sister and she stepped back.

"I could never hate you." She said firmly, the only words she could readily find and have full trust in their truth. "Never."

But there were so many emotions to go through before hate could be reached. Horror, shock, disappointment, to name a few. All roiled beneath her surface.

She didn't know what to say. Knowing Jon had to be tried was one thing, hearing her sister had to was another. And worse, her sister had hunted down culprits and made them pay.

A pang of culpability spiked through her. She'd said that, bleeding out her mouth, in the heat of the moment. And then her sister had gone off and done it. Tansu's brain turned fully off.

With the driest mouth she'd ever experienced, her mind fumbled through the words, groping onto one that stood out.

"W-we?"

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Talin Treicolt
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​

 

[Talin Treicolt]

"Stop, Lin."

The demand made Talin flinch against her sister's embrace, dulled the comfort of reassurance. Finer details had been left outta the admission, the ones she was sure woulda made the difference in Tansu's certainty - but fear insisted she take her twin's advice. Instead, she just joined the embrace, relishin' in the long overdue moments.

"Yeah, we." Talin croaked when they finally broke apart. She hadn't meant to say it - just sorta came flyin' out. "Me and Morrow. We ran into each other at the spaceport the mornin' after the Drop, both goin' to Nar Shaddaa. Imps caught up with him over there and made another mess. He agreed to help me, after that."

A visible swallow preluded her next words. This wasn't the right way to go about it. It shoulda been whispers after stayin' up way too late hopped up on all the juicy details of how it had all come to be - but here they were instead.

"We... Uhm.. After, we kinda started messin' around. But it's somethin' more, now."

Rosy cheeks decorated Talin's face as she crossed her arms, kickin' her boot against the gravel.

"He's here, on Naboo. I wanted you to meet him proper, now that we got things figured out. Things were kinda up in the air at the race."

It was presumptuous, she knew. Things between the pair 'o them weren't still quite right - but the pleadin' edge of her voice conveyed the importance of the ask.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

So much worse than just One Weequay. We sent a message to the Underworld. We. Agreed to help me.
Help me.

​

On repeat, the words cycled through her mind. Ricocheting from one side of her skull to the other. She couldn't make sense of it in a way that didn't implicate her sister having done something damning and incredibly illegal.

"Wh—" she put a hand on one of the pagoda's railings, as if that would still the spin of her mind.

She should be meeting her sister's boyfriend under different pretences. Jokingly insinuating she'd off him if he ever did anything to hurt her twin. But with each sentence, Talin revealed a more somber situation.

How could she deal with this now? When her sister was here asking her to be a part of her life again. Tansu had what she wanted — an apology — and anything more than that could threaten to further the budding schism.

Normally, Tansu would be all emotion and reaction in the heat of the moment. Insist on working out every detail right here, right now, and fully trust everything would be alright thereafter.

But that felt wrong here. Her sister seemed already too tenuously held.

What had Talsin said once, about focusing on the moment, something about navigating until safety?

"Emotions are good, Tan. Shows us we are alive. But in a moment when feelings run hot, they can get us killed. I don't allow myself to feel anything until we are safe, because your safety and mine is more important. I become an observer, watching the feelings but not letting them consume me. I put them away for later processing. In that observation mode it's not me going through them, it's someone else with my name, that's how I keep myself in check when I need it most."​

She squeezed her eyes shut, and ran her fingers through pale hair like a punctuation. It would be a first try for her, but if not now, when?

"It's serious huh?" Her head ticked to the side. "Well ain't he lucky. Alright, let's meet the sonofagun in full glory now.

Y'all ran off so fast after the race, I barely got a glimpse."

When she smiled, it was genuine, born of fondness: “Imagine this conversation with Ma and Pa?” A little laugh. “I think about the meet-the-parents all the time.”

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Talin Treicolt
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​

 

[Talin Treicolt]

Those moments felt like forever whilst Talin watched Tansu hesitate. If she said no, it wouldn't be the end, but it sure wasn't about to feel right. Then... she didn't. She didn't?! Agreement was met with a little hop and squeal and run as the elder twin nearly tackled the other. They went stumblin' off the patio, tramplin' over small bushels of flowers, Talin's arms wrapped firmly 'round Su's neck. For just a moment, she just stayed there, hootin' and hollerin', revellin' in the moment. This was right. When finally she pulled back, the rest of the weight of Tan's words fell over her. Blue eyes got real big and wide as she thought about the prospect.

"Oh, no, sir. I think Morrow and Pa would totally butt heads. Too much alike. But, oh my stars, you're thinkin' about it?! Does Talsin wanna?! Am I hearin' weddin' bells?!"

That list bit was only teasin' mostly. They sure had been at it a while. She and Morrow only held months to their years and already the pair were so deeply entrenched in one another, it was hard to imagine goin' without him for some extended period. Without the line to Tan's mind, she had no idea what time like that did to ya.

"Come on then." Talin shifted to join her twin's side and swing one arm 'round her neck as the two began their exit hike. "He ain't far. By the force, I got so much to tell you. I almost got killed by a gangster, and he saved me. But I didn't know it was him. Then I thought Kyric was gonna kill him. Oh, it's better than the holoflicks, Su."

There was soooooo much - but her mind kept goin' back to Talsin, and the way he'd looked when she'd last seen him. Abruptly, Talin cleared her throat.

"What's, uh, been goin' on with you? Tal... is he... okay?"

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

This. This is what she wanted. What she missed. A swell of emotion crashed over her, greater than anything thus far. Like nostalgia realized and she met her sister's collision with nothing but welcome. She loved her sister, more than anything, and when they were together like this, wrapped up in joy and the pure desire to share and grow, there wasn't anything purer or more natural. Their potential was deeper than the skies or the seas. Boundless.

It's what made it so easy to compartmentalized the storm of confusion that readily brewed in the box she put it in.

She mighta got teary-eyed if Talin hadn't answered so fast, and anything overly sentimental turned into a laugh at the idea of her sister dating someone too much like their dad.

"I mean," she got sheepish at the lurch into her life with Talsin — a flushed expression mixed with a distant, dreamy stare: "Yeah he wantsta. He's so proper, you know. Especially now that we're..." she bit her lip, barely able to contain the smile that cracked through, all toothsome and dimpled "Like actually official. People in his world know about us. I'm not a secret, or just a friend. Or a floozy. A court nightmare, probably, he lost his bachelorism as a bargaining chip but.." she shrugged. It had been a frustrating part of their relationship. One she'd agonized over with her twin in private. Not that Talsin would ever lead a double life. He'd always kept her from the eye of the courts to protect her. "I swear Lin, if he got on one knee tomorrow I'd be in white the day after."

And she meant it.

"You've lost your arm and you were almost killed?" Tansu sputtered, following along her sister's route, happy to surrender to her guidance. It felt natural. Letting her sister yank her around and tell her what to do. Like falling back into the pattern of her life. "Jeeze Lin, save some adventure for the rest of us."

But again, that nagging feeling arose — why would a gangster be trying to kill her sister? And why would their cousin, pinnacle of Light, seem like he was going to kill Talin's boyfriend? It all sounded wrong.

Tansu swallowed, and shoved those questions into the box of conflict that seemed to be getting bigger by the second.

Then Talin asked about Talsin directly.

"Yes. He's okay." She answered, keeping the reply intentionally short. He was, in his own words, finally okay. Jon's handiwork had shattered his face and cracked open a new side of him.

"He's here too, if you wanna double date. He'd like t'see ya."

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Talin Treicolt
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​

 

[Talin Treicolt]

Wasn't often Talin was shocked to silence, but Tansu's words sure did it. First, was the confession that Talsin had finally bucked up and claimed her proper. It was about damn time. Too many nights had she spent consolin' her despairin' sister, who was a catch, no matter what court you came outta. Su worryin' about a marriage pact that coulda turned up at any time had been the first thing that had damn near pushed Talin to wrap her fingers around that pretty boys throat and shake him half to death.

Bigger still was the willin'ness to go marchin' down the aisle head first. A measure of fear wormed it's way in with that possible reality. Already, everything was too different. And Su, some duchess in a dress on Teta when they managed to free it from Empire rule? Her outlaw sister would have no place in that life. Despite the discomfort, though, she wouldn't dare deny her sister's request. Not when they were managin' to find some semblance of normalcy after all that had transpired.

"Yeah. Ahem." Shakin' the croak with a clear of her throat, Talin decided to lie through her teeth. "I'd like that."

Further tales accompanied the hike outta the garden and around the corner. Gettin' to fly with the crew of On The Mauve, a casino in the sky in New Vertica, chasin' down a crazy spiced out Sith on Kattada - all the things that had come to transpire since her unceremonious departure. In the distance, seated on a bench near a food cart, Morrow came into view with Bane seated dutifully next to him. Furry ears perked when he saw the blondes approachin'.

 

[Morrow]

Shuura skin crunched loudly under Morrow's bite. Sweet flesh bled juice over his tongue with every subsequent chew. At his feet, a juvenile loth-wolf sat looking up expectantly. Begrudgingly, Morrow had previously given in to the pup's begging and gave him a piece of his Kaadu skewer. Now, the creature expected it would receive a morsel of Morrow's next snack as well.

"Don't look at me like that," Morrow rebuked, words muffled by a mouth full of fruit.

Bane's head cocked slightly to one side, begging eyes pleading silently with his would-be master.

"No," Morrow refused flatly.

The loth-wolf might have given up there, settled its chin onto the paving in defeat. Instead, his attention suddenly snapped down the road, pointed ears at attention. A unique connection to the Force meant he could feel her just before he heard or saw her. Then, Talin came into view as his supernatural instincts promised. Her distinct scent carried on the wind, reaching the beast's potent olfactory sense. Overcome with a surge of excitement, Bane let out a volley of barks as he took off in a sprint to greet her.

As the animal exploded into a gallop, Morrow looked up with surprise, nearly choking on his food. "Bane!" he cried after the creature. Quickly, he rose from the bench and followed the canine.

Denizens and other pedestrians gawked, yelled, or cringed away as the stygian furball, two feet long and just over half as tall, weaved through their legs. A beat later, again, as a similarly sable figure shouldered past them in pursuit. When Bane reached Talin a moment later, he cycled between sniffing at her ankles and jumping up onto her legs playfully. He bounced to the unfamiliar Tansu to do the same, then back again. All the while, his tail threatened to break the barrier from real to hyperspace.

"Hey!" Morrow shouted as he caught up. A snap of his fingers followed the shout, and his finger pointed sternly at the ground next to him. Obliging, Bane ceased all hyperactivity and scurried to sit down beneath Morrow's indicating digit. Though he was far from still, small whines and shakes leaked out, the dog hardly able to contain his excitement. Morrow gave his companion a slightly annoyed look. She's hardly been gone an hour, he thought.

Once Bane was subdued by his own eager obedience, Morrow finally looked up to meet Talin. A glance rolled over to regard Tansu, brow raising slightly. He hadn't expected them to come back together. "You guys figure it out, or what?" he asked after a pause, disinterest in his voice betraying his words. A loud chomp on the Shuura unceremoniously punctuated the inquiry.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

It became easy to forget the nagging feeling of something being not-quite-right once they slipped into their casual candor. Excited exchanges of what had happened to each of them in their time apart — and with each story, their eyes brightened. Their hand gestures got bigger. Their energy heightened. The realization that this life, this life of adventure, was what they had left the homestead for. That all the homesickness was worth it.

Just before they reached Morrow, Tansu confirmed where they were going, and lightheartedly suggested they make it a full-on party and sent a message to Talsin Lota , letting him know where the meet-and-greet would be taking place. As she put her datapad away, she heard the distinct sound of panting.

"Awe, CaayuUTE!" Tan exclaimed as the young lothwolf came bounding at them, its gaze locked on Talin, and when it came her turn, the backwater Jedi was all to willing to scritch it behind the ears and give it whatever affection accelerated the beat of its happy tail.

"Who is this? Who are youuu?" In all the excitement, Talin hadn't got to the growing Lothwolf puppy yet.

And then the creature was called to heel, at the legs of the dark-haired man who'd stolen her sister's heart.

"You guys figure it out, or what?"

What a charmer.

Tansu's grin widened, dimples flashing as she rocked back on her heel, tossing a glance at her sister. "Ain'tcha precious—you worrying on us. We're just fine, thanks kindly."

She stuck out her hand for a shake, hoping he'd not use the juicy one.

"Hear you're the real-deal beau now, congratulations. Reckon that means I'm obliged to threaten you somethin' fierce if you cross her. Family law and all that."

____________________________________________________________
Talin Treicolt | Morrow
____________________________________________________________
​

 

[Talsin Lota]

Tansu Treicolt Talin Treicolt Morrow

Talsin strolled on over where the coordinates pointed to but didn't immediately butt in.

Instead Tal watched as the wolf danced around Talin and Tansu, drawing their attention. Seemed that Talin had gotten a pet in between. That was a good thing. Pets could bring out the best out of people. Talsin was still concerned about Talin, about the behavior she was exhibiting, but watching her from the side petting the wolf?

Yeah, that was the old Talin, alright.

He joined the group not long after Morrow, his hand settling on Tansu's shoulder and giving his Treicolt a kiss on the cheek. "I see you two buried the hatchet? Nice to see it." But for a moment his attention was on Tansu, feeling the tension beneath his hand, running through her shoulders. It was clear this wasn't the moment, but it made him immediately concerned. Did something happen?

Then glancing to Talin and to her new partner apparently.

"Howdy, you must be the boyfriend." Then a nod towards Talin. "Tal, hope you been keeping well." Once upon a time his voice would have been warm and welcoming towards Tansu's sister. Now... now it was guarded. The reason of it was clearly sketched over his face. Where before the noble scion had a pristine face without any scars, now two were prominent.

One along his eye, the other opposite of it through his brow.

Somehow Talsin made it work however. The boyish face was gone and replaced by something stern, grown-up and was it just Talin's imagination or was his face so much more judgemental than it had been before?

 

[Talin Treicolt]

"That there is Bane." Talin informed her sister dutifully, walkin' to crouch beside where he had sat and offer some more love. "The best boy there ever was - don't tell Amos. He came with the ship."

Then Talsin came crawlin' outta the woodwork. Shame nearly drove her eyes away from his face - but she kept some measure of control, hopeful at his seemingly lighthearted approach. That hope melted when he spoke. Hope you been keepin' well. How did Morrow get a warmer greetin' than her? Well, maybe Morrow hadn't punched him and threatened to pull a piece - but still. If her sister was talkin' marriage, then Talsin was damn near family, and families fought, damn it. Irritation set her eye about twitchin' as she offered a curt nod.

"Lookin' better than the last time I saw ya." What was supposed to be a joke rolled on out with an edge to cut. Clearin', her throat, Talin continued on. "Reckon I owe ya my thanks for draggin' us back together."

Ugh. It was so weird and wrong and ugh. Rising, Talin walked over - slowly, as to not evoke memory of their last get together - to settle in front of Talsin.

"Lookie here, pardner, I don't know what makes this right, but if you think punchin' me back might, I'm open to it."

That sentiment was dead serious. An eye for an eye, somethin' the Treicolt believed in even more than the force.

 

[Morrow]

Morrow's regard cycled between Tansu and her offered hand. From beneath his shroud of black fabric, his right hand raised to oblige. Deliberate motions hid any sense of tenatitveness behind the gesture.

"Right," he acknowledged half-heartedly, comprehension distant in his tone. Family law wasn't something a siblingless orphan had much of a grasp of. Rather, he was trying to puzzle out whether that really was a genuine threat.

Cloak now parted, his similarly palleted garb was clear underneath. At his hip, an SE-14r hung loose in its holster, attached to his loose, off-fitting belt. At best, the legality of the weapon on Naboo was questionable, and not to mention carrying it. Just as well, the exotic animal with no leash was likely breaking several statutes. Fortunately, none of the locals had challenged him on anything, nor found it worth their time to notify any authority.

"You make it sound like we haven't met," Morrow replied to Talsin. He tried his best to sound casual, but even the smallest interaction felt awkward. Especially knowing that not too long ago, he'd tried to have the Tetan standing in front of him disposed of. Eye contact with the Jedi almost felt threatening on its own, despite his ignorance of the ordeal. It made Morrow's trigger finger twitch atop where it rested on the Shuura.

A medical bracket over the bridge of Morrow's nose was the only visual evidence of that scheme, and something to remember Jonath Kago by. Cartilage had been reset, and kolto injections had relieved any external swelling, but the strip kept the airways open where cheap meds fell short.

When Talin approached Talsin and made her offer, Morrow's jaw clenched. He wouldn't object, but should Talsin take her up on it, they'd quickly find themselves repeating Atrisia.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

Everything felt almost normal between Bane, Talin and Morrow, and when Talsin arrived she felt another side of her slip into comfort with the familiar arm looped around her shoulders and the brush of affection to her face. And the way he said Howdy — it made her smile because it just sounded so wrong from his posh mouth.

But she was busy with Morrrow's hand, to who she gave a firm shake, and let the obviousness of her gaze drift downward. For no reason other than to conceal the brief shift in her vision that happened anytime she touched something to pull memories from it. As deliberate as Morrow with his movements, so too was she, with the subtle stretch of her fingers to brush the hem of his sleeve. The same shirt he always wore. The same shirt he'd been wearing the last time he saw Jon.

​

"Talsin isn't the type to learn his lesson and leave it alone."

"I thought you'd have more sense," Morrow contended. "He won't stop until he puts you away. What do you think comes next? He comes after me? Talin?" His eyes narrowed. "Talsin isn't compatible with your normal."

When his hand slipped away the glimpse to the exchange evaporated. Her expression, knotted and confused, could have been attributed to the stiff exchanges once her beau arrived on the scene. From Morrow to Talsin, to Talin offering up the chance to get even.

Things went back to feeling wrong, and she gulped.

"Oh for," she shook her head at her sister, forcing levity where it didn't belong.

Despite the sincerity of Talin's offer, not for one second did Tansu believe Talsin would even consider the exchange fair.

"Ain't no way that's happenin'. Ain't Tal's style. Plus you got a face just like mine, that'd be mighty odd for him to be comfortable slingin' at'."

What would make it right would be Tansu uburying all the feelings she'd shoved into a box once her sister said the words so much worse than One Weequay and forcing accountability. But as right as that might make things, it would worsen their relationship that was only just starting to repair.

So right wouldn't be something set tonight.

____________________________________________________________
Talin Treicolt | Morrow | Talsin Lota
____________________________________________________________
​

 

[Talsin Lota]

"You make it sound like we haven't met,"

"Not introduced as Talin's freshly-minted boyfriend, we haven't." Talsin drawled with a charming noble-bred smile. It hid the reality, which is that Talsin didn't really remember Morrow all that much. He vaguely recalled someone with his features, dark, brooding and handsome, during the races a while ago. But that had been before Talin broke his nose and her friend practically caved his skull in. Everything was a bit vague and abstract around that period of time.

"And no thanks necessary, Talin. I just did what every good boyfriend would have done. Blood gotta stick together." Heavens knew that Talsin understood that, even more so after his parents had been murdered and he became the only figure in his younger siblings' life that cared for them.

He was about to say more but then Talin came in... with her trademark Talin's approach to problem-solving. Blunt and to the point.

"Lookie here, pardner, I don't know what makes this right, but if you think punchin' me back might, I'm open to it."

"Ain't no way that's happenin'. Ain't Tal's style. Plus you got a face just like mine, that'd be mighty odd for him to be comfortable slingin' at'."

Talsin gently squeezed Tansu's shoulder, as if to confirm it to her, before he even said a word. She ain't got your face, Tan. You are the sun and the sunflowers. The sky and the sea. You are absolutely, utterly beautiful and just taking you in takes my breath away. Then a beat. She is just Talin.

Speaking of Talin, she might have noticed something exchanging between the two, before Talsin finally responded in the vacuum of what Tan had said.

"I am not gonna punch you. I don't want Tansu's heart to break a second time." It had taken a while for her to recover in the aftermath of what happened on Atrisia. Talsin would never consciously do anything that would jeopardize that healing. Especially after the sisters seemed to have patched things up again.

Even if Tan's shoulders seemed strangely tense.

"Just be good, that's all the apology I need. The world is karked up enough as it is without us adding to it."

Jonath Kago seemed out of reach for now. But Talsin hadn't forgotten him and what he had done. Getting his face punched in was one thing, but he wasn't gonna let him get away with murder. It might not be today or next week. It might take years. But there would come a time he'd see him in handcuffs in front of him.

That would be the real reckoning.

Tansu Treicolt Talin Treicolt Morrow