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'."

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Talin Treicolt
Honourable mentions: Talsin Lota | Jonath Kago | Ren
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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.