Private Lifetimes

[Tansu Treicolt]

Nuvar Hollow Refugee Camp | Ukatis​

The thing about everyone knowing who you are means that everyone seems to know where you are. Which made finding Cora, the coordinator of the camp, relatively easy. Claws, paws and fingers all knew which direction to point to set the pair of helpers on the right path.

Butterflies bounced around her organs — nerves or excitement — a natural side effect of feeling starstruck. She'd been in a room or two with Cora, but never met her. Apparently Talsin didn't share the same distanced awe: The Princess of Ukatis had been a part of his childhood, in the same circles of nobility.

Hence his suggestion for the introduction. Cora remained one of the few nobles he trusted and revered, and therefore, as a woman of the court, could be a helpful source for Tansu (or so he said). Of course Tan had taken offence to the suggestion, inferring it as a means of rinsing the backwater right out of her blood.

Regardless, she was still keen to meet the woman behind the generosity of the refugee camp and so much else.

"Did I get that dirt outta my braid?" Tansu asked Talsin one final time, and thought it best to just twist her hair into a low bun and pin it out of her face just in case anything was out of place that she couldn't see. She'd been working with some of the more agriculturally inclined citizens up until now, setting up raised beds for personal veggie gardens. Remnants of ash and dirt still clung to her pants, extra so when she smeared her palms down her thighs.

There was nothing more she could do to prepare for a proper salutations; they were at the tent adjacent to the primary healing set up. Where many onlookers promised Cora would be. Talsin had promised to introduce them so it wouldn't be entirely out of left field.

Tansu stepped forward, ducking beneath the fold and lifting her voice before Talsin could do the honours: "Hello, miss Cora?"

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Corazona von Ascania | Talsin Lota
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[Corazona von Ascania]

At the sound of her name, Cora looked up from the patient she'd been tending to. Sprawled on the cot was a Togruta male, his arm in a freshly tied sling.

"Yes," she answered while rising, a quick glance to the nearest nurse all that was needed to have the young woman take over. Cora passed her a datapad, one that already had an app for converting pain medication dosing in alien species pulled up.

"Are you hurt?"

The blonde before her was regarded with an exhausted kind of scrutiny. It wasn't unkind but it wasn't exactly warm, either - niceties were spared as Cora quickly swept her gaze over the woman's face, then her torso.

No obvious signs of distress, some dirt, no blood, not holding herself strangely, no-

It took a few moments for her to clock the figure flanking this woman. A familiar one. Cora blinked from her triage stupor, stunned for a long moment.

"Talsin? Talsin Lota? Goodness."

How long had it been? Probably more years than she'd thought. While they hadn't stayed in direct contact, the pair of nobles occasionally flitted about the fringes of the other's life.

"Oh my," she sighed. Her shoulders relaxed a little, but she held out on deflating entirely. "Please tell me that you two haven’t come as patients."

Tansu Treicolt Talsin Lota

 

[Talsin Lota]

Tansu Treicolt | Corazona von Ascania

Talsin hung back and allowed Tansu to approach first.

But it was nice to see Corazona after such a long time. She was older, but they both were, he supposed. She looked... severe. In a way that Talsin didn't quite remember. They had been in touch even during her first marriage, a horrid affair, but after her husband's death they kind of drifted apart. Not because of any particular reason.

Just responsibilities that dragged them away into different directions.

"Corazona? Corazona Von Ascania? Gracious." Talsin responded in kind with a witty smile, inclining his head towards his childhood friend. "No, luckily nothing like that." He assured her gently, setting his hand on Tansu's shoulder.

"We supported the initial evacuation. When Tansu found out that you were leading the camp and that I actually knew you from our childhood, well... I couldn't not promise to make some introductions." Squeezing Tan's shoulder. "Speaking of- this here is Tansu Treicolt, my girlfriend and partner."

"Tan? This is Corazona Von Ascania, Princess of Ukatis, and in our youth one of my closest friends."

He left out the part where they had been promised to one another. Machinations from both their fathers, which fell through in the end. He had already informed Tansu of this privately, because Talsin didn't want it to come out... awkwardly in the middle of the conversation.

With the introductions done Tal took a notable step back to allow the two a moment.

Instead Talsin stepped up towards one of the refugees, the one that Cora had been with a moment ago. He was not a doctor, of course. But they had slept alright and Talsin had enough energy in the tank. Soon enough both Tan and Cora would feel the strenght gathering in the Force next to them, as he began to channel the Lightside to take the edge off of the first patient.

While they chatted, he'd busy himself with that, until they wanted some input from him.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

"No, no, ain't hurt —" and then Cora swept into realization and an exchange of mutual recognition happened between the childhood friends.

And it was a good thing Talsin warned her ahead of time too, because it would have been extraordinarily uncomfortable for everyone in the room if it had been uncovered in real time. Mostly a flurry of questions and all the big feelings Tansu always felt when faced with the realities of court life. None of it ever made sense to her. Like ever.

Even how long it had taken for Talsin to be able to introducer her as his girlfriend in public. She'd understood the big deal behind his apprehension once he'd done it though.

"Hi, yes, I'm Tansu." Hand out for a hearty shake. "I'm so glad to meet you for real." She felt she should half-bow. Or curtsey. Awkwardly, she did a mix of both. A quick bend of the knees and a dip of her head. "I've only heard wonderful things about you, if you ever need a publicist, Talsin'd make a mighty one.

And we've overlapped a bit here and there and, yeah, when I found you were in charge here it all made sense. We're happy to help, with whatever you need. It's mighty wonderful Ukatis can open itself up like this for all these people."

She paused and looked around, feeling a little sheepish. "Didn't mean to interrupt neither. It's...real busy in here."

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Corazona von Ascania | Talsin Lota
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[Corazona von Ascania]

"Dowager Princess," she corrected. Tension was supplanted by surprise, which slowly waned into something a little more warm.

Cora's shoulders eased. Her brow relaxed. The smile she wore was still tired, but genuine.

"It's good to see you again, Talsin. And," she met the extended hand halfway with metallic fingers, "a pleasure to meet you, Tansu. I only wish we could've had introductions under better circumstances."

Cora's lips pursed just a bit, trying to stifle her bubbling amusement at the woman’s awkward curtsy-bow. "Wonderful things? Ah," a pair of finely manicured blonde brows lifted, "he’s always been good at spinning the unfortunate into something more positive."

Tal was quick to excuse himself, keeping at the periphery of the conversation. For a few moments, Cora's gaze followed him, watching as he interacted with the Togruta.

A subtle current shifted in the Force, flowing towards the Duke.

Cora turned back to Tansu. "Would you mind helping me unload some bacta?" She motioned toward a stack of nearby crates. In lieu of lifting - she'd already been yelled at once today for tending to the dying whist pregnant - the blonde waved her hand, and one of the topmost crates floated to her feet.

Prying off the lid would reveal rows of identical bacta canisters.

"This used to be a supply tent, but the infirmary overflowed here about two days ago. Oh, here-" she paused to hand Tansu a small datapad. "Scan each carton, that'll help pull it into our system."

Procuring a datapad of her own, Cora retrieved a canister and held it to the device's scanner. A small beep registered, and she set the bacta back into one side of the crate. "Even in the worst of times, the galaxy can be generous. We've got supplies coming in from all over, but it takes a while to organize everything and take count of what we still need."

Cora lifted her head, offering Tansu another smile edged with fatigue.

"I'm glad that you two came here, truly. It's one thing to take a blade to the Empire, but most don't stick around to clean up the mess left behind."

Tansu Treicolt Talsin Lota

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

"Are you suggestin' that bein' engaged to Lord Lota an unfortunate affair?" Tansu teased, giving a roguish grin in Cora's direction. Thankfully at this point, Talsin was out of earshot. But Cora looked so downtrodden that the urge for levity was more reflexive than anything; and her lack of filter only compounded the readiness to joke. Her tone dropped conspiratorially: "Should I be worried?"

But she happily moved along to the request to inventory bacta. Better her than Talsin, given his allergy to the stuff.

"Got it, thanks." She followed the motions Cora demonstrated, double-checking the first three to ensure the numbers were updated accordingly with each scan of the codes. Back on the homestead, inventory was taken by branding things. This was significantly less dangerous a task.

"One of those so much but never enough situations hm?" Another canister, another beep.

"Thank you, we're here to help. Sucks that it has to be done at all, y'know what I mean but.." she wrinkled her nose.."Taking a blade is an interesting way to phrase it." She squat next to the create to get more comfortable for her task, rather than stooping over awkwardly. "Ain't these people here because of successful defences?

Seems like the Empire is both making the mess and taking the blade to us."

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Corazona von Ascania | Talsin Lota
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[Corazona von Ascania]

Tansu's teasing injected just enough mirth into the tent for the corners of Cora's mouth to lift. It was a subtle smile, but one that reached her eyes.

"So much but never enough," she repeated, the fatigue in her tone punctuated by the atypical rhythm of beeping scanners as they worked. "Certainly sums this sort of work up. All we can do is all we can do."

Where Tansu squatted, Cora knelt. Dirt and grime no longer bothered her as much, but some habits died hard.

"I just wish more Jedi saw the value in relief work," she admitted. "That it can be just as important as fighting."

There was, perhaps, an underlying thread of frustration exposed by the worn edges of her tone. With the way the galaxy was, it was hard to know which would help more at any given moment - igniting your saber against darkness, or extending a hand to those left thrashed in its wake.

"It feels like the Alliance has been on its back foot ever since-" she squinted here, filing through memories of recent ground operations. Many of which had, unfortunately, resulted in some sort of resounding loss. It wasn't pretty, but war never was. "Woostri. Or maybe Tython." Perhaps if she hadn't spent so much time among the trees, she'd have seen signs that the forest was beginning to collapse far earlier.

"I'm glad that the defense of Atrisia went as well as it did. I was on the…"

Again, she trailed off. The faster she worked, the slower her thoughts seemed to come. Cora waved a bacta canister as if that would somehow conjure up the words she was looking for. "The Death Star. It's hard to tell how things are going elsewhere when your entire contribution is confined to a dark hallway.

"But," she continued, "I think we managed to knock them off kilter. They've been quiet since then – hopefully that put a stop to their chain of invasions so that we can get back onto our feet."

Cora glanced over to where Talsin was working with her patient. One corner of her lips lifted as she lingered on a fond memory of a gala long ago. She couldn't recall where it had been, only remembering his gentle mannerisms and the pleasant sound of his voice. "Something tell me that he hasn't changed much since we were kids," her gaze flicked back to Tansu, "and that's a good thing."

Tansu Treicolt | Talsin Lota

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

"Not to be controversial or nothin', but I'm surprised to hear you wish for more Jedi to see the value in providing relief.

I," she winced and hitched a thumb in Talsin's direction — who'd serendipitously found another patient to work with a little further from the bacta duty she and Cora paired on.

"We" she corrected, "Have been part of a bunch of relief missions. And I'm starting to feel like there's gotta be more than showin' up after the fact. Like there's a way to prevent an after the fact altogether.

But that's just a feelin'."

Package after package beeped through the inventory and Tansu shifted to make room to slide another box in front of her and repeat the process with a fresh batch. Beep. Green. Beep. Green.

"I dunno how to explain it." She shrugged. Given this was her first meeting with Cora, she wasn't hyper aware of the nuance behind the princess' trailing thoughts and slow-to-connect sentences. She simply categorized it as a busyness symptom.

"Yeah?" Tan perked up at the idea of little Talsin and little Cora. How different their childhoods had been from her backwater corral. "I always imagined him as a pompous troll. Kind of how he was when I met him." A fresh grin cracked. "You have stories that prove otherwise?"

Just as Tansu finished her leading query, a Ukatan swept in, trailing the sharp, clean scent of fresh-cut herbs, arms full of a half-open crate. The source of the smell.

Tan wrinkled her nose at their sudden sharpness and blinked up at the woman who stood in front of Cora.

"Highness, my apprentice finished with the tinctures. There are leftover ingredients, where should these go?"

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Corazona von Ascania | Talsin Lota
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[Corazona von Ascania]

"Really?"

Cora followed the jerk of Tansu's thumb toward Talsin, now leaned over an elderly Chiss man. From this angle, she could just see they greying at his temples.

"I've seen so many Jedi come out of the woodwork when it's time to fight, then disappear when it's time to clean up."

Cora frowned, but it was meant for herself. She'd spent her time in the Order trying to cultivate Jedi who weren't solely focused on combat - had that, in the end, been a mistake? The Order was in tatters. The academy, gone. So many lives, gone.

Had her own perceived righteousness contributed to their downfall? It wasn't bacta and bandages that would defeat the Empire, as important as they were.

Cora turned back to Tansu. One brow lifted. "I think you have more than just a feeling." And then-

"Pompous troll?" she snickered, caught off guard by her own imagination. Kindly Talsin with an ogre-like underbite and large, hairy knuckles was certainly a sight.

The sharp, pungent scent of medicinal herbs cut through the antiseptic bacta. Normally pleasant, but now the herbaceous air turned her stomach.

Cora tilted her head away and to the side, one hand drawn over her mouth as she forced herself to swallow thickly. A low, slow exhale forced the air from her nose before she righted herself and turned back to the healer.

"In the back, please," she motioned for the far end of the tent. "There are some empty sachets on top of the ration crates. Once they're portioned, they can go into freeze."

The healer swept away, and Cora reached for the scanner.

Beep.

"Well," she began, trying to gather her thoughts on a more pleasant recollection, "he was very good at chasing away bothersome suitors." Her lips pursed in the suggestion of a smirk, but good humor reached her eyes. "There was one particularly troublesome young Lord who ended up tripping into a champagne tower when he couldn't take 'no, I don't want to dance with you' for an answer."

Tansu Treicolt