Private Cloak & Dagger

[Talsin Lota]

Talsin thought about it for a moment.

"I have piloted snub fighters before? Not the same thing obviously, but..." He chewed his lip as he looked at the starfighter and then at her hopeful expression. "Should be fine if need be. What's the worst thing that can happen?"

Both their thoughts went back to the LAST time they had been driving something at the same time. The crash had been pretty horrible, but in the end it worked out okay. They got to know each other again and even though Tansu still drew the blood from under his nails... it felt a bit different now. Less... antagonizing somehow. Talsin didn't inspect it for too long because another alarm started sounding in another corner of the scrapyard.

"Okay. Let me know if you need me to fly something I will handle the crusher for now. And, uh, Tansu?" He hesitated there for a moment. "Good luck."

And then Tal sped off.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

"I wanna hear 'bout that another time." Tansu interjected quickly about the snub fighter, and immediately felt her face contort at the implications of the worst that could happen.

An unspoken understanding was reached and she cleared her throat just as he agreed.

She was ready to dart off again, already digging into the pack she'd had strapped to her back, but he was hesitating. Was he gonna —

Oh.

She cracked a smile.

"You too, Talsin."

Her attention turned to the X-02s. They were gorgeous. Beaten up, paint peeling, husks of the war machines they were, but still better than no ship at all.

It took little effort to hoist herself up the wing of one, and scoot along to the cockpit. It was either unlocked or the seal was broken, and Tansu easily slipped inside.

"Okay, let's see what you've got going on here girly." She murmured absently, deftly maneuvering the dashboard to give readouts without flaring the repulsors to life. "Pretty bird, shame your warranty expired." She hummed sadly, and pulled out the external control coupling she'd lifted during a raid with Kyric, halved it, and shoved one part in to interface with the diagnostics. There was a match.

"Good girl!" She beamed, and ran her hand along the dashboard, then stood and swung her legs out the cockpit to land back on the wing. She slighted along its length and jumped the distance to its counterpart.

The second X-wing wasn't in such good shape. Its entire inside had been gutted, save for the controls. She felt her stomach sink. Still, she tried to see if there was anything within the dashboard that would even turn on.

I might have a problem here. Tansu thought, reaching out for the signature Talsin has impressed on her earlier in the day. One's entirely missing its guts. I might be able to network it, but.. y'know those arcade games where ya pick up the little toy you want with a claw? We might have tuh do that.

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Talsin Lota
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​

 

[Talsin Lota]

She had a pretty smile.

He blinked and shook his head and then nodded.

Good god, what was his issue? Women never bothered him before but now he just- No, Talsin just focus on the job at hand. That was the best thing to do. He sped up, now that he didn't have to be worried about Tansu's safety he could fully immerse himself into the beat. He got to the crusher in record time. But that was for the best because the controls were much more complicated than he initially had assumed.

How difficult did a crusher have to be? It was literally doing two or three functions.

Uuh... I got my own problems here... He thought back to her as he stared at the panel. I don't mind... just tell me what I need to do and I will do it.

Talsin crouched down and pulled the panel off. If he couldn't take control, maybe he could just wreck it to cause a distraction in one of the other sectors.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Crouched low and out of sight, Tansu grunted and finagled with wires. They refused to spark, and she felt little give with each twist and turn of her work.

"Come on, come on, just a little purr." She muttered over the screws pinched between her teeth. "Please don't make me drag ya." Over and over again, she pleaded with the ship, willing it to understand her desperation somehow.

She felt Talsin's thoughts reverberate through their tether, and despite herself, she felt her insides puddle a bit. He'd never flown a starfighter, didn't even know what she was up to when he arrived, and now he was wholly committed to her instruction. It was almost sweet if Tansu hadn't immediately countered the thought with an of course, he's doing whatever he can to finish this operation — that just meant they could be out of this trashbin sooner, and he could go back to gelling his hair or whatever.

Something she'd been wrangling with gave way, and she oof'd into the forward motion. Instantly, she condemned to be Talin Treicolt 's —"Okay, you're gonna be Talin's ship." — and dusted herself off, lodging the sensor dampener into the underbelly of the dashboard until it clicked in place, and she screwed it in. Once again, she tried the dashboard. The light on it was weak, more than half burnt out, but she could at least interface with it. It confirmed the coupling connection, and she had to leave it at that. Then she slid out the back, hung halfway out the cockpit, and did a ham-handed job at screwing on a baffle around the exhaust port.

Okay, ready to make like a bandit. Get over here, and let's get out. The X-Wing with the cockpit open is yours.

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Talsin Lota
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​

 

[Talsin Lota]

Talsin had a remarkably worse time than her with getting that crusher to do what he wanted it to do.

She could hear him mutter to himself in his mind. It wasn't directed to her, but they were currently so closely linked together to get this right, that a certain bleeding couldn't be helped. If I just cut it to pieces it might explode in my face, or hell the entire crusher could come down and cause so much damage... And that wasn't worth it for just two starfighters. No matter how pretty they were or how eager Tansu was to get them.

But maybe... I could... if I rewire this part... it looks close enough to the speeder internals...

Which was a deadly assumption, but to some degree machinary had similar overlaps. It wasn't TOO big of a stretch, was it? He bit his lip and then leaned in. Thirty seconds later the crusher 'purred' in the same way that the ship was purring for Tansu.

It changed its trajectory and began to start crushing several droids waiting near a scrap heap at once.

And that caused the alarms to divert to THAT sector. Giving them a clear line to airspace without too much eyes on them Yes, fuck yes, I did it too! He pumped a fist in the air as he quickly pushed off of the console and started making his way back to her. Ooh, I have never flown an X-wing before! He thought to her, but it was a thought of excitement rather than concern. How difficult could it be compared to a snubfighter?

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

What was that? At first, his voice sounded indiscernible above the fluster of her own hurried thoughts — and then she understood that the sound was more than white noise. It was Talsin...thinking? to? himself?

A goofy grin cracked across her face and split her freckles. He must have been so concentrated on his part of the job that he'd forgotten to untangle their tether and isolate himself. And now, unbeknownst to the snobby Tetan with the excellent hair and perfect face, she got to be a part of his thought process. So cute. It was like listening to a playlist, in a way. Background noise while she worked too. Part of her became startled when she heard him draw a conclusion, and she wished she could see what he was working with — what if something went wrong?

Nothing went wrong. To her relief, she felt his trill of enthusiasm that broadened into the celebration he chose to share with her.

Crunching metal made her peek her head out of the cockpit to see the result of his success. A handful of droids crumpled beneath the oppressive weight of the heavy, flat machine that Talsin had reworked.

Whooey! Nice one!

She could tell he consciously meant to share the joy because it was louder than the thoughts that were perhaps more private or part of his inner workings. It made him more endearing than the pompous, high-falutin jerk she'd pegged him for.

Don't worry; it won't blow up in your face.Tansu teased through their link, letting him know she'd heard his earlier self-dialogue. Unlike Talsin, she was used to having someone in her head and along for the ride. Was comfortable with it. She and Talin melded all the time to a point where their voices were superfluous.

She waved at him from her starfighter, waited for him to disappear into the cockpit, and slid into her little metal cocoon.

The controls ain't unlike a speeder. And don'tcha worry cowboy, you're not really gonna have tuh do much more than rev the engines. I got 'em linked and can do most of the work from this here pit.

'This here pit,' she failed to mention, supremely sucked and was extraordinarily uncomfortable. With the dashboard sun damaged and half-missing, she was hard-pressed to read the navicomputer. And without any ejection seat or belt, she was on the metal flooring in a weird, goblin-like crouch where she could extend her legs out at any moment to press the pedals but still balance the yoke between her knees.

I gotch'er vitals all loaded up. Gimme the green and we'll skedaddle.

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Talsin Lota
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​

 

[Talsin Lota]

And his smile grew wider when she cheered him on as well.

Until she echoed back the words he had been thinking earlier. Growing red when Talsin realized he had been thinking out loud... so to speak. "I... well... that is to say." He mutters out loud and also in his thoughts to her. Clearly sputtering before another crunch sounded in the difference. More droids being turned to scrap and Tal couldn't help but smirk. Sorry, didn't realize I was bothering you with all my subconscious thoughts.. Send to her sheepishly until he reached the starfighters.

Tansu already in one and waving and he waved back.

"You know, they look really exciting up close..." Tapping the starfighter on the side before he jumped in and closed the pod. It activated automatically and his excitement was rising. Anything fast, anything quick, Talsin loved.

Only reason he didn't have a starfighter was because his mother had been so worried for him.

Green, green, green, cowgirl. Let's goooooo

Cowgirl didn't like an insult now... it sounded like bonding.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Alone in the gutted cockpit, Tansu laughed. She'd never heard Talsin stammer before, not even hesitating with anything he said. Typically, every word he said with his chest, fully committed and absolute. And then, on top of it, he apologized? She shook her head and didn't respond; there wasn't time to get involved in that communication vortex. Not when she needed her full brainpower to make sure this plan succeeded.

"C'mon l'il guy." She stretched around the yoke to grip the little box that connected this X-Wing's systems to the one in better shape, Talsin's. Her whispers served as little prayers, even to the point of putting her forehead against the box and pressing it against her knees. Like she was pouring all her hope into the little device. It didn't respond. "Please work. Please, please, please."

The thrusters on the X-02 roared to life, and she squealed with gleeful pride. The tiny box lit green, outlining two shapes of engines. Both hers and Talsin's.

I can mirror the takeoff sequence, so you just sit there'n look pretty.

Routine took over. The motions she made were deft and well-practiced. Even though she was flying a piece of scrap, the machinations didn't change. Once she entered the outbound vector, she thumbed levers, twisted knobs, peddled the rudders and finally shoved the yoke forward and stomped her heels into the pedals to point the nose skyward for a sharp lift upward. There was no hesitation or snap-rolls, just pure, unadulterated acceleration.

Yeeehaw!

Her ship launched upward first, and then, through the technical tether, the landing gear of the other X-Wing tucked in, replicating the exact flight path along the same vector.

With no seat, Tansu was fighting not to slide around. It was awkward and her muscles ached from the tension. What's more, the little box she'd prayed to was starting to fault out. They'd only cleared maybe half a district! The green lines turned orange.

"No! No, come on, we just got started, nooo."

Orange turned red.

Talsin, I'm losing the synchronization. Maybe it's the atmosphere, or, maybe ramshackle configuration, I dunno, but yer gonna have to be on your own — follow the flight path! You shouldn't lose it from the navicomp. But if you do, just..eyes on me if you can.

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

Oh, so you think I am pretty?

Talsin didn't say it, but he absently had a thought about the shape of those words. It was enough that with their mental proximity she might have caught some of his inclination. Not the exact wording, but enough would radiate through that fledgling bond regardless of his intentions. He sat there and didn't do much more than look around the cockpit curiously.

It didn't look that different from a snubfighter really.

More, of course. Bigger and better and probably ten times as fast, but that was merely semantics. The way it worked was the same. The buttons, the steering wheel, everything else.

The sheer power under his seat made him lick his lips in excitement though. He knew he wouldn't be able to take it for a spin now, because they'd follow that pre-programmed route, but still. Maybe he would have to push his parents again for an actual starfighter. The worst thing they could do was tell him no, but that wasn't so bad.

"You know I-" And then his ship suddenly lurched into the air and he made a sound that was decidedly ungentlemany. It made him flush slightly. You didn't hear that.

Talsin warned but he smiled however. This was... beautiful, brilliant even. Underneath them the alarms would start to ring several minutes after they had already left. Later it would cause a hell of a stir, but by then they'd be long gone. It was definitely not the way a law-abiding lad was supposed to behave.

Right now he just didn't care however.

"I... what??" She basically told him... no, it couldn't be. "Are you su-" Before he could finish the sentence the ship's light went to red and he dropped a meter or two down in the air. He quickly grabbed the steering wheel and yanked it upwards to gain altitude. "N-no, worries, I got this..." Tongue stuck between his teeth as he concentrated on the panel.

Until he realized his hands were already dancing around, flicking buttons, pushing things... replicating the same things they had grown used to in the snubfighter.

"Oh oh, yes, this is-" And he punched the velocity as Talsin's fighter lurched upwards again and sped past Tansu. "-amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing."

Then a loud whoooooooooooooop.

It was the most free she had ever heard him be.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

I think you think you're pretty. Tansu replied straightaway, lest the idea that she was goggly-eyed over him fester.

After that, all her attention monofocused on the task of getting them airborne. It was the first real test to see if the tech she'd pilfered truly worked or not, and, gratefully, it did. Enough to shove her back in her lack-of-seat, and for a trill, girlish squeal to echo out through their meld. It sounded like a noise she would make, not what she expected from Talsin.

He couldn't hear her, but she burst out laughing. Partly from the sheer relief they were above ground, but mostly in reaction to his ridiculous squeal. I most certainly did, and will never forget it

Then things went south. Yellow, orange, red. She could feel the panic from his perspective but could do nothing to assuage it. She hoped beyond her sense of rationality that he could manage to pick up the pieces of the failing tech and keep the X-Wing airborne. So long as the flight path remained in his navicomp, all he had to do was keep his feet on the pedals and hands on the yoke. Fretting about her own controls, and still trying to stay somewhat upright in the stupidly vacant cockpit, she failed attempt after attempt to get them re-tethered.

The display beeped, letting her know a ship was in proximity. But she could see it with her own eyes, she didn't need the radar. The X-02 in better shape than her own whizzed past, and through the canopy, she caught a glipse of the wild-eyed glee on her part-time-fellow pilot's face. More noises bled through their link, and the radio. Sounds she didn't expect from the buttoned-down teen. It was cute. Kinda heartwarmin'. And for all the natural blessings his genetics gave him, that flash of his face looking happy, brilliant, and free, made her think he was just as pretty as he thought he was.

Okay. So I think you're a little pretty too. But that was not a shared thought. That was just an embarrassed rush of teenage fancy that she got to keep all to herself.

You got the hang of it now! Just keep on path! Nose 'er down in about ten clicks and we're good for the day!

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Talsin Lota
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​

 

[Talsin Lota]

He just smirked at her response. This was a lose-lose proposition for Tansu, because he had all the confidence in the world. He knew he was attractive and the fact that she commented on it without any prompt from him?

Yeah, okay, sure cowgirl.

Didn't comment on it though and allowed her to sit with it. There was no point in ruining this perfect moment with another infamous Talsin/Tansu argument. They were good at ruining moments... but they should get good at enjoying the ones they had. The squeal... feth, well, there was little that Talsien could do about it. It made sense! He didn't have any big warnings for what would happen because his snubfighter had been top of the line!

How was Tal supposed to know that a fighter from a scrapyard would bring them trouble? Stupid thing to even think and he realized it the moment it crossed his mind.

All of it went away once he was actually flying. He couldn't feel the wind in his hair (good thing because at the speed he was going, he would have melted his eyeballs) but Talsien felt more free than ever before. He felt a bit cheeky and did a barrel roll mid-air a few meters in front of Tansu.

Yessssss Tansu could feel him smile over their connection. This is amazing, but yes, ten clicks, sure!

Ten clicks was an eternity however... there were a lot of things they could do for ten clicks. He did another barrel roll.

Gosh this thing is amazing!

Yeah, Talsin definitely needed a starfighter of his own.

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Doing barrel rolls in an X-Wing with a cockpit that had no safety belt or seat was an impossibility. Beyond dangerous! Tansu risked a neck injury, arm injury, any bone that could snap sort of injury. She'd be short a thousand braincells to try and do anything that Talsin was doing the starfighter he had. She'd given him the one that was in better shape because he was an amateur.

But Tansu was too young to think about consequences and safety. And too overcome with competitive drive.

Jamming her heels into the grooves beneath the pedals, she locked her knees. One hand above her head pressed on the canopy, and her other hand on the yoke. That felt just secure enough not to completely lose her lunch or her skull! Once she felt stable and taut, she footed the rudders and jerked the yoke to the side.

Her first move was Talin Treicolt 's namesake— a wide Tallon Roll that sideslipped into a corkscrewing finisher. The centrifugal Force of continuous rolling helped keep her in place; but not by much. Her elbow ached, and muscles groaned. But she would not be outdone!

Right up to the point she felt her joints might lock and snap permanently, Tansu showed off. It wasn't self preservation that made her stop, it eas the soft beep of the countdown to destination, that forced her nose the ship into a careening dive through the Underworld's downward tunnel. It was straightforward zips, turns, dives, right to the hangar.

She'd had the optimism to open the doors before she left — making it possible for them to careen straight into the hidden metal jaws. Unsurprisingly, her landing gear was rickety, and the landing was bumpy and scratchy and just as stomach-churning as the rest of her flight. But it worked.

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

Talsin laughed as he watched Tansu outdo him with the Tallon Roll! That was crazy. Especially with no straps or anything in the cockpit, the girl must have been holding on for dear life, but Talsin knew game when he saw it. There was no point in trying to escalate it past that, because he was pretty sure she'd just try and one-up him again. She'd succeed too. Then she'd get herself killed, because being the best was more important than being alive.

"Okay, okay. You win." He said with a grin as they landed back into the relative safety of their hide-out. "But man, that was... something else. I loved flying." Wistfully to himself now as they deactivated the starfighters and the pod opened up.

It was still kinda good to be away from the scrapyard though. When he had been face-to-face with that droid? Part of Talsin definitely had been afraid he'd die there and then.

As he climbed down to solid ground Tal turned around.

"So, we going to-"

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Settling into the hangar of Secret Heart came with a wave of enthusiastic relief that Tansu let herself drown in. Entirely overwhelmed by the rush of their success, she threw her legs over the side of her cockpit and leapt straight to the ground.

"Eee! We going to shivaree?! YES! That was so great!" One huge smile, brilliant, bright, and happy spread from ear to ear. Her voice was a squeal, and she made sure to emphasize it was his participation that kicked it up a notch."You were great!" Momentum gave her a running start, and she pitched herself at Talsin. Her body clapped against his just as he turned her way.

Call it backwater charm, hospitality, or extroverted affection — whatever it was, Tansu felt no hesitation wrapping her arms around his neck. She tightened against him, laughing, and clung with reckless abandon, unbothered by the stretch and how her feet barely touched the ground.

Her excitement's decibel, so near his ear, might make him shirk away — but she didn't consider discomfort. Her only thoughts were their shared triumph and how happy she was to have two X-02s. A vibrant, unsteady, electric feeling in her belly fluttered upward and spilled out in excited babble-rambling:

"You were so nervous at first! All lip-chewin and hestitatin' BUT NO NEED! The way ya hardscrabbled us through the trash! The droid take-down! The hiding spot! Yer crash compactor takeover! EEEee! And those barrel rolls." She squeezed and added in another trilling noise of glee "Talsin, you were so great. Thank you so much!"

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

Of course Talsin knew what a hug was. Your father and mother hugged you on your birthday if you had been a good boy that year. Your sisters clung to you when they were afraid at night. But it was one thing to be hugged either as a call for duty or desperately to be felt protected...... and this. She smashed into him and Talsin almost stumbled, but instinctively his arms went around her to keep them from falling over.

"Oh... no, no, you were great." Tal muttered as he grew a bit warm. "Like... the way you thought about obfuscating my lightsaber with that pipe? Genius."

She only... got more excited and huggy and cheerful.

No, Talsin didn't know this, but he liked it. It was so outside the norm and his face was growing red... redder.

"It's o-okay... glad to h-help." His voice started to stutter and THAT he had never experienced before. But Talsin had never really been nervous. No reason to because everything had gone exactly as expected for most of his life up until the moment he met Tansu. And at first it had been annoying. Being pushed off of your groove, but now Tal was wondering if it wasn't the best thing in his life that had happened.

"The way you did that Tallon Roll though... crazy move, cowgirl. Really... amazing." Said a bit tightly, smiling but wow it was hot in here, wasn't it.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Treicolts were huggers. Not by their father's creed, but by their mother's. Next to Loske, Tansu was the most liberal of affections within their household, and it extended beyond family without hesitation.

Normally, with hugs from those beyond her family, she pulled away pretty quickly — she only meant to share reverie briefly, let them know they were in a circle and safe. But when Talsin looped his arms around her, she forgot to move back. She felt him tighten like a flinch, and the fluttering that bounced between her stomach and her chest sharpened.

The whole time he deferred her initial compliment, retold her participation, and stammered boyishly, she just...stayed. Her hold slackened a bit, and she squeezed him less. For a whole six seconds she didn't apply pressure. She felt the fluttering spread from her chest, up her neck, and warmth suffuse across her cheeks beneath her freckles.

It felt like his words were falling into her hair, and she snapped back when he oozed out the superlative describing her flying. Her hands slipped to his shoulders and she maintained her brilliant grin, eyes bright as if his compliment dazzled her.

"I know right?" She agreed. "You wouldn't believe the slidin' I went through just to put you in your place." Then she poked his chest, as if she could point him down to some sort of pilot-level that suited his caliber.

For a second too long, her hands stayed on his person. One on his shoulder, the other with a finger on his sternum.

Realization cut through her daze and she stepped back, lofting both hands up through her hair and beneath her hat to lift it up, dust it off, then back on her head. All while she exhaled through closed lips and puffed cheeks that turned into her clearing her throat.

"Uh, what were you sayin'?"

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

Luckily their minds were now once again more detached from one another. Because otherwise Tansu would have seen his mind trying to race and stop at the same time. Instead it was lagging around like syrup in the gears.

"I... well, yes. You had to do that." He allowed there as he blinked owlishly as she stepped back. Suddenly the warmth was at a distance. Only her hand on his shoulder, her finger on his chest. He was incredibly aware of every surface she touched. "I was being a pain in the arse with my showing off..." Talsin swallowed softly as he gazed down at her and realized... she was cute. Sure, her face, but she was so bubbly.

You just couldn't help but smile and be happy around her.

It made him smile a bit warmer.

"Oh." He blinked and suddenly looked a bit panicked. "I... have no idea honestly. It probably wasn't important then, right?" Talsin laughed nervously as he let go of her now.

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

Either the laugh or the nervousness (probably both) was contagious, and Tansu felt herself feed into the awkward sound.

"Yeah, right."

The hangar wasn't colossal by any means. It couldn't be if it wanted to maintain the discretion of the Hidden Heart Enclave, but it suddenly felt beyond sizability — like Tansu wouldn't be able to understand the square footage if she tried. Either she was becoming very small, or the two of them, standing inches from each other, were becoming too big for the space. The whole room took on a vaguely dreamlike feel and she had no idea what to do about it.

"Probably." She cleared her throat and shoved her hands in her pockets. "If it's somethin' you're sayin', probably not super important. Yer right." She flashed a rogueish grin.

"I uh.." Then she kept standing there awkwardly, until she reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears hurriedly and looked around. "I gotta clean these up and get to work on 'em I guess. Surprise Lin since she didn't show up..

Iguessyoucangetbackto whatever you were doin' before you answered my call." She took this chance to look him over, as if to find clues as to what it was.

"Is that..cat hair?"

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Talsin Lota
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[Talsin Lota]

The room didn't exist for him right now. It was only the moment that curled around him like a string or a collar.

Her eyes, the sound she made when she laughed. Talsin didn't even hear the quip until a few moments after the fact and usually he'd be able to come up with a pretty good retort that would piss her the hell off.

"Mm, yeah. Just a blowhard rich boy thoughts, nothing you can't find on the evening HoloNet news." The agreement came without even thinking about it because really he just wanted to hear more from her.

So when she said she had to go he felt disappointed but quickly recollected himself.

"Oh, yes. I am sure... Yeah." He looked a bit embarrassed when she mentioned the cat hair.

"I had been hanging out with Amos before your call. I will... Go back to then then. Good luck with surprising your sister!"

Tansu Treicolt

 

[Tansu Treicolt]

​

It was one thing to expect Talsin's retorts and snide remarks, another to long for them. She bit the inside of her lip when he rolled over and agreed hastily, and felt a pang of regret for leaning too far into the teasing after all he'd done for her that afternoon. And how nice his arms around her had felt. And how earnestly he looked at her now, his eyes all earthy and rich and grounding.

Way too embarrassed to recognize any abashment on his face, she felt her eyes darting to look around anywhere but his face lest she end up staring.

"Hanging out? Amos let you pet him?" Tansu asked suddenly, and felt a hand loft out of her pocket to reach out, as if to stop him from leaving. Maybe she could keep him around longer...but not with that question! That was a yes or no question. Stupid!

"Since when?"

There had to be something else she could do with her hands. Maybe..get started on the newfound ships. Yeah! Grab a cloth, get to shining, at least polish them off so she and Lin could properly assess them for retrofitting.

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Talsin Lota
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