Pets
A.N: Two one shots in one again. Thematically the same topic, hence why they are together. Timeline setting: First one shot is after 'To Take Down an Emperor', second one is before 'Vendettas and Stratagems'.
More often than not, the so called 'lazy days', as Kaeden had come to call them were a breath of fresh air for her. Rather than spend possibly weeks on end worrying about Ahsoka, both she and the Togruta were in the same place at the same time.
This time round it was Ahsoka's apartment, one that had been gifted to her years ago by Bail Organa as a place of respite for her. Even with the falling out the two had seemed to have, it was clear that the property was still Ahsoka's, and the Senator of Alderaan had made no move to force her out yet.
So here she was, lounging around in her girlfriend's apartment, enjoying the small breakfast she had made for herself whilst she waited for Ahsoka to finish her morning mediation session. Kaeden didn't like to bother the Togruta too much when she was in 'Jedi mode', as Kaeden called it. Instead she was more than happy to wait around for her, eating breakfast, and planning whatever their day together was.
And much like every other one of these mornings, nothing especially strange was going on.
Yet.
It began with a sudden light tapping sound on glass, one that was clearly on a window. At first guess, Kaeden assumed it was some sort of insect of some kind, oblivious to the existence of a glass plane before it.
But the tapping sound continued, and rather than sound like some poor lost insect, it seemed to hold a rhythm to it. Almost as if someone was knocking on a door.
When the tapping continued, Kaeden placed her bowl of food aside, rising to her feet and began to search for the source of the tapping. Walking around the living room of the sizable apartment, Kaeden glanced towards the large patio doors. They were made entirely of glass, and normally housed nothing on the other side other than the rise and fall of the sun.
But now there was something there. A small creature sat staring through the glass, watching her. It was a bird of some kind, with a strange mirage of colours that Kaeden had never really seen before. It possessed a long wispy tail behind itself as well, and sharp claws common to most bird like creatures.
Clearly it was a predator of some kind. Kaeden hoped it wasn't here to eat her!
It was then that Kaeden discovered the source of the tapping. The small green bird like creature leaned towards the glass, tapping its beak three times, before returning to its original position staring at her.
"What the?" Kaeden muttered to herself as she walked over to the large glass doors. This was strange. Why was a random bird trying to get into Ahsoka's apartment?
The bird reached forward again, tapping three more times, before its small beady eyes locked with Kaeden's.
Up close, Kaeden had to admit it was kind of cute. But the farmer within her knew what these sort of creatures did. They were pests, and she had to get rid of it.
Reaching her hand for the handle that opened the door, Kaeden prepared to scare the bird away.
Pulling, she slid the door open and began to speak.
"Shoo!"
But the directive had no effect, instead it seemed to have the exact opposite effect instead. Rather than turn and flee at Kaeden's raised voice, the small bird took flight instead, sailing past Kaeden's head and into the apartment.
"What? Get out of here!" Kaeden shouted this time, no worried. The small green bird performed various circles of the living room, as if searching for something.
'Hopefully nothing to eat.' Kaeden thought again.
Glancing around the room, Kaeden found a nearby broom. Maybe she could use this?
Grasping the tool in her hand, she advanced on the bird and attempted to swat it away.
"Go away. I don't have anything for you!"
But rather than get the message, the bird continued to fly around, skilfully evading the swipes from the broom, all the while hooting aloud.
If Kaeden didn't know any better, she would say the creature was mocking her, or having fun.
"This isn't a game. Get out of here before you…"
SMASH!
'Too late.' Kaeden sighed mentally, allowing her arms to go lax, the broom falling from her hands. Looking down at the floor, she discovered her bowl, now in multiple pieces, food scattered across the floor. In her attempts to swat the bird, she had mistakenly clipped the bowl, sending it tumbling towards the floor.
And now it was broken.
Gritting her teeth, she glanced up at the bird as it flew circles around her head, still chirping at her.
"Laugh it up feathers!" Kaeden muttered, her grip on the broom tightening slightly. She was ready to try again, and this time to be more careful.
That was till she heard movement behind her, as well as the concerned voice of her favourite Togruta.
"What happened? Are you ok?"
It wasn't that Kaeden didn't appreciate Ahsoka's worry. After all, it was nice to know she cared. The two had been working hard to get Ahsoka to open up a bit more with her feelings, and so far it appeared to be working.
But right now she had bigger concerns, like this bloody bird!
Spinning around on her heel, Kaeden gestured wildly with her free hand at the bird circling the room.
"This thing just flew in and won't leave. I can't get it out. And it made me knock my bowl off!"
Ahsoka's face didn't change to one of concern or worry, but rather humour.
'Great, now she's mocking me too.' Kaeden thought. Was the world against her today?
It was then that Ahsoka made to move to help. Kaeden assumed she would use some sort of force trick to encourage the bird out. So she was surprised when instead, Ahsoka held her arm out and whistled up at the creature.
Within a second the bird descended onto the waiting arm, happily chirping as if it had found some sort of long lost friend.
Kaeden watched, partly confused, partly horrified as Ahsoka's free hand came up to pet the creature, stroking over the wings and teasing the beak of the bird lightly, to which the bird responded with playful bites.
Lowering the broom to the floor, Kaeden continued to watch open mouthed as Ahsoka began to mutter to the bird, to which said bird seemed to respond.
"Uh, what's going on Ahsoka?"
As if remembering she was present, Ahsoka's blue eyes shifted from the bird to Kaeden, a warm smile on her face.
"No need to worry Kaeden. She's an old friend."
Kaeden couldn't help but splutter in confusion. Since when was Ahsoka friends with a bird?!
Said Togruta made to move towards Kaeden, holding her arm out, offering the bird to her.
"Her name is Morai. She saved me once, and I owe her my life."
The small creature seemed less mischievous now that it was perched peacefully on Ahsoka's arm. It chirped again lightly, this time towards Kaeden, before leaning slightly towards the dark skinned human.
Unsure what to do, Kaeden stood still. After all, she had just tried to swat the bird Ahsoka called Morai with a broom. What if it held a grudge?
"It's ok. She won't hurt you. I promise."
Deciding to believe Ahsoka, Kaeden lifted her arm out, copying the same position as Ahsoka. Seeing this, Morai took the invitation, jumping from one arm to another.
Despite the sharp claws, the bird landed gently, gripping just enough to hold on, but not do any damage.
"Hey Morai, you are so cute, yes you are." Kaeden began to speak, warming up to the fluffy bird in moments. In response Morai chirped happily, accepting the petting from Kaeden that came.
'Maybe this bird isn't so bad.' Kaeden thought.
Seeing Thrawn concerned was a rare sight. The Chiss was usually so calm and collected, even in the face of certain defeat, defeats that he often somehow turned into victories in a split second.
So when Governor Pryce entered his office on the Chimaera, she was shocked to find it turned upside down, as if it had been ransacked.
She was about to call for security, when she heard movement, and a familiar Chiss emerged from underneath an overturned table.
"Grand Admiral? Are you alright?"
Concerned Thrawn was rare. Flustered Thrawn even rare. In fact, Pryce would say that this was a first.
The Chiss rose to his feet, dusting off his uniform, before moving across to another part of his office, one that housed a large glass tank that was full of leaves and wood. Aside from that, it was empty.
"Thrawn? What's wrong?" Pryce asked again.
This time the Chiss chose to response, his red eyes locking onto hers.
"Eli has escaped."
'What?'
Pryce was now concerned. Now for what had escaped. But for Thrawn's mental condition.
"Who's Eli? You mean your former aide?"
Thrawn shook his head before moving past Pryce, entering into the hallway that led from his office to the side rooms.
Turning, the Chiss entered what appeared to be a storage room of some kind, full of various artefacts he had collected.
"No, my Ysalamir has escaped his tank. I need to find him." Thrawn replied, his voice surprising timid.
Pryce's mind went into overdrive. She knew that Thrawn had a pet of some kind, but she had never seen it herself.
Then something clicked in her mind.
"Hang on a minute. Are you telling me you named your pet lizard after your former aide?"
She expected some sort of embarrassed response. That would have been truly unique for Thrawn.
But rather than that, the Chiss surprised her once again as he ducked down behind a display podium.
"Yes."
That was his only response, before her seemed to make a happy noise.
Pryce watched as Thrawn stood back up, now having found his lost pet. The Chiss Grand Admiral lifted the small lizard creature up above him, placing it on his shoulders, before heading back to his office.
Governor Pryce stood dumbstruck for a few moments before she followed him.
Thrawn was now seated at his desk, and the lizard he affectionately referred to as Eli was still resting on his shoulder.
"Now Governor, did you have something you wished to discuss?"
Author's thoughts
So usually I would wait to post the next one shot a bit, give everyone time to read. But for this one I couldn't wait. Hope you liked it.
Also, I think I speak for everyone (possibly not, you never know) when I say that Morai is so cute! I want a Convor now!
Oh and I am aware that Thrawn might be slightly out of character in this one shot, but that was the point. Besides, he wasn't expecting anyone to walk in on him.
Anyway, I shall give it some time before the next one shot, especially since the rebels finale is right round the corner. I'm sure many of us will be distracted by it. I know I'll need some time to contemplate it. Hope you all enjoy it. :)
Next one shot will feature Ezra being forced to seek out a so called 'spiritual healer' to help him with something. But not all will be as it seems.
As normal, comment and speculate at will. Speaking of which:
Travis Middleton: Glad you enjoyed seeing Cody again. It was a challenge to write him without making him overly sympathetic, but not make him a complete villain in the process. Hopefully I succeeded. Cody was spared because I might have use for him later. Ony time will tell.
The whole Time Travel aspect certainly opens up new possibilities, but at the same time I'm glad they didn't abuse it in the episode. Not being able to save Kanan made sense, and we already knew that Ahsoka survived her meeting with Vader, thus allowing Ezra to pull her to safety. In my eyes it was less time travel and more fulfilling an event that had already happened, just from Ezra's POV instead.
Cranky Paws: Yeah I did wonder if people would think along those lines at the start. Originally I just left it there as well, without revealing what had happened. Later on I decided to add the extra bit between Ahsoka and Rex, revealing that Rex had stunned Cody rather than killed him.
Imagine how that meeting went with the Inquisitors!
Grand Inquisitor: "Ok everyone, settle down, I have important news."
Seventh Sister: "Oh good, have you found another Jedi?"
Grand Inquisitor: Sort of. The Sixth Brother is dead!
Seventh Sister: ...
Fifth Brother: ...
Seventh Sister: Seriously?
Grand Inquisitor: Yes. Any questions?
Eighth Brother: Does this mean I'm promoted?
SLE's fave guest: Oh that is totally the plan at some point. Pretty much the only reason I spared Cody was the eventually write a reunion between him and Kenobi. Besides, by the point of this one shot both Ahsoka and Rex know Obi-Wan is alive. Cody does not know what he is eventually in for.
Honestly, I've never really been a fan of the who chip in the head plot line. I think it was created as a sort of excuse to explain why the clones are so willing to betray their Jedi Generals, almost as if Filoni went, "Oh no, we've made this strong bond between Jedi and Clone, how will we explain why every clone does Order 66 on people they like... I know, mind control!"
Personally I'd prefer it to be a choice made by the clones rather than a control chip. It would make the whole thing more compelling, as well as not give an excuse for the clones betrayal. It feels as if though they tried to make the clones blameless for it, which to be fair they were practically slaves so in a way they are, but still, it doesn't sit right with me as a plot line. (oh look, I ranted again. My bad!)
Mysterious Guest one: Thanks, glad you enjoyed the one shot. I spared Cody for exactly that reason, so expect a one shot at some point with him and Kenobi.