Another two days of research had passed, and Anakin was still a kitten. Obi-Wan had been called away from his research in Corellia by the war, so it was unknown how long he'd remain this way. In the meantime, Anakin had been meditating on his vision on Asinonyk in his spare time, but he hadn't gotten any further. After the incident with Barriss, Anakin had considered seeking out Master Frenn for advice, either on what to do with Barriss or about his vision, but he had a feeling that whatever the feline had been trying to tell him was a little too radical for any proper Jedi to ponder.
The media hadn't yet picked up on his disappearance yet - they probably thought he was still on the front lines - which was a good thing. The war had made the Jedi the focus of the galaxy in ways they hadn't been previously. It was a little off-putting for some, but for the most part Anakin loved the attention. Sometimes it got annoying, such as when tabloid reporters thought he was in a relationship with Padmé or Obi-Wan or both, but he mostly thought that the increased recognition for how much good the Jedi did in the galaxy was a good thing. Although, whenever articles came out about how scandalously close his relationship to Padmé was they would have to avoid each other, much like he was being forced to do now. Anakin had rarely spent so long on Coruscant without seeing her at least once. He missed her.
Therefore he was feeling both terribly worried and downright gleeful at once when he learned that there had been vague death threats made against Senator Amidala and that she had specifically requested Ahsoka as her bodyguard. Nobody had told him that he couldn't accompany her in order to supervise, of course, so Anakin was glad to be able to hitch a ride with his Padawan when she left for her assignment without violating the letter of any rules. He was pretty good at breaking rules without technically disobeying them.
Anakin's heart leapt as if unhindered by gravity when he saw Padmé from his spot on the ground by Ahsoka's feet. He had been so eager to see her, to be next to her, while they were separated that if Ahsoka didn't say anything soon, he was going to make a break for it.
"Ahsoka!" Padmé exclaimed, standing up from her desk in order to greet her with a friendly hug. "It's so good to see you. How have you been?"
"Good to see you too, Senator. I've been alright. I want to go back out and fight, but what with what's happened to Master Anakin, the Council's been a little -"
"Wait, something's happened to Ana- Knight Skywalker? Is he okay? The Senate has heard nothing about any battles he's lead," Padmé interrupted, the space between her brows wrinkling.
Ahsoka hesitated, glancing down at Anakin, who was sitting patiently at her heels, waiting for her to explain the situation to Padmé. There was no one around except the three of them, so it should be okay. Anakin meowed at her and pushed gentle reassurance through their bond.
"Anakin had an incident at an ancient Jedi Temple," Ahsoka said, stooping down to pick him up and hold him up like an offering. "This happened to him."
Padmé froze for a moment, her eyes flicking between Anakin and Ahsoka, before she raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think this is a bit of a poor time for a joke?"
"It's not a joke, Senator. Ancient temples can be… unpredictable at the best of times. Really, Master Skywalker was lucky that it didn't just try to kill him outright," Ahsoka explained.
"Is there any way to fix it?"
Ahsoka shook her head. "We have no idea exactly how it happened, or how to fix it. He's been like this for a few days now, and everyone is just hoping that it might wear off at some point."
Padmé pinched the bridge of her nose and took in a few deep breaths before she spoke. "Okay. Jedi can turn into animals now. Okay. That is something that happens. And now Anakin is one for an undetermined length of time."
"It's been five days already," Ahsoka helpfully added.
"Thank you. Is there anything I can contribute to the effort to fix it?" Padmé asked.
Anakin meowed and wriggled in Ahsoka's hands. He really wanted to greet Padmé and reassure her, even if all he did was rub his head against her hands a few times. He hated to see her worry. The Force was nudging him along, telling him that his problem would be one step closer to being solved if he spent time with her.
"Master Obi-Wan was investigating the ancient temple, but he didn't find anything before he was needed again. Do you want to hold him?" Ahsoka offered, changing the subject.
Padmé gently accepted him from Ahsoka, cradling him close to her chest and carefully running her hand over him a few times. Anakin immediately started purring, so happy to just be with her.
"You're so soft, Anakin," Padmé said. "And so cute."
Anakin allowed himself to enjoy the petting for a moment longer before he jumped up from Padmé's hands to her shoulder and started rubbing his head against her chin. He could feel that she wasn't as unruffled as she was presenting herself to be and wanted to offer as much comfort as he could.
"I'm just going to go make sure the rest of the place is secure," Ahsoka said, eyes averted as she backed towards the door.
Padmé nodded in acknowledgement, her composure lasting until Ahsoka was gone. Then, shoulders tense and eyes wide, she pulled him off her shoulder in order to stare at him and unleashed a number of curse words that wouldn't have sounded out of place in the clone barracks. Anakin kept purring, familiar enough with her moods to know that Padmé would begin to wind down once she got it out of her system.
"Kriffing hell, Ani," she finished. "This makes absolutely no sense. I mean, you're an adult. Why did it turn you into a kitten rather than an adult cat?"
Padmé was definitely focusing on a more trivial aspect of his transformation rather than its entirety in order to work on processing the sudden shift in her reality.
"Maybe the default setting on whatever changed you was kitten so that if any younglings came across it they wouldn't have to deal with being an adult," she mused, setting him down on her lap and running one of her hands down his back. "Of course, I would need to know more about the temple you were at and the Force in general to come to any solid theories, so I'll have to stick to just idle musings for now."
She spent a few more minutes giving Anakin her undivided attention, which was wonderful. Padmé gave the best ear scritches. Even when she had to turn her attention to her work, Padmé continued to run one of her hands along his back or scratch behind his ears. Anakin was purring the entire time, the only sound to disrupt the blissful silence, as he drifted on the currents of the Force, meditating on his vision and the new information given to him.
How was it that Padmé could help with his predicament? In the vision, the creature had asked him what the most destructive yet beautiful thing in the galaxy was, and, as much as he loved Padmé, Anakin didn't think she was it. Maybe she knew the answer, though. If only he could ask her about it, then he might be able to figure out how to become human again.
Anakin slipped deeper into his meditation, casting out his question as to why Padmé might lead him to his answer out into the Force.
Another vision bloomed behind his eyelids, showing him Ahsoka's exhausted face as she sat up after he'd brought her back to life, the Daughter's still body beside her. It faded into the last glance he'd had of his mother when he'd left Tatooine with Qui-Gon, worry and hope for his future in equal measure shining from her eyes.
Anakin jumped slightly at the sudden beeping of Padmé's comm, his eyes flying open as his vision faded on the edge of a revelation.
Anakin hissed and clawed at the air in annoyance over having his vision disrupted.
"It's just the comm, Anakin," Padmé chuckled as she answered it.
The blue figure of the Chancellor rose up, as tall as Anakin currently was. "Good afternoon, Senator Amidala."
"Supreme Chancellor," Padmé nodded. "It is a pleasure to hear from you."
"Why thank you, my dear. Under normal circumstances, I would be delighted to speak with you at leisure, but I'm afraid new information has come to my attention that I must discuss with you," the Chancellor said.
"Oh?" A raised eyebrow was the only sign that the Chancellor's new information was concerning.
"Yes, it regards the new committee you're leading with Senator Organa," the Chancellor said pleasantly.
"Of course. I am free to meet with you as soon as possible," Padmé responded.
"I happen to have an opening in my schedule," the Chancellor said. "Do be careful when you come to see me, though. I heard about the threats made against your life, and it would be simply terrible if something were to happen."
"It will take more than threats to keep me from doing my duty to the Republic," Padmé said. She was so amazing. "I will see you soon Chancellor."
The Chancellor smiled before he disappeared, having disconnected the call.
Padmé sighed and leaned back in her chair, then put Anakin up on her desk so that she could stand without dropping him.
"Do you want to come with me?" she asked as she shook out her clothes, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles. "It won't be very interesting; I know how you feel about politics.
Anakin meowed his assent and walked over to the edge of her desk, taking care not to step on any of Padmé's various data pads. A Jedi needed to be with Padmé at all times, even if they were currently kitten-shaped. Anakin still had the Force, and so he was still able to keep Padmé safe from whoever wanted to kill her. Besides, although Anakin couldn't talk to Palpatine, it would be nice to see his friend.
"I'm going to hide you in my sleeve, okay? I won't let you fall, I promise," Padmé said, holding out a hand for him.
Padmé was wearing a dress with wide sleeves today, so there was plenty of room when she tucked him into them. Anakin curled up into a ball, carefully suppressing the purr that wanted to rise up at the proximity to her, after she hid both him and her hands in her voluminous sleeves.
He opened his mind to the Force as they walked, noting each of the people Padmé passed on their way to the Chancellor's office, making sure none of them had malicious intent. He kept his focus so that he could pick up on any subtle movements people made, such as reaching for a blaster. He also noticed that there was a loose thread on the inside of Padmé's sleeve, one even more tempting than the one that had been on Obi-Wan's shoulder, but he was able to resist pouncing on it with great effort.
"Senator Amidala, so good to see you arrived safely," the Chancellor said as he stood to greet her once they were in his office.
"Always a pleasure, Supreme Chancellor. Now, I'm assuming that the information you wished to speak with me about was rather urgent." Padmé smiled politely..
"Yes, about your -" The Chancellor paused, then sniffled. "Oh, excuse me -" He pulled out a handkerchief. "I do apologize, my allergies appear to be acting up."
"Oh, it's no problem," Padmé said, her smile still in place.
"Thank you, my dear, now, I understand that your committee is addressing a number of the issues surrounding regulation of our hyperlanes in the Outer Rim, but I have heard word that there has been quite a bit of activity from the Confederacy of Independent System's droid army along the routes," the Chancellor said, his voice already beginning to sound nasally and his eyes turning red.
"If that is the case, then it would be dangerous to send anyone out there to investigate."
"My thoughts exactly." The Chancellor sneezed into his handkerchief. "Pardon me. In fact, I had heard that the Jedi were considering sending out General Skywalker to try and sort things out."
Oh wow, the Jedi Council was good at coming up with cover stories if even the Chancellor believed that he was out on the front lines.
"I see," Padmé said. "That does complicate things."
The Chancellor sneezed three times in quick succession.
"Perhaps we could discuss this more later, when your allergies aren't quite so bad," Padmé suggested.
The Chancellor's Force signature fluctuated, as if he wanted to react but didn't. Instead, all he said was "Thank you for the consideration, my dear. I shall send you a document with a more concise summary of my information."
"I hope your allergies clear up soon," she said, nodding her head in respect. "And that the rest of your day is much more pleasant."
Once they were back in Padmé's office, she let Anakin out of her sleeve. He was a little confused to note that she was stifling a grin.
Anakin tilted his head to the side and meowed questioningly.
"The Chancellor was going to use our meeting to try and get one of his people invited to the charity dinner Bail is hosting tonight, likely to sow doubt among the supporters of our committee," Padmé explained.
Anakin didn't fully understand the nuances of what had just happened. To him it seemed like they had just walked across half of the Senate building for nothing, but Padmé was the politician, not him. If she was happy, then he was happy, even if he was a little sad that Chancellor Palpatine was sick.