The Council was very much interested in hearing how Anakin had become human again.
However, in the interest of keeping his marriage to Padmé a secret, he had merely shrugged and said "Perhaps there was a time limit. We could send someone else to the ruins of the Temple on Asinonyk to try and find out."
The Council had, understandably, decided against sending another Jedi. They didn't have enough Jedi left on Coruscant to waste on a research a mission at the moment.
Ahsoka had followed Anakin's lead and said nothing about how Anakin had become human again. When she gave her report on the assassin, though, there were a few raised eyebrows.
"I thought you said that General Skywalker had not yet turned back into a human at that point," Master Ti said, attending the meeting from Kamino.
Ahsoka glanced up at Anakin for a moment before continuing. "He hadn't."
"Then please explain how he was able to help you take out the assassin," Master Windu said, his expression almost completely unchanging. Anakin thought he might have seen Master Windu's eye twitch a little, as if he was anticipating an eminent headache.
"If you look at the assassin, you'll notice that he has wounds on his face. That's from Master Skywalker climbing up the assassin and scratching him. I was able to use the distraction my Master created to incapacitate the assassin," Ahsoka explained.
Anakin could feel the amusement of several Council members in the Force.
"A kitten, young Skywalker may have appeared, but still a Jedi, he was," Yoda said.
"Thank you, Master Yoda," Anakin said, bowing to the aged Master. Coming from Yoda, that was high praise.
"Let us hope that your return is permanent, Knight Skywalker, and may the Force be with you," Master Mundi said before his image flickered out.
The meeting was over.
"Thanks for not saying anything, Snips," Anakin said once they were well out of sight of the Council chambers.
"About what?" Ahsoka asked, winking. "Now, didn't you say something about talking to Barriss?"
"I did, but," Anakin sighed a rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "Now that I've had a little time to think about it, I realized that I'm not sure what to say or how to word it."
"I think you've been spending a little too much time with politicians, Master," Ahsoka teased. "Just tell her the truth."
"Why don't you go get something to eat," Anakin said. "I'll comm you for directions when I think I've figured out everything I want to say to her."
Ahsoka tilted her head to the side, as if debating whether or not she should leave, before she shrugged and said "Alright. Good luck, Skyguy," and left.
Anakin watched her go for a moment before he turned down another hallway. He had some idea of where he wanted to go and who he wanted to talk to, but he wasn't sure how well it would be received. He'd been told that Master Frenn was available to talk to him when he needed it, but he wasn't sure what exactly constituted as 'need' for a Mind Healer. He got directions from the first terminal he found, contemplated getting directions to Barriss' quarters, then decided against it, as having Ahsoka as a temporary buffer would make things easier.
As the Jedi Temple was a big place, it took Anakin at least ten minutes to get to Master Frenn's quarters, which was enough time for him to second, third, and fourth-guess himself. He tried to keep his face relaxed and serene, the picture of a perfect Jedi, but he was sure that anyone who looked at him could tell that he was struggling with something.
Master Frenn opened the door before he had a chance to knock. "Knight Skywalker, good to see you back in your natural form. Did you want to speak with me about something?"
"You said I could come to you at anytime."
"I remember. Would you care to accompany me to the commissary so that we can speak over dinner?" Master Frenn asked.
"Actually, Master Frenn, do you think we could talk in private?" Anakin asked.
"Of course. My office is always open to any Jedi in need. Would that be suitable?"
The Mind Healer wouldn't have offered if he didn't have time, so Anakin figured that he wasn't being an imposition. Still, he reassured himself for the fifth time that it would be fine to talk to Master Frenn about Barriss before he nodded.
Master Frenn led the way to his office, opening the door and allowing Anakin to precede him inside it. There were two comfortable chairs facing each other at either end of a small table in the middle of the office. A desk with a computer terminal was shoved into a corner beneath an artificial window displaying a mountain range that looked like a rainbow due to the variety of minerals in the rocks. A small kitchenette occupied the opposite corner, the shelves covered in tins of tea and powdered chocolate.
"Would you like some tea or hot chocolate while we talk?" Master Frenn offered.
"A hot chocolate would be nice, thanks."
They waited in silence while Master Frenn heated up a kettle and filled two cups, one with tea leaves and the other with powdered chocolate. When the water was hot enough, he poured it into the cups and brought them over to the table.
"I thought we could speak while we waited for these to cool a little. Now, what is troubling you?" Master Frenn asked.
"Hypothetically, if someone had a friend who wanted to leave the Jedi Order, what would you say to them?"
Master Frenn raised a brow. "Well, hypothetically, I would need to know more about why leaving is this friend's best option."
"I'm not entirely sure that leaving is their best option, but it seems to be the only one they have," Anakin said, stirring the powdered chocolate idly.
"Do you want to elaborate?"
Anakin stopped to think about how much he should reveal about what Barriss had told a kitten in confidence. Maybe just revealing the contents of the visions without getting into her emotional reaction to them would be enough for Master Frenn.
"This friend has been having visions about the Dark side growing because of the war," Anakin said tentatively.
Master Frenn leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his tea, watching him over the rim of his cup.
"Specifically, the Jedi falling to the Dark side."
"How much do you know about the Draethos, Knight Skywalker?" he asked as he set his tea cup to the side.
"Not much," Anakin admitted. He'd never seen one on Tatooine growing up, and Master Frenn was the only one in the Jedi Order.
"We are a long-lived people, some reaching as many as a thousand years, but it is an increasingly rare occurrence because the people of Draethos revere warfare and martial prowess above all others. I, who believed that we should utilize our natural telepathy to help one another prosper as a species, was exiled, and my only crime was wanting peace. I swore then to never pick up another weapon," Master Frenn explained, his gaze unfocused as he called upon no doubt painful memories. After a moment, his eyes refocused, and he leaned forward in his chair. "I do not carry a lightsaber for this exact reason. You may let your friend know that they are not the only one who saw darkness in our future the very instant the Jedi, a peacekeeping organization, agreed to go to war, nor are they the only one who is finding it very difficult to find arguments for why they should stay true to the Jedi when the Jedi have not stayed true to them."
Anakin stared at Master Frenn, his eyes wide. "But isn't that almost . . . treason?"
"When did we sign up to join the army?" Master Frenn shrugged. "I do not remember the Jedi being dogs of the Republic."
Anakin flinched and tried to cover it up by setting down his hot chocolate. That was a little too close to some of the secret, uneasy thoughts he'd had about the intersection of slavery and the Jedi.
"I am sorry," Master Frenn said quietly, his sharp eyes catching the flinch. "I am aware of your past and what my words might mean to you. I should not have let my emotions get the better of me."
Anakin waved off the apology as he stood and began to pace behind his chair. "What about the Sith, though? They're our problem, and if we don't fight then they could take over the galaxy."
"Except this was is about whether or not the systems involved in the Confederation have a right to secede from the Republic, not the eternal struggle between the Jedi and the Sith," Master Frenn said.
"They're evil! Separatists work with slavers and organized crime and who knows what else!"
"I am not disagreeing with you," Master Frenn said. "I merely disagree with how the Jedi are being used in this war, and I fear for the state of the Order once it is over."
Anakin stopped pacing and took a deep breath. They had gotten off topic. He had come seeking advice on Barriss, not a debate on the war. He should go and talk to her before it got any later. He was going to miss dinner in the commissary as it was.
"Thank you for the talk and the hot chocolate, Master Frenn, but I have to go," Anakin said. He didn't wait for a goodbye or a dismissal.
He stalked out of Master Frenn's office, not really paying attention to where he was going. How could anyone think that the Jedi shouldn't be fighting in the war, that it was against what the Jedi stood for to fight? It was their duty to do so - otherwise how would they be able to spread peace throughout the galaxy? And besides, what would they even do if they weren't actively taking part in it? Ignore it? No, they were supposed to fight, or rather, the ones who could fight should. It wasn't as if they were forcing younglings onto the front lines, just Masters, Knights, and Padawans. . .
Okay, so maybe shoving Padawans out into the field was bad. Sure, it was how he became Ahsoka's Master, but it was probably also why Barriss was so freaked out. Especially with Master Unduli, who had pretty much just given up on Barriss when she had gotten into a bad situation with Ahsoka on Geonosis, and then the brain worms. . . Yeah, Anakin could kind of understand why some of those traumatic experiences, coupled with horrifying Force visions, could be worrying. His own experiences with visions had been either awful or mysterious, so he could understand a little of what she was going through.
"Hey Master, is everything okay?" Ahsoka asked, carrying a container with a half-eaten nerf steak.
Anakin startled, then forced a grin. "I'm fine. Do you know how to get to Barriss' quarters? Now that we've gotten everything else out of the way, I think it's time for me to talk to her."
He wasn't really feeling up for another potentially emotional conversation, but it was better to get it out of the way now rather than waiting until he felt steadier. Besides, if he waited, then he might talk himself out of it.
"You still can't tell me what this is about?" Ahsoka asked.
"Nope."
"Fine, this way, Master," Ahsoka said. She led him to Barriss Offee's quarters and knocked on the door. "Let me tell her you want to talk to her first."
Barriss opened the door with a delighted smile on her face when she saw Ahsoka. "Ahsoka, how good to see you," she said, opening her door wider. That was about when she noticed Anakin, her smile faltering. "And Knight Skywalker. Can I help you?"
"My Master," Ahsoka gestured towards Anakin. "Wanted to speak to you about something."
"Alright. Please come in Ahsoka, Knight Skywalker," Barriss said, stepping aside, leaving them room to enter her quarters.
Anakin scratched the back of his neck. "Actually, I was hoping to speak with you in private, Knight Offee."
Barriss nodded. "Very well. I'll see you later, Ahsoka. Oh, wait, before you go, I wanted to ask if your kitten was alright."
Ahsoka didn't even bother to cover her smirk. "Oh, he's perfectly fine, no need to worry about him. Did you want to meet in the Room of a Thousand Fountains?"
"That sounds good."
"I'm going to go stow this in the fridge while you two talk," Ahsoka said, hefting her container. "Bye."
The atmosphere was awkward and a little tense in Barriss' quarters after Ahsoka left, Barriss offering up a pillow for him to sit on while she took one facing him.
Anakin wasn't exactly sure how he was going to begin the conversation he wanted to have with her. Should he circle around, maybe start with her fears about the war? No, that would be too confusing. Maybe he could just straight up tell her that he had overheard her, and he wouldn't have to mention his time as a kitten. Except, that would be lying. He would start at the beginning, with the assignment from the Council to investigate the ancient Temple and proceed delicately from there.
Apparently, though, he had taken too long in formulating his thoughts and staring at everything in the room except Barriss while he did so, because she began to speak.
"What was it you wished to speak with me about?"
"I was the cat," Anakin blurted out. Or he would just tell her everything as bluntly as possible, that was a good plan. "Or, the kitten, sorry. I didn't mean to hear what you said - about the war and the Jedi and the Dark - when you were watching me for Ahsoka. And I just wanted you to know that I was here. If you needed to talk."
Oh, karking hell. Wow, he sure was great at awkward conversation openers.
Barriss blinked. "Pardon me, but I could have sworn you just said you were turned into a kitten."
Anakin sighed. Of course she didn't believe him. "I'm telling the truth."
"Well, have you been to see the Healers?" Barriss asked, tilting her head to one side. "Just to make sure there weren't any side effects?"
"I know what you're doing," Anakin said, narrowing his eyes. He may not have perfected the art of changing the subject to avoid awkward conversations while he was Obi-Wan's padawan, but he had learned how to recognize it. "If you don't want to talk about what you said about leaving the Order, then that's fine. You should know, though, that you aren't the only one who's thought about leaving. And besides, the Council had me speak with a Mind Healer when I was first turned into a kitten."
Barriss froze, her widening eyes and a soft echo of shock in the Force the only signs that she had even registered his words. He waited for her to collect her thoughts, sensing that she would need time to come up with an answer.
"I don't exactly want to leave," she said finally. "This is my home. It's just become so stifling that I almost wish it wasn't. I don't want to fight a war, to die for a Republic and an Order that's become rotten with corruption and lies."
"You may not want to leave, but it sounds like you might need to," Anakin pointed out. "And I can recommend a somewhat trusty Mind Healer if you just need to talk to someone and don't want it to be me. I mean, I'll try to make time if you do need to talk, but the war."
Barriss pulled her knees to her chest and stared at the ground, absently tracing lines with her finger while she contemplated what he had said. "I understand, and you may be right about speaking with someone."
Anakin pushed himself to his feet. "And if you do decide to leave, I can put in a good word with the Senator from Naboo for you, get you set up there if you wanted."
He was almost out the door when he heard a soft "Thank you for taking the time to talk to me, Knight Skywalker."
Anakin paused, but when he didn't hear anything else from Barriss, he left. He still needed to do some serious meditation on his visions.