The next morning found them in a training salle after practicing his transformation for half the night. It had been disorienting but necessary if they were going to be able to train in some of their riskier ideas.

They had also figured out that Anakin could manage to keep his prosthetic arm and a layer of clothing on if he concentrated. It was a little like how he managed to keep his hair and fingernails despite them being dead tissue - he considered them a part of himself. Hopefully, one day he would be able to keep everything when he changed, although it would require a lot of mental twisting.

"Ready?" Ahsoka asked with an eager grin.

Anakin meowed to tell her that he was ready when she was.

"I'm throwing on three," Ahsoka said. Anakin braced himself in her hand as she counted. "One, two, three!"

On three, Ahsoka wound her arm back and threw him at half strength, which was pretty close to full strength for those not strong in the Force.

Anakin flew through the air for one endless moment, twisting around so that his feet were facing the ground. Then he changed back into a human.

In theory, Anakin would either land on his feet or roll to a standing position. In practice, however, it had not gone so smoothly. The timing was the hardest part of the whole maneuver.

This time, Anakin changed back and almost immediately slammed into the wall, with just enough time to turn his face to the side and avoid a broken nose, before flopping onto the ground. He was able to get up right away and shake off the pain, but it still hurt.

"Maybe you could try throwing with a little more arc," Anakin suggested, rolling his neck to work out some of the soreness.

"I thought there was no try," Ahsoka said snippily.

Anakin rolled his eyes and walked back over to her, not even dignifying her comment with a response. He changed into a kitten and was ready to go again when Barriss Offee walked into the training salle.

She nodded to Anakin in acknowledgement and then turned to Ahsoka. "May I speak with you?"

Ahsoka's eyes darted down to Anakin for a moment before she replied "Sure."

Barriss closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Anakin could feel her pulling on the Force to steady her nerves.

He and Ahsoka waited patiently for her to collect herself.

"I've decided to leave the Order," she said finally, opening her eyes to catch Ahsoka's reaction.

"What? Why?" Ahsoka asked, askance.

"This war has twisted the Jedi into something they should not be, and I no longer want any part of it," Barriss practically snarled.

Anakin could feel her emotions race inside of her, spilling out into the Force and battering against his shields.

Ahsoka seemed to feel it too, but, rather than flinch away, she stepped forward and put her hand on Barriss's shoulder. Some of the rage and indignation seemed to leak out of Barriss as she leaned into the touch.

"I just want to be able to stay true to myself, to Barriss Offee the healer, not Barriss Offee, Knight and General," Barriss explained.

"You could stay and make a difference, help change things for the better. Being a Knight or a General isn't a bad thing," Ahsoka suggested calmly.

Barriss shook her head. "I'm just one person. Besides, it's already too late. As of twenty minutes ago, I am no longer Knight Offee of the Jedi Order. I'm just Barriss now."

"Well, I happen to like just Barriss very much. Thank you so much for telling me about your choice," Ahsoka said with a sad smile.

Anakin felt a little like he was intruding on a private moment. Maybe he'd been wrong about her being too attached to that Bonteri kid. He narrowed his eyes and sat down to observe his padawan and her friend more closely, his tail twitching slightly.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something as well," Barriss said.

Anakin didn't like the sound of that.

"Would you leave the Order with me?" she asked.

Ahsoka gaped at her. Anakin was barely able to hold back a hiss of displeasure. Leaving may have been best for Barriss, but he didn't want to lose his padawan, not yet. It was too soon.

"I- I- I can't," Ahsoka stammered, her hand falling from Barriss's shoulder.

"Ahsoka, there is a sickness, a darkness inside the Order, and it will contaminate everyone it touches. I- I care about you too much to just sit back and let that happen to you. Please, Ahsoka," Barriss pleaded, her expression slightly wild.

"Barriss, the Order is my home. If it is corrupted, like you say, then I have to do what I can and fight to fix it. I'm sorry, but I can't leave."

Barriss's shoulders slumped, and she turned her head, unable or unwilling to meet Ahsoka's eyes. "Alright then. I'll call you when I get a private comm set up. If you change your mind, just let me know. Goodbye Ahsoka."

"Barriss, wait," Ahsoka called, but it was too late.

Barriss had already left the training salle in a dejected flurry of black skirts.

Anakin felt conflicted. On one hand, he was glad that Ahsoka wasn't going to leave him or the Order. On the other hand, he felt bad that Barriss was probably feeling abandoned. Yet on another hand - paw, maybe - he was relieved that she was getting away from somewhere she felt trapped in and smothered and alone. On the fourth paw, he felt a little angry that she had tried to take his padawan with her. Ahsoka had a support system and people who cared for her already.

However, right now Ahsoka needed him to be there for her more than he needed to figure out his feelings.

Anakin changed back into a human and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay, Snips?"

"No," she admitted, leaning into him.

He could feel her emotions through their bond, loss, grief, and confusion most prominent.

He hesitated only a moment before curling his other arm around her in a proper hug. She tucked her face into his chest and clung to him, her fingers curling into his tunics.

"It'll be okay," he said in a soothing tone, running his hand gently up and down her back. "You'll see her again someday. Barriss is strong; she'll be fine."

"I know," Ahsoka said, the slight hitch in her voice the only indication that she was holding back tears. "I just feel really empty right now."

"I'm sure my clothes will be able to handle a few tears," he said, unsubtly letting her know that it was okay for her to cry.

Ahsoka sniffed deeply then slowly, reluctantly let go of him and stepped back, her eyes still shining. "Thank you, Master, but I feel as if I need to improve my hand-to-hand skills right now."

She bowed shallowly, her jaw clenched and her spine straight. Anakin could easily identify the signs of wanting to be strong even if you weren't sure how. He felt helpless as she turned and left the room to go beat up some training dummies.

Barriss had been absolutely right that there was something wrong with the Order, Anakin realized, but he thought that Ahsoka's approach was also right. He suspected, though, that the sickness might have started before the war began, long before.

Master Frenn thought that the Jedi were meant to serve the people outside of the war. The creature in his vision clearly thought that Jedi were lacking in love, although the specifics had been unclear. Anakin didn't exactly agree with them, but he also wasn't quite sure what he thought was wrong, just that something clearly was.

Anakin's conflicting feelings hardened into a resolve to fix things, and make the Order right. He was the Chosen One, after all, so how hard could it be?