Things shortly resumed for Lux, he was back and forth from Coruscant to Onderon. Ahsoka remained in the Palace whilst Lux was away, he was never gone too long but she did miss him during his short spells of absence, however she was quite content being on her own, she was never lonely. For a short while, she visited Padme with Lux to help heal her mind but has had to stop. Her pregnancy was beginning to show, she had a petite bump growing under her Jedi tunic, but she was able to disguise it for now to stop suspicion. Most of the symptoms were starting to wear off and Ahsoka began to enjoy her pregnancy, as did Lux. The two parents to-be were thrilled with each milestone in Ahsoka's pregnancy, their little one had become more active and the two had experienced it's first kick. It was something that brought them immense joy and peace of mind. The pregnancy had given Ahsoka something to focus on and it allowed her to distance herself from the Jedi and her experiences with them. It had been a few months since her trial and she had found herself beginning to heal from the ordeal, but due to this she had begun to distance herself from the Force entirely. She played ignorant to the fact she was a Force wielder and found it easier to process her trauma this way. Although she did try and ignore it, it was difficult to do so when she could feel her child's Force presence. This was something Ahsoka was fearful of, she knew there was a possibility her child could possess the power, but she hoped this would not be the case.

Adjusting from being in constant battlefields to chilling in the Palace was difficult for Ahsoka, for as long as she could remember she was fighting in the galactic war and downtime was rare. So, from going from one extreme to another was a great struggle for her. She pottered about the city of Iziz on occasion but since she began to show, those trips became less frequent. Multiple daily walks around the Palace grounds were her new activity, but one gets bored of the same walk. She was on her third lap of the day as the sun had set and found herself in the main terraced garden. On either side of the pathway were drooping leaves of tree, vines entangling them all and small buds appearing from the foliage. There were benches scattered around the small garden against the large Palace wall, and the expectant mother settled upon one. Since getting pregnant, Ahsoka has realised even some physical activities could tire her out, but nothing as basic as walking. As she caught her breath again, the wildlife had caught her attention. Creatures flying in formation above her, flocks moving completely synchronised. It was mesmerising for Ahsoka, she never got to appreciate sights like these on Coruscant and she was never in one place long enough to watch. Her eyes followed them in every direction, she listened intently to their chirping. The way the entire flock moved together with such grace, their silhouettes against the darkening sky was a sight to behold and had Ahsoka in a trance.

Hoot hoot.

The noise broke Ahsoka from the mesmerising dance of the creatures, her head darted from side to side.

Hoot hoot.

She looked again, trying to find the source of the noise, until she saw white and green feathered bird perched upon the wall of the Palace. It hooted at her again, looking down as she gawked up. The creature flew into one of the many trees of the garden, Ahsoka followed it with her gaze as it landed before her. Ahsoka studied the creature, it had a tail that flowed behind it as it flapped its wings, green and white feathers mixed among one another. The young Togruta had never seen a bird quite like this one before but something about it felt familiar to her. They stared at each other until the bird hooted again, Ahsoka furrowed her brow.

"Hey, I never seen a bird like you before." It chirped in response, Ahsoka was intrigued by this bird, there was something about it that she could not put her finger on. She continued to observe the creature.

"You… feel familiar." Its wings flapped as a reply. Never breaking her trance with the bird, Ahsoka began to delve deep into though as she tried to feel the bird's presence through the Force. Admittedly, she did not want to open herself up to the Force again, she had cut all bonds and denied herself the ability to aid in her recovery. She closed her eyes and began to reach out.

"Ahsoka, darling?" Just before she could open herself up to the Force again, Lux returned from Coruscant. She shot him a look and smiled, she quickly turned to find the bird to see it had gone. Ahsoka felt confused by her interaction but brushed it off for the time being, she pushed herself up from the bench and made her way over to Lux. The two met in an embrace, they held one another for some time. Lux had been gone for less than a month, but Ahsoka still missed him greatly. They pulled apart and Lux peered down to Ahsoka's bump.

"Our little one is definitely growing." He chuckled, placing a gentle hand on her stomach. Ahsoka smiled, she had grown bigger since Lux had last seen her. She placed her hand on his, savouring this intimate moment. They both felt their child kick, deepening the intimacy. The two gazed at one another and shared a passionate kiss. Lux was elated to see Ahsoka again, he detested being away from her, but he has a duty to his planet.

"It's getting dark, lets head back to our quarters." The senator was right, the sun was completely gone, and the temperature had dropped. He took her hand in his own and led her back to inside the Palace.

*'*'

"Some of the senators are beginning to warm up to me." Ahsoka chuckled at his statement, since joining the Republic, Lux has found it difficult to form alliances with his fellow senators. This was due to his past as a loyal Separatist, but politicians such as Padme and Senator Organa had welcomed him into the Republic Senate. The two laid in bed together, Ahsoka cuddled into Lux's chest, both in their respected nightwear.

"How is Padme?" Ahsoka gulped, Lux tensed against her.

"She's… okay." He hesitated. This put Ahsoka on edge.

"Okay?" She questioned.

"She's under a lot of pressure now. She's still trying to deescalate the war effort, but she can't persuade the senators to sign any bills or legislations and Master Sky-." Lux stopped himself, not wanting to upset Ahsoka.

"What about Anakin?" Ahsoka pressed. Lux delayed his response.

"He's… not helping with the pressure on her." He finally admitted. Ahsoka propped herself up to face Lux, concern plastered across her face. Lux really did not want to discuss this any longer, but he knew she would not let it go.

"In what way?" Lux truly did not want to answer her, he had said too much. "Lux?" She pressed more seriously.

"Master Skywalker… isn't doing well." Was all he said.

"Oh." Ahsoka did not say anything more, she kept quiet, not wanting to open any healing wounds. If she had asked about Anakin, she would come to the realisation that she had caused him the pain, and it was something she did not want to think about. It would only make her feel guilty, she knew that Anakin would be struggling since she had left, but it was easier for her to not think about it. This is partly the reason as to why she had distanced herself from the Force, she would still be able to feel Anakin and that would only hinder her improving her mental state. Ahsoka had to be selfish with that decision.

"How long are you staying for?" Ahsoka said breaking the silence.

"Only a week." Lux sighed. The senate was in disarray with the war escalating, it was vital he attended all meetings. He kept this from Ahsoka as he did not want her to worry but, the Republic was starting to deteriorate, they were operating in severe debt and their forces were spread thin as the war reached more corners of the universe. And not to mention the Jedi, Anakin had started down a dark path from what Padme had told him. His distrust for the Jedi Order was only fuelling this path, Padme had had to beg Anakin not to walk away himself. Master Skywalker had only become reclusive and more rebellious since Ahsoka had left, he seemed to have a distaste for the entire Council, including Obi-Wan. Padme had confided in Lux, but he was powerless, the relationship the Jedi had with the Republic was becoming more strained. The Chancellor had started to consider removing the Jedi from the frontline, and a handful of senators agreed. All these factors would cause Ahsoka to regress and spiral, and Lux wanted to protect her from that, especially since she was advised by the medical droid that she needed to keep her stress levels low. Lux turned his gaze to the Togruta in his arms, he had noticed that she had drifted into a slumber, breaths purring against his chest. He decided it was best to get some sleep himself.

*'*'

Ahsoka awoke multiple times in the night, for no reason other than to visit the refresher. Another symptom that had remained during her pregnancy was the frequency to relieve herself, Ahsoka found it was an inconvenient side effect and was annoyed that it was disturbing her sleep. She untangled herself from Lux's loose hold and slipped away, she always struggled to fall back asleep afterwards, so she always decided to just lay alone with her thoughts. Lux was in a deep sleep when her mind wandered to the bird she encountered earlier, there was something so familiar to her, but she struggled to comprehend it. The thought played on her mind until the early hours of the morning, when she found herself heading to a small library hidden away within the Palace. She was cautious not to make too much noise as she tiptoed through the halls, since she would find I difficult to fall back asleep, she thought it would be best to do some research. The bird plagued her thoughts since she encountered it, its presence lingered.

The small library consisted of King Dendup's personal book collection. There were two bookcases that were jammed full of novels and encyclopaedias, every book was covered in a thick coating of dust. The collection was nowhere near as extensive as the Jedi Archives but everything a person needed was there. Ahsoka scoured the shelves in search for something relating to birds, if anyone was going to have a book on birds it would be the King. She remembered a conversation the two shared when she first arrived, the two were in the gardens and Dendup began appreciating the birds that sang and flew around the Palace. Ahsoka followed the books spines with her finger until she found what she needed; a tatty discoloured book came to her attention. She carefully pulled out the book and noticed it was the only one without a thick layer of dust. The cover depicted a creature with large wings and the word, Birds. Ahsoka had found what she was looking for, she placed the back underneath her arm and creeped back to her shared quarters.

Snoring loudly, Lux was dead asleep, Ahsoka did not have to worry about waking him up. She could not help but giggle slightly as the dim light showed his mouth agape and his body sprawled about the bed. The Togruta sat down at Lux's desk and began reading the book, she skimmed every page analysing every picture, she did this multiple times. There was nothing that resembled the bird from the gardens, after the third try she groaned in frustration and slammed the book. Surprisingly, Lux still did not awake. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, maybe she was not looking hard enough? Taking in a deep breath, Ahsoka reopened the book and there was her answer. The bird she saw was a Convor, however the birds the book was describing were different to the one she saw. Their plumage was brown and white in colour, unlike the green coloured one she encountered. The Convors were native to jungle planets, which made sense but the fact that caught Ahsoka's attention was that the birds had a strong connection to the Force. Her eyes read the same sentence over and over, and her brows raised.

Their connected to the Force? She asked herself. Confusion began to set in. How are they connected to the Force? Why did it show itself to her? How come she sensed a familiar presence to the bird? She found herself asking questions that no one could answer.

"Ahsoka? Why are you up?" Lux yawned, eyes barely open. Ahsoka looked over her shoulder and faced him.

"I couldn't sleep," Ahsoka closed the book but folded the corner of the page. "Nightmares." She lied. Lux shot her a sympathetic face, slight concern painted across his sleepy face.

"Come back to bed." He patted the sheets. Ahsoka uncrossed her legs and crawled into bed beside Lux, she laid on her side and Lux on his. Lux slid his arm around her middle and pulled her close, placing a hand on her stomach, he lightly kissed the back of her lekku. Ahsoka closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. Her questions she would answer another day.