This was supposed to be simple. Really.

Just a tiny little border scuffle on some teetering neutral planet made up of crescent-moon reeds and iridescent waters. This one tribe and this other tribe fighting about ancient cultural territories, both of them touting some pretty heavy weaponry. (Maybe if the Jedi are nice they'll join the Republic). Ahsoka didn't even technically have to do anything, no specific responsibilities. Sure, she had to behave herself, but nothing more than that--other than observe.

Obi-Wan is the one who's really suited to these diplomatic missions anway, while Anakin sits firmly on the complete opposite side of the spectrum of handling-oneself-gracefully-during-non­battle-scenarios. Ahsoka falls somewhere in the middle, which makes perfect sense.

What makes even more sense though, is that it was Anakin who was the one that kriffed up somehow. (She doesn't know how yet, still wading through the waist-high, glass-colored foliage of the planet to get to wherever she's going). All she got was a very minimal comm from Rex telling her to ~ get to that one alien temple to the south of HQ ASAP ~ and Ahsoka bolted out of her temporary living space, brows creasing and stomach flipping. Something bad must have happened. But... it couldn't be too disastrous. As she forces her way through the planet's wilderness, she can't discern the sound of blaster fire ringing out of the chirping wood, nor the buzzing hum and glow of lightsabers in the distance. The hilt of her own blade is gripped tight in her hand though, just in case, slowly growing sweatier by the moment.

No, the Force just feels... weird. Not another word comes to mind when she tries to put a finger on it. It's all just making her heart beat faster with the uncertainty of it.

She pushes aside more crystalline reeds and narrowly avoids tripping over some outstretched roots. Ahsoka had assumed cutting through the short stretch of forest would be faster than the somewhat meandering pathway to the temple, but now she's not so sure.

It feels like another hour before she finally breaks through the tree-line, but it was probably only a couple minutes.

The first thing she sees is the blue of Rex's armor standing out against the white coquina temple. He's standing at the bottom of the temple steps, helmet tucked into the crook of his arm, kicking dirt. Okay, not the stance of someone in the midst of an emergency. The rigid line of Ahsoka's shoulders relaxes a bit, but there's still that underlying, wavering sense of something different.

"Rex! Is everything okay?" she asks, jog coming to an abrupt stop when she reaches him. She has to crane her neck to look him in the face.

"Yes. Um, everything's fine." He glances back at the darkened arch of the temple door. "You'd better go see it for yourself, though, sir." With that, he gestures up the stairs, and Ahsoka obliges. Alright, okay, everything's fine.

The temple steps fall under shadow as a cloud passes overhead, and the temperature suddenly increases as she passes under the archway. Light spills in through the tall windows lining the walls and flickering candles cast little circles of warmth around. Refracted light falls through the stained glass ceiling. She's momentarily distracted by the multi-colored prism above them, footsteps faltering. Rex doesn't move ahead of her.

Across the long hall, Ahsoka can make out the figure of Obi-Wan, a few clone troopers, and several native aliens all grouped together. And... a child on Obi-Wan's hip?

Doing her very best to remain composed in front of their hosts, Ahsoka all but runs over to meet them.

"Master Obi-Wan, what happened?" she says, voice surprisingly steady.

Yes, it is a child. And one held with familiarity. Obi-Wan's face seems bright. The child avoids looking at her, instead opting to bury his face into Obi-Wan's cream-colored robes. Ahsoka cocks her head, silka beads swinging lightly with the movement.

"It seems we have a bit of a... situation." Is all he says, hand shifting on the kid's back. "The native inhabitants inform us that the effects of the artifact are temporary and should fade within twenty-four hours."

She looks back up. There are three aliens standing with them, their backs to an altar which supports a glowing sphere of some sorts. It's too bright to look at directly, streams of light reaching out of the orb like leylines. She gets the urge to touch it. It looks like it would fit perfectly within the palm of her hand.

"What? Where's Ana..." And then she realizes. Her mouth forms a little o and she can hear a little barely-concealed chuckle come from one of the clones at her side. The child is Anakin. "Skyguy?"

Little Anakin finally turns to look at her. The differences she can catalogue between Jedi Knight Anakin and little youngling Anakin are shocking. The soft, roundness of his face. His sandy blond hair falling over his forehead, clothes much too big for him. No padawan braid. She notices that the hilt of Anakin's lightsaber is clipped to Obi-Wan's belt, next to his.

"He doesn't have any memories from after this respective age," Obi-Wan informs her, then pauses, looking down at the child in his arms. "Which appears to be somewhere around seven or eight."

"Oh," she says, and then smiles at Ani. "Hello, my name is Ahsoka."

The kid smiles back, if a little shyly, and his eyes flit around to the aliens and the troopers in the room. He must be nervous. Of course, in his mind he must have just been transported from Coruscant to some strange planet, surrounded by strangers. Even Ahsoka is a little bit unnerved by the native aliens, with their unblinking eyes and crescent-shaped skulls, they tower above even Obi­Wan by an entire foot or two.

"Do you want to go outside?" she asks and he nods. Obi-Wan lets him down and Anakin has to hold his coal-colored robe high up to avoid tripping on it, tiny fist gripping the bunched up fabric. Ahsoka offers her hand and he takes it, one wide sleeve sliding down his skinny arm.

"You take him and a trooper outside while I talk more with our hosts," Obi-Wan mumbles to her and she nods.

A crook of her pointer finger tells Rex to follow her. They make their way down the long hallway, the now dimming light rippling over each of them in turn. Little Anakin holds on tight to her hand.

Outside, the sky has continued to grow darker, the sharp scent of ozone filling her nose. It's about to rain.

"What planet is this?" Anakin asks. It's the first thing he's said to her and she smiles.

"It's called Kaffaljidhmah."

He furrows his eyebrows. "Kaffaj-ma..." is his attempt. Pretty close.

"But don't worry, okay? We're going back to Coruscant soon." They really were in the last day or so of their negotiations.

"Coruscant. But what about Tatooine?" he asks, eyes sweeping over the landscape, now darkened with storm clouds. "Where's my mom? Why isn't she here too?"

His... mom? And Tatooine? Ahsoka looks at Rex, but he just shrugs, obviously as confused as she is. Ahsoka decides to go with the seemingly less sensitive topic. "What do you mean Tatooine?" "My home. I live on Tatooine. Do they know I'm gone? Am I in trouble?" Much to Ahsoka's horror, his lip begins to wobble, eyes shiny. Little Anakin lets go of her hand and starts hugging himself with a death grip.

She kneels down and rests her hands on his shoulders, rubbing them in what she hopes is a reassuring way. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay, I promise." Ahsoka has never seen Anakin cry, not once. Not even when he gets so horribly injured in battle. She's not entirely sure what to do.

She glances back at Rex again, who looks very much like a deer in headlights. He's probably never seen his General cry either. He kneels down as well, mirroring Ahsoka.

"Why would you be in trouble?" he asks, voice hesitant. He sets his helmet on the ground, probably trying to appear non-intimidating.

Little Anakin wipes at his eyes and Ahsoka just wants to hug him and never let go. Who would have guessed her confident, bold master could have ever been so timid.

He sniffs. "Does my master know I'm here?"

"You mean Obi-Wan?"

He shakes his head and all three of them jump when thunder suddenly rumbles somewhere above them. The rain hasn't started yet, but she knows it will soon. They should probably go inside.

"Watto. I don't remember how I got here." Anakin looks up at her, eyelashes clinging to each other with wetness, cheeks blotchy. "Does he think I tried to escape? I didn't, I swear!"

Ahsoka has no idea what he's talking about, but it's pretty clear that Anakin was not living at the Jedi Temple at this age. "No, no... He--he doesn't think that."

"What if--what if he detonates my chip?" Anakin seems truly panicked now. He takes a step away from them.

Ahsoka turns to Rex. "Will you contact Obi-Wan? Tell him what's happening."

Rex nods, flipping open his communicator and moving out of ear shot.

She needs to focus. If the situation was reversed, Anakin would be able to help her.

"I promise nobody is going to hurt you. You're not in trouble, Ani."

He shakes his head, and avoids her eyes. Sniffs and wipes away more tears from his cheeks with the palm of his hand.

"We can go find your mom soon, okay?" Ahsoka has never heard Anakin talk about his mother before. She wonders if the woman is still alive, if they're still in contact. She's never met a Jedi who'd spoken of parents or family--Ahsoka herself has no memory of her life before she came to the Jedi Temple.

A short little nod. "Sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for." She reaches out to him and he comes close again. Little Anakin seems to become lost then, engulfed within his oversized robes and under Ahsoka's arms. All that's visible now is the light blond of the top of his head. He tucks his face into her shoulder and she rubs the back of his head. They stay like that for a long time.

"I've never met a Togruta before," he says, sniffling a little. "You're really cool."

Suddenly, Anakin jumps and pushes away from her gently, looking up at the sky. Then a raindrop hits Ahsoka's cheek. Ah, the storm has finally started, accumulating clouds growing heavier and darker by the second. More thunder rockets through the sky.

Her young master looks upwards, eyes wide. His nose wrinkles when another droplet of water hits his forehead. Holds out a little hand, palm upwards towards the downpour.

It's probably never rained on Tatooine, Ahsoka realizes, what with it being a desert planet and all. She smiles, watching Anakin wonder at it.

He laughs and it's the best thing she's heard all day.