In the quiet grove of a meadow, a stream trickled nearby. Birds chirped in the trees, and the leaves rustled in the wind, but other than that, it was silent. Peaceful. A perfect place for a nap, as a togruta had discovered. Her body relaxed against the lush moss covered ground. Time seemed to pass slowly, as the togruta let her war torn body become less tense. She felt she could stay here forever, but she knew it wasn't to be. The force was calling her elsewhere, but she would relax for a few more moments.

Just as the Jedi was dozing off, a few giggles sounded through the air. Her eyes opened, and she reached out through the force. Nearby she felt a few little kids, being watched over by a slightly older one. Smiling, she spoke softly. 

"I know you're out there", she called. "You can come out, I won't hurt you."

She heard rustling, and the older child walked out, being followed by three younger children. She sat up, and smiled at them.

"Hello", she greeted. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

The older one's cheeks flushed red, and he ducked his head. "I was playing with my sister and her friends, when she decided to run off, so I had to chase after her and these two followed me. We're lost now, unfortunately, no thanks to her." He sent a glare toward his little sister, who looked down at the ground.

The togruta frowned, and knelt in front of the young child. "Hey, it's okay. Ignore your big brother okay? He's being a bit mean right now, but he's just scared."

"I'm not scared!" the older kid exclaimed. The Jedi sent him a glance, before looking back at the young child.

"Can you tell me the names of your friends?" she asked gently. The young girl pointed to one of them.

"That's Caben", she said quietly before pointing to the other one. "and that's Stoke."

"It's nice to meet you", the togruta said to the two boys, before turning to the young girl. 

"Do you want to tell me your name now? I'll tell you mine."

The young girl nodded. "Omera", she whispered. 

"Omera", the Jedi Knight smiled. "That's a really pretty name. My name is Ashara, but if you want, you can call me Ash."

The young girl returned Ashara's smile, her teeth sparkling in the light of the setting sun. Ashara stood up, and turned to the older boy.

"Don't be too frustrated, kid", she said. "You're lucky I'm here, or else you'd be stuck in these woods until someone from your village came and found you."

The kid scoffed. "I doubt that. What can you even do that we can't?"

Ashara shook her head. "I'll tell you when we get to your village. Which we need to get a move on if we want to get there before dark."

The kid nodded, and knelt down, having Caben climb onto his back. He stood up and scooped up Stoke before glancing at Ashara.

"Can you carry Omera?"

The Jedi nodded, and lifted up Omera, who instantly rested her head onto the togruta's shoulder. Ashara smiled softly at the tiring child, and started walking in the direction that the group of four had come from.

"What's your name, kid?" she asked the older boy. 

"Ben", the kid answered. "My name is Ben."

Ashara smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Ben."

They walked in silence for while. Omera's eyes had slid shut, and she was snoring softly. Stoke had also fallen asleep, while Caben was still partially awake, but very quickly falling asleep. Ashara knew they needed to get back to the village soon, and she could sense that it wasn't too far away, but she didn't they would make it before the third child fell asleep, and if he did that, they would have to stop walking until they were found due to the fact that Ben couldn't hold both him and Stoke at the same time without dropping one of them if they were both asleep.

The togruta was grateful when she noticed lights and heard voices nearby. Ashara recognized the voices calling for the kids she was with.

"Over here!" she called, alerting them to their presence. In a few minutes, she was surrounded, though the villagers held no weapons. 

"Who are you?" a brave man said, stepping forward. Ashara didn't move, just kept a warm gaze aimed toward the villagers, in an attempt to seem friendly.

"My name is Ashara Ki. I was resting in a clearing when these children stumbled upon me. I offered to help them find their way back to you."

The man relaxed, and he approached her completely, offering to take Omera from her. She gently transferred the small girl over to him, and watched as a couple other men took the two sleeping children from Ben as well, who seemed relieved to not be weighed down as much.

"Thank you, Ashara", the man who took Omera from her. "Is there anything we can do to repay you?"

"Just a place to sleep for the night would be appreciated", she said softly. "I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. There's somewhere I need to be."

The man nodded, and motioned for her to follow him. They talked quietly, and though Ashara didn't share too much information, she didn't lie about anything either. 

"Do you know where you will be going?", the man asked. 

"No. I will just go where I feel like I am needed, like how I felt when I came here", Ashara answered. The man sent her a glance, but inevitably shrugged off her vague answer.

"Where are you from?"

"Originally? Kiros. But I've lived on Coruscant for the most recent years of my life."

"You're a long way from home, then, aren't you?" 

Ashara shrugged. "Not unusual for me, honestly. I've traveled quite a bit, but I always return to Coruscant."

"Any reason for your travels?" the man asked. Ashara gave him a small smile.

"Honestly, the war", she said, but didn't give any answer more than that. The man opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a relieved yell coming from a large clearing that they were approaching. Through the trees, Ashara could see a female human running toward them.

"Benjamin!" she exclaimed. "You found them!"

The man Ashara had been conversing with turned with a large smile toward the woman. "I did, but I don't think we would have without Ashara's help."

The woman turned toward the togruta, and her eyes widened. Ashara's eyes widened as well, but she remained silent.

"You've grown quite bit, Ash."

Ashara smiled. "It's good to see you, Katalina."

"Kat? You know Ashara?" the man, Benjamin asked, confusion written all over his face. Ashara and Katalina chuckled.

"She helped me out from time to time while I was on Tatooine. At least, when Watto didn't have her busy." Katalina looked back at Ashara. "Speaking of Watto  , how'd you get out of being his slave?"

Ashara's smile widened partially. "How else? A man came and bartered for our freedom."

"Little Ani is free too?"

Ashara chuckled. "Yeah, he is, though I wouldn't call him little anymore."

"How's his mother doing?" Ashara's smile dropped at the sentence, and Katalina instantly recognized the grief on the togruta's face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ash. I know how much she meant to both of you."

"It's okay, Kat", Ashara told her. "It's been a little over a year now." Grief still covered her face, but it wasn't as obvious now. Katalina walked over her friend, and rested a hand on her shoulder. 

"Come on, you look exhausted", she said. "Let's get you to bed, and you can tell me more about what you've been doing these past few years in the morning."

Ashara nodded, though she wasn't sure what she was going to tell Katalina. She didn't want to tell her that she and Anakin were Jedi, but she figured it would come out sooner or later. The only reason that it hadn't been revealed yet was due to the cloak she was wearing that hid her lightsabers.

Katalina showed her to a small hut, that was mostly empty except for a small bed, and a small bedside table. She smiled at the humble room, and turned to her friend, who gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry that it's not a lot", she said.

Ashara shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm used to this style of room, honestly."

Katalina nodded, before going to leave the small hut. She paused at the door. "If you need anything, I'm just right next door."

The togruta smiled and nodded, watching as the human female left her alone in the hut. After a few moments, Ashara removed her cloak, draping it against the bedside table, before placing her lightsabers on top of it. She laid down on the bed, still fully clothed, and closed her eyes, very quickly falling fast asleep.