There was no way that she knew what she was doing. Her body, warm and real next to his, a contrast not only with the chill wind around them but his years of isolation. There was no way she knew, because she would not have done it knowing his craven impulses.

Instincts. Force, but he'd been speaking around it without knowing, a double meaning in his words he had not intended. How much did she know? How gracious was she being by pretending none of this was happening? And how long could he allow it to continue?

"Y-yes," he said, not proud of his voice catching slightly. Perhaps she had not noticed. "You, too, are more connected than you know. Before hearing of the Force, even, it was a part of you. Not guiding your actions, but aiding you. Enhancing you. Allowing you to survive against all odds, because you are a part of it, too. And that is why you are you, and the fish. It is all one cycle, all part of life. You can't cut yourself off entirely. You cannot survive, truly, without feeling the feelings of others."