All right. So, here's how you make a spell more or less susceptible to breaking...

Magic magic.

Magic magic. Kobold fielding questions from a curious passerby. Magic magic dinnertime.

It looks like Raafi has invited Ana and Aren to Milliways for dinner, too; the kobold spots them and waves.

They wave back, and come over to sit.

There's an empty eight-person table conveniently nearby; the group can move to that.

The kobold goes to get dinner from Bar - a family-style meal, again, but Bar can pick the dishes. While she's ferrying it over, Raafi asks the other Jedi about themselves.

They each share several anecdotes over dinner. It seems Jedi tend to lead interesting lives.

They do! Raafi and the kobold listen attentively.

As dinner winds down - the kobold goes to get desserts and a couple carafes of hot cocoa to finish off the meal - Raafi turns the subject to philosophy: why do the Jedi do what they do?

To protect the innocent. For justice. To serve the Republic. To fight against evil. Because it is the will of the Force.

And what do they mean by justice, or evil? Or the will of the force, for that matter?

Raafi is genuinely curious about their answers. The kobold keeps an eye on the proceedings, ready to jump in if anyone seems too uncomfortable or bored.

The Force is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds them, penetrates them, binds the galaxy together. Jedi can feel this energy, see how it flows between everything, understand how their actions affect the flow. The geometry of the flow is... not quite explicable to someone who can't see it, but you might think of it being something like a river, or an ocean. The will of the Force is the way it prods people into taking the actions that will strengthen its flow. Goodness is acting in ways that smooth the flow, make it more harmonious, and evil is acting in ways that disrupt the flow.

Interesting. It's been a while since Raafi's heard such a completely new answer to that question.

What does that work out to in practice? He's heard the stories, but - do there seem to be coherent underlying principles, how much does context seem to matter... he assumes, he says, that it takes peoples' well-being into account; does it seem to care about anything else as well?

It works out to something Raafi would know as a Neutral Good alignment. The Jedi don't couch it in those terms, of course, but that's what they're describing. People should be happy, violence should be avoided when possible, rule of law should be upheld when the law is working for the good of the people.

Raafi nods along, and then comments that it's interesting how that works almost backwards here compared to his world - there are gods, in his, but they vary almost as much as regular people do in what they think is right, from pacifistic healer gods to chaotic death gods to gods like his own who barely comment on morality at all; without something singular like the force to look to, it's up to each person to work out for themselves what they think is right, and then they uphold that perspective more than the other way around.

The Jedi think that is interesting, but they prefer the way the Force works.

Raafi lets the discussion peter out, after that. It is getting kind of late.

So it is. The Jedi head home.

Including, with regrets, Ana and Aren. Raafi gets a kiss and a hug from each before they go.

And Ana gets a hug from the kobold, and, hmm... yeah, kobold hug for Aren, too.

Kobold hugs!

And in the morning, breakfast hugs!

Huggy breakfast is best breakfast.

Nom lean consider, hmm.

Kobold consider! Hmm. What's up with that?

"What's up?"

"Oh," she snaps out of it and chuckles. "Thinking about Raafi. It's been a while since I've been around them; I'd forgotten how intense they can be when they want to. You'll be okay but I should probably keep an eye on Aren, I think."

"I think they're cute."

"They are," she grins. "And I think Raafi's more likely to be good for Aren than anything else, but I still wish they were being more careful with the cultural difference."

"Which one?"