Chocoholics Anonymous

"So you couldn't tell from taste itself?" He...Luca...was he even human? How did he not figure out which was the most tasty to him?

Selena's laughter escaped as he thanked her and it took her a minute to be able to respond, falling onto her side on the shared bean bag. Wiping her eyes, she looked up at Luca and gave him a brilliant smile that she rarely ever showed. "I like you, of course I'll pay attention to you. Don't thank me, its a selfish thing to want to look at someone you like and notice them."

"Well, they were all quite good...it was difficult to keep up with the ones I favored overall..." Luca replied, attempting to excuse himself; he'd been focused on the taste...and from what all he tasted they'd all been rather good.

It was...a selfish thing to want to look at someone they liked and notice them?

"It doesn't seem that selfish..." It wasn't like it bothered him or anything, her noticing had been appreciated.

"I really should have gotten you a notepad and pen then..." Selena lamented lost chances, sitting up again as she straightened the now crooked glasses from her antics with sweatered paws. Was he...attempting to excuse his lack of ability to tell? How odd for him.

At his question, the quincy woman tilted her head. "It...inherently is. You aren't looking at them to learn things, you are looking because you want to. Because looking at them makes you happy or makes you feel good. Its not bad to be selfish!"

She should know, she was selfish above all else.

Luca was quiet as he thought about what all Selena had said before finally giving another small nod; "I see then...yes, it is not bad to be selfish...Looking because you want to seems perfect fine..."

If it caused her to feel happy or good by doing so, then that was fine; he wasn't bothered at all.

"I am glad to have your permission then." Selena bowed lightly as best she could, her arm going out in dramatic fashion. Really? Such an odd man, that was his reaction to her words?

"Its good you see the benefits of being selfish. I am supremely selfish, the queen of such so if you need lessons in that, go right ahead and learn that too." Smiling and selfishness lessons? Alongside lessons on poisons and toxins...

Speaking of which... Selena slipped from the bean bag and stretched again. "Let me go grab a few books and bring them here. I'll get your present too, its upstairs."

There were benefits to being selfish at times, and when he considered their previous words he could see that there were indeed benefits... He nodded again at Selena's response as she slipped from the bean bag and stretched.

"Alright, I'll...wait here for you then?" He questioned, if she preferred they move somewhere else that would be no problem, but if she wanted him to wait here that was also fine.

"You wait. I don't need a tagalong for this, eat more food!" Selena grinned to take the sting out of her words, straightening her sweater before fixing her glasses again. On light feet, she moved to the door quickly and escaped past the guards who were watching with a hop or two over their sleeping forms.

There was a mad scramble that could be heard from the closed door and pleasant, happy laughter as Selena ran past and up the stairs as the animals slowly reacted to her leaving the room. She made it up into her bedroom, grabbing the small box before she ran out and into the library/study room nearby. It took a few moments for her to grab a stack of books, but she had them and the box balanced as she made a mad dash back down the stairs.

Opening the door one handed, the animals attempted to get in as she pushed them back before she slipped inside and pushed it closed with some effort as the dogs were using their weight on the outside. She wasn't even a bit out of breath after such a hurried run or actions. "Got em!"

"Alright..." He would wait then, he could...try another piece of chocolate while she was gone...though after she left he ate one of the filled pieces again that she'd brought here earlier. They had been his favorite...

He didn't eat much while she was gone, having tried that piece of chocolate and another one with orange slices in it before he heard her open the door, watching as she pushed the animals back that were desperate to follow and come inside.

"Welcome back."

"Oh! Thanks." That was...different. Welcome back? Had she noticed him doing such things before? Selena was a bit startled but also pleased and smiled a bit softly as she carried the books and the box over.

She quickly moved over to the beanbag, turned around and plopped herself backwards onto it. Taking the box on top off as she set the books on her lap, she held it out to Luca. It was as big as her outstretched palm and fingers, unmarked by anything on the dark outside. Inside was tissue paper to keep it safe though it wasn't needed, but carefully wrapped was one of her crystal sculptures. A perfect little replica of his own previous violin complete with a mini bow for it. "Your present."

Luca gave a small nod at Selena's thanks, waiting as she walked back over to where they'd been sitting with the books she had, along with a box as well.

His eyes went to the box as Selena handed it to him, looking at it for a short moment before accepting it and and looking at it further. This was the gift she'd mentioned then...

Carefully, he opened the box, looking to see the tissue paper inside before moving it to see what was under it. There was surprise in his expression, subtle as he kept most of his composure in tact as usual, but there was obvious surprise in his eyes upon seeing the crystal sculpture.

"It's crafted beautifully..." He commented as he continued to look at it. "Thank you..."

He liked it, obviously.

"Welcome. I thought you'd like it, they are easy to make for me." Selena slipped up and turned red, looking away. She kind of hoped he wouldn't ask HOW, since...how did you make crystal like that without some sort of...something she didn't know really.

Luca was a quiet person, he might not even bring it up so Selena stopped being worried almost immediately. "You seem happy... Here!"

Leaning over, she lifted his lips with her fingers again so he could smile and express it.

"You made this? It's crafted beautifully..." Luca replied, glancing at her before his eyes returned to the crystal sculpture. "You're very good at this..."

He wondered how long it'd taken her to make it, she had claimed it was easy but...

"Mn?" Just as his thought trailed off he felt his lips being lifted at the sides, she was making him smile again... It caused a real one, small, but real. "Thank you, I am...happy."

"Thank you." Selena felt a bit like a show off, but she was pleased with how adoring Luca seemed to be over this gift. It was so easy for her to make, her powers allowing her to do intricate work with her thoughts...

She couldn't show him that and felt a pang at the thought, her smile falling briefly before it returned in full force. He was smiling again, he was that happy and she let her fingers fall. "You really do look like it too, Luca. I guess you must really like it a ton to show this much."

Laughing a bit, she shifted the books on her lap. Did he want them yet or would he continue to adore the violin. "I wish I had the control to make it playable for you, the worlds smallest crystal playable violin~"

Luca gave a nod, he was happy, as he'd said as he looked at the crystal sculpture; he could...perhaps put it somewhere in his room when he returned back to Hueco Mundo, put it somewhere safe, but noticeable enough to display...

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the books Selena had; "Those are the books, I assume?"

Her words about wanting to make a playable crystal violin kept his smile up, "It certainly would be a feat to achieve...to make something like that..."

"I don't think I can. Strings of crystal... How would I make those? I mean... Its theorotically possible, fiber optic wire is glass... I don't think it'd sound right though. I'd have to get regular string and make the holders in it... Also without the wood, it might sound really off. I mean the sounds chain from the types of wood, so a crystal violin? The vibrations would be different..." Selena was now thinking over the problem of making a working violin of crystal. Her powers would allow her to make it, slowly was easier than quickly so if she set aside half of a day she could in one sitting possibly make a smaller violin if she took hours to do so.

Her crystal wasn't real crystal, in that it worked exactly as crystal does... "If I take one of my days off...I could possibly make it in a few hours instead of a few minutes... I might have to practice to get the sizes right... I wonder how hard the working parts would be... Oh! Yep, they are, here you can look at them."

Shifting them over, she was obviously distracted by that idea now.

He...actually hadn't thought she'd think about seriously trying to make it functional; it would definitely sound different, but it was interesting to think about how it would turn out if she attempted.

She'd made this one...that quickly? That was something to be impressed about, considering how nicely crafted this was, a functional one was something she wanted to practice making though...well, he was interested in what the results would be.

"It is a curious thing...to think about, what it would sound like..."

As she shifted the books over to him, he carefully set the box holding the crystal violin sculpture down before he went about looking over the books she'd brought.

"I'll need to get books... Diagrams of the creation of a violin..." Selena plopped back against the bean bag, thinking as she cuddled again Luca so she could look at the books too. She fell silent but kept thinking about it, reading slightly over the man's shoulder and wondering if he'd have questions as she did so.

Hm, moving parts would be the hardest parts... though she could control how it formed so she could theoretically put holes... or form them after...

Selena was intent on making a functional one it seemed, though as he'd thought before...it would be interesting to see the results of her efforts. If she'd been able to craft one like the one she'd given him, then with enough thought and work put into it she might actually be able to make a functional one...

Luca's eyes scanned over the words in the books, reading up on poisoning techniques used centuries ago. It...still all sounded rather familiar, but he couldn't place it exactly.

"Why the interest in poisons?" Selena finally asked as they laid there, her thoughts on a working crystal violin reaching the end of its possibility without research. She would definitely need lots of research, making Luca smile from one would be worth it. Plus it was a challenge now for her.

Looking down at the books, she had no idea what could drive the man about these other than her own personal feelings.

"I'm simply interested...I've never had experience with such a case before..." Well, he supposed that could be considered true, he had yet to treat someone who'd been poisoned, though...perhaps due to how familiar this seemed he had...? He had no way of knowing though.

As a doctor though, it made sense he'd want to study more on such a subject.

"I've never had to treat someone with poisoning anyway...but I suppose it's certainly not as common now though as it was centuries ago it seemed..." It still happened, obviously but...

"A lot of poisons are picked up by blood tests... But you are a doctor, so I'm sure you know that. It just makes it harder to use as a sort of 'getting away with murder' weapon since you can sort of figure out where the poison came from unless they can make it look accidental. Like lead poisoning or something, though those take a while..." Selena's morbid curiosity was shown as she quickly rattled that off, a tiny grin on her lips.

"It makes sense for you to be... Its just these are all cases from hundreds of years ago so its not really relevant to nowadays. A lot of those poisons are used in medicines now too, modern poisons would be the ones to watch out for." Her smile grew a bit, wondering what excuse he would use this time.

Luca nodded, listening intently as Selena explained these things, though he looked as composed as usual. His attention was on her words though, and it seemed she...enjoyed talking about this? She was smiling, so he could only assume.

In modern society it was simple to figure out if one had suffered poisoning...unless a murderer went through the hassle of making it seem like an accident...

It seemed like a lot to plan, it wasn't much a wonder why it wasn't as common in today's time.

"I've mostly dealt with more obvious injuries...such as cuts, and the like..." He explained; a lot of poisons from back then were used in many modern medicines of today... that was something to think about...interesting.

"Oh I see!" Selena laughed softly, shaking her head. Was Luca being modest? Medical students did quite a bit more than that even in training... Or was he some sort of...witch doctor? Medical shaman? Having no idea of really anything about him, she turned curious eyes on him.

There was a hint of worry though.

"Hm, Luca? I have...some questions for you now that I think about it." She really should have asked these before this point... But...

"Hm?" Luca turned his attention from the books back to Selena, "Questions? Alright..."

He wasn't sure what types of questions would be asked, but he would answer them to the best of his ability to. He didn't have all that much to hide, or keep silent about...so he didn't mind this discussion change.

Selena sighed, took a deep breath and fired off her questions. She didn't expect him to answer them, really. He was quiet and a bit secretive so... "What kind of doctor are you? Where do you come from? Why do you always somehow mysteriously show up whenever I ask you to come by...when you profess you don't live around here and are unfamiliar... I bet if I check medical records of doctors nearby... you will not show up. Not merely because you also lack a last name apparently."