A Miracle, Magical Encounter [Klein, Liltotto]

In other circumstances, Klein might have gotten mad at that girl for not bringing him a proper quincy. But, really, this was a much greater prize than just a strong quincy. And, besides, it was really close enough, wasn't it? Anyone could make an honest mistake like that. He was so generous.

Within this forward research facility in the depths of the South American jungle, Klein was perfectly content to split his attention between the wide array of monitors he had spitting out data on his test subject, while occasionally returning his attention to the woman herself, attaching needles here or there to get further samples.

In the back of his mind, no small amount of thoughts were racing, of course. She was cute. But he hadn't been so successful a scientist by giving into his basest urges. He could save that for later, when he wasn't in this smaller form. After all, dealing with someone from the Vandenreich, who might recognize him in his larger state, wasn't ideal. But this tiny form had already been causing problems in Africa, so he could manage with it being seen in a negative light.

That familiar warm darkness accompanied her in her slumber, the worries of the outer world dissolved and irrelevant in this small enclave of comfort. But even that darkness knew that she couldn't be held there forever, a weary parent's sighing breeze blew here;

It is time to wake.

Like weighted blinds, her eyes slowly slipped open to harsh lighting, flickering shut to allow her eyes to adjust to the sudden shift from darkness. The ache of hunger was a dull blade, pressing hard into her abdomen with the discomforting sensation. The attempt to move her hand to cover her face was ceased, the sensation of bindings keeping her weakened form pinned. The only movement she could muster was to twitch her fingers, and even then it'd reveal the sensation of tiny little somethings in her flesh; the sound of equipment only told her that she was potentially hooked to something.

And the smell... She swallowed hard, even with her dried mouth.

"..I know you're there.." Her cracking voice would speak out. She was so cold...

"Oh, good morning, good morning!"

Klein's voice, in spite of the circumstance, was cheerful, childlike, an innocence to it that simply did not align with the fact that he was so obviously the one in charge of this little operation. The sharp sound of switches flipping echoed through the small observation room as he flicked off some of the monitors, ones that would be a little bit less useful now that she was awake.

"That quincy girl said you'd be hungry when you woke up, so I have some dinner ready for you. Well, maybe not dinner, I guess it's not really late enough at night for it to be dinner."

He shrugged at that one, bringing a hand to his chin as he thought for a moment, eyes rather unashamedly moving about her lovely form.

"Well, either way. How about we get you dressed and get a hot meal in you, hm?"

It wasn't as if he was afraid of her, in this state. That seal of Lucia's, for all her naivete, was the kind of thing Klein would kil to replicate. Maybe even literally, if she proved to stop being so cooperative about bringing him subjects.

That chipper and joyful a voice was not what she expected - if anything it was more unnerving than if a foreboding presence had greeted her instead. She still felt that weight on her very being, squeezing her chest and suppressing her... That seal was still intact. Damn it, even if she could bide her time until she had regained her strength, she'd be a sitting duck. Her eyes finally adjusted to the room, and the source of that delicious- smell. Smell.

The tiny form talking about dinner and getting her clothed as if it were a normal conversation with a colleague only made her more uncomfortable. Her stony, unreadable face conveyed such. She was having an incredible sense of dread with who she was dealing with...

"..Fine. Fine," She'd speak in a long, tired exhale - it wasn't like she had much other choice other than to entertain this for now to get some food in and clothes on, "..Even if you're the one holding me, i'm not too interested in eating sentient beings... If I don't have to."

That was pretty monstrous-sounding, by Klein's metric. Of course, one could say that 'monstrous,' in many ways described the kind of women he liked the most. Either way, he removed the needles that had been stuck into her, removing her bindings before reaching over to a small shelf and handing over an outfit he'd had one of the girls bring him.

It wasn't exactly revealing, per se, but it was certainly to Klein's tastes. High quality fabric, fine stichcraft, and of course, it still showed some skin. It was one of the outfits he usually had Flosshilde wear when they were out about, when he liked to show her off without letting people see too much.

"I've got a nice dinner prepped and ready, so you won't be waiting."

Well, he hadn't prepared anything. Flosshilde had done the work, like usual. He'd naturally reward her later, but for now he had work to do.

"And I would appreciate it if you didn't eat me, you know. Though it's pretty interesting that you could. I've got a lot of research going on that I think would be a real tragedy to lose. The world would be a worse place without it!"

Not really because he had any particular intentions of helping other people, though he would if it helped his purposes, or got him the praise he deserved. It would simply be a worse place because the knowledge he'd acquired was worth having.

Her chilled form was finally free, wavering vision able to look across the room... Not that she could see any easy ways out. She looked to the outfit with an unreadable look; the more she had the misfortune of learning about this one, the more she wished she didn't know. Well.. This was hardly the place to put up a fight on what she was dressed as, she was cold and hardly interested in expending precious energy on being stubborn about it.

Lethargic. Sluggish. Heavy. She'd grab the outfit with a slowly lowered hand, focusing her grip on the fine fabric as not to mistakenly loosen her grip. The constant on and on of 'dinner' and how great it apparently was would have killed her appetite if it wasn't so enormous, slowly but surely slipping into the outfit provided. Hopefully there were no mirrors for her to have to acknowledge this being on her...

"Yeah.. I'm so certain the world would be a darker place if not... For your 'contributions', gone in one big snap." She kept her drooling at bay, quietly sucking it up while she moved to push herself off the table; her steps were wobbly, uncertain as feet touched the cold floor. Even being upright on the table was a challenge.

"..Little help, or are you gonna expect me to drag myself like your courier did?"

"I'll have you know my medical research is revolutionary! Have you ever heard of what was happening in Las Vegas, before it all went up in smoke? I'm going to do it again. Hollows, that didn't even need to eat other people! They could live on their own, unsupervised. It was such a perfect solution, but I don't want to rely on those Gotei rats to hand it to us."

Klein held out a hand to support his lovely guest, not wanting to let her fall over and get potentially damaged. Besides, any excuse for contact with her was perfectly fine, and he led the way out of the observation room at a modest pace. Of course, this whole forward research station was underground, the only windows directly overhead, letting in some sunlight but not showing much in the way of identifiable location. Just plants and sky.

"I'm not like Lucia, I treat my guests carefully. Sure, it's not ideal to have to set things up like this, but you know, I can't let things get in the way of my research."

He was resolute in that, defense of his own ego the one thing besides his work that Klein really cared at all about. But his tone wasn't one of being insulted; it was just confident.

"I was a little too busy rotting in the wastelands to know the details of that... Laughable you'd think the Gotei would be interested in hollows past how much of a problem they are to deal with..."

She doubted it was that clean cut, or that it'd ever be that easy - Hollows, perfectly satiated? On their best behavior? Sure, if you were a madman living a drug-riddled delusion. The greatest majority of them, within the World of the Living and Hueco Mundo were just... Animals. No thought, no reason, nothing.

"..How, noble of you," Her intonation was clearly laced with sarcasm, she refused to let that be ambiguous; no matter how kindly or properly this one seemed to be treating her, something about his attitude bothered her, deeply, and it wasn't the fact that he was the most tempting thing to devour in the room. If her hunger weren't gnawing a hole in her with how terrible it was, that lingering sensation of dread would be the worst thing she'd be feeling. She took his hand, and held herself steady, walking along with him,

"So you're researching... A way to replicate Las Vegas? Why?"

The walk itself was pleasant, so far as Klein was concerned. He didn't mind a girl who was willing to push back against him, if she said it in a meaningful way, if she offered actual responses. Her words of distate toward the Gotei, at least, told him that she was someone he could work with, in time.

"It's not about nobility. It's about freedom. Isn't it just sensible to make somewhere for my kind to live where they don't need to hunt down innocent people in their homes? Where we aren't calling shinigami, and quincy, and everything else to hate us for trying to survive?"

He had been born to starve. He had been created to be desperate for even the faintest scraps that might be given to him, and he would pursue whatever it was that could solve that issue.

"We don't deserve to starve just because we're born like this. As soon as I was made, I had to crawl through the sand just for a single drop of reishi, something to solve that hunger. Why should I live like that again? Why should I make someone else live like that? Because the Gotei hates us?"

Opening the door to the remarkably well-kept dining room, Klein brought Liltotto to one of the chairs at the set dining table, dinner already sitting on a plate at the seat. Of course, there were countless more platters of all manner of food, and there was even more in the back if it was necessary.

Wow, Flosshilde had really outdone herself.

Her legs felt like inelegant cinder blocks with each step, yet she managed to push herself forward to any promise of food, anything to dull the pain. Dull amber eyes fell upon the shorter figure aiding her steps as he spoke hopeful wishes for his kind; she kind of pitied the thought, she didn't hate any of them - even for the most mindless and monstrous of them it'd be like hating wolves for eating sheep or for protecting their young to her.

But it was simply, so easy, to hate something you didn't understand. Her gaze remained hard on the floor as she walked, her slothful steps feeling loud underneath her.

"...The problem is that the hunger, it's endless," Her response was calmer, more earnest than just prior, "You'd eventually collapse everything if there's no ability to self-discipline... Most hollows aren't capable of that, no matter how much you give them; it's desire itself, not mere satiation needs. You'd have to kill off the greedier ones at some point or another..."

Oh, she nearly had the impulse to throw herself into the room at the scent of food hitting her in the face, but she kept calm and allowed herself to be put to sit.

"Even my hunger isn't purely physical need..." Normally she would have given some form of thanks for the food before she'd start eating, but that was hardly a consideration when you were so hungry you'd eat anything that moved.