Lissianna nodded slowly. She understood his reasoning and supposed she should have expected his curiosity. She didn't have the heart to tell him anything he learned would be short-lived knowledge, and her mother was hoping Uncle Lucian could wipe all memory of them from his mind.
"Why do the twins eat while the rest of you don't?"
The question was such a hop in subject, it took a moment for Lissianna's mind to make the switch, then she said, "The twins are young yet. When we're children it's necessary to eat to mature properly, but once you're mature it isn't."
"So you can eat, you just... what? Stop?" Greg asked.
"Basically," she said with a nod. "After a while, food gets to be boring and having to both eat as well as feed gets to be something of a nuisance. So, yes, most of us just stop bothering with it."
"Food? A boring nuisance?" Greg looked shocked. "Even chocolate?"
Lissianna chuckled. "Chocolate isn't food, it's manna. Chocolate never gets boring."
"Well, thank God for that," he muttered, giving his chili another stir. "Still, I find it difficult to imagine food as boring, there's so much variety; French, Italian, Mexican, Indian..." He sighed happily at the thought of the differing foods, then glanced over to ask, "When was the last time you ate chili?"
"I don't think I ever have," she admitted. "Mexico isn't somewhere I've ever wanted to go, and I actually stopped eating around my hundredth birthday. Mexican food hadn't made it up here to Canada by then."
"Why isn't Mexico somewhere you've ever wanted to go?" Greg sounded almost affronted, and it wasn't until then that Lissianna recalled he was supposed to be on vacation in Mexico right that moment.
"It's sunny," she said simply.
"Oh, right." He sighed. "So you were a hundred when you stopped eating? What happened? You just woke up one day, and said, 'That's it, no more food'?"
Lissianna laughed at his incredulity. The man obviously enjoyed his food. He certainly seemed to be struggling with the idea that she didn't. She tried to explain. "My mother and father had tired of food long before I was born--as had my brothers--so it was just Thomas and me and when he moved out, I ate alone. It started to seem a long, boring business," she said with a shrug. "So I just slowly stopped. As I said earlier, once we reach adulthood there is no real reason to continue to eat food daily, we get most of the nutrients we need from blood anyway. Now, I just eat at celebrations like the rest of my family."
Greg stopped stirring to look at her. "You eat at celebrations?"
"It's the sociable thing to do."
Greg chuckled. "So you're like social drinkers, only you're social eaters."
Lissianna cast a smile his way, then turned back to her magazine.
"Well, if you've never had chili, it might not be boring to you," Greg pointed out. "Why don't you give it a try? I need someone to taste test it anyway."
Glancing up, she saw that he'd scooped out a spoonful of chili and was carrying it carefully over to her, his free hand cupped under it in case of drips.
Lissianna had helped him make the chili, chopping the onions and mushrooms while he fried the meat. She'd also kept him company while he hovered over the pot, lovingly stirring and spicing it. The aromas that had been pouring from the pot for the last hour were delicious, but then the food her coworker Debbie brought in to work often smelled good, too, but didn't raise any hunger in her.
"I don't--" she began uncertainly.
"Come on," he coaxed. "One bite."
Lissianna gave in and reached for the spoon, but Greg tugged it out of range and shook his head. "Open up."
She let her hand drop and dutifully opened her mouth, terribly aware of his eyes on her as he slid the spoon between her lips. She closed her mouth, taking the food in as he drew the spoon out again. Lissianna let it sit on her tongue for a moment, enjoying the explosion of flavors before chewing and swallowing.
"What do you think?" Greg asked.
Lissianna smiled, and admitted, "It's good."
"There, you see." He was obviously pleased with himself and gave a shake of the head as he turned to move back to his pot. "Food... boring!" He gave a little laugh. "Not likely."
Lissianna watched him with a smile. "You wouldn't say that if you'd eaten everything at least a hundred times. It becomes a chore rather than a pleasure."
"Never," Greg protested with certainty, then asked, "Hey, do you people have to worry about your weight while you're still eating food?"
"No. The nanos would destroy any extra fat. They keep you at your ultimate fitness level."