Jack was starving. He needed to feed, desperately. He couldn't remember the last time that Hans withheld food from them for so long. His body could barely function, let alone be stealthy enough to sneak up on an unsuspecting human. He had gone to the poorer district, hoping to find someone committing a crime to ease his guilt for drinking their blood, but had yet to find anyone. So he tried the bars. Where people drank away their suspicions and were easier to coax along. Where they'd go into a dark alley with a stranger for one reason or another. However, attempting to find someone willing to do that was another story.

"Damn it!" he swore.

The person he had been trying to lure into his clutches ran for it. They had gotten the feeling they were being watched and got frightened enough that a fight or flight response kicked in. They chose flight. He watched as they raced back into the bar, sparing cautious looks over their shoulders. Even humans had a predator-prey complex. They knew in a scenario with him, they were the prey. And prey would do anything to survive.

"Who's there?"

"Shit..."

Jack hurried into the darkness of an alley, normally his go to spots and best for keeping humans back. However a young woman stepped into the light of the street lamp, looking around cautiously. She seemed to relax when she spotted him. Had his heart still beat, he would have been panicked because she walked right over towards him, readjusting a bag over her shoulder. She smiled at him, as if he were anyone other than what he was. If only... He would have just been an ordinary boy. Instead, he was plagued by a lust for blood. He could hear hers singing in her veins, enticing him for a taste.

"Hey," she said, causing him to wince over the soft and gentle tone she was using. "Are you okay?"

He shook his head, pushing himself back against the alley wall, as far as he could get away from her. It wasn't far enough. He could smell her now, something just as gentle as she was... Peaches and cream? Maybe a lotion she used? But beneath that he could smell rain and something that was purely just the woman's scent. It was indescribable. He whimpered. She wasn't the type of person he wanted to feed off. If he lost control, he could kill someone. It's why he tried to go after people no one would miss. But she had a smile that seemed to light up a room. Someone would miss that smile.

"Careful..." he panted, "I-I don't want to hurt you."

The woman just sat down at the edge of the alley, moving her bag to her lap so it didn't sit on the ground. She continued to smile at him. He wanted to beg her to stop. It hurt too much to see her smile at him like that, like he was important. Like he deserved the smile. Still, she was showing such patience with him as if she were used to situations like this. She should have had some sign, some indication that he was dangerous. Either that or she had noticed he was dangerous but had opted to ignore that warning sign.

"I don't think you'd hurt me if you'd warn me..." she reasoned, "Tell me what's wrong?"

"I-I need... something..."

"Something?" she mirrored.

They both tensed upon hearing a noise. A cat wandered into the alley. Jack struggled to keep still. He tried not to lunge at the creature, but before he knew it, he had the yowling beast in his hands and had bit into it, draining it of it's life essence. The taste wasn't great, but it was the first thing he's had that could actually sustain him. He fed until the cat went still in his hands. When he first became a vampire, he would have cried over killing a creature, now it was an occupational hazard. When his meals were withheld, when his body was wracked with pain by sunlight and when he was tortured at the hands of Hans, he knew to take advantage of the good moments while he could.

He only froze when he heard a gasp. The young woman had watched as he had killed the cat right in front of her. His eyes had gone wide in sheer terror, but even then he could feel the effect of the blood in his stomach. He felt fuller, stronger than he had in a while, but most importantly, he felt healthier. He was no longer on death's doorstep. Or as close to death as a creature like him could get. Vampires could not die from lack of blood, but it did drive up their chances of a bloodlust and a massacre.

"A vampire?" she murmured. "So... blood? You need food..."

"Our master..." he rushed to explain, "My sister Elsa and I... He... Kept us exposed to sunlight and then locked us away... Because we let a kill get away."

Something flickered through the woman's eyes. He couldn't discern what it was. She was coming to some form of decision, considering the way her eyes became blazingly fierce with determination. He didn't know why he was lingering. He needed to find food before Hans punished him again. He dreaded going back but he had to. Hans was his sire. If he disobeyed, then the consequences would be worse than Hans' random punishments. He would send someone after him.

"Could my blood help?" she asked.

That wasn't what Jack expected. She just watched him kill something right in front of her. Normal humans would have run screaming for the hills by that point, shouting at him, calling him a monster or on the odd occasion, trying to kill him. He was touched by the gesture, but the fear outweighed his hunger. He was desperately hungry. He could kill her if he fed from her. He and Elsa had made a point of only going after people who deserved it - criminals. This woman wasn't a criminal. Her only crime would be having a bleeding heart. A human who cared too much.

"I-I don't want to hurt you..." he said. "Or worse."

"You've already had some blood already. So you won't be that far off before you're full. And I can tell you when it gets to be too much. Sound fair?"

Jack hesitated. Her blood smelled delicious. Would he be able to stop if she told him things got to be too much? She was putting far too much faith in a stranger and yet, she sincerely wanted to help. So he looked around to make sure no one was watching. It was only them on the dark street. He could overpower her right there and drink her dry if he wanted to. She didn't even seem to acknowledge that possibility. Humans didn't have a lack of fear. But she was facing him as if he were just another human who just happened to thrive on blood.

"Okay."

The woman seemed to sense his unease. She got to her feet and walked further into the alley, until the darkness swallowed them both up. No one would see them. He had made sure to even get rid of security cameras. Not letting anything get traced back to him. He wiped the cat's blood away from his lips and licked his teeth clean. If he was going to bite her, he wasn't going to mix the bloods. He wouldn't let her get sick because she got cat blood in her veins.

"Where would it be easiest for you to bite?" she asked.

"Somewhere where I can't cause severe damage." he said.

She hummed in response before holding out her wrist. Jack took the offered appendage with shaking hands, drawing it close to his lips. The closer she was, the more intoxicating her blood was to him. Like offering a starving man a filet mignon and a heady wine. He took a deep breath, trying to ease the nerves away before taking a timid bite. The moment her blood touched his tongue, took a sip.

To her credit, the woman merely winced when his teeth broke her skin. She sat as still as a statue. Jack fed with extreme care, not letting a single drop fall to the ground. He wouldn't let this offer of hers go to waste. He couldn't remember the last time a human willingly offered him blood. She didn't regard him with fear or distaste. Her smile cut him deeply. She was far too giving. Far too kind. far too willing to let him drink what he needed. But Jack made himself stop, licking the wound to help it heal a little faster before pulling away.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name is Aqua. What's yours?"

"Jack Frost..."

"It's nice to meet you, Jack."

He couldn't help but scoff. This wasn't how normal people met up or even socialized. He wasn't even human and he knew that a random encounter in the streets, where one drinks from the other bordered some levels of creepy. But she was so casual about this. Like they were meeting over coffee, not blood and the carcass of a dead cat. He began to wonder what constituted as normal in Aqua's life.

"Not exactly... the best way to meet up..." he pointed out.

He stepped away, feeling far more full and satisfied than he had in a long time. He watched as she pulled out a handkerchief to bind her wrist. He took the cloth from her before tying it for her, knowing she wouldn't be able to tie it on her own. It was tight, but not too tight so that it cut off circulation. Watching the white cloth turn pink made him lick his lips again. He could still taste her blood on his lips, savoring it.

"Do you feel any better?" she inquired.

"Much..." he said. "But I... I have to find my sister, too. She and I were thrown out separately for food."

True, he had to find his sister, but he was also partially using her as an excuse to get some distance between this kind human before she offered something more - more than she could give. Though, he was concerned about his sister. Hans had expelled them both to different parts of the town, as further punishment. They normally hunted together. It was one of the few times they could be together without fear or harm from Hans and the other high ranking vampires in their clan.

"I hope she's okay." Aqua said.

Jack tried not to feel the wave of appreciation over her sincere concern for his sister. She hadn't even met Elsa and was worried for her. He looked away, clumsily wiping his mouth. He had to resist the urge to lick every last drop off the back of his hand. Aqua's blood was devastatingly delicious but he doubted she would think it was a compliment if he devoured even the slightest smear of her life force. He had already accepted her pity once. He didn't want to put himself more in debt to her kindness as it was.

"Hans would kill us both if we weren't back..." he breathed.

"Who's Hans...? And why would he kill you?" she asked.

"Our sire. He made me and Elsa what we are today," Jack explained. "He takes pride in having humans under his thumb and mercy. If anyone messes up under his reign, they're good as dead."

Aqua seemed to be upset about that. She grit her teeth, her hands clenched. He watched as the motion stained her handkerchief red. That was... distracting. But he forced himself to look away when Aqua began rummaging through her bag. He frowned in confusion. Was she going to stab him with a stake? Lure him into a false sense of security; get his guard down before pulling out the weapons to harm him? And yet, despite his fearful thoughts, he didn't move. It's like she had him enchanted or something, spelled to stay where he was until she helped ease his hurts.

"I can help you find her. I have just the thing," she reassured him.

She pulled out a necklace with a dew drop pendant. The crystal charm seemed to glow with a light that wasn't in the dark alley. Jack flinched at the way the crystal shone, but it didn't do anything except sparkle. Its deceptive beauty was like a threat of what sunlight could do to him. His sore body ached to remind him of what happened last time he was caught in light. But he longed to see light. To feel it's warmth on his skin. To enjoy a sunset once more. To run around all day and just do normal human things. But those were not in the cards for him.

"It's a honing crystal. Think of whomever you're looking for and it'll pull you in the direction they're in." she told him before passing it over to Jack.

"A what?"

But the moment the chain left her hand and entered his, it began to sway east. To Elsa. He looked up to Aqua confused. Humans didn't know what honing crystals were. They just thought them cheap trinkets or pretty babbles. Yet this woman was relying on one. And it was working? Jack could have sworn he felt a chill once he realized what was going on. Aqua wasn't a human. Well, she was, but she was also a witch. It probably explained why she wasn't afraid of him.

"You should probably keep that hidden from Hans," she said.

Her expression oddly darkened before she smiled again. Jack nodded slowly, still trying to process what this meant. He had drank a witch's blood. He had heard the older vampires say that witches could keep a vampire sustained for a long time. How their blood gave more power. But he also heard awful stories of what the elders would do to witches. Use and abuse them until their life forces ultimately just gave up. Unable to sustain the torments any longer. He didn't want to see that happen to her.

"Good idea."

He turned and didn't look back as he raced through the city to find his sister.