Elsa was stalking a criminal. She had managed enough sense about her to check the news before she went hunting. She used to be upset over her kills, but the man she was smiling at was a criminal, who took advantage of women. He had gotten off his last 'case' because the witness was too afraid to go to court. She feigned a giggle and motioned for him to follow her deeper into the shadows, where they likely weren't going to be seen. He followed like some dog in heat. He pulled her close, his body pressing against hers, trying to push her back up against the wall but Elsa stood firm.

She leaned in, like she was going to whisper sweet nothings in his ear before she gripped him tightly. He thought it was just lust at first, but when he tried to regain control, he found his lithe companion stronger than she appeared. She stopped his wandering hands with ease, nearly breaking them with the force she gripped them in. He struggled to get away from him. Her lips tickled against his ear.

She ripped the man's head back, exposing his jugular to her. He howled when she sank her teeth into his neck but the cries slowly stopped and he went limp in her arms. She drank her fill, but couldn't stomach much. His taste was vulgar, tainted by the cigarettes, drugs and alcohol floating in his system. But a meal was better than no meal. She let him crumple to the ground in disgust.

"A vampire, here?"

She startled. A man stood not far from her, clearly in line of sight to see what she had done. She could see a gun on his hip. She could see the vessels of holy water on his belt. She could even see a sword on his back. The only people who used swords nowadays were Hunters. Elsa gasped and stumbled back in fear. Here she was covered in blood, with a dead man in front of her, in front of a Hunter no less. She shook her head. This wasn't how she wanted to die. Not like this.

"Relax, I didn't mean to break up your meal." the man said.

He dismissively waved his hand before starting to walk past her and the mess she had made. But Elsa was confused and afraid. Despite the blood slowly starting to help her regain her health, she was still weakened. A Hunter could easily overpower her. Slay her. Then who would be there for Jack? He would be all alone with Hans. If that though didn't scare her, she didn't know what did. Jack would be completely unprotected.

"Who-?"

"My name is Terra," he said.

He stopped walking, slowly turning to regard her. Elsa flinched under his gaze. He had the power in their situation. She was as weak as a fledgling vampire and he was a human with enough weapons to put down a horde of raging vampires. As far as deaths went, she supposed there were worse for her kind. Death by a Hunter at least had some honor to it. They could say she went down fighting when really, there wouldn't be much fighting at all.

"You might want to be more careful in these parts if you're going to stick around. These are Hunting Grounds." he informed her.

Elsa might have shivered, had she actually the capability to feel cold. But she could feel fear. Hans had to know that Hunters used this area and yet he put her out there. It just showed how cruel and vindictive he was. It was almost like he wanted her to get killed. But that wasn't a surprise. He had heaped on decades of abuse towards her and her brother Jack. Punishing them for even the slightest of wrongs. Or just because he felt like it. The only thankful thing about her situation was that Hans had a mate and hadn't decided to amp up his level of torture towards her.

"Not like I had much of a choice..." she uttered. "I just went with a smell and found myself here. I haven't fed in... I don't even know..."

The man - Terra - her mind supplied, nodded in understanding. She stared openly. He shouldn't be agreeing like that. His hand moved and she flinched when it neared his gun. Instead, he turned to look at her, placing his hand on his belt. Near his gun but not on it. Was that a threat? Was he trying to threaten her out of the territory? It worked. She didn't want to be there any more than he wanted her to be, at least until he spoke again.

"I get it... I just thought you should know. It's not safe, even for someone like you."

Was that... concern? For her? The vampire? Not safe? Why would a Hunter express any concern for a vampire? She killed a man! In front of him! Had her heart still beat she knew it would have been racing in fear. This had to be some sort of trick. A trap. To lure her into a false sense of security before he staked her in the heart. But he kept a reasonable distance between them. He even moved his hand away from his belt when he caught the nervous expression on her face, as if realizing what he had done. If anything, he looked shameful for it! This human was as confusing as he was frightening.

"You... aren't going to kill me?" she asked in disbelief.

"Why should I? That man... He's no better than the contracts I take out."

This was strange. A Hunter who wasn't going to Hunt her for killing a man? He may have been a scumbag but he was still a human. She glared at the dead man. He was slime. No better than the garbage that littered the streets, but she then returned her gaze to Terra. She was still too afraid of him to trust him with her eyes off of him for even a second.

"You must have a strong stomach if you can deal with his blood... I'm sure he tasted awful."

"It was like week old beef..."

Or... at least what she remembered week old beef tasting like. She hadn't had human food in decades. It upset her stomach. Though she longed to have things she used to have as a child. The smell of freshly baked pastries or cookies were a delight, but cruel to someone who couldn't have them without being sick. She also had cravings for chocolate. It had been a luxury item back when she and Jack had been changed just a few decades shy of a century ago back during World War 2. Now, chocolate was everywhere and she couldn't have it. She would prefer chocolate to blood any day.

"And yet you went for him and not someone who you knew would have tasted better... I'd say you're one of the good ones."

Elsa wiped her mouth, cringing at the smell of the vulgar blood. But she didn't get to be picky with her meals. Not when they were withheld for the smallest of reasons. Hans liked seeing her and Jack weak, wracked with pain from starvation and begging for even a drop of blood. As far as vampire sires go, he was among the worst in the city. But a few were worse than he was. He would like to remind them that when he threatened to 'loan them' out to those vampires. Her brother Jack was a 'good' vampire too.

"My brother is out there too... We were sent on opposite sides of the city."

"You should go find him, before someone else does." he said.

"Why are you helping me?"

Terra offered her a faint smile, like he knew some big secret that she didn't. Fine. Let him keep his secrets. He wasn't going to kill her so she felt she shouldn't push him any further. In case he changed his mind. She just had to tread carefully around him before she could make her escape. Play along. It was something she had gotten good at under Hans' 'care'. She could pretend to do or say anything to survive.

"Guess I figured you've had enough hard knocks if you're hungry enough to go after the fast food of human blood." he mused.

Elsa gave a mirthless laugh. "Fast food, that's funny."

"Glad you think so," Terra retorted with a smirk.

They both fell silent, staring at one another, apprehensive and uncertain on her part. Terra cleared his throat. She jolted. She couldn't help the flinch when he looked her way. But he didn't seem angry with her, if anything, he seemed upset. Saddened by something. She didn't want his pity. She new her situation was less than ideal but he didn't need him reminding her of that by treating her like she was a fragile piece of glass ready to break at a moment's notice.

"I..."

She looked between him and the body. She had to go find Jack and then go back to the nest. Back... to Hans... She shuddered. As much as she didn't want to go back, not going back was infinitely worse. Hans had made his point about escape over the last newborn that tried to run. He took that fledgling out of the nest right before dawn and tied them up outside. Then he recorded them burning alive as the sun rose. Elsa hadn't been able to get the screams out of her head for weeks.

"Okay." she relented.