Mina felt water at the smell. She was hungry and the intoxicating scent was all around her, flooding her nose. She pressed her lips together in an effort to control herself but it was no use, she hadn't fed since she was awaken from her slumber and the scent was too sweet, nothing like what she had encountered before. And if the scent was this strong, Mina couldn't even imagine the taste of it. 

No, what was she thinking? She was not going to kill someone for their blood. She swore not to when she turned decades ago. She was not a monster–

Ah but the scent was too enticing– 

Maybe a little. She would only feed off a little so she wouldn't kill the innocent being. That wouldn't do any harm, would it?

Unable to think clearly, Mina weakly wandered down the woods and followed the smell blindly. She found a campsite down the hill and the scent grew even stronger. She was so weak that she cursed herself– if she had been in a better condition it would have been easier to catch whatever it was that smelled so divine. But she could barely walk– she needed blood.

dry as a desert, tightened each passing second. She knew that she would soon die (again because technically she was already a walking corpse) if she didn't find any blood in time.

Through her blurry vision, she saw the shape of a human near the fire. The first few steps down the hill was torture and Mina could feel her legs giving out. When a miscalculated step tangled her legs, she fell down the hill in ridiculous speed.

When she opened her eyes again, she didn't feel as insane. wasn't dry. She was in an incredibly good state for having fallen down a hill. Her head throbbed, reminding her not all was perfect.

"You're awake!" A voice in the dark said, slowly coming closer into the light of the fire. Mina watched as a hooded mortal girl put what seemed to be a rabbit down with much care before making her way to her.

That scent again– although Mina felt fed, she wanted it. She hardly held back a growl when the mortal got closer. 

"I'm not going to hurt you," the mortal said softly at which Mina almost scoffed. This mere mortal couldn't hurt her even if she wanted to! 

"You fell down the hill and hit your head. I did my best but I don't really have any bandages or medicine so you should probably see a doctor or... something." The mortal sat down on the ground as Mina sat up on the sleeping bag. What weird texture it had– it wasn't leather like she expected it to be, it was puffy and somehow had a smooth surface.

"I'm fine." Her voice was hoarse as she answered- probably from not speaking for so long. To prove her statement, Mina grabbed the cloth around her head and ripped it off. Her vampire blood was enough for her to heal faster than any being– her 'rescuer' had merely quickened the process but she would have been fine either way. She tried her best to supress an amused grin when the mortal visibly flinched and turned away.

She was fed and rested, she should leave. She was close to the city– she could tell now that her vampire senses were strengthening, allowing her to hear the distant sounds gathered in one place– the city had gotten a lot louder while she was gone, Mina noticed and decided to tune it out for the sake of her sanity. How long was she sleeping anyway? There were a lot more questions in line that were waiting to be answered and Mina was getting impatient.

So instead of leaving, she stayed where she was and asked, her curiosity getting the best of her, "Do you know what I am?"

The mortal not-so-subtly shuffled away at the question and grabbed the rabbit that was sniffing her side. "A vampire," she mumbled, her face hidden beneath a hood, her hair cascading down her shoulders. Mina resisted asking what the hell this mortal was wearing– it was unlike anything she had seen before.

Satisfied with the answer, Mina prompted further, "How did you feed me?"

"I... didn't. You k-killed one of the rabbits..." Mina could easily tell the mortal was on the verge of crying even if she couldn't see her face. 

"Oh," Mina shouldn't feel bad. The poor rabbit was probably closer to her than any other living being when she was bloodthirsty or Mina had no doubt she would of the mortal dry instead.  "I'm sorry...for that." spilled the words before she could stop them. Why was she even apologizing?!

"I-It's fine. Her family was dead when I found her too...Now they're together." The mortal lifted her head and Mina finally saw her eyes. Bright brown orbs swimming in tears looked up at her so innocently, Mina was taken aback. And when the mortal gave her a broken smile, Mina suddenly felt like she had killed the entire population of a city rather than a tiny rabbit.

What was this mortal doing to her?

"Why did you help me?" Mina asked the question that bothered her the most. Most people would have tried to put a stake in her heart at the sight of her, not...not help her. 

"I-I couldn't just leave you to die," said the mortal, bringing her hood down, revealing her face for Mina to see.

Mina almost laughed. It was undeniably cute that the mortal thought she would die from a little head injury. Warmth spread around her chest and she resisted the urge to ruffle the mortal's long wavy hair that was in the most beautiful shade of brown Mina had ever seen.

"Why are you..." The vampire looked around her, "here?" Her questions didn't seem to have an end, but the mortal answered each of them with patience.

"I sometimes come here when I feel down."

The dejected look on the mortal's face surprisingly bothered Mina so much that she found herself frowning. Just then, the smell of blood reached her sensitive nose– its unique sweet scent. The mortal's hand was injured. Mina stared curiously as the girl glanced at her briefly before turning her attention to her hand with a wince. Whatever wound that was on her hand must have been deep the vampire thought, or it wouldn't have reopened and bled that much through the bandages.

The mortal was on her feet before Mina could snap herself out of the spell the blood had put on her– it was appetizing, sure, but Mina wasn't heartless. This mortal was nice– too nice to help even a vampire. It was weird but Mina didn't want the mortal to regret helping her. She wasn't used to being treated as a living being by humans since she turned– they usually would scream when they see her and run or follow her with pitchforks and torches. Sometimes both. Neither was very nice in Mina's opinion.

The mortal glanced at her again, as if she was trying to be sure she wasn't going to be attacked by the vampire as she unwrapped her bandages. Blood dripped down her hand as she searched for something, Mina watched intently. Her fangs ached, piercing the inside of . She swiped her tongue over her top lip.

The evident pain on the mortal's face told Mina that she wasn't used to injuries like this. 

Hoping to have the self-control not to pounce on the girl as she got closer, the vampire made her way to the mortal. She was taller than Mina thought. The girl didn't seem to notice her presence, still in a frantic search for what Mina guessed to be new bandages. Her lips pressed together, she pulled the mortal's injured hand between her own. The mortal jumped in horror and tried to retrieve her hand back but Mina kept her hold firm, but not too firm that would hurt her.

Mina muttered the spell she long ago learned from her mother and kept her eyes on the mortal's wide ones. The moment she let go, the taller girl grabbed her own hand that was once injured, but now healed. She looked up into the red eyes of the predator before her. "H-How did you do that?"

Mina resisted the urge to the mortal's blood that was on her fingers, not wanting to scare her off. So instead she wiped her fingers on her dusty cloak, painting it red. Ah, what a waste. "Let's just say I know a few things and leave it at that." She took a few steps back, creating distance between them.

The mortal looked down and swallowed thickly as she examined her healed hand. "Thank you."

Well, that's something Mina hadn't heard in a while. It was nice. Hardly holding back a smile, the vampire looked away.

"I'm Tzuyu." When the vampire's red glowing eyes met hers, she fidgeted in her place. This vampire was dangerous no doubt but Tzuyu wanted to know more about her. She didn't seem like the kind of vampire that was described by most people. If she was, Tzuyu knew she wouldn't be alive and breathing by now.

Both of Mina's eyebrows raised slightly as she gave her name to the mortal. "Mina." She crossed her arms, "Wanna tell me why your hand was like that?" 

"I was trying to help a fox. He was trapped." She smiled. "He's okay now though..I hope."

There was something about the girl that entranced Mina. Something about the way her wavy locks framed her soft puppy-like features, about the way her eyes shined like diamonds, about the way her smile made that one dimple appear at her left cheek– Mina had never been so intensely captivated by someone else her entire life and the realization startled her.

"Do you.. live in the woods?" The mortal asked cautiously, as if afraid of her. Mina didn't like that. 

"No." Mina was sure that she didn't live in the woods. But...where did she live then? The city? She couldn't remember much from before she was put to sleep. "Can you tell me the year we're in?"

The mortal made a confused face but answered nonetheless, "It's 2018."

Mina almost choked on air. 2018?! Oh, she definitely overslept. Over a few thousand years no less! This explained the mortal's weird clothes and belongings. The new knowledge somehow scared Mina. This world she had woke up to was a totally different one than she used to live in. Putting her hand over her eyes, she groaned, rethinking her plans of returning to the city, maybe she could live in the woods. Yeah, why not.

"Are you okay..?"

Mina slowly opened her eyes and sighed, annoyed. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

Almost instinctively, a soft growl escaped from the vampire's throat and she glared at the tall girl who flinched and took a step back, frightened. The girl's scared features made Mina feel a tiny bit of regret and her eyes immediately softened. She didn't mean to scare her.

She crossed her arms and looked away. "Ugh, sorry... Sleeping for a few centuries is kind of a lot to take in. Never slept that long before."

Tzuyu's eyes widened and she froze. "Wh...What? A few ce-centuries? "

Mina smirked, the reactions to her immortality was always very entertaining.

"But what about your friends? Family? Are you alone...?"

It's over! You can't hide forever, you beast! You're aaall alone now.

Mina's gaze dropped to the ground and her vision went black. Some of her memories were coming back to her. Painful ones. The ones that helped Mina remember the reason she was put to sleep in the first place.

Taking Mina's silence as a yes, Tzuyu felt bad for asking. Now that she thought about it, it was a bit rude...and hurtful. At that moment Tzuyu wished she could learn how to keep shut and not blurt out whatever she was thinking. It would make her life a lot easier, for sure. The vampire seemed to be in deep thought, maybe even had forgotten her presence.

"You can uh, come to my place." Mina's blank eyes looked up at her with interest. "I mean, if you want to?"

The vampire lifted an eyebrow. "The only thing you know about me is that I'm a vampire. Why in the hell would you help me?" 

"I think I kind of owe you for not killing me on the spot."

That earned a chuckle from the vampire, and Tzuyu didn't know what to feel about that because she was not kidding.