"Help me, Verona! I can't... I can't hold on!" A voice cries out in fear, and Verona tightens his grasp on the females hand, grabbing at her arm to try and pull her up.

"I have you, just hang on a little longer! Don't let go!" He says to her, looking around desperately for something to help him pull her up. He knew that he couldn't pull her up. His human body, even with his strength, had its limits. And it was reaching them presently. He bites his lower lip in aggravation and pushes himself to pull her up just a little more. He had to do it! He had to save... He had to save...

And the last thing he heard before he woke was a scream. His name.

-------

His eyes open slowly and he stares up at the ceiling of the cheep motel room he had rented for the night, the paint peeling horribly and the entire room smelling rather suspiciously of bleach. He had laid out a blanket from the Jeep over the bed, and yet still felt like he had something crawling on him, and it very much disturbed him.

"Why the hell did I choose this place to sleep at again?..." He growls at himself, sitting up and sighing heavily. The only sound in reply was the squeaking of the bed when he shifted positions on its surface, and also the thumping of something in the room next door. He decided not to think about what that was, closing his eyes and concentrating on the dream he was just having. He had gotten so close to remembering her name.

So close... yet so far...

"NIET!" He snaps, lashing out with his hand and a bolt of dark energy flies from his fanned fingers and open hand, streaking across the room and blowing the Box-Television sitting on the dresser to pieces, the male not even flinching as a shard dug into his shoulder.

He looks down at the metal shrapnel, and very gently reaches up, taking the small edge sticking out, and gently tugs at it, grunting slightly as he pulls it out of him. "Better going in than out, geeze..." He groans, rubbing at the gash that it left once he dropped the shard on the floor. He sits up a bit as there was a sudden, soft knock. Huh? He wasn't expecting visitors. He slides his gun from its holster and moves to check the door, and his eyes widen in alarm, before opening the door, gun hidden. "Um... Can I help you?" He asks, eyes wide in shock at the woman standing outside his door.

"Hey, sexy, you lonely?" The black haired woman asks, her brown eyes looking him over approvingly, before noticing the blood. "Oh, hun, you're hurt." She says in shock.

"There's no one sexy here, and yes, thank you for the kind observation. Can I help you?" Verona says with a blank look.

"Uh... You really are bleeding..." She says, seeming to be very out of her element suddenly, and she shifts on her feet uncomfortably.

"Yes, it seems so. Now... Can... I... Help... You?" He says a bit slower and the woman glares.

"Nien, I am not slow... I was wondering if you maybe wanted some company... But you look more like you need a scotch and some bandages." The woman says, head tilted. Verona quirks an eyebrow a bit at the offer of a drink and shrugs.

"If you get the scotch, I'll give you pay for eight hours... Just get some scotch and then leave." He says and she blinks. Was he really saying that? "Hello, did you not understand? Do I have to say it in Russian?" Verona growls, and the woman shakes her head, before scrambling to go get some scotch. He watches the woman go, then closes the door and sighs, closing his eyes. He could still taste Jacob's blood, and he kind of wondered what that woman would taste like. He shakes his head softly, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Sure, he was a Dragon, and yeah, he liked blood, but sometimes his inner beast got a bit too curious about sampling people. And sampling never ended well.

It was not so much as three minutes before there was knocking again, and Verona opened the door to the woman holding a scotch and two glasses. Wait, two? "I said to get some scotch, and then scram..."

"You need the company, and I can bandage your shoulder." The female says calmly and Verona groans.

Why were human women so freaking persistent?

"Fine. You bandage my shoulder, then you leave." He says before stepping aside to let the woman in. "What's your name? So I can at least not have to call you miss or something..."

"Leanna." She says while setting the drink and glasses down on the table, turning and digging in her bag before pulling out something else. Bandages.

"You carry bandages on you all the time, Leanna?" Verona asks with a quirked eyebrow. "You must be some kind of On-The-Go Field nurse or something." He says sarcastically.

"Thank you for the unneeded sarcasm. I keep bandages on me because I, myself, am hurt." Leanna huffs, and Verona inwardly winces. Oops. "But, if you're so intrigued to know, I majored in EMT work..." She murmurs the last part.

"Well, that's good to know. You won't mind if I drink the whole bottle, no?" Verona asks, and Leanna blinks, before giving him a good long stare.

"What?"

"The Scotch. I'll be having the whole bottle..." He says and the woman laughs, then it dies in her throat as she would realize that he wasn't bluffing.

"You're serious?"

"Don't call me Shirley. Yeah, I'm serious. Bottle... Now." Verona growls, and Leanna hands it over quickly, before starting to bandage his shoulder. As he drank it, he froze, noticing something in her bag that was blinking. A phone... with a name on the top.

'Call from: Kayden'

"Leanna..." He says calmly. "Look at me for a moment?" When she does, he calmly shows her his fangs. "Ten seconds. Kayden. Talk."

Her eyes widen and she gasps. "He's my boss. Someone said you were looking for him. Something about a girl. He's your guy to find her. And he wants you to meet him. I've been told to take you to him." She says rapid-fire and Verona blinks, before smirking. 

"Well, six seconds works fine too. Relax, hun. I'm not hungry tonight. Jacob was enough... though I didn't even eat him..." He sighs, then nods. "Let's go see your boss, then."

"W-Wha-what? You eat people? Are you a cannibal?!" She asks in alarm, and Verona smiles a bit.

"What? No! No, no, I'm surprised you haven't connected it... The eyes? Fangs? Elfish-ness? What, it's like you've never heard of a Dragon before, Leanna?" He purrs and the woman's jaw drops. He then tuts softly and, in a flash, had her pinned down, smirking at her. "A shame, really... I thought you weren't gonna believe me... Would have been easier..."

Five minutes later, Verona calmly closes the door to the motel room behind him, licking his lips and sighing softly. He looks at the phone he'd taken and smirks, hitting 'Call Back'. The phone only rang twice.

'Leanna? Leanna, did you get him to agree to meet me?'

"I'm sorry... it seems she cannot reach the phone right now... But I do think I should meet you... When and where?" Verona asks, and there was an audible smile.

'Airfield 48-d. Second Hanger... Twenty Minutes?'

"Make it ten, and find the girl, and I'll let you and your friends live another year." Verona purrs and the voice catches.

'Very well. See you then.' And a sharp click. Verona smirks and calmly tosses his bag to the side, crouching as his eyes gleam in the darkness, his shadow elongating and encircling him.

Ten minutes? Child's play.