A blizzard was coming. At least, that's what upper brass said as Leo argued the necessity to herd his cadets out one more time before the bulk of the storm hit. The wind hadn't yet reached the gusts predicted, and snow accumulation was minimal. If they were going to get one more day of training in this hostile terrain, Leo needed them out there. Now.

"Respectfully, sir, these cadets are barely competent enough to be on the backlines, let alone the forefront of a hunting initiative," Leo stated with complete confidence in every one of his words. "Another day on the weaker side of the storm will benefit them exponentially."

"And what if we end up losing some of our incompetent forces because you wanted to play in the snow? What then?" General Hargreaves asked, his smushed little face wrinkled in age.

Leo narrowed his eyes. "If they go head to head with one of those abominations in the state they're in right now, you won't lose some of them. You will lose all of them." An image of a burning Scottish village, its defenders charred and still smoking as Leo and a single child survivor left via helicopter. It cracked through his skull like rolling bursts of thunder, shook his heart with all the force of an earthquake. He barely contained the raw emotion that came for him like Death's horse anytime he thought about them.

General Hargreaves set his glasses aside and rubbed at his withered temples. Undoubtedly, bruises hid beneath the skin with the man's time in the field, and Leo understood the burden. The weariness that came when you commanded an army, knowing their lives were in your hands. The fear that your strategies aren't enough, that every route was an elaborate trap. Leo understood the strict posture you had to take to hide it all. Fear, panic, worry. All tucked so far to the back of the mind that you seemed like an immovable god to those you lead.

You weren't. You were just good at lying.

But, just because Leo could empathize with the General did not mean he would back off the matter without a decent fight. Lives were in his hands once more. He would not lose them again.

"Sir, if I may, I have extensive knowledge in the training of new cadets. I'm not arrogant enough to pretend I haven't ever failed," Leo stated with a grimace, "but those failures shaped my success. Your government paid a lot of tax money to get me here, and you should get your money's worth before I am to return to Germany."

General Hargreaves opened his eyes halfway, studying Leo under a hooded gaze. He turned his head to one side, then back forward. Heaved a sigh and relented, "Fine. But you are to return to the barracks by 16:00 at the latest. I'll not have a blizzard taking what few soldiers I have. Not even for an expensive, foreign instructor."

Leo straightened to his full height, boots snapping together as he saluted his superior. "Yes, sir!"

"Good," General Hargreaves sighed, one rolling wave of relief loosening the tension in his Facebook. "Now, is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

"No, sir."

"Dismissed," General Hargreaves said with a wave of his hand.

Leo didn't say anything as he turned and swiftly exited into the corridor. Down he strode, feet clapping the floor in his haste. The General had given him until 16:00. Leo's watch read 14:37. He had less than an hour to gather his group and venture out into the first blasts of the storm to conduct the training exercise he had in mind.

"Harvey," Leo spoke into his radio. "Harvey, come in."

"Harvey speaking."

"I need you to gather our cadets. They need to be in full winter gear and outfitted in their armor. Everyone needs a thirty-two-kilogram backpack; the barracks have prepared ones on ground level. They need to be ready to go by 14:50."

"The seventy-pound packs, you mean?" came Harvey's snarky, sarcastic remark.

Leo hissed under his breath. The Americans and their decisions to be different from everyone else. Ridiculous. "Don't waste my time. We need to move quickly."

"Obviously. That's kind of extreme, though. What about the storm?"

"Do as you're ordered," Leo snapped, quickly slipping into his own gear.

There was a pause, but the lackluster response of "Yes, sir" crackled through the radio.

Leo knew his second-in-command didn't like Leo pulling rank but now was not the time. Learning how to navigate the terrain while the weather worsened would help these kids exponentially in their endeavors. And once they learned everything Leo had to teach them, they could pass it on in his stead, a win-win for both humanity and Leo. The young man didn't need to be the one that killed every draconem left on the earth's surface. He just wanted them eradicated. By whose hand wasn't a concern of his.

Leo was pleasantly surprised as his group formed into neat rows three minutes to 14:50. He silently praised their growth, though a spoken one would come later. After they'd earned it.

"We will be walking the path we marked out a few days ago," Leo started, his voice loud and demanding attention. "With where you've been stationed, this training will help you advance on your quarry even in messy conditions. I've only been given an hour, unfortunately, so I will be unable to demonstrate how to survive a winter storm while following the trail of your target. For now, it'll be enough to hike with all your gear on. Any questions?"

"No, sir!"

Satisfaction tilted the corner of Leo's lips in the beginning of a smirk. Progress was being made, and he relished in it. "Move out!"

With one synchronized movement, the unit filed out of the swinging bay door and into the immediate battering winds. Leo expected it to be nasty, but after a moment of feeling out the situation, he decided to lead the way forward, fixing his snow goggles and adjusting his rifle to sit a little more snug against his chest.

"In these conditions," Leo shouted over the gale of the storm once they cleared the perimeter, "you will need to speak loud and firm when giving orders, and you must remain alert to catch those given!"

"Yes, sir!" they chanted back, though wariness was already creeping into the cracking voices riding the cold, swirling air.

"You need to focus even harder on your surroundings! Leave no shadow unseen, no snapping twig or crunching snow unheard! Anything can be out in the snow, and everything will give them away if you pay attention!"

That might have been partial hyperbole for kids like this. Leo knew how to sense an enemy amongst the low-hanging fog and the thrashing snow that dug into the slivers of exposed skin along his cheekbones and throat. But he'd also had years of revenge driving his desire to excel in everything. They didn't.

"They have better senses than us but don't like the cold! Find one outside of whatever burrow it's tucked away in, and they will wear down within minutes!"

"Sir!" a cadet called from behind him. "If they're averse to the cold, why have so many of them retreated to the mountains?!"

Harvey decided to handle the question before Leo could. "They haven't anywhere else to go! Cold or not, they've fled to survive!"

Leo didn't like Harvey interjecting on his behalf but waved it off anyway. That was common knowledge, and it was surprising that the man who asked didn't already know the answer.

After they breached the crest of the hill smack in the middle of their marked path, Leo turned to look at the fluctuating lights of the barracks down the mountain. He checked his watch and grumbled under his winterwear before loudly stating, "Alright! We turn around here!"

All his trainees seemed to relax at the realization that they wouldn't have to endure the storm for much longer, and Leo hated it. This was too easy, early enough in the storm that no substantial training could even be given. No actual exercise enacted. 

Leo grumbled under his breath. It was something, and he was lucky Hargreaves gave him an opportunity at all, even if these cadets were all too ready to falter. He waved the clustering thoughts away and quickly stepped forward to take the lead.

"Leo!" Harvey shouted over the intensifying winds.

Leo stopped in his tracks and looked to where Harvey stood shin-deep in the snow, off the beaten path. Initially, the halt to their return pissed Leo off. But then he saw them. The tracks of a large man, though Leo knew they didn't belong to a human.

No. This was one of those slimy creatures in its deceiving human form. They were the tracks of a draconem.

"Halt!" Leo snapped, his baritone smoothly cutting through the storm. He strode forward to join Harvey and studied the tracks.

It wasn't uncommon to see draconem dressed in the shrouds of mankind, so it wasn't all too surprising when the tracks were outlined with the deep greaves of boots. This one was heavy, too. Likely male with how the tracks sunk deep into the earlier snow buildup, even past it to the older stuff below. And they were fresh. So achingly fresh that Leo had his gun out and tucked expertly against his shoulder in a heartbeat.

"Ready your weapons!" Harvey shouted as soon as he saw Leo raise his weapon. They'd worked together long enough for Harvey to know what this course of action meant from his superior. His voice continued issuing preparatory orders while Leo studied the tracks more.

The tracks were a maximum of two hours old, and the storm had come rushing in far earlier than that. It meant the creature came willingly out into the cold.

But why? What would've made—

Leo facepalmed. It was hungry. That was why.

He abruptly stood up and turned to face his cadets. All of them had fear rolling over their expressions, though at least a handful also had that tormented fury indicative of some forlorn hatred for the species. Just like Leo. Enough to bury their fear, even if it couldn't completely conceal it.

Due to this, Leo picked out three of those with the most wrathful expressions. Dealing with these kinds of people could be risky. The second they saw their target, there was always a possibility that they'd break rank. Get themselves and their comrades killed in what would end up a complete waste of sacrifice.

"Teresa, Ash, and Trent! With me! Harvey, too!" Leo turned to find who he considered to be his most astute student. "Natalia, take them back to the barracks," he said, handing her his badge. "Go directly to General Hargreaves and report that we've found one of the mountain inhabitants, and I'm moving to track it down! We'll wait out the storm if we have to, but I will find where it's hiding! If anyone stops you along the way, show them my badge and make sure they understand it's urgent!"

"Yes, sir!" she called back with an impressively loud voice.

She immediately gave the order to return to base, and Leo grinned beneath his scarf. Natalia wasn't one of those few with wrath that undermined her fear, but she was obedient and true. She would do everything Leo asked of her, regardless of the trouble or hassle it may cause her. Natalia was one of the few students with whom Leo had already built a strong foundation of trust. 

When he returned to those chosen to begin the hunt with him, Leo noticed them all talking amongst each other in lower voices than could reach over the winds. Harvey put a hand on Trent's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Ah. Harvey was giving one of his talks. He'd always been better at that than Leo. Nevertheless, the time for chatter was over.

"Move out!" Leo ordered with an edge to his words. They sliced through the wind and landed on the four sets of ears. "We don't have a lot of time! We need to begin tracking it, finding its burrow! And we'll need to make camp if we don't find it by nightfall!"

The cadets he chose all saluted him, but their answering voices were weak with renewed fear. Of the growling storm or the draconem lurking within it, Leo wasn't sure. He didn't think too much further on it before surpassing his four comrades and venturing into the thick, evergreen underbrush and intensifying storm. Leo would bag this motherfucker, even if it meant being buried alive.