He watched her closely, observing her features for any indication that she would speak of the little yelp that had ungracefully left his lips. If she so as much mentioned it he would laugh a condenscending chuckle before stating that he did that only to see what she would say. And if she mentioned how he scrambled up the rock he would say that he was testing himself in case he should ever slip. Yes, those excuses sounded plausible to his young mind. She would never see through them, at least that is what he told himself as he dissected the meaning behind her evasive grin. Was she mocking him? Drawing a deep breath the boy sticks his chest out as he moves to angle himself parallel to her once more. He would not sit there whilst she picks fun at him within the inner recesses of her mind.

Silly females…no it was not females that got him so riled if he was to be honest with himself, only she. The masked dame that occupied his thoughts more than he would admit and as he delves into her eyes he is met with her own determination. Did she really think…could she be his match in stubbornness??? No. The fire he could swear swirls within her mahogany orbs is only a fluke of the light. Yet the foolish girl does not look away as he holds her gaze, subtly turning it into a contest. She will give in to him; she will yield for he was more dominant in their pairing, a force within him demanded that it be so. He could not fathom a future where a female would stand upon the same level as he, as his equal. Such a thing was impossible and fiction. Oh the handicaps of a young mind.

Yet she did not waver beneath his stern stare, did not buckle under his hostile scrutiny. An act that does not go unnoticed as a grin tugs at his lips. Perhaps she just needed a distraction, something to shock her into unwittingly submitting. A moment passes, and he knows that she has witnessed the impossible as it flickers upon his face yet still she stands strong! Will she not give in?! Any other would have all ready submitted to his intensity by now, why did she insist on being difficult?! ”Oh I observe more than you think Firefly and I am most puzzled by what I witness.” Did he just give her a nickname? A trace of a growl laces his words, a tiny indication of the turmoil that wages war beneath his cool exterior. His façade was showing a crack and he did not like it one bit. SHE was a weakness yet why could he not tear himself from her presence?

”Do you enjoy playing with fire?” The words are bit out as his eyes flash, giving her a taste of his inner state, as he angles himself yet again in a t-bone shape. His eyes never leaving hers as he assesses her reaction as one paw take another step closer to her. ”Do you really want to play this game with me Princess?” Now he was right before her, his nose just before her own. All she has to do is turn away, to dip her head and look forward again yet something tells him she would do no such thing. ”I am broken.” Those words are different than the rest; whereas the previous where spoken with vehemence those are a whisper. Vulnerability lays within them, a deep set sadness coloring the rage of his pupils and then just as it appears it is gone. ”Then it shows just how very stupid you are Firefly.” He all but spits at her in answer to her last statement. She should be safe with the others, learning her place among the pack, not with a ticking time bomb.

To hurt her would free him yet the freedom would kill him.