A lot of males did not understand women's hesitancy towards them... Tesseract certainly could. They were more often a pain than they were a salve. Still, he dealt with them. Perhaps he felt such a way because, well, he had never exactly been the most... soothing of wolves. On the surface, he was but a calm sea but beneath, he was a turbulent rift of ulterior motive and analysis. Perhaps he simply could not deal with that trait in other males. Ieron had it and perhaps he could sense it somewhere in the depths that had been Vadik. Perhaps. They'd never know, of course, between the two of them with their polite smiles and obligatory manners. Vadik was, at least, amusing.

He waited then, taking each moment as a prime opportunity to dissect whatever parts of the male that he could take. There was little to work off but for the most part, he had at least established that the male was... self assured, confident. There was no questioning that. When he finally responded, Tesseract huffed in bemusement as a smirk twisted into his features.

"If that is the case, then perhaps you ought to learn to cover your tracks better."

Or, at the least, ensure those you harmed did not speak of it. Had that not been the case with Vidar? Perhaps it was merely that nobody cared for the boy... that is why nobody had ever come seeking Caligula's blood for taking bits and pieces of him. At his tantalizing reply to Tesseract's question, however, the king rose to stand before him, tilting head as if to inspect him once more with a cocked brow. All these subtleties - had he been hiding something? Tesseract did like games, though he enjoyed putting them to rest just as fast.

"Do not worry. I protect these lands and the lives within it quite well myself. However, one can never have too many... sentries, I suppose."

A border guard - how did that sound? He doubted it sounded that good, and he let Vadik know that with a cocked brow and challenging grin. For a moment, he fell into silenced as he stretched out his legs and back, shaking his pelt out before meeting the other's gaze levelly, his head lowered somewhat in a protective manner. Did he see this one coming?

"I am Tesseract, and I insist you follow this order: prove to me that you can fight."