Nothing does. Those words echoed with suspicion, even more so as the male took a daring step towards Tesseract. Tesseract's own fur bristled like knives down his body, lifting to reveal the crimson and black along his spine as his lip twitched upwards to reveal his entire arsenal of teeth. They glistened in the dying light, his eyes alight with a quiet fury as he finally began to discern the male's intentions. Be it a test or the real thing, it didn't matter anymore. He had dealt with enough wolves with such an attitude to merit taking the situation just as seriously as it need be. He had not fought to retain the throne in vain; he would fight each and every threat with the same savage dedication as he had with Jumanji and those before him. His whole life seemed to be fighting (or at least, preparing to do so) and now? It'd pay off.

The male began to circle then like a starved shark, but Tesseract took the time to analyze his movements. Of course, the stranger was wider, more muscular and yet, he did not move with the same practiced ease as somebody more experienced. He seemed too arrogant to acknowledge his own armor's dents and that offered Tesseract a reprieve: his experience would undoubtedly work against the male's inexperience, even if his body did not hold the same caliber of strength. Strength, see, was not merely measured by muscle mass. It took more than that to be a king, to be anything. His words, too, confirmed his seemingly unshakable arrogance. It brought a flash of a grin to Tesseract's face as he made his move to turn with the male, his eyes locking onto the copper of the stranger's.

"Don't flatter yourself with the assumption that you understand what it takes to carry the weight of responsibility."

The moment the male's ears flickered forward in recognition, Tesseract took the opportunity. The momentary distraction had caused a lapse in the male's stride, leaving his back left leg stationary but only for a moment. It was that opportunity that Tesseract took, diving forward with the intention of gripping the limb's lower portion between his molars. He ground down, twisting away and pulling back in an effort to not only move his body out of reach but to hopefully pull the very limb off the earth. If he could do that, he might be able to force the male onto the earth below. As soon as you lost your footing, you were practically a sitting duck. The moment he hit the ground, Tesseract would be at his throat like lightning.