The other might laugh, but he does not. He found no humor in these affairs, not when his family's sake lay on the line. What would they do if he failed? Would he be able to reach them all in time to take them somewhere safe? Octavia had only just returned - what would she think? And Praetor. He'd hate for his children to see him as a failure. What if his wayward children returned? Would he accept them returning to a home without him? Would it even be their home still? He had an entire world to fight for and yet, the bastard in front of him dared to laugh as if there was some joke to be had. Still, the sound seemed so off, so unnerving in the wake of the darkness that had fallen upon them. Tesseract had moved to warn the other with a guttural snarl and yet, that had been enough for the larger male to pull his limb free with a tearing sound. Flesh and blood sprayed into Tesseract's mouth only to be spat aside, crimson running down his chin.

With a spring, he had moved back and away and yet, the other had twisted just as fast, seemingly unaware of the damage having been done. Instinctively, Tesseract braced himself, planting his paws deep into the loam below as he felt a sudden blow to the top of his neck. For a moment, it forced his head down, his skin breaking apart to reveal a series of sudden, jarring pains. However, the male had not accounted for the thickness of fur and flesh and as he shook, Tesseract's head remained stoically in place. Instead, the loose skin of his scruff was shaken, fraying as droplets fed into the earth and the fur below.

It seemed only logical that he stay close in an attempt to guard not only his throat but to ensure that he did not allow the other to very well pull away a chunk of flesh. Instead, Tesseract pushed forward, gritting his teeth to remain quiet throughout the pain; he pushed into the male's chest, his head level with his shoulder. Then, with an almost casual movement, he moved to dig his teeth deep into the muscles that lay across the shoulder and chest. It did not matter whether the move debilitated or even impeded movement but rather, it was pure effort to force the male back. If he could place some distance between them, then he would be able to better utilize his speed and flexibility. Until then, he remained in quite a precarious position.