There's no saving me.
I've become a shell of the man I was. Only time will tell if I'm strong enough.

The luminous emerald of his vibrant irises remained steadfast upon the inky figure of his vector. That smugness had returned to her feminine frame with a vengeance as if she had not moments ago been grounded with little notion of how to even walk upon the four paws she now confidently stood upon. How a singular success could so change the once snarling woman! She had gained a predatory edge to her slender figure, the panther stretching out her physique in a lackadaisical manner and yet, Tetradore was as aware of her amethyst gaze upon him as his eyes were upon her. The jaguar remained the very epitome of apathy, the feline still and silent with each languid step she took closer towards him. His gaze narrowed, the man watching with a calculating mind as she slinked closer towards him. He was more than willing to play the role that she had cast him into, baiting her with that very prize she desired most - revenge against him. For her benefit, he would stroke the angry flames that flickered within the woman, the man feigning that guise of trapped prey as he slowly moved further out onto the quickly thinning branch. Her very figure was altogether readable, from the way her nose twitched as she inhaled the plethora of scents within the forest to each swivel of her ears as the sounds of the forest assaulted her. He was aware of that furious twitch of her tail and yet, her assurances that she could smell him were met with little more than the same sarcasm that she so often threw at him.

He anticipated the very cynicism that echoed within her feminine lyrics, Harley forever the one determined to get the last word in, no matter what. Those biting words she continued to throw at him, however, only pushed the stoic man further into that silence he so often found safety within. He would let her have her words - they mattered so terribly little in the end. Tetradore's entire physique became taunt as the pair continued their dance, Harley pressing the offense while Tetradore fell into that role of retreat, the branch underfoot becoming all the thinner with each step further out into the air. His ears flicked at the creak within the branch, the man entirely attentive to how much weight he put upon the tree, those subtle protests ones he was painfully aware of as he contemplated just how far he intended to press his luck. Already, he was certain that she could feel the wobble each weighted step caused, her own figure lowering to slink closer towards the gnarled wood. Her sudden insistence that she was better at this then she thought, however, caused his gaze to drift over his shoulder, the baritone of his voice but velvety smooth as Tetradore abruptly shifted his weight. Fearlessly, the feline launched himself off the branch and out into the open air, the very action causing the wood to bounce in retaliation to the sheer power within his haunches. He was hardly concerned, however, his attention never once returning behind him as his paws once again found the branch of a new tree. The large jaguar landed with a perfected grace, his paws padding forward and closer towards the truck of the second tree before he turned to look back at her.

Harley was exactly where he had expected her to be, the young panther desperately clutching her branch as it once again stabilized with the absence of his weight. Her purple irises stared at him with a certain sort of awe that he knew well she'd never vocalize - though it was short-lived. How easy it was to further push her, the man once again baiting her with those same words to come get him. He watched as her lips twitched, that challenge forever the appropriate drive to prompt the woman into action. He watched as she steadied herself, the woman making some action to jump only to abruptly halt herself as if she was reconsidering. Had he finally found a challenge the dauntless Harley balked at? No, it seemed impossible this could best her. He watched as she took several slow, sliding steps backward. Her intention was quite clear to him even before she made that first effort to run upon the branch she stood on. Tetradore remained nothing short of attentive, however, curious to see if she would make it or if she would find herself crashing to the ground like Icarus. She quite near threw herself into the air at the last moment, her claws outstretched as gravity and acceleration so fought over her frame. In the end, her claws caught onto the edge of his branch, her curse word reverberating in his thoughts as dug into the wood. He could feel the wood groaning against her frenzied movements, the sound alone prompting Tetradore to his paws in case he needed to move.

It took a moment before Harley managed to pull herself up and onto the branch, the woman scurrying forward and closer towards him as she criticized herself. He watched as she paused, taking a soft breath to ground herself before she brushed off her near-disastrous jump. Abruptly, her gaze turned back towards him, her words near growled at him with a vicious sort of edge. For a long moment, Tetradore merely stared at her, the man considering how far he could push her before she was likely to tuck her tail in defeat. After all, for all her coldness and jibing, he did want her first experience as a Were to be somewhat...good. The panther turned abruptly from her, the man hardly vocalizing a syllable before he nimbly jumped towards a lower branch, his footfalls featherlight as he descended back onto the floor. A single glance was given behind his shoulder, the Alpha ensuring she was following before his pace quickened to a lope. Slowly, steadily, Tetradore allowed his limbs to stretch out, the jaguar entirely content to lead Harley on a race through the jungle. He leapt effortlessly over fallen tree trunks, jumped gracefully over boulders before once again taking to the treeline itself, all the while testing Harley - those jumps becoming longer, harder, faster, just to see if she could keep up.

This is my last goodbye