Maleki was not expecting much from Aleksandra. Apologies for pain and quick stitching at best. So he simply took the leather strap in his mouth and nodded to her. He knew exactly how it went, and he was pretty sure she knew nothing about how it felt. Either way, Maleki was working to mentally prepare himself for the first removal the moment the leather entered his teeth. What he did not expect was when both of them were removed at the same time. That shock left a rather immediate imprint on the leather strap as his eyes darted over to glare at Aleksandra as she turned to grab handfuls of cloth. Air was being exhaled forcefully and in bursts as Maleki grit through the pain, waiting for her to do more than simply staunch the bleeding. It was at that point that her ramblings earlier made sense to Maleki.<br/><br/>The rose glow caused him to wince as his gaze flicked down towards one of the sources as it was happening. He bit down harder onto the leather despite the pain fading as the light grew more intense. Magic was something new to him. Something violent and deadly. Seeing it used in such a way as off putting to say the least, but he gritted his teeth and stayed still and silent. He did not wish to die because he interrupted whatever she was doing to him. Even after she removed his hands, he was still, as what little he could see out the corner of his eyes looked too fresh for her to be finished. And sure enough, she confirmed as much as the needle came out and she set to work finishing the job she had started with magic.<br/><br/>Finally, once the last cord was cut, Maleki exhaled and spit the leather strap out of his mouth. Again, she was going on about the situation and what<i>she</i>could do for him. About what<i>she</i>had already established without even asking him. Pain was the only thing keeping him from fuming further about it, and instead of venom, there was a slightly strained calm to his voice.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“I am going to say this now, while I am too hurt to do anything else about what I just witnessed: thank you for doing your job well.”</span>There were minutes of silence to follow the singular statement. But finally, Maleki began to speak up once more.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“I haven’t needed someone to arrange things for me in nearly a decade, I haven’t had things done for me in a decade and a half,” </span>Maleki said, before his head slide to the side to stare at Aleksandra.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“What makes you think that I want it to start up again? So if you are going to insist on complicating my life at every turn, then you can sit on it and spin. I <i>will</i> be taking the normal rates for injured guards… and maybe wiggle for a bottle of the good stuff.”</span>