Ezra said goodbye to the roses, goodnight to the foreign flowers who sprouted yellow bells from their centers, and followed Reis obediently, and quietly, back into the house. The pretty servant girl Ita was there waiting, and Ezra silently admired her silky gold hair as she wiped the blood and bits of dirt off of his body. She was thorough, but exceedingly gentle, and she made an effort to not irritate the wounds in Ezra's hand, though he wouldn't have minded if she had accidentally come into contact with them. Asha felt emotional pain more acutely than the physical variety, so although his hand was quite sore, it was easy to tolerate as long as Ezra was happy. The Asha was not happy, however. He was ashamed, and sad, and hurt by his master's thoughtless words. For these reasons, Ezra was quiet even though he liked Ita; she was pretty and obedient and didn't talk much. Perhaps that is what Master would have liked? For him to not talk? He had always been told to not speak unless spoken to. Perhaps he should be a good Asha and remember his lessons better.<br/><br/>When Ita was finished cleaning him up, Ezra thanked her and began walking toward Reis, but the man instructed him to go with Yhet instead. As Ezra did not want to disappoint his master any further, he obeyed, bowing his head as he followed Yhet downstairs into a dark, cold room filled with nothing but cages.<br/><br/>"Mister Yhet?" Ezra asked, his voice trembling with trepidation. He took very slow steps forward into the room, unsure of why Yhet had brought him here. Although cages were typical sleeping places for Belmiran Asha whose owners did not wish to share their bed, Tuloan Asha were severely adverse to the concept, many of them harboring their own forms of claustro- and monophobia that prevented anyone from locking them into anything if they were alone. Ezra knew what a cage was, of course, and knew they were used to house dangerous animals. But he was not dangerous! Ezra would never intentionally harm anyone in Master Reis' home, so why was he down here? There were no animals in sight, only cages, and Yhet.<br/><br/>The cook ordered Ezra to enter one of the open cages and the Asha began to whimper as he did so, terrified of Yhet closing the door, but certainly not wanting to go against his master's desires again. The door clanked behind him, and the young Asha instantly turned and grasped at the cage's bars with white knuckles. "Please, Mister Yhet!" he cried, shoving his arm through the bars and desperately clutching to the large man's clothing. "Please, please do not leave me in here! I will be a good Asha, I promise, I will sleep in the room Master gave to me and I will be very quiet and not disturb him! Please, Mister Yhet, please . . . "<br/><br/>But the cook turned away, apologizing as he did so, assuring Ezra it was only for the night. The Asha watched with wide, wet eyes as the cook pulled out a blanket and a pillow for him and set it to the side of the cage, but a storm was raging in his throat, and it was difficult for the Asha to speak on top of it, his voice sounding raspy and strained as he yelled. "No, no! Do not go, Mister Yhet! DO NOT LEAVE ME HERE, I AM GOOD ASHA! VERY GOOD ASHA! TELL MASTER I AM GOOD AND CAN BE TRUSTED, PLEASE MISTER YHET!" The Asha boy was screaming now, black tears streaming down his cheeks and leaving stains on his skin, but the cook left him anyway, and he was alone.<br/><br/>Ezra screamed and sobbed for hours, shaking the bars of his cage like a fierce, angry, desperate ape. It was an hour before sunrise before the Asha finally stopped making noise, as he had settled onto the floor of the cage into a tight fetal position, hugging his knees to his chest and hiding his tear-painted face underneath a mask of heavy curls. His eyes were red and puffy and his shoulders and arms tired from rattling the bars all night long. He touched neither the blanket or the pillow, not wanting either. There was no comfort to be had down here, only loneliness and heartbreak, and the Asha had resigned to turning in on himself, wishing wholeheartedly that he could go back to his island, and the keepers, and the sunlight. Away from the overcast, sad shores of Belmir and the master who did not want him.