Hildy's surprise played clearly on her face when the asha answered her, rather than waiting for Reis to explain. Most were very simply minded, some parroting back occasionally, but not clear and articulate. Her gaze shot over to Reis.<br/><br/>“He was expensive because of his intelligence. Not from our Belmiran stock,” Reis explained, hoping that she would leave it at that and not do any digging. She seemed a little more curious about the circumstances around his injured hand though, and pursed her lips.<br/><br/>“So, what I'm gathering is you purchased a young, attractive,<i>intelligent</i>asha and decided<i>not</i>to let him sleep with you?” Hildy clarified. “What, you kicked him out of your bed after you fucked him? You should surely know Reis that asha-” She was cut off but Reis' anger.<br/><br/>“I didn't fuck him at all,” he said, obviously offended.<br/><br/>Hildy was more confused. The asha obviously wasn't frightened. Most were not all that reluctant when it came to sex, so she wondered what the issue was. Then she remembered who she was dealing with, and Reis' finicky personality. She shook her head and began to clean the injuries.<br/><br/>“I don't know why you purchased an asha like this then,” Hildy commented. “You can't keep him in a cage, Reis, when it suits you. You are going to ruin him. They are social. You're going to give this one a complex, and the only man with issues here is<i>you</i>.” She turned back to look at Ezra. “Really, there's nothing wrong with you. You're not bad. Reis is a spoilt child, and he is the one with problems he needs to be working through.”<br/><br/>“Need I remind you I provide a good portion of your income,” Reis said in irritation as he was ridiculed. Hildy snorted.<br/><br/>“You pay me to be honest with you when it comes to the well being of your pets. An asha's mental state is part of their health, and you buying one, to go through whatever crisis you're going through, was not a responsible thing to do. You<i>cannot</i>lock him up in a cage,” she reiterated, maintaining her stance. Hildy had always been honest and up front with him. True, it was why he used her. She would tell him her opinion when it came to hard decisions, and he respected her for that. Some might suggest a treatment method just to wrack up a bill. Hildy was always up front, and she always told him exactly how she felt. This time it was no different.<br/><br/>“I purchased him.. not knowing I would be getting an asha. They told me that I would be getting something rare,” Reis told her, not a very good excuse as far as he was concerned. Her gaze said how she felt about it, and she waved her hands.<br/><br/>“Well, you'd best own up to your rash decision making,” Hildy told him, unsympathetic. After the cleaning, she applied the salve she would be sending Reis with. Likely, he was trying to do what she was saying, but he wasn't trying hard enough. Reis should have known better than to lock an asha away in a cage. They might not be his area of expertise, but Reis was educated. He should know.<br/><br/>“I told you the other asha attacked him. That's why I purchase.. Horvath here. To keep him company, and to see that he stayed out of trouble.”<br/><br/>Hildy didn't respond, only walked the asha over to Reis and put his good hand on his master's thigh. She ignored his frigid body language, and just gave instruction for Reis to keep the asha from touching her tinctures and herbs. After that, she could move along to Horvath, where he explained the same story about getting kicked by a horse when he was young. The man was riddled with arthritis and creaking joints, but the scars and pox marks were old, and long healed.<br/><br/>“For Horvath, I'll give you things to try to manage his pain, and help some with range of motion. As far as I can tell, he seems healthy aside from his chronic conditions.” She looked back to the burly, gentle slave.<br/><br/>“Is there anything else that ails you?” she asked, and Horvath shook his head 'no'. He'd never been put on anything for his stiffness and aches, but Hildy wasn't<i>asking</i>. She knew Reis wouldn't argue with her, even if it would require them trying multiple things until they got the right concoction mixed up.<br/><br/>“I trust you're not going to be using him for anything too strenuous?” Hildy went on, but this time it was Horvath who spoke up.<br/><br/>“I can work, Miss.” He sounded nervous, perhaps a little frightened that they would think he'd lived past his usefulness.<br/><br/>“The work will be easy,” Reis assured Hildy, ignoring Horvath.<br/><br/>“Cold and heat compresses as well. Horvath, what as been tried in the past for your aches?” she asked, but the slave only shook his head.<br/><br/>“I'm fine. There's never been a need,” he maintained. Hildy said nothing more, instead pulling various things off the shelf to spread across her desk to mix something up in a glass container for Reis to take with him. The lid had a dropper attached to it, made for easy administering.<br/><br/>“A few drops of this a few times a day. Bring him back after a fortnight and I'll make adjustments,” Hildy instructed, looking back to the asha and smiling. It was obvious she expected to see him back as well, if not sooner if his injuries were not healing better. “Or I can come to you, like I typically do.” Reis nodded at that, much preferring to stay tucked away in his home whenever possible.