Andras hadn't expected direct protest. Something weak, maybe, easily overcome with his body guiding him and hand trying to keep him quiet. Ezra's struggle grew more intense the closer he was brought to the door and he kicked off of it when it was in reach, sending them staggering back a few paces. Enough that the beautiful asha slipped away from him, making exactly the sort of noise Andras hadn't wanted him to make.<br/><br/>“Shhh, keep it down. If you wake your master up he will put you in the cage for sure,” Andras told him, motioning with his hands even as he crawled beneath the desk, whining still.<br/><br/>“Shut up,” Andras ordered sharply, irritation breaking through and he lost all pretense for friendliness. “You will do as I tell you. I am your superior in every way. It is not your place to tell men like me<i>no</i>. Reis is not here so you will defer to me,<i>in all things</i>.” Andras was not denied his requests. He'd beaten his own pets for much lesser offenses, and now it was more about finishing the lesson than anything. Ezra needed to understand and Andras was going to make the point. Reis had no clue how to discipline his pets, especially one like Ezra. He let them do whatever they wanted. He'd let Ezra do the same, his thoughts being that certain behaviors were natural when Andras found them wholly unacceptable. Refusals were unacceptable. It didn't matter that the asha wasn't his own. It never had, not when it came to Reis. They were equal. They were family. Andras always took what he wanted and now anger and insult fueled his motivations.<br/><br/>“Wake him and I'll see that he does<i>much worse</i>to you than putting you in a cage, Ezra.” Andras' voice sounded ominous and promising. He leaned down to take a hold of the asha's ankle, dragging him out from underneath the desk.<br/><br/>“You are being a bad asha now. This behavior is not tolerated.” Maybe the asha needed to realize that he was the one whose orders needed to be heeded. Reis was nothing compared to the terror he could invoke when he put his mind to it. If he could give him a good scare he'd probably shut up. That was how it usually went, and then Ezra would be agreeable once more. The cage wouldn't sound so bad. One of them had bumped the desk, tipping then candle over. Andras knocked it into the floor, splattering wax before tipping the chair. It made a clatter but everything Andras was doing was deliberate. He opened the door wide.<br/><br/>Lastly, he dragged Ezra closer to the fire, using the poker to scatter coals across the floor before pressing the asha against them, touching the embers to his pristine back, burning him for his transgressions. Andras let him go right after. He'd tried to muffle his cry but he was only expecting so much. He figured it was only a matter of time anyway before Reis showed up after their noisy struggle. He needed to provide a more adequate reason he was in his asha's chambers than what he'd actually been up to. The wine was making him think rashly, his anger more potent.<br/><br/>“Ezra, you shouldn't be so clumsy. Why are you throwing such a fit?” he asked, hinting at what he was intending. He knew the asha had already hurt himself once throwing a tantrum when Reis had left him alone. It wouldn't be difficult to imagine he was at it again, a danger to himself once more. Andras was already slipping back into his clothing, straightening himself to look like the model citizen.<br/><br/>“Reis is going to think you are a danger to yourself.”<br/><br/>The asha should have gone downstairs with him. Andras was capable of finding keys to Reis' cages. After he'd been locked up again, no matter how Andras had behaved now, he imagined Ezra would be grateful to him for coming to his<i>rescue</i>. They were dumb and easily confused.