He stood in front of the door to the next house, waiting for his presence to be acknowledged. It's owner was taking quite some time and it was making him suspicious. In the past, Ien'heru had a yautja try to hide his crimes before coming to the door and letting him in. Though it did not work and he found out what the yautja had been hiding that time, he did not enjoy that sort of game. Just when he was about to switch his vision mode to spy inside, the door slid open. Mechanically, he took in the yautja before him, seeking out his rank, status, clan affiliation, and more. He was dressed in nothing more than a loincloth, looking less than happy to have a guest.

"I'm busy, what do you want?" His green eyes stared at him with challenge.

He stared right back at him without waver, "I am arbitrator Ien'heru, and I was informed that you have an female uoturu pet residing in this house. I have the right to search the house and seize the animal if necessary. I request to see the pet."

The male let out a low growl, but slid the door open further to let him in and turned away. Ien'heru followed behind him through the house, finding no sign that he owned a pet at all. The house was overly decorated with old weapons, trinkets, and skulls. For being of such low status, the owner had a few very impressive skulls, suggesting that he was a capable hunter, but just did not apply himself strongly to consistent hunts. He wondered what occupied his time if it was not hunting.

The male stopped at a door and turned to him, his dreads swinging freely, but the muscles on his neck were drawn tight. He gestured to the door, "She's all yours."

Ien'heru walked forward and slid open the door. The inside was mostly empty except for a sleeping pallet against one wall and a bucket for natural needs. He did not smell urine or feces from the bucket though, indicating that it was cleaned often (or that he had just cleaned it, knowing someone was at the door). It took him a moment to spot the tiny creature crouched in the corner. She was extremely thin, even for her species. Her eyes were a phosphorus yellow and her pupils looked like abnormal ink blots.

She finally stood up as he approached her, her head bowed and body shaking with fear, yet her hands were tight fists at her sides. On her wrists and ankles, small blue thorns growew out of her skin. The uoturu female looked healthy, though a bit thin, but her attitude was off to him. To test her resolve, he reached out and brushed his fingers down her arm. She shivered. Being defiant but afraid of yautja was normal, yet he also sensed that she was overly submissive.

Hearing her owner enter, he turned and asked, "How long have you had her?"

"Three days." He growled.

"Ah, is that why you are angry? You just get her and then and arbitrator already shows up? Or is your patience with her running thin?"

"Both." the male answered tensely, his eyes shifting away to look at the walls.

His mandibles twitched with some amusement and he set his eyes back on the uoturu but asked, "She acts as though she's been beaten; is that how you punish her?"

"Never."

Ien'heru glanced back at her owner, trying to examine his body language for lies. Finding little indication, he asked, "How was she acquired?"

"She was kidnapped by a fellow clan member. He probably beat her, because then he said he did not have the time to correct her behavior, and he sold her to me."

"Do you have a kehrite in the house?" He had methods with dealing with aliens that most would not agree with, and he usually only did it with males, but the uoturu seemed to need the lesson he could offer.

"Of course." The male answered leerily.

"Take us to it."

He had been doing this job long enough to pick up the subtle signs that she had once been beaten, though the bruises and marks had long been erased. Physical punishments lead to distrust, and her thin figure was a sign that he was not trusting of her new owner or surroundings. It was a very normal animal response, not to eat until comfortable and feeling safe.

"Her to?" Her owner asked reluctantly.

"Yes."

He watched to see how her owner handled her. The way he went about moving her seemed to indicate as well that he was not lying and did not beat his pet. The male slowly approached her, purring to calm her, and scooped her up in his arms. She hissed and struggled, her light grey skin turning black with fear as he walked with her. She'd managed to cut her owner in several places with her thorns, but he did not scold her for it, only set her down in the training room.

"Leave us." He ordered.

The male began to leave, but seemed hesitant, "She is afraid of all yautja. Bringing her in here with these weapons will only scare her more. Even practice, she will see how deadly you move." He spat.

"Leave us!"

The male quickly slipped out of the room and shut the door, and he turned his attention to the uoturu girl. She had pressed herself in another corner, yellow eyes watching him. She was not thinking clearly, her thoughts consumed with fear if she kept trapping herself in a corner. Even animals knew not to get stuck in a corner, yet she felt safest there, tucked away from him. He reached for the weapon at his hip which looked like a flashlight, but it extended out into a long, thin stick for training.

Her eyes went wide and her body tensed, no doubt thinking that he was going to hit her with it.

He walked up to the female, and extended the cane out to her. "Train." He said in her language. When she did not budge his voice turned hard and demanding, "Stand up! Train!"

Her skin turned darker, but she stood and hesitantly took the stick from his hand. She was short compared to him, standing about two feet below him. Under her watching eyes, he methodically took off his mask, armor, weapons, and laid them against the wall on the floor. He left only his long metal codpiece.

"Hit me." She hesitated. "Hit me!"

She gently swung the stick to connect with his arm.

"Harder!"

She swung again, harder, the cane hitting his arm with a loud SWAP. Her eyes went wide as she started up at him. He'd used this tactic on many aggressive yet afraid males. They needed to vent their anger and revenge, but also see that the yautja could hold their temper and not harm them. This was a female, but he could see her boiling inside with frustration. She needed this lesson, and so he would push her to the edge.

"Again! Harder!"

She hit him again in the arm, another loud swap causing her to cringe. She kept looking in his eyes, waiting for anger.

"Again! As hard as you can!"

Her heart was racing but her skin was beginning to lighten from a frightened black to an angry red. She struck his chest this time, and then again right after that without being told. He used the stick because it would break before causing him real harm, but also because of the loud sound it produced. They all seemed to like the sound, as it sounded like it hurt, and loudly the echoed against the walls.

"Again!" He prompted.

With a strangled cry, she swung the stick and hit him in the stomach. She glanced in his eyes cautiously, but then hit him again and again and again. She soon lost all control. Her skin was burning red like embers as she struck him with all her strength. There was no pause between each loud SWAP of the cane hitting his body.

She began to yell at him as she hit him, saying things like, "Murderer!" "Monster!" "I hate you! I fucking hate you!" She began to batter his head with the stick and all he did was watch her.

Out of breath, her heart a wreck in her chest she dropped the stick but still continued to beat him with her hands, yelling, "Took me from my home!" "Killed my father! My brother!" "Let my mother alone with no one!" She pounded her tiny fists on his hard abs, beginning to scream, "You monster!"

He was too involved in translating her words that he did not anticipate what came next. Her hand reached up to grab at a thick strands of his dark brown dreads, and yanked. She had no idea how sensitive those strands were. The pain was like having your balls in a vise grip, and she yanked so hard that he feared she'd rip the strand out of his head. He dropped to his knees in front of her before she could pull it free, his back stiffly arched with the pain.

Her eyes looked down at him with confusion, probably realizing that the yautja could infact feel pain. Then, her skin flushed a deep black with fear, no doubt thinking that there would be punishment. She released him and ran to the door, pushing and pounding on it as she screamed. He swept the stick off the ground, collapsed it, and put back on all his gear though it took a minute to do back up all the straps. The female sank to the ground as he approached. His body reacted with a tense shutter, seeing her cower from him like prey, and his mind begged for a kill.

She flinched as he cupped her face in both hands and rumbled, "Won't hurt you." Her eyes sprang wide with shock but he rumbled a warning, "Never touch there again."

When he let her go, she nodded and her skin returned to its normal cream color, her fear dissipating almost completly.

He reached for the door but looked down at her to add, "Eat more. Too thin."

He opened the door for her, and she walked out right to her owner, huddling herself against his side. The male looked down at her confused, then looked up to glare at him. She knew Ien'heru would not hurt her, yet she was confused and went to her owner for comfort. In her owners eyes though, she was cowering from Ien'heru and he was upset about that. He would not correct his thoughts, as they were of no concern to him. He would let others think whatever they wanted of him and his methods.

"She needs to trust you. Do not use physical punishments. Encourage and praise more than scolding. Give her a proper room. My inspection is over." He headed to the door, not waiting for the male to respond, as his commands were merely suggestions.

He could not tell them how to treat their aliens, only make sure they are not overly beaten, abused or unhealthy. He had no power in that area, though he'd seen so many aliens stripped of their culture and zest for life. He disagreed with some teaching methods, but then again many disagreed with his methods. When anyone found out about him "letting animals beat on him" Ien'heru would merely reply, "sparring practice". Back on his personal ship he made a full report of his visit, marked off the name on his list, and picked out another.