[It takes more than a few moments for Ion to finally pull himself out of that little shame-induced ball he'd crawled into, but once he does? He still doesn't quite know how to answer him.]

...I don't know. It wasn't something I even considered until I spoke with him about it... he was avoiding me for long, I was more concerned about preserving our friendship. But when he told me it was probably just the malnosso making us act like that, I... [He gives a soft, hallow laugh.] ...I couldn't find it in me to disagree with him.

Even though we agreed nothing would ever make us stop being friends, I... don't know how I'll be able to face him again.