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He'd gone straight home, avoiding any and all auras he felt along the way.

Now here he was, feeling oddly colder then he had been in the longest time, despite being bundled in a hoodie. To say he was confused, was a bit of an understatement. Ahri didn't know what to make about... well, any of it. Be it, himself, Celadonite, whatever it was they had going on between them... Yeah sure, things were... better-ish now, then it had been when they first met... But it was all still so... well, confusing.

He needed help, advice. Something.

With a sigh, Ahri dragged himself up and began wandering the house till he found the person in question.

Tobias.

"Hey." He muttered, knocking on the wall gently to get the other man's attention. "Can we... talk? Or can I just, I don't know, hide in here with you?" He wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but he didn't entirely think he wanted to be alone at the moment. "If you're busy, I can go."

The corner of Ahri's mouth twitched upwards into a smile when Tobias didn't turn him away. But it quickly disappeared with a sigh. There was no point in lying and saying that things were fine.

Things were not fine. That much was obvious.

"I dunno." He mumbled, watching the other man play with the strings on the hoodie. "I don't know if I need to just talk to someone, vent or scream in frustration." All, viable options. "I think I've found myself in a problem... And I'm not sure how to go about solving it." There were several problems really, but... One step at a time, he supposed. "I...don't think I wanna get Evan involved with it all. I don't want him to freak out or stress anymore then he has to deal with." He felt guilty, hiding this from the other but.. Ahri could only handle so much right now. One person at a time.

"I need you to just listen to me right now. You can be mad at me later but..." His words cut off, stuck in his throat.

"I...think so?" For all Cela's talk, the General had never followed through. Even when Ahri was at his lowest.

When Tobias hugged him, Ahri sighed, burying his face in the other man's shoulder with a sigh. "Ooooh, no. You're gonna be mad." And rightfully so. But where did he start? Ahri hugged back, releasing after a moment and gently prying himself from Tobias' arms.

"I'm jumping forward a little bit but, I suppose I have something to show you first..." Gingerly, Ahri tugged the hoodie over his head. "... Talia knows about these. She caught me when I thought no one was home." Ahri mumbled, holding the hoodie in front of himself for a moment before dropping it, revealing the two jagged scars left behind from a stupid encounter. "...Last summer, I crossed paths with a Negaverse Agent. I suppose I should have run, but I didn't." He really had thought running would be a bad idea. "Uh... Long story short, as you can probably guess. She didn't like when I turned down her idea of corrupting... So she uh, tried to drive her point home." Ahri fumbled under Tobias' gaze, nervous. "And uh... She might... have Sparta kicked me off the roof in the process too." Not his most graceful night.

"...I would not be here, were it not for my friend who found me."

"Made her promise not to. I didn't even want her knowing. There was a part of me that was still processing it. I was afraid if you guys knew, you'd go out and confront the one that did it. I know you guys can handle your own, but I didn't want to see what happened to me, happen to any of you. I know I should have told you, I was just scared." He said quietly.

Ahri made a face, ringing his hands. Tobias could already see where this was going. "Said friend... is the problem area. I've known him... so to speak, for a while. While he's always talked a big game, he's... never once put me in danger.. Even... even when I was bleeding out. He had every opportunity to just drag me away. But he didn't. Instead he pulled out some bone thing, and kept me talking till things patched up." Ahri sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And yes. Just to confirm your suspicion, he is Negaverse." Ahri ran a hand over one of the scars. "They don't hurt. I get the occasional nightmare here and there but. I'm okay."

Now, anyway.

"I know it's dangerous, this... game that we're playing. But, I don't know Tobias. I just want him to be safe. To be happy. I want to try and help him, like how you helped me. I just don't know how to go about it." Ahri sighed again. "I'm sorry for not telling you, about any of this. I'm sorry for making Talia keep quiet."

"I was afraid you guys would get hurt. Especially you Mr. Shoot first, ask later. Or should I remind you how we first met." Ahri did not envy anyone at the end of Lupu's bow. "Talia didn't use her magic. But we talked... So, yes she helped. There is no reason to be angry at her." Again, it had been his idea to keep it quiet.

"I would not ask you to go back. Of any of you. I know how that would leave us." Ahri sighed, leaning against Tobias. "I know I have to just keep talking about it, but I don't want him to get so sick of hearing about it that he turns away from the idea. I don't know how to go about this." The answer was carefully. "I will let you know though, if I need help this time. I promise."

"I love you, you know that?"

"I'll try my best to work on him. And to not get run through, again." Or worse. Not that he could get much worse then he had been.

His shoulders fell when Tobias mentioned they couldn't save everyone. "I know.. I hope this isn't that kind of case but..." He really hoped that wouldn't be the case but, he wasn't about to force anything on Celadonite that he didn't want. Ahri reached up, wrapping his hand around Tobias'. "I'm not going anywhere. I won't let that happen." He remembered how they all were after they'd lost Talia, and even when she came back. It had all been a process.

"I don't want to think about it either... Especially considering how I started. Honestly, I was a little surprised I wasn't a little more screwed up when you guys got me out."